I am pretty experienced with property and tend to do all my own building work. I run semi and terrace BTL’s, but I am thinking about buying a large old house converted into 7 flats. This type of thing will be new for myself and so any pointers on what I should be thinking about […]

On Tuesday 4th February we saw the first of BBC Two’s three-part series about ‘Universal Credit: Inside the Welfare State’. Universal Credit is the biggest overhaul of the welfare state in a generation. It was designed to simplify the benefits systems and encourage the unemployed into work. However, since its introduction, Universal Credit has been […]

This week Cornwall Housing Private Lets starts its search for more landlords, with a range of services, to increase the number of safe and secure homes in Cornwall and help prevent anyone from sleeping on the streets. Through partnership working with Cornwall Council, Cornwall Housing has been successfully awarded funding under the Rapid Rehousing Pathway […]

The latest research by tenant deposit replacement scheme, Ome, has looked at the cost required to secure a rental property for the growing trend of over 60s opting for the rental market over homeownership and what percentage of monthly income this initial step requires, as well as how it compares to younger generations. With high […]

Hi, we own the ground floor flat in a two flat Victorian house. We have a 900+ year lease. The upstairs flat is let out and the property freehold belongs to the landlord. We would like to buy the freehold of the garden or exclusive use by licence or contract if this possibility exists. I […]

Aldermore’s new buy to let research2, surveying 1,000 UK-based landlords, highlights the important contribution landlords make to their local economy with eight in ten (81%) turning to a local tradesperson when their property requires work or renovation. Landlords spent on average £1,443 in the last 12 months on services such as plumbers, builders, letting agents […]

The latest research by lettings management platform, Howsy, has looked at which pockets of the buy-to-let market have seen the biggest uplifts in rental yields since the tenant fee ban came into force as part of the Tenant Fees Act 2019 back in June of last year. Howsy looked at the average rental yield by […]

I have been browsing this site and found it to be very useful with lots of handy information and a great bunch of valued members – so I decided to join as well! I am having a few issues (with the agent & tenant) and I would like to seek some opinions on the issues. […]

After buying a number of properties in joint names, my wife and I formed a company in 2019 to continue to build our portfolio. Both mortgage companies that we have used have asked for us to sign personal guarantees and mandated that we receive independent legal advice before we sign the guarantee. I have been […]

I have two BTL interest only mortgage, which are coming to an end and I need to find another provider. Unfortunately, the LTV has changed considerably as the flats have reduced in value and in order to find another decent mortgage rate I will have to reduce the mortgage amount by £65000 from my savings […]

We published an article a few weeks ago by Andrew Roberts from The Great Property Meet which asked our community for help and guidance for one of his Members in preparation for a Land Tribunal hearing (article link here). We also shared the article widely on Social Media. The support received and number of responses […]

The property agent did the Right to Rent checks on a tenant when they initially issued a 12-month tenancy contract to the tenant. The property is fully managed by the Agent. At this point the tenant’s visa did cover for full first 12-month tenancy contract. However, when property agent renewed the tenancy contract for another […]

Our client was a higher rate tax-payer and also owned four properties in his own name with the benefit of mortgages. Accordingly, he was affected by the restrictions on finance cost relief. His wife is also a higher rate tax-payer, so there was no scope to save tax by forming a partnership and allocating profits […]

I am at a loss where to go to rectify my EPC rating. The engineer that came out to assess has rated my flat (converted Mill in 2007) a G3. He has given zero stars for Insulation walls & Ceiling. The stone walls are 2 foot thick which I believe are dry lined but my […]

15 years ago, I purchased a BTL property for £300k and financed this with £130K re-mortgage against my home and a £170k BTL 20 year interest only mortgage, (my home mortgage is also an interest only). For the past 15 years I have been claiming tax relief on both mortgages, to offset my costs (subject […]

Housing Secretary, Robert Jenrick, indicated well-designed, high quality homes and tree-lined streets should be the ‘norm – not the exception’, following the launch of the Building Better Building Beautiful Commission’s final report. Living with beauty – the first report of its kind led by the late Sir Roger Scruton and Nicolas Boys Smith – contains […]

I have a separate flat in my house though under a single title owned by me. This has been rented. I want to separate the titles and sell the maisonette that has been my own home and move into the previously rented flat which will become my sole property. Stamp duty will be paid by […]

Universal Credit Landlords – Are you not being paid up to date when a tenant leaves you? Apparently a lot of Landlords are coming across the below more often now and have been asking ‘How come I haven’t been paid for last house?’ As Universal Credit (UC) carries on spreading like some infectious disease, a […]

I’ve seen people make millions investing in property, despite not earning that much in their regular jobs, or having much financial sophistication. As primarily a share investor, I was surprised that people could make money with these strategies. I have decided to document what they have done in a general sense, using 5 scenarios. The […]

We are very grateful to Andrew Roberts of The Great Property Meet for arranging a very professional recording of the presentation made by our Hon. Legal Counsel, Mark Smith, Head of Chambers at Cotswold Barristers at their January 2020 meeting. As you will see from the video, it was a full house. The video is […]

Arla Propertymark have released a report on the impact of the growth in short-term lets such as Airbnb on supply in the Private Rented Sector. Arla predict that 500,000 homes could be lost to short-term lets, because of the increasing costs of anti-landlord regulation and taxation. The research was carried out in partnership with leading […]