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Duncan Foster

Director

1164 Profile Views

About Me

Landlord and property developer, plus various different businesses from Research and development into climate changing technology to a window and conservatory company.

my expertise in the industry

Land and property planning, promotions, development, finance, rentals, etc

Duncan's Recent Activity

Why should a tenant have a right to stay in someone’s asset if the landlord doesn’t want them there? As mentioned before, if they are decent tenants, a landlord will keep them. But if a landlord decides not to be a landlord anymore, why can’t he sell his asset vacant to someone who wants to live there? The whole re-balancing of tenants and landlords rights is a farce, the tenant should be there knowing the landlord has the last say, otherwise get a council house or buy somewhere!

From: Duncan Foster 07 March 2024 20:07 PM

No-one seems to remember the ghost towns when there were only a few sub-standard holiday lets in the seaside towns. What has has come with the London buyers and investors is shops, bars, restaurants, JOBS! In the 90s I used to walk down Aldeburgh High St in the winter and nowhere was open and no-one around. Now, the place is busy all year round thanks to holiday lets. So are we going to house the people who cannot afford to live there, but take their jobs away, or are we going to concentrate on getting planning in neighbouring villages that are less desirable and deliver some affordable homes?

From: Duncan Foster 04 March 2024 08:30 AM

The problem is, if interest rates stay high we are heading for a recession because the property market holds up the economy, and too many developers are laying off builders and stopping building because demand has dropped so much. Affordability is the problem! Autumn statement needs to do something to stop the rot!

From: Duncan Foster 15 November 2023 13:32 PM

This is indeed good news, but why on earth was this not done before so many landlords sold up? What a mess, but let’s hope this is some sense appearing in the system.

From: Duncan Foster 20 October 2023 18:30 PM

Promises will come from both parties, none of which have any business sense! I wouldn’t employ a single one of them from either party, clueless! Always trying to solve problems that are not mass problems, then they screw everyone who do things right.

From: Duncan Foster 07 October 2023 22:18 PM

If you put in rent controls, you have to put in mortgage interest rate controls. How is that going to work? It’s absolutely ridiculous to suggest that tenants will be safer with rent controls because there won’t be any private rented houses!

From: Duncan Foster 26 September 2023 07:52 AM

Heat pumps are only efficient in a well insulated house, much more efficient with underfloor heating, and really need solar whilst electricity prices are at this level. £7500 still doesn’t change a Victorian house into what is needed! I have suggested it before, the government need to offer a loan scheme for a comprehensive conversion to make old houses green, paid back via the council tax system so the person saving money on energy is the person paying back the loan!

From: Duncan Foster 26 September 2023 07:42 AM

Is Section 24 going to be the next PPI repayment? If someone took this to the Human Rights court, I cannot see how the government could explain how it can treat a select group of individuals (private landlords) so differently to not only every other sector, but also a Ltd company in the same sector! Where else in the tax system can you not offset a genuine cost that is essential to run your business? Where else in the tax system does one entity get tax relief whilst another doesn’t for the same thing? S24 is the most unfair and biggest scandal of this government! And btw, I own all my property in a Ltd company 🙏

From: Duncan Foster 22 September 2023 09:51 AM

This is no surprise, we always expected 5-10% drop in prices. What I have noticed is there are buyers back in the market over the last couple of weeks and they appear to be looking for deals. Offering p/ex on new builds is back which seems very popular as the buyer does not need to sell their house. The biggest issue will be the cost of land and build versus GDV. House prices cannot fall too far or the new build market will stop, which will have a knock on affect to the rest of the market.

From: Duncan Foster 04 September 2023 08:10 AM

I think we are in catch up stage, fuel has gone down but nothing else has yet. Let’s hope we don’t see monopolies cashing in!

From: Duncan Foster 16 June 2023 06:27 AM

Stress test is worst case scenario, so the banks obviously think that interest rates could “possibly” rise to 8%. I don’t think this is a bad decision given where interest rates are now. Yes, it’s a pain but this all stems from inflation and interest rates rising because of it. What I have issue with is commercial lending where they still want a 5-7% margin over base rate plus fees which puts borrowing in excess of 10%. The banks increased their margins when interest rates were stupidly low, cashing in on the situation because they knew businesses would pay 5% for their cash flow. Now interest rates are rising again, the banks are not reacting to it quick enough by adjusting their profit margin, so businesses are putting up prices to cover increases in wages, materials and finance, and consequently causing inflation. Wouldn’t it be in the banks best interest to reduce their margin to help stop inflation?

