PROPERTY NEWS

Buy to Let Market Shows Signs of Recovery.. at last!
There are encouraging signs that the buy-to-let market is beginning to find its feet, after the decline in new lending slowed in the second quarter of the year.
Latest figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders showed 21,600 new buy-to-let loans were advanced in the three months to the end of June, just 4% down on the 22,400 reported in the first quarter.
Meanwhile, the number of buy-to-let mortgaged properties in arrears fell 17 per cent on the previous quarter. The number taken into possession remained unchanged.
The news will be welcomed by tenants who are at risk of being evicted at short notice from the property they are renting because their landlord has defaulted on mortgage repayments.
Read more here


Letting Agents WANTED!
There are a growing number of tenants and landlords who are dissatisfied with the services provided by Letting Agents.
On Monday evening, I had a conversation with a Letting Agent who regaled me with the sorry tale of two tenants who appeared at her office that morning, full of woes about the property they were renting... house full of dampness with mould growing everywhere... no EPC... no Gas Safety Cert...no Repairing Standard Letter an obnoxious landlord to deal with who paid no attention to their requests for urgent repairs and their current Letting Agents were being dismissive, so they were looking to move.
This particular couple are unemployed and relying on DSS for their rent but had paid a month's rent in advance, and seem like decent people. Getting nowhere with the Letting Agent (who are certainly not living in THIS century), they were shocked to learn what the landlord's responsibilities were and that he, and the agents, were clearly flouting the law!

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My youngest son Nash is getting ready to start his second year at University in Edinburgh and has been searching for accommodation with two of his friends.
I contacted a very well-known Letting Agency in Edinburgh about one particular property and noted that it took 3 days for the Property Manager to get back to me.
After several phone calls to the office, I managed to speak to the person who looked after the property Nash was interested in.
I was pleased when she confirmed that the landlord accepted students but disappointed to learn that he did not have an HMO licence - it was a 3 bed property!
Fortunately, my son has now found the perfect property but the Lease Agreement is flawed with no Repairing Standard Letter attached.
The whole arrangement with the landlord seems very loose and I am keeping a close eye on how things progress.

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QUESTION... Do you have a great letting agent who takes care of your investment portfolio?...if you are getting good service from either a private individual or an established Letting Agent, then why notrecommend them to others.
We are all very quick to complain, but rather than be inundated with a barrage of negative comments, why not simply promote the person or company who provides a good service for a change.
I will be happy to post your recommendations here.
email: clare@richbrits.co.uk

WEALTH AWARENESS EVENT - Monday 7th September 7-9pm

Next month's event will take place on Monday 7th September, when we will be joined by Motivational Speaker, Andy Fergusion
www.t9rcoach.com and Bloodline Planning Experts Chris Smith and Michael McCready www.countrywidegroupni.co.uk

Please send an email to clare@richbrits.co.uk ,lorraine@richbrits.co.uk or laura@richbrits.co.uk to book your ticket.

ENTRY FEE: £10 - Refreshments served on arrival

Click here for a MAP and directions to the event

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Scottish Association of Landlords

Extra Portable Appliance Testing (PAT) training date announced.

Further to the huge response this week from members booking the new PAT training courses, SAL have added another Glasgow date for this training as below. The first two Edinburgh and Glasgow courses are now fully booked. There are still a few spaces left on the 11th November in Edinburgh and the 10th November in Glasgow.

For those who are further away from Edinburgh and Glasgow – please let SAL know if you are interested in this training locally. They will look into other areas if there is enough demand.

To deliver the courses SAL have engaged specialist trainer Neil Turnbull from PAT Training Services Ltd. The courses will run in both Glasgow and Edinburgh from 9.30am to 5.00pm on the dates listed below:

10th November 2009 - Ramada Glasgow City, 201 Ingram Street, G1 1DQ - SPACES AVAILABLE

11th November 2009 - the Conference Room, SAL, 16 Forth Street, Edinburgh EH1 3LH – SPACES
AVAILABLE

Further dates will be added until everyone interested in this training has a chance to attend. To help gauge demand and plan dates - please do let SAL know on info@scottishlandlords.com if you would like to attend these courses but cannot make the dates above for any reason.

