The Bank of England base rate has been at 0.5% now for five years! It will not stay there forever and can only go up. Question is; at what interest rate will your properties break even? This calculator will help you to “stress test” your rental properties – it is free to use.  If you […]

Sales and marketing isn’t my thing and I’m wondering how aggressive I should be in my property To-Let advertising. The two bed apartment that I’m soon to complete on is approx 1,000 square foot in size. The problem is that almost every advertised property claims to be ‘spacious’! I’m planning on letting at about 10-15% […]

Hazel de Kloe is our latest sponsor at Property118 and will soon be launching her first book and a series of webinars, both of which I am very much looking forward too. Hazel is also very good on camera as you will see from the video below – in my opinion she’s far better than […]

Shawbrook Bank have launched an HMO refurb product geared specifically to investors that are looking to convert a single dwelling into an HMO and take advantage of the higher yeilds available on these type of properties. This is a growing niche area that Shawbrook Bank have identified as “good business” and are looking to support […]

If you’d have been on the front line with active property investors in  2008 when the market fell off a cliff you’d have seen virtually every investor in the market either gunned down or white & pasty with fear and panic. Debt/money stuck in properties, remortgaging-‘free’-money-out now completely dead, the millions borrowed to buy properties for […]

I want to sell one of my BTL properties, it is a very small studio flat on the outskirts of Uxbridge. Unless things have changed it maybe difficult to mortgage as it is only 26 square metres and lending criteria was a minimum of 30 sq metres last time I looked into it. The tenant […]

Hi All, I’ve been getting the paperwork ready for a BTL property that I’m close to completing on. There’s three things that I’m not 100% sure about and was hoping for some advice on. They’re all unrelated, so apologies if I should be raising these under separate discussions… (1) Adding clauses to an AST I’m […]

Ever since the Credit Crunch it has been very hard to finance new build flats on Buy to Let mortgages with lenders criteria either a straight No, or at a reduced Loan to Value. However Aldermore commercial have now released new criteria allowing 80% maximum LTV on new build flats for individual, company applicants and […]

The Mortgage Market Review MMR will come into effect on the 26th of April. The New MMR rules will force lenders to prove that borrowers can afford the monthly mortgage payments on their FCA regulated main residence loans. This will involve much stricter proof on Full Fact Finds and applications showing monthly budget planners indicating […]

Hello all, I need a bit of advice on how best to get my vacated tenants to pay for a slightly cracked basin, stained mattress and dirty walls which I think are all beyond anybody’s reasonable expectation of fair wear and tear. They were good tenants and were in the property for three years and only […]

Hi All Have just followed a thread from a few years ago about an “abandonment notice”. I found out last week that one of my tenants has been sent to jail for two months. He is a tenant in receipt of housing benefit. The council have suggested that I put an abandonment notice on his […]

Whether you’re new to investing in property or a seasoned investor, you will no doubt be keen to minimise the risk of your investment whilst maximising the return, and it may appear that striking the balance between the two is the key to success in the field of property investment. When I speak to investors […]

Dear Readers, I have a tenant on LHA in a 3 bed property rented for £695 since 2010 The Council sent a payment for approx £50 less stating reason as deductions for non dependent. I phoned the council and they said the son had turned 18 and left college in July hence the deductions and […]

Hi All I could use a bit of advice, I have been forced into the situation that I have to evict several tenants from my HMO property in the next three months. I have looked online for templates re notice to quit. None of the tenants have tenancy agreements as they have lived there for […]

I’m a first time buy to let landlord. Just reserved a 2nd floor 1 bed flat in an office conversion with walking distance to Sutton train station. The design of the flats are such that all 5 units have access to lifts (& stairs) except the two corner units, one of which on the 2nd […]

UPDATE – 31st March 2014 Since publishing this article our campaign has raised over £450,000 and legal action has now commenced. The official closing date for borrowers to be represented in this action was 28th March 2014. However, it may still be possible to be included in the representative action by paying additional fees to […]

Help! I have just purchased a property at auction for the first time. I read through all the T&C’s in the brochure and legal pack and also took professional advice from my solicitor. Neither of us were aware of a Buyers Premium so it was a bit of a shock when £3,000 was added to […]

I’m renewing my tenancy, same price, just an extension. My tenancy agreement states that I have to pay the agent £69.60 including VAT towards the cost of any renewal document created for any extension of the Tenancy. The agency is asking £84 because the price has increased this year but nobody notified me this change […]

My ex partner leased a house from 2009 until 2012 he then had an affair and left, during our relationship he was violent and caused damage to the property. I had nowhere else to go and with 3 small children I felt my only option was to take out a new lease In my name […]

I have two apartments bought a the top of the market which now have £30k negative equity. With mortgages, ground rent and service charges etc. I’m losing £100 each property every month. I have 10 years left on the mortgages.  Should I just hope for the best? Thanks Mark

We are trying to get a gas supply to a cottage and a flat. The flat is above, and at the back, of a shop and they are both accessed via an alleyway between two shops, and a courtyard. We own the alley way and the courtyard. Having researched on line it seems that if […]