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John McKay

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my expertise in the industry

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Now why would someone leave a house empty when they could be renting it out? Hmmm, let's see.... 1. S24 (disallowing of finance costs) 2. Bad tenants often supported by the so-called charity by name of Shelter 3. Premium of 8% CGT when selling property 4. Banning of letting agent fees 5. Halving of lettings relief 6. Prospective banning of ‘No DSS’ wording in adverts 7. Promised banning of S21 notice 8. Growing trend of councils charging hefty licence fees per property 9. Changes to HMO regs including minimum room sizes 10. Right to rent checks (now shown to be discriminatory and there is no guidance on how to deal with EU immigrants) 11. Benefit tenants migrated to UC causing lengthy delays in rent payments and often substantial arrears 12. Deregulation Act 13. Scrapping of Wear & Tear allowance 14. Introduction of EPC minimum requirements (even on HMOs) which can be difficult to meet with older properties 15. Unfit for human habitation legislation 16. CO detectors must be fitted 17. 100%+ council tax on properties being refurbished between tenancies. Not even the 25% single person discount 18. Substantial increases in court costs for use of S8, thus making S21 more popular 19. Membership of compulsory redress scheme for agents (and most likely for landlords soon) 20. Limit on amount of deposit we’re allowed to take 21. Rogue landlord database 22. Proposed 3 year minimum tenancies though not sure what the value of this would be with the abolition of S21 23. Some councils now charging council tax on HMO rooms

From: John McKay 24 January 2020 08:44 AM

I've taken my insurance away from Swinton too. Plus remortgaged a property recently away from BMS. Both are supporters of Shelter.

From: John McKay 24 July 2019 11:10 AM

My maintenance budget amounts to a significant figure and a lot was spent at B&Q/ Screwfix. They hardly get a look-in now due to their support of Shelter.

From: John McKay 24 July 2019 09:49 AM

Haven't we been constantly hearing that people aren't moving because of Brexit and that's the reason for the slowdown in the market???

From: John McKay 27 March 2019 08:51 AM

It's only going to get worse from here with the PRS shrinking by 4000 properties each month.

From: John McKay 23 January 2019 09:10 AM

"Stability can be one of the biggest concerns for those renting a home" It sounds to me like Ms McKendrick has been listening to the tripe from Shelter and GR. Does she not know that most tenancies are ended by the tenant and the average tenancy is around 4 years? I've been a landlord for nearly two decades and have a fair sized portfolio. Only on one occasion has a tenant asked me to renew a tenancy agreement and would I do it for a 2 year term. That agreement has long since expired and the tenant has been on a periodic for around 4 years now. With that in mind I find it hard to believe that stability is such a big concern. However.... with the constant attacks and demonising of the PRS then tenants should perhaps be more concerned than they are. The sector is contracting at a phenomenal rate and will continue to do so whilst the 'charities' and Government continue down the road they're on.

From: John McKay 16 January 2019 08:38 AM

The whole country knows we need more homes yet not one of the political parties is grabbing the bull by the horns. We need to see the return of Development Corporations like the ones that got us out of major housing issues before.. http://saynotogeorge.co.uk/how-to-solve-the-housing-crisis/

From: John McKay 16 May 2017 08:58 AM

Isn't that interesting? Landlords are leaving the market yet house prices are still going up.

From: John McKay 13 December 2016 10:09 AM

Perhaps Campbell Robb would like to explain why he supports the Tenant Tax. Actually he already has because he says most people want to own their own home, so Shelter supports the attack on the PRS which will undoubtedly force up rents (it already is) and cause greater levels of homelessness. Shelter appears to have changed priorities from attempting to eradicate homelessness to one of wanting people to own their home. This of course is an organisation that doesn't actually house anyone themselves.

From: John McKay 18 October 2016 09:39 AM

What proof is there that investors are abandoning the stock market to invest in property please? Also the lots mentioned are unusual, not the everyday stuff. I'd suggest Cheffins are just talking up the market, which is surprising as Cambridge usually ignores what's happening in the rest of the UK anyway.

From: John McKay 04 October 2016 08:51 AM

That's the plan Matt, to fight Government I mean, not be financially ruined! The first hearing for the Judicial Review is on 6th October.

