LETTINGSnews


DEPOSITS


Mydeposits reduces fees


my|deposits has thrown its weight behind the SAFEagent campaign by offering its registered agents heavily reduced fees. From 5 April 2012, SAFEagent registered agents can protect tenancy deposits for just £10 (plus VAT) with mydeposits. Letting agents accredited to bodies such as NALS, ARLA, NAEA and RICS will also benefit from a new lower protection fee of only £12 (plus VAT) per deposit.


The one off membership fee for these agents has also been slashed to £50 (plus VAT) Eddie Hooker (below), Chief


Executive, my|deposits, said, “Whilst we are still open to all letting agents, we want to support those agents who are prepared to take that extra step and make a positive difference in the sector. As a leading provider of deposit protection for letting agents it is only right that we reward agents with Client Money Protection with reduced fees.


“Thanks to our flexible and popular pay-as-you-go payment model, our agent members are only charged for the deposits they protect, rather than a rigid annual model. That’s meant our pricing policy has remained stable for five years, allowing us to develop and invest in important areas of the business, particularly dispute resolution. Our online dispute service is unique to mydeposits and is part of the reason why formal disputes are resolved on average within just 15 days of receiving the dispute evidence from the parties.” John Midgley, chair of the


SAFEagent Steering Group commented: “We welcome this move by mydeposits in support of the SAFEagent campaign. It is an excellent example of industry co-operation which will amplify the message we want to deliver to consumers.”


46 APRIL 2012 PROPERTYdrum


CONSUMERS National SAFEagent Awareness Week


SAFEagent is planning a concentrated week of activity 14-20 May 2012 to build momentum and continue the fast-growing awareness of the campaign among private landlords, tenants and consumers. National SAFEagent


Awareness Week will include a series of national and regional events across the UK, supported by registered lettings and management agents to increase awareness of how important it is to use a SAFEagent.


John Midgely, chair of the


SAFEagent steering group, said, “We have achieved a great deal of support since SAFEagent’s launch last year. SAFEagent Awareness Week


CONTRACTS Belvoir Lettings & Belvoir Castle


Belvoir Lettings Grantham has been appointed as lettings agent for residential


properties on the Belvoir Castle Estate in Leicestershire. This marks a new chapter in the history of the Belvoir Castle Estate, with 300 residential properties, from quaint two-bedroom cottages to characterful lodges and million pound farmhouses throughout the Vale of Belvoir. The Estate was managed by the administration team at Belvoir Castle, but Her Grace the Duchess of Rutland has appointed Belvoir Lettings Grantham to take over the management.


It’s a neat story of the


synergy between the Belvoir Castle Estate and the lettings company that shares its name – if not its pronunciation. ‘Belvoir’ originates from the


French phrase ‘belle voir’ (beautiful view), a Norman import by its French-speaking conquerors. However, the native Anglo-Saxons developed the pronunciation into ‘beaver’.


will be a way of consolidating our efforts through a week long programme to promote the campaign to tenants and landlords and ensure that SAFEagent is top of consumers’ checklist of requirements when they look for a letting agent. “We are very excited by the number of organisations who are already lending their


support to this intensive week of activity and a full programme of events will be revealed shortly.” Over 1,800 letting agents


have now signed up to SAFEagent. In addition to Government support, key organizations in the industry including Which, Citizens Advice Bureau, Shelter, Crisis, The Property Ombudsman, Consumer Focus, National Union of Students, OFT, GLA and Trading Standards Institute have all allied themselves to the scheme. Key suppliers to the sector are also standing behind the campaign – for example, HomeLet and GMG have led the way in pledging their backing to it. www.safeagents.co.uk.


BUY TO LET


FSA warns on new buy-to-let fraud


The Financial Services Authority (FSA) is worried about the fraudulent use of buy-to-let mortgages


by some people who cannot obtain an ordinary residential mortgage.


Emma, the 11th Duchess of Rutland said, “Mike Goddard, of Belvoir Lettings, contacted us eight to ten years ago and sponsored an event. The relationship continued and Mike was keen to explore the link between Belvoir Lettings, based in Grantham and the Belvoir Castle Estate. This union has now come together, as we recognise that Belvoir is a reputable local company with many national outlets.” Dorian Gonsalves, CEO, says,


“Mike started Belvoir Lettings in the Vale of Belvoir, so the company was named after the area. In 2002 we changed the pronunciation back to the original “Belle Voir” to put some distance between our lettings brand and the Estate, and it is fascinating that we have now come together.”


The regulator says people may be doing this to avoid recent restrictions on risky mortgage lending.


The warning comes in the FSA’s second annual review of the risks to customers of the financial services industry. “We are seeing anecdotal


evidence of unregulated buy-to-let mortgages being used fraudulently as a replacement for regulated residential mortgage contracts, as borrowers and intermediaries seek to circumvent more stringent income and affordability checks,” the FSA said.


The regulator pointed out that this problem might grow because some potential borrowers had been shut out by the much greater restrictions now in place on risky mortgage lending. Self-certified mortgages have all but been abolished and the availability of interest-only mortgages is severely restricted.


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