Hi,

Hope all's well, the trees are going up and the shopping is being done and you’re ready to kick back for a relaxing weekend at home with the family. Nope? Me neither!

It’s been a busy start to December here at PS with many UK deals currently going through and our CEE Investors coming forward in there hundreds. We are currently helping new and existing members with their developments in Poland & the Czech Republic and have also had a great response from the email we put out earlier this week regards Slovakia and in particular Hungary, which we can now offer advice on through our partners in Budapest.

If you still have questions regards financing, fitting, renting or selling your Central or Eastern European Property, please get in touch with myself, Daniel at investments@propertysecrets.net or call our office on +44(0)115 985 3963.

Following an excellent response from the UK buy-to-let Investors over the last couple of days our latest issue concentrates on the UK Rental Industry. With our latest from lettings expert Tessa Shepperson, an excellent article from David Smith of the Sunday Times and details of our very own lettings agent currently looking after over 500 properties across the UK.

A good column from David Smith in the Sunday Times at the weekend

"In the darkest days of the credit crunch, one claim was made so regularly, you might have believed it. This was that buy-to-let was dead, a victim of a housing boom that had turned to bust. “Bye-bye, buy-to-let” was an irresistible headline. We now know reports of its death were exaggerated. Cluttons estate agency reports a 40% increase in demand for property — concentrated around the £500,000 mark — from professionals such as solicitors, accountants and doctors investing for the first time.

This will displease the moaners, but a functioning private rental sector is necessary for a healthy housing market. Private landlords took a battering and faced funding difficulties as severe as anybody. They appear to have weathered the storm." more

Dealing with tenants who default on rent - by Tessa Shepperson

Tenants failing to pay rent is a common problem but one which can have serious consequences for landlords, who will normally still have to pay outgoings on their properties. Below is a suggested procedure for you to use:

1. Deal with things promptly

If your tenant fails to pay, you should contact him within a few days asking why payment was not made and asking for him to contact you to discuss. If the non payment was a genuine oversight, this will probably result in immediate payment. If there is a more serious problem, for example if the tenant has lost his job, then contacting him promptly pointing out the consequences of non payment of rent may result in him giving payment of rent greater priority among his limited resources.

Many landlords will initially make contact personally, either by a visit or by telephone. However you should always follow this up by a letter. If no response is received, a second letter should be send a few weeks later.

If your tenant is in financial difficulties it may be necessary for you to reach some sort of agreement with him regarding his rent and repayment of the arrears. Or if the tenant is a good one you would be sorry to lose, you may also consider giving a small rent reduction. Again this should be done as soon as possible - the smaller the arrears figure the easier it will be for the tenant to pay it off. Any agreement should be confirmed in writing.

2. Serve formal notice when rent arrears reach two months/eight weeks worth

If your tenant has ignored your letters and has failed to pay for a second month, you need to be seriously thinking about eviction. This sounds harsh, but it takes several months to obtain vacant possession via the courts, and if the tenant is not paying rent this can result in a significant loss for you. To minimise the loss you need to start the process as soon as possible.

The fact that you have served a formal notice may also wake the tenant up to the fact that he is likely to lose his home, and make him more likely to do something about it.

The significance of the rent being in arrears of two months/eight weeks or more is that when rent arrears reach this level you can take advantage of the mandatory rent arrears ground for possession. This provides that if at two significant times, (1) when the possession notice is served and (2) at the date of the court hearing, the tenant is in arrears of rent of two months/eight weeks or more (and you are able to prove this) then the Judge will not be able to refuse you an order for possession. Note that the notice must be in the proper form and contain certain prescribed wording or it will be invalid. more

Calling all UK Landlords!

Hi,

Do you have a property to let in Leeds, Stoke on Trent, County Durham, South Wales, Horsham and Milton Keynes? As a landlord with over 80 properties, I know the importance of having a good letting agent on board!

• We now manage over 500 properties across our various shop fronts and offices here and can provide:
• Free tenant finding for all LL during month of Dec / Jan
• Unique software which allows you the landlord to check your rent account 24/7 from anywhere as long as you have internet access!
• Your own dedicated Client Manager - if you are sick of getting passed from pillar to post with your current Letting Agent then come to Acorn Residential Lettings!
• Need to check if there are any outstanding repairs on your property....with our own unique software you can check for yourself 24/7 ....all you need is internet access
• Tenant vetting procedures which are second to none!

To find out more, and work with a professional letting agency, run by landlords, get in contact today on 0115 985 3963 or email us at service@propertysecrets.net and we can give you full details!

Regards

Mark Ryder

We also have some cracking deals with plenty of UK distressed property coming in all the time. We have stuff on offer up and down the country and can talk through or send you details of these great offers. Call or Email us for details.

For any further information on what you have read in this or any other recent newsletter, please get in touch with me direct at investments@propertysecrets.net or call +44(0)115 985 3963.

Enjoy the Weekend

Daniel Peacock (Property Secrets IT & Portfolio Manager).