We used a Letting Agency to source a tenant, the criteria was a working person, suitable for insurance to secure the rent monies, and that referencing materials to be passed to us prior to the tenancy so that any queries, if any, raised by us, could be addressed. Tenant actually took occupation just before Christmas […]

If you were only able to join either the NLA or the RLA, who which would you choose and why? I appreciate this is slightly subjective as different people will want different things from these landlords associations but I just wondered what peoples thoughts were and what they thought in particular differentiated them, if at […]

Hi Folks, I curently have one property and am advising my sister who has become an accidental landlord. My mum keeps sticking her oar in to the debate regarding speculation that tax relief on mortgage intertest will be reduced or withdrawn. I can find loads articles related to last years budget but the subject seems […]

Hi all, I really need your help with a one bedroom flat I am interested in. It is located in South East London, SE6 1NA. This may be my first buy-to-let property, and I am not really sure of how to proceed or if I should even proceed, honestly. Here are some facts about the […]

Mydeposits is hosting introductory courses for letting agents in order to help them better deal with their tenant’s deposit disputes. The informative, hands-on seminars will provide letting agent professionals with a deeper understanding of the alternative dispute resolution (ADR) process and will be delivered by experienced adjudicators. ADR is offered to letting agents and tenants […]

My tenant of 5 yrs gave notice to me on 15th Jan. Her rent day was 30th of month and she gave her leaving date of 28th Feb. Tenant did not give written notice, she told me by phone, but I confirmed by letter that I had received her notice and her leaving date was […]

I own the freehold to a residential property. The tenant occupies the property under the terms of a lease dated 27th May 1895. He has made structural alterations without landlords’ consent. I have checked my copy of the lease between us, and there no mention at all about seeking landlords’ consent for structural alterations.  Before taking […]

I’m preparing some spreadsheets to identify which local properties might offer good returns on investment but I’m getting conflicting advice on how to calculate that return.  I’ve been told that 8% is the minimum ROI, 10% is good, 12%+ great. However the calculations i’m getting from existing BTL investors, books and the interweb are conflicting. […]

I am exploring ways to share the wealth and minimise CGT and IHT I hold a profitable portfolio of some 18 investment properties…  More than half were purchased in 1997. Most have appreciated in capital value.  The rental stream gives a net profit in excess of £75,000 pa About two years ago I purchased a […]

I am in the process of purchasing a property, it is currently tenanted but the property is being sold with vacant possession. Given the age of the property (~ 110 years old) I have had a full building survey completed. Based on this I am looking to undertake the following works:  Improve damp protection & […]

Could a private landlord put together a shared ownership scheme similar to those offered by Housing Associations? This question was raised by one of our members who came up with the idea of selling 10% of his property every year to one of his tenants. I explained that it would be incredibly difficult to make […]

Recently a Property118 reader remortgaged his own main residence using an Offset mortgage. It was valued at £700k and he capital raised a further £300k (bringing his mortgage to a new total of £450k). He then placed the £300,000 equity released in to the mortgage-linked offset savings account. By doing this he is still only […]

Dear Readers, If a tenant signs a tenancy surrender form (Deed of Surrender), but subsequently changes their mind and refuses to move out or return the keys, is the landlord legally allowed to change the locks and deny the tenant access? Would this then be in breach of the Protection from Eviction Act? Putting it […]

One of our long-time tenants in the London Borough of Hackney (who is up to date with their Council Tax) received the email below last week. It refers to “Regulation 3 of the Council Tax (Administration and Enforcement) Regulations 1992”, details of which can be found here: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1992/613/regulation/3/made. ### From: “Council Tax” Date: ** February […]

I have two properties in the North East of England both in serious negative equity, and on interest only mortgages. The vehicle that was in place to pay these off (within the next 4 years) has collapsed and I have no way now of paying the mortgages off. One is rented with tenants who have […]

Mark Carney, the Governor of the Bank of England, speaking on Sunday Morning’s Andrew Marr show said that London house prices were being driven out of the Bank’s control by cash rich foreign investors. This has been discussed many times on Property118, but is the first time Mark Carney has directly raised it as a […]

I recently bought a 3 bedroom property off another landlord with an existing tenant who has been there for seven years seven years. I created a new tenancy for 12 months to give the tenant some peace of mind and it has turned out to be a huge mistake! My tenant is claiming benefits, £530 […]

My tenants are working during day, so have verbally agreed that I will meet gas engineer there to allow him access for annual gas check.  All perfectly logical and amicable – except it has taken over two months, multiple texts, many e-mails and an engineer wasting his time with a ‘no access’ visit to get […]

I would like to ask why lenders require buy to let landlords to have a 25% deposit whereas residential borrowers only 10%? I would assume, if both a BTL landlord and residential purchaser defaulted, it would be more risky for a bank to get back their funds [loan] via from a residential purchaser as it […]

The plan is to move in with my partner and let this flat out, but Halifax are very reluctant. Their attitude is unhelpful, dismissive, and borderline contemptuous. They don’t even seem interested in converting it to a BTL mortgage. (its a flat, £60K equity, £200K loan, bought 7 years ago, part repayment/part interest only mortgage. […]

I own a 1 bed flat in Walthamstow that is part of a converted house, with one other flat above. As part of the sale, in 2003, I gained the freehold for both properties. The lease agreement for both flats now has 74 years to go. My flat was sold on a lease basis, so […]