Property investors buying homes ‘off plan’ have new safeguards for their cash under the recently released Consumer Code for Home Builders.

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All the information landlords need to meet their legal duties on domestic gas is now available in one place with the launch of a new website.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has launched the new microsite as a one-stop-shop to help landlords understand what they should be doing to keep tenants safe in any properties they let.

The website breaks down the information into easy to use sections including repair and maintenance, annual gas safety checks and record keeping as well as giving answers to frequently asked questions.

There are over 6 million rental properties in the UK and an estimated 14 million people living in them.

In 2008/09 15 people died from carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning associated with domestic gas appliances, due mainly to gas appliances having been badly fitted or poorly serviced.

HSE and Local Authorities enforce the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 in both domestic and commercial premises which include statutory obligations on landlords to maintain gas appliances that they own.

By law, all landlords are required to arrange for a Gas Safe registered engineer to check all gas appliances and flues within 12 months of being installed and then at least every twelve months. They are also required to complete any necessary maintenance and repairs of gas appliances, flues and pipework.

Peter Brown HSE Head of Work Environment, Radiation and Gas Division said: “Tenants should quite rightly expect that their landlords are taking all necessary steps to ensure that gas appliances are safe. Though there are legal duties on landlords, meeting them shouldn’t be an onerous task. The new website provides all the information landlords need in one place.”

Recently an Oxfordshire landlord was prosecuted and fined £8000 for failing to ensure gas appliances in his rental property were safe and fit for purpose. Another case saw a Cambridgeshire landlord who failed to manage his duties and produced false gas safety records jailed for 16 months.

Visit the new website at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/gas/landlords

Property investors faced with repossession or settling an off plan purchase at a loss can look to some recent court cases against valuers as a way of setting off some of their investment.

More than 2,000 cases claiming negligence against valuers overvaluing off plan and new build properties are currently waiting to go to court, as revealed in Property Investment Expert.

Many investors – like a group involved with buying properties at The Cube, in Birmingham city centre – face financial problems because rents calculated by valuers do not stack up or valuations seem wildly off the mark.

Lender repossessing investment properties and then selling them on at a loss through auctions or estate agents are claiming negligent mortgage valuations led them to give a borrower more funds than a property was worth at the time a mortgage was offered.

So far, borrowers have not thought through that the same argument may apply to them.

For instance, if a case can be put before a court that proves in probability that that the valuation was incorrect and the valuation was used by the investor as the basis of their application for finance, then it may be possible to claim compensation from the valuer.

An investor may also be able to put forward a claim for financial loss in respect of repossession as well.

Another argument is that the borrower may have gone ahead and taken on enhanced debt in the form of a larger mortgage based on the rental assessment.

Of course, valuers will claim that the valuation was not negligent and the lending or borrowing decision was down to the mortgage firm and the investor.

Valuers will no doubt also claim that they had no duty of care to the borrower but only to the lender – but if the borrower carried out their own valuation this defence does not hold water.

In many cases, valuers do not have the right to decide whether to take the case to court or not – their professional indemnity insurers dictate that.

The insurer also often takes a business view and may offer to pay out on a claim without going to court because it’s cheaper to offer a few thousand pounds in settlement than running the risk of losing at court and having to pay steep legal costs as well.

All these points need to be argued by barristers, but the point is no one is speaking out on behalf of property investors who are in financial difficulties who may be unaware they have a possibility of legal redress.

After all, valuers and mortgage lenders made big profits out of the buy to let bubble, so it only seems fair they are held responsible for their actions as well.

Thousands of cases are in the court pipelines against property valuers accused of getting the prices wrong when telling mortgage lenders how much off plan and new build properties were worth.

Banks and building societies took 25 cases before the High Court in the past 12 months – seemingly not many until compared with just a single case heard in the previous five years.

Many valuation firms are thought to be in financial problems as a result of action from lenders who felt properties were overvalued.

Some are thought to be near collapse with the partners facing ruin.

Borrowers have walked away from loan deals or faced repossession, leaving lenders to sell their property on at a significant loss as house prices plummeted in the recession.

David Dalby, director of the RICS Residential Professional Group, has told the media that: “A large number of potential claims are being notified to our members, unsupported by evidence of negligence, but where the lender has taken possession and has suffered a loss.”

Mr Dalby indicated that more than 2,000 claims against valuers are waiting to go before the courts.

Many of the valuations involved valuing off-plan developments of flats in city centres up and down the country where developers offered gift deposits and other incentives like carpets and furnishings that made valuing the property complicated.

The Financial Services Authority and courts are also dealing with mortgage fraud cases valued at millions relating to off plan and new build purchases.

Mortgage lenders are thought to be chasing valuers for compensation as many are covered by professional indemnity insurance that settle claims out of court.

Police are investigating the financial affairs of a company that managed the York and Hull offices of the nationwide franchise firm Belvoir Lettings.

The two offices were closed following an internal audit and Belvoir has confirmed that documents and files are being passed to the police after irregularities were spotted in client accounts and office procedures.

The offices were run under franchise agreements with Andrew Graham and Hamlyn Investments Ltd that were terminated with ‘immediate affect’.

“This action was deemed necessary after Belvoir identified several irregularities in the way that these offices were conducting their client accounts and other general office procedures, and Mr Graham’s rejection of Belvoir’s offer to provide specialist support to both offices, via the introduction of a highly trained and experienced manager from the group’s central office,” said a Belvoir spokesman.

“Although Mr Graham initially accepted this offer, he then went on to instruct the Official Receiver to commence liquidation proceedings for both businesses.

“Following the termination of its franchise agreements, Belvoir secured access to the Hull and York offices and retrieved all client files and keys in order to contact landlords and tenants and advise them of the situation and offer assistance in going forwards.

