Page 451 – Property118

Golden Visa Opportunities: The Top 10 Interesting Programs

27th October 2020

Confronted with the high income tax rates in the UK, British citizens have been more interested in alternative taxation programs in recent years. One of them is the Non-Habitual Residency (NHR). According to a study by UHY (Urbach Hacker Young International Limited) in 2019, tax rates for salaries in the UK are higher than the […]

Mortgage Express (Rosinca Mortgages) will not allow transfer of equity?

26th October 2020

Has anyone any advice for the following situation: 3 BTL properties with Mortgage Express (now Rosinca Mortgages) which still have 8 years left on a 25-year interest-only mortgage term. The properties are jointly owned by myself and my Brother. We also each of us have our own substantial property portfolios which are independent of these […]

Council HMO guidance – Now more confused than when I started?

26th October 2020

I’ve read Bexley Council and Government guidance but am just more confused than when I started. I have converted my house into 3 separate living ‘units’, I’m not calling them flats as they don’t meet building regulations (I do have planning permission for the extension and conversion works). Each unit has its own entrance, bedroom, […]

Friend signed a Deed of Surrender but then decided to stay?

26th October 2020

I rented my flat to a friend, and he recently got fired from his job. He’s about £1,600 in rental arrears. Given that he is currently unemployed and broke I suggest the best course of action for us both is for him to vacate the flat and stay in my place (as I have a […]

I have done my own conveyancing – CGT costs?

26th October 2020

I have sold one of my rental properties and have done my own conveyancing, on the sale as well as on the purchase. I understand that I can put related buying, selling and improvements, but not general maintenance, to reduce the amount of CGT liability. In relation to the buying and selling costs to lessen […]

Bailiffs suspend enforcing court orders for evictions in Tiers 2 and 3

26th October 2020

Bailiff trade bodies have agreed to suspend the enforcement of court order evictions for areas under Tier 2 and 3 restrictions after a request sent from the Justice Secretary Robert Buckland. Buckland wrote: “We would request that your members should instruct the enforcement agents working under their authorisation not to enter properties including taking control […]

Auction watch – 4 auction deals at forthcoming sales

23rd October 2020

This video is a review of four upcoming property deals on sale at auction over the next fortnight. In the video I am joined by Piotr Rusinek, Jay Howard and Rod Turner as they analyse four potential auction bargain opportunities. 0:00 Into to lots from – Auction House London, Savills, Allsop Auction, & Acuitus. 3:34 […]

EPCs – New ones issued via email link only?

23rd October 2020

I have had a raft of new EPC’s done and the assessors have just emailed me the link to the .gov site where they are stored. You can’t download them (I have tried). Question – do I have to send a copy of the new EPC to the existing tenant? (they already had a copy […]

Continued support for struggling borrowers

23rd October 2020

The Financial Conduct Authority is urging consumers struggling to make repayments due to the impact of coronavirus (Covid-19), to speak to their lenders about options available to them. The FCA has put in place a package of support for people in difficulty to ensure help is available after 31 October 2020. A survey of more […]

Landlords and tenants should make contingency plans together for winter

22nd October 2020

After the first national lockdown period, the restrictions on moving homes in England were removed in May 2020, but what impact did the temporary emergency rules on moving into a new house have on renters? According to new research by Ome, utilising data from government approved deposit protection scheme mydeposits, lockdown caused a marked decrease […]

Citizens advice calling for tenant loans and grants in tiers 2 and 3

22nd October 2020

Citizens Advice is reporting on a series of gaps in protections in England that do not align with the coronavirus lockdown tiers and that in some areas, particularly rent and council tax, the lack of broad national protections could see people at risk of falling behind on vital bills. The only increase in protection for […]

ONS UK House Price Index for August 2020 up 0.7%

22nd October 2020

The office for National Statistics has released the UK House Price Index summary for August 2020 showing the average price of a property in the UK was now £239,196 reflecting an annual increase of 2.5% and a monthly increase for August of 0.7% At the individual country level, the largest annual house price growth in the […]

Capital appreciation covering the costs of running a property

22nd October 2020

Research from GetAgent.co.uk has found that nearly half of all properties pay for themselves when it comes to the average annual cost of upkeep and the increase in capital appreciation. GetAgent.co.uk looked at each local authority in England and the total current upkeep costs of a property on an annual basis, based on: annual council […]

Absent freeholder since purchase in 2011 suddenly appears?

21st October 2020

I own a 1st floor top flat that I purchased in 2011 for renting purposes. The property is leasehold however there is no service charge or ground rent payable. The freeholder has been absent since I purchased the property and I have no contact details. I purchased a 2nd flat below mine last year, so […]

Welsh temporary lockdown – Is moving home permitted?

20th October 2020

Welsh First Minister, Mark Drakeford, announced A short, sharp “firebreak” will be introduced across Wales at the end of this week to help regain control of coronavirus. The fire-break will start at 6pm on Friday 23 October and end on Monday 9 November. It will apply to everyone living in Wales and will replace the […]

Room rents in London remain depressed

20th October 2020

Although Covid-19 restrictions began to ease in Q3, the rental market in the capital still struggled to recover, with the average London room rent down 7%, from £780 in Q3 2019 to £725 in Q3 2020. Rents in EC3/Aldgate (-34%) *, W9/Maida Vale/Paddington (-20%) and SW1/Westminster/Belgravia/Pimlico (-17%) saw the biggest falls in London, decreasing dramatically […]

Size matters for the UK average house price of £231k

20th October 2020

How much space can the UK’s average house price of £231k buy you across the country? Home buyers in the West Midlands can afford almost double the floorspace than those in the South East, according to new research1. The study, conducted by self-storage experts, Space Station, took figures from almost 4,000 data points taken from 650 […]

Beyond Section 21 Report – The unintended consequences if government doesn’t listen

19th October 2020

Following the Government’s announcement and subsequent consultation into repealing Section 21, which received in excess of 20,000 responses, The Lettings Industry Council (TLIC) commissioned a report ‘Beyond Section 21’ to look at the impacts of doing so.  The report, released 19 October 2020, details the negative consequences of the abolition of Section 21, including a […]

Extension wall built too close?

19th October 2020

Hi, I own a 4 bed detached on a street built in the 60’s. On facing the houses each has a path of about 6ft between them BUT the path is owned by the house to the right up to the walls of the house to the left.. My neighbour has built a wrap round […]

Window to Conservatory: HHSRS cat 1 hazard

19th October 2020

Portsmouth City Council (PCC) Licensing team have just done an HHSRS inspection of one of my student HMOs and given one of the rooms a Category 1/ band B hazard rating for ‘excess heat’ due to the room’s window opening onto a “conservatory”, and the “conservatory” and it’s door to the garden being in shared […]

To charge or not to charge?

19th October 2020

I own and manage a small HMO and rent the individual rooms on an AST of 6 months. In August a new tenant moved in, 7 weeks into her contract she told me she was now on the shortlist to move to a council flat, and she hoped to be moved out by the end […]