Happy New Year and Thank you to all our Clients

As we bid farewell to 2023, we wanted to take a moment to express our sincere gratitude for your business throughout the year. It has been a challenging period marked by rising interest rates, a sluggish market, and the introduction of legislation in response to the cost of living crisis.

The implementation of emergency legislation, which included rent caps and eviction bans, brought about a significant shift in the real estate landscape. While this move aimed to address the affordability crisis, it also led to a surge in demand for rental properties, subsequently impacting prices.

We understand that these changes have presented unique challenges for property owners. Some have found themselves navigating a delicate balance as their rental incomes dipped below market value, coupled with increased operating costs. 

Looking ahead, we want to assure you that the emergency legislation and associated restrictions on existing tenancies are set to be lifted in March 2024. This development opens up new opportunities and possibilities for strategic planning and portfolio optimisation.

If you're considering reviewing your portfolio to ensure resilience against future challenges or if you're interested in exploring avenues for portfolio growth, we are here to assist you. 

Now, as we approach a pivotal moment with the impending removal of restrictions, I believe it's an opportune time to discuss your portfolio and map out a tailored strategy that aligns with your goals.

Please do not hesitate to reach out and schedule a catch up, if this sounds like something you would like to do. 

Once again, thank you for choosing Dymock Properties as your letting agent, I look forward to continuing our journey together in the coming year.

Wishing you a prosperous and successful 2024.

Neil Dymock

Director

How to make a successful Tenancy application

What we have found when listing properties, is that we are having a very high volume of applicants, and unfortunately not everyone can be successful.

In a competitive market, what can tenants do to make sure they are ahead of the game and their applications gets picked?

Be at an in person viewing:

Try and be flexible with viewing times. With work and life commitments this can be difficult, but most agents will want to meet tenancy applicants in person, and in addition, in-person viewings give potential tenants a much better impression of the property than virtual ones.

Deposit:

Most agents require a deposit upfront, typically around the same price as the monthly rent. It is good to be prepared, and keep this amount in savings - available to put down when the right property comes up. 

If this is something you might need help with, consider services like Dundee Homefinder Service: https://www.dundeecity.gov.uk/service-area/neighbourhood-services/housing-and-construction/dundee-homefinder-service.  They can support with building up a deposit via a bond, and are also great at helping you build up your references to make you stand out from the crowd. 

Prepare your references in advance: 

Get ahead of other applicants by having your referencing available at the time of viewing  -or better - in advance of viewing. Although different agencies sometimes ask for different things, typically they require proof of income, ID, and a previous landlord reference.This gives the agent and the landlord an overview of why they should choose you as tenant before anyone else.  

So, get together what you can, or consider signing up for something like https://www.myrentalcv.com. If you don’t have something the letting agent requires, it is preferable to make sure you highlight a possible reason, and a solution. For example, if you have pets, offer to pay a slightly higher deposit and be prepared to sign a pet policy if the agent has one. 

Build a relationship with an agent you want to work with:

With high volumes of applicants, unfortunately, even if you have done everything above you might miss out. Landlords may have to choose between several suitable applicants, and the margins are very fine. 

If you miss out, ask your agent to keep your application on file, and let them know what your preferences are. 

When agents feel like they know you and know which area you favour, your budget, and how long you need something for; they may be able to give you an early opportunity to apply for a property that fits your criteria. 

Speak to us agents, we are here to help!

Accidental Landlord?

Accidental Landlords

• Have you recently got together with a partner and you are both home owners

• Have you had a child at university that has graduated and moved on.

• Have you moved away from the area for work?

All of these examples might mean you have a property that is potentially sitting empty that you don’t want to sell.

Renting out your property for the first time can be a daunting experience, filled with uncertainty. Where do you even start ?

• What do I need to do with my mortgage?

• What about my tax liability?

• What do I need to do to make my home rent ready?

• What insurance do I need?

• What are rental laws

This is something we have loads of experience in.

Give us a call for a consultation to talk how to get started and all the steps you need to take to make sure you maximise your asset’s potential

Rent & Eviction Freezes announced by Scottish Government

Nicola Sturgeon today announced a freeze on rent increases and on evictions, with immediate effect.

This has left me wondering, how will this affect the private rental sector?

Before today, you were able to issue a rent increase letter to tenants with three months prior notice. But now landlords will not be able to do so until after 31st March 2023.

Which is blessed relief for tenants, who are concerned about the rising cost of living. However, landlord’s costs will also go up, and it is a sole source of income for some professional landlords.

To me this seems a little harsh on a sector which is providing much needed housing. Perhaps, initiatives to help stem the rising cost of household energy bills may have been more practical?

More measures to combat rising energy costs could have been more effective

As well as this, no evictions will be able to take place between now and the end of March 2023. Which is a far greater cause for concern, especially if landlords encounter anti-social tenants or tenants that are not paying rent.

So far, there has been no mention of any form of relief or grants to the tenant or landlord who are struggling financially, as were available during the covid 19 pandemic.

This seems like bleak news for landlords.

One of the main things landlords and tenants are also asking is, what about existing rent increase or eviction notices that were served prior to today?

The answer is, we simple don’t know at this stage and will have to await further detail on the legislation announced today.

Overall, a period of not being able to raise rents, I think most landlords can stomach.

In my experience most landlords want to charge a fair market value for their properties and would be happy for the rent to remain stable over a difficult market.

Moving away from discretionary evictions to no evictions, across the board, seems like an unnecessary move.

We will have to wait and see the devil in the detail.

Dymock Properties Launch

After 14 years in property, working every job from admin assistant, viewing agent, property manager and finally office manager, I have decided to launch Dymock Properties.

It wasn’t an easy decision to make, no pun intended.

Having been involved in Easylets for all that time, it was hard to leave the people. My colleagues, tenants and clients.

I’ve already experience my first obsticle, it appeared the company name was already taken. But on further investigation I found that the previous owners of the name were no longer trading and it was in fact in England.

Dymock is not a common surname, so I thought I would look deeper.

There is a place in Gloustershire called Dymock, having looked into the history of the place, the stars must have aligned. Dymock is famous for it’s cider apples. As a cider lover, I now had to follow through with this name!

Now all I need are clients to work with, so if you want to work with a property expert born and raised in Dundee, with excellent local and industry knowledge, why don’t you get in touch with me?