From: John McKay 26 September 2016 19:34 PM

Has Mr Gill not heard of S24 of the 2015 Finance Act (restriction of mortgage interest relief)? It beggars belief that someone can say that it is a great time to invest in UK property when this ticking time bomb gets ever closer to going off! Granted that some will be unaffected because they do not need mortgages, but actually they may well be better off putting their money elsewhere rather than accept the yields in UK property. Granted that some people will incorporate thus so far avoiding the effects of S24, but that may change, and they will pay corporation tax plus tax on taking the money out of their lettings business. But for most people there could not be a worse time to invest in UK property, S24 will devastate their investments. The tax change will undoubtedly force up rents but some landlords will still face bankruptcy as HMRC tax them on fictitious profit at rates which can exceed 100% of true profit. Indeed if for any reason the landlord makes no profit they can still be taxed at a potentially INFINITE rate! A great time to invest in UK property???? No I don't think so Mr Gill.

From: John McKay 26 September 2016 10:19 AM

You are of course completely right Mark! I fear that the Under 35's are going to be finding it much, much harder to save a deposit when the full effects of Osborne's attacks on the PRS kick in.

From: John McKay 23 September 2016 08:50 AM

Good grief, is this a serious article??? Osborne did more to hurt the housing market than anyone else I can think of and the last 5 years have seen the worst house building output since 1920 (excluding the war years). He's put taxes in place that seriously discourage any investment in housing and will lead to higher rents across the land. This article should have been kept for April 1st

From: John McKay 02 August 2016 18:55 PM

The problem Sue is that no lender is going to be giving mortgages to FTBs in a falling market, so nothing changes until the market is on the up again. So yes, affordability improves but lending worsens.

From: John McKay 13 June 2016 09:29 AM

And George Osborne will be loving the CGT from them, the SDLT from the new buyers and let's not forget the Income Tax on the higher rents that the remaining tenants will be paying.

From: John McKay 18 March 2016 16:55 PM

Marco Clause 24 is most definitely law. It reached Royal Assent in November. For it not to happen it now needs additional legislation to overturn it, which will happen if the Judicial Review is successful. I too run HMOs and approximately half of my rooms are fully ensuite, a few more are semi ensuite. Some have their own Elfin kitchens. I agree that HMOs are a good investment though in some areas there is oversupply and in others there are Councils that make your life very difficult (e.g Milton Keynes). I am lucky that in my area the Private Sector Housing team are extremely helpful and cooperative. The problem for many landlords is that they already have portfolios that are made up either partly or wholly of family units and C24 will drive many of them into severe financial difficulty. Some will be bankrupted but alas, there are still loads that are not yet aware that C24 has come in and what it means to them. The Chancellor was very misleading when he announced it and David Gauke continues to be so. Please do pass on the message to any landlords you know that this Draconian and iniquitous measure in not only law but will cause serious tax implications to the majority of landlords that have mortgages.

From: John McKay 27 January 2016 17:39 PM

Azad Zangana, senior economist at Schroders, sums it up well by saying: “In a rising market, those using property as an investment will not worry about such a small additional cost.” Indeed the extra 3% SDLT is a problem that can be built into the sums without resulting in anything too dramatic, but it seems that was has been overlooked here is the devastating impact of Clause 24. That is the real killer, not the extra stamp duty. If anyone comes into the market without fully understanding what this tax on turnover means then they may well get well and truly burnt. C24 is extremely badly thought out and will result in rents rising and/ or tenants being phased out as the tax is phased in. Landlords may choose to sell up or upgrade their tenants to those that can afford the higher rents. Many of those that can't afford higher rents will throw themselves at Councils across the land, who are already dealing with the worst situation of temporary accommodation that we've ever had.

From: John McKay 27 January 2016 12:59 PM

Excellent point about Brandon Lewis not having a cabinet position. I hadn't considered that. I will use it if I may.

From: John McKay 04 December 2015 11:55 AM

But Mr Osborne has his fingers in his ears and continues to go ''La La La, I'm not listening''

From: John McKay 04 December 2015 10:31 AM

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