Hi it’s me for my sins I started my career in banking in 1990 (when I was 8!) and on to the mortgage desk in the pre regulation days. Then on to a Building Society to become a branch and business development manager, and that’s where I came across a specialist Buy to Let brokerage […]

LHA Top Tips for landlords. Article 6 in a series of 8 Stay in contact to build a positive relationship. The most valuable asset to a trouble free tenancy is regular, open communication. Ensure both you and the tenant maintain up to date contact details and if possible obtain details of next of kin or […]

Buy to let landlords are picking up almost double the average monthly rent in London compared to property investors in the rest of the UK. Average monthly rents in the capital are £1,212 a month, according to landlord mortgage firm BM Solutions. That’s 69% more than the UK average of £716 and 41% higher than […]

Tenant Referencing comes in many guises but in this article I am going to focus on how landlords can outsource a major piece of due diligence and pass the risks of tenants failing to pay rent onto an insurance company by purchasing Rent Guarantee Insurance “RGI”. The concept itself is very simple. The insurer performs […]

A new piece of lead generation software has been created by Property118.com to help businesses providing services to landlords to know when their clients and other people visiting their website are considering the purchase of buy to let property investments. Research has shown that many service providers welcome the opportunity to offer landlords advice prior to […]

Property investors and nosy neighbours can drill down in to the Land Registry’s house sales data for free under new Government open access rules for public information. The most expensive property sold in England and Wales was Dorchester Mansions, Ascot, Berkshire, with a price of £135 million – while the cheapest was Chapel House, High […]

Keeping accounts for a buy to let business could be a lot simpler if the Government adopts cash accounting for small businesses. Chancellor George Osborne announced in Budget 2012 that he was launching consultation on a dispensation that will let small businesses turning over less than £77,000 switch to a simpler way of calculating profits.

Chancellor George Osborne’s Budget 2012 was a chance missed for reforming property tax, says the industry. Many are also breathing a sigh of relief that stamp duty reforms have glossed over commercial property. The anomaly in the market is a £2 million house owner pays draconian duty starting at 7% for personal ownership and stepping […]

Are you looking for a legal update