Walsall News

Is it time to jump ship for the Walsall Landlord? A Summary of the Rental Reform White Paper

Head of Juicing @Ashmore Lettings & Sales Ltd Walsall Property Market , , , , ,
Is it time to jump ship for the Walsall Landlord? A Summary of the Rental Reform White Paper

In recent weeks I have been approached by many Walsall Landlords concerned about the impending changes proposed by the Government to reform the property rental market. In this article I will summarise the proposed changes and share my thoughts.

In June, the Government introduced a White Paper called “A Fairer Rented Private Sector”. It proposes the greatest changes to residential lettings law for 30 years. It talks about striking a balance between the need for tenants to live without fear of eviction but balanced against the need for landlords to recover possession of their properties…

The headline from the White Paper is that the Section 21 procedure, the so called “no fault eviction,” will be abolished…

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Why Does it Take 120 Days to Get the Keys When You Buy a Walsall House?

Head of Juicing @Ashmore Lettings & Sales Ltd Walsall Property Market , , , , , ,
Why Does it Take 120 Days to Get the Keys When You Buy a Walsall House?

Nationally, the average length of time it takes from agreeing the sale of a property to the keys being handed over is 111 days (down from 117 days last year), yet in Walsall, we are above the national average at 120 days.

So why does it take just over 17 weeks, when all that is required is the lawyers to look at some paperwork and get a mortgage? Also, what can Walsall homebuyers and sellers do to speed this up?

  • 1,215 properties have sold in the Walsall area in the last 12 months (Detached 274, Semi-Detached 451, Terraced 385, Flats 105).
  • It only takes 36 days to sell a Walsall home, so why does it take 120 days from the sold board going up to the buyer getting the keys?
  • With a shortage of solicitors and a sub-standard conveyancing system, this article discusses what Walsall house sellers (and buyers) can do to speed up the house buying process.

The legal process to buy and sell a UK property is called conveyancing. The conveyancing system itself hasn’t really changed in hundreds of years. When the housing market was reopened after the first lockdown in the spring of 2020, the property market returned with a bang, helped on with the stamp duty holiday.

In 2021, the number of properties selling in Walsall in some months went up massively, e.g., by 65% in March 2021 and by 96% in June 2021. Many conveyancers and solicitors had to sort the legal paperwork out for upwards of 70 to 90 properties each at any one time.

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The Number of Days it takes to Sell my Walsall Home is…?

Head of Juicing @Ashmore Lettings & Sales Ltd Walsall Property Market , , , , , , ,
The Number of Days it takes to Sell my Walsall Home is…?

The Number of Days it takes to Sell my Walsall Home is…?

The past 15-17 months has been an interesting time in the Walsall property market without question. I can only speak for myself but many of my fellow professionals, clients and associates will attest to the feeling of being on a rollercoaster ride. With that being said, often I am asked the same question…how long is the average time it takes to sell my Walsall home? Well…     

…with 213,120 UK house buyers and 58,580 UK tenants moving home in September, the time has been manic for many people. This means that some Walsall homeowners are asking if they should be staying put? Or, should they wait for the best home to come onto the market before putting their home up for sale or find a buyer but be unable to find a property – it’s all rather confusing.

Then we have some Walsall landlords who are asking themselves if they should buy another property investment and some even wondering if they should sell and cash in on the boom.

Finally, with 95% mortgages back, first-time buyers are asking if they should look to take the plunge and buy their first home or wait.

In this article, I hope I can help you with the decisions you might want to make and to navigate this unusual post lockdown housing market. Let me start with some stats to show you what is happening at the moment in Walsall.

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Are we heading for a House Price Crash in Walsall?

Head of Juicing @Ashmore Lettings & Sales Ltd Walsall Property Market , , , , , , ,

Are we heading for a House Price Crash in Walsall?

Walsall house prices rose by 2.7% last month, according to the Land Registry. This means the annual rate of house price growth in Walsall has increased from 3.9% last year to 19.8% this year.  That is a whopping increase of 15.9%!!

Looking at the national figures, many people were concerned the UK property market was overheating as spring saw annual growth of 9.9%, the highest rate of house price growth documented since June 2007 when national house prices were rising by 10.8% p.a.

It was only a matter of a few months later the Credit Crunch hit, and the average value of a UK home plummeted from £190,032 to £154,452 in 18 months, a drop of 18.7%.

Government economic measures such as the Furlough Scheme and the Stamp Duty Holiday have so far shielded the Walsall property market from the worst economic recession since 1709.

So, the question is, can this growth in Walsall house prices continue, or is this the start of a house price crash?

