WARNING – this article might make you want to cry, it might make you want to laugh and it will probably make you angry, and for many different reasons depending on who you are.  This is one of those articles which I would like to be read by every landlord, every letting agent, every tenant […]

We landlords are not in the business of lending money to our tenants but that is in effect what we are doing when they run up rent arrears. The trouble is it is far easier for someone NOT to do something than it is to DO something, ie it is far easier NOT to pay […]

Borrowers are still being frustrated by the banks’ continued reluctance to lend on development finance projects, but reality is that if you know who to ask they are actually eager to lend on profitable projects to experienced developers. It is navigating a way around the maze of lenders, different products and finding the finance that […]

I thought it might be helpful to other readers to post a blog on an eviction process.  In one of my HMO’s, I have just had a Section 21 expire and my tenant still present… Joy. He is 29, able-bodied, and plays for a local cricket team, but has never done a stroke of work […]

Firstly, my partner and I are looking to purchase our first BTL property and I wondered what criteria to use for optimum location. My research tells me that first timers usually buy close to where they live and this is what we initially thought. However, for the cost of what we can buy in an […]

Hi, I have been finding this forum extremely useful and know it will probably save me thousands so would like to donate but can’t find any button or link to this,can you please advise I am probably being blind. Thanks Sally Lloyd 

Really interesting to see why we all got into buying property?  To get a feel for the stories & circumstances that were to be the catalysts that have taken us down this road. For me it was all about fear. Fear that I would not be able to take care of myself and loved ones […]

I am in process of buying a residential mid terraced property. I am a first time buyer and got residential mortgage with 15% deposit. However, I am looking to spilt the house in ground floor and first floor by taking advantage of new extension limit of 6m for rear ground floor and 3m for rear […]

I let my flat through an agent in 2007 and signed a Letting Agreement with renewal fees.  I pay the agent 6% each time he finds me a tenant and a yearly renewal fee. He has found me three tenants since 2007 all have stayed about two years and I have paid the renewal fee […]

Our friends Rob Bence and Rox Dix from the Property Podcast have produced an excellent audio programme which explains various options to calculate rental yields.  They have also added a very cool, funky intro to their Podcast so do check it out, I even get a mention 🙂 iAmAlandlord is my Twitter handle by the […]

This is the first Bank of England inflation report since Mark Carney took on his new role of Bank of England Governor last month. The media are calling this the most revolutionary day in the recent history of the Bank of England. Given that the inflation report is heavily focussed on what’s likely to happen to interest […]

The OFT have announced that they have written to 120 Quick Sale property businesses advising them to review their practices and also revealed they are to investigate three “Quick Sale” property firms following their review of the quick sale property sector. The OFT report on “Quick Sale Property” businesses is very balanced and recognises the […]

This week I have been stung by my first experience of the benefits cap.  One of my tenants Housing Benefit has gone down to £30pw from £159pw. This is the cap where the Government are limiting families to £500pw of maximum benefits and all councils will have it by Sept 2013. My tenant now gets […]

One of the things that are uppermost in landlords’ minds at the moment is the concern that we are vulnerable to possible litigation following the “Superstrike” case. The degree of that vulnerability varies from landlord to landlord and of course some landlords are not at all clear where they stand. All of the deposit protection […]

According to the latest research from the National Landlords Association (NLA), incidences of arrears have fallen to their lowest level for over two years. 39 per cent of landlords have experienced instances of rental arrears in the last 12 months, down nine per cent year on year and back to levels previously seen in quarter […]

I rent 16 properties out and used an agent to manage them. I instructed them in 2007 and signed T&Cs. I recently added 10 properties to the portfolio and financially it made sense to employ someone to look after them rather than pay the agent fees. The T&Cs I signed state: “You may withdraw your […]

The Mortgage Works have withdrawn their popular and industry leading Light Refurb product, which allowed a property to be financed using a Buy to Let mortgage even though it required a small amount of work before it could be Let (usually a lender will insist on a full retention if the property is not in […]

(By Malcolm Jones of Brooklands Commercial Finance) Despite the Banks recent profit announcements, Developers are still being frustrated by their continued reluctance to lend. When Banks are prepared to lend on development projects the percentage of costs or of the Gross Development Value (GDV) is often so low that it is not workable. Many borrowers […]

There have been several discussions here about inventories, why they are necessary and which is the best software to use to produce them etc. What we’ve never had before though is the ability for landlords and letting agents to download a professionally prepared inventory for benchmarking purposes against what they have been doing until now. […]

I currently own 2 buy to let properties in South Wales, I have had one for coming up to 4 years now, and the other for just about a year.  I want to buy a 3rd property as the renting market down here is brilliant and house prices are cheap compared to the rest of […]

September 1st is statistically the biggest day in the calendar for Landlords Insurance Renewal. I am fairly certain it doesn’t mean more properties have completed on this day than any other, but it does seem to be a popular renewal date for block policies of more than one property. Several years ago my business partners […]