Share Sounds. presented by Richard Blanco related to Property & Mortgages

As of 13th May 2020 in England, Government guidelines have enabled the housing market to re-open for business. In this episode of Inside Property, Richard Blanco is joined by broker Jay Rooney; Lawrence Bowles from Savills Research; and Arla Propertymark board member, Rachel Hanniquet-Brooking. They look at how agents and customers are coping with the new procedures and discuss the ongoing mortgage holiday, rent holiday challenge facing many landlords and tenants. How is the mortgage landscape evolving, and what are the prospects for house prices and sales and lettings activity moving forward?

There is a burgeoning offer of residential, buy to let and short term finance available and arguably the market has never been so competitive. But lending criteria and mortgage regulation can make getting the right finance quite a feat. Richard Blanco is joined by brokers Morgan Stewart from GPS Financial, Nick Blunt from One and All Financial Services and Scott Hendry from lender, Together Money to guide you through the mortgage maze.

Richard Blanco is joined by Meera Chindooroy from the National Landlords Association, Lawrence Bowles from Savills and Richard Bowser from Property Investor News to analyse some of the factors driving the property market as we near the end of 2019. We discuss the latest sales and rental trends, the UK and global economy, housing politics, regulatory changes and landlord and developer sentiment. This programme was recorded just before the announcement of the December 2019 election.

Architect Richard Ganeshmoorthy and expert landlord developers MaryAnn Richmond-Coggan and Karen Gregory join Richard Blanco to discuss the joys and challenges of refurbishment. From finding the perfect wreck to managing your tradespeople, pushing through the difficult bit in the middle and charming your way through the snagging, we share our best tips and anecdotes.

The inventory and return of the deposit are key aspects of being able to end a tenancy well – but what if the tenant is in arrears or has breached the contract? How can tenants get redress if their landlords don’t comply with regulations? And what of the softer sides of ending the tenant landlord relationship…. how can staying on good terms help to oil the wheels over those inevitable bumps in the road? Richard Blanco is joined by inventories expert from No Letting Go, Lisa Williamson, Head of Dispute Resolution from My Deposits, Suzy Hershman and Al McClenahan, Director of Justice4Tenants.

Inside Property is back for the new year! And with a raft of regulatory changes planned for Letting Agents in 2019, who will benefit and who will be losing out? From April, Letting Agents must have a dedicated bank account and insurance for clients’ money; and tenants’ fees will be banned from June 2019. What is morale like amongst Letting Agents, and how will the sector change in the coming years? And as a result of these changes, will the real victory be with the consumer? Host Richard Blanco is joined by David Cox, CEO of Arla Propertymark; Fiona Exley from London Trading Standards; and Business Transfer Agent, Adam Walker.

How would you feel about compulsory three year tenancies? Would they provide essential security of tenure for families or pose too big a risk for landlords? The government has appointed the third housing minister this year. What will Kit Malthouse bring to the table and how confident are you that housing really is a priority for ministers? Will the Bank of England end nearly a decade of ultra low interest rates and increase them this August? And we discuss a new initiative to help student landlords support tenants with mental health issues. Richard Blanco is joined by Chris Norris, Director of Policy & Practice at The National Landlords Association and and Carol Lewis, Deputy Editor of Property and Personal Finance at The Times.

Under this directive, from 25th May 2018, tenants will have the right to sue landlords for misuse of data. The NLA’s Chris Norris and Marlon Fox from Outlook Property talk to Richard Blanco about what landlords and agents need to do to comply. They discuss Ellie Flynn’s BBC Three documentary Rent For Sex (watch here) which exposes so-called landlords offering free rooms for sexual favours. A parliamentary select committee has proposed that landlords’ properties could be confiscated should they commit certain housing offences. And Tory party conference promises to fully regulate letting agents have now precipitated proposals for a legally enforceable code of practice, compulsory membership of a trade body, and a new regulator. Could this sound the death knell for ropey agents? Inside Property is produced in collaboration with the National Landlords Association.

Richard Blanco asks Douglas Haig, Vice Chair of the Residential Landlords Association and Richard Lambert, Chief Executive Officer of the National Landlords Association about the work of landlord associations; whether they can be legitimately seen as the voice of landlords; how their offer supports the landlord community; and why campaigns to prevent – and now roll back – recent tax changes have been thwarted. Also joining the debate is Vanessa Warwick, landlord and founder of propertytribes.com, who outlines the role she sees for digital platforms. What role might these organisations play as the government tries to professionalise and regulate the sector, should landlord associations merge to give them more clout, and is it fair to criticise web portals as a forum for ranting?

Chris Norris, NLA Director of Policy, and Nigel Lewis, Head of Content at The Negotiator, join Richard Blanco to discuss the latest issues affecting the world of property. There’s a new Ministry of Housing and we exchange views on the seventh housing minister to be appointed since 2010. There’s an update on changing gas, electricity and carbon monoxide safety regulations, the new Fitness for Human Habitation Bill and some unexpected changes to arrangements for licensing and Article 4. Will you be contributing to the consultation on the proposed Landlord Redress scheme, and what do you think about Labour’s proposals to give tenants the right to have pets? Inside Property is produced in collaboration with the National Landlords Association.