By way of introduction, my name is Max, I am a second year Economics student at the University of Kent. Currently, I have taken a year out to work at one of the Big4 accountancy firms to chase a career that I have always aspired to have. I work within one of the Real Estate […]

Hi All any advice I am a landlord I would like to hope a good one renting higher end HMO properties in Brighton. Following on from additional HMO licensing introduced last year on November 5th 2012, Brighton and Hove city council brought in an article 4 planning article in 4 wards restricting further HMO usage […]

I didn’t want to start a New Year talking about a negative issue but this is too important to ignore. The biggest change that has happened to my business in the last few years is being able to find great tenants through property letting web sites at a cost of less than £100. Previously I […]

Dear Readers, I’m in a bit of a predicament, I’m currently looking at investing in property to let but a few years ago, I unfortunately got my hands bitten and am therefore am unable to get a mortgage due to poor credit and defaults etc. I have a bit of money sat in the bank […]

Hi, As there are soo many helpful people on this forum thought I would ask a question that readers may be able to help with please. Here is a brief summary 1. Tenant signed tenancy agreement and paid the required deposits and months rent 2. Tenant moved all items in, TV, washing machine, cupboard, table, […]

I have a number of properties which I let as Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs), and I used to offer residents a standard 6 month Assured Shorthold Tenancy of their room, but I found this etremely problematic if they turned out to be destructive, or a nuisance to other residents, or just refused to pay […]

My name is Matthew and I a rented a property in Thornton Heath CR7. I am 3 months rent in arrears to make that clear. I have lived at the property since April 2012 paying rent on time every month until 3 months ago. The Croydon council were doing maintenance work and noticed the cottage […]

Dear Readers I have a 3 bedroom house that is let as a HMO. It has a detached garage which is not being used and I wish to rent out the garage separately. This is my only property with a garage and I’ve never let a garage before. Does anyone have a template letting agreement […]

We can now GUARANTEE to beat any like for like landlords insurance renewal quote! January is a massive renewal date for many Landlords insurance policies. Do you know when your Landlords Insurance is due for renewal? T.E.A.M = Together Everybody Achieves More and that’s certainly the case for our Landlords Buying Group as we have […]

Mesne Profit – Pronounced Meen Profit, what the heck does it mean? As a landlord with a small portfolio of 7 HMO’s and 10 single occupancies, I am always looking to systematise everything I do, Systematisation saves time, stress and gives structure to your business, so if I have to ask someone else to do […]

I had a tenant leave me with little notice, even though the agreement between us clearly stated that either party had to notify the other in writing at least a full month before terminating the agreement. They left within two weeks saying that they couldn’t contact me via my mobile phone even although they had […]

In this article I am going to share the common mistakes that landlords make when completing their tax returns. In no particular order and certainly not a definitive list:-  1) Treating the entire mortgage payment as an expense. You should only claim mortgage interest as an expense. If you have a repayment mortgage this is […]

We hear many commentators referencing “when” interest rates may rise. Just yesterday I heard late 2014 and previously first quarter 2015. Ben Bernanke has stated that US rates will stay low for some time, whatever that really means, but I’m assuming this to be for 2-3 years? Obviously the new guidance by the BOE and […]

I really had too much to say about the article offering “One to one consultancy with Mark Alexander” for a comment so I have decided to write an article of my own. I first met Mark in 2002, he has always been very open with advice and sharing his experience believing that what you give you […]

I have one property that I am currently renting out which has been tenanted for the past year (with no late rent payments) to a husband and wife and their two young children. At the beginning of the tenancy I took out rent guarantee insurance just in case they defaulted on their payments. That way […]

It can be a lot less expensive and stressful to learn from other peoples experience than to learn by making your own mistakes. Sharing is caring 🙂 I do not profess to have a monopoly on good ideas for landlords and I still learn something new about buy to let property investment every day. The […]

Over the last few years I have taken both tenants and their guarantors to court for both possession of my property and for outstanding rent arrears and additional charges. Over time my tenancy agreements have been modified to take account of the wheezes and get out attempts of the wayward tenants legal boffin’s. Time moves […]

I viewed a property which was up for auction on the 28th of November and did not sell. It was then put onto the market in a ‘modern auction’ which ends in 3 days time. There appears to be little interest in the online auction which I expect this is due to the £5,000 reservation […]

This is probably fairly simple but I cannot seem to get my head around it. My wife and I and my inlaws (mother and father) are going to buy a BTL property in the new year. I have 3 questions. I’m guessing we would need to be tenants in common each owning 25%? As some […]

Our management company has just increased the service charge for our flats by 23% starting January 2014 (excluding ground rent which is a separate charge.) Just 6 months ago, they sent us a bill of £2,000.00 each for redecorating, to be paid upfront in full. The property comprises of 6 flats in a block with […]

I know that due diligence is needed when buying Below Market Value “BMV” when the vendor is in financial difficulty. My understanding is that if the vendor is subsequently made bankrupt the sale can be overturned buy official receivers. However, if the buyer was to re-sell the property for a profit? Is the person who […]