Page 486 – Property118

To install gas central heating or not?

16th March 2020

I have been planning to have gas central heating installed later this year, in a 1st floor, 2 bed flat that I am renting out. It currently has separate electric heaters and water heater, which are expensive to run. There is no gas on the premises at present and the total cost for piping in […]

Petition calls to freeze rents, S21 and S8 for Covid-19 outbreak

16th March 2020

Acorn, a Left Wing community based union of working class people, is petitioning the government to: – Enact temporary rent freezes for renters suffering with the virus or self isolating for the period of their self isolation and recovery – Announce an emergency freeze on all current section 21 or section 8 evictions – Announce […]

Aldermore

48% of landlords considering divesting – Aldermore

16th March 2020

Aldermore’s latest Buy to Let research, surveying 1,000 UK-based landlords, reveals that nearly half (48%) of landlords are considering divesting due to an increase in regulation and rules. The rule and regulation changes seen recently, including the introduction of a 3% stamp duty on rental and second properties, changes to taxation and more complex mortgage […]

How to address loss of income from car parking space?

16th March 2020

We own a flat, with underground car park, which we let out (independent of the flat) as most of the tenants do not have a need for parking space, since the property is close to offices and lots of public transport. We were recently informed by the managing agent of the block (we later found […]

Coronavirus has crashed my tenant’s business

16th March 2020

My tenant is an European national who has a holidays business across Europe. He tells me it has crashed due to Coronavirus and he is struggling to pay the rent and it is already 30% short this month. My agent has already started their automatic debt chasing process which used to include interest charges.. I […]

Tenants own business supplying lighting to large scale events?

16th March 2020

If Covid19 gets a bad as it has in Italy I’m sure many people will find themselves temporarily out of work or for the self employed, with no income. One of my tenants owns a business supplying lighting to large scale events. As landlords how should we deal with this? I contacted my tenants yesterday […]

Coronavirus – How it affects HMO Landlords

14th March 2020

Coronavirus COVID-19 will affect HMO Property Landlords, buy to let property investors and the property market in the UK. In the video below, Ranjan considers how HMO Property investors and the HMO Property Investment Market in the UK is going to be impacted by the onset of Coronaviris COVID-19. Ranjan hosts the Baker Street Property […]

BTL max age now 99 for Gatehouse bank

13th March 2020

Gatehouse Bank has relaxed its age criteria for Buy to Let mortgages increasing the maximum age at the end of the term, from 85 to 99 years. The 99 year age only applies to borrowers relying solely on rental income to stress test for affordability. The maximum age increase also applies to Houses in Multiple […]

Jenricks’ planning rules shake up to get Britain building

12th March 2020

Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick has set out proposals to bring Britain’s planning system into the 21st century as part of plans to get the country building. Councils will be encouraged to take a more innovative approach to home building by ensuring redevelopment of high streets is housing led, building upwards and above and around stations. […]

Think UK rental deposits are high?

12th March 2020

The latest research by Ome has compared the average cost of a rental deposit in the UK with 14 other nations who have the highest percentage of renters across the world. Ome looked at the wide variety of rental deposit calculations across 15 nations and what this meant financially for tenants. In England and Wales, […]

Budget 2020 – What it means For property investors and UK property market

12th March 2020

I give my analysis in the video below on what the first UK budget of 2020 means for property investors and property entrepreneurs and considers any impact on the UK property market. The key budget highlights for property investors and entrepreneurs are: Temporary relief on business rates which will also help property developers converting commercial […]

Budget implications on holiday lets?

12th March 2020

I have just been watching the new Chancellor’s Budget speech and I was particularly interested in the proposals for business rates. He is proposing a grant of £3000 for Businesses that qualify for rates relief. I understand that most holiday letting properties qualify for business rate relief and I assume that in this instance they […]

The National Landlord Investment Show

11th March 2020

The National Landlord Investment Show will help thousands of UK Landlords plan ahead after today’s Budget announcements at the must attend 70th Show at London Olympia – next Thursday 19th March. Political Broadcaster Andrew Neil will be chairing the hottest UK landlord debate in the main auditorium from 10am – 11:15am The debate is geared around […]

Tenants failed by Budget

11th March 2020

Tenants will continue to face a rental supply crisis as the Chancellor’s Budget has today failed to boost the supply of privately rented homes. Following years of tax hikes on the sector, organisations including the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, Hamptons International, Zoopla and ARLA Propertymark have warned that private sector rents are set to […]

Budget 2020 – Landlord Reactions

11th March 2020

Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak’s first Budget speech concentrated on bringing stability and security to the country using £12bn of fiscal action to combat the temporary effects of Coronavirus. The NHS was promised whatever resources it needed to tackle the virus with a £5bn response fund put aside. For individuals Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) […]

Bank of England emblem symbolising decision to hold the Base Rate at 5%

Bank Base Rate Slashed To 0.25%

11th March 2020

The Bank of England have decided to support today’s Budget, and the markets before they open, cutting Bank Base Rate by 0.5% from 0.75% to the previous post Credit Crisis low of 0.25%. This is obviously helpful news for landlords who are on variable, and especially tracker, Buy to Let mortgages who may face potential […]

HB payments while tenant in prison?

10th March 2020

I had a call from the Probation Service yesterday asking if I had any objection to my tenant returning to the property after his release. I had no idea he had even gone to prison! Apparently he was taken into custody mid Feb and due for release at the end of March. The PS stated […]

Mortgage holiday?

10th March 2020

I’m a large Buy to Let HMO landlord renting room by room in Aberdeen and have already been hit with plummeting enquiries from the Corona Virus and oil crash. I foresee difficult times ahead. Has anyone been in discussion with their lenders regarding a landlord mortgage holiday? I see press reports for homeowners being offered […]

Called out Repairman – Nothing wrong – Can we charge tenant?

10th March 2020

The other week we had a report from the tenant saying that the dishwasher wasn’t working. We asked them to check the fuse-box and check the troubleshooting in the manual. They did this so we booked an engineer to come round at a cost of £135. The engineer sent by the manufacturer said there was […]

Planning permission and licence applications?

10th March 2020

Waltham Forest have made changes to their renewed licence scheme that comes into effect on 1st May such that additional licensing will apply to smaller houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) that are not covered by the mandatory HMO or selective licence schemes. We have many such properties that have 3-4 unrelated renters. However, planning permission […]

How should I respond to the court as I need to sell?

10th March 2020

I’m going through some financial challenges and the best way out was to sell my Buy to Let property. I submitted an accelerated procedure form to evict my tenant as I need to sell the house due to financial pressure. I offered to pay the tenant a months rent + deposit to facilitate her moving […]