It has been revealed by the Guardian and ITV News that the hidden government database of registered ‘banned landlords’ has remained empty. This was verified by independent means after two FOI requests got the response that the database contents should remain a secret and the reason they should remain a secret is a secret. Click […]

I have been in court again! The case was heard in Canterbury County Court yesterday, Wilson v Manser and Manser, which went in the landlord’s favour. The Judgement itself is not of particular interest, but the refusal of Deputy District Judge Eyley to award fixed costs and contractual costs is of considerable importance to the […]

I so need some help as I just cannot Lose anymore money on professional services to be told different things by different people. I feel permanently anxious as my husband recently died and left me to manage a small portfolio which has untold problems which is causing me much stress. One big problem I’ve asked […]

My niece has been trying to buy a flat in Hackney Wick, a relatively new development next to the Olympic Park. One flat was rejected by all lenders as it had ACM cladding in the block – not on the flat she wanted to buy but on the attached 5 storey block. It had been […]

The commercial, Buy to Let, Development and Bridging finance market is maturing and developing to match the needs of the new more professional property investor post credit crunch. Some of the commercial lenders we now work with are taking a far more pragmatic, straightforward and commercial approach looking at projects much more on their individual […]

42% of 18-25 year olds prioritise saving for a holiday over a property. New research by leading price comparison website MoneySuperMarket today reveals that the profile of a typical first-time buyer in the UK is changing, while the overall number of people getting on the property ladder has dropped by a staggering 45% since 1994[1]. […]

Keystone Property Finance now have a very landlord friendly product and criteria range. In particular they will consider Trading Limited company applications (not just SPVs) for up to 80% Loan to Value and they will stress test the portfolio at a notional 5.5% and 125% interest cover. This means you can borrow £174.55 for every […]

I simply would like to know the best way to change the management company of a small block of 3 flats? I am one owner and and the other owner owns the other two flats. We don’t want to manage the block ourselves, but we do want to get rid of the inept management company […]

I am a tenant in a private rental and my landlord is a friend of mine. We have lived in our property for 3 years now. I recently employed a cleaner for about a month or so, she came weekly. On her last time here she had arranged to clean the oven whilst I was […]

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% […]

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 […]

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. […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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.” […]

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’ […]

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, […]