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Property Showcase - The Company with low fees.
Wanted Urgently:
Properties for sale in the Swansea area
(particularly up to around £120,000) for waiting buyers.
Remember our low selling fee - currently only £750
Properties for rent in the Swansea and Gower areas; studio/1,2 bed apartments, houses etc for waiting tenants.
News
Rental demand up 41%
24 Jun 2008, Breaking News, Mortgage Solutions
Demand for rented accommodation in May has boomed 41% year on year according to new data from estate agent Your Move.
The firm revealed tenant demand increased month on month as well, with the number of leases commencing in May 2008 rising 14% from April.
Your Move said May’s increase in demand is part of a wider trend, as the number of leases commencing in April was 56% higher than the year before. The number of leases commencing in 2008 in total is up 34% on the same period in 2007.
David Newnes, managing director of Your Move estate agents, said: “Buy to let will grow this year. Opportunities to invest are ripe for professional landlords able to secure financing. With rising tenant demand comes rising rents - buy-to-let yields will consequently improve. House prices are under pressure at the moment, and there is scope for buy-to-let investors with collateral to get good deals to expand their portfolios.
Tips on reducing soaring stamp duty bills
10th April 2008, Faith Archer, Telegraph.co.uk
Tips on reducing soaring stamp duty bills that have first-time buyers running scared First-time buyers still face swingeing stamp duty bills, after the Chancellor ducked out of the chance to lighten their load in the Budget. Stamp duty land tax, as it is officially known, is charged as a percentage of the price paid for a property.
You can only avoid stamp duty if your new pad costs less than £125,000, or up to £150,000 in certain "disadvantaged areas". However, the slightly higher starting point brings little benefit when the average house price paid last year by first-time buyers in those boroughs was £181,455 and £262,664 respectively, according to Halifax, Britain's biggest lender.
Otherwise, you must pay 1 per cent of the purchase price on properties between £125,000 and £250,000, rising to 3 per cent on properties costing between £250,000 and £500,000. Above £500,000, you have to fork out 4 per cent of the price. With house prices so high, few purchasers can escape the stamp duty net, and the hefty bills hit first-time buyers particularly hard.
Saving on stamp duty
• Look for properties costing less than £125,000, or less than £150,000 in disadvantaged areas, to avoid paying stamp duty altogether.
• Try to negotiate property prices down if they are pitched just above the thresholds at £125,000, £250,000 and £500,000. • Deduct the value of fixtures and fittings, so that you only pay stamp duty on the property price, but don't be tempted to over-inflate their value.
• Make sure you or your solicitor return form SDLT1 and pay any stamp duty within 30 days of completing the purchase, or otherwise you will face interest and penalties.
Average UK rents increased
1st April 2008, Anthony Zahra, Introducer Today
Average UK rents increased in February, as demand for rented accommodation continued to rise.
It is good news for buy-to-let property investors, who appear to be benefiting from the fact that many people are finding it increasingly difficult to get onto the property ladder.
According to the latest figures from Paragon, average rents hit £11,886 in February, compared to £11,604 in January. That is a rise of 2.4 per cent, with yields also increasing from six per cent three months previous to 6.3 per cent in February.
John Heron, director of mortgages at Paragon, said that serious buy-to-let investors are the ones benefiting in the current climate. "The message is clear - experienced landlords continue to regard property investment as a sound business, providing as it does a roof over the heads of those people who through choice or circumstance rely on the private rented sector for their accommodation needs," he explained.
"They hold their property investment assets for more than ten years, and decide to buy or sell based on sound commercial considerations rather than short-term signals in house prices or economic sentiment," added Mr Heron. The Association of Residential Letting Agents recently revealed that buy-to-let returns increased in March.
Swansea set to get new £1bn ‘urban quarter’
Jan 2008 by Robin Turner, Western Mail
SWANSEA city centre is to get a £1bn “urban quarter” featuring a shopping complex, 1,000 apartments, offices, a high class hotel and a major conference centre.
Two of Europe’s leading developers, Hammerson and Urban Splash, have been commissioned to complete the £1bn scheme, the most expensive single project in Swansea’s history.
Hammerson and Urban Splash have recently been regenerating the centre of Birmingham around the city’s Bullring.
Hammerson is one of Europe’s leading property companies specialising in urban regeneration with operations in the UK and France. Urban Splash is an innovative regeneration company with a track record in high quality architecture, urban design and regeneration.
The proposed Swansea scheme includes 600,000sq ft of additional shopping space, 1,000 residential units and new leisure, office, hotel and conference facilities on the existing St David’s and Quadrant sites and car parks at Paxton Street and County Hall.
Among the aims of the scheme are:
Creating a high quality European style boulevard along Oystermouth Road;
Connecting the city to the waterfront and creating destinations and attractions at Paxton Street, the Sail Bridge and the Maritime Quarter.
The new quarter, which will have sea views, will be next to Swansea’s marina where workers are busy installing Wales’ largest residential building, the 29-storey Meridian Quay tower.
Swansea Council’s leader Chris Holley said yesterday, “The appointment of Hammerson and Urban Splash is a massive statement of intent by Swansea. Hammerson is one of the leading property developers in Europe.
“Equally, Urban Splash is one of the most innovative city centre residential developers with a proven track record in Manchester, Leeds and Liverpool which have all seen major regeneration and investment in recent years.
“This is probably the most significant announcement in the past 50 years for Swansea and it follows major private investment in the city centre, including the £30m retail development at the former House of Fraser store on Princess Way.”
Swansea Council, the Welsh Assembly Government and the developers will be working together during the next 12 to 18 months to secure planning consent.
Leighton Andrews, the Assembly’s Deputy Minister for Regeneration, said yesterday, “This is an excellent way to start the new year and is great news for Swansea.”
Jason Collard, managing director, Urban Splash South West, said, “Urban Splash is delighted to be working once more with Hammerson, following our successful collaboration on Bullring in Birmingham City Centre.”
The double appointment follows a nine-month European-wide competition.
Money Talk: Save On Tax
Faith Archer offers her advice on how to save tax on your buy-to-let
Telegraph, March 2008
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