Only 4% of commercial property owners have claimed their full capital allowances!

Did you know that only 4% of commercial property owners have claimed their full capital allowances?

When a commercial property is purchased, HMRC allow for many of the fixtures and fittings to be classed as capital allowances, and can be offset for tax purposes. For some, this figure can amount to 50% of the purchase price of the property.

For example, did you know that an air conditioning system is classed as “plant and machinery” by HMRC (you can see the list of items on the HMRC website by clicking here), and therefore capital allowances can be claimed against the value. Bathroom and sanitary fixtures (sinks, showers, toilets) are also classed as “plant and machinery” and so their value can be claimed as a capital allowance.

Of course, it is not an easy matter determining which items can be classed in this manner, nor what value to put on them.

So, why are so many people failing to claim these allowances?

Very simply, most accoutants are not involved in this very specialist area, and as such do not advise their clients. Unfortunately, if you fail to claim these allowances, then you will lose them!!!

We are working hard with a number of accountants to increase awareness of this little used allowance. Many commercial property owners will receive substantial rebates when they utilise this allowance correctly.

We can instruct a specialist surveyor that will ba able to determine what itams can be claimed for, and what value to put on them. We will then work with your accountant to agree the figures, before submitting a claim to HMRC.

So, what is the catch?

Well, we obviously want to be paid for our work, and we will charge a fee, determined by the value of allowances identified. However, if we fail to idetify at least £25,000 of allowances, or we fail to produce a report, you pay NOTHING! Otherwise, we will charge 6% of the allowances identified, although this fee is also tax deductable! We also have options to defer payment until your refund has been received.

HMRC is changing the way people can claim from April 2012, so don’t leave it until it is too late. Contact PKS to discuss your capital allowance tax claim now. Click here to send us a message now, or call on 0845 226 5009.

We GUARANTEE to beat ANY UK home insurance quotation!

PKS Property Services, one of Hampshire’s top insurance brokers, are pleased to announce a new initiative – “We guarantee to beat ANY UK home insurance quotation”!

PKS, based in Odiham near Basingstoke in North Hampshire, has become an introducer appointed representative of Safe & Secure, an award winning general insurance broker. Safe and Secure were voted the “Best Broker for General Insurance” at the Mortgage Strategy Awards 2011.

Through this new venture, PKS are now able to offer clients the opportunity to reduce their home insurance costs, with a guarantee to BEAT any other like for like quotation.

PKS Property Services was established in 1994, and has a reputation for being an expert in all areas of mortgages and insurance, offering “truly” independent advice.

Paul Skinner, managing director, said “We are very pleased to be working with Safe & Secure. Their philosophy ties in very well our approach to customer satisfaction.

“To be able to offer our clients this amazing guarantee will help us maintain our standing as one of Hampshire’s finest brokers.”

If you would like to discuss your insurance requirements, please call PKS on the number above, or click here to send a message.

Have you been turned away by the High St banks?

Aldermore has launched a superb, new 3.48%, 2 year discount mortgage – a seriously attractive alternative for creditworthy borrowers still struggling on the High Street.

Equally important, the rate applies to residential purchases or remortgages right up to 80% LTV.

There’s a completion fee of £999 and remember, Aldermore also offer free legal fees for remortgages on all products, regardless of rate or loan value.*

Unlike many lenders, our decision-making isn’t stuck in the past with traditional, inflexible credit scoring. We base our decisions on sensible, refreshing underwriting rules and criteria applied by real, experienced people.

Aldermore can often offer a solution to your customers currently being turned down elsewhere.

*No valuations, legals and zero completion fee offer applies to selected residential and non-commercial buy to let remortgages. £30 electronic transfer fee applies.

(Free legals offer applies to residential and non-commercial buy to let remortgages.)

Paul Skinner from PKS, one of the leading independent mortgage brokers in Hampshire, said “This rate is very attractive, especially for those people struggling to obtain a mortgage from the high street lenders. Available up to 80% LTV, this product will no doubt sell out very quickly.”

If you would like to discuss your mortgage options, just call us on 0845 226 5009, or click here to send us a message.

20% of Landlords experienced rent arrears in the last three months

20% of Landlords experienced rent arrears in the last three months http://pks.org.uk/article.asp?DocId=176

There is trouble ahead if interest rates rise

Tracy Corrigan of the Telegraph reports “There is trouble ahead if interest rates rise”

Three years after the financial crisis, there is a plan to fix the mortgage market. It is pretty basic stuff. The Financial Services Authority suggests that, in future, lenders should have to ensure that mortgage repayments are affordable, and verify borrowers’ income.

These are the sort of proposals that make one blink in disbelief: were banks really lending to large numbers of people with no visible means of support? Yes, they were; and some still are. There are also vast numbers of interest-only mortgages out there; in most cases there is no obvious plan for repayment, on the rash assumption that rising house prices will, in due course, bail out the borrowers and the banks.

