Here at Northwood, with over 20 years experience, and over 85 offices across the U.K., we tend to notice different trends occurring in our business and across the wider private rented sector. One trend we have noticed of late is that our Guaranteed Rent service is becoming more popular. There are a number of reasons […] View article >
When it comes to costs and managing finances, 2018 is shaping up to be a year of uncertainty and volatility for both landlords and tenants. With regards to tenant affordability of rent, new research from insurer, Royal London has revealed that 5.8 million working private renters do not have a plan B in place to […] View article >
Forewarned will be forearmed for landlords in 2018. There will be undoubtedly increasing regulation coming into force, as well as other factors that landlords should be aware of. Energy efficiency From April 1st, the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards will come into effect for properties in the private rented sector. This will make it illegal to […] View article >
This week, Communities Secretary Sajid Javid announced far reaching plans which will affect not just lettings agents, but also landlords. As ardent campaigners for regulation, Northwood is delighted at this news. Northwood Managing Director, Eric Walker, has been part of The Lettings Industry Council & The Fair Fees forum both of which have been lobbying for this […] View article >
The fall in the value of the pound against the Euro is making the U.K. property market increasingly attractive to expats. The pound has dropped by almost 15% against the euro over the past year and means that buy-to-let investors based abroad now get more for their money when buying property in Britain. The Skipton […] View article >
The financial landscape for landlords is changing due to new measures introduced by the Prudential Regulation Authority. The first roll-out was in January this year and the second tranche will be embedded by 1st October 2017. In essence, the changes will require lenders to ensure they have a fuller picture of the borrower, and a […] View article >
As we have been reporting over the past couple of years, landlords have been on Government’s radar with a number of new legislative changes that could impact future profitability. The most notorious of these has been the new tax regime Section 24, affecting sole trader landlords with mortgages, and the introduction of the 3% stamp […] View article >
With such economic turmoil – not to mention Brexit – on the horizon, landlords could rightly be concerned about the sustainability of rental demand across the U.K. However, at Northwood, we are confident that rental demand will continue, despite these issues. The first thing to remember is that we are a small island and many […] View article >
Here at Northwood, we are committed to professional standards within the private rented sector, and this is one of the reasons we became members of the SAFEagent Steering Committee, when SAFEagent launched 6 years ago. SAFEagent is a cross-industry and community initiative to signpost those lettings agents who have client money protection. This gives landlords […] View article >
The proposed tenant fee ban was headline news after the Chancellor’s shock announcement until it was usurped by the PM’s own announcement of a general election. This proposed ban will happen whatever the outcome of the election as all a mainstream parties support it. The Tories actually opposed Labour’s bid to impose a ban a few years […] View article >