BREAKING NEWS – top 5 stories 20/05/2021
3% OF HOUSEHOLDS OWN A SECOND PROPERTY IN THE UK
According to the most recent figures issued by the government, up to just over a year ago nearly 2.4M property owners had at least one other home. A large swathe of these were rented out, but interestingly enough over 770,000 homes were not.
Given the ongoing housing crisis, this is quite a large number of ‘holiday homes’ that are out there, sitting vacant for much of the year. This in an uptick of over 200,000 from a decade before. 39% are classed as a holiday home or weekend cottage, and 35% are classed as a long-term investment.
STUDY SHOWS THAT BAR IS NOW HIGHER FOR FIRST TIME BUYERS
Aldemore bank analysed the results of a survey into the fortunes of 1,000 first time buyers and how easily they could get mortgage finance. It showed that only 20% could get a mortgage, at their first attempt; as opposed to 50% being able to, pre-pandemic.
LABOUR SHADOW HOUSING SECRETARY SAYS HOMEOWNERS INTERESTS ARE KEY
The new labour shadow housing secretary has stated that in her opinion parliament is looking after donor ‘developers’ at the cost of homeowners facing poverty due to the cladding crisis, with unfit and unmortgageable properties.
Labour is calling for a hard deadline of 2022 for all cladding to sorted where it is found to be in breach of current building codes. She also wants those ‘responsible’ to be pursued. Interesting times ahead as Lucy Powell makes her voice heard in the house of commons.
BOOMIN ADDS STRATEGIC HIRE TO ITS CORE TEAM
Boomin strengthens its c-suite, with the addition of Richard Pennycock in a non-executive role, this is a strategic move as the ex-CEO of the Co-Op group has a pretty enlightened viewpoint on moving businesses forward away from analogue models.
Having been quoted as saying, ‘I have experienced first-hand the digital retail revolution and how important it is for every industry to adapt and change, to innovate, to break new ground and to engage and communicate with their customers in a number of different ways’.
HOW LONG DOES A LANDLORD HAVE TO FIX A PROBLEM IN A RENTAL?
We have been contacted by a tenant who has not had a working toilet for 3-months, and he asked us what the legal situation is, and can he force his landlord to undertake the remedial work. Any person who knows the answer please email me.
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