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The housing crisis and renting

January 25th, 2011 [ No comments ] [ Add comment ]
by Tom Bloxham MBE

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Chips, New Islington, Manchester

We have been having a housing crisis for years. The difference now is that there is a total lack of finance for new building, particularly for building in big centres like Manchester.

Far from cities having an oversupply of accommodation we are seeing huge and constant demand for the housing that is available and rather than a glut there’s a short fall and it’s not going to ease any time soon. Even if a major new building was to start tomorrow it would be three or four years before it came to market - and there is little sign of anyone starting tomorrow.

The lack of finance has crippled buyers as well as builders and maybe it’s time we reassessed how housing is provided in Britain.

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Saxton, Leeds

Brits have a peculiar desire to own their own home but it’s an attitude that’s changing. It may have been borne out of necessity but for many people renting is now the preferred option and we should be doing more to accommodate that shift.

Increased mobility for work, the costs of moving, difficulty in securing finance, the freedom to quickly change accommodation costs if circumstances change are all making sense to a new generation and we have to respond.

The UK rental market has to become much more professional and better policed. Tenants have to know that the place they are renting will be permanently available and that the landlord won’t suddenly decide to sell up and buy a place in Spain.

Just because you can’t or don’t want to buy a place of your own does not mean you should not have a place of your own and we need to address that if we are to address the housing crisis.

At Urban Splash we currently have around 400 apartments to rent and we are looking to double that in the next two years. We want to build up a brand of homes that will be permanently for rent, managed in-house by us, and sprinkled through our developments.

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Rotunda, Birmingham

There needs to be more institutional investment in residential development such as they have in most of the other European cities. People who like the idea of investing in property may not want to tie themselves to one individual apartment but would be happy to be part of a larger fund.

The yields may not be that huge at the moment but there is vast potential and the funds would create a new asset class, investing in the future housing infrastructure of the country, building high quality, well managed blocks to rent out.

It is time that the Government looked to giving tax breaks to companies and individuals prepared to invest in schemes like this. It helped before with the Business Expansion Scheme and it could be a way to re-invigorate the market again.

But unlike in the past homes for rent should not be second best or inferior. What separates Urban Splash from others is our ability to build great buildings (not one to brag but 300 awards at the last count) and the way we can transform areas such as Castlefield and New Islington.

In cash rich Monaco most people rent, in New York properties are only available to rent and in Europe renting is the norm. I see Britain going the same way but it needs a structural change to make it happen.

This first appeared as an opinion piece in M.E.N. Business Weekly on 19th January 2011.

Filed under: Affordable homes, Tom Bloxham MBE, Urban Splash No comments

Talking residents, not just residence at Saxton

June 8th, 2010 [ No comments ] [ Add comment ]
by Simon Gawthorpe

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It’s a lovely Friday and the sun is shining on Saxton, Leeds. I’m on my way to a meeting in the city centre and I walk past a group of the existing tenants from Saxton Gardens making use of the seating area on The Avenue we have recently given a make over. While out enjoying a cup of tea and some neighbourly banter I discovered that I share my birthday with the chair of the Saxton Gardens TARA, John Boyd (I did of course on finding out offer up some of my birthday cake which seemed to go down particularly well with the tea!).

We are lucky enough to have a great relationship with the residents on the existing estate, we see them regularly when they pop in to the office to share some news or get an update, we socialise with them at a variety of different events we have held at Saxton or round at the club hosted by them, which are usually over a game of bingo, and not usually won by us!

On a more formal basis we have been attending their AGM for the past six years, the most recent of which was earlier this month. I always come away with a sense of pride in what are trying to do at Saxton and how we have worked and continue to work with John and his committee. The format this year was the same as every other and as always the existing committee were re-elected, and it’s no wonder when you see what a great job they do. Saxton Gardens is a real community, all the people know each other by name (and more than often than not by business too), they all look out for each other and pull together in times of need. The big snow this winter was an outstanding example of this. When a number of the elderly residents felt they were unable to leave their flats because of the icy conditions on the streets, the community rallied round and made sure that all of these people were checked in on daily, and regular group runs to the shops made sure no one went without the essentials.

Urban Splash have been very lucky to be welcomed into this community and even though we haven’t always been the best neighbours, after all we are a building site both noisy and dirty by nature, we still get on well. We haven’t spent our time here without the odd complaint or two, however working alongside John and his committee there hasn’t been a single issue over the years we haven’t been able to resolve amicably. That’s because we know and respect that the people who live here really care about the area and enjoy living here. The Boyd family alone have had at one point 20 members from 5 generations living throughout the estate. Perhaps that’s why it feels like a family, fully fitted with parent like figures making sure people keep the place tidy and pick up their litter after themselves. There is no real secret it’s just about being normal and respectful.

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As we near the completion of the first building at Saxton, the number of new residents is growing daily and our first HomeBuy Direct* residents are due to move in within the month. The next challenge for us is to make sure our new residents become part of this community and share the same sense of pride and belonging in the place they live. I hope this relationship will grow, helped by a number of community events. When the allotments are ready for planting, they will also be available for both new and existing residents… we have a number of both on the waiting list already!

