Page 846 – Property118

Many landlords are not maintenance experts, however ….

25th March 2013

One of the things that always scares me about property and, to be honest, stopped me from buying properties earlier was my lack of maintenance skills. I knew nothing about the causes of damp, how much windows cost, consumer units, or where to source trade kitchens etc. As for roofing – the costs scared me […]

Bank of Ireland 2.99% five year fixed rate sparks outrage

25th March 2013

Customers of The Post Office are controversially being offered a 2.99% five year fixed rate by Bank of Ireland just weeks after the bank wrote to 14,000 of it’s mortgage holders telling them that their tracker rates would see massive hikes due to “exceptional economic conditions”. It is hardly surprising then that this has renewed […]

Mortgage Express are forcing me to sell my home – HELP!

21st March 2013

I own a property in the UK that I rent out since being made redundant, getting offered work in Spain and moving approx 4 years ago. My UK property is my only home and I intend on returning to live in it when the UK comes out of recession and I can get a decent […]

Student Landlords/Agents – When do you register a “new” deposit?

21st March 2013

I recently had to renew my membership of mydeposits. Part of this process involved sending in a copy of my client deposit account bank statement. Immediately back came the comment to the effect that “at date X the balance on the account was £x which is £5k less than the deposits protected, explain yourself.” Now […]

The 2013 Budget and how it affects Landlords and property Investors

21st March 2013

The 2013 Budget is hoped to boost the housing market and construction industry. Yesterday Chancellor George Osborne announced new plans to help people buy their first homes homes with the Help To Buy Scheme and an extension of the previous NewBuy Guarantee scheme to include older houses as well as new-builds. For three years from […]

BuytoLet Lender BM Solutions allows Student and Benefits tenants

21st March 2013

BM Solutions relaxes its BuytoLet lending criteria to allow landlords to rent to students and benefit claimants It was recently reported that BM Solutions was looking at changes to its BuytoLet underwriting criteria and the rumors were that they would be looking to remove its £25,000 minimum income requirement. The initial reaction by some market […]

Benefits tenants and the effects on landlords insurance

21st March 2013

We have one buy to let property and a friend mentioned in passing that our landlord insurance policy may not be valid on that property if the tenants are claiming unemployment benefits. Having contacted my insurance brokers they confirm that that is the case and want to charge us £236 for another policy. I spoke […]

Buying a rented house and not retaining the agent

21st March 2013

I am buying a house from my brother that he is renting via an agent. I do not want to use the agent and would like to manage it myself however the existing tenants want to stay whom were found by the agent. The agent has said to me that this is only possible if […]

The GOOD Landlords Campaign

Kenneth Tinslay of Sunbury on Thames

21st March 2013

Kenneth Tinslay of Sunbury on Thames I have been a Landlord since 2003 and keep up to date with all the regulations. I believe in providing high quality safe accommodation and treat my tenants with respect. Repair and maintenance issues are always promptly addressed. This is appreciated by my tenants and we enjoy a very […]

The GOOD Landlords Campaign

Gary Byrne of Malaga Spain

21st March 2013

Gary Byrne of Malaga Spain I am a Landlord and live with my wife and children in Malaga, Spain. My wife runs a Bed and Breakfast business from our house and we have been here for 4 years. We own a UK property which we let out and consider ourselves Good Landlords who are registered […]

Strakers Property Auction Wiltshire – 16th and 18th April 2013

20th March 2013

Strakers property auctioneers in Wiltshire are pleased to announce that  their property auction catalogue for their April auctions are now available for download. 16 April 2013 at The Steam Museum, Fire Fly Avenue, Swindon starting at 7pm (19:00 hours) 18 April 2013 at The Corn Exchange, Market Place, Devizes starting at 7pm (19:00 hours)

Nottingham Property Auction - 13th Feb 2013

HEB Chartered Surveyors Property Auction – 17th April 2013

20th March 2013

HEB Chartered Surveyors are pleased to announce that  their property auction catalogue for their next auction on 17th April 2013 is now available for download. The venue is The Gateway Hotel, Nuthall Road, Cinderhill, Nottingham NG8 6AZ Start time 2:30 pm (14:30 hours)

SpareRoom’s Room Rental Index – February issue just out

20th March 2013

The February edition of SpareRoom’s Room Rental Index, giving average room rents across the UK, is now available to download (please see below). Weekly room rents have increased 7% since last February, from an average of £107.44 to £114.86 across the UK. Amongst the big cities that experienced large increases, we’ve seen Edinburgh rents up […]

Interesting Landlords Tax Question

20th March 2013

Malcolm Ingham has raised an interesting landlords tax question “Our son has a mortgage on a leasehold flat which he owns.Having gone through some lean years in a business he runs, the bank of mum and dad have loaned considerable sums to him, which he will find difficult to repay. He has offered to let […]

Can I offset losses from a bad Spanish property deal?

19th March 2013

Some time ago I went to Spain to buy a flat off plan with a view to selling it on for a profit once the build completed or perhaps to let it out. I used a couple of different agents to source a flat and agreed to buy. Contracts were drawn up and we paid […]

The GOOD Landlords Campaign

Gwen Davies of Burry Port

19th March 2013

Gwen Davies of Burry Port I have been a Landlord since 2001, and believe in keeping up to date with all regulations and providing good quality safe accommodation. Most of my properties are within a five mile radius of my home. I always try to have a good relationship with my tenants and respect them […]

EPC Regulations – should landlords sell band F and G rated flats?

18th March 2013

EPC regulations are beginning to worry many landlords so I would like to raise this question; “should landlords be selling leasehold flats with a Band F & G EPC rating now?” Just in case you are not aware, it will be illegal for landlords to rent out Band F and G rated properties from 2018. […]