In my last blog about Commercial Lending Facilities I talked about my recent experience at the National Association of Commercial Finance brokers 20th Anniversary Celebrations. I know for sure that many people will be shocked at my revelations that there are over 30 lenders currently providing property development finance and more so that the majority of them […]

Hello all I am a subscriber of Property118 but cannot find the correct page to ask my fellow readers about a dilemma……… Last year I privately rented my house to a tenant.  He put his name down as a single tenant and paid his council tax as normal. 

Mike Davey sent me the email below which has really got me thinking. Please have a read and share your thoughts in the comments section below the article. Hi Mark, I’m not sure if this is right for you or your forum, but here goes….. I would like to ask for some advice from you and […]

I own the left hand half of a semi detached property. In the row all right hand properties own the right hand fence, the middle fence is jointly owned and the left hand fence is then the right hand fence of the next property if you see what I mean. All ownerships are clearly marked […]

On Friday 23rd November 2012 I was honoured to be invited to attend the 20 year anniversary of the National Association of Commercial Finance Brokers “NACFB” as a VIP guest. This article is to be the first in a series of blogs talking about the commercial finance industry, in particular my personal perceptions of commercial […]

You may recall that I wrote an article back in April of this year called “My tenant has died“. That was the first experience I’d had of that nature so this article will is to bring you up to speed with what’s happened since. I had purchased the property about six years ago, it was […]

We have received a cry for help from Julie Dawson. Her tenant is being held on remand and the Police have caused damage to the property through forced entry. Below is the email we received from Julie, what would you advise?

This winter tip for landlords and tenants was shared with me by my cousin, David Alexander of Alexander Plumbing and Heating Services based in the Wirral. Potential problem: When we have very cold spell and you have heating on in your property remember that if you have installed new loft insulation any tanks in the […]

Hot News for “Live in Landlords” If you’re renting out rooms in your own home, you’re technically a landlord, according to the government, and your responsibilities are similar to, if not quite as onerous as those of a landlord with a major property portfolio. You need to ensure that the space you provide to your […]

We recently published details of how students can now obtain 100% financing to buy a property and rent a room or two to offset the costs of ownership. When it comes to renting spare rooms to lodgers, one website immediately sprung to mind – SpareRoom.co.uk I spoke to Sam Cowen, Head of Marketing at SpareRoom this […]

I like to share my experiences, especially when something good comes from a difficult situation. With this in mind I’d like to share with you my experience and opinion of what constitutes an excellent Conveyancing job. You may recall that I wrote an article back in April 2012 called “My tenant has died“. That was […]

We have received the email below from Trudy. Please help by leaving comments if you have been in the same position yourself or if you know the law and can advise her what she should do. Trudy’s email is below:-

Further to my rant about HMO Licensing Fees on 16th October one of my readers decided to submit a Freedom of Information request to Oxford Council based on the questions I raised and has forwarded the response to me. As you may be aware, Oxford were one of the first Councils to implement both Article 4 planning […]

Seriously, this is NOT a wind up! Our regulated mortgage broker of choice has informed us of a deal that he’s done with a lender which allows students to invest into a buy to let property worth up to £250,000 with NO DEPOSIT. What’s more, the lender is offering a 0.25% discount off their standard […]

The Bank of England Inflation Report November 2012 shows the growth of GDP for this quarter at 1% behaving entirely as predicted. The 1% growth is made up from a 0.5% bounce back from last quarter’s extra Jubilee bank holiday, 0.25% from Olympic ticket sales and 0.25% from the extra spend by Olympic visitors. Therefore […]

I’ve been using Online Letting Agents to advertise my properties for a few years now. For me they are the most economical way to market my properties on the major property portals. Earlier this week I tried a relative newcomer to the market which, I have to say, looked a bit to good to be […]

Novice landlords are at risk of deposit disputes as many are failing to prepare all the correct paperwork, warns the Association of Independent Inventory Clerks (AIIC). There has been a huge increase in the number of accidental landlords over the last few years as many home-owners have been forced into renting their property, due to […]

Michelle Reid Position: CEO of TPAS (Tenant Participation Advisory Service) Michelle has kindly answered the following questions:- How would you describe the role of your organisation in 150 characters or less? What do you perceive to be the main challenges facing the PRS in the next 5 years? What opportunities do you envisage for the PRS in […]

Alex sent the following email last night outlining a bizarre situation he finds himself in which looks to us like a “landlord setup”. We have invited some of the most knowledgeable people we know to comment on this thread as the circumstances Alex has described look to us to be potentially fraught with legal problems. […]

Experienced landlord Angus Ryan explains why landlords should not be afraid to invest in HMOs and also inform their local council if they are operating a House in Multiple Occupation. Indeed he has found that they are very helpful and want to help landlords improve housing standards for tenants. In this article he also tells […]

Lucasz is a post credit crunch property investor. In other words, 100% of his property success has been achieved since 2009, arguably the most difficult property trading period in two decades! Mark Alexander’s story has inspired thousands but there have always been the doubters who have said that he was lucky and and that his […]