Latest in LettingsIssue 9
The best laid plans of mice and men....
We can all get a wry smile of amusement when high profile well planned occasions do not entirely work out the way that was intended!
On 5th February the British Property Federation (BPF) held their annual Residential Conference under the title of "The Future of the Professional Rented Sector".
The “Professional Rented Sector” is BPF speak for the large financial institutions that are always about to invest in the Private Rented Sector (PRS) but never actually arrive in significant numbers of either institutions, funds invested, or properties available to let.
All of the great and good were there, Allsops, ARIM, Darrington, the leading firms of commercial surveyors trying to get involved in a meaningful way in the sector. Unite – the student accommodation investors were present in strength together with advisers, consultants, bankers and mortgage lenders.
Adam Sampson, Chief Executive, of Shelter surprised everyone by praising the contribution made by the PRS to housing those millions of families who cannot or do not wish to buy their own homes. He did not rant but spoke earnestly about the opportunities for co-operation with private landlords, large and small.
There was a rant provided by a journalist who obviously believed that ‘Rachman’ was alive and well and that every rented property was a dank basement left unrepaired and tenants who complained were evicted and put literally on the street. He lost his audience early on as a tide of disagreeable mutterings from the auditorium drove him from the lectern in mid-rant.
There was a rant provided by a journalist who obviously believed that ‘Rachman’ was alive and well and that every rented property was a dank basement left unrepaired and tenants who complained were evicted and put literally on the street. He lost his audience early on as a tide of disagreeable mutterings from the auditorium drove him from the lectern in mid-rant.
“No institution” he said “could expect to match the quality of tenant satisfaction, length of tenancy and modest cost base of this new breed of private landlords”
There are superb opportunities for landlords and those letting agents who are willing to support them when they begin to invest and as they build substantial portfolios in years to come.