Attending the one day course will give members the required knowledge to carry out their own PAT testing and, depending on the number of properties you have, for some this could mean an opportunity to make considerable cost savings. Please do bear in mind when costing this for your own business that you would still need to either buy (approx £300) or hire (approx £60 per week) a PAT testing machine to carry out the tests on your appliances.

This course is designed for landlords, letting agents, hotel and B&B owners. SAL members attend at the cost price of £150 per person. The arrangement we have negotiated with PAT Training Services represents a discount for SAL members of £95 off the normal price of the course which is £245.

The £150 fee includes refreshments and sandwich lunch plus course notes and a Code of Practice worth £35. On successful completion of the course you will also receive a certificate from the trainer.

Limited places - please do email: info@scottishlandlords.com if you need any more information or you can book online now with this link www.scottishlandlords.com/courses.aspx

More information about the course can be seen on the PAT Training Services website here - but bookings for these dates can only be made via SAL. NB The courses will run subject to demand (as we must cover the cost of the trainer on each date)

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Feedback from the August event!! VIDEO TESTIMONIALS

Our desire is to inspire you to become Financially Independent. "When your income from what you own exceeds your expenses... ...you no longer need to work for a living and you could retire." We will empower you to take your first steps towards Financial Freedom TICN in association with Richbrits invite you to a FREE Money Talks Presentation Friday 28th August 6-7pm Zero Cost Trades - Learn how to trade the market successfully and profitably. Explanation and Demonstration byOwen O'Malley Location: Marriott Hotel, Glasgow Rd, Edinburgh please ring Clare on 07803 135 693 Cost: FREE!!!!!!

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Please feel free to Forward this email to a friend. If you know anyone who would like to be added to our database please send an email to laura@richbrits.co.uk

British entrepreneur aims to crack 400mph barrier (and raise $1 BILLION in the process) Ron G Holland is aiming to shatter the motorbike land speed world record, which stands at 360mph, on his 30-foot cigar-shaped V8 super bike at Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, USA. He'll make his attempt sometime in 2010. The sixty-year-old author and entrepreneur says riding at half the speed of sound holds no fear compared to the prospect of his wife Elisabeth rumbling how much he's spent on his land speed bid. Read more here

Patrick Henry Hughes - Inspirational Story

What an in incredible story and what an amazing father this young man has... this is so humbling!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qTiYA1WiY8

Monday 3rd August

Born in Limerick in 1970, Pat grew up in the city’s north side in Moyross, known as one of Limericks toughest neighbourhoods, where opportunities are few and far between. Leaving school at 14 years old he went to work in the hotel industry, at 15 he moved on and began working in the security industry from where he built one of Irelands largest companies in this field. Pat went on to mentor referral and business groups through the country. Name: Email: Pat is, nationally, a known lecturer and consultant in personal and business development; he has worked with government agencies, colleges, companies and non-profit organisations in the areas of training, counselling, mentoring, motivation and communication. He is a frequent communicator on radio, business magazines and other media sources, he has conducted seminars and workshops on various aspects of personal and business development which have been attended by thousands of people throughout Ireland and the UK

PROPERTY NEWS Bank of China starts to offer mortgages in the UK Bank of China has begun offering mortgages to British borrowers, who are finding it difficult to get loans from leading UK lenders. The world’s third-largest bank is lending at lower rates than many of the deals available from more established UK lenders. It has previously focused on lending to the Chinese community within the UK. With rates from 2.5 per cent over base, it is targeting homeowners and buy-to-let landlords who are struggling to get credit. It is marketing deals via four brokers, including Savills and Legal & General Mortgage Club. Bank of China’s approach will differ in several ways from its British peers. It will insist in meeting each borrower face-to-face before deciding to offer a loan, and will fund them from its own capital reserves, a more conservative approach than that of many UK lenders in the years of the housing boom. Although home loans jumped 17 per cent in June, with gross mortgage lending at a six-month high of £12.3 billion, from May’s £10.5 billion, the CML says it is 48 per cent down on June 2008. Read more...