The mortgage for the purchase of the leasehold of my ex-council flat will end after one month. Do I need a solicitor to finalise this for me?  Are there any legal things that I need to get done to make sure that I have all the rights to the lease and the mortgage lender has […]

I own a flat in an 18 flat development. I get a good rental and the service charge is very reasonable. The flat next to mine is coming up for sale and I am seriously thinking of buying it. However, the freeholder has decided to sell the freehold and has offered the leaseholders first refusal.  […]

Since council tax for empty properties became a landlord’s responsibility in April 2013 councils are trying every which way they can to get money in from the easiest target when a tenant absconds, the landlord. In fact if the tenant is on Benefits a demand for council tax is often the first a landlord knows […]

I live in house that I share with three other tenants. We all have locks on our bedroom doors.  The problem is that the bedroom upstairs is causing me problems with sleep at night. The floorboards have had ply-board laid on top but the constant creaking is unbearable. The landlord has been made aware of […]

We are considering a property for sale by modern method of auction, specifically by Great Northern Property Auctions.  The vendor has chosen the model whereby he pays nothing and the auction fees are collected via a 3.5% or £5,000 (whichever is greater) + VAT reservation fee which is non returnable and does not form any […]

Watch out. We bought 2 properties recently on really good terms with Woolwich & Natwest. The Mortgages were very good rates – and mortgages depending good financials to complete – found by our long-standing and trusted financial advisor. However, both houses cost £70k each and they state a requirement for a £140k re-build insurance costs […]

Looking for some advice on what’s best to do in our current situation. My mother has a BTL portfolio of seven houses, all have mortgages on except for her property which is worth around £300,000. She does not have any life insurance and has recently been diagnosed with cancer so I am planning for the […]

My property has 4 students. One is dropping out of Uni. In the AST, he’s allowed to find a replacement provided the other 3 students approve the choice and I agree.  However, what are the practicalities? What’s the best way to deal with the deposit? I intend to claim deductions from the person leaving as […]

I own a house worth £320,000 with no mortgage or loans.  I want to buy a ‘buy-to-let’ property for £180,000 1: Can I get a’ buy to let’ mortgage at my age (69) without declaring my income? I understand that providing I can demonstrate that the rent will easily cover the mortgage and running costs, […]

Firstly, can I say what a great website this is – full of really useful content and discussion, especially for us newbie’s. Over the last two years I have read most of the articles at least twice! I am really keen to hear your views on our current situation and get your best advice…  Our […]

I bought a new house but the the builder did not declare that there was an outstanding/incomplete planning issue that was not signed off the by the local planning authority. Solicitor who carried out conveyancing does not appear interested in pursuing the matter on my behalf as I hold her responsible for not asking the […]

My agent is refusing to provide details of an absconded tenant under the Data Protection Act. As the tenant is my client, I believe the agent holds the information on my behalf, and I am entitled to access.   Thoughts please Bill Williams

I recently posted the ‘Newbie‘ thread so I haven’t been a landlords for very long. I bought a mid-terrace in December 2014 which, before I bought it, I had a full buildings survey done as I wanted to try, as best I could, to highlight any major things wrong with the property in order to […]

I am just hoping for a little bit of advice as my solicitor has my head in a spin and has suggested looking at getting advice elsewhere.  I am currently in the process of splitting with my wife,  I moved out of the marital home in April last year. We have a buy to let […]

I have been a tenant on a farm on an AST for nearly three years. I have always had trouble with a dodgy oil fired boiler and at times had several days without heating. The owner has now installed a bio mass boiler fuelled by wood pellets to serve my property, two other cottages, his […]

Just wondering about what the legal implications would be of employing someone for, say 20 hours a week – I’m thinking it would be best if they had self-employed status? I’m not sure exactly what I would want them to do yet as the work is often ad hoc. It could include conducting viewings and […]

I have a restriction on the land registry for a property I have a sole mortgage on – the restriction States there is to be no disposition by a sole proprietor, what’s the best way to have it removed or could I just add someone else to my mortgage to get around this ? There […]

February is the heart of winter and the month when the boiler in your let property is being constantly used to provide hot water. If it is past its best then maybe you should consider Landlord Emergency Cover to protect it and your tenants. In the last two years I personally have paid for a […]

What most Landlords are interested in, because many have Buy to Let mortgages, from my Bank of England quarterly inflation report summaries is what might happen to interest rates in the future. Well the good news if you are hoping the rate stays low is that the latest report shows the lowest predicted medium term […]

I’ve a property with 10 self contained units – one is smoking cannabis early morning (night workers) which is permeating the house – it’s the first thing you smell as you enter – they’ve been spoken to, obviously deny it, and it didn’t happen this morning. Though, I do know that high quality pre rolled […]

New Bank House in the heart of Sheffield is a new conversion project set to be finished September 2015 consisting of 178 large contemporary student apartments. This bespoke boutique student accommodation development could make a fantastic addition for a Buy to Let property portfolio, offering impressive NET rental yields of circa 8%, assured for 2 years. […]