I have paid hundreds of pounds in council tax in the last 12 months on empty properties. Mainly between tenants, when the properties have needed extensive work. My requests for exemptions more than 1 – 3 months have fallen on deaf ears and most recently I had a tenant who asked if he could sign […]

I have been reading this website for a while and found it extremely helpful! So I was hoping someone can may be point me to the right direction. I have an end-of-terrace ex-local authority house in outer-west London. Next to it there is a piece of land which is not used by anyone except that […]

Ok, some background on the Tenant (single lady), been in the property 8 years, claims housing benefit which is paid direct to herself, never missed a payment (in fact notify’s me every month when the payment has been made), basically the perfect tenant. So on the 28th Dec she informs me that she was admitted […]

I have a tenant who has been served a section 21 at end October ’16 (contract expired 31/12/16) but still refuses to budge. My landlord Gas Certificate (CP12) expires shortly. Obviously without a landlords gas certificate, if the boiler is continued to be used, I’m in deep trouble if anything were to happen (CO poisoning […]

My tenant has asked for her chimney to be swept as soot has blown down onto her new carpet during a very windy spell. The property has full gas central heating, but also has a gas fire which the tenant had installed at her own expense before I acquired the property. My tenant has told […]

I bought my first house 35 years ago and since then have bought (and sold) houses in the region of 20 times. In each of these transactions I have had to ‘instruct’ solicitors to do the necessary legal work. Looking back to the early days, the time frame for selling or purchasing a property usually […]

In an article for the Northamptonshire Telegraph Councillor James Burton was reported as below: “The problem is one that has affected councils across the country, and Cllr James Burton (Con, All Saints) says it is not one members are taking lightly. He said: “Homelessness is happening throughout the country, not just in Kettering. It is a […]

This has been written by Paul as a Brand Ambassador for Hamilton Fraser Historically, there were two key things that could cripple a landlord financially; rent arrears (where the tenant does not pay rent on time) and void periods (when a property is empty). Now however, there is also a third caveat that landlords need […]

I’m not good with numbers. I’m an illustrator!! But I am also a desperate illustrator (many of us are). I can’t afford to live in my own home despite all the part time jobs I do and the books I publish. I live in a beautiful place by the sea, expensive, much in demand from tourists, […]

Hi All I am a new member to Property 118. I am an Investor building high yield property portfolios in the North of England primarily the North West. Like most Landlords I have been concerned at the trend of Government policy. I am not an economist or an expert but as an informed observer my […]

I am in the process in remortgaging my buy to let property and I am also in the process in adding my wife as 50:50 ownership split. I wanted to know what is the maximum split I can give my wife? My wife is a NIL tax payer. Thanks, Kais Reply from Mark Alexander – […]

Does anyone have info on QROPS for property investors in UK who live abroad? I understand that a UK pension can be transfer to a QROPS (SSAS for non residents) and then you can get up to 65% to invest as you please and the other 35% is pre-determined on what you can invest. Can […]

Nominations for Finance Broker of the Year are open to Property118 readers and you will be asked to cast your vote later in the year based on a shortlist of nominated brokers. The shortlist will be based on the the number and quality of nominations received – please see below. As you will see from […]

HMRC have recently lost yet another important legal battle, this time over CGT due on a property refurb deal. Mr & Mrs Munford purchased the property in Halsey Street, London SW3 for million in 2004 for £1,050,000. From 19th to 26th  December 2005 they elected the property as their main home between and sold it after […]

My sister in law is moving into a flat – everything has been agreed, bar one thing. The current meter is a pre paid one, apparently the previous tenant wanted it. My sister in law would prefer to pay by DD which the landlord has agreed. However,the landlord has said that my sister in law […]

I would like to buy a house that I could let out, however if necessary I would be happy to live in it. Clearly it is a lot easier to get a Buy to Let mortgage, so I am thinking of going down this route. If for any reason I struggle to let it out […]

An article in The Planner reports social housing numbers are dropping much faster than they are being built and that the total number of social housing homes available to rent decreased by over 120,000 from 2012 to 2016. The PRS has taken up much of the slack during this period, but that is all changing […]

A trend for long term renting has continued to accelerate, according to a new survey. Two in five renters are not looking to buy a property and intend to rent long term, a survey of 1,000 tenants by the Deposit Protection Service (DPS) has revealed. While this is good news for landlords, buy to let […]

I’ve had my lettings agent now for around 2 years, and every month there is an excuse for him to transfer rent to me from the tenants. There is no direct debit set-up either, and every time I remind him of getting a DD setup, he’s says he will definitely do it the next month, […]

Can anybody clarify the following:- Me – High rate tax earner Wife – Lower rate tax earner My wife and I own several properties that we let. Some are in my sole name and some are joint names. The mortgages are similarly identified as either mine or joint mortgages. For the purpose of 2015-6 tax […]

As you may be aware, I received an award last year for Outstanding Achievement of the year. This was off the back of our Court Of Appeal win against The West Bromwich Mortgage Company which resulted in recovering £27,500,000 over illegally overcharged tracker mortgage interest. Naturally I accepted the award on behalf of all involved […]