All posts by Mark Alexander
Guide to keeping financial records for a property business...
As the deadlines for filing rental accounts fast approach, here’s a quick guide to how the taxman expects property investors to keep financial records.
Keeping records for a rental business means:...
The History of Buy to Let Sale and Rent Back...
By Mark Alexander.
I closed my first Sale and Rent Back, “SARB”, deal in 1990. It wasn’t for me personally though and it wasn’t a property deal either. I had just set up a commercial...
Making sure a selling price adds up for capital gains. Property...
House sellers need to do their sums before accepting an offer on a property investment to make sure the figures add up to pay any tax and settle the mortgage.
Property investors must know the break-even...
Don’t let house price surveys build up your hopes. Deciding...
House price surveys are nonsense – and do not offer anything other than an indication of the value of a non-existent ‘average’ home.
Deciding which survey to trust is easy – none...
Florida Property PART TWO – examples of sales now being completed...
Click on the link below to view examples of sales now being completed in the Orlando area for the long term rental market.
These are not holiday homes but could be! Values have crashed to 50% below what...
Property investors must act to avoid 40% tax bill...
The best laid Tory plans to boost inheritance tax (IHT) thresholds to £1 million after the election were shelved as a result of pressure from the Lib Dems when forming the coalition government.
That means...
House prices still up 8.3% on last year despite slowdown.
The latest house price surveys confirm what everyone already knows – house prices are stuck in a rut and mortgage finance is drying up.
The latest house price figures released by the Communities...
Property rental FAQ offered free by watchdog. Free guide from...
Landlords can smooth out disagreements with tenants by offering them a free guide that explains the rights of both sides on issues that provoke upsets.
The guide gives step-by-step answers to some of the...
The history of No Money Down and Instant Remortgages since 1992...
It was 1992, we were at the tail of the property crash of the late 80’s and early 90’s. I was still cutting my teeth in the market of providing commercial finance broking facilities to property...
Falling rates boost buy to let mortgages.
Buy to let mortgage rates are steadily falling while the number of lenders is increasing.
BM Solutions is the latest lender to cut buy to let mortgage rates – by between 0.31% and 0.45% on a range...
Landlords set to profit from generation of renters. Housing minister...
Property investors are witnessing a shift in the housing market that will affect people’s attitudes to buying and renting homes for generations to come.
The truth is already out there – it...
Florida Property PART ONE – Mark Alexander, will spend the...
Perhaps one of the Worlds most spectacular property market crashes of recent years has been in the areas surrounding Disneyworld in Orlando, Florida. However, has the hype that drove properties to ridiculously...
Britain’s biggest private landlord banks on buying refurbs.
Britain’s largest private residential landlord is celebrating that the firm’s portfolio of 13,000 properties is outperforming the market.
The £1.6 billion portfolio is owned by Northeast based...
The Money Centre reports on how SIPPS pension rule changes may...
Ministers may consider including residential investment property in self-invested pension schemes (SIPPS) that would lead to a major pension industry shake-up for buy to let landlords.
Representatives...
Nine excuses why property investors don’t make tax returns...
Many property owners are confused over whether they should declare the money they earn from letting.
Here’s a list of some of the most common misconceptions about making a tax return:
The tax rules...
UK income tax hike was world’s highest for 2010...
British taxpayers are vying with those in Sweden, Denmark, and the Netherlands to pay the highest rates of tax in Europe.
Top rate taxpayers here also suffered the largest tax hike in the world when rates...
Councils challenge HMO planning reversal in High Court...
Student landlords and shared house investors planning and licensing rules face scrutiny under a second legal challenge – this time by local councils.
The rules are already facing High Court review...
Fund managers to sink cash in to commercial property. Two out...
Two out of three investment fund managers intend to put cash in to commercial property in the coming months.
Many still see commercial property as a good investment although they expect portfolio values...
Gifting a home to family can cost a fortune...
Gifting property to families or loved ones without triggering a cluster bomb of taxes is never simple.
Take two sisters who inherited a property from mum and dad.
One of the sisters lives overseas and...
What’s more important, cashflow or liquidity? Mark Alexander...
Cashflow is simply defined as regular income. Positive cashflow is when income exceeds expenditure and you make a profit. So that’s important right?
Of course it’s important, but are you in...
The Money Centre’s Estate Planning Partners look to team up...
We’ve recently embarked on a new initiative to provide Estate Planning advice to people who need it most, whilst at the same time supporting charities that support families who are affected by the...