I think that Saxton is going to be a great place to live and one of the best in the city centre, we know the communal gardens are pretty unique within Leeds and will be a great asset for the residents and added to this our purchasers will be moving in to a ready made community. As one of the residents said to me a while ago, ‘We love this place, the majority of us have lived here for nearly 50 years and we take great pride in it and we certainly hope that the new residents will do the same, and they are more than welcome to come and have a game of snooker or bingo and a drink with us in the club’. Certainly not an offer I’m refusing!

Filed under: Affordable homes, Leeds, Saxton, Urban Splash No comments

Leeds needs? High quality homes

March 5th, 2010 [ No comments ] [ Add comment ]
by Richard Oakes

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You may have seen the report in today’s Times newspaper about Leeds, a much debated city which seems to have retained a perception for a few years now that there’s a massive case of oversupply, something the report author claims is simply untrue.

One of the areas of the report that caught my eye was the reference to the fact that the recession and constraints on consumer finance mean that owner occupiers are buying for the long term. It also claims that investors are buying tenanted properties rather than off plan. The author says that this is down to investing for ‘longevity’. If this is the case, and it’s a trend that this report substantiates, then what Leeds really needs is high quality, good size homes that appeal to a broad audience, not just single dwellers.

It’s something we’ve focussed on at Saxton in the East Bank area of the City – a scheme that’s referenced in the report. At Saxton, where we’re converting two former council blocks, we’ve made efforts to create homes, not profit-maximising flats. We’ve expanded the size of the original floorplates, extending outwards to create more spacious apartments. We’ve catered for customers who want outdoor space too - ground floor homes offer private gardens and next year there’ll be allotments available. Furthermore there’s also extensive communal garden space planned, with lush landscaped areas for residents to enjoy. In bringing the more traditional suburban elements into the City we believe that we can add value and help people buy for the long term.

The report also makes reference to the fact that properties need to be well managed and that’s something we too have recognised, the majority of homes in our portfolio are now managed by our in house team.

One final point is that we believe in making high quality homes affordable and that’s why at Saxton, using our relationship with the Government’s Homes and Communities Agency we are offering HomeBuy Direct. It’s a scheme which offers customers an interest free loan for up to 30% of the property’s value, enabling people to buy at Saxton for as little as £70,000 and then staircase into it.

If you’re interested in Saxton or HomeBuy Direct drop us a line at live@urbansplash.co.uk.

Filed under: Affordable homes, Leeds, Saxton, Urban Splash No comments

HomeBuy Direct now available at Saxton, Leeds

October 30th, 2009 [ No comments ] [ Add comment ]
by Nicola Wallis

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The first residents have now moved into the new Saxton apartments, and they’ll soon be joined by 15 lucky home owners who are able to sign up to the Government’s HomeBuy Direct scheme. If you’re eligible, this means you can own your home for as little as 70% of the value, which could be from £70,000!*

With HomeBuy Direct, you can get a loan (funded by the Government and Urban Splash) for up to 30% of the value of the property and the loan is interest free for the first five years. You will need to fund the other 70% through a combination of mortgage and savings – usually borrowing 65% with 5% as a deposit.* Download a PDF about HomeBuy Direct here or watch our HomeBuy Direct movie here.

Saxton is a fantastic place to live, with spacious apartments, all with full height glazing and high specification. Saxton will also have a private residents’ garden and allotments which will be a great place for you to meet your neighbours. The apartments are located close to the City Centre and its bars, restaurants, theatres and transport links.

To book your appointment to view our fabulous new show apartment contact the sales team or call 0333 666 6000.

*See the legal bit here

Filed under: Affordable homes, Leeds, Saxton No comments

Chips and Rent to HomeBuy

June 8th, 2009 [ No comments ] [ Add comment ]
by Shona King

Met up with some of our partners for a meeting over at Chips, New Islington yesterday to show off our new apartments, they all loved them! Took some pics of the views, I wish we had brought our deck chairs to sit out in the terrace to catch the sun whilst it hung around in Manchester. A nice cold beer would have topped it off too, however the meeting could have turned out to be a little less productive!

Our Rent to HomeBuy offer at Chips is certainly generating a lot of interest. Not surprising really as it’s a great way to be able to save money on rent and build up a deposit by paying 80% of the market rent. Then you can buy shares of your apartment from a minimum of 25% of the apartment price until you fully own it. At the meeting we were chatting about the Homes and Communities Agency’s ‘Key Event’ (www.thekeyevent.org ) they are hosting at Urbis on Monday 22nd June to help people understand how they can own their own home. We’ll be there serving up Chips (sorry not the greasy sort) along with other developers, independent financial advisors and lenders. It’s free to attend and there will be plenty of advice on hand, definitely one for the diary if you’re looking to buy a home.

New Islington, Manchester

Filed under: Affordable homes, Chips, Manchester, New Islington, Urban Splash - tags: , , , ,
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