Page 564 – Property118

BTL property pick

22nd October 2018

We are delighted to offer readers this fantastic opportunity to purchase a contemporary, 3 bed, new build, semi-detached house, with lots of extras in St Helens, near Liverpool. We have already sold 4 plots at this popular development, which is almost build complete. Currently being advertised on Rightmove for £145,000, we have negotiated a discount of 16% […]

RLA call on banks to end Benefits discrimination

22nd October 2018

The RLA is calling on the majority of Buy to Let lenders to stop discriminating against lending to Landlords that let to benefits tenants in their criteria. They are citing and example where a landlord had their Buy to Let mortgage called in, because it was discovered they were letting to a benefits tenant. Click […]

Freehold maisonette above a shop – mortgage nightmare?

22nd October 2018

I’m hoping that the well informed members of the forum will be able to help me with my problem below. I unfortunately bought a freehold maisonette that resides over a flower shop below just over 2 years ago. I own the freehold to the whole building with the shop owner owning a long lease below. […]

Private rent to buy agreement?

22nd October 2018

I want to sell a property I’m currently renting to the tenant that lives there. The tenants are looking into getting a mortgage but they are unable to raise a deposit. Can I let them rent the property for 12 months and I accept rental income this as their deposit to buy? Is this legal […]

Patrick Collinson has got it wrong yet again!

20th October 2018

Last year I described how Patrick Collinson had misunderstood two reports with big numbers in them: Patrick Collinson “Guardian of Housing Ignorance” Patrick Collinson has done it again! This week he has blindly quoted the press release for a report – with small numbers in it – which was designed to deceive policymakers: Click here […]

Open Letter to Landlords and Shelter

19th October 2018

Landlords, Our sector is under attack like never before. Politicians and pressure groups who want to tax and regulate the PRS out of existence are causing unbelievable hardship for tenants. The new UK tax on turnover goes against all the basic norms of accountancy rules. I wish here to address all the P118 readers who […]

Homelessness Reduction – Four Simple Ideas

19th October 2018

This is an article that I recently published on my Linked In page – Homelessness Reduction: PRS co-operation Homelessness, and severe housing need, is on the increase, there is a huge shortage of social housing, and no matter how much the Government say they are investing (even if you believe the figures), they cannot keep […]

AST renewal post agent?

19th October 2018

I thought this was going to be a simple, but there is so much conflicting information on the web. My property is currently let on a 12 month AST that was set up via an agent. The agent has been useless and I am in constant discussion with them about other issues so I am […]

Generation Rent tries to hoodwink policymakers

19th October 2018

On Tuesday Generation Rent published a paper by its Director, Dan Wilson Craw. He proves – to his own satisfaction at least – that the Law of Supply and Demand does not apply to the UK’s private rented sector. The paper is called “Do measures that discourage buy-to-let investment increase rents?” Click here He claims […]

Shelter’s website says Section 21 does not cause homelessness

18th October 2018

Last Friday Melanie Onn MP had an article published in The House, Parliament’s Magazine. Melanie Onn is Labour MP for Great Grimsby and shadow minister for housing. Towards the end she wrote “We’d also tighten up tenancy rules to help prevent private evictions, now the leading cause of statutory homelessness, by banning section 21 evictions.” […]

Second date added for Letting Agents academy course

18th October 2018

Hamilton Fraser’s first academy course for Letting Agents sold out and now a second date has been added. Next month, Hamilton Fraser is launching the Hamilton Fraser Academy, a series of half and full day workshops to offer property professionals advice and education covering the full tenancy lifecycle. The first course, ‘Legal update and compliance’ […]

Croydon Council Support S21 Ban

17th October 2018

I have just read that Croydon Council ( who I believe are Labour) have become the first council to support the scrapping of the Section 21 no fault eviction. A council member stated “With Croydon having lost around 70% of its budget since 2010, we are struggling to deal with the scale of this problem, […]

Broken House!

17th October 2018

After selling my house to a cash buyer who wanted to move quickly, I found myself renting a house to oblige him. I am paying £2350 for house which is part of a converted mill in Hampshire. It’s in a lovely location but since moving in at the beginning of August, we have had nothing […]

5 year BTL fixed rates and BTL purchases at record lows

17th October 2018

Given the significant changes that have occurred in the buy-to-let (BTL) market in the last few years, not to mention the recent base rate increases, it’s no wonder that many landlords are feeling uncertain about their future. Thankfully, it seems lenders are feeling less nervous, as the average five-year fixed BTL rate has fallen to […]

Second IVA?

17th October 2018

Hi all, I had a tenant leave on the 1st of March 2017 with £1,050 arrears and dilapidation’s. To my surprise they were already in the process of arranging an IVA and I was added as one of a number of creditors expecting 25p in the pound spread over five years! Fast forward fifteen months […]

New Freeholder changing the Right to Let game?

17th October 2018

After owning and letting a Leasehold flat for around 20 years the freehold changed hands a few months ago. I have now received a letter informing me that letting the flat breaks a clause in the lease that says the flat must be used by either the Leaseholder or a member of the leaseholders family […]

The Growth of 2nd Charge Loans

17th October 2018

There are many reasons as to why 2nd charge loans are becoming increasingly popular. A second charge mortgage can offer an ideal solution to a remortgage, further advance or an unsecured loan. Today second charges offer very competitive rates. Some of the main reasons for using a second charge loan rather than remortgaging are: Current […]

HS2 accelerating Birmingham’s potential into its grand future

16th October 2018

High Speed 2 (HS2) is a Government plan to construct a high-speed rail link from Birmingham to London, the West Midlands, Leeds and Manchester. Curzon Street Station, due to open in Birmingham with seven high speed platforms in 2026, is set to be the first new intercity station built in Britain since the 19th century. The upcoming […]

Nottingham costs FOI

16th October 2018

A Freedom of Information (FOI) request was sent to Nottingham council in March this year requesting information a break down of average costs associated against the £600 licensing fee. In the response the authority estimated that an average cost of carrying out a rental a house inspection was £77.17. There was no further breakdown of […]

Proposal to make BTL a time limited offer – Feedback request

16th October 2018

Once more I am after landlords’ views – this time about a proposal put forward by the Centre for Policy Studies. In a nutshell it is this: ‘What we propose, therefore, is that the Government should make every buy-to-let landlord in the country a time-limited offer. For one year, if they sell up, they will […]

38 Degrees have a petition to pause UC rollout

16th October 2018

I would like to share the 38 Degrees petition to pause the rollout of Universal Credit: click here “To Esther McVey: Universal Credit is a scheme that replaces lots of different benefits. But it’s been riddled with problems since it was first trialed. It’s seen families relying on food banks, people forced onto the streets, […]