Page 843 – Property118

End of Tenancy Repairs … vinyl flooring

2nd December 2013

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 […]

Until when is a tenant responsible for their share of the bills?

30th November 2013

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 […]

Council Tax Liability Order Imposed without my knowledge!

29th November 2013

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 […]

Selling house – looking to invest

29th November 2013

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 […]

Funding for Lending Scheme withdrawn for household market

29th November 2013

The Bank of England have withdrawn their support for the Funding for Lending Scheme, but only to the household market. The Funding for Lending Scheme (FLS) has been successful in reducing the cost of lending for banks in the mortgage market and contributed to a fall in the cost of borrowing to homeowners. However the […]

Daniel Burton from Unida Place Resurfaces

29th November 2013

Channel 4 TV have tracked down Daniel Burton of Unida Place in Scunthorpe. The self proclaimed “Rent to Rent Guru” vanished from London back in August this year leaving both landlords and tenants 10’s of thousands of pounds of of pocket. More details in this 5 minute News clip courtesy of Channel 4 TV.  Mark […]

To sell or not to sell?

28th November 2013

First of all thank you for all your suggestions and opinions. I have a property in negative equity, which I don’t live in, in a different area of country to where I am now located. I owe the mortgage lender £130,000 and I have it on sale now for £103,000. I have a buyer and […]

How should I deal with a down valuation?

27th November 2013

I operate in what I think is fairly straightforward way; buy a distressed property, add value, get a valuation, mortgage and then buy the next. Recently I finished a 3 bed semi that I paid £60,000 for, I spent around £15,000 on the refurbishment and valued the finished product for around £100,000. I let the […]

Freehold Managing Agent Refuses to Handover Records

27th November 2013

I have become involved in a dispute with Freehold Managing Agents and seek advice from 118 readers. The base of the scenario is a residential housing estate where each property owner is a shareholder in the Management Company, it is a mix of private and landlord owned houses. The Management Company is responsible for maintaining […]

Would you invest in Manchester or London property?

27th November 2013

Hi again Quick question – I have raised equity through remortgaging my main residence. I have about £80-100K. I have the option of buying two or three flats in Manchester apparently 10% lower than market price – they are rented out currently and are getting 7.5-8% yield. My thoughts are that with the £800-million being […]

Good News for Landlords in Scotland at last

Scottish Letting Agents support their new Council of Letting Agents (CLA)

27th November 2013

Agents show they back higher standards and support their new Council of Letting Agents (CLA) Almost half of SAL letting agent members signed up to the new CLA code of practice within 48 hours of being invited to do so. Far in advance of the mandatory regulation expected via the Housing (Scotland) Bill introduced to […]

Converting to a 12 month tenancy agreement

25th November 2013

Hi Mark, This is my first property and the initial 6 month tenancy agreement is finishing at the end of this month. As a newbie I am wondering if there is anything I should be aware of or actioning before I agree to a 12 month tenancy agreement. Although my tenant has been very good […]

Letting agents vetting systems

25th November 2013

I use letting agent to find my tenants and have recently used one of the big companies in my area. They found a tenant and carried out the vetting and paperwork etc, since the tenant moved in he hasn’t paid any rent. When I asked for a copy of the paperwork they had on file […]

RBS accused of putting viable businesses into default to make a profit

25th November 2013

Vince Cable, the Business Secretary, has sent a report to City regulators concerning RBS deliberately putting “good viable” businesses into default so it could make more profit. This is nothing new to the PRS as there have been many reports of banks calling in commercial loans of large portfolio landlords forcing them to sell in […]

Energy efficiency – why should landlords care?

24th November 2013

Does undertaking energy efficiency of rental stock helps to increase income?  Is there any established research on this subject? Why should I undertake this work, even if a few of these measures are free? Thanks Das Debansu  

VIRGIN property investor needs advice

24th November 2013

VIRGIN investor needs help (male sorry lol) – 6 questions incl – Always get new fixed BTL mortgages? And if so for 1,2,or 5 years? Always interest only? And other VERY important questions – HELP! I am new to doing this BTL thingie – I am now adding to my one BTL property in the […]

How do I get the best return on my property?

24th November 2013

Scenario: I rent a terraced property, may consider selling in future, currently I overpay on mortgage to reduce the amount owed. Point 1; I was told that having a mortgage on a property wasn’t actually a bad thing as I would save on capital gains tax as the mortgage would have to be paid off […]

How do you set your rent – research for seminar

24th November 2013

I am researching how Landlords and letting agents look at the best way to market a particular property, and make it stand out from the rest to achieve a higher rent. This is for a seminar I am presenting at the Landlord & Letting Show next week. So far I have been really surprised at […]

NOT Treating Customers Fairly – Mortgage Brokers Furious

22nd November 2013

Mortgage brokers are furious that the West Brom Building Society are only targeting clients they introduced with a 1.9% hike of their tracker margins. Only 41% of borrowers are affected highly controversial rate rise, direct customers of the the building society are not currently being targeted. Further, the society has issued veiled threats in response […]

X1 The Edge Liverpool

21st November 2013

Sponsored Article: With a student population in excess of 53,000, Liverpool is one of the premier destinations in the country for Higher Education. Acutely under supplied and in need of high-spec accommodation for the growing number of students which flock to the city each year, Liverpool City Council has already approved the planning for X1 […]

Prime Buy to Let Apartments with Waterfront Views

19th November 2013

Sponsored article Offering an assured NET rental yield of 6% for the first 5 years, and managed/let on-site by an experienced rental management company, these 1, 2 and 3-bed Buy to Let apartments are a fantastic investment opportunity for any property portfolio. Already in construction and on course to be completed in September 2014, these […]