Page 870 – Property118

Guaranteed Rent – A Warning for Landlords

13th March 2013

A growing number of Landlords are falling for a “Guaranteed Rent” scam which enables a landlord or an agent to sublet a property. There are several examples of how this works, below is a relatively “clean” one, I will share a much nastier example of how landlords are being stung as comments begin to appear […]

Property Auction Search

Property auction results record 6-year highs in February

13th March 2013

Property auction results record 6-year highs in February with total sales of £445,455,076 David Sandeman Managing Director of EIG reports that the overall market figures are positive, with increases made in almost every parameter across both residential and commercial sectors. A noticable highlight is that 3,083 lots sold last month marking a rise of over […]

Boiler keeps breaking down

12th March 2013

My seven year old boiler keeps breaking down. I must have had about 15 visits from British Gas for the past 18 months. I have a service/maintenance contract with them but they are unable to say why there have been so many breakdowns. For example, they had to change the fan three times during this […]

Serving the correct section 21 notice

12th March 2013

If you serve a section 21 notice to a tenant one month before their fixed tenancy expires i.e it will rolled over to a statutory periodic before it comes into force, do you serve Section 21(4a)for a periodic tenancy or a Section 21(1)b for a fixed tenancy as it was still fixed when it was […]

The mis-selling of IRHP – interest rate hedging products

12th March 2013

The space for advice in the mis-selling of Interest Rate Hedging Products (IRHP’s) is becoming increasingly busy. A quick Google search of ‘IRHP’ is enough to start your head spinning. Also known as IRSA’s, (Interest Rate Swap Agreements) these were financial products sold by banks to provide protection to businesses from interest rate increases. Bully-Banks […]

Universal Credit trial increases arrears by a factor of seven!

12th March 2013

A Universal Credit trial of a first group of tenants in Torfaen South Wales has resulted in an increase in arrears from £20,000 to £140,000 in just seven months from July to January. Chief executive Duncan Forbes of Bron Afon Community Housing  who have 950 tenants receiving direct payment of their housing benefit said the […]

Letting my house without telling the mortgage company

11th March 2013

We live in a small two bedroom house with two children already and I have now found out I am pregnant again. I rang the mortgage and asked about switching to a buy to let mortgage so we could let our house and rent instead . They made it sound really easy. The paperwork came […]

Buy to Let Calculator - Landlord Resources

Lending Criteria to Consider when Purchasing a Buy to Let Flat

11th March 2013

I had a question concerning this from our reader Dan today, but many Buy to Let investors I talk to are unprepared when looking to purchase a flat about considering what lenders will take as suitable security. Banks often have a surprisingly vast array of criteria that needs to be considered when lending. I have […]

Bankers advice resulted in collapse of my property business

9th March 2013

IRHP stands for Interest Rate Hedging Protection. So how can a form of “protection” result in the collapse of a business you may well wonder? It’s ‘Heads I Win Tails You Lose’ – but from who’s perspective? The following story was submitted by Jon Welsby, a victim of the banks mis-selling of Interest Rate Hedging Protection.

What do you do when a tenant leaves and does not give you the keys?

7th March 2013

You may get tenants who from time to time leave without giving you the keys. You know the ones… They have some arrears, have left the house, shall we say “lived in” (by prehistoric savages) and don’t want to be accountable for their actions, so they “done one”. Being a lawyer you’re then faced with […]

Readers Question

Letting agent possibly pulling a fast one over rent increase?

7th March 2013

We have been renting out our property through a letting agent for the past 2 years. The rent was £330 and the agent  takes 10%. Our previous tenant left in November. I saw our flat advertised for £360. Can our letting agent do this without letting us know about the increase? We are still getting […]

Gas Boiler Regulations – Landlords Question

7th March 2013

I recently asked a plumber to look at a gas boiler in my rented flat. The hot water was patchy so asked him to rectify the problem, do a service and while he has at it give me the annual boiler safety check. However, he took one look and refused to do anything, recommending that […]

Tenant wants hole in kitchen wall for a dryer

7th March 2013

My tenant wants to cut a small hole into the kitchen wall that backs into the garden to let her dryer exhaust pipe out. I said no but she is saying its not good for the dryer steam to fill up the kitchen if she turns it on and had to go out. I suggested […]

The GOOD Landlords Campaign

Gary Nock of SCN Properties Halesowen

7th March 2013

Gary Nock of SCN Properties Halesowen SCN Properties is is a family run property investment and rental business operated by myself and Sue. We have been landlords for the past ten years. I am an Accredited Member of the National Landlords Association, and an Associate Member of the Institute for Residential Property Management, specialising in […]

The GOOD Landlords Campaign

Rhett Costin of Shrewsbury

7th March 2013

Rhett Costin of Shrewsbury I have been a landlord since 2002 and currently own five Buy to Let properties. I will consider DSS tenants and pets, but definitely no smokers. I have no intentions of selling any of my properties and maintain them all to a very good standard. All of my current tenants are […]

The GOOD Landlords Campaign

Peter Shillcock of Ludlow

7th March 2013

Peter Shillcock of Ludlow I am a Landlord and have been investing into Buy to Let for 10 years now. I have six Buy to Let properties all in Scotland with the lettings managed by Belvoir Letting agents.  

The GOOD Landlords Campaign

Pradip Thaker of Gillingham Kent

7th March 2013

Pradip Thaker of Gillingham Kent I have been a landlord for the past seven years and have seen things getting from bad to worse. Agents I have used are not doing the work they supposed to such as managing late payments, arrears, and getting  just anybody to carry out repairs sometimes without consent. Mortgage companies […]

The GOOD Landlords Campaign

Christopher Farrell of MATZ Palma Spain

7th March 2013

Christopher Farrell of MATZ Palma Spain I am neither a Landlord or a Letting agent, however I do want to support The Good Landlords Campaign and welcome the opportunity to network with members.