I hope everyone had a nice summer and is ready to get back to work, because as I write this, post a round of golf, I’m getting a sense of Déjà vu as news of another member of the Government has been removed from their post. Just last week Angela Raynor fell afoul of not paying enough stamp duty on her purchase of a second home, and then essentially tried to cover it up by blaming poor tax advice, leading to another reshuffle in the cabinet.
Now with the Governments constant attacking of landlords, I am sure many will have had a quiet chuckle to themselves as to the reason for her demise, but it raises a salient point, there are many tax avoidance scheme’s out there and many are probably 100% legal. However, as with everything, the devil is in the detail and you must get the right advice, not the advice you want to hear.
A bigger story that will potentially affect landlords and property investors, is that Rachel Reeves is reportedly mooting adding another tax, with the levy of National Insurance on rental income. Now whether this happens or not, it is still a concern, as Richard Blanco highlights on page 34, where he looks at the various forms of taxation already being considered, including a somewhat ironic change to stamp duty.
On page 13, our lead article looks at where in the UK populations are expected to rise or indeed fall over the next few years, which should provide some ideas of where to invest or potentially develop new homes. Adam Lawrence offers his thoughts on the matter on page 24, where he analyses which areas to target that have the right demographics.
We have another article from Lucia Piccinini on page 18, where she looks at a development of a listed pub in East London, which saw a block of flats built on top of it, unlocking significant value from what could have been a limited site but for some clever planning.
We have looked at Reading this month. It is a university town with excellent transport links and is undergoing a fair amount of development, including plans to redevelop both the civic centre and the main shopping mall, whilst the home sales market is reportedly quite strong.
On page 44, we have looked at deal sourcing at auction and the necessary steps when property trading, with some good insights from Jay and Piotr. On page 32, Suzi Carter has looked at how to find the right sellers of commercial property and how to ensure you become their go to buyer in future.
Of course there are several other articles in this issue, with subjects ranging from changes in planning policy to allow building on green belt land in London, to anti-money laundering and the potential sanctions.