“Belvoir also reported the matter to Humberside Police and set up a helpline for the support of any landlords or tenants who require on-going management of their property, via the Belvoir national central office in Grantham.”

Belvoir has about 140 franchised letting agents in the UK.

The sale of rental investment properties once owned by the failed buy to let business run by celebrity Grant Bovey are expected to raise £100 million.

The deal was a joint venture between Bovey and the bank HBOS operating as Veritas Investments and other companies.

Administrators were appointed in 2008, taking on some parts of the failed business while the bank retained others.

Subsequently, Bovey was declared bankrupt. The 700 properties are scattered across the country.

Administrators hoped to sell the portfolio as a going concern by sitting on the properties until prices increased, but the bank feels that breaking up the estate may bring more with the current state of the property market as prices are unlikely to increase significantly in the short term.

Agents Frank Knight say two potential buyers are interested in some of the properties in two deals.

One relates to a dozen plush apartments in a block at Cheyne Walk in Chelsea tagged at about £35 million.

Reportedly, the bank expects to make £100 million from the sale – still well short of the initial purchase prices as the properties were bought at the height of the property bubble.

This is an interesting indicator for other property investors with buy to let portfolios in financial trouble.

The Bank of England has also reported that mortgage lenders have stated they expect the property market to stay flat for some months and that mortgage availability and prices are unlikely to change.

House buyers over 55 snapping up investment properties as retirement investments are stopping younger first time buyers stepping on to the housing ladder, says a new survey.

The number of over 55s planning on taking out a mortgage for the first time has quadrupled from 21,000 in February 1999 to 85,000 in February 2010.

First-time buyer numbers have dropped below 350,000 for the first time in two decades, making home ownership a distant prospect for millions.

Exclusive new figures from GfK Financial reveal that 347,000 people took out a mortgage for the very first time in the last year, 100,000 fewer than the previous low of 467,000 in February 1993. This compares with a high of more than 700,000 in 2004/5 and an average of 561,000.

The data, from GfK’s Financial Research Survey (FRS), reveals the serious effect that tightening credit conditions, static incomes and property under-supply have had on young people’s prospects for home ownership.

More than 800,000 people under 30 would like to get onto the property ladder this year, but the GfK Financial analysis suggests that less than half will actually make it.

Lack of cash to fund a deposit is at the root of this problem, as fewer than one in six hold sufficient funds to make the necessary down-payment. This shortfall makes it unlikely that the increased stamp duty allowance will have any effect on young people’s prospects for home ownership.

Not only are first-time buyer numbers overall on the decline, but an increasing proportion of first-time mortgages are being granted to the over-50s (5), as baby-boomers buy up properties for children who are ‘locked out’ of the housing market.

This trend is mirrored in the age profile of aspiring first-time buyers, which has edged up as new mortgage approvals decline.

GfK Financial Director Ben Steer said: “The FRS tells a story that is keenly understood by millions of young people across the country. Increased prudence on the part of lenders has priced many out of the housing market – the challenge for these financial providers is to create products which will assist young people, without creating the conditions that sparked the crisis in the first place.”

The Financial Research Survey is the largest and longest running survey of its kind, interviewing 60,000 consumers every year.

Click here for ‘Property is a pension for a generation’

Making the headlines with made-up news is easy if you know how to put a spin on the facts and can write a good headline.

One of the most popular spin tactics is the survey – and that’s why Property Investment Expert is selective about the surveys included in our news service.

Here’s a quick guide on creating your own news to publicise your firm:

• Phone a sample of your customer database and ask them a ‘closed’ question that generally invites a yes or no answer.
• Something like “Do you believe the buy to let sector ought to be regulated?”
• Of course, the question invites degrees of response, from  ‘no’ through maybe, some sectors like HMOs to ‘yes’.
• A closed question prevents the middle ground answers and leads to a 90% of landlords saying ‘no’ to regulation.
• Next step is to write a press release saying:  “90% of landlords are against regulation says a survey by ABC organisation.” Of course, 90% of landlords are not against regulation – only 90% of those contacted by our ABC organisation asked a closed question said that.

• Now send the press release out to a list of news aggregators, blogs and web sites that post content for free.

The result is several web sites posting your press release as ‘news’ because they are always looking for free content and do not employ professional writers.

That’s why Property Investment Expert is choosy about the news. As professional journalists, we know the tricks and how firms who need to sell try to gain free publicity to promote their brand.

Yes we do report surveys – but generally only those from independent or official sources.

If you go through the supposed ‘news’ on property investor web sites, look at how much relies on surveys by companies – insurance firms, property selling companies and online letting agencies are a prime example.

Next time you read a survey, ask yourself why is the firm publishing this, what do they stand to gain and are the statistics representative of what’s really going on?

Property prices could suffer from a flood of homes coming on to the market as more than half of everyone aged between 45 and 65 years old plan to fund their retirement from property income.

About 25% expect part of their retirement income to come from downsizing their property, despite recent figures showing that the weekly amount raised by doing so has fallen by a fifth in the past year.

Equity release is a hope for 10% while another 10% plan to take income from letting a buy to let or second home.

Some (5%) propose to sell a second home to pay for their retirement

“The property market could witness a glut of properties coming onto the market in the next 10 to 15 years, corresponding with a massive hunt for cheaper rural houses,” said David Thompson, managing director of wealth investments and distribution at pension and investment firm AXA, who conducted the survey.

“This will have a significant impact on the UK housing market.”

The research also uncovered a trend of lifestyle changes in retirement, with around one in three people saying they planned on moving home, the majority of which said they would seek a house in the countryside, by the sea or abroad.

For all the talk of the recession affecting consumers’ plans, almost three quarters (73%) said they had no plans to delay their retirement because of the downturn.