From: Duncan Foster 14 June 2023 10:35 AM

Agreed! We have just built some A rated homes and I have kept 3 to rent. I am getting higher rents as they are A+ houses and the bills will be very small, so people are taking that into account. As energy comes down in price, will that still be happening? Certainly the 0.1% is not enough incentive to modify a property.

From: Duncan Foster 04 April 2023 10:44 AM

3% set up fee, 4% set up fee! Why don’t banks be honest with us and tell us the rate and charge a sensible admin fee! It doesn’t cost more to set up a £500k mortgage over a £200k mortgage.

From: Duncan Foster 04 April 2023 07:47 AM

Worst company in the world if you are a buyer, but allow unscrupulous hosts to say and do what they want! Advertise Air Cover to cover mis-description, but then argue that the description is correct, even though it clearly isn’t. I refuse to use them to stay anywhere or to let my properties. They are losing thousands in income because they have argued over a one night stay that I have taken to the BBB in the US out of principal. No-one has any common sense there because they have employed a load of cheap administrators to say No! Airbnb you are shockingly bad and I would not want my name associated with you.

From: Duncan Foster 03 April 2023 09:40 AM

Gotcha Tricia, agreed

From: Duncan Foster 02 March 2023 01:07 AM

I respectfully disagree Tricia. Who would clean the streets, who would police the streets, who would empty your bins? How would social care and environmental services be paid for if no-one pays CT. To call it a punitive tax on landlords is wrong in my opinion. If you do not have a full time tenant paying their share of these services then as a landlord you should make that home’s contribution. If it is empty and undergoing refurbishment there should be a break, but it should be time limited to allow you to refurb.

From: Duncan Foster 01 March 2023 09:28 AM

I am lucky enough to have a holiday home that I don’t let out because all my stuff is there and I don’t want to keep moving it. I pay full CT and hardly ever use the council services, but they are available for me when I go so I am not complaining. I also own an identical property that I am going to let out on holiday lets, I will register for business rates, etc because that is the correct financial decision. But I find this situation bizarre as the people staying still get their bins emptied, etc so why should the house be tax free? I have always found this loophole controversial and wouldn’t have a problem if it were removed.

From: Duncan Foster 01 March 2023 08:55 AM

Council Tax on new builds whether built or not 18 months after planning? Have these people ever gone through the process of building new houses? It sometimes takes that long to clear conditions because of the red tape around delivering sites. Absolute jokers!

From: Duncan Foster 24 February 2023 09:26 AM

Lower tax, increase revenue! Sound familiar? Something Liz Truss got wholly wrong! If she had lowered Corp Tax, there would be more revenue because more companies would post their profit in the UK. It’s a business decision for companies, but your standard worker cannot make that decision so when you reduce tax across the masses, you don’t increase revenue. The same goes for Landlords, it’s a business decision. Lower taxes, we will invest more and increase revenue!

From: Duncan Foster 01 February 2023 09:09 AM

Giving local people more power is the worst idea the government has ever had. We build quality, A rated homes that are always appreciated once they are built. But the road to planning is a nightmare, no one wants any change in their back yard, added to that we have single minded blinkered councils that stop any sensible proposals because they are told by an inspector that they have hit their target, yet another inspector previously said more than 50% were undeliverable! There should be a government planning office that oversees decisions in real time, and a set of criteria to deliver housing that is in and around infrastructure. Planning should give the developer a restricted time to start and deliver a certain percentage of the housing, otherwise that developer is excluded from building on that site and has to pass it on to another developer. We need to create competition in delivery as much as competition in purchase. But we also need a streamlined planning system that does not hold sites delivery up for years. What’s wrong with an online system that automatically approves planning if all the criteria is hit with all consultants not objecting, subject to a design check. It then becomes a process to approval with no emotions.

