From: "R. Mark Clayton" 
Newsgroups: alt.uk.law uk.gov.local uk.gov.social-security uk.legal misc.consumers.house
Subject: Re: HELP: advice needed on rents, landlords & agencies....
Date: Fri, 23 Feb 2007 02:10:29 -0000


 wrote in message 
news:1172144146.146808.124080@t69g2000cwt.googlegroups.com...
On 21 Feb, 11:50, "R. Mark Clayton" 
wrote:
>
> I live in a popular suburb of a major UK city.
>
> In 1975 I rented a flat here.  I recall that there were just three rentals
> advertised in the local paper.  We got ours because we were introduced to
> the agent (also the landlord) by a departing tenant before it could be
> advertised.  You had to pay three months rent as deposit, a month up front
> and the rent was equivalent to over £1,000pcm today and representing a 
> gross
> return of over 10%.  This was a typical deal.  Our agent / landlord was
> honest and respectable, but many others were crooks and only one 
> mainstream
> estate agent handled tenancies.  Often landlords left property empty 
> because
> of the virtual impossibility of evicting delinquent tenants and rent
> control.
>
> Nowadays there are several columns of properties to let in the paper and
> most of the mainstream estate agents do lettings.  In real terms rents are
> about 75% of 1975 levels representing a gross return of 3-4% and
> commencement terms are usually one month's rent in advance, and 5 or 6 
> weeks
> deposit.  Deal direct with the landlord and there are usually no fees.  In
> the city centre, where there is a bit of glut of newly built flats, some
> sitting tenants have successfully negotiated rent reductions at renewal.

In Manchester there were ~200 people living in the city centre in the
early 1990s.

Many more than that had always lived in the city centre (well since the 
war).

By 1990, Wimpey's development (~1979 - 92) was already in place and there 
were several others (some council).  So I would give a figure of ~2-3,000 by 
1990.

Now that is over 8,000 and set to reach 20,000.  It looks like
Shanghai.  I believe other cities have a similar story.

So clearly people are taking huge bets that we don't have 'over-
supply'.   Instead more people bring the demand for more amneties, more 
infrastructure.

OTOH at least partly true.  Should have bought that pied a terre in the 
Barbican for £60k in 1994.










> What was your point again?- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -