Over the years, UK has been recording an increasing number of empty properties. This has had a devastating effect on both landlords and homeowners. If you are one (landlord or homeowner), then sit back and relax. What you are about to read will paste a smile on your face.
MPPT Spotlight this week released a survey they conducted recently which indicates a sharp decrease in the number of vacant properties in the year 2013. This is contrary to all other years in UK’s history. Not only was the number of vacant properties decreasing but the rate at which it decreased was noted to be rising.
A rise in the number of empty houses has a worrying and devastating effect as far as resource utilization is concerned. Ironically, millions of people out here in the UK are patiently waiting for new homes whereas more and more houses are abandoned by tenants. This adversely affects landlords since the longer their houses are abandoned, the more they become un-inhabitable.
Vacant houses and value.
Houses, if left vacant for long have an overbearing effect on the value of the house. Value here includes both rental value and the underlying value of the property as a whole. If left for too long, the rental value of the property dips and so does the underlying value of the property.
Vacant houses and crime rate
There is an almost perfect positive relationship between the number of vacant houses and the level of crime. Areas that have reported high level of crime incidences have been found to have a high number of vacant houses. This is particularly risky since increased crime rate means risk of properties being destroyed besides tenants shying away from renting the same.
Milestones to cover.
Whereas the report by MPPT Spotlight is welcome, it is important not to celebrate just yet but take a critical look at the report. It is true that there was a marked reduction in the number of empty houses in the UK, but their distribution is not appealing just yet. Areas such as North West, Gateshead and Leeds have recorded an increased number of reduced empty houses yet many parts in the UK did not report any reduction or if it happened, then it was on a marginal scale. Some areas actually recorded increased numbers in empty houses. As such, we should not relax just yet, a conscious effort should be initiated so as to increase steady the number of reduced empty houses.
How do we improve occupancy rates then?
This question is vital both to potential landlords and existing ones alike. For a potential landlord, it’s only important to invest heavily in research as pertain to occupancy trends and the driving factors behind the trends. This will help you to identify an area that has fairly stable trends or where the potential of reducing the number of tenants existing is high or both.
Existing landlords on the other hand should take note of the forces influencing tenants’ decisions to choose on a particular house and not the other and therefore should capitalise on them to increase tenancy rates. Such forces as availability of high quality broadband, tight security and travel services are vital to maintaining tenants.
But ultimately if you are a potential landlord or an existing one, you need not to hustle so much. At Onlet, we keep track of all these forces and will be on call anytime to help you sort out any occupancy issues that you may be experiencing.
http://onlet.co.uk/
MPPT Spotlight this week released a survey they conducted recently which indicates a sharp decrease in the number of vacant properties in the year 2013. This is contrary to all other years in UK’s history. Not only was the number of vacant properties decreasing but the rate at which it decreased was noted to be rising.
A rise in the number of empty houses has a worrying and devastating effect as far as resource utilization is concerned. Ironically, millions of people out here in the UK are patiently waiting for new homes whereas more and more houses are abandoned by tenants. This adversely affects landlords since the longer their houses are abandoned, the more they become un-inhabitable.
Vacant houses and value.
Houses, if left vacant for long have an overbearing effect on the value of the house. Value here includes both rental value and the underlying value of the property as a whole. If left for too long, the rental value of the property dips and so does the underlying value of the property.
Vacant houses and crime rate
There is an almost perfect positive relationship between the number of vacant houses and the level of crime. Areas that have reported high level of crime incidences have been found to have a high number of vacant houses. This is particularly risky since increased crime rate means risk of properties being destroyed besides tenants shying away from renting the same.
Milestones to cover.
Whereas the report by MPPT Spotlight is welcome, it is important not to celebrate just yet but take a critical look at the report. It is true that there was a marked reduction in the number of empty houses in the UK, but their distribution is not appealing just yet. Areas such as North West, Gateshead and Leeds have recorded an increased number of reduced empty houses yet many parts in the UK did not report any reduction or if it happened, then it was on a marginal scale. Some areas actually recorded increased numbers in empty houses. As such, we should not relax just yet, a conscious effort should be initiated so as to increase steady the number of reduced empty houses.
How do we improve occupancy rates then?
This question is vital both to potential landlords and existing ones alike. For a potential landlord, it’s only important to invest heavily in research as pertain to occupancy trends and the driving factors behind the trends. This will help you to identify an area that has fairly stable trends or where the potential of reducing the number of tenants existing is high or both.
Existing landlords on the other hand should take note of the forces influencing tenants’ decisions to choose on a particular house and not the other and therefore should capitalise on them to increase tenancy rates. Such forces as availability of high quality broadband, tight security and travel services are vital to maintaining tenants.
But ultimately if you are a potential landlord or an existing one, you need not to hustle so much. At Onlet, we keep track of all these forces and will be on call anytime to help you sort out any occupancy issues that you may be experiencing.
http://onlet.co.uk/