Well it may be bad news at the moment for all those looking to sell their property and we may well be seeing estate agents falling left right and centre due to the crash of the property market but for one group of people, the recession has been a bit of a godsend!
Letting agents are currently seeing a huge influx of those needing property to rent. No longer can people source or secure mortgages, especially those without huge deposits so it's now harder than ever for a whole generation of people to get on the property ladder. This has led to more and more people becoming tenants as opposed to owners.
This country has long experienced a prosperous time and it has become an expected state of affairs that as you move through the teenage years and into adulthood that you will soon be owning a home of your own - or at least one with a mortgage on it. It's been a long time since the UK saw a recession like the one we are currently in and its hit hard. Mortgages are scarce and the deposit required to secure one is extreme.
On top of this there is the concern over job security. Due to the biting recession, companies are at least cutting back on staff, if not losing the company altogether. This has led to huge insecurities and massive job losses up and down the country which, in turn, has a knock on effect to those wishing to buy or sell property.
Letting agents are finding that more and more people are looking to rent out their homes to at least secure some sort of income from it as opposed to having is sit there, unable to sell it.
However, it's not just us mere mortals that are finding the situation difficult. Imagine being the letting agents for the properties of the stars and how much commission you might be likely to earn on, say, Leonardo DiCaprio's property which is being let for a mere 17,000 pounds per month. How many letting agents would give their right hand to be drawing in the commission on celebrity properties, many of which have had their sale price reduced by at least a million pounds but due to a lack of interest are now being let out to tenants? Of course, you'd still need a fair old pay packet to afford the rent on them!
Renting a property is now becoming the norm for many families. Out of necessity simply for a roof over their heads, people are turning to renting a home instead of buying. Of course, this doesn't give them the security of owning bricks and mortar and neither does it give them anything to leave to their families but it does give them a level of comfort.
When renting a property, maintenance costs are covered by the landlord. Maintaining the building and the land around it are not the tenants responsibility which lightens the load somewhat of the cost of living. You are liable to keep the place in good order as far as you can but the expensive bits are usually down to the landlord.
Of course, being a landlord yourself has its ups and downs. On the one hand, you have a regular income that is often guaranteed, particularly if you let to those on housing benefit. You can relax in the knowledge that your mortgage is being covered every month and you still retain that investment which you first laid out.
The drawbacks are that you can never be sure how someone else will look after your property. You will also have to pay a fee to a letting agent for finding the tenant and possibly a monthly fee for managing the let.
There are fors and against for landlords and tenants but one things for sure - in today's climates more properties are needed for renting and more tenants are needed for filling them. At least that way, we can all stay afloat.
Author Resource:-
Shaun Parker is a current affairs specialist with many years of experience in the property industry. Find out more about letting agents at http://www.haart.co.uk
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