Hi Everyone, I have a property owned for almost 3 decades. Recently I have had mould appearing on the inside wall below the front ground floor window. Despite painting over with anti-mould paint the mould keeps reappearing. I have a suspicion that it is connected to the insulation which was done approx 10 years ago. […]

There’s no doubt that now is the time to start downsizing our property portfolios. With many of us reaching our 50s and 60s, the property machines we built have become more of a financial burden than a financial gain. Taxes, legislation changes, the cost of meeting new regulations, £10K refurbs, incorporation costs… the list goes […]

The government is set to repeal the Vagrancy Act which has been in place since 1824 making it an offence to sleep rough or beg in England and Wales. Begging is harmful to those involved and can have a detrimental impact on wider communities. The government wants to bring forward a new strategy that builds […]

With Selective Licencing now coming to Birmingham I have been trying to get a grip on what this means financially by reading other landlords’ experiences/demands by councils to achieve certain requirements. Has anyone managed to get a ball park figure of what it has cost them to ‘upgrade’ a standard property to tick all the […]

The latest Halifax House Price index reports March recorded the biggest monthly increase since September last year with house price growth of 1.4%. The average property price has now reached £282,753, meaning two years on from the first lockdown, house prices have risen by £43,577. The South West has now overtaken Wales as the UK […]

A few months ago an email was sent to our PDPLA (Portsmouth and District Private Landlord Association) mentioning that tenants must start paying CGT (Capital Gains Tax) after 10 years in the same home! It vaguely rang a bell, so I had a look at our tenancy records… O dear two tenants are in the […]

Market analysis from Octane Capital, has revealed that the current market value of Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) currently sits above wider market values, suggesting that new licensing laws have had a limited impact on the appetite for the often perceived trickier path to building a buy-to-let portfolio. Licensing changes surrounding HMOs have been rolled […]

Sheffield landlord, Mrs Zobia Rafique, has settled her legal case for harassment, defamation and breach of data rights against pressure group The Association of Community Organisations for Reform Now (ACORN). What was initially a low-level disagreement with a tenant, Ms Aya Hoez, over the return of a £300 deposit, turned into a campaign of harassment […]

The Home Office has issued guidance for landlords, and letting agents on the introduction of new Right to Rent immigration checks coming into force today 6th April 2022. Click here From 6 April 2022, landlords can use Identity Document Validation Technology (IDVT) via the services of an IDSP to complete the digital identity verification element […]

Hi all, My brother took on an HMO and after various issues with the council which I sorted out we are left with one issue, which is on the go. One flat contains a 35yr old single man with serious mental health issues. They kept sending Council tax demands to my brother to pay despite […]

Do you think it’s possible to find discounted (Below Market Value) properties in this booming property market? Other investors are finding discounted deals in a booming market, which proves that it is possible.  Even if it’s not always easy to do. If you could save Tens of Thousands of pounds off the purchase price of […]

In a joint statement with UK Finance and the Building Societies Association (BSA), RICS has issued new guidance to lenders to clarify the current lending position for properties with fire safety issues in blocks of flats over 11 meters. Click here The statement indicates Providing the mortgage application meets all the lender’s other policy and […]

Hi, I’m stumped! I have looked at various websites and all give weird and wonderful formulae that are confusing contradictory and I am going around in circles. All I want to know is how to assess what the current market rental rate is for shops on a particular high street I know it is based […]

Hi, I own 8 flats in a block which is all of the flats in the block. I have been told I can buy the freehold because I own more than 50% of the individual flats. However, I have also been told I can’t because I am not resident within the block and the 50% […]

I purchase my property nearly a year ago now and my solicitor’s company is refusing to pass on the Service Charges which I had paid to them for the management company as part of the completion. The sale required an indemnity policy (as the vendor had laid wooden floors in the property which breached the […]

Over the last week, an influx of Property118 landlords rushed to contact the team at Landlord Sales Agency – a company known for being experts in property portfolio exit strategies. The question wasn’t so much whether now was the time to sell our portfolios, but more how. With so many properties on our books, the […]

Hi, We own an apartment which has been rented to a Portuguese company for four years, with no problems. The company’s business is in arranging accommodation for its clients. However, the lease period expired on 25th March 2022, and we gave them notice to quit two months prior to that in accordance with the lease […]

New data from SpareRoom reveals 96% of renters are concerned about the rising cost of living with the cost of rent (86%), increasing energy bills (84%) and the price of a weekly shop (68%) tenants’ main concerns Homeowners are also concerned, with 95% saying they’re worried about living costs rising. Key concerns are energy bills […]

Do you want to become a more successful property investor? If yes, then you need to get really good at finding great deals in your area.  It is the number one skill you need to learn. Most people search online, go to estate agents, or attend property auctions looking for potential property deals. Whilst there […]

Over half of private tenants relying on Universal Credit to pay their rent have a shortfall between the amount they receive and what they pay for their housing. It comes a year after the Government froze housing benefit rates. Official data suggests that 56% of private renters relying on Universal Credit have an average gap […]

The latest Nationwide House Price Index shows UK house price growth surged to its highest level since 2004. Annual house price growth in March increased to 14.3%, from 12.6% in February with Wales remaining the strongest performing region and London the weakest. Detached properties have increased by nearly £68,000 since the start of the pandemic, […]