We are about to have our home repossessed and are looking to rent but obviously failing credit checks. The repossession is a result as arrears we obtained when my husband lost his job. He is now in employment and as we have 3 children we receive some financial assistance. We have no problem affording the […]

Are mortgage lenders having a campaign to ask interest only mortgage borrowers “what are your repayment plans?” In the last 24 hours I have been contacted by two people, with different mortgage lenders, both telling me a very similar and disturbing story. The first was my plumber, he popped around to see me yesterday. He […]

The news that firms which manage blocks of flats are to be investigated by the Office of Fair Trading should be welcome to anyone who owns a flat in England or Wales. Complaints about the management of blocks of flats and the activities of managing agents have been escalating in recent years, as more and […]

Earlier this year I promised to review various areas of the UK to establish what returns are available and what I would be buying if I was starting out again today.  Note that I’ve been a landlord for nearly 25 years and stopped buying four years ago to retire and live off the fruits of my investments. […]

The Chancellor, George Osborne in his Autumn Statement 2013 has confirmed that as from April 2015 foreign owners of UK property will pay Capital Gains Tax. Foreign investment into the London property market in particular has been hotly debated including in Property118 as a cause for concern. The London market has been rising out of […]

On 29th November, I attended the DCLG (Department for Communities and Local Government) workshop all about the Private Rented Sector. A number of high profile industry bodies including the NLA, RLA, Property Federation and the Property Ombudsman, as well as representatives such as Shelter and Kate Faulkner, attended the day. I was also asked to […]

John Heron, the Managing Director of Paragon Mortgages has been a good friend of mine for several years. Despite this I don’t agree with everything he has said in a paper he’s recently published calling for a Code of Practice for private sector BTL landlords. To quote from his paper, Mr Heron said …. “I […]

Summary of recommendations If you have ever sold any West Brom Buy to Let mortgages I suggest you advise your clients to search Google for “West Brom Tracker Rate Class Action” and to register immediately. Affected borrowers are very grateful to the likes of cherryfind and FT Adviser for raising this important issue with the […]

Kent Reliance Buy to Let have withdrawn their minimum income criteria of £25,000 even for 85% Loan to Value. However this does not mean there is no criteria as a borrower would have to demonstrate a “reasonable” income and be able to prove it with payslips or 3 years accounts if self employed ie this […]

For a while now, the news for landlords in Aberdeen has been overwhelmingly positive, with demand driving huge competition amongst tenants and, subsequently, rents increasing at unprecedented levels. According to our October Report, property in Aberdeen let on average twice as fast in Summer 2013 as it did in 2012. Despite rent increases of over […]

Hello everyone. I hope this finds you all well in the run up to the festive period. My name is Andrew Hayworth. I’m new to the forum and wanted to introduce myself with a question for you all. I am in the process of setting up a property investment vehicle, focusing on residential buy-to-lets, with […]

If you run a website or blog and would like to consider adding a free Property Research Tool Plugin then you are in the right place to test a great one 🙂 It’s not just for WordPress users You can use the plugin on pretty much any website. Whether you talk about property, sell it, […]

Anyone who holds any form of mortgage or loan should examine their portfolio now to see if the interest payable to the lender/financier is linked in any way to a LIBOR rate of interest. WHY? A case in the Court of Appeal last month has given a chance to those holding such products to challenge […]

Yes folks, I can confirm that double digit returns on London Buy to Let properties are still feasible! What’s more, the types of properties which produce such returns are not affected by the bubble at the high end of the London property market caused by overseas investors. With the benefit of investigative work on what […]

Sponsored Article :- Student Buy to Let is continuing to outperform most other property classes in the UK and the private student accommodation market could be an excellent addition to your property portfolio, particularly when the prices are this competitive! From a highly experienced developer, Rede House will be setting the standard for student accommodation […]

Hello everyone, especially the legal people amongst you. I am in DESPERATE need of legal advice! I am sure this has been discussed in one form or another before but I would like to make it very personal and specific to me if that is OK. I have been in a virtual argument with my […]

I’m so glad I found this forum as I have been trying to decide for months what I should do – buy a property outright or take out a mortgage and buy to let …. I have a property I bought (and live in) in central London – no mortgage now, worth roughly £400k. I […]

I have a property that has been let to a DSS tenant which has now come to an end. We had vinyl flooring in the kitchen and dinning room to which has been ripped from when they have moved their furniture (washing machine, fridge.. etc) My question is, does any Landlord who lets to DSS […]

I wonder if anyone could give me their thoughts on what should be a blindingly obvious question. I have 6 students in my HMO each on a individual tenancy, and one has just emailed to give me her notice. I’m amazed that for once a student tenant has gone through the right channels, and being […]

I’d like an opinion on how to proceed please with brief details as follows: I rent out a property in Swindon, where following the departure of the tenants, the property stood empty for a month. I advised Swindon Borough Council of this in May by telephone and was advised that the Council Tax Account was […]

Hi would be interested in any thoughts on the following. I split with my partner 2 years ago and the situation at present is as follows … She lives in our house (joint interest only £250K mortgage), current value estimated to be £700K to £750K. I live 1 mile away in a 2 bed flat […]