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Unique Walsall Buy To Let Opportunity – Yields 10.5%-10.75%

Head of Juicing @Ashmore Lettings & Sales Ltd Walsall Buy to Let Property Deals , , , , , ,
Jerome Chambers, Walsall - 19 Bed HMO
Jerome Chambers, Walsall – 19 Bed HMO

My Walsall BTL deal of the week is a little different this week. It certainly isn’t for the faint hearted or newbie landlord with the asking price in the region of £1m (£1,000,000.00)! I thought it was worth a mention on the Blog as it’s different to the usual type of stock we see and this type of property doesn’t come along very often.

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Walsall’s ‘Trapped Landlords’

Head of Juicing @Ashmore Lettings & Sales Ltd Walsall Property Market , , , , , ,
Walsall’s ‘Trapped Landlord’

Since going into lockdown in March, the Government proclaimed a ban on tenant evictions, pledging that no tenant in a private rented home, who had lost their wages due to Covid-19 would be kicked out of their private rented home until the late summer. Fast forward to August and the press were being briefed as late as Wednesday 19th August that this freeze in evictions in England and Wales would cease on the 23rd August. That was until just after 4pm Friday 21st August when Mr Jenrick, the Housing Minister, announced that the eviction ban would be extended for a further four weeks and buy to let landlords must also now give their tenants six months notice to gain possession.

Cue crocodile tears for all the 4,291 Walsall landlords 

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Walsall Evictions Ban Update: August 2020

Head of Juicing @Ashmore Lettings & Sales Ltd Walsall Property Market , , , , , , ,

 

Walsall Evictions Ban Update - August 2020
Walsall Evictions Ban Update – August 2020

My Blog reading friends may be aware of the ‘eviction ban’ introduced at the start of the pandemic.  The good news is this is being lifted on the 23rd August 2020.

Our government recently announced changes to the eviction processes in England and Wales.  These temporary measures aim to help the courts cope with the influx of possession proceedings once the ‘eviction ban’ is lifted.

The changes include claimants needing to issue a “reactivation notice” to resume halted evictions and will be effective until March 28th, 2021.

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Electrical testing law change for Walsall Landlords

Head of Juicing @Ashmore Lettings & Sales Ltd Walsall Property Market , , , , ,

Electrical testing law change for Walsall Landlords
Electrical testing law change for Walsall Landlords

As if Walsall landlords and landlords across the country don’t have enough to contend with, new rules on Electrical Inspection Condition Reports (EICR) has kicked in from this month.

In my day job at Ashmore Lettings & Sales, historically we have always advised landlords to conduct this check to obtain a condition report.  Therefore, most of our clients are already ahead of the game.  I have to admit, explaining this to some landlords has been an uphill battle especially, when my colleagues in the industry dissuaded many Walsall landlords to not obtain an EICR.

Here’s an overview of the changes:

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Walsall’s ‘Lockdown’ Landlord

Head of Juicing @Ashmore Lettings & Sales Ltd Walsall Property Market , , , , , , , ,

Walsall’s ‘Lockdown’ Landlord

“So where is the Walsall property market heading?”. “How will a recession affect the market?”. Just a couple of common questions I’ve been fielding recently. As usual, for the benefit of my Blog reading friends, here are my thoughts…

There are plenty of investors who think nothing of legally committing to buying a property ‘off plan’ before it’s built – yet over the last few weeks, it has become the norm in the resale (second-hand) Walsall property market and they have now stolen a march and bagged some property bargains.

Normally, the physical viewing is the first step of the resale house buying process … yet now it’s becoming the ‘new normal’ that some Walsall agents are carrying out semi-professional video viewings or video tours. Even homeowners are getting in on the act and managing a Facetime or Zoom video viewing by walking around their house with their mobile phone.

On the 13th May 2020 the Government announced that the Estate & Letting Agency industry could reopen meaning people could view houses, visit agents and move home be they tenants, buyers, landlords or home sellers. This is all subject to general and specific social distancing rules, specific hygiene regulations and suitable PPE being used.

So what has been happening in the last few weeks in the Walsall property market?

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Covid-19 (Coronavirus): Walsall Landlord & Tenant Information

Head of Juicing @Ashmore Lettings & Sales Ltd Walsall Property Market , , , , , , , ,

Covid-19 Coronavirus – Walsall Landlord and Tenant Information

 

There is no doubt we are living in challenging times.  Until recently I thought, the main talking points this April would be around changes to EPCs and EICRs – but things are a little different now.

Walsall Landlords and tenants have a lot of questions about what all of this means for them and what support will be available during the coronavirus pandemic if they need it.

Over the past couple of weeks information/ announcements have been coming through thick and fast.  To help you as best as possible I’ve put together some of the primary information issued by the government for the private rental sector. We’re all aware that things are changing almost daily, and we’re keeping a close eye on the news as the government continues to issue further guidance and support.  The information I have to date is as of 31/03/2020.

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