For so many years I have heard people say (including many financial advisers) that life insurance to cover buy to let mortgages is not necessary because “the rent pays the mortgage and that’s how it can continue if the borrower dies and the surviving partner takes over the property(ies)”. Is that what most people think […]

  I know that the definition of a “hotel” is (very roughly) a place that rents rooms on a daily basis, so if rooms in a HMO were rented out on a daily basis could the HMO then be legally defined as a hotel? If not, what is the difference? Some hotels rent rooms on […]

After months of searching, we finally found a property deal which was exactly what we had been looking for and at £50,000 below the asking price as long as we exchanged within 28 days from our solicitor receiving the contract. The time frame was clearly set out in the agreement sent and I also stressed […]

The floor plan of my flat is not correct. The flat is a split level flat but the title plan in Land Registry says it is on one level. It is a pure mistake and there is no change of the structure at all. Is it possible to change the title plan by myself without […]

Should I report another landlord who refuses to get a CP12 certificate and if so, to whom?  Many thanks George  

Can a letting agent insist a vacating tenant has to provide invoices from professional cleaners when vacating a property even if the property is cleaned to a high standard and then deduct the cost of cleaning and carpet cleaning from the deposit?  The landlord is selling the property so it’s not like he needs to […]

If a landlord wants possession of a property held on an assured shorthold tenancy at the end of a fixed term or a periodic tenancy he must serve a valid notice. The tenant must receive it at least 2 months before the expiry of the tenancy (or in accordance with the rent period if longer).  That notice […]

I am having problems with a tenant that has Dyslexia. His mother is rather protective and wishes she be there to watch the signing but I’m getting nowhere despite several attempts of trying to contact her to arrange a signing! Excuses such as a new job and a grievance in the family are used. The […]

TMW (BTL mortgage) have told me that I can’t use my daughters’ (both under the age of 16 yrs old) saving account money for a deposit because “you can’t accept a gift from a child”.   I have been saving in my daughters names for the last 4/5 years because their account is getting 3% pa […]

I have served a section 21 notice on 18th February 2014 to my tenant, this notice expired on 25th April 2014. The same date (25th April 2014) was when the assured shorthold tenancy ended.  Background – House was let through a council scheme in 2010, but the assured shorthold tenancy agreement is with a named […]

Someone in my village I know vaguely came to see me as he knows I am a landlord.  He is 63 and has a mortgage on his house that runs to age 65 and is interest only. He has no means of repaying it having lost his job a while ago to redundancy and has taken […]

I own outright (no mortgage) a freehold building in Bristol which is divided into four one-bed flats.  The value of the building is £220,000 and rental income is £21,900 per annum. I need to raise £100,00 as soon as possible. I’ve had an offer of £210,000 to sell. I have a offer of a mortgage […]

Ed Milliband has stated that if he is elected at the next election the labour government will make residential tenancies a minimum of three years and a cap will also be imposed on rent increases. Given that there are over 1 million private landlords in the UK I suspect that could provide a very good […]

Newcastle has been reported as ‘structurally undersupplied’ by Knight Frank in their 2014 Student Property Report. With more than 49,000 students studying at two universities, the city requires purpose-built accommodation to alleviate the strain that is being placed on the local housing market. Newcastle is therefore a perfect location for Burgess House, a newly launched […]

One of our tenants wants me to provide his landlords home address, I am a letting agent. However, the landlord is a well know person and wants me just to give my office address for his business address.  What information is the tenant legally entitled to have please? If you could point me to any relevant […]

I am looking for mortgage broker recommendations for BTL (1st time buyer, low credit score due to little credit card use, £70k deposit)  I’m a first-time buyer, no previous mortgages at all, looking to buy to let because my future work means I’m not ready to settle down in one area at the moment yet […]

All landlords want three basic things:- 1) Tenants who pay their rent on time 2) Tenants who will respect their property 3) Tenants who respect their neighbours This is a relatively comprehensive guide, hence it is quite long. It may well put you off self-management but please invest your time into reading it fully to […]

The Article 4 Direction is a ruling passed by government which effectively requires special planning permission to be granted on the conversion of a single family home into a rental property of three or more unrelated tenants. In cities like Nottingham, Leicester and Newcastle family homes were rapidly being converted to student property, because they […]

The Bank of England (BoE) is preparing to test eight UK lenders to see if they can absorb sharp falls in the housing market and rises in interest rates. The test is to see if the lenders can withstand a 35% fall in house prices and an interest rate rise to 5%. This is not […]

Dear Readers, I am looking to convert my double detached garage into a annex for the purpose of renting for approx £600 PCM, the cost for conversion would be approx £20,000 which I am looking to pay for with savings. I have a mortgage of approx £100,000 on the main residence. My question is would […]

As soon as ECO funding for external wall insulation (EWI) was first announced I applied for funding for several properties through my Landlords Association. After a survey, a tenant questionnaire and another EPC, I agreed to make a financial contribution towards the total cost of the EWI. Now after a year of delays the Chancellor […]