Nooooo, here we go again! Not another mis-selling scandal aimed at Mortgage Advisers!!! Following the loss of a case in the High Court against West Bromwich Mortgage Company it appears that it is now perfectly legal for mortgage lenders to increase their Tracker Mortgage margins, despite Offer Letters and KFI’s stating the margin applies “to […]

I have a tenant who is now more than 3 months rent in arrears. AST start date 6th August 2013. I issued a S8 AND S21 (and delivered and witnessed) on 5th November 2014 – he now owes more than he did – do I need to reissue the S8 ? He will not respond […]

I’m about to rent a commercial property to run an out of school club. Who is responsible for the fire safety equipment, eg, fire alarm, fire exits and smoke alarms. There is a rented flat over the premises that someone else rents at present. Any answers or where to go for answers would be much […]

I have just purchased a 2-bed terrace house with a tenant in place. There is one bathroom on the first floor and a kitchen on the ground floor. The tenant needs just the ground floor. Can I put a shower room in ground floor and rent this to him and fit a small kitchenette on […]

My flat in 2001 cost £190k. It has been rented most of the last 12 years and yields about £900pcm. I still owe £40k on a variable rate interest-only mortgage which is due in August 2015. Market value is £300k. Keeping the flat was meant to provide retirement income instead of committing to a pension […]

I have a tenant who has handed in her notice and is due to leave this Friday. She has now informed the managing agent that she can’t move out as the house she is moving into is not available until 16 Feb. Rent has always been paid on time. She is willing to pay rent […]

I currently own 2 small flats in a block of 8. The block of flats is at the head of a cul-de-sac of semi detached, detached houses and bungalows. Built approx 30 years ago. Two of my properties are ground floor at the front of the property. There are communal grounds at the front directly […]

I’m currently renting in an expensive area down South where I will never be able to afford to buy a place for myself. Obviously I am not hugely enjoying spending so much on rent when there is the potential to buy property instead. I was thinking of buying somewhere near my hometown in the North […]

On Monday 2nd February at 7.30pm, the BBC’s Inside Out programme featured “Buy to Let Pitfalls”, with the focus on landlords that have entered into the sector to provide a pension for themselves, but run into difficulties. The show featured a landlord whose portfolio of housing benefit tenants is causing him to scale back his […]

I have a 75 year lease on a flat which is being run as a buy to let. I have entered into negotiations with the landlord to try and achieve a lease extension.  The landlord has a supplied a completly new draft lease for consideration. My old lease lease does not require me to get […]

I recently moved home and am looking to rent out my previous property. Given that I have moved over 200 miles away it was not a viable option for me to manage the property myself, so I joined a highly-recommended online letting agency. After a short while, a couple (both in their late 20’s) expressed […]

I thought I had the base covered where in my lease it states ” the tenant agrees the landlord reserves the right to appoint cleaners if he feels that the property has not been cleaned to an acceptable standard, such costs being borne by the tenant” Looks pretty clear cut to me. Tenant and landlord […]

I have just bought my first property to rent. The first floor windows need replacing. The current windows have a top opener only and is about 20% of the total. I have heard that I may need to have bottom openers which allow fire escape? Can I replace like for like or do I need […]

Hi, Probably been answered before however …. Deposit wasn’t protected, but the tenant decided to use the deposit in lieu of the last months rent. It seems I reluctantly agreed. at least that is what he is saying.  I am in the middle of court proceedings after asking him to leave for sub-letting the property, […]

For my main job (nothing to do with property) I work through my own limited company, taking around £8k in wages per year and £30k in dividends. This is just enough to keep me out of the higher tax bracket. Over a few years this has left me with enough money sitting in my company’s […]

I have a tenant that stays in a room on a separate AST. Their contract comes to an end on 31st January 2015 and a signed contract for 1st Feb 2015 to 31st July 2015 was signed on 8th December 2014. Prescribed information on Tenant Renewal My question is when do I have to reissue […]

Following on from the announcement of increases to court fees for money claims, there are now plans afoot to increase the fee for a possession claim by £75.  Possession claim court fees last went up in April 2014. The fees introduced at that time are as follows for proceedings started in: • High Court – […]

In most countries there are only lawyers, the phenomenon of Solicitors and Barristers is relatively unique to the UK.  From my personal perspective, solicitors are a bit like GP’s, i.e. they offer initial consultations and refer to specialists. However, with the deregulation of many aspects of law, solicitors now have to compete. A good example […]

I am a Landlord with a small portfolio of properties in London (mostly within Zone 2). I am using the services of various estate agents but after experiencing everything from bad tenants to having to do everything myself (despite signing up for a “management service”) – to put it bluntly, I feel ripped off, and […]

Today was Judgement Day in the case of Mark Robert Alexander (me) vs the West Bromwich Mortgage Company. I was representing a group of 360 affected borrowers, who between them contributed nearly £500,000 to fund the legal action. I am extremely disappointed to report that we didn’t get the News we were so desperately hoping […]

MY deceased brother’s estate has a Grade 2 listed property converted into 4 separate flats all mortgaged. There are no shared parts except the garden  and all flats have separate entries. We wish to start selling off the flats, but the only information we have is that the flat freehold was in my brothers building […]