Come and hear me speak . . .

The British Property Federation (BPF), Property Week and LD Events have all asked me to speak at events they have planned in February and March.

It is great being involved in these events, with these organisations. They are an opportunity for people to share views and learn from each other.

 

15th February –  BPF’s “Roaring Trade? Retail occupancy rates six months on.” Essentially the breakfast seminar is looking at current occupancy rates in retail. The panel is:

Matthew Hopkinson, Director of the Local Data Company

Tim Danaher, Editor, Retail Week

Barry Gilbertson, Partner, PwC

Hugh Pym, Chief Economics Correspondent, BBC

Mike Riley, Joint Chief Executive Officer, Local Shopping REIT

Neil Young, Chief Executive, Young Group

My role is to bring a residential perspective to retail occupancy. I often talk about the ’10 minute’ rule, where I believe residential property needs to be within 10 minutes of good transport, restaurants/bars and groceries. Property should not be looked at in isolation, the surrounding area is so important.

 

3rd March – LD Events Conference on “Where will the funding come from to unlock development?” This conference examines the availability of funding for residential development, who is lending and on what terms, the different funding options, and opportunities in the funding market. I have been asked to present on:

“Where is the Residential Investor Market, what can institutional and private investors offer to the market, what values will they invest at and where? The creativity required to make the deals and Joint Ventures happen.”

This is a lot to cover in twenty minutes!

Others speaking on the day are:

• Dominic Grace, Director, Head of Residential, Savills
• Scott Stuart, Regional Director for Real Estate, Santander Corporate Banking
• David Clark, Group Finance Director, Mount Anvil
• Rob Thomas, Senior Policy Adviser, Council of Mortgage Lenders
• Markus Reynolds, Structured Property Finance, Investec
• Rob Weaver, Head of Residential Funds, Invista Real Estate Investment Management
• Duncan Hughes, Managing Director, LRE Capital
• Robert Finch, Director, Sativa Finance
• Liz Peace CBE, Chief Executive, British Property Federation
• Chris Lacey, Executive Director, Head of Mixed Use and Funding, CB Richard Ellis
• Tom Nicholson, Group Special Projects Director, Galliford Try
• Jacob Kut, Director, GVA Grimley
• Neil Young, Chief Executive, Young Group
• William Newsom, Director and UK Head of Valuations, Savills
• Stephen Alston, Director, Generator Group

 

24th March – Property Week Conference on “Increasing returns for the housing sector“. The conference looks at how residential property management can improve returns from the Private Rented Sector. I have been asked to join the summary panel session at the end of the conference.

 

Any thoughts on what I should say would be welcome!

 

 

 

 

 

Property Management is valued by Landlords

The latest quarterly Young Index survey that we carry out at Young Group of residential investment sentiment focused upon property management. In a sector that is characterised by large numbers of ‘amateur’ landlords, it is encouraging to see that they appear to wholeheartedly value professional property management and indicate that they believe it results in higher rents, enhanced capital values, longer tenancies and encourages tenants to take better care of their rental property.

I thought you might like to see the property results: 

• 70% of landlords believe that tenants pay higher rent for properties that are professionally managed.
• 68% of landlords believe that average tenancies are longer for property that is professionally managed.
• 71% of landlords believe that tenants take better care of a property that is professionally managed.
• 67% of landlords believe that professional management of property enhances its capital value.
• 71% of landlords think that professional property management is money well spent.
• 75% of landlords would recommend professional property management.
• 61% of landlords questioned employ an agent to manage their property.
• 34% manage the property themselves and 5% of landlords’ properties are managed by a member of their family or a friend.
• Of those who self-manage their rental property, 87% enjoy doing so and 85% are motivated by the cost saving.

To see the full report:

 http://www.younggroup.co.uk/downloads/YoungIndexQ32010.pdf

 To see previous reports:

 http://www.younggroup.co.uk/research/youngindex.htm

Interesting results don’t you think?

Professional Inventories – an example of success

A guest blog – written by Yashi Pilgrim, Property Management Assistant – Young London

“Professional Inventories – Are they worth it?

Some landlords feel that the cost of instructing a professional inventory provider to compile an inventory and check-in report is not worth it and would rather draw up a list of items in the property themselves. It is to these landlords that I urge to rethink the benefits of having a professional inventory and check-in.

Landlords should only have to pay for the cost of an inventory for each property once. This itemises and describes in full detail the property fixtures, fittings and furnishings. Therefore, the inventory should not change much over tenancies unless of course the property goes from fully furnished to part or unfurnished from one tenancy to the next or has been refurbished/re-decorated.

Check-in reports detail the condition of the property, fixtures, fittings and furnishing on the date that the tenancy starts. Included is a schedule of condition which provides the landlord with a general overview of the condition of the property i.e. cleanliness, decorative condition etc. An inventory and check-in report are to be used should any dispute regarding the release of the deposit arise come the end of tenancy. It is essential that the inventory report is of good quality and that there are clear supporting photographs illustrating any listed defects or damages.

Here is a recent example of a tenancy deposit dispute that resulted in the landlord being awarded full costs of repair etc from the deposit; this will hopefully show why inventories are so important.

A tenant moved into a brand new development and occupied the property for eight months. I compiled a professional inventory along with a check-in report at the start of the tenancy. The tenant was present and signed the check-in report. Photographs were taken and clearly referenced throughout the report. At the check-out, the property was found in appalling condition – the property was extremely dirty and some fixtures and fittings had been damaged beyond economical repair. Quotes were obtained and presented to the tenant who disputed the costs and denied accountability to the damage that had been caused. As a result the case was sent to The Dispute Service who received a copy of the inventory, check-in report, check-out report and all supporting photographs. After the independent adjudicator had reviewed the case, the landlord was awarded the full disputed amount to cover the cost of the repairs and cleaning.

I trust that the above example will help put any qualms regarding the necessity of a professional inventory and check-in report into disrepute. Failing to have adequate proof of damage or neglect will result in landlords having to pay for repairs that should be covered by the tenant through their deposit.”

Thanks Yashi for the blog. I wanted to add that I was talking to a landlord yesterday who used to do his own inventories. When he started using Young London and looked through an inventory Yashi compiled he decided to pay for our inventory going forward as he realised how comprehensive they are.

Property hassles – what’s your ROTI?

ROTI – what’s that?

Return On Time Invested.

Time is such a scarce resource. Yes, we are living longer and longer, but ultimately our time is finite. So I often find myself reviewing what I am spending time on and analyse what my return is. Classic here is things like insurance renewals. Of course the insurance industry knows this, is it worth shopping around, for the time spent will I save much – also how frustrating will it be being kept on hold?

Property investment and property management are classics for analysing this. How many times will I look at an investment, spend time researching it, walk the streets and end up deciding the numbers do not work. However, in the long term I know it is worthwhile as I will find that gem. The problem for many investors – where property is not their full time occupation – they do not have the time to evaluate enough opportunities. Too often they will buy a property because they are bored of searching and think it looks ok.

In rentals, many landlords see the management fee as an unnecessary cost, and they can save themselves a few percent by doing it themselves. The spreadsheet shows savings of several hundred pounds, and you convince yourself it is the right thing to do. What this ignores is the experience that the landlord lacks, the time that will be required to deal with problems and the lack of a network of tradesman that the full time property manager will have built up. So when you look at your ROTI you usually find you have spent hours dealing with your tenant and often ended up spending more money to rectify the problem – not a good return.

Of course there are times where your ROTI will be favourable, but may be it is an age thing, when you find a good advisor keep hold of them – it will save you time (and money) in the long run.