To read the full article click here.

Homeowners paying SVR are missing out on £1.8bn in savings

Over 2.3m mortgage borrowers are now sitting on SVRs, accounting for 28% of the total mortgage market, according to Yorkshire Building Society (YBS). Research by YBS revealed 75% of SVR mortgage customers are on LTVs below 85% and the lender claimed that they could were missing out on savings of up to £1.8bn by not taking advantage of the current best buy deals.
Read the full article

UK property to HALVE between now and July 29 2010

This is part of an article from MoneyWeek

“It seems the worst is behind us,” says Nicholas Leeming of Propertyfinder.com. “Confidence in the housing market is at its highest since the credit crunch began.”

Don’t buy into the property rally, reader.

It’s for SUCKERS.

You have a right to be skeptical.
Nationwide reported that May house prices rose by 1.2%. Halifax claimed a rise of 2.6% for the same month.

The Bank of England confirmed that new mortgage approvals (often a good forward indicator) climbed 8% during April to 43,201, their highest level for almost a year.

So do the property optimists seem to have a point?

In a word: NO!

Dig below the surface, and the outlook is far worse than most in the mainstream press are willing to let on.

There are five rock-solid reasons why we think residential property will halve between now and July 29, 2010…..

Click here to read the rest of this article.

Confidence in the housing market may be short-lived

Nick Hopkinson, Director of Property Portfolio Rescue (PPR) commented on the Nationwide June House Price Index, which showed a rise of 0.9% in property prices:

“Today’s lender update highlights renewed buyer enthusiasm for the best properties with few sellers and very thin house sales volumes. The best locations and most desirable properties are seeing price stabilisation at the moment; whereas less desirable areas and homes are still seeing big annual price falls.

“Unfortunately, I fear that this renewed confidence and the increased buyer interest that Estate Agents are seeing will not last beyond the summer. Mortgage rationing is set to continue, as the banks struggle to recover from the credit crunch. This is causing a clear disconnect between property viewing and buying figures. Also, unemployment figures are getting worse daily and the wider recession continues apace. Massive national and personal debt problems will see much more house price pain when interest rates start their inevitable increases next year.”

Nick is not alone in this view. Many industry experts believe the recession is “W” shaped, which may mean we will see things get worse again, before the true recovery.

Banks have already tightened criteria, and increased longer term fixed rates, and are still making it difficult for many people to get the mortgage they require. And, as this tightening continues, we may well see the number of house sales drop further and the value of property fall further.

If we compare this housing crisis with that of the early nineties, it would be easy to believe that the market has a long way to go before it sees any real improvement. In the nineties, there was a slight recovery, blamed on people trying to profit, before a continued fall in prices for another 3-4 years.

I hope this is not going to be the case, and I would be very happy to see my thoughts proved wrong. However, if you would like to discuss this issue further, please feel free to get in touch at http://pks.org.uk/contactpks.asp

Advice when buying a house

When negotiating with estate agents always remember, they work for the seller, NOT the buyer. They will pretend to be your friend, and seem to be doing you favours, but it is their job to get the best price for the seller!

So, how do you bargain with the estate agents?

Knowledge is all important. You need to have a good knowledge of the local area where you are buying, and of local property prices. More importantly, you need to know what you are willing to pay the porperty, and then design your negotiations to end at that price. Never, NEVER, accept the vendors first offer – this is also true for the vendor of course.

To read the full article click here.

Unemployment worries fuel surge in mortgage payment protection sales

As redundancy fears continue to rise, sales of mortgage payment protection, and in particular unemployment cover, have risen sharply in the last few months.

At PKS we have seen a massive increase in the number of people wanting to protect themselves against the very real threat of redundancy. Many of these enquiries have come from blue collar workers, who have seen their friends and family members losing their jobs as companies are forced to cut back, or even close down altogether.

In fact the increase has been so dramatic that many of the companies that offer mortgage payment protection have stopped offering unemployment cover on its own. These companies will only allow it to be taken with accident and sickness insurance, which can increase the cost significantly.

Paul Skinner from PKS commented “With demand for this type of cover increasing so dramatically, and many providers refusing to sell redundancy cover on its own, it is becoming ever more important to obtain the right advice. Many people turn to their banks for this kind of cover, however, they are unable to offer anything but their own insurance, which in many cases is unsuitable.

“At PKS we have access to the whole of the market, so we can ensure that our clients get precisely the right cover to meet their requirements.”

“Redundancy cover can cost less then £30 per month to cover a £1,000 a month mortgage for up to a year. Many people pay this much for their car insurance or house insurance, but they fail to protect thier mortgage – usually their biggest outlay each month.”

With the number of unemployed expected to peak at 3.2M towards the middle of next year, it is now more important than ever to ensure your mortgage is secure if you lose your job.

If you would like a FREE, confidential chat about your options, please go to http://pks.org.uk to contact us.