Market Value
Fancy being a landlord? Then read on to discover how you can, courtesy of Becky Moran, our expert guide to the property rental market. Here the TN Lettings owner shares details of how she became one…
I’ve worked in property all my career – apart from an initial start doing production on a local radio station which is a whole different chapter of my yet-to-be-written biography!
My career had always been on the financial side of house buying, having worked through various roles in property finance for major financial institutions.
During a career break so I could focus on my two young boys, the world pretty much came to a halt due to the Covid pandemic. It was during that first lockdown, and while dealing with letting agents in London for our own rental properties, I decided there must be a better way than paying rip-off fees and dealing with faceless employees on the end of a phone line.
Hence why I started TN Lettings in the summer of 2020. The company’s USP is that it’s based on ethical grounds to give the best possible service for landlords and tenants alike.
“How is that possible?” I hear many tenants and landlords say. Or: “There must be a conflict of interest?” say others…
But it’s simply about the right fit for tenants and landlords alike – whether that be a fair price, the right number of bedrooms/bathrooms, right location, or right circumstances. It’s not always about first come first serve.
Some landlords want tenants for a year or two, some tenants want a place to call home long-term, or just a 6-month rental whilst they develop their own home.
We therefore prioritise the right fit for all our properties. We deal with all levels of landlords but becoming one is not always an easy decision and often many landlords become them by accident. For example, they might inherit a property or a couple may move in together and therefore rent out their second home. It’s such a familiar scenario there is even a book about the subject called Accidental Landlord.
Other landlords see the role as a safe investment for their old age and run a portfolio, whilst others do it as a career. But the biggest issue for landlords is the financial and legal changes.
In the last 20 years the government has changed policy so often – usually chasing votes – that it can become confusing. When Gordon Brown was Chancellor, in 2005 he announced a policy to be able to put rental property into a self-invested pension, (Sipp) – but then backtracked six months later.
Since 2015 the tax relief on the interest payments has been decreased and now doesn’t exist for private landlords, meaning some have sold properties while others have converted their portfolio into limited companies – therefore maintaining the tax relief.
Since then, we have seen no end of legislation; the latest being the proposed end to ‘no fault evictions’. This has been delayed, and is probably unlikely to come in this side of a General Election, mainly because the court system would collapse under the pressure.
Add in raising interest rates, it’s easy to see why some landlords have sold up and left the market. And although no one can see into the future, the one thing we do know is there will always be a demand for rental properties and history has shown that bricks and mortar is a safe long-term investment.