From: Duncan Foster 25 January 2023 08:52 AM

I’m a bit confused, why do landlords have to fund people getting jobs around the country and allowing people to move more freely? Isn’t this something for the general tax system to do, sharing the burden across the whole economy? Yet again, a swipe at landlords as though we are second class businessman!

From: Duncan Foster 25 January 2023 08:33 AM

Apparently BTL mortgage rates have come down since the mini budget created a massive hike in rates, but if you look at them more carefully, rates may have stabilized around 5-5.5%, but the fees for a 2 or 5 year fix have gone wild! £6k,-£12k set up fees on a £200k mortgage?? That takes the rates to near 6% at best!

From: Duncan Foster 10 January 2023 13:08 PM

I have just replaced 2 x 27 year old boilers made by Ideal, superb boilers! But all are going to have to be condensing boilers soon to hit your EPC rating, so get ready!

From: Duncan Foster 06 January 2023 01:47 AM

Not sure what deal NRLA have done to offer a discount? No info in the article, no info on the website. I was interested because my gas safety cert was included which means I am saving £70/year already. At £12/month on the main website before any discount from the NRLA, that’s boiler cover for £74/year per property. I reckon I have spent pretty much that figure if I add up all my repairs and replacements and divide by the number of properties. But, I doubt I would have got the full replacement cost of the boilers as they were too old, so in my opinion I agree with Andrew, waste of time for a portfolio landlord. If you are a single property landlord, it’s cheap peace of mind.

From: Duncan Foster 05 January 2023 09:42 AM

To Expect Frank to monitor 1000s of houses built per year is a little too far fetched for me. TW have built some half decent houses, but also have had their fair share of rubbish. You cannot become a large developer and deliver quality 100% of the time because in the search for labour you will always end up with a few rotten eggs.

From: Duncan Foster 01 January 2023 09:31 AM

Driving private landlords out of the sector! The HA’s will continue getting government money to build and rent, private landlords will disappear unless you sign a holiday let with no protection. What an absolute balls up!

From: Duncan Foster 30 December 2022 08:07 AM

All this will do is add red tape and encourage nimbyism. I have recently bought a house from an HA right in a. hotspot of a thriving seaside town. What I have paid to the HA will build 2 more houses nearby in a slightly less desirable location for holiday lets. The sale of this house was delayed for 2 years because one local complained to the council about losing an “affordable” home. They don’t see the bigger picture, the businesses in the town would not be there without the tourist industry. I remember the town 30 years ago when it was like a ghost town, I would far rather have the town as it is now!

From: Duncan Foster 02 December 2022 09:04 AM

Ah I see your question now Michael.

From: Duncan Foster 18 November 2022 09:17 AM

I think he means the 3% levy charged to anyone or any company buying rental properties. When the 3% levy was imposed, they talked about making landlords exempt and only charging second home owners. This could be easily implemented by returning the 3% at 1%/year as you prove the property has been rented for 3 years. The government are just missing an opportunity to boost rental supply and all this levy does is push rents up as landlords look to recover their investment.

From: Duncan Foster 18 November 2022 08:39 AM

Biggest problem with DPS is that they have a set of rules around wear and tear. I had a tenant who’s cat scrabbled the stair carpet. I own a block of 5 houses of which this was one and they were all refurbed at the same time, all the other carpets were fine, but because they were 8 years old the DPS said it was fair wear and tear. What if you have a £50/m2 Axminster carpet that would ordinarily last 50 years? It’s not a fair system but neither is the landlord holding the deposit because so many took advantage at the end of the tenancy and kept deposits for dubious reasons. DPS needs to be more flexible beyond a set of rules!

From: Duncan Foster 18 November 2022 08:29 AM

I hear what you are saying. As rent and inflation goes up, the deposit does not rise. I believe the interest should be compounded and added to the deposit, therefore giving the tenant a larger amount back if they are great tenants, and the landlord more comfort as it grows.

From: Duncan Foster 09 November 2022 09:21 AM

I realise some people are starting out as a landlord and some people are forced into it because they couldn’t sell, so there are exceptions to what I am about to say. After 30 years of being a landlord on multiple properties I would suggest if you cannot afford to maintain them properly, you are in the wrong game. Would you buy a car you cannot afford to run? The red tape is a pain, the government constantly interfering and forcing landlords to rethink, plan and strategise, but I look at my portfolio value regularly against 10 years ago. At no point has it ever been worth less than exactly 10 years previous. I have long term tenants who look after my houses because I have provided them with a great property to start with and checked them out thoroughly before accepting them as tenants. It’s actually not that difficult if you keep it local and under control!

