I own the downstairs maisonette in a terrace, with one flat upstairs, which is also tenanted. There has been a water leak from the upstairs hand wash basin which has caused extensive damage to my flat. It was a fortuitous incident, and my upstairs neighbour’s insurance has declined liability. Her tenants might have been negligent […]

I’ve just acquired my first BTL property which will provide me with an additional income in retirement. My plan is to retire in the next 4-5 years, downsize the family home and use the residual equity to acquire a second BTL and take this income too. I’m happy to let the capital growth look after […]

Eastbank Manchester is the perfect development to cater for the abundance of young professionals seeking prime high-end apartments in the popular area of Manchester. The location is close to the city centre  and many apartments will benefit from spectacular city views, with the remainder facing the garden courtyard and terraces. It also benefits from a […]

16% of shared homes in the UK have no living room, according to a survey of more than 10,000 users of flat and house share site SpareRoom.co.uk. Just three years ago, only 10% of sharers lived in properties without living rooms. In London, where demand for rooms in flat and house shares is highest there […]

I use a rolling contract for all my properties as my tenants are all local and tend to be long term, I have a 2 months notice period after the 6 month period and let the lease run on a rolling basis never had a problem doing it this way for 10 years. However a […]

I’ve been trying to get on the property ladder but because of lack of funds, it’s proving difficult. I would like to try to purchase cheaper run down property, from auction north of England, renovate it and possible sell it to raise some deposit money to buy a family home near London. I do not […]

Check out the UK Property Investor Survey 2014 conducted by Rob Dix (AKA “The Property Geek”) as an infographic and read his full write up HERE. The Property Geeks Claims to Fame Include ……. The Property Podcast: The UK’s most popular business podcast. Listen here. The Property Hub: Community and training for property investors. Join the conversation. […]

After deciding to move in with a long-term girlfriend and not wanting to give up my own property, I decided to allow a local high street agent, who are ARLA regulated, to let and manage the property for me. This is the second tenant who is now in arrears.  They have stopped paying rent as […]

I have received a letter from a firm of solicitors instructed by a new freeholder for non-payment of ground rent. Clearly there are now excessive fees to pay!!! The ground rent payments are for this year (when I have owned the property) and the whole of last year (when I didn’t even own the property, […]

One of the properties I have just purchased as a buy to let has three glass doors in place of different designs.  The internal vestibule door is wooden panel to bottom and full glass panel to top single paned and doesn’t look toughened. The bathroom door has full length glass obscure in wooden frame which […]

I have taken out an interest only BTL mortgage with Paragon with a 20% deposit for a 25 years term and I noticed that the rules says that paragon can ask for the mortgage to be adjusted at whatever time suits them (after the first 2 years) so for example they can switch the mortgage […]

We are new to the letting game and have a nice tenant in the property, the issue we have is with the agent. The tenant has live there for just over 6 months and the agreement was for 6 months, 2 working days before the end of the agreement we still had not heard anything […]

The Mortgage Works (TMW) have announced they will increase their standard Stress Testing on all Buy to Let mortgages  that fall between 65% and 75% Loan to Value (LTV) from a Notional rate of 4.99% to 5.49%. Stress testing is how a lender calculates the amount you can borrow based on the rental income pcm […]

Has anyone had or having a similar scenario with ground rent collectors; my current dilemma:  I have an issue with an Agent collecting ground rent for a flat I rent in Northampton; Homeground. I was paying ground rent from Jan – Dec of £250 per annum to an agent at the time called Chamonix Estates. […]

I have a tenant who has been in a property of mine for 3 years with no trouble. 3 months ago decided to change from managed to un-managed and during the switch over the rent due on 5th September was delayed in arriving in my account, not arriving until 18th. The 5th October arrives and […]

The ‘The Housing (Tenancy Deposits) (Prescribed Information) Order 2007’ includes the requirement to provide the following information (paragraph numbers taken from the order):  ‘(vii) confirmation (in the form of a certificate signed by the landlord) that— (aa) the information he provides under this sub-paragraph is accurate to the best of his knowledge and belief; and […]

Has anyone on Property 118 had any dealings with Quantum Law or Quantum Tax Planning Ltd, regarding their Stamp Duty land Tax Scheme from around 2009 / 2010?  If so, have you had any correspondence fro HMRC concerning a Discovery Assessment asking for all the SDLT saved to be paid over? I used the Quantum […]

The FOS (Financial Ombudsman Service) have done it again!  In the past the FOS have controversially agreed that rate hikes applied by Bank of Ireland, Skipton Building Society (Amber Homeloans) and also the Danske Bank (formerly National Irish Bank) were fair. Therefore, is it really that shocking that FOS would also rule in favour of West […]

My tenant moved in on 1st September paid a months rent and deposit. Her rent was due on 1st October but with one thing and another did not receive until the 15th Oct and paid 5 weeks out of 6. It became due again on the 7th Nov but again she asked to pay 5 […]

Hi Everyone, I have a portfolio of 3 flats in South East London, 2 are mortgaged at 75% of their current value and let out for a good rental income and one is under renovation at present. I’m also in the process of buying a fourth flat in the same area which also needs to […]

I’ve been talking to our local council about splitting a (very) large HMO into an HMO and a family home.   They have clear rules for gardens for family homes (these should have at minimum a garden the size of the footprint of the building), as well as clear rules for flats (a good balcony […]