Block Property Management in Cambridge

GREAT VALUES IN ESTATE MANAGEMENT

As one of the UK's leading providers of property management services, we look after residential, mixed-use and commercial developments direct from our office which is conveniently situated in Cambridge’s city centre. If you are a resident management company director, a property developer , a freeholder or an existing customer looking to recommend our services - please contact us for more information on our block property management and facilities management services.

Working with resident management companies:

When you buy an apartment - or sometimes a freehold house - within a development, there are common factors that need to be maintained. In an apartment block for example, the hallways need to be cleaned, a lift will need to be serviced and maybe the exterior or parts of the building will need to be repainted/maintained from time to time. In a housing development, garden areas will need to be maintained and in some cases security gates will require maintenance.
All of this will typically be documented in a lease (for an apartment) or TP1 (for a freehold house), and all of these obligations will need to be organised by someone. A maintenance plan will need to be developed, a budget will need to be prepared, funds need to be raised and various tradespeople need to be contracted and all managed in accordance with the lease and the law. This is the role of the estate manager or managing agent and this is where you hand over and rely on our expertise.

Working together with Property Developers

We work closely with property developers at each and every stage, and across every type of residential block, including those that incorporate freehold units and mixed-use developments. Our involvement can begin from the outset - well in advance of the planned handover.
By bringing us in at the early planning stages of your build, we can offer expert pre-instruction advice on design and construction issues that may affect the future management of the property, helping you to avoid situation before they ever occur.
We will create a comprehensive budget estimate and management proposal, liaise directly with solicitors as necessary and supply information packs to potential buyers where required. 
We will also work closely with sales teams to ensure their clients are aware of the services available and fully understand the annual service charge. We understand that every development is unique, so for a completely tailored mangement proposal, please give our team a call, We are here and ready to help. 

Protecting your property investment:

We understand that as a landlord you need a managing agent who will provide you with complete peace of mind; peace of mind that your property is being professionally managed and in good repair at all times, and that all legal and financial requirements are being met.
As property management specialists we are able to tailor our services according to your needs. We will look after the day to day issues as well as the long term ones, ensuring financial matters are in order and keeping you informed where ever and when ever is appropriate, keeping you up to speed without giving you the headache that comes with it.

only a 4.5% yield but an easy one?

Do you have a spare £300,000 and are you looking to invest it in something that will give you a decent return on your money with ease? If the answers to both questions are yes then this is the one for you?

This two bed flat for sale in The Beeches, Woodhead drive, central Cambridge is up for sale with Cheffins with a guide price of £295,000 and to be honest its ready to go! Just take a look at the pictures on Zoopla the property appears to be in mint condition and believe me its situated perfectly to capture a great professional tenant with a rental value of £1100pcm so it offers a minimum and pretty much immediate yield of 4.5%, all you need is a tenant.

So that leaves you £5000 - why did i then ask if you have £300,000 right? Well i thought you might like to use your spare £5000 to take yourself off to a nice caribbean destination where you can relax whilst we find you your brand new tenants, what are you waiting for? We will have your tenant fully referenced and moved in before you land back in the UK.

Business Rates to replace Council Tax for Houses in Multiple Occupation?

Good morning guys, I stumbled on this piece of future information on council tax this morning, thanks to Council Tax Guy on Twitter and thought my current and future HMO landlords may find the views interesting? I'd be interested to hear your views? And as an HMO specialist I may be able to help further.

A lot has been made about recent calls for landlords to be treat as businesses for the purpose of House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) property rentals but how might it affect you as landlords?

The changes are only a suggestion at present but with the localisation of Business Rates it may well be that changes are made to allow the local authorities to raise and keep more monies.
Current situation regarding Council Tax and Business Rates

All residential properties are currently banded for Council Tax purposes , rather than Business Rates – this includes HMO’s. By being banded for Council Tax purposes the property is entitled to any discounts or exemptions which apply.

The average Band D Council Tax band within England for the 2016/17 year is £1,530 – With Cambridge band D coming out at £1,597.54 - this means that any Council Tax charge due for a landlord is restricted to no more than £30 per week (on average) £30.72 in Cambridge.

A large proportion of HMO’s are student accommodation and as such the property is subject to a Class N exemption. This currently results in no Council Tax being due for the period the students are in occupation - this of course means that you can only have students in these HMO's - In Cambridge I am currently 50/50 filling my HMO's with students and professional workers and have to decide which HMO is suited for which as obviously I cannot put 1 professional worker in with 5 students as that one would be responsible for paying the entire council tax (they do get a 25% reduction).
How would the suggested changes affect property ?

Business Rates are (in general) based on the open market rental value of a property. Residential property rental rates are not directly comparable however the average rent for a room in a HMO is £77 per week – for a 4 bed property this is roughly rent £16,000 per annum. - ok so these figures are well of for Cambridge as my average room is £125 per week meaning the average 4 bed property is £24,000 which is some significant difference but you get the gist.

Small Business Rates Relief (SBRR) currently exempts some smaller properties from Business Rates. From April 2017 a business property with a rateable value of less than £12,000 will receive full rates relief. Above this figure the amount will be tapered on the next £3,000 however properties above £16,000 will not be eligible. This means that SBRR would not apply to the average HMO property. It should also be noted that a landlord with more than one property would likely not be eligible for SBRR regardless of the value of those properties.

A property worth £16,000 would be assessed using the standard multiplier – this has not yet been confirmed for 2017/18 however it would not be expected to be too dissimilar to the current rate of 49.7p This would incur business rates of £7,900 per annum or £152 per week – the equivalent of 2 rooms worth of rent each week or an average increase of £38 per week per tenant in rent, considerably more for Cambridge and lets remember that students only receive a capped amount and are indeed our future?
Conclusion

If Business Rates was applied in its current format, without any adjustments, then it’s clear that landlords would be forced to up rents on a property. Significant extra charges would have to be recouped. Many legislative changes would be required and the figures should be a worst case scenario but only time will tell as to what the situation may be.
My Concern

If Business Rates are applied and on top of that tenant fees are abolished - thus both causing rental increases then how is the average Joe going to be able to afford to rent in this beautiful city? I know 100% this will not effect properties from being occupied as I have a massive back log of tenants ready to fill properties however I firmly believe in offering the right rates!
HMO Advice?

I'm here to help - should you need free advice or indeed would like to let your property through somebody that knows, please do feel free to get in touch. Lets grab a coffee and see where I can help you next ;-)