The following is another 90 second video produced by our friends at Shawbrook Bank to explain how BTL mortgage underwriting will change from September this year. Is it a good thing that mortgage lenders are being forced to lend more prudently or do you see it another way? Please discuss.

Landlords are losing confidence in their ability to rely on steady rental yields, according to recent figures from the National Landlords Association (NLA). The figures show that the proportion of landlords who are optimistic about their ability to rely on a steady rental yield has fallen 15% in the past two years, down from 64% […]

It’s getting very hard to keep up with the Guardian’s current onslaught against private landlords; it’s also supremely ironic that they should be engaging in this one-sided tirade whilst simultaneously stating that the paper provides: ‘quality, independent journalism, which discovers and tells readers the truth.’ I would beg to differ. Just in the last few […]

I am looking into Declarationa of Trust (splitting the beneficial interest) and HMRC form 17. Does the declaration have to be drawn up by a solicitor? In my case, property ownership is joint and would remain joint so no need to change Land Registry. If the beneficial interest is unequally spilt, surely this is just […]

When one of our established members compared the functionality of the new Property118 website to that of The Guardian yesterday I must admit to being flattered. Naturally, The Guardian was held up as being the better of the two in terms of functionality, and much as I disagree with much of their content, I have […]

We’re having a dispute with our insurance company who recently informed us they are voiding our landlord insurance policy – their reasons being that it was due to material non-disclosure and misrepresentation. My partner, who’s first language is not English answered the policy set up questions honestly to the best of their knowledge on the […]

The Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) today voted to keep the Bank Base rate at 0.25%. Good news for Buy to Let mortgage borrowers, but the reasons are less good for the economy. 2017 Growth forecasts have been reduced again from 1.9% to 1.7% with lower household demand filtering through from the drop […]

The mixed partnership strategy involves forming a Limited Company to manage your properties and making that company a partner in your business. This structure is particularly useful for people who manage their own properties and where the viability of full incorporation is questionable. In a mixed partnership for rental property purposes the company partner can charge up to […]

In this 97 second video, Shawbrook Bank Managing Director Stephen Johnson discusses buy-to-let tax changes and their potential impact. His key message is that if you do nothing your cashflow could be particularly hard hit, especially if you have a large highly geared portfolio. You can watch this short video below. Clearly the banks are […]

Summer is here and for many landlords, our student properties may be sitting empty until September! With Fallowfield and Rusholme house prices on the up, we’re looking at how can you keep your property ahead of the trend this summer! The yearly migration of students leaving South Manchester and Salford has started and the majority […]

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) defines a high net worth individual as someone with an annual net income of no less than £300,000 or with net assets of no less than £3,000,000. These net assets can include residential property and, consequently, there are many people who may be considered as high net worth on paper, […]

Dear Mr Duncan Smith, Thank you for your reasoned comments in the Sunday Telegraph on 18th June regarding the treatment of private landlords by the current government.   I apologise for the length of this correspondence, however, the changes affecting landlords is so broad-ranging and complicated, I haven’t been able to condense it any further. The […]

A sure sign that a person or organisation knows they are wrong is when they cannot answer to the truth and instead silence their critics. Shelter is currently doing this to anyone who raises serious questions about their remit and activities. In the last week alone several landlords have been blocked by Shelter from commenting […]

Pet lovers often feel they have to hide their animals from their landlords in order to secure accommodation, a new survey has found. The research revealed that 27% of UK renters with pets DID NOT notify their landlord about their animal prior to moving in. Half of respondents, in a survey by animalfriends.co.uk, owned a […]

My wife and I are looking at the implications of a title split on a property we own. We have obtained the necessary permissions and nearly completed the work to separate an extended 5 bed house that we jointly own into two separate dwellings (houses not flats). We wish to mortgage these separately and we […]

Are you looking for another landlord to form a partnership with for tax planning purposes? We regularly speak to landlords who would be far better off from a tax perspective by incorporating their business. However, they are single, have less than 10 properties and don’t know who to go into partnership with. Therefore, HMRC do […]

One of the new features we have added into our website design is links to related articles, which you will hopefully find useful for additional information. These links are to the right of the article you are currently viewing, however, we don’t feel they are obvious enough. We are looking for design ideas to make […]

Amir Golesorkhi turned his garage into two small, substandard flats and had been letting them out to tenants for seven years while he was living in the main house with his wife in Colindale, North London. Harrow Crown Court has found landlord Amit Golesorkhi guilty of breaching a planning enforcement notice served by Brent council […]

I have a tenant in arrears. The deposit was unprotected (i.e. not re-protected at renewal due to an admin error) I offered the tenant the chance to use the deposit against the arrears, we agreed and he signed a letter stating the deposit had been returned. (This was around 2 years ago) We are in […]

Four people from the Cambridge Centre for Housing and Planning Research (CCHPR) wrote the report, and a summary, for the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF).  That is to say, four of its members are credited with writing it.  But it looks as though Generation Rent has had a hand in it as well.  Statistics about one […]

Section 8 and Joint Tenants I rented a property to joint tenants (couple) who are now in a statutory periodic tenancy. Approximately about two months ago one of them was arrested and ordered not to go anywhere near the property or to have and links with the remaining tenant in the property. More recently, the […]