Now with the announcement today of increasing the lease to 990 years at zero ground rent and abolition of Marriage Value which may take a year or two to become law. What will happen now for leases extensions that have been agreed or in process of completion presumably many leaseholders will delay the extension or […]

Has anyone had any dealings with Birmingham City Council in regard to the use of Registered Providers? I have been trying to determine with BCC directly of the RP’s they use, how they rate and assess them. A very simple email was sent from me highlighting that while the list is in the public domain, […]

Over the past 20 years of buying and selling houses, I’ve always tried to do my own conveyancing, unless a mortgage was involved. I do this to keep in close contact with the sale and because I tend to be far quicker and (dare I add) at least as efficient as most solicitors. Recently, more […]

Hi All, I just want some advice on a prospective property purchase. A block of 4 purpose-built flats on one freehold title (is that an issue?) and they are all 1 beds. £265k purchase price with £2k rent pcm (pretty healthy demand and already fully let). On the face of it seems like a pretty […]

In a joint statement following the reintroduction of a national lockdown, the National Residential Landlords Association, The Big Issue and Ride Out Recession Alliance, Shelter, ARLA Propertymark, the Nationwide Building Society, and StepChange the Debt Charity have said: “Many thousands of private renters and landlords across the country now face rent arrears due to the […]

As a novice, I was wondering what steps do you take to secure a property at Below Market Value (BMV) when the property is being sold with the tenants in situ? I’m sure lenders prefer the security of houses to be bought with vacant possession? How can this be resolved without the professionals getting involved […]

Like most councils, the callous jobsworths at London Borough of Southwark will stop at nothing to avoid rehousing a resident.  In this case, they fought the poor tenant all the way up through the courts right up to the Court of Appeal making his family’s life a total misery. Celebrating the victory, Osborne Law and […]

Buy to Let Mortgage Finance Explained in this in-depth Q & A with buy to let mortgage expert, Akhil Mair from Our Mortgage Broker. Watch the whole video or dive into the topics you want answering. Your Top 10 Buy To Let (BTL) Mortgage Finance Questions: 00:00 | Introduction 02:23 | Mortgage Finance & BRRRR […]

The Housing Secretary, Robert  Jenrick, has announced that millions of leaseholders will be given the right to extend their lease by a maximum term of 990 years at zero ground rent. Today’s measures come as part of the biggest reforms to English property  law  for  forty years, fundamentally making homeownership fairer and more secure. Under the […]

New research has revealed that almost two thirds (62%) of people claim to have had an issue with mould in their home at least once, with conditions in the home the most common reason for the spread of mould, says a new research study commissioned by Uswitch. It may be no surprise that London’s the city where […]

Hi, I own a ground floor flat as a leaseholder that is part of a large 2-storey block. Before I bought the property 5 years ago the management company had cavity wall insulation installed (around 10 Years ago) I now have two walls that run with condensation and has black mould growing all winter. It […]

Mark Alexander​ founder of Property118.com and landlord takes a look at Property Investors tax returns and share his advice on landlord tax planning as part of our 12 days of property. January is the month of the self-assessment deadlines and tax returns. Last January we brought you Mark Smith​ a Tax Barrister for Property118 see […]

It appears that a London borough council’s two licensing schemes have expired at the turn of the year, with no alternative likely to come into force until the middle of 2021 at least. London Property Licensing reports that additional and selective licensing schemes in Southwark, south London, expired on December 31, five years after they […]

Here we go again! We are in lockdown and so many potential buyers will be furloughed or worse and buying chains will collapse when the mortgage offers are withdrawn. We have been trying to buy since early October, we have cash and make realistic offers based on ROI characteristics, only to be outbid by potential […]

I have a 1970s 3 bed terraced house on a very popular estate in South Tyneside. I own the house without a mortgage and it has been rented for 6 years to two sets of excellent tenants, absolutely trouble-free. My tenants have just informed me that, after 5 years of happy renting, they are moving […]

Half a million private renters in the UK are behind on their rent, according to Citizens Advice.  This comes as the country enters another period of national lockdown, causing further economic hardship. Renters have already been badly affected by the economic consequences of the pandemic with one in three private renters losing income. For the […]

Following the announcement of another National lockdown there is no end in sight for desperate landlords and there must now be government support. This is an exceptionally difficult situation for everyone and as before it is vital that tenants who are genuinely impacted by the pandemic are protected from losing their home.  Echoing calls from […]

The government guidance regarding lockdown restrictions for the housing market says estate and letting agents and removals firms can continue to work You can still move home. If you are looking to move, you can go to property viewings. People outside your household or ​support bubble​ should not help with moving house unless absolutely necessary. […]

My tenant paid their cash deposit at the start of the contract in July 2004. This was never protected (only tenancies signed after April 2007 need the deposit to be protected), and the contract has remained the same – no amendments, no updates etc. The rent has increased over time, so now I think it […]

The Bank of England has released the latest figures for total UK mortgage approvals by lenders in November totalling 104,969. This is the highest number of mortgage approvals in one month since 2007 as can be seen in the historic data in the graph below. This compares and is a sharp recovery from the lowest […]

Hi and Happy New year to all. I am currently completing my tax return for 2019/2020, and I need a bit of advice, please. I have 3 Properties on BTL on my sole name (I own 1 from 3 years ago currently let by the same tenant since the start of the business), and I […]