Our preferred commercial finance broker Cliff Verrill reports that Shawbrook Bank are driven by common sense not bureaucracy looking for ways of saying yes to clients and not the often received “computer says no” answer he gets from many lenders. Shawbrook Bank lend on single investment units, portfolios, multi units, HMO’s and student lets. They […]

The JHWalter County Property Auction for March includes an excellent range of rural, residential, commercial and development opportunities.  The auction will take place at The Doubletree Hotel, Lincoln, LN1 1YW at 18:30pm For further information please contact:-

LetRent.co.uk have a special offer for Property118 readers and are giving both landlords and letting agents an opportunity to trial their new lettings portal FREE OF CHARGE for a whole year. LetRent hopes one day to compete with the likes of Rightmove and Zoopla, however, the owners recognise the need to prove their concept before they can […]

I asked My|Deposits some time ago if my tenants deposit had to be re-protected if the AST rolled over to an SPT (Periodic Tenancy), when it was the same property, same terms, but increased rent, without taking an increased deposit. Their reply was that it did not have to be re-protected as it had rolled […]

    Prices in England and Wales rise marginally by 2.27% across the year, bringing the average price to £238,293 Prices in Prime London Central (PLC) rose 14.1% to finish 2012 at £1,359,739 The number of sales of London’s super prime properties (£10m+) increased 10 fold The number of sales in England and Wales between £2m and […]

Mark Crampton-Smith of College and County Oxford I have been letting and managing residential property in Oxford for over 10 years. We currently have 360 properties under management ranging from North Oxford town houses at over 11k per month to one bed East Oxford flats at 600 per month. We manage about 160 student HMOs […]

Jonathan Ambrose of thePropertyBid.com London thePropertyBid.com is an award winning property auction service with a difference for landlords, letting agents and potential tenants. Available residential properties are uploaded and bids are made on how much rent can be afforded. At the end of the auction a one-off commission is paid by both parties and that’s it! […]

Syd Lewis of A+ Inventories Camberley I am a Landlord and my company A+ Inventories provides reliable, high quality, professional residential inventory services, PAT testing and marketing floor plans for Letting and Estate Agents, Trusts, Associations, Property Managers, Solicitors, Private Landlords, Relocation Companies and Tenants. We cover the areas of Berkshire, Hampshire, Middlesex and Surrey. […]

Stephen Leonard of Elevation Properties Glasgow I am a landlord with more than 10 years experience. I believe my properties are above average condition and aim for around market value, but the quality of tenant is extremely important and I will often accept a lower rent if they are the best choice. My portfolio is […]

That ‘G’ word is back in town! Yes, boys and girls, Rental Gazumping in London is here and knocking on the front door of every potential tenant! The former and current scourge of the property sales has transgressed over to the private lettings sector and is showing no sign of leaving. Such is the massive […]

Landlord and Guest House owner Cosmo Anayiotos has launched an innovative new lettings portal to enable landlords to maximise their rental returns. As Cosmo is a member of The GOOD Landlords Campaign and also made a very generous donation  we felt we owned it to him to share some of the details of his new […]

A lady who prefers to remain anonymous has written in to explain that she has experienced malicious damage caused by tenants to a property she spent £6,500 on renovating just three years ago. Apparently the tenant had absconded and stopped paying rent and after serving the relative notices and gaining possession the Police finally broke […]

Is Rob’s mortgage lender pulling a fast one by charging him an “Agreement to Letting Fee” or has he been lucky so far and actually got a relatively fair deal? Rob’s email as follows:- “I own with a flat with a £225k residential mortgage on it from Mortgage Express. Six years ago I purchased a […]

As all good HMO Landlords know, it is compulsory to have self closing fire doors. Now, I’m not disparaging of their purpose in an HMO – protection for the rest of the house should a tenant start a bonfire in their room and, if the fire starts in the communal areas, protection for the tenant […]

Landlord Ken Tinkler has written in as he thinks his Freehold Management Company are treating him unfairly. What do you think? Have you ever been in a similar position and what would your advice be to Ken? Please see Ken’s email to Mark Alexander and Property118 readers below:-

Philip Allen of London I have been a landlord since 2006, surviving and growing stronger through some of the most challenging financial times ever. The core of my business is London-based where I work with Housing Associations. My aim is to consolidate the portfolio I have without, necessarily expanding by acquiring more property. To this […]

Noisy neighbours have cost Graeme a tenant and he’s looking for advice from other landlords who have had a similar problem. Graeme wrote.   “I have a terraced house in the Manchester area and have had an excellent tenant for the last year. Three weeks ago new neighbours moved in next door. Apparently they are constantly […]

I have heard lots of stories about mortgage lenders withdrawing their mortgage offers on completion day in the last 6 months or so. There is also lots of speculation as to why this might be happening. One conspiracy theory is that CIFAS departments of mortgage lenders are scouring the internet to build a comprehensive database of […]

Identified by Knight Frank as one of the top 20 cities in the UK to have the best student accommodation investment opportunities, Glasgow is the perfect location for Knight Knox International’s latest project – St. Andrew’s Court.  This 122-bed development is a positive response to the chronic shortage of student accommodation in the city.  Offering […]

Cosmo Anayiotos Landlord and Founder of LetRent Loughborough Leicestershire I am a private landlord and Guest House owner. I founded LetRent for two reasons; 1) due to being frustrated with the cost and quality of rental property advertisements, and 2) because I am a Leukaemia survivor with a dedication to helping the organisations that saved my […]

Some of you may have head of these ‘free’ solar panels we can have on our tenants houses. A company is offering to put them on my houses at no cost to me. The company trying to put them on for me, says I will earn money off them over the next 10-20 years. Something […]