Letting Agent in Hounslow : Market Overview - October 2016

The last two months have seen the lettings market in Hounslow take a slightly unexpected slump in rents. Being a letting agent in Hounslow since 2005 we have seen and experienced the ups and downs of the letting market here in Hounslow. In the last couple of months we have seen rents negotiated down by as much as 15% in the last 2 months. Local Landlords are worried that this is some sort of recession in the rental market as we had a strong growth over the last few years Our assessment of the current situation is that it's a short-term downturn which will pick up. With the increase of first time buyers and first time buyer dominating the sales market against the buy to let investors; this simply means more tenants are now becoming Homeowners. Buy to let landlords are having a bit of a struggle investing with the increase of stamp duty as well as the prospects of legal and taxation complications in which will affect landlords in the UK which will come in to force from next year. We are also seeing many landlords selling their investments to avoid such implications. However, on the upside, since the latest news about Brexit and the potential time of exit becoming closer to being agreed; over the last couple of weeks we have been hearing from some prospective buyers that they are sitting tight to wait and see which way the sales market will go with the news of Brexit still looming over our heads. So, the demand for Lettings will still be there and will increase in the coming months in our opinion. Our advice for Landlords is; The lettings market is not as strong as 4 months ago. You may see offers come in lower than what your previous tenant/s was paying. Our advice is to negotiate the highest or best and final offers you can get from a prospective tenant and then accept the offer subject to in-depth referencing. On the renewal, the market should be on the up and you can then increase the rent accordingly. Remember its always better to have some rent coming in instead of no rent. Keep your void periods to a minimum. - Empty properties cost you money - Be careful when pushing for the high rents, the last thing you want is to push the prospective tenant to far financially to the point they are forced to either sub-let or default in payments. When either of this happens, you open yourself up to potentially a costly liability. For more information on the lettings market in Hounslow and how we can assist in keeping your investment working for you please feel free to call in to our office on 02085778855 and speak to our experienced members of staff.

Written by Manraj Bisran

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Fees

Letting Fee Information

Refundable Holding deposit - Capped at 1 weeks rent

Security Deposit - Capped at 5 weeks rent for annual rental under £50,000, or 6 weeks rent for annual rental over £50,000

Rent - The agreed monthly rent

Changes to tenancy - Capped at £50 inc VAT

Early termination charge - Not exceeding the landlord’s financial losses

Late payment of rent- Interest of 3% above BoE base rate for each day the rent is late, once it is 14 days overdue

Replacement keys - Reasonable costs or give the tenant the option to purchase themselves

Utilities, council tax, communication services, TV Licence etc - Tenants own responsibility unless otherwise stated in contract

Fees may be charged on a per person or per property basis, please call us on 020 8577 8855