This event presents an extremely rare opportunity for you to meet and mix with some of the most successful “underground” investors in the UK. People who are making an absolute killing from property deals in the current economy.
Home Information Packs (HIPs) were launched in August 2007 and just under 3 years later have been suspended from 21 May 2010.
Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) were part of HIPs. These basically provide a rating of the property’s energy efficiency on a scale of A to G. EPCs are still required and have not been suspended.
In my honest opinion, both HIPS and EPCs were and are a total waste of time. I’ve sold properties in the last couple of years, and the added expense (through the HIP requirement) of selling these properties did not make any difference whatsoever in the sale of my properties.
If you’re interested in further reading, I’ve taken an excerpt here from the www.communities.gov.uk website:
“In an important step at a point of fragile recovery in the housing market, Communities Secretary Eric Pickles and Housing Minister Grant Shapps today announced that with immediate effect, they are suspending the requirement for homeowners to provide a Home Information Pack (HIP) when selling their homes.
Mr Pickles today laid an Order suspending HIPs with immediate effect, pending primary legislation for a permanent abolition. The Secretary of State has taken this swift action in order to avoid uncertainty and prevent a slump in an already fragile housing market. Today’s announcement sends a clear message of encouragement to people thinking of selling their home that they can put it on the market with less cost and hassle.
HIPs are currently holding back the housing market because sellers are having to fork-out extra cash, sometimes hundreds of pounds, just to be able to put their home up for sale. Suspending HIPs will reduce the cost of selling a home, remove a layer of regulation from the process and provide a welcome help to the housing market during the recovery. It will also mean a saving for consumers to the tune of £870m over ten years, giving sellers more money in their pocket to spend in the wider economy.
Mr Pickles and Mr Shapps also said that the Government is determined to help people reduce their energy bills, improve our energy security and tackle climate change by increasing the energy efficiency of their homes. Sellers will therefore still be required to commission, but won’t need to have received, an EPC before marketing their property, and the Government will consider how the EPC can play its part in the new drive for a low carbon and eco-friendly economy.
Eric Pickles said:
"The expensive and unnecessary Home Information Pack has increased the cost and hassle of selling homes and is stifling a fragile housing market.
"That’s why I am taking emergency action to suspend the HIP, bringing down the cost of selling a home and removing unnecessary regulation from the home buying process.
"This swift and decisive action will send a strong message to the fragile housing market and prevent uncertainty for both home sellers and buyers.
"HIPs are history. This action will encourage sellers back into the market, and help the market as a whole and the economy recover."
Today’s move is part of delivering a key manifesto comment made by both parties in the new coalition Government. It will mean that sellers will no longer be told they have to buy a HIP before putting their home on the market, but they will now have the choice to provide one if they want to.”
Do you know what the BIGGEST grumble I hear from property investors is?
“I can’t find enough deals.”
And it’s crazy really…
Because finding new leads is actually pretty EASY to do. But what most people fail to realise is that the key to your property business success (as with most things in life) is to follow a PROVEN FORMULA.
So here’s why I’m writing to you today…
Are you struggling to get good property leads in today’s tough market? If yes, then feel free to tap into our system for free.
As the author of the first book on HMO (House in Multiple Occupation) properties, HMO Property Riches, I’m always receiving emails from property investors regarding how they can best invest in HMO properties and hence benefit from the additional cash flow.
More recently, I’ve been getting a lot of questions regarding the new planning laws that came into effect on 6th April 2010.
On General Election day, a couple of days ago, I had a bit of time on my hands so thought I’d do a bit of investigative work regarding HMO licensing. I wanted to determine how much housing professionals actually knew about HMO legislation and HMO use classes.
My first trip was to a local letting agent whom I picked out at random – I won’t mention their name as I don’t want to embarrass them. However, if they do ever come across this post I’d hope they’d take on board my comments. (ps. I didn’t tell the agent that I was a landlord, but instead hinted that I was a first time investor).
I asked the letting agent owner if he knew anything about the new HMO planning laws and how they would affect existing and potential landlords. In all honesty, his response didn’t surprise me. Firstly, he asked me which law and then he told me that every property was different and it’s probably best that I spoke to the council regarding this.
In other words, he didn’t have a clue.
Anyway, I decided to take this on board and hopped down to the local council. I asked the lady at the main desk for some information regarding HMO planning laws – she turned around and looked at me as if I’d gone mad AND as if I was speaking a foreign language – she then told me that I was probably in the wrong place! I then told her that it was probably something to do with the Environmental Health Officer and the planning department.
She then gave me a ticket and asked me to wait in a waiting room.
I went into the waiting room and found myself behind people looking to be re-housed by the council and also those affected by physical violence and drug abuse etc. It was after I overheard someone talking about their door being kicked down that I decided to leave!
On my way out, I noticed this poster on the wall:
So I rang the number on the poster – and guess what – the number was no longer in use! I then went back to the front desk and asked for the phone number of the Environmental Health Officer – I was given the number and so I called him.
I asked him about the new HMO planning laws and what I need to do as a HMO landlord to ensure that I comply and stay within the law. He told me that he didn’t really know much about them as they had only just come out! He then put me through to the planning department indicating that they should know more about it as it comes under planning.
I then spent 10 minutes on the phone with a planning officer only to be told the same thing – the law had just come out and the council wasn’t really ready for it yet!
Now, interestingly enough, I expected all of the above. As with previous Housing Laws, no one really knows much and it’ll take several years before the council is actually ready to start implementing the law by which time a new law will have come out.
Now, here’s my take on what’s going on.
From 6th April 2010 if you intend to let a property as a House in Multiple Occupation, you will need to apply for planning approval. This will cost you £335 for each additional room above single occupancy, in other words for a 3 bed HMO, you will need to pay 2x£335=£670 to apply for planning permission.
This is in addition to any other costs you will incur to make your property HMO compliant.
If your house was already a HMO prior to April, then you will not need planning approval.
As a professional landlord, you will now need to factor the above into your costs prior to any property purchase.
You could run your HMO without planning approval for 10 years, after which an application would not be required. However, in this case, you do run the risk of being caught by the council and possibly fined for breaking the law.
My advice would be to phone your local council – some of them are better versed on these laws than others. Speak to the Environmental Health Offcer and ask him for advice regarding your specific property. If he can’t help you, you could run the HMO on the premise of applying for planning once your local council is ready to accept applications – whether you do or not is up to you!
To summarise, although there could now be an additional cost to running your HMO, this should by no means deter you from the additional cash flow you can achieve from Houses in Multiple Occupation which are still a very lucrative form of investing in property.
If you have any questions or comments give me a shout and I’ll try and help you the best I can. Alternatively, go to your local council who will probably ask you to leave because they are not yet ready to implement any new changes!
Happy investing!
Javaid Kiyani
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I was speaking to several property millionaire friends last weekend and what we noticed was that our most successful students were those who were no longer using last year’s strategies.
To succeed in any business, you need to move with the times. Things have changed a lot in the past 12-18 months especially in the way we run our property businesses.
I’ve just had a vacancy come up in my popular MPM Programme where I personally hold your hand and train you 1-2-1 to succeed in property using tried and tested methods that work today.
We always receive more applications than vacancies so please be sure to complete the application form truthfully and in as much detail as possible:
If you are unsure of anything, please drop me an email stating “MPM application” in the subject heading. This way, I will be able to respond to you personally.
Good luck and speak soon!
Javaid Kiyani
ps. I will personally teach you strategies and techniques you should be using this year to grow and streamline your property business:
