Page 633 – Property118

Is this conspiracy to commit fraud?

22nd June 2017

I used a sourcing company to source me a newbuild flat. I was given assurances by the sourcing company that the property would be “mortgagable” before I exchanged contracts. The properties have now been built, however, we have been unable to obtain finance. We have used the in-house mortgage broker, as recommended by the sourcing […]

Rental deposits to be capped at one month’s rent

22nd June 2017

Responding to the announcement in the Queen’s Speech to cap tenancy deposits to no more than one month’s rent, Richard Lambert, CEO at the National Landlords Association (NLA) said: “The decision to cap tenancy deposits at no more than one month’s rent smacks of a political gesture from a government desperate to court the voters […]

West Brom AGM 2017 – chance to vote against management

22nd June 2017

I was one of the many on Property118 who joined the valiant battle in Court (well done Mark and Mark!) to recover the illegally taken additional interest on BTL loans (they had raised the margin over the BOE base rate on what were advertised as “tracker loans”.  Today in the post came the info pack […]

Iain Duncan Smith Has Spoken Out For Landlords

21st June 2017

On Sunday 18th June 2017, Iain Duncan Smith was quoted by the Sunday Telegraph as saying …. “Finally, it is time to look again at the way we treat private landlords who buy houses to rent. George Osborne’s decisions to impose a stamp duty levy on the purchase of homes to rent, to restrict mortgage […]

Call from 60 year old deceased tenant’s ex-partner?

21st June 2017

I received a call from someone saying they were my long-standing 60 year old tenant’s ex-partner. She told me that, since he died in his sleep a week ago, she and his daughter have nearly finished clearing the flat and are just about ready to hand back the keys. From our brief discussion and her […]

Letter – why S24 loan interest relief restrictions force sale

21st June 2017

I need to give my tenant notice to quit and sell my property so that I am not affected by the S24 loan interest relief restrictions. Does anyone have a letter they would be willing to share which they’ve used to explain to a tenant why selling his home has become necessary (especially one which […]

Happy Tax Day

21st June 2017

Hope you like the animation! Is this how you feel landlords are being treated? Maybe our eBooks can help. Landlord Tax Planning Strategies eBook Guide To Forming A Property Partnership Guide To Incorporation For Private Landlords Landlord Tax Planning Presentation in PowerPoint and PDF https://www.property118.com/property118-tax-planning-analysis-software/

Prospective guarantor passes credit check but does not have a UK address

21st June 2017

As a result of finally having run out of fingers to burn off in recent years I am now taking an altogether more pro-active stance with my letting agents at the pre-tenancy stage. In particular, I now require sight of all of the tenant provided documents as well as the full results of the credit […]

Regulated Tenant dies with no known relative in UK

21st June 2017

I have just been informed that a long standing regulated tenant has passed away. A friend of his called and with no answer forced entry with the aid of the police. The tenant was a very private man in his middle 90’s. I have had a few tenants die in situ before but with relatives […]

Step sons want to take possession of fathers house

20th June 2017

My dad has just received a letter from his second wife’s sons claiming that they have the right to make him leave the home he has lived in and maintained for the last 45 years (he’s 88 now) and to make him pay back rent as well. They have sent a letter of Pre action […]

Stamp Duty set to triple for 10% of UK home buyers

SDLT for Limited companies

20th June 2017

My company owns 50% of a leasehold flat and has agreed to purchase the other 50% for £57,500. I was extremely surprised to hear from my solicitor that “SDLT is payable by all companies at the rate of 3% when acquiring a property at this level.” He also stated that he was taking advice on […]

FREE WEBINAR – Last Chance To Register

20th June 2017

This is you LAST CHANCE to register for the Property118/YPN/Cotswold Barristers joint webinar which will take place at 8pm on Thursday 22nd June 2017. The registration link is; https://ypnmagazine.infusionsoft.com/app/form/26e17cb41be832a3d7ecbda47a2bbf61 The webinar will be hosted by Ant Lyons, founder of YPN and guest experts will be Mark Smith, Head of Chambers at Cotswold Barristers and Mark Alexander, […]

Mark Carney on Base Rate increase “now is not yet the time”

20th June 2017

Mark Carney, the Governor of the Bank of England, said in a speech titled A Fine Balance that he did not think now was the time to increase interest rates. This is after the last Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted 5 – 3 to hold the Bank Base Rate at 0.25%. This was the narrowest […]

Open Letter to HMRC – Clarification of “BUSINESS”

20th June 2017

Today Property118 Limited sent the following open letter to HMRC.  To Whom It May Concern Property118 Limited is an online UK forum for private housing providers (landlords). Last year, our forums facilitated over 5,000,000 unique user sessions and this year that figure is expected to almost double. Our mission is to facilitate the sharing of […]

Director General Neil Couling answers questions on Universal Credit APA Scheme

20th June 2017

A few weeks ago Bill Irvine wrote to Director General Neil Couling requesting answers on Universal Credit APA Scheme. See Article >> An open letter to DWP Neil Couling regarding Universal Credit 15/05/2017 Many landlords are experiencing issues with Universal Credit. The communication is poor, landlords are putting in APAs, but unable to communicate with […]

Definition of ‘single household’?

20th June 2017

The head lease on a 2-bedroom flat that I rent out says: ‘Not to use or suffer to be used the Demised Premises for any purpose whatsoever other than as a private residence for occupation by a single household . . . ‘ Due to problem with some lettings, particularly those involving students, the management […]

Concerned I am not named on insurance?

20th June 2017

My landlord owns the freehold of the building and he also owns the estate agents on the ground. He insisted that the flats are insured via his insurance supplier, and it’s not expensive.. Should the insurance docs at least mention us that we own them etc.? I worry that they think he owns them and […]

Green Deal External Wall Insulation (EWI) – How safe is it?

19th June 2017

I am a private Landlord with a modest sized portfolio. I was able to have all my properties clad with external wall insulation with the help of Green Deal grants. I kept a sample of the foam insulation used. In view of the Grenfell Towers tragedy I decided to take a sample of the foam […]