I was called in by the tenants in one of my properties because they were having problems with a shower, and was horrified to see a large pool of water outside the front door which seemed to be coming from the condense pipe of the boiler. The tenants admitted that they had been having trouble […]

I am purchasing a ‘freehold’ ground floor flat with a garage. It is a cash purchase only. It all sounds good with no ground rent or service charges to pay but am I buying what could be a problem in the future? I have spoken to one person in the block of 12 flats (most […]

Help! I’ve a lower ground floor flat that has suffered from some sort of water ingress, we’ve investigated and found a drain from next door near so am assuming it is this – however the neighbour has done all sorts of unregulated work to his building and being extremely obtuse – I’ve had someone in […]

Wishing you a very Happy New Year!  In the spirit of all the recent festivities, there is something very important which I wanted to share with you. Okay, so I’m in my office here in Kent speaking with an associate of mine about the property investment business and how he’s doing. First thing that he […]

All aspects of this question relate to the UK. Earlier this year I bought a terraced house which I renovated and have just let out. The house (according to the deeds) is fully in my name, I own the house. Other than the rent from this house I don’t have an income, I’m a ‘homemaker’ […]

I had a lodger who stayed Monday to Friday. She did sometimes stay the whole week without paying any extra money. We had a verbal agreement that we would give 2 weeks notice either way. However, she went to see her family out of the country and has not paid her rent. I don’t think […]

Currently, markets such as property and stocks are near their highs. One cause is the rock bottom rates pushing investors into risky assets and away from cash. So, what will happen to the property market over the next few years? Is it worth delaying purchases? Am I correct in assuming that as rates rise, property […]

I have recently sought a CCJ via the ‘ My money online’ service. The Defendant did not respond with any defence etc within the time allowed so after allowing another two weeks I asked (online) for a judgement by the County Court Business Centre. I have now received their reply i.e : Notice of judgement […]

I am refurbishing my first rental property and undecided on what type of carpets to fit. I have been recommend a hard wearing loop pile. What carpets do you use for your rental property? I am also installing a white gloss kitchen and looking at laminate worktops to go with this. What colour are the […]

I let a flat to a student, she has boyfriend with her. She signed the contract but the boy friend paid the rent I think. They renewed the contract ( signed a paper for another year conditioned to old contract ) in august14 ( she was still in UK). In October we received complaints from […]

I bought a flat in November 2012 and the ground rent was £100 till now. Yesterday I got a letter from the management company E & M saying that the ground rent was due for review in December 2012 and it’s now £325 pa from 2012.  I am going to check the lease out but […]

My partner and I moved into our first rented home together on 28 February 2014. We paid what we thought were extortionate referencing fees of £300 (EACH!) on top of the deposit and rent. At the time we mentioned that this was a high price, especially considering that my partner had rented from this letting […]

I would like to ask the advice of your members, please. I own 2 x 2 bed ground flats in a block of four, two flats upstairs, two downstairs. They are freehold flats, close to the town centre and rent well. Both of my flats are rented out to tenants and up until the relatively […]

Hi, I was wondering if any one could help me out here?  I have a clause on my tenancy agreement stating that rent will be increased on annual basis on 28th of September. Thus, I expected agency to send me a notice for that before September but I did not receive anything. This month I […]

A tenant of mine has tried to claim LHA, but not Jobseekers Allowance. He was sanctioned by DWP and did not make a claim for Jobseekers Allowance for a period of 7 weeks. In turn, the Council have refused to pay him any LHA for this same period. They are of the opinion that if […]

My current tenant is receiving housing benefit/local housing allowance (which is paid directly to the estate agent and then to me). Initially the tenant, who is a single parent, moved in with his three young kids. I tagged along to the most recent quarterly inspection and noticed that there were no children’s clothing or toys […]

Ed Balls, the Labour shadow Chancellor, has already asked the Treasury to start planning for the Mansion Tax to be implemented before the General Election. Mr Balls wants the tax to be levied “day one” of a Labour administration and will be part of his first budget raising £1.2 billion to be invested into the […]

EDITORS NOTE: The following article was submitted by George Crofts Llb (Hons), with whom I had a very educational and eye opening discussion last week regarding claims management and no-win-no-fee legal services for tenants. I personally invited George to submit an article so that our landlord, tenant and letting agent readers could ask George the […]

I have joint tenants in a property and one has violently assaulted a family member and friend as well as her husband within the property.  The police were called and she was told to leave the property and can return to collect her personal items but only when the husband is not in the property. […]

This is my situation:  31st October – tenancy commenced with tenant paying £900 for first month’s rent and £446 as part payment towards the deposit required of £1,246 17th November – £800 balance of deposit received by the agent 8th December – full balance of £1,246 protected with DPS. I received an email from agent […]

I have a number of BTL flats – all fully occupied.  I bought them some time ago at around £20k then remortgaged at a later date with mortgages around £70k to fund a family home. We can hardly complain – capital growth paid for the family home – with the mortgage on the flats being […]