This is my first contribution to Property118. I hope to make many more. We have formed a Right to Manage (RTM) Co for our block of 137 properties, and are now going fo Right to Enfranchise (RTE). However, we have recently discovered a discrepancy in our leases, which our solicitor (no longer practicing!) did not […]

First off, great site! As a wannabe investor/landlord for several years, I’ve been a keen follower of this and similar landlord online resources, which have been a great source of inspiration and learning about the landlord business. Many thanks! My wife and I are now planning to take our first steps into residential property investment […]

I have an example of how the commercial market is changing. Some lenders are now taking a risked based view of using second charges over equity as security for development finance rather than only relying on pure cash being put up as collateral by investors. Example of a recently completed case, as follows: A builder/developer […]

I am interested that I can’t see any response to, or comment about, George Osborne’s announcement last week to withdraw benefits to claimants – first for 1 month, then for 3 months. Am I the only landlord with social tenants?! There are serious implications. Here is an extract of a letter I am sending to […]

I would like help please with legal clarification over whether I have to legally return rent paid in advance by a tenant. An independent professional inventory clerk has confirmed the tenant is liable for damage and the deposit and rent held is not sufficient to cover the damage. My tenant has paid me rent 6 […]

The Council of Letting Agents has today called for better electrical safety standards in Scotland’s privately rented properties. Speaking at their inaugural conference, Council of Letting Agents (CLA) Convenor Kathleen Gell said: “Scotland depends upon the properties that our letting agents manage. People rely on these properties for their homes and they need to be […]

Unless you are a qualified contracts lawyer who has also studied Latin you will probably not have a clue as to how contra proferentem mortgage conditions affect you. I have spent the last two weeks getting my head around it as it was a key point in the barristers opinion for the Bank of Ireland […]

I run a website providing online advice from building surveyors. The advice is given by experienced RICS qualified chartered building surveyors. I would welcome feedback. The website is www.askasurveyor.co.uk Although there is a cost of £40 per question answered, we do not charge if we cannot answer and invariably we save clients considerably more than […]

I have served section 8 notice to my tenant because she was over 2 months behind with rent, I gave her another 1 months notice which ends on 12th Oct. She claims housing benefit and I e-mailed them last week to tell them shoe owes over £1,200 they said they will look into it? I […]

I had a call on Saturday from my tenant to say the garage roof had fell in and covered his car in rubble. I don’t know how this has happened and have never been advised by the tenant that there was any problems with the roof prior to this. It appears that a couple of […]

All landlords require financial advice from time to time, I’ve listed some of the many reasons below. My question to readers of Property118 is how do you select an adviser? Do you want to be able to meet them or do your prefer to communicate by phone or internet? Do you prefer to work with […]

I’ve been following the news on this site concerning West Bromwich Building Society’s increase in Tracker margins and the Class Action. I thought I would check through our ‘Lifetime Tracker’ mortgage offer from Birmingham Midshires. I was in for a shock. We’ve loved our trackers from Birmingham Midshires (BM) and have been enjoying rates less […]

We’ve all heard of those ‘no money down’ schemes (mortgage fraud scams) where a ‘property sourcer’ has negotiated a discount and the buyer and his friendly mortgage salesman gets a mortgage based on the normal market value.  Many were very active in this market, some still are, however …… ….. what is not so widely […]

I have a buy to let mortgage with Mortgage Express. This mortgage finishes in April 2015. The value at present of the property is around £50000. I paid £126,000 for it 6 years ago with a mortgage of £113,500. There is now negative equity in the property in the region of £76,000. I have paid […]

Several people have left comments on our forums or emailed me personally to say that they are not affected by any of the tracker mortgage rate rises at the moment but want to contribute to a fund to help discourage other lenders from following suit. I am concerned that the Class Action against BoI appears […]

The ball park figure on total costs if this goes all the way to the Supreme court is in the region of £100,000 to £200,000. I appreciate that’s a massive margin but it will not be more accurate until we have Counsels opinion. Our legal costs will be circa £100,000, we will recover some/most of […]

It’s that time of year again when all the predictions for next year start to be rolled out. We are compiling our own report too. I don’t know about you but I’m reading conflicting information about the future of the PRS.  “Generation Rent” says the numbers of renters are increasing year on year, but I […]

I have exchanged contracts on my sale but am worried that my buyer will not be able to secure the mortgage that she needs. The ground rent is currently £350 a year. It doubles in 2016 and every 10 years after that. Ground rent would be £2,800 after a typical 25 year term, which seems […]

I have questions which I’m sure many people outside of property investment ask themselves before drawing a blank or getting confused or deciding they don’t have enough information to make a decision. “How much money do I need to begin a viable property development business?” And “What’s the most sensible route as an entry point?” […]

As you will be aware, we are actively looking for a suitable course of action to oppose the planned increase in the interest rate charged on your mortgage by West Bromwich Building Society (WBBS). I would like to set out our plan below as to how we intend to take this forward:- We need to […]

There is already more than enough funding and legislation to police the Private Rented Sector. The last thing we need is more legislation, what everybody wants is enforcement and word on the street is that we could begin to see it before the end of 2013.  PRS Hit Squads The authorities all know who the […]