From: Duncan Foster 08 November 2022 09:01 AM

We are already committed to building our houses to an A rated standard, but there are benefits. If we sell or rent, we are achieving at least 10% over the market price, and arguably nearer 20%. Of course, if everyone has to deliver this, the market will have to sit at our sales prices, and therefore house prices and rents will rise again. The only thing that I don’t get is that there is little common sense in how EPC’s are calculated. You can install a 97% efficient gas boiler that costs less than 25% of the running cost of a heat pump, yet you will be scolded on your EPC for burning fossil fuel. It is well known that LPG will have hydrogen mixed with it from 2026, and the gas network will probably be pumping pure hydrogen around its network within 20 years. I don’t see why a hydrogen ready boiler should be penalised on an EPC, especially if you are delivering a super insulated house with solar or wind as well.

From: Duncan Foster 01 November 2022 08:52 AM

Whilst this is a good idea, we really need the government to stop penalising landlords differently to any other industry. Bring us back in line with mainstream taxes on the income, and bring in a tapered relief if you hold and rent the property long term. Capital gains at 28% in unfair when it is 20% on any other business. Entrepreneurs relief should be available to those who want to retire, if ER is available to other industries. I get it if you own one house, but those of us with a portfolio, running a proper business should not be treated any differently to any other trade.

From: Duncan Foster 16 September 2022 08:39 AM

Only 10% tax using Entrepreneurs relief George, holiday let is a business!

From: Duncan Foster 16 August 2022 08:19 AM

All new houses have to hit a C rating for building regs. I personally am committed to build all our houses to an A standard, which people will pay more for because their energy costs are minimal.

From: Duncan Foster 10 August 2022 11:23 AM

I recently made a proposal to government to offer 100% funding for all energy saving improvements, charge 2.5% on whatever is invested through council tax by adding a + to the banding. Government gets 2.5% on their money and the person saving the energy is paying for it. A £15k investment in solar and insulation costs £375/year, which should be saved in energy costs or what’s the point! Option to pay it back at any time and remove the + banding. The response did not even address the proposal!

From: Duncan Foster 08 August 2022 10:19 AM

Putting planning back in locals hands will just see a reduction of housing delivery. Nimbyism will take over with a “not in my back yard” attitude. At least while government has forced councils to deliver a certain amount of housing, the local councils have been forced to deliver.

From: Duncan Foster 01 August 2022 09:41 AM

I never thought I would say this because I have had some great tenants on benefits over the years, but I will not be taking anyone on benefits and I will be looking at the potential tenants work history to show they are unlikely to claim. Sorry to all the great single parents and disabled people that I have accommodated over the years, you will have to ask the council for a house now! 🤷‍♂️When I scaled back from 100 to 20 houses, I was unsure if it was a good decision, now I know!

From: Duncan Foster 16 June 2022 08:56 AM

This is simple. If the council want to change the property from one dwelling where the landlord is responsible for the council tax to multiple dwellings, then the tenants should become liable for their individual council tax like any other property. The council can then do all the chasing and leg work to collect, leaving the landlord to collect his rent without worrying about council tax bills!

From: Duncan Foster 02 March 2022 07:54 AM

So I had a long conversation with a building regs officer yesterday, and following that I now understand why infrared panels have not been the easy go to solution for anyone unable to fit heat pumps. It’s the way that SAPs are worked out because they are still assuming that electric panels use fossil fuels to create the electric. They are in the process of updating the way they work this out based on the amount of renewable energy that is now created, so when this is adopted next year, I think you will find these infrared panels will be the go to for anyone not wanting to fit a heat pump. Solar and infrared panels throughout an average 100m2 house would only cost around £6-10k and you would get the added benefit of reducing electric bills across all usage. Watch this space! .

From: Duncan Foster 22 October 2021 08:09 AM

Your right, We'll end up with them all hanging on the walls outside like they do abroad with air con units,. Another option is to install infrared panels, they are cheap to run and work very well. Cheap to install as well.

