Renting became more affordable in 2018 thanks to a combination of a once-in-a-decade fall in annual rents and wage inflation, according to The Deposit Protection Service (DPS). 2018 was the first calendar year since the global financial crisis of 2008 that average rents decreased in the UK, with the percentage of wages spent on rents […]

If you are trapped in Negative equity and need to find a solution we advocate Mediation as we believe that this is the best option not only for the clients, but also for the banks as this process saves all parties time money and distress. It is important to note that unlike Bankruptcy or IVA […]

‘Rumble with the Agents’, the annual white-collar charity boxing event hosted by Landlord Action is set to return for the fifth year running.  This year they are calling for participants and attendees to help them create life-changing wishes for children with critical illnesses through Make-A-Wish UK. Rumble with the Agents is a unique opportunity for people with […]

Our article “Ban on Lettings Fees to commence June 1st” (click here) created a great deal of discussion in the comments section and in-depth detail on what will and won’t be allowed and is worth catching up on along with the examples below. Further examples of fees banned, but not exhaustive include: Referencing cost Charging […]

Steve Harriott, Chief Executive Officer at Tenancy Deposit Scheme (TDS), discusses the serious fire at the company’s head-office, and how meticulous planning and a strong team meant that the service continued with barely a hiccup. (Pic right – what is left of a computer) I’ve always firmly believed that TDS’s biggest strength is the expertise, […]

I am a landlady of the residential property as well as a tenant of commercial one and got into trouble with our landlord. My partner and I running a small dry cleaning business from a rented premises. Our lease came to the end in September last year and we made a mistake by not acting […]

Rightmove have reported a small increase of 0.4% in the price of properties coming onto the market in January 2019 compared to a 1.4% drop in December. There was also a significant 5% rise in the number of searches for property on the website this month so far with an average of around 4.5m visits […]

I have a terraced house with a passageway between the neighbouring properties. The Tenants next-door have just been evicted, they caused damage to my side of the passageway and I have had to have 25 bricks stitched back in. I have contacted the Landlady who tells me that the Tenants are liable and she will […]

Please see below email I have received from Coventry City Council regarding a Selective Licensing scheme (not that selective) which is being rushed through with very little publicity to date.  Some of the facts and figures used to justify the scheme do not at first glance at least ring true! If you could publicise this […]

Data released by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, click here, warns that whilst demand for rented housing from tenants “held more or less stead for the third month running”, the number of landlord instructions “declined once again, rounding off a year in which they have fallen in all twelve months.” The RLA is blaming […]

Businesses, tradesmen, and contractors, are overcharging VAT to customers. Homeowners, property developers, and landlords, are routinely being charged VAT at the standard 20% rate, for works which should qualify for a reduced VAT rate. Most accountants don’t pick up on this, or don’t even know about it, (I asked several accountants and some bookkeepers), so […]

I have recently purchased my neighbours house with the hope of one day connecting them together. Our son is wheelchair bound and needs tremendous additional support and equipment hence the future plan. However, after using up just about all funds I can access the work on joining the houses will probably not happen for at […]

If you are due to pay tax on your finance costs by 31st January 2019 I have some very bad news for you, and some potentially very good news. I will begin with the bad news. Unless you make some changes, it is highly likely that you will pay twice as much tax on your […]

Eddie Hooker, CEO of award winning Hamilton Fraser Total Landlord Insurance and Paul Shamplina, Founder of Landlord Action and Brand Ambassador at Hamilton Fraser, are back for a new year property podcast. The podcast is part of a series and features episodes offering practical tips for landlords and letting agents on how to better manage […]

I’m hoping someone may be able to provide some guidance. I purchased a newly converted ground floor flat over a year ago. It was previously a large Victorian house that has been split into a number of flats. Shortly after moving in I noticed a gap between the flooring and skirting board alongside one wall […]

So they are building Social Housing somewhere in the country. The complete transformation of social housing in Scotland’s largest city under Glasgow Housing Association (GHA) has boosted the Scottish economy by £2 billion and supported thousands of jobs, a new report has revealed. The study, by the Fraser of Allander Institute (FAI), reviewed the impact […]

Two scenarios regularly pitched to me during tax planning consultations are:- 1) We want to sell some of our properties which are low yielding and replace them with higher yielding properties. 2) We have been considering selling some of our properties and using the net sale proceeds to pay down other mortgages to improve the […]

I’m a newbie to the letting game and would welcome advice from some seasoned members. I have a tenant who has run up non payment of rent to the tune of over a £1200. She was a no problem for 6 months of her short hold tenancy agreement, but once it changed to a periodic, […]

The UK housing market ended 2018 on a weak note with uncertainty still biting, alongside continuing lack of stock and affordability issues, according to the December 2018 UK Residential Market Survey. Key activity indicators continued to slip in December with sales volumes dwindling, although beneath this national headline figure some areas of the UK saw […]

Nottingham council and its controversial selective licensing scheme, which our own Mick Roberts is battling, are to introduce a data modelling system targeting and prioritising unlicensed landlords to penalise. With the chaotic, expensive, complicated, error ridden and heavy handed way selective licencing has been implemented in Nottingham any new system when the existing is far […]

We are delighted to be holding our next Property Investment Seminar on Wednesday 20th February 2019 in Brentwood, Essex. We would really love to have you join us! The seminar will be presented by one of the Directors of PIP, both of whom are experienced property investors in their own right, successfully having used property to build and create wealth and […]