Property Market in Wimbledon Area

Outside Wimbledon courts

On a yearly basis, the world makes a pilgrimage to Wimbledon where they spend hours turning backwards and forwards to watch the greatest tennis tournament on the planet. Although this leafy end of south west London is traditionally known for the game of tennis and other racquet sports, it’s also among the fastest-growing local property markets in the UK.

Properties in Wimbledon range from beautiful country cottages to massive £20 million mansions. “Wimbledon Village is where town meets country,” says John Collard, a director of Robert Holmes and Co estate agents. “You have a common to walk on, nice pubs, and it is not crowded or built up. There is a golf course, a riding stable, and at the same time you can probably be at Waterloo station within 25 minutes.” Entry prices which would be for a one-bedroom terraced cottage would cost between £525,000 and £550,000.

Savills estate agents say that property prices today in the Wimbledon area 17 percent higher than they were at the 2007 property market peak. One thing that is clear is that there isn’t just a wide gap between town and village in Wimbledon but also between large and medium-sized properties. Detached houses cost on average £2.3 million compared with £2.7 million in 2007. Semi-detached homes are, however, doing better as they’ve gone up to £1.39 million from £1 million 10 years ago.

Letting your home for Wimbledon

Local Wimbledon residents often let their homes to the stars that come for the tournament but accountants warn that they should be wary of the taxman. Inflated rental incomes during the tournament rise from £1,000 to an incredible £6,000 for a week and this makes a lot of people fancy the idea of vacating their homes to make profit.

Angela Beech of accountants Blick Rothenberg said: “Homeowners renting out properties to players and their entourages can make a sizeable profit, but the Revenue does expect its share.” However, Rent-a-room relief allows homeowners to earn as much as £7,500 yearly if letting a part or all of their property without worrying about paying tax but you still have to declare it on your tax return. According to Ian Luder of accountants Grant Thornton “This is a generous tax relief, and even if you only let a room out during Wimbledon fortnight you can claim the full £7,500 annual relief.”

But Mr. Mannon added: “In order to qualify for rent-a-room relief, you must have continued to live in the property for at least some of the period it is let.” If the rental income is more than £7,500, you will be liable to tax on the excess. Carolyn Steppler of accountants KPMG said: “You have the option of choosing between two methods to calculate your tax liability if you rent out a room.” You can take your gross rent and deduct the £7,500, or you can calculate your taxable income by taking your total rental income less your allowable expenses, such as agent’s fees and insurance. A simple calculation will work out which is best for you.”

As regards mortgaged properties, The Halifax says borrowers require permission to let out their property and failure to do this will amount to a breach of their mortgage terms and conditions. “One of the conditions of us providing our consent is that all lettings are carried out through an assured shorthold tenancy agreement,” says a spokesman. “However, the minimum period that one of these can be set for is six months.”

In this regard, some lenders are stricter than others. For example, Yorkshire building society says it will not consent to let for a fortnight by its mortgage customers. On the other hand, a spokesman for Santander says: “If someone is letting out their home while they are away on two weeks’ holiday, we would want the borrower to ask us for consent, but this would not be unreasonably withheld.”

If you can overcome these hurdles, you can be sure to make a sizeable profit from letting out a room or even a floor when next the superstars come to town.

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