From: Duncan Foster 21 October 2021 10:41 AM

£5k towards a heat pump, then you have to install solar to run it efficiently, or super insulate the house. This doesn’t go far enough, if they truly want to get people to change, they need to assess each case, and give grants on a case by case basis. Might be better incentivising the gas companies to produce bio-gas and bio-oil with tax breaks!

From: Duncan Foster 21 October 2021 08:45 AM

Isn't that what social housing is for, and nearby less expensive areas?

From: Duncan Foster 20 October 2021 13:44 PM

As usual, a labour councillor going way beyond a sensible solution to what he is trying to achieve. I’m sorry if you can’t afford to live in the Lake District, I can’t afford to live in Knightsbridge, so I live somewhere else. The Lake District is a superb tourism hotspot creating lots of jobs and keeping businesses going, all of who pay lots of tax. What’s more, it is not just the super rich who stay in the Lake District, plenty of average income families enjoy the area every year. Maybe a proportionate measure would be to make everyone pay Council tax whether you are a business or not.

From: Duncan Foster 20 October 2021 09:30 AM

I have tenants who have been in my houses for over 10 years, they look after the house because it is their home, I look after the house to protect my investment. That is a simple business arrangement that suits both parties. If there were no landlords, where would the people who can’t afford a house live? Perhaps this group could build some refugee camps for them and they can all live in tents together! Complete morons!

From: Duncan Foster 11 June 2021 08:23 AM

If Lloyds start a property investment fund to do this, allowing savers to invest in their property portfolio and get decent returns, then this is a good idea. I cannot see any other way they can justify this new move, so keep an eye out for the new “Lloyds Property bond”. It will be interesting what rates they are offering on investment!

From: Duncan Foster 08 March 2021 12:09 PM

I had a lady rent a house from me years ago 3 doors down from a primary school. She allowed her son to stay there and he was a registered sex offender. I had to get her out and the council helped because of the proximity of the school. It’s only by fluke I found out and this guy could have been there for years without me knowing. It’s a worry that you cannot check these things prior to letting a property.

From: Duncan Foster 10 February 2021 11:47 AM

Well, I’m glad I mentioned the cat story! 🤷‍♂️🤣

From: Duncan Foster 03 February 2021 09:45 AM

I have now gone down this route for the downstairs, but in order to get a quality and warm feel upstairs, we like to put proper carpet and underlay in. 99% of tenants respect it but if pet tenancies become standard, I will be putting laminate in everywhere.

From: Duncan Foster 03 February 2021 09:30 AM

I have been with DPS since it’s inception with over 100 properties registered, and only made 1 claim in all those years, I could not believe it when I was told I could only get 50% of a carpet! It’s unbelievable.

From: Duncan Foster 02 February 2021 09:24 AM

The DPS use a set of rules that is biased to the tenant. For example, they assume carpets have a 10 year life span, so if your tenant has a cat and moves out leaving your carpets clawed to pieces, they will only pay out 50% if the carpets are 5 years old, nothing if they are 10 years old. I recently experienced this scenario where the tenants went in with perfect 3 year old carpets, left 2 years later, and I had to replace them because their cat tore them to pieces. DPS would not give me the full cost of replacement even though I had reports, photos, etc. I also have a house that has carpets over 20 years old and they are still like new because they cost a lot initially, so what happens if the tenant ruins them? The deposit protection system has become just like anything the government gets too involved in, completely over regulated!

From: Duncan Foster 02 February 2021 08:53 AM

I never thought I would say this, but following Covid 19 I actually think this is "part of" a good idea! Those who are happy to stay put in a house because they are not prepared to pay 10% of their unearnt profit can do so and never better themselves. Those who need to upsize or downsize will not be bothered about 10% of a profit they have not had to earn as long as SDLT is abolished on purchases which will wipe out £10bn/year of government income, so £250bn over 25 years. So the £421bn gain still becomes a healthy £170bn increase in tax to help pay back the national debt. This is a really easy and simplified way of getting rid of SDLT, and collecting a few quid more. Somehow the National debt needs to be paid back, and this seems a fair and reasonable way of doing it because it leaves the choice to the homeowner on whether they really need to move or not.

From: Duncan Foster 27 July 2020 18:56 PM

why is it that landlords are perceived as these hugely profiteering megalomaniacs. Two thirds of my income is from rents, they stop and I can’t put food on the table, and I can’t get 80% of my income from the government because they are rents. The government is doing enough with paying 80% of income and as a back up fast tracking Universal Credit. The writer of that article sounds like they voted for Jeremy Corbin!

From: Duncan Foster 15 April 2020 08:47 AM

We have been discussing this all morning and have come to the conclusion that in the event of "no deal" being taken off the table, Boris will call an election, do a deal with Farage and the election will be between Brexit and remain, remain having 2 parties, Labour and Liberal. Therefore Corbyn will never run the country and this poilcy is irrelevant. That said, if he somehow gets in, I'm emigrating!

From: Duncan Foster 03 September 2019 10:57 AM

They will need to target the mortgage and insurance companies first, because it is them who have been driving the “no DSS” culture. I remember a few years ago I had to really push to have some of my tenants accepted by my insurers, and ended up paying a premium to keep them.

From: Duncan Foster 05 March 2019 08:59 AM

We had a similar case, won a CCJ but after chasing the tenant through 3 properties, and lots of PI costs to find her, she moved again. We gave up spending good money after bad

From: Duncan Foster 10 January 2019 09:06 AM

Although this seems heavy handed, the tenants were there illegally and no doubt had claimed their rent from benefits and spent it. Whilst I sympathize with some people who end up in a financial mess, to have 9 kids and not be able to afford your rent is their own fault. I had tenants like this once who destroyed a property and didn't pay rent, and you do get to a stage where you feel they are just taking you for a ride, and I can see why the landlord acted the way he did. Frankly, they got what they deserved and no-one should be expected to house people who cannot be responsible for themselves. In order to warrant having 9 kids you would need to be a multi millionaire, so irresponsible!

From: Duncan Foster 10 December 2018 11:12 AM

Disgraceful and constant interfering by the government just continues to destroy the rental market. Maybe they should concentrate their efforts of interferrance on bringing the notice for non-payers in line with the deposit. I normally charge 1 months deposit but If someone wants a dog or cat, I double the deposit, so not I will not be able to allow any animals at all. Equally, the last non payer who destroyed a house, took months and months to get out through the courts, leaving me with a £5k bill which I have never collected because the tenant kept moving and did not have a job. Where is the protection for landlords?

From: Duncan Foster 05 December 2018 09:12 AM

anyone with half a brain can see Labour’s policies will destroy this country and send us back to the dark ages. If Corbyn ever gets into No10, I’m selling up and leaving the country because there is no point staying where genuine businessman are not wanted.

From: Duncan Foster 26 September 2018 08:43 AM

I am just selling some property in Wales, and I think you will find that you pay 0% up to £180k + 3% if second property and over £40k. There is a sliding scale much like the UK for amounts £250-500k 3.5%, £500k-£1m 5%, etc. Most BTLs in Wales should be captured under £180k I would have thought so all you will pay is the 3% extra. Not sure about the sliding scale up to 6% extra that you refer to but it’s still wrong and will stifle the already struggling Welsh property market.

From: Duncan Foster 13 September 2018 09:11 AM

I agree they have closed, but they need to be aligned to really get some traction. I do not see what the difference is to the lender if there is a PG. Also, there are not as many lenders who want to do multiple units. We have 5 houses all on the same title in a Ltd company and yet there are very few who will do it, and those who will penalise you with a higher rate. If they were on separate titles it would be no problem and a lot cheaper but that will cost a fortune in CGT and SDT. Catch 22!

From: Duncan Foster 13 September 2018 08:55 AM

What happened to the 3% being scrapped for landlords with over 10 properties? The government said they were trying to drive the rental sector out of the hands of inexperienced landlords and into experienced landlords. To avoid the income tax restrictions you can buy in a Ltd company, but you are penalised on the mortgage BTL rates. Lenders need to align Ltd company rates and personal BTL rates by adding a PG to Ltd company borrowing, and the 3% needs to be scrapped for investment property or for landlords with over 10

From: Duncan Foster 12 September 2018 12:15 PM

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