Page 696 – Property118

Controlling heating via smart thermostats and smart TRVs?

20th April 2016

I have a property that I rent out with all bills included. However much like other landlords i find the heating is left on coupled with windows left open and hefty bills. At the moment I’m sprucing the property up and have installed thermoboards to rooms where there are exterior facing walls, to help insulate […]

Amended Localism Act 2012 re late deposit registration

20th April 2016

I have an ex tenant who has a No Win No Fee company writing to me asking for compensation for late registration of his deposit or they will take me to court. Having read a few articles on the site about this I thought I would share my experience so far. My tenant moved in […]

Am I liable for new TV?

19th April 2016

I have quite a difficult tenant. Last week I received a call that the electrics in the property had gone off. Luckily I have British gas homecare so the tenants contacted them and an engineer attended the property and resolved the problem. He left a note that there was damp in the kitchen area which […]

Stuck letting out a property as HMO with a BTL Mortgage

19th April 2016

Hi, I currently have a BTL mortgage with Natwest for a property I purchased last year. However I have decided to apply for a HMO license, which I believe is outside the scope of my mortgage. My purchase price was 170K with the deposit being 35%. My HMO application requires me to inform the mortgage […]

Airbnb phenomenon is a growing issue for landlords

19th April 2016

Airbnb model poses a growing threat to landlords. Over the last 12 months, the number of cases Landlord Action has received, where tenants have sub-let properties without their landlord’s permission, has trebled. Aside from breach of tenancy agreement and additional wear and tear to the property, landlords are left exposed to being in breach of […]

Lettingsupermarket.com shares on Sale now

18th April 2016

Regular Property118 readers are likely to be aware that our founders acquired a 26% stake in Letting Supermarket three years ago when they were a start-up business. Since then we have been referring Property118 landlords to them and moving the management of our own properties across too.  They now have 465 properties under management and […]

Marijuana in the post!

18th April 2016

I have 3 flats, one with a bad Tenant awaiting eviction, S8 issued. I have intercepted a quantity of marijuana in the post, no name on the package, but I know it’s for this Tenant. Am I under an obligation to report this to the Police? Many thanks Peter

Letting my residential home whilst working overseas for 2 years?

18th April 2016

I work overseas and have a home in the UK. My youngest son will leave home this Summer, so the property will then be vacant for 10~11 months of the year. I will be in breach of the mortgage term if I leave the property empty for more than 45 days, but when I asked […]

Tenant not paid utility bill and fraudulently altered agreement!

18th April 2016

My tenant has built up a huge electricity bill and the company has finally caught up with her. She claims to have been living in the property for just a few months (having fraudulently altered her tenancy agreement) but she has actually been there two and a half years. Both the lettings agent and I […]

Best Place for Landlords to buy a Washing Machines and other White Goods

15th April 2016

. Most landlords like me already know that Amazon.com is a great place to buy books but have you ever checked out their prices for washing machines and other white goods?  What’s more, if you buy from Amazon via Property118 you will also be helping to fund the running costs of our forums. You pay no more than you […]

Property118 Bookstore

15th April 2016

. You will find the Property118 Bookstore between discussion comments which are below articles. Here’s an initial selection of best sellers your consideration. It gets better! Anything you can buy on Amazon you can buy via Property118 at exactly the same price. When you make a purchase from Amazon via Property118 we receive a small […]

Permission to let – can I get bank to change their mind?

15th April 2016

I live in a 2 bed flat with my partner and 2 kids and I want to rent the property out so we can then rent a large house for 2 years. I am a landlord myself and I own other flats on BTLs. I don’t want to sell it as its in a good […]

Should I evict or renew?

15th April 2016

I have a three bedroom house in nice condition, but not right on transport links. In September 2015 I rented it out on a 6 month tenancy. I was told that it was a man and his girlfriend, her 10 year old boy, and the baby which she just had, and her cousin. So I […]

Stamp duty changes trigger a price war

15th April 2016

The buy to let crackdown by Chancellor George Osborne has triggered a ‘price war’ as banks try to tempt aspiring landlords. Lenders have slashed rates on buy to let mortgages to record lows in an effort to keep the market alive and growing. Banks also reported a last-minute rush to buy second properties before a […]

Manchester Building Society fights for survival

15th April 2016

In a report issued by Reuters Manchester Building Society is “fighting for survival”  The future of the mutual is thought to be in doubt after they wrote to customers warning them to keep balances within the £75,000 limit covered by the official compensation scheme. The society admitted that it had “material concerns” for its future as it posted […]

LANDLORDS FIGHT BACK!

14th April 2016

Further to my last update, we are delighted to announce that we are now fundraising for the next stage of our legal challenge. Please see >>> www.crowdjustice.co.uk/case/tenanttax Please pledge as much as you can to this mutually beneficial cause, which is fighting to abolish the Tenant Tax – Section 24 of the Finance (No. 2) Act 2015. […]

BTL in Manchester with free legals and Stamp Duty Paid

14th April 2016

Victoria Gardens apartments and townhouses are situated in one of the major residential hubs in the City of Manchester. They are well placed for investors and homeowners alike, offering excellent links to the city and direct access to the Metrolink into the City centre, business districts and surrounding suburbs. This development offers luxury accommodation within […]

Negotiating a mortgage balance reduction with Bank of Ireland?

14th April 2016

I understand that the Bank of Ireland has previously (years ago) offered to some landlords the opportunity to reduce the mortgage balance of a mortgage in order to entice them to redeem their low interest rate pre-credit crunch mortgage. I have a BoI BTL mortgage (branded by the Post Office) which was from the pre-credit […]

Escape Planning from abroad?

14th April 2016

I have property in UK (8 BTL’s), have lived in Spain for 10 years, where I also own property and have been very interested in Mark’s move to Malta. Mark has no doubt carried out a very in depth investigation into the benefits or pitfalls of moving, together with the tax implications. I have read […]

Council will not accept area of loft flat where roof slopes – Help?

13th April 2016

I have an HMO for 8 people and did a loft extension which added a flat within the shared property. It was originally 2 bedrooms and open plan living/small kitchen, but building regs insisted I shouldn’t have a kitchen in the open area, so sacrificed one of the bedrooms and made it a kitchen, so […]

Rolling over CGT Liability into a Ltd Co

13th April 2016

Has any one has any experience of doing the following; selling the home that they live in and a rental property. Setting up a Ltd Co, putting the equity from the above two properties into the Ltd Co as directors loans and then getting the Ltd Co to purchase as semi commercial property (house not […]