I registered for Liverpool’s landlord licensing scheme with a tenant already in place and a contract already signed. They did a compliance inspection and tell me that I contravene the inspection conditions, because the contract does not contain a specific clause. While I am happy that all future contracts include this new clause, surely I […]

Has anyone used a trace agent to trace ex tenants? Was it done to your satisfaction? Can you recommend any good companies. Thanks wanda

Hello I’ve read the article about “Capital v revenue expenditure on the first Refurb” , very informative. If after moving in to my residential property I were to furnish an empty room for a lodger, would that be an allowable expense? Likewise if I were to simply replace the old furniture in lodger bedroom, and re-decorate would […]

My tenant wants to cancel the contract on 3rd July, without notice said she don’t want pay anymore rent and is already £3800 in arrears. We agreed and my tenant signed the tenancy surrender agreement, but refuse to surrender keys. She told me she will hold keys until she takes her belongings from the house […]

I’ve been researching the merits of buying a property as an individual, and creating a Declaration of Trust (DoT) to nominate the beneficial owner as my company. What I have determined so far is: • The mortgage lenders take their security against legal ownership ie the individual. • The legal title at HM Land Registry […]

My wife and I own both flats (leasehold) in a Victorian conversion. We also own the freehold. There are no other flats. I am looking to extend the leaseholds on the flats as they are about 75 years remaining. What should we consider when deciding on the length of the extensions? We have not done […]

My husband and I own 6 houses, 4 are in joint names, 2 are in my sole name only. I work part time and my husband is retired so we are relatively low earners. Even with our rental income we are well below the higher level tax bracket. We are looking to buy another property […]

I have mentioned this once or twice in the past, but I’m now giving it serious consideration as the roll out of Universal Credit looms. I’m not looking for alternative suggestions on how to solve the problem, rather just answers as to how this could be achieved. I’m talking about car logbook loans as a […]

The Residential Landlords Association (RLA) have reported on figures obtained from DUP MP Jim Shannon’s parliamentary questions requesting figures on HMRC self assessment tax brackets for the 1.9 million unincorporated individual landlords in the UK. Of these 66% or two thirds of all individual landlords are basic rate tax payers, 30% are high rate tax […]

I just thought I would write a brief post setting out what it is we do and what we offer clients who come to us for one to one advice. With my one to one consultancy / coaching sessions, people can explore whatever area is of special interest to them, work out a particular buy […]

Mortgages for Business have reported that 78% of all Buy to Let applications are now in the name of limited companies post Section 24 mortgage interest relief reductions coming into force. 73% of all completions including remortgages this quarter were for limited companies up from 62% in the first quarter of this year. Click here […]

2017 may be proving to be a tough year for Buy to Let landlords, who face increased taxation by the HMRC and a more stringent lending environment as a result of PRA changes, but there are alternative areas of property investment that may actually benefit from legislative intervention this year. At the start of the […]

Professor David Miles was a Monetary Policy Committee member at the Bank of England from 2009 until 2015 and has said the tax attacks against landlords by the government with Section 24 and Stamp Duty surcharges are “profoundly wrongheaded”. Speaking at an event held by New City Agenda David Miles told the audience that government policies designed […]

I have a tenant who left in the middle of a tenancy never returned, but with all of their belongings still in the house. To add to the misery, the letting agent also folded at the same time, so we have no valid contact details of the tenants nor even the number of deposit lodged […]

Hi, I have 4 properties all with British Gas Home care policies for central heating breakdown. The renewal premiums appear to be 10% up on last year. I have been on the phone and argued successfully for a discount but would like to look at better value alternatives. The cost for a 2 bedroom flat […]

I made a post a few months ago here: https://www.property118.com/im-being-threatened-by-a-tenants-solicitor/94613/ So after all these months I have an update on this. The tenants solicitor got a surveyor, who confirmed minimal works needed to be done. He confirmed the mould in the brand new kitchen was caused by condensation, not damp. We agreed to the scott […]

Sajid Javid has granted an amnesty from prosecution for tenants that illegally subletted their council property in Grenfell Towers. This despite the limited and long overdue legislation introduced by the Tory government only a few years ago. He has probably given the green light and amnesty to anybody who was responsible for innocent adults and […]

On Tuesday 27th June 2017 there was a debate in the House of Commons on Universal Credit, Damian Hinds Minister for Employment informed the audience that DWP recognised the concerns raised and are working to resolve them. To date over a million people have made a Universal Credit Claim with £530,000 currently on the new […]

Dear 118 Readers and Team, I’ve got an on going issue with a window contractor who overhauled the sash windows on a listed property we rent out, being listed means no UPVC so we upgraded the existing to be as efficient as they could be. Total job came to over £10k. However, I have an […]

In today’s age, our requirements are constantly changing and individuals are increasingly requiring flexibility with regards to their travel accommodation. Hotels have restricted offerings that cannot always accommodate the needs of the modern traveler, hence why more people are considering serviced apartments. Serviced apartments – the concept Serviced apartments are a relatively recent phenomenon. They […]

I have a tenant in an HMO who, after 6 weeks of his 6 month contract has said his company is moving him. As such, he has said he will leave in 3 weeks and only pay then. As the area is now quite hard to find tenants in (and as I had more than […]