A client of mine is currently living in her BTL property due to some circumstantial issues. She can not release her residential mortgage from her old house or switch it to a BTL as the LTV does not stack up. It’s currently for sale. She wants to buy another BTL property. Question is can she […]

From the May Inflation Report, the planned 3% surcharge on stamp duty for second homes in April caused some housing transactions to be brought forward. Therefore the sharp fall in property purchase completions in the second Quarter of 2016 was anticipated (see Chart 2.4). House price growth also slowed over the past few months with […]

I have had a house managed by an Letting Agent now for two years . The tenant who was found by the Letting Agent is on benefits and the rent is paid by the government direct to the Letting Agent and she has a top up of about £10 per week. I have been telling […]

I am a first time buyer considering buying an ex-council flat on a buy-to-let mortgage. The seller who lives there with his family is suggesting I let it back to him while he looks for a property to buy. I am concerned he may have an agenda to try and become a sitting tenant. For […]

The Bank of England has today announced its first rate cut since March 2009 bringing the rate to all all time record low since the bank was founded in 1694 from 0.5% to 0.25%. The Bank has also announced an increase in monetary stimulus to the economy by creating £170 billion in new money. £60 […]

I started receiving rental income in May 2015 and will therefore need to do a Self-Assessment in the months to come (I’ve only just informed HMRC). However, my mortgage was arranged in December 2014. As expected, the arrangement fees were not negligible. Can I obtain any type of tax relief for those fees? Should I […]

Hi there, can anyone advise me whether my leaseholder can force me to evict a tenant under a section 146 notice? I have a tenant in a block of flats whose behaviour can be antisocial at times due to her mental health issues. My leaseholder is threatening to revoke the lease under a section 146 […]

I had to serve notice on a tenant as the landlord was selling. The tenant couldn’t find anywhere to move to because prices have gone up so much so went to the council and they said they’d house him upon receipt of a court order. The landlord wasn’t happy but it is what it is. […]

I am renovating a HMO and had to give notice to the remaining tenants. One refused to leave when the S21 expired. Because he was in discussions with the council about rehousing him, I held back from issuing repossession proceedings. However, after several weeks with no progress, I paid £1,250 to a well-known firm to […]

The Think Tank, Resolution Foundation, has reported home ownership is now at a 30 year low. Using data from the Office for National Statistics Labour Force Survey (LFS) the Resolution Foundation is reporting home ownership to have fallen from its high point in 2003 at 71% of the population to under 64% today. The highest […]

SpareRoom.co.uk have issued their UK rental index for Q2 2016.  The data reveals that rents are rising fastest in Swansea (12%), Bradford (11%), Portsmouth (11%) and Swindon (11%) Other statistics: London is amongst the towns and cities seeing the least room rental growth in the last 12  months, up just 1% along with Belfast and West Bromwich […]

Manchester has been subject to major regeneration over recent years. With Spinningfields in the south of the city, and NOMA in the north, where should individuals buy investment property in Manchester? Both NOMA and Spinningfields have been named as some of the best buy-to-let locations in Manchester. In the north of Manchester on the perimeters […]

My unmarried partner and I have residential and rental property. We decided to add future properties in a Ltd company to help children and minimise tax. We have roughly 25% deposit and additional stamp duty (146K) to invest in an HMO (420K, 8% return plus 10% 6 month appreciation). I would like to lend the […]

I am looking at getting a mortgage on a freehold flat, however I would become the buildings manager and own the land. The upstairs flat would apparently pay me ground rent and pay towards the home insurance. The upstairs flat is leasehold and has 78 years left. Would you be able to explain what that […]

In London, we are in a small block of flats all with share of freehold that share a garden with some private and communal areas. We own all the flats bar one and usually rent those out, but do occasionally return to live there. The one flat we do not own contains a 30-40-something couple […]

My letting agent has just informed me that they have grown and now registered for VAT, as such future bills will have VAT added. As an individual this will put up my cost by 20%. I know they aren’t making any more money from this but they have only provided me with 4 days notice […]

When we initially viewed our rental property and prior to signing the rental agreement, there was a fault with the integrated fridge freezer which was pointed out to the letting agent. We were assured this would be addressed. With that in mind, we duly signed the agreement believing that it would be repaired. It took […]

I am very new to the whole property investment market and I have been researching two areas for investment property (flats) at the moment in Slough and Ilford. I have made a few offers, unfortunately my bid usually just falls through. I wonder if my offers are too low or investors see something that I […]

I am looking to a buy a flat locally for £60,000 the current rents achieved are between £550 to £600. The same flat on the same floor is worth £75,000. I am looking at a pension really more than short term gains or income which is not needed. In this position am I better going […]

According to recent figures, Manchester ranks 4th in terms of rental yield and buy-to-let property. Investors can take advantage of the booming market and current launch offer discount of 10%, and invest in Naples Gardens, an exciting development near to the extensive £800m regeneration project, NOMA. Naples Gardens is located close to the NOMA regeneration […]

FAO Chancellor Of The Exchequer – Mr Philip Hammond MP Dear Mr Hammond Re: Levelling the playing field between owner occupiers and private landlords In reference to George Osborne’s commitment to “level the playing field” on UK housing between owner occupiers and private landlords we would like to suggest the following additional steps given the […]