Currently there are over five million people claiming LHA and this is set to grow over the next 2-3 years as we face a tough economic period and continued austerity measures from the Government.  According to Dssmove.co.uk, letting agents and landlords will miss out if they ignore LHA tenants.

The biggest landlord provider of Tenancy Deposit Protection (TDP) in England & Wales, has announced it is to reduce its fees from the 1st April. The changes, which recognise the rising value of deposits, mean that the scheme continues to provide benefits to its members regardless of the value of the deposit they take.

Ian MacQueen has submitted the following “Readers Questions” article seeking advice on offsetting property income tax. I have been renting out two properties for a number of years now. In the first few years the interest on my mortgages was so high that I could offset this against the earnings with little tax to pay.

The story of the Bank of Ireland decision to increase to the differential (interest rate margin) on  tracker mortgages started on this forum when a professional landlord contacted Property118 within minutes of a letter from Bank of Ireland landing on his door mat. What ensued was outrage from landlords and affected residential mortgage borrowers. The […]

We are working with a range of dedicated Development finance lenders for our readers to get the best criteria terms and conditions available in the current market. The Lenders are all long established and recognise that a good development project carried out by an experienced developer deserves consideration based on individual merit, rather than a […]

Most Landlords do not realise that Agents normally outsource the production of residential property inventories to specialist inventory companies. Ultimately, if you are unhappy with the inventory service, i.e. the quality of the report or price, you may insist on using another firm as it is the Landlord and Tenant who must actually agree the […]

Landlords and letting agents who visit their female tenants need to be ultra careful based on this landlords story of a crazy tenant. The guest author of this post wishes to remain anonymous. About two years ago I went to collect my keys from a female tenant. She wanted me to come and collect my […]

I’m often asked what I would buy if I was starting again today ….. HMO’s would definitely be on my shopping list 🙂 The reason for this is that I can only see that demand for this type of accommodation will grow. Rental yields are already well into double figures for this type of investment. […]

Our accountants have sent the following important tax news to all of their  landlord clients. Please take heed and share this information with all other landlords you know. The End of the Renewals Allowance from 6 April 2013 HMRC have announced that from 6 April 2013 allowances for the replacement of furnishings will no longer […]

Scottish landlords want at least three things from their tenants:- – Rent paid on time – Respect the property – Respect the neighbours There are many ways to find these perfect tenants and to insure against the risks of any problems. The cost of full property management in Scotland has been increasing as agents are […]

Scott Hymas has written in to ask what other landlords do in terms of bank accounts. Scott said  … “I have always used the same bank account for all my finances. What I want to know is what does everyone else do and what is best practice? Should I have one account for my personal […]

James Shanahan of Birmingham We are new (from early 2013) landlords with two houses and plans to grow gradually with a focus in and around Birmingham. Our houses are good quality, safe family homes and we are committed to looking after our tenants and after our houses. We are also committed to keeping our houses […]

Paul Tucker the deputy Bank of England governor has told the Treasury Committee that negative interest rates should be considered. A negative interest rate on bank reserves held at the Bank of England would theoretically encourage an increase in lending to stimulate the economy as banks would be charged for keeping money at the Bank […]

Just in case you are not aware of Lloyds three mortgages rule here’s how it caught me out. I bought a run down terrace house last year to refurbish and wanted to sell once complete. However, to finance a new opportunity, which came along to soon, I decided to get a buy to let mortgage […]

Two bedroom new build houses are my favourite type of property to invest into. They are easy to let, offer good rental yields and appeal to first time buyers when you want to resell. I recently purchased the one pictured left at the price it cost the developer to build it. The majority of the […]

What do you give to professional property investors who are maxed out with their current lenders, with over £1m of buy to let mortgages outstanding, a mixed portfolio of houses, flats and new build properties, and who wants to raise capital to secure new opportunities with the option to either sell again quickly or refinance again […]

Barnard Marcus are pleased to announce that  their property auction catalogue for their next auction on Thursday 14th March 2013 is now available for download. The venue is The Grand Connaught Rooms, 61 – 65 Queen Street, Covent Garden, London WC2B 5DA Start time 11am (11:00 hours)

A Property118 reader has shared this story with us – he’s a Property Developer and was struggling to find the right Development finance. Our reader first contacted us in the Spring of 2012. He was very frustrated at that time as he had an incredible opportunity to acquire a former riverside warehouse and convert it […]

My partner and I have been renting a flat through a letting agents for the last 2 years. They charge us £150 to renew to lease every 6 months, the latest contract was signed in November 2012 for a further 6 months. Shortly after we signed the new contract we were offered a larger and […]

Paul Keeling of PK Properties Walsall I’ve been involved with properties since 2005 when I bought my first Buy to Let, whilst at the same time embarking on a new career in Estate Agency. Having achieved Branch Manager status within 12 months, I continued with building my personal property portfolio whilst fully immersing myself within […]

This week 29 pages have been added to Property118. (Links to the relevant pages are in blue and underlined). 5 Readers Questions Articles and Discussions I think my tenants removal company knocked my garden wall down Legal advice required on Scottish HMO issue Shared ownership – can this be done on leasehold flat? Should I […]