Page 752 – Property118

Swapping to BTL after relationship break-up?

27th April 2015

My partner and I have unfortunately broken up after 7 years together, during which time we have cohabited on a residential mortgage in both our names. We also have a 2 ½ year old son. Thankfully the split is amicable so we are in discussions over what to do with our house. We are very […]

landlords emergency cover

Landlords Emergency Cover in Minutes

27th April 2015

You can buy Landlords Emergency Cover in minutes through Property118. This product, supplied by our partner Surewise, is not for all landlords and you will need to weigh up the potential benefits against the costs. Landlords are busy people and we understand this. That’s why the process to purchase is as straightforward and simple as […]

Bank of England report on the Buy to Let market

27th April 2015

Buy to Let (BTL) mortgages represented 15% of the total outstanding residential mortgage loans at the end of 2014 with gross advances of new loans recovering back to 2005 levels (see chart A). Total annual gross lending has grown since 2010 to £27.4 billion reflecting increased supply and demand factors with BTL now standing at […]

HMO’s and Heat Networks Legislation???

27th April 2015

Has anyone got a clue what “Heat Networks Legislation” is all about?  I read an article and links yesterday having never heard about it before, although it appears it was due to have been in force from this month – now delayed until December. It mentions magic words like HMO which involves me – and […]

Electronic weekly rent book?

27th April 2015

As we know, if rent is paid weekly, by law the landlord must provide a rent book and it is in fact a criminal offence not do so.  However, does anybody know if the rent book must be in hard copy format? I am aware that for most legal purposes, electronic documentation is acceptable as […]

Mortgage provider mandating back-to-back fixed term AST

27th April 2015

Having nearly come to the end a remortgage process the lender has now sent me a form that am supposed to sign committing me to fixed term tenancy agreements that must be no longer than 12 months with a ground 2 (Used when the property is subject to a mortgage which existed before the start […]

Cutting off my nose?

27th April 2015

I have my eye on a prospective rental investment, a modern 2 bed town house which I know will rent quickly for £525. The guy who is selling bought it just last month but due to personal reasons is selling it straight away. He paid £80K and wants his £80K back.  Am I being stupid […]

NLA critical of Labour housing policies

27th April 2015

Responding to Labour Party leader Ed Milliband’s announcement on new measures to cap rents, a legal requirement to disclose rent charged to previous tenants, and restricting tax reliefs for landlords who don’t keep properties to basic standards. Richard Lambert, CEO of the NLA said, “we understand Labour wants to assure tenants they have their concerns at […]

Tenant not paying rent because I don’t have consent to let

23rd April 2015

I am and a landlord and currently completing eviction orders on a tenant who has not paid his rent in 3 months. A section 21 and section8 have been issued. The tenants defense for non payment is the following: I do not have consent to let my property (which I am currently working on with […]

Good news for landlords as cheaper buy-to-let mortgage deals become available

23rd April 2015

The number of buy-to-let (BTL) mortgages available on the market is on the rise, with cheaper rates also becoming available to landlords. In recent years, there has been a healthy rise in the number of BTL mortgages on offer, up from 476 two years ago to 745 today, the figures show. Also noted in the […]

Subletting and deposit protection dilemma

23rd April 2015

I need some help to get my head around this subletting and deposit protection scenario please.  The landlord (person A) rents a flat to a tenant (person B) on an AST and protects the deposit correctly. However, the tenant then decides to move out and sublet the entire flat to another person (person C), and takes […]

Mark Alexander

Best way to buy and sell investment property?

22nd April 2015

What is the best way to sell (or buy) a buy to let property these days? My thoughts on this have evolved in recent years, mainly due to the the speed at which the buy-to-let market has become more and more established. So here’s a question for you to ponder …. Does buying a tenanted […]

Should we offer longer term tenancies?

22nd April 2015

Hello everyone, This is the second question I have asked here, thank you for all the fantastic responses last time.  Watching the recent national political debates and attending local political debates there has been mention a few times of forcing landlords to offer longer term tenancies, I have heard three, four and even five year […]

Paul Shamplina helps landlord evict bankrupt Pete Burns

21st April 2015

A landlord claims to have suffered a mental breakdown due to the stress of renting to the former singer of 80s group Dead or Alive Pete Burns. The bankrupt singer was evicted from his London flat today after failing to pay more than £34,000 in rent. Paul Shamplina founder of Landlord Action, the landlords legal […]

Death of a Tenant

21st April 2015

My Tenant since 23.07.2007 has died unexpectedly in hospital. He had recently married at the beginning of this year, but without his pension his wife will probably unable to continue to pay the rent beyond his meager savings, which she could take several months to inherit.  I could down size the flat to assist this […]

Half of over 40s considering Buy to Let property as a retirement plan

21st April 2015

OVER half of those saving towards their retirement say they would consider investing or are already investing in buy-to-let properties to increase their retirement income, according to new research. A national survey of 915 retirement savers aged 40 or over, found that 8% are already investing in buy-to-let property, while another 45% said that they […]

Heat Genius, Good Investment?

21st April 2015

I have been a landlord for approximately 3 years.  I have a question about a possible investment, it’s a remote controlled heating system which enables the user to heat up specific locations in the household, as opposed to the whole household simultaneously. It’s supposed to save the user money in the long term (& apparently […]

Stamp duty on transfers between spouses

20th April 2015

I have owned a property jointly with my husband since 1995. We transferred the mortgage from residential to buy to let in 2002 and now have 3 BTL properties in our portfolio.  My husband is 69 and to remortgage the property we agreed that it will be transferred into my name. Advice from our mortgage […]

Need advice on student investment in Lincoln

20th April 2015

I’m brand new to property letting and I am contemplating buying a 3 bed terrace or house in Lincoln with a view to renting this out to students on a per room arrangement, I want to know can I do this ? Do I need additional permission from my lender ? Do I need to […]

Management company and redress scheme

20th April 2015

I wonder if anyone has had a similar issue and can confirm how their local authority has acted (or advised) in relation to whether the redress scheme applies to landlord owned management companies. We own a company to manages our flats (and only our flats) which are let through the council to people in need […]

Late, unexpected and excessive service charges

20th April 2015

I own a 2 bed flat with a managing agent of the building based up in Nottingham. I receive invoices twice a year for 6 months worth of payments in advance for the management/maintenance of the building (12 flats and 3 business units). The quality of service from this organisation has been appalling with hardly […]