A couple who purchased their neighbour’s house to help him out of financial difficulty have been ordered by a judge to give him a 90 year lease at a fixed rent for the whole term. David and Sheila Harding, who purchased the property in 2001 from their neighbour Mr Colin Gregory, now want to sell […]

There are now several ‘copy-cat’ structures which appear very similar to the BICT “Beneficial Interest Company Transfer” structure being offered by tax-planners but many of them do not obtain non-statutory clearance. BICT is a legal structure which enables landlords to avoid the costs associated with refinancing at the point of incorporation. It has no tax […]

If you are being advised to use an LLP as a stepping stone towards incorporation then you have good cause to be wary. Of course there are many perfectly legitimate reasons to form a Limited Liability Partnership but that’s another story for another day. However, there is a business model doing the rounds which relies […]

This isn’t as straight forward as some people would like to think. Therefore, I have written this article to explain many of the pitfalls and to explain why it is so important for you to obtain the right advice. For example, some people think that forming a partnership one day and incorporating the next solves the […]

Over the last 18 months I have had to point out to many of my consultancy clients that CHL “Capital Homeloans” and Fleet Mortgages are the only lenders we are aware of which specifically prohibits the transfer of beneficial interest in their mortgage T&C’s. This can cause a bit of a headache when it comes […]

Limited Company BTL mortgages are now available up to 85% LTV and rates start from 3.09%. The buy-to-let market has been hit by numerous tax changes in the last couple of years. Two of the main ones being: the introduction of a 3% Stamp Duty surcharge Until April of this year private landlords could deduct […]

With banks offering minimal returns on your savings, are there savvier ways to invest your money? For those approaching retirement age, they may have been considering investing in a buy to let for retirement income. Retirement property investments generate healthy returns and give the investor time to decide whether they would wish to move in […]

A survey carried out by LetBritain of 2000 UK adults shows that 39% are financial unable to purchase the home they would like and are reliant on the Private Rental Sector (PRS) to meet their needs. In London this jumps to a whopping 49% who are unable to purchase, because of the disparity in house […]

I have just responded to a Facebook post by axe the tenant tax, the post was about landlords losing confidence with rental profits. The article ended with the fact that rental yields are holding up at 6% I have done some calculations and would like those good at the maths to make comment or provide […]

Have you heard of selective licencing? Well it is really bad news for landlords. In 19 years of being a landlord, this is by far the worst crisis to hit me. You really need to watch out for this and guard against it. My local council, Telford and Wrekin, want to apply to the secretary […]

In this case study, learn how long term Shawbrook Bank customer HMO Property Investments Ltd used finance to transform a derelict pub into a thriving new mixed use property in Lincoln, with Shawbrook Broker and Property118 Partner Brooklands Commercial Finance acting as intermediary. If you are considering a refurb, development or commercial project it is […]

It appears I had a tenant subletting my property for bed and breakfast on AirBnB. I recently had a battle to evict a tenant that ran the duration right up until bailiff attendance. The property was let through a letting agent. The story was that the guy was splitting from his wife and leaving the […]

What should you be focusing on this summer? We take a look at a few things you could be doing to get ahead in the student and young professional HMO market. The Leicester HMO market is burgeoning with a +2.14% change in property value over the last 12 months and considerably more in the student […]

The London School of Economics and the VATT Institute for Economic have produced a research paper predicting the level of home moving would increase by 27% if the Stamp duty levy was completely abolished. The research indicates current levels of stamp duty are making the housing crisis worse by cause a bottleneck in the market […]

Can investors still make money from investing in buy to let property with all the restrictions that have been placed on the industry? In the recent budget announcement (2016) landlords could quite easily be left with a feeling that they have been targeted because of the previous Mortgage tax relief changes and investor Stamp Duty. […]

A solicitor has been holding the deeds to my father in laws house since 1956. He has now moved into a nursing home so there is now a need to put it on the market and sell it. However, it now turns out the solicitor could not find the deeds  and they say they gave […]

Could I ask what other Landlords are doing when taking on benefit tenants. I usually only take on benefit tenants if they can provide a homeowner guarantor. I am finding in some areas that some tenants can only provide working guarantors and some on benefits can’t even get a guarantor. Could I ask what other […]

Oakwood House is a new student accommodation investment development in Sheffield. Home to over 63,000 students and located nearby to both universities’ campuses, good occupancy levels are expected and a 8% rental income is assured for 3 years. Sheffield is home to a significant student population as many are attracted to the city due to […]

How will lenders, brokers and investors alike be affected now and in the future by ongoing tax changes with Section 24 mortgage interest relief restrictions now being phased in and the PRA’s final wave of BTL underwriting standards, coming into effect on 30th September 2017? You can watch Shawbrook Bank’s Head of Sales Sarah Woolf, […]

Hi Guys – I have been a tenant in this property for 2.5 years – I was just coming up to my tenancy renewal – when I was informed that the landlord will be selling, I was then served with a section 21 notice . I have now been told that I need to be […]

If you had to start all over again from scratch and had £150k as starting pot what would you do considering in this world of additional SDLT and Section 24? Would you leverage with bridging loans for the flipping company and use those profits generated to buy more properties to flip or would you start […]