As a landlord can I ask what the repercussions are of having to cancel a Student Let AST due to the council not approving the property as an HMO. The property was being refurbished and modernised, a reputable Letting Agency drew up the contracts and found student tenants, however in the interim, the local council […]

I am one of the landlords fighting the absurd tax attacks on the Private Rented Sector from a Chancellor who seemed intent on doing as much damage as possible. It seems that many people believe landlords to be responsible for the terrible housing crisis we have in this country and that every one of us […]

Last night we celebrated our 1st birthday since launching the Norfolk Property Network. It’s hard to believe it was just a year ago we held our first FREE event. 12 months on and we’ve gone from strength to to strength and last night really demonstrated this. Over a year ago I found the other property […]

Commenting on calls for a renewed strategy for tackling homelessness by the Communities and Local Government (CLG) Select Committee, Richard Lambert, Chief Executive Officer at the National Landlords Association (NLA), said the following. “The NLA welcomes the CLG Committee findings, and its recognition that private landlords play a crucial role in preventing homelessness. “We are […]

Do the three stages of a Section 20 have to be completed within a certain time? There has been nine months between stage 1 of my Section 20 and the next communication – demand for payment, not even stage 2 of the notice. Is there a total period of time the whole notice lasts? i.e. […]

The proposed 24 hour tube service will finally begin this coming Friday (19th August) and it is predicted that this could have a positive impact on rents in particular areas. This weekend, the Central and Victoria lines will start running a night service, with the Jubilee, Northern and Piccadilly lines to also follow suit in […]

Andy Burnham the Mayoral candidate for Greater Manchester has announced plans if he wins for a ‘Community Buy-Back Fund’ which will providing loan finance to councils to buy out private landlords who fail to maintain properties to the Decent Homes Standard. He would also bring in plans to License all landlords in the whole Greater […]

The ‘Step Up’ mortgage product offered by the Coventry Building Society has been withdrawn, because borrowers may be hit by the 3% Stamp Duty surcharge on second homes. The Step Up product had allowed parent’s additional disposable income to be added to First Time Buyers affordability calculations by being a party to the loan application […]

I bought a Buy to Let flat in 1999 and since then there has been significant capital growth. Two years ago the lease holders bought a share of the freehold and I now have a 999 year lease. A developer has expressed interest in buying the block from the freehold company, knocking it down and […]

Has anyone else been finding that valuers are undervaluing properties for remortgage purposes. They seem to have gone from one extreme to the other. I am currently remortgaging 4 properties one of which I know I could sell for 90k easy, and a valuer has just said 72k!! There are no houses in this area […]

The Scottish Association of Landlords (SAL) are urging action against Clause 24 tax changes to be taken by landlords in their latest policy press release below: Over the past year landlords across Scotland have faced significant changes to the way they are taxed. The former Chancellor argued that landlords are buying properties that could go […]

Following on from an excellent article recently regarding Liverpool City Council, I have now ( I am an Estate Agent ) have to be co regulated in order to be accepted as the Licence Holder for many of my landlords. We are ARLA associated, SafeAgent and they want more. What’s not consistent is that I […]

I was wondering if any one had knowledge or a solution for a property ownership issue with inheritance liability in mind. My father and I purchased a property approximately 2 years ago in the form of a joint tenancy. This property was a rental investment and has been let ever since. My father’s estate at […]

As a small scale landlord myself I was surprised when my student Son complained to me that he and the other three students he rents a house (3 bed semi converted to 4 bed) had been charged £180 for the end of let property inspection. Is this usual practice with students lets? When he asked […]

I read with interest Dene’s post in respect to exceeding the term, repossession by NRAM and his regrettable position. 9 years ago I took a 10 year term mortgage at 0.5% above base. This was arranged direct with Woolwich over the phone –a different era! This is a substantial interest only mortgage which my then […]

I in conjunction with Property 118 have been instrumental in exposing the flaws in this rotten licensing scheme. The RLA have stated that Liverpool made amendments because of their representations. The reality is that the Data breaches and non conformity with the de regulation act were first flagged up by myself in conjunction with Property118. […]

I have some buy to Let properties in my limited Company and also in my and my wife’s private names. I am looking to purchase properties for longer term Buy to Let and to Flip. How should I buy these properties i.e. BTL through Ltd Co or private names and how should I purchase the […]

  My 30 year love affair with home ownership is well and truly dead. I am divorcing myself of it. I will NEVER buy another home to live in. For three decades I have been advising on finance and property and building my own rental portfolio but it has taken me until now to realise that […]

We often read about people living in London, Cambridge and other areas where property prices are at a premium and beyond the reach of most first time buyers. I fully understand their frustration because, in many cases, as fast as they can save a deposit, the amount of deposit required increases at a faster pace. I have been giving […]

Local Government Association (LGA) figures report that 12,246 council homes were sold to tenants under Right to Buy in England during the last year and that only 2,055 were in the pipeline to be replaced by councils. This is a decrease in replacement social housing by 27% on the previous year and is an indication […]

This week a landlord based in Scotland very kindly bcc’d me into an email he sent to his MP. I felt it was well worth sharing on the basis that it may inspire YOU to educate YOUR MP by writing a similar letter to him/her. Naturally, I have redacted personal details for the purposes of confidentiality. To find contact […]