New commercial finance facilities are offering the option to switch bridging finance to a  BuytoLet mortgage within the normal 6 months period other lenders require you to wait. Borrowers are now able to bridge  70% of initial purchase price and then, within six months, switch to a BuytoLet remortgage based on 70% of the ” […]

Recent figures show over 40% of people looking into buying a home say that housing jargon confuses them. House hunter numbers are rising and first time buyers now make up a quarter of the market.  With this in mind the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) releases a jargon busting list to assist house hunters […]

I Just saw an article on Property118.com about the new “squatters” law and would like some advice with a tenant that claims to have moved out but now the ex-partner has moved in and refuses to leave.

One of the things that always scares me about property and, to be honest, stopped me from buying properties earlier was my lack of maintenance skills. I knew nothing about the causes of damp, how much windows cost, consumer units, or where to source trade kitchens etc. As for roofing – the costs scared me […]

Customers of The Post Office are controversially being offered a 2.99% five year fixed rate by Bank of Ireland just weeks after the bank wrote to 14,000 of it’s mortgage holders telling them that their tracker rates would see massive hikes due to “exceptional economic conditions”. It is hardly surprising then that this has renewed […]

I own a property in the UK that I rent out since being made redundant, getting offered work in Spain and moving approx 4 years ago. My UK property is my only home and I intend on returning to live in it when the UK comes out of recession and I can get a decent […]

I recently had to renew my membership of mydeposits. Part of this process involved sending in a copy of my client deposit account bank statement. Immediately back came the comment to the effect that “at date X the balance on the account was £x which is £5k less than the deposits protected, explain yourself.” Now […]

The 2013 Budget is hoped to boost the housing market and construction industry. Yesterday Chancellor George Osborne announced new plans to help people buy their first homes homes with the Help To Buy Scheme and an extension of the previous NewBuy Guarantee scheme to include older houses as well as new-builds. For three years from […]

BM Solutions relaxes its BuytoLet lending criteria to allow landlords to rent to students and benefit claimants It was recently reported that BM Solutions was looking at changes to its BuytoLet underwriting criteria and the rumors were that they would be looking to remove its £25,000 minimum income requirement. The initial reaction by some market […]

Now that UpMyStreet.co.uk has been moved to Zoopla, which websites are landlords using for online “due diligence”?

We have one buy to let property and a friend mentioned in passing that our landlord insurance policy may not be valid on that property if the tenants are claiming unemployment benefits. Having contacted my insurance brokers they confirm that that is the case and want to charge us £236 for another policy. I spoke […]

I am buying a house from my brother that he is renting via an agent. I do not want to use the agent and would like to manage it myself however the existing tenants want to stay whom were found by the agent. The agent has said to me that this is only possible if […]

Kenneth Tinslay of Sunbury on Thames I have been a Landlord since 2003 and keep up to date with all the regulations. I believe in providing high quality safe accommodation and treat my tenants with respect. Repair and maintenance issues are always promptly addressed. This is appreciated by my tenants and we enjoy a very […]

Gary Byrne of Malaga Spain I am a Landlord and live with my wife and children in Malaga, Spain. My wife runs a Bed and Breakfast business from our house and we have been here for 4 years. We own a UK property which we let out and consider ourselves Good Landlords who are registered […]

Strakers property auctioneers in Wiltshire are pleased to announce that  their property auction catalogue for their April auctions are now available for download. 16 April 2013 at The Steam Museum, Fire Fly Avenue, Swindon starting at 7pm (19:00 hours) 18 April 2013 at The Corn Exchange, Market Place, Devizes starting at 7pm (19:00 hours)

Auction House Devon and Cornwall are pleased to announce that  their property auction catalogue for their next auction on 11thApril 2013 is now available for download. The venue is Lewtrenchard Manor, Lewdowen, Okehampton, Devon EX20 4PN Start time 2 pm (14:00 hours)

HEB Chartered Surveyors are pleased to announce that  their property auction catalogue for their next auction on 17th April 2013 is now available for download. The venue is The Gateway Hotel, Nuthall Road, Cinderhill, Nottingham NG8 6AZ Start time 2:30 pm (14:30 hours)

The February edition of SpareRoom’s Room Rental Index, giving average room rents across the UK, is now available to download (please see below). Weekly room rents have increased 7% since last February, from an average of £107.44 to £114.86 across the UK. Amongst the big cities that experienced large increases, we’ve seen Edinburgh rents up […]

Malcolm Ingham has raised an interesting landlords tax question “Our son has a mortgage on a leasehold flat which he owns.Having gone through some lean years in a business he runs, the bank of mum and dad have loaned considerable sums to him, which he will find difficult to repay. He has offered to let […]

Some time ago I went to Spain to buy a flat off plan with a view to selling it on for a profit once the build completed or perhaps to let it out. I used a couple of different agents to source a flat and agreed to buy. Contracts were drawn up and we paid […]

Gajendra Modi of Lytham St Annes I am a Landlord and support The Good Landlords campaign