Hi Mark. As a Property118 Founder Member I took advantage of a free 15 minute consultation with Mr Mark Smith of Cotswold Barristers (The chap who extracted 27.5 million GBPs from the West Bromwich Building Society)  I began by asking him, in view of my circumstances , whether it was worth me incorporating my Buy […]

I have purchased a leasehold flat and the building has a design fault. The builder tried to fix it thrice in warranty and failed. Finally the last contractor sent by the builder has identified the fault as a design issue. Now the builder is refusing to fix as it is out of warranty and the […]

Long time reader of this great forum but unfortunately not having the time to contribute much, but hope that to change going forward. A two part question really for myself who has been a landlord for 6-7 years, but never considered new builds/off plan properties. A) Do people have any tips in regards to due […]

Rumour has it that private taxi drivers will no longer be able to offset fuel costs as an expense against their income, thus preventing them from getting unfair tax relief on their fuel. The Treasury initiative is designed to “level the playing field” with private motorists who have to pay for fuel out of their […]

A big thank you to all readers that have donated so far to the fighting fund and I am delighted to report we have raised £781. This has allowed us to purchase a lobbying database of email addresses for of all MPs, Lords and Baronesses. It allows us to send bulk personalised emails whenever we […]

Can anyone advise how mortgage providers value a house for mortgage purposes? As an example take an HMO which would be valued at £300,000 as a single family home, based on similar properties in the area, and which cost £310,000 including renovations and alterations (with 6 rented rooms) bringing in a total of £36000 in […]

The Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) Consultation on landlord ‘affordability’ management is being implemented as guidance to lenders from the 1st of January. The PRA are requiring Buy to Let lenders to take into account borrower’s increased tax liabilities due to Section 24 mortgage interest relief reductions and other outgoings when assessing the amount of loan […]

I currently own 1 property in my name (that I purchased before I got married) which we now let and we are buying a second property as a buy-to-let. I’m a higher earner than my wife. Should I get a deed of trust drawn up on the first property so that we can declare rental […]

I know that LPA Recieves do not have to be appointed by deed, but the document appointing them must be validly authorised. My LPA receivers were appointed by the Kent Reliance Building Society and the Letter of Appointment was signed by one director and not sealed or witnessed. Current information on the Council Of Mortgage […]

The NLA have launched their new campaign to Lobby the Treasury on the Tenant Tax. For those that are visual a picture paints a thousand words. The NLA page Click Here to visit says: “There is a new Chancellor and we need your help to lobby him on the Tenant Tax – otherwise known as […]

Dear All, I have a HMO (my first) about to go ‘live’ as my paperwork has been accepted by my LA. The questions are; Is there a different sort of contract required as I was going to use my AST template for flat rentals? If a couple want to rent can I impose an extra […]

After More than 18 months , Thousands of applications, Flawed application process, Data breaches and illegal Licence conditions, Liverpool city Council have secured their first Conviction under their City Wide revenue raising Licensing sham. ONE CONVICTION. In this instance no tenant has gained from the Prosecution. The Landlord in question was not convicted for any […]

My daughter is the victim of a fraudulent letting agent . This is quite a complicated story, my daughter has a AST for a 12 month fixed term with a letting agency which turns out to be fraudulent! She paid three months rent plus a deposit upfront ( which hasn’t been protected ) which was […]

I have a tenant who at the moment is living alone in my 3 bedroom house. In order to relieve the strain on his finances, he would like a friend to share the house and the bills with him. I do not object in principle, but do not want to start a new tenancy agreement […]

I am about to rent out a flat to a couple who need accommodation due to their own home having been damaged by fire. The rent has been agreed and an AST for 12 months (6 month break) is about to be signed. I have been informed that the insurance company will actually be paying […]

I am a landlord by default. My mother had a stroke in 2011 and needed full time care so I quit my job and moved from Northumberland back to Norfolk with my husband. We let out our house as had no time to sell it. Five years on, as we both have no decent pension […]

We have given Betsy Dillner, the Director of Generation Rent the nickname “Ditsy Dillner” on account of how often she contradicts herself. In ‘How to change the housing crisis: build relationships’ Betsy Dillner says: “the PRS has more than doubled in the last 10 years, to 11 million households across the UK.” She claims “We as […]

I have created a thread for Property118 landlords to explain the decisions and changes they have made thus far as a direct consequence of Section 24 of The Finance (No. 2) Act 2015 which changes the rules on mortgage interest relief for private landlords from April 2017 onward.  The intention is that posts made here can […]

“The aim of accepting landlords over the age of 85 years within a joint mortgage application will allow many of our older borrowers to continue to leverage their portfolios”, said David Whittaker CEO of Keystone. Keystone Property Finance has removed the age criteria on its Classic range of mortgage products for joint applicants and for […]

I am in the process of selling my sole property in the UK, (which I have been letting for 10 years), and plan to buy 2 flats instead. My agent has priced the house at £325,000 and suggests 2 properties at around £160,000 each. There is £45,000 left to pay on my repayment mortgage, therefore […]

Savills forecast that by 2021 UK rental prices will increase by 19% and that house prices will have grown by only 13%. The disparity in growth is predicted to be even greater in London with rental prices rising by 24.5% over the same period and house prices by only 10.9%.   Savills are blaming post-referendum […]