All Posts by Matthew Moody

£125 is the Magic Number for Property Investing!

By Matthew Moody | Property Investing

If you’ve seen the news today, then you’ll know that £125 is the magic number!

Take a look below for more information about the magic number for property investing.

Are You Passionate About Property Investing – Why The Hell Not?

By Matthew Moody | Property Investing

Here’s a big bold claim but you need to be both patient and passionate about property investing to make it work big for you!

Watching the last episode of “Big Brother” or “CSI” ain’t gonna make you a hot shot investor nor will it pay your bills.  So focus with laser-targeted precision, be patient and as Nike says “just do it”.

I recently watched a video from a guy in California who spent the last four years building up his WINE TV brand – now I know this has nothing to do with property but watch the video below from his key note presentation – its only 15 minutes and boy, is this guy committed!

I always figured myself to be passionate about this property investing game but Gary Vaynerchuk blows me away.  I really enjoyed this video and hope you do too.  Enjoy.

Book Review: George Soros – The New Paradigm For Financial Markets – The Credit Crisis of 2008 and What it Means

By Matthew Moody | Property Resources

The title of this book is rather a mouthful but nevertheless, its a very interesting book for property investors to learn more about where the financial crisis that we are currently experiencing came from, how he predicts it will unfold and how we can better prepare ourselves for the future.

In the midst of the most serious financial upheaval since the Great Depression, legendary financier George Soros explores the origins of the crisis and its implications for the future.   Soros breadth of experience in the financial markets is unrivalled and he places the current crisis in the context of decades of study of how individuals and institutions handle the boom and bust cycles that now dominate global economic activity.

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HMO Regulations Are Impacting Landlords Livelihoods

By Matthew Moody | HMO Regulations

In another ironic twist of fate, I see that yet another council is coming down hard on the evils of HMO’s and kicking up a fuss due to self-interest and lack of understanding about the benefits of HMO’s.

This time its Chester Council who have decided to refuse change of use status to two HMO’s which together would house 5 and 10 students.  One of the HMO’s was already functioning as a HMO and if this has had gone through a few years ago, it would have sailed through with no issues.

Today though – its a different matter.

No longer content with refusing permission for home-owners to modify their houses or developers to bring new accomodation into the area, they are now jumping on the bandwagon of the recent Communities and Government report on Houses of Multiple Occupation (see my blog post on this whole issue) and the planning rules around them.

Some of the comments that were passed by councillors who probably don’t own any rental property and do not truly understand the housing stock and impact upon the wider market included the following:

• The number of students made for a “very unbalanced community and a breakdown of community life”
• The application did not include any off-street parking and parking and traffic could be an issue
• “HMOs should not be allowed if family dwellings are lost”
• “We do not want the character of the area to be affected”
• “There are concerns the whole area could be on a downward spiral”

The comments are banal, unjustified and show a complete lack of understanding of the current societal needs for housing.

When we consider that in the original application, the planning team recommended it be passed for a number of good reasons, its interesting that the development control manager decided to refuse them based on a change in policy.  In the original proposal, the planners had decided to pass the applications based on:

• the neighbours had not objected;
• there were already student properties in the same street and surrounding areas;
• there was a need for student accomodation in the area;
• independent inspectors did not believe they would cause any unacceptable harm to the character of the locality, the amenity of neighbours or highway safety.

The time is coming when both central and local government need to understand and reflect upon the housing needs of today and move towards embracing these through a positive approach of consultation, regulation and policy.

• we do not have enough housing stock to meet demand
• its unlikely that 5 and 10 bedroom houses are going to be occupied by families in todays shrinking family circles
• students bring revenue and custom into the areas that they live in
• if families wanted to buy these houses, they would have done – of the two houses that were refused change of use, one had been a HMO for years – the other had been completely refurbished – a project 99% of families would run from quickly
• its highly unlikely that more than 50% of HMO tenants will have a car – and students even less likely
• community life is already dead in most towns and cities – if councillors and the government face up to this fact rather than using it as an excuse to deny landlords from providing highly demanded accomodation, then we can all move along and start thinking about how to re-ignite community from within, rather than from the sidelines

To read more of the original article, just click here

Who pays for the council tax in a HMO?

By Matthew Moody | HMOs

To me this is quite an easy one but to some people, its a bit muddy.

I read an interesting article recently in the excellent Nearly Legal blog on the joys of housing law.  Don’t immediately switch off because I mentioned the law but read on to find out a little more about whose responsibility it is to pay the council tax.

In the eyes of the council and housing law; the owner or tenant is responsible for the council tax.  In a HMO where you are renting rooms on an all-inclusive basis to your sharers, it is YOUR responsibility to pay the council tax.

If you are renting a HMO to students where they generally pay most of the bills – it is their responsibility to pay the council tax – except as students, they are one of the few exempt people to not have to pay the council tax.

In the blog posted on Nearly Legal, a tenant rented a property, claimed never to have moved in, then sub-let the property to four people (making it a HMO) but did not pay the council tax.   He claimed his tenancy ended after six months and that he had never lived there.

These two points are irrelavent because a tenancy automatically converts to a periodic tenancy after six months unless notice is given and it is the responsibility of the owner or the tenant to pay the council tax.

As this tenant was renting from the landlord, the responsibility passed over to the tenant even if he was not living there.  There were several other extenuating circumstances which the article goes into but it is worth remembering that you, as the landlord are responsible for paying the council tax.

Does A 2-storey HMO Require A HMO Licence?

By Matthew Moody | HMO Licence

This depends on the council but in general, you will not require a HMO licence unless the council has applied for selective licencing.

So, to err on the side of caution when buying a 2-storey HMO, make sure you ring your local housing officers to enquire about the HMO licence requirements in your area and then follow their instructions.

At the very least, ensure that you have a fire alarm system, fire extinquishers and blankets together with following the normal health and safety precautions.

If you have more than 7 sharing in a 2-storey HMO, remember that although you may not need a HMO licence, you may need to apply for planning permission for change of use from residential usage to a HMO.