Hi all, I’m fairly new to property investing and brand new to this site. Thanks Property Geek, Rob Dix, for your podcast on Mark Alexander that pointed me here. Quick question; what accountancy software does this community recommend?  I currently only have three properties, but plan to scale to a lot more. I use spreadsheets […]

“Should I obtain consent to let” has been a very common question over the years asked by both accidental landlords and portfolio landlords who are moving, but wish to keep their property as an investment. The very easy answer is yes you are contractually obliged to tell your lender and I would not give any […]

When you have a business of putting people in homes, it may be quite easy to get wrapped up into doing what’s “right” as opposed to what’s “profitable.” Many of us want to help our fellow humankind keep off of the streets, but when does it become problematic to do so? We may feel like […]

As it stands, this is precisely what the Government is planning to do by introducing an Immigration Bill to Parliament including a civil scheme to penalise leasing accommodation to illegal immigrants. The scheme is intended to come into effect in 2014. Government’s proposals, as set out in the relevant Government consultation document, are summarised below. […]

I have been posting on numerous forums about the introduction of equity loans into the UK buy to let mortgage market, a common question is the tax treatment. Equity loans do not attract interest in the normal way, there are no regular monthly payments. One UK lender, funded by USA equity house JC Flower & […]

In this article I will explain the fundamental difference between equity finance for buy to let landlords and traditional buy to let mortgages facilities.  Both are mortgages which are secured by a legal charge over a property. Until recently, only traditional buy to let mortgage finance where interest or interest and capital are repaid monthly […]

I run a small property development business in the Reading, Wokingham and South Oxon and Bucks areas. The company organises planning applications on small sites of up to 4 flats or houses, then secures the financing, oversees the design and specification, and commissions and project-manages sub-contractors to do the actual construction. I also undertake whole-house […]

I have recently had an absconding tenant who owes me £5,000 in rent arrears. I have used debt recovery agents previously for different tenants but with very limited success. One even tried to avoid passing on the debt they successfully collected, fortunately I caught them out and got my dues! I’m not prepared to employ […]

A well known national letting agency franchise office based in Ealing advertised flatshare, I viewed the property and agreed to pursue a tenancy. My agreement is for the duration of 3 months, all bills included. The tenant I share the flat with (Mr G) was claiming to be a tenant at first with the agent […]

Until now it has not been possible for private landlords to access venture capital but times are changing. Historically the only form of funding for buy to let investors has been mortgages, i.e. debt based finance where the returns for the provider comprise of fees and interest. In the world of corporate finance it is […]

No this is NOT a wind up, it’s 100% genuine and is important that you know how it works so that at the very least you can make an informed decision about new financing choices which until now have been unavailable to buy to let landlords. It really is a fantastic way to improve cashflow […]

I am a leaseholder in a large block of flats built in 2007. After two flats were severely damaged by water escaping through pipes our insurance had the excess for escape of water increased to £20,000. Year by year this was reduced to £12,000. However, last year the insurance company said this was an error […]

A radical shared appreciation mortgage product for buy to let landlords is soon to be launched. The detailed criteria is yet to be released but we do have details of a product launched a few years ago by the same mortgage lender into the residential mortgage market. If we assume that the key features for […]

Most savvy landlords will have negotiated with their energy providers, so that in between tenants the tariff automatically reverts to a zero tariff. This was not advertised widely for obvious reasons. It avoids annoying bills for 46p (or even £2.46!) to cover standing charges for a couple of days. It also means that if you […]

One of the most lucrative forms of property investment in the UK, student accommodation developments are delivering above-average returns for investors throughout the country, but particularly in regional university cities and towns. All Saints is a major refurbishment project of an existing halls of residence including en-suite student rooms within walking distance of Sunderland University. […]

Hi all, My fifth tenant has now decided to leave after having been subject to 6 months of abuse and hell from the neighbour adjoining the maisonette. All four previous tenants have left after six months and have all cited this neighbour from hell as the culprit for their misery and reason for leaving. This […]

I am looking for confirmation of the legislation regarding reclaiming Housing Benefit overpaid directly to a private landlord. Is it true that if a council decides that an overpayment of Housing Benefit has been made they have up to 6 years to reclaim this money? The tenant in question had a backdated Housing Benefit payment […]

Having just updated the Buy to Let mortgage products on our own in house Buy to Let Mortgage sourcing system and calculator I thought I would give you a summary of what’s Hot or Not in the current market. Virgin Money have been added to the system because of their helpful attitude and criteria which […]

Nearly 1,000 people have registered an interest in the Class Action groups challenging the legality of the increases to tracker mortgage interest rate margins proposed/implemented by West Bromwich and Bank of Ireland. Many of the people who have registered are not affected at this time but are sufficiently concerned about the potential knock on effects […]

Over 1,000 people have registered an interest in the Class Action groups challenging the legality of the increases to tracker mortgage interest rate margins proposed/implemented by West Bromwich and Bank of Ireland. Many of the people who have registered are not affected at this time but are sufficiently concerned about the potential knock on effects […]

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has released 3rd quarter 2013 Gross Domestic Product GDP figures showing the economy has grown by 0.8%. However the Bank of England remain cautious and do not predict this necessitating an interest rate rise in 2014 with economic conditions unlikely to improve enough to worry the long term target […]