Both John Paul and the The Castledene Group have earned an enviable reputation of being leading experts in the management and letting of residential property to benefits claimants in receipt of Local Housing Allowance “LHA”. John Paul is a portfolio landlord in the North East and founder of the Castledene Group of letting agents which […]

In the West Midlands we are addressing the issue of educating the young to understand their future housing options, financial obligations and choices. I work on behalf of NLA with a consortium called HOMESTAMP (www.homestamp.com) and we are just coming to the end of a major project to get a module into the national curriculum […]

“Hello Mark, very impressed with your site, I have a question for you: My wife and I have a small portfolio of property which has been built up over the years by keeping on our residences rather than selling to finance the new ones. None were purchased on Buy to let mortgages.

Landlords advice – 10 things landlords should seriously consider before it is too late 1. Know when to stop investing and start living. I have a friend who is fast approaching 50 years old who owns 82 properties. His goal is to get to 100. What’s the point? 100 is just another number isn’t it? […]

According to the housing Charity “Crisis” only 1.5% of private landlords across the UK are willing to rent to benefit claimants aged under 35. Changes in benefit rules have meant that single people under the age of 35 can now only claim benefits which are sufficient to rent a room in a shared house. With […]

I would just like to say a big THANK YOU to the BBC for giving me the opportunity to put forward a landlords perspective on why so few of us now choose to provide accommodation to benefits claimants. As soon as I can get a recording of the programme, which was broadcast live on BBC […]

The Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA) today revealed its predictions for the UK property market over the next 12 months. Ian Potter, Managing Director of ARLA, said the Private Rented Sector (PRS) will continue to see demand outstrip supply throughout 2013, particularly in London and the South East. The lack of affordable mortgage finance […]

The Loan Directory is a regular feature publishing examples of the most competitive and frequently used products in the commercial market to help readers identify possible funding facilities for their own projects. In this latest update we provide a selection of the most competitive deals on offer in respect of Commercial Finance for Investment and […]

EDITORS UPDATE 2017 – please note the ‘Rent A Room’ allowance is now £7,500 per annum If you’re renting out a room or rooms in your own home, there’s a tax benefit that’s really worth investigating. It’s called the Rent a Room Scheme and offers live-in-landlords the chance to earn £4,250 in rent and services […]

The Dispute Service “TDS” recently posted on this website “TDS members need to log in to their account online and tick a box updating it to statutory periodic ( instructions are available in the Website User Manual). If you do not do this protection will end on the original end date of the agreement. We […]

Popular feedback from our landlords survey was to create a “Guide to Buying At Auction”. We contacted our friends at Essential Information Group “EIG” who monitor the sales prices of over 35,000 properties sold every year at auction in over 1,700 auctions for their help. As it turns out, EIG have already produced a comprehensive […]

Renting by the room has seen a surge in popularity in recent years, as savvy landlords realise that yields for this type of tenancy are much higher than for plain vanilla lets. With the current housing crisis, and the dearth of lending for first time buyers, young people are priced out of purchasing their first […]

I have been told that I need to issue another Deposit Protection Certificate when my fixed term Assured Shorthold Tenancy agreement “AST” reverts to a Statutory Periodic Tenancy “SPT”. Is this correct and if so, do I need to pay to re-protect the deposit with the insurance backed schemes such as My Deposits, The Dispute […]

Huw has received a strange “Demand for Payment” of Ground rent and would like to raise this topic with the Property118 community. “In Jan’2007 I purchased a leasehold terraced property in Wales from a mortgage company following a previous repossession.  At the time neither myself, my solicitor nor the mortgage company could locate the Freeholder.  […]

Last week’s release of the Census data has revealed the extent of the immigrant population in London. People classifying themselves as ‘White Britons’ are now a minority in the capital, making up just 45% of the population. Whilst the Government needs to address the issue of immigration, they must avoid implementing blanket policies which catch […]

Recently I’ve experienced two instances of tenants not completing 6 months tenancy period and leaving after just 3 months. These tenants happened to be from India on temporary contract to the UK in the IT sector. The excuse was that their project ended sooner than expected. They did not get their deposit back but this […]

Rightmove have released their December House Price Index and along with that have made some bold predictions for property prices in 2013. What are your predictions on house prices for 2013 we wonder? Why not leave a comment below this article and this time next year we will see who got the closest.

Extracts from an intriguing Readers Letter from PR agent Ally Whicher of Woodthorpe Comms asking; “does reality TV affect property prices?” According to Ally, Rightmove UK recently commented; “The locations of reality TV series’ such as Made In Chelsea and The Only Way Is Essex are becoming ‘reality chequered’ by their respective shows, as the British […]

Gina Blomefield of GB Property Management London I have been a landlord in Wandsworth/Clapham for over fifteen years during which time I have developed good working relationships with my letting agent, tenants, local authorities, builders and repair people. My aim is to provide comfortable housing at a reasonable rent and wherever possible make sure my […]

Paul Forsey FNAEA (Honoured) MARLA of Reads Davies Paignton I have personally been involved with the valuation, sale, letting and management of properties of all kinds since the 1960s and my office in the centre of Paignton was established in the mid 1950s. We remain a small independent family own and run business and everyone […]

Knowing that over 95% of people view properties online (with the majority using Rightmove),you may be interested in tips on optimising your Rightmove adverts. The secret is understanding Rightmove’s marketing analysis tools. Each agent can run reports which show how many times a property has been viewed online, printed off, had more details requested etc.