Bridging Finance News

A new legislation regarding Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO) has raised many concerns among landlords. According to the new legislation, landlords would be required to procure planning permission, if they purchase any property that they would be letting out for rent to three or more tenants.

According to a recent research conducted by PropertyEarth.net, 57% of the search for property is for three-bedroom houses, while 21% is for two-bedroom houses. Fifteen percent of the search is for four-bedroom houses.

Responding to this research data, Alan Ward, Chairman of the Residential Landlords Association, said, “First of all it is totally impractical and secondly, it is social engineering because planning law has never been about who can live where – it is always about the use of the building.”

The Residential Landlords Association is left with the feeling that its worst fear has been realised, when the new legislation was passed.

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Recently UK businessmen have been given the right to appeal to the banks if their loan application had been rejected. This has generated a lot of discussion among UK authorities.

Banks in the UK have been rejecting many bank loans for businesses, especially if they were for larger amounts. Businesses that had stellar credit records were also rejected. Thanks to this new development, many UK businessmen are obtaining loans after appealing to the banks again.

Authorities in the UK feel that it is a matter of time before people start questioning the government’s interference in obtaining loans that have been rejected.

With the election approaching, the present government is basically trying to woo the small, medium and large businessmen by giving them the right to appeal. But it looks like this might cause more problems for the government than offer a solution. The authorities fear that UK consumers too will soon start demanding the right to appeal to the banks if their loan is rejected.

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The recently released Industrial and Distribution report, by Lambert Smith Hampton (LSH), has revealed shortages of new built stock in large buildings in South England and mid size market across UK. According to the report, during the second half of 2010, there will be an increase in the speculative development.

Commenting about the report, Steve Williams, Head of LSH’s Industrial and Logistics Division, said: “In certain areas, speculative development will return earlier than expected but only on a restricted basis, and development completions are not expected to outstrip demand.”
The report also brought out the fact that during the second half of last year, industrial occupational market became stronger. This upped the total take up to an increase of 10% over the previous year.

Steve Williams further commented that though the industrial sector has shown some real improvements, there is an oversupply of second-hand space in the market. Along with the new space, there is totally an availability of 320m sq ft, an increase of 22% on the end 2008 level.

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The US IV Fund, which was Invesco’s first US Real Estate Fund, closed on February 18, with a starting capital of $120m. Totally four institutional investors invested in this fund, of which two lead investors were from MEAG Munich ERGO Asset Management (MEAG).

With this investment, Invesco Real Estate has a spending capacity of US$275m. The company is planning a second closing during the second half of 2010, so as to achieve the target volume of US$500m.

US IV Fund is one of the four tactical US Funds that have been floated to invest the European institutional capital into the US Real Estate market. As with the other three funds, US IV Funds will have 100% allocation in US, focusing on the traditional sectors of Real Estate including retail, office and industrial. With a three-year investment phase, the US IV Funds will have a planned lifespan of 10 years.

If you are considering a bridging loan, Masthaven is ideal for your financial needs, so get in touch.

The Coventry Building Society has reached an agreement with the Stroud and Swindon Building Society. Though there will be no payout for the members of either mutual society, they will benefit from the competitive rates of interest from the mortgage market and savings market. According to estimates, about two thirds of the 251,000 savings account will soon be transferred, which will improve the savings rate of the company.

The Stroud and Swindon Building Society members will, however, see an immediate improvement in the mortgage rates, since the standard variable rate will fall from 5.99% to 4.74%.

Coventry has the lowest variable mortgage rate in the market now; hence, the members of the smaller Stroud and Swindon Building Society will benefit from the improved rates. There will be more financial benefits to the members when the smaller society merges with Coventry Building Society that is not only large but also secure.

Masthaven is a competitive and quick way to meet your short term loan needs.

The Parliamentary Select Committee published a report called ‘Beyond Decent Homes’ in which it warned that the Department of Communities and Local Government’s (CLG) £40bn Decent Homes programme should target private as well as social housing in the future.

While examining CLG’s success in trying to raise 100% of UK’s social homes to a decent level, the committee noted that it has largely ignored homes for elderly people and people in the private sector, who get no benefits.
CLG is hopeful of support from the government, in the form of effective regulations, which could help it reach its target of providing decent homes by the end of 2010.

Phyllis Starkey, CLG’s Select Committee Member, said, “The Government is to be applauded for providing both the political will and public money with which local authorities and their partner organisations have been able to tackle that problem and pursue an ambitious ten-year goal of a decent home for all in the social sector by the end of 2010.”

If you are considering a bridging loan, Masthaven is ideal for your financial needs, so get in touch.

It has been reported that a prolific £7 million property fraud trial in Aberdeen has now collapsed.

Barclaycard has come out with a new reward scheme for its users, to encourage more credit card usage. This reward scheme is more widespread than any other credit card company.

Barclaycard has signed up more than 30,000 retailers in the United Kingdom for this reward scheme, including retailers such as Shell, Pizza Express and Flight Centre. Barclaycard users will accumulate reward points or reward money when they use the Barclay card at the specified retail outlets. These reward points can be later used to purchase items at a discounted rate. This reward scheme has heralded the entry Barclaycard into the small and medium markets, enabling more business and exposure to its retailers.

On the other hand, users should also check the interest rates and the hidden costs before applying for a card. Though reward points and reward money does seem like a good deal, it is important that the users look at the overall picture before deciding to apply for the card.

Masthaven is a competitive and quick way to meet your short term loan needs.