Rising Court costs for Possession Claims... How to protect yourself

It’s always a sensible idea to make sure you have the right protection if you’re a landlord but new government plans to increase fees for the eviction court costs could make an oversight far more painful to your bank balance.

From the 22^nd April 2014 the government plans to increase the cost of application for possession and accelerated possession claims from £175 to £280 and the cost of possession claim online is due to rise from £100 to £250.

This will effect landlords finding themselves in the already unfortunate position of having to start eviction proceedings if a tenant is in arrears or refuses to vacate a property. Thankfully these situations are quite rare but when they do occur, they can be very costly in court fees but also in unpaid rent and in some cases, property damage.

At Belvoir Melton Mowbray we help our landlords with any possession proceedings or rent arrears notices as part of the service. We also offer protection for unpaid rent and court costs from as little as £11 per month. This also includes 75% of the rent for the 2 months after the property has been taken back.

Please contact Charlotte or Katie to discuss the Rent Guarantee and Legal Expenses Cover available for Belvoir landlords in more detail.

Is a Victorian Terrace Property on Kings Road still a good place to invest?

An investment landlord, who lives in Melton Mowbray, who attended our first buy to let event in 1999, recently asked this very question. He had been wise enough to invest in a property on Kings Road in 2000 and was considering where to invest next.

Sold house prices on Kings Road are 1 % above where they were 5 years ago which means they are at the same level as before the credit crunch hit. Purchasing a property now at the current average price of £ 111,000 and securing an average rental return of £525 pcm would give you a yield of 5.6%.

Victorian properties often require modernisation but this should be reflected in the purchase price and once the electrics, heating, windows and roof are in good order there should not be too many ongoing maintenance issues.

A lot has changed in the last few years since 2000 but it would seem the right property in this area could provide a good return and should offer stable capital growth. Many of the landlords we met at the first buy to let evening are still with us now and have seen their investments grow. The market is a very different place but there are still good returns to be had in Melton Mowbray.