Really interesting to see why we all got into buying property?  To get a feel for the stories & circumstances that were to be the catalysts that have taken us down this road. For me it was all about fear. Fear that I would not be able to take care of myself and loved ones […]

I am in process of buying a residential mid terraced property. I am a first time buyer and got residential mortgage with 15% deposit. However, I am looking to spilt the house in ground floor and first floor by taking advantage of new extension limit of 6m for rear ground floor and 3m for rear […]

I let my flat through an agent in 2007 and signed a Letting Agreement with renewal fees.  I pay the agent 6% each time he finds me a tenant and a yearly renewal fee. He has found me three tenants since 2007 all have stayed about two years and I have paid the renewal fee […]

Our friends Rob Bence and Rox Dix from the Property Podcast have produced an excellent audio programme which explains various options to calculate rental yields.  They have also added a very cool, funky intro to their Podcast so do check it out, I even get a mention 🙂 iAmAlandlord is my Twitter handle by the […]

This is the first Bank of England inflation report since Mark Carney took on his new role of Bank of England Governor last month. The media are calling this the most revolutionary day in the recent history of the Bank of England. Given that the inflation report is heavily focussed on what’s likely to happen to interest […]

The OFT have announced that they have written to 120 Quick Sale property businesses advising them to review their practices and also revealed they are to investigate three “Quick Sale” property firms following their review of the quick sale property sector. The OFT report on “Quick Sale Property” businesses is very balanced and recognises the […]

This week I have been stung by my first experience of the benefits cap.  One of my tenants Housing Benefit has gone down to £30pw from £159pw. This is the cap where the Government are limiting families to £500pw of maximum benefits and all councils will have it by Sept 2013. My tenant now gets […]

One of the things that are uppermost in landlords’ minds at the moment is the concern that we are vulnerable to possible litigation following the “Superstrike” case. The degree of that vulnerability varies from landlord to landlord and of course some landlords are not at all clear where they stand. All of the deposit protection […]

According to the latest research from the National Landlords Association (NLA), incidences of arrears have fallen to their lowest level for over two years. 39 per cent of landlords have experienced instances of rental arrears in the last 12 months, down nine per cent year on year and back to levels previously seen in quarter […]

I rent 16 properties out and used an agent to manage them. I instructed them in 2007 and signed T&Cs. I recently added 10 properties to the portfolio and financially it made sense to employ someone to look after them rather than pay the agent fees. The T&Cs I signed state: “You may withdraw your […]

The Mortgage Works have withdrawn their popular and industry leading Light Refurb product, which allowed a property to be financed using a Buy to Let mortgage even though it required a small amount of work before it could be Let (usually a lender will insist on a full retention if the property is not in […]

(By Malcolm Jones of Brooklands Commercial Finance) Despite the Banks recent profit announcements, Developers are still being frustrated by their continued reluctance to lend. When Banks are prepared to lend on development projects the percentage of costs or of the Gross Development Value (GDV) is often so low that it is not workable. Many borrowers […]

There have been several discussions here about inventories, why they are necessary and which is the best software to use to produce them etc. What we’ve never had before though is the ability for landlords and letting agents to download a professionally prepared inventory for benchmarking purposes against what they have been doing until now. […]

I currently own 2 buy to let properties in South Wales, I have had one for coming up to 4 years now, and the other for just about a year.  I want to buy a 3rd property as the renting market down here is brilliant and house prices are cheap compared to the rest of […]

September 1st is statistically the biggest day in the calendar for Landlords Insurance Renewal. I am fairly certain it doesn’t mean more properties have completed on this day than any other, but it does seem to be a popular renewal date for block policies of more than one property. Several years ago my business partners […]

Speaking recently on BBC Radio 4 Carolyn Uphill, Chairman of the National Landlords Association (NLA) warned landlords to ensure their tenants’ deposits are properly protected and that they’ve fully complied with Tenancy Deposit Protection (TDP) law. The warning comes after a growing number of information requests to TDP schemes from ‘no win no fee’ claims […]

I own a 1900’s end terraced house that had some damp / water ingress via the defective chimney stack on the gable end, the chimney stack has been removed as the water was travelling down the gable wall and showing as damp on the internal wall and chimney breast (its a solid wall, not cavity), […]

I have been renovating my buy to lets without making a charge for my time and effort. I told the accountant I want to start charging £10 an hour for my labour as this will give a more accurate figure as to the total costs of the properties and also limit the capital gains tax […]

The four tenancy deposit protection scheme providers have collectively issued guidance notes following the Court of Appeal ruling in the case of Supertrike Limited vs Rodrigues.  Landlords and Letting Agents should note that none of the tenancy deposit schemes can offer legal advice to landlords or lettings agents. Their guidance is not intended to give legal […]

The four tenancy deposit protection scheme providers have collectively issued guidance notes following the Court of Appeal ruling in the case of Superstrike Limited vs Rodrigues.  Landlords and Letting Agents should note that none of the tenancy deposit schemes can offer legal advice to landlords or lettings agents. Their guidance is not intended to give legal […]

I have heard a lot of Letting agents or private landlords tend to serve a section 21 notice at the early stages of any Tenancy agreement but I seem to have a lack of understanding what the benefits are of doing this. Could anyone explain, being a private Landlord, why there is a benefit to […]