42 lots are going under the hammer on 21st and 22nd February 2013 in the Auction House Cumbria sale. Lots 1 through 26 are properties in North Cumbria where the auction will take place at carlisle Racecourse, Durdar Road, Carlise CA2 4TS and will start at 2pm on Thursday 21st Feb 2013

I have a single rental property which I bought in 2009. I refurbished it to a good standard and rented it to a young couple using an agent on a tenant find basis. The agent took the deposit. I allowed them to have dogs at the property. The young lady and dogs left, and a new […]

What will happen to your rental properties if you suddenly pass away? For landlords, it is more important than ever to protect both your rental properties and your family’s future.

Shawbrook Bank specialists in commercial and BTL finance have reduced their arrangement fees to 1.70% a saving of 0.80%, and their rates by up to 0.60% across their term product range. Big advantages Shawbrook have over many other commercial lenders is their desire to lend with far less onerous stress testing compared to high street […]

The former club house of an illustrious south Wales Valleys rugby club which is going under the hammer could be ripe for conversion, says auctioneer Paul Fosh. The Llanhilleth Rugby Club building (pictured left), on Commercial Road, Llanhilleth, near Abertillery, is to be sold at auction next month (February 14). The rugby club had been […]

The Great North Property Auction on Wednesday 6th February 2013 will see 67 properties going under the hammer from £9,950 – £289,950.

Findings from my|deposits reveal that the majority of tenancies end without any issues over the return of the tenant’s deposit. Last year approximately 99% of my|deposits members returned their tenant’s deposits either in full (60%), or with deductions agreed by the tenant (39%), without the need to involve the scheme.

One of our readers has sent in the following email (dark blue text below) and is looking for ideas that other landlords have used to minimise tax by spreading rental profits between spouses.  Mark Alexander has shared a few thoughts but would like to point out that he’s not a qualified tax adviser. Therefore, we […]

Per instructions from East Midlands Housing Group, Mansfield District Council, executors, Beneficiaries, trustees and other sources Barnes Chartered Surveyors is holding a collective sale of investments and “property with potential” of immediate interest to speculators, builders and investors on Thursday 28th February 2013 at the Towers, Botany Avenue, Mansfield, Notts NG18 5NG commencing 3pm prompt.

The National Landlords Association (NLA) is reminding all private residential landlords to familiarise themselves with the Green Deal and begin making energy efficiency improvements to all relevant properties, as the Government formally launches the scheme today (Monday 28th January.) The Green Deal is the Government’s vehicle to make the UK’s housing stock more energy efficient. […]

Accidental Landlords question regarding “no inventory” I have taken over as the landlord of a property after a divorce. Before this I was never involved in the property business!!  Anyway the house was purchase about three years ago and the first tenants that took the property are still in situ.  My issue is that I […]

The number of energy inefficient properties owned by landlords is steadily decreasing, according to research from the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA).  In December 2012, 61% of landlords reported that they had no properties rated F or G in terms of their energy efficiency, an increase of 11% on the year before.  This rise in […]

Around 80,000 people in England and Wales, 10% of the market, could find themselves paying three times more Stamp Duty this year as the average property price looks set to breach the £250,000 mark. For these buyers, Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) will jump up from 1% to 3%, a massive increase from £2,500 to […]

We suspect that hackers have been busy trying to get into our systems over the last 48 hours via a spam attack of Scottish Association of Landlords membership enquiry forms hosted on our systems. They didn’t manage to get in of course as our security is incredibly robust. However, we first noticed this when somebody sent in a very […]

Rent arrears are every landlords worst nightmare. One bad tenant can leave you unable to pay your mortgage with prospects of losing your property and possibly bankruptcy. Worse still the court system can take well over 6 months to achieve eviction!

It seems to me to be very unfair that one can sell almost any other business asset and reinvest the money without having to pay CGT but NOT a Buy to Let! Should we start a campaign for a legal change?! I am sharing this story to warn people not to make the mistake I […]

The House Crowd has now raised over £1 million of crowdfunded investment which has allowed for the revival of 15 properties in some of the North West’s most forgotten communities. The Manchester-based company is well underway breathing life into the distressed and uninhabitable properties already in its portfolio, purchasing and refurbishing them to a high standard […]

There is no doubt that our sector is attracting the criminal elements, however, landlord regulation is not the answer. Why would any person in their right mind choose to live in a bed in a shed, or a mouldy, over-crowded wreck of a property? The answer is simple, they need a roof over their head […]

I find the current tenants deposit protection schemes very time consuming and a waste of money, which all tenants sadly ultimately pay for through their rents. I fully appreciate that a few tenants and a few landlords do give the other side a tough time hence understand why deposits need to be regulated if they […]

I have issued a section 21 to one of my tenants because he fell behind with his rent. He has promised to pay the arrears and keep up with the rent and asked me if I would cancel the notice. My question is this, If I dont cancel the notice but let him stay, can […]

Most of my properties have integrated appliances and where they don’t I’ve always purchased white goods outright as opposed to renting them. I treat white goods as part and parcel of the rental package I provide for tenants whether the property is advertised as furnished or not. It has been interesting to read on this forum that some […]