Private landlords are facing costly property damage and lost rental income from ‘drug factories’, which are on the increase across the UK, according to the Association of Independent Inventory Clerks (AIIC). Under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, a landlord or property manager can receive a maximum of 14 years in prison and/or a fine […]

Hello all I have a bizarre problem.  The tenants of my only rental property are STILL complaining that I had the living room decorated for them a year ago, and moreover renovated the fireplace and installed a woodburner.  They deeply resented the upheaval (which lasted just one week), even though they have THREE reception rooms and […]

Ahead of Scotland’s largest gathering of landlords in Edinburgh, at the sold-out National Landlord Day Conference on 6 Nov, the Scottish Association of Landlords reports that according to research carried out by leading internet advertising portal Citylets, average mix adjusted rents reached a new high for Scotland of £672 in the third quarter of 2012, […]

I have just received an email from a gentleman called Kevyn Davies-Jones about the tax status of buy to let profits and felt compelled to share it with you. Feel free to join in with our rant. It’s unlikely to change things but you may feel better after doing so 🙂

The BuytoLet Mortgage Calculator has recently had every product and lender listed checked and updated. From my observations doing this on a regular basis I can tell which direction the BuytoLet mortgage market is heading in. As an overview of the last 3 months Variable and Tracker rate mortgages available seem to have decreased in […]

Since running an article about rent in advance earlier this week I have received a number of telephone calls asking me to clarify whether this really is a lettings product/service which genuinely pays landlords 6 months rent up front despite charging rent to tenants monthly. Many of the people who asked me about this are surprising when I […]

I have just received a property tax question from a lady called Barbara which I’m not sure of the answer. Therefore, I am publishing her email as an article to seek the opinion of other readers. I have also invited my accountants to comment too as I suspect there may be a way for Barbara and her […]

I wanted to share with you a recent ‘near miss’ with one of our landlord’s. We had taken on a new portfolio and as part of procedure, we attempted to carry out an inspection by contacting the current tenants. We had no success with 2 properties despite letters, calls and turning up ‘on spec’. Ultimately […]

What advice would you offer to Pauline in terms of tenants requesting compensation based on the following scenario? Pauline’s email to Property118 reads as follows:- Dear Property118 I have had a problem with rats in the loft above a single storey kitchen/bathroom extension in one of my properties.

A Press Release issued today by  suggests that addressing the current housing crisis by capping rents will lead to poorer standards of accommodation and a reduction in the supply of properties. The recent report from the National Housing Federation called “Home Truths”, revealed that years of not building enough homes has led to rising rental […]

From a shortlist of 36 from six Regional Award categories and five Principal Award categories, Yvonne Hall has been named the overall winner and NLA Property Woman of the Year 2012. Supported by headline sponsor Hamilton Fraser Insurance and my|deposits, the NLA Property Women Awards awards recognise and celebrate the dedicated women of the private-rented […]

OK, we know which is the biggest (for now at least), my question is; which do you think is best, Zoopla or Rightmove and why? This all started with a tweet (embedded below) but then I decided to make this an open discussion and several Estate Agents and Letting Agents have since responded as you […]

Green Deal Finance is likely to become a major discussion topic on forums, especially as it is now being reported by Green Deal Assessors  going through training that it will cost between 7% and 8%. At current interest rates that far more expensive than the cost of borrowing on a buy to let mortgage. Therefore, […]

Tenant referencing has now evolved to the extent that insurance companies are prepared to underwrite the risks associated with the financing of Advanced Rent payments, allowing landlords to secure payment of up to six months rent up front. The insurance company underwrites the entire cost of the Advanced Rent and collection of monthly rent payments from […]

Criminalising squatting has had severe consequences for the homeless, leaving them with no where to go during winter causes mortality rates to rise. Combating the causes of homelessness has never been so important. The Estate Agency Foundation (EAF) who raise money for leading homeless charities Shelter, St. Mungo’s and Broadway, are asking for 100% participation […]

Gurdeep Dhaliwal of Nottingham I am a Landlord      

Having spent a lot of time lounging around the swimming pool and on the beach over the last few weeks (wedding and honeymoon in Florida) I couldn’t help thinking about creating a “Charter for Good Landlords”. Perhaps that’s a bit sad but hey, it’s the way my mind works and I can assure you it […]

Mark and I have worked together since 2003 and have very rarely fundamentally disagreed on a subject, but the Green Deal has split us down the middle with myself being very pro and Mark against. I am writing this whilst sat at home having cavity wall and loft insulation added for free! I am aware […]

Guest article by Howard Reuben IFA I am not a salesman, but ……….. buy it whilst it’s cheap! If you are considering your life cover plans at the moment or if you need to arrange life insurance over the next few months or so, please note that the new EU Gender Directive starts on 21st […]

A bombshell was dropped recently. Admittedly an expected Bombshell, but it took all us people working in the public sector by surprise in the speed of introducing the Homelessness Suitability Order, having hung around in the wings for over a year. Since the advent of the Housing Act 1996 councils have been able to make […]

Rightmove’s latest Consumer Confidence Survey of more than 33,000 home-movers finds that the proportion of respondents expecting average asking prices to be higher a year from now has risen to 29%, up by 7 percentage points on a year ago. However 17% of those 2007-2012 buyers who believe their property has declined in value since […]