London rents at an all time high
There has never been a better time to let property in London. Average London rents have broken through the £1,000 a month barrier for the first time.
They rose by 6.9 per cent to £1,006 in the year to this month as tenants locked out of the mortgage market scrambled to secure a place to live.
David Newnes, estate agency managing director of LSL Property Services, said: “Tenant demand continues to reach higher peaks - and there isn’t enough rental property coming onto the market to match it. It’s not unheard of for rental properties to be let within a day of coming onto the market.
“There’s no sign of a let-up. Despite several new deals on the market, securing a big enough mortgage remains a tall order for the average buyer.”
In some cases, gazumping and sealed bids - normally limited to home purchases - are occurring.
Agents say they have also see a sharp rise in the number of corporate tenants looking for accommodation in central London for senior executives.
Amelia Greene, residential lettings partner at Cluttons, said it had recently let a 6,500 square foot house in Onslow Gardens in South Kensington for almost £10,000 a week.
At the other end of the scale, tenants on housing benefit will have caps on their claims imposed next April forcing an estimated 82,000 London households to move as they will no longer be able to afford the rent, according to London Councils.
Housing charity Shelter said 22 per cent of 18- 34-year-olds have had to move back in or continue living with their parents because they can’t afford to rent or buy a home.
Gazumping…problem solved
Gazumping happens when a seller who has already accepted one buyer’s offer then goes on to accept a higher offer, pushing the first buyer out of the picture. The seller can legally decide to accept the new offer, regardless of how close the initial buyer is to having the contracts exchanged, as until the papers are signed there is no legal obligation to either buy or sell…doesn’t sound very nice does it?
According to a post in Enormoblog.co.uk on 6th February there has been an increase in the number of people being gazumped in a buyers desperate bid to secure their dream home.
Now here comes the good bit!
Greene & Co have come up with a clever little way of dealing with this situation - the Goodwill Charter. It’s simple and it works like this…Both parties pay in an agreed amount and promise to buy/sell to each other within a predetermined period. The vendor promises not to take any other offers during that time and the buyer promises to buy the property and not gazunder. If either backs out with no good reason the other gets the money.
You can learn more about it here: The Goodwill Charter
