London luxury homes – rental up front.
Such is the attraction of living in London that wealthy tenants are paying up to £250,000 rent and deposit upfront to secure some of London’s most luxurious homes, as rich as they may be in their own countries overseas renters need to prove their finances, documents from abroad have no validity to UK landlords or agents who wish to check credit ratings, these high end renters therefore have no alternative than pay in advance, as much as a year in some cases.
Many of these overseas buyers would have been looking to buy but with Stamp Duty reforms and pre-election mansion tax concerns buyers have turned into renters, rental property at some of London’s most popular addresses can attract multiple bids, to help secure the bid rent in advance is offered, it is being reported that the number of bids coming in on some of these London homes in election year are as high as six or seven.
The wealthy and influential from Russia, China and Nigeria are among those reportedly now favouring London’s high end rental market, even with the devaluation of the ruble it does not affect the flow of wealthy Russians to the UK.