News
EPC's and Landlords
01/01/2011 00:00:00
From 1st October 2008 all landlords are required by law to provide an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) whenever a domestic or commercial building is rented out. The regulations state that a prospective tenant should be provided with an EPC at the earliest opportunity and certainly prior to entering into any contract to rent out a property. A landlord will not need to obtain a certificate where an existing tenancy is simply being renewed, nor is a certificate required when a tenant rents only a room and shares the main facilities.
The EPC must be obtained from a qualified energy assessor and looks similar to the certificates issued with washing machines and other electrical equipment. An A-rated property is the most energy-efficient while a G-rated is the least energy-efficient, with an average property in the UK currently being around the D or E band. An EPC will also include recommendations for improving the energy efficiency of the building and once obtained it is valid for ten years unless changes are made to the property that affects its energy efficiency. The bad news for landlords is that it is the landlord who has to bear the cost of the EPC and this cost cannot be passed on to the tenant, for example by way of a service charge. So far it appears that those landlords with the most efficient buildings have not benefited from an increased rental income as a consequence of this being reflected in the EPC. However, the introduction of EPCs has given tenants much more scope to argue for a reduction in rent where the building has a poor energy rating.
Some landlords of multi-occupancy premises such as flats have also reported that it is more economically viable for them to have all of their properties assessed on a discounted basis rather than pay for each individual property to be assessed as and when they are required. In addition, where one landlord owns a building with a common heating system or owns several similar units within the same block, one certificate may be required for all of the units rather than obtaining a separate certificate for each separate unit.
The Lighthouse Keeper celebrates Lighthouse’s first decade.
16/05/2011 10:02:23
Lighthouse was started in 2001 by Tim and Philippa Clark and has grown from a ground floor office space to being spread over three floors in just over 7 years.
Why not read through this seasons edition of the lighthouse keeper and find out how it all started. Also in this edition, find out about some of the new faces to appear at lighthouse as well as take a look into making your property a greener place to live in or let.
To download your copy, why not head on over to the download section, or click here to grab the PDF. Alternatively, why not pop into the office and pick up a copy.
Buy-To-Let Mortgages
19/05/2011 15:43:56
The latest figures published by the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML), showing continued growth in the buy-to-let mortgage market, offer good news for landlords looking to purchase new properties.
New buy-to-let mortgage lending in the first three months of 2011 totaled £2.9 billion across 27,600 loans. Echoing a more pronounced decline of 11% in the wider mortgage market, buy-to-let lending in the first quarter was around 3.5% lower than the £3 billion of lending across 28,600 loans in the fourth quarter of 2010, but up on the £2.1 billion and 22,000 loans in the first quarter a year ago.
We have seen new lenders enter the market and a number of specialist commercial lenders have been offering innovative, but niche, buy-to-let schemes; lender requirements have begun to ease somewhat and it is now possible to get a buy-to-let mortgage up to 80% loan-to-value; there are also products currently available for limited companies, houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) and for light refurbishment works. These developments all help landlords in obtaining the finance they need to obtain new properties, which in turn provides you with more opportunities.Lighthouse now offer, in association with the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA) an online mortgage service, which can be accessed via the new Mortgage section on this website.
Lighthouse Go Paintballing
19/05/2011 16:04:57
Staff & family of Lighthouse Property Services LTD enjoyed a corporate day paintballing at Bawtry Paintball Fields after a donation of £250.00 was made at a charity auction to Children with Leukaemia by their Managing Director Tim Clark.
Contents insurance
17/06/2011 10:08:54
It is fast approaching the time for students to move into their your new houses. To make sure that your contents are protected from most forms of accidental damage, we have details for a policy with HomeLet - the market leading specialists for referencing and insurance for the lettings industry - which can cover all your belongings for just £10.99pcm.
For more details on what is included in this policy please click here
We have recently been informed that the person stated on the letters recently sent out about contents insurance with HomeLet no longer works at the company. However, we have been given a new point of contact should you wish to take out the HomeLet Contents Insurance policy directly over the phone, or to discuss any thoughts you might have on it with him.
So please now call Jamie Dyer directly on 01522 838637 and for any other enquires please speak to their team on 0845 117 6000.
List of available properties, week of 29/06/2011
29/06/2011 10:37:30
Here is this weeks summary of what rental properties are currently available. Please note that this can change at any time and is meant only to summarise what is currently available at time of publication.
You can find the list here.
If you have any queries, please contact the office on (01522) 780 020.
Homelet declaration altered
29/06/2011 10:58:12
Today Homelet - the market leading specialists in referencing to the lettings industry and the company we use to reference all new private tenants - have changed the way the declaration on their application forms is presented and this means we need to update all of our referencing forms.
This means all of the application forms have been changed to update to the new declaration.
To find our updated forms please click here.
To see how this affects you please read this press release from Homelet:-
"We've changed the declaration that appears in our referencing application forms. This means that from now on you must use the new versions for all referencing applications.
It’s really easy to get new copies, so don’t panic if you’re worried about swapping over.
What's changed?
The section that’s changed is about using applicants’ details for marketing purposes. Following feedback from you and your tenants, we’ve made it easier for them to opt out of receiving information about our products and services, such as contents insurance.
Why has the declaration changed?
Investment sales list August 2011
31/08/2011 15:15:48
Lighthouse Investment Property Sales are pleased to act as agents for the properties listed below. For further information please contact our office and we will be able to send you the full property particulars.
Please follow this link to download the list.
List of available properties, week of 31/08/2011
31/08/2011 15:20:02
Please find our updated list of current lettings for this week at the link provided.
Should you wish to book an appointment to view any of these properties, please call us on (01522) 780 020, or email us at enquiries@lighthouse-properties.co.uk