Wanted to pick your brains on business banking.  I have 5 properties, one I live in and the other four let out. My accountant has advised me to open a business bank account. Is this the right way forward? I guess it may depend on strategy, mine is to hold the property’s long-term.  I guess […]

I am a relatively inexperienced property investor and am in the process of buying 2 HMO student rental properties to add to one other B-2-L property we have.  We have been letting out a second property for about 8 years and as we are now buying a couple more I’m interested in understanding more about how people build […]

I have a room available in an HMO, I have met an applicant, he is a nice enough guy, an Italian over here on a short term contract and he wants to pay in advance for the entire 3 months.  He wants to move in this weekend as his employers have covered his hotel until […]

Robert Owen House is an eight-storey development in the heart of the city, as a solution to Glasgow’s chronic lack of student housing. A former office building, it will comprise 101 studios, available at three different investment levels – standard, deluxe and premium. Additionally, in-keeping with the Fortis Developments’ brand, students living here will have […]

We have taken one of our tenants to court for an eviction due to massive rent arrears. When we go to court the tenants had filed a counter-claim against us.  We were advised to get a survey on the property and to go back to court in August. It now transpires that the tenant has […]

I phoned a solicitor to discuss him advising me about a possible eviction in view of Superstrike, he said he would read my documents for £100 so I sent the documents to him. He then sent me a letter asking for £350. I spoke with him and he denied saying £100. I asked him for […]

We are renting a small shop in our home town. My question is what regulations do we have to follow regards fire safety? Do we need to install mains fitted smoke alarms, or standard battery alarms, and is it our responsibility to carry out a fire safety risk assessment.  Also with there being a hot […]

In November 2013 we were approached by Allison Wallace from the University of York to participate in some research commissioned by Lloyds Banking Group and Shelter. We were pleased to help and we are grateful to Property118 members for getting involved. The discussion thread can be found HERE. Several Property118 members contacted Allison and her […]

As per title, I am looking for advice and yes I am a landlord basher so the irony of my post here is not lost on me. Perhaps when you read this you will understand.  I’m 12 days into a new tenancy. I’m in Northern Ireland, which I realise makes a difference. So far I […]

We were in the process of letting a property and had been presented with the Landlord’s Gas Safety Certificate. The Landlord’s property has a gas boiler and gas hob and as far as the Landlord was concerned both appliances were covered by a British Gas HomeCare agreement. The Landlord’s Gas Safety Certificate was also provided […]

I’m coming to the end of a 52 week contract with a letting agent that gave them sole agent on the letting, all fees due to them have been paid. The tenancy is also coming to an end a few weeks after the contract I have with the agent.   During the year they failed […]

I have recently added a very spacious purpose-built two bedroom apartment to my portfolio. It is almost ready to let, just a few minor upgrades in progress. As I have this week taken on some extra self-employed work in the area of the property (in addition to my permanent job elsewhere) I am curious to […]

My name is Rony Aga and I own a flat in east London. A few weeks ago the leaseholders on our building got an invoice to pay an excess service charge for 2011 – 2012 with a calculation document from the management company.  Forty leaseholders decided go through the LVT process but in the meantime […]

There is a large House/Hotel in my area, I have not looked at the property yet just seen it on leaflet but I think I could make it into 3 x 2 bed Flats – then rent them out.  What are the implications? I know there will have to be 4 core 3 phase Wiring coming […]

New build high yielding investments with assured rental returns of 35% NET and starting prices from £82K. Landlords are increasingly choosing Vita managed Student apartments over traditional buy-to-lets. Even void rental periods are taken care of, as your rental return is assured for 5 years, regardless of occupancy. Please click here for further information [display_iframe […]

What are the rules on storing objects i.e. crates and large rubbish bins along a shared access footpath that is the only entrance to numerous blocks of flats?  A business below one of the blocks of flats (not mine) seems to think that he owns the whole path and any free space along that path. […]

I have a 2 bed flat with an 85ft garden that has just become available for let. Before I re-let the property for £950 pcm, I was thinking about installing a log cabin at the bottom the garden and renting this out as a studio flat with small garden for £550pcm including bills.  The log […]

I’m currently remortgaging my residential property to release equity with the sole purpose of using the funds to act as deposits for future BTLs.  I understand that the interest element on any BTL mortgage can be offset against rental income, but does this extend to the interest on my remortgage? Thanks James

From Howard Reuben Property118 Sponsor:- We all know that the vast majority of people don’t have a Will written, and even more people don’t have a valid Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) in place either. Despite having been an estate planning Firm since 1995, it still surprises me that most people haven’t even considered an […]

My wife and I bought a three bed detached house for £75000 in 1993 we lived in it for one year then let it until this present day with just nominal blank periods.  Present value £300k if we sell CGT is 45k . We have considered moving back and developing it but as the value […]

I purchased a 4 bed buy to let property in 2001 for £115,000 and by 2008 it was worth considerably more so I refinanced it to 85% LTV and used the net proceeds to invest into more property. I have never lived in the any of the properties.  The properties I purchased in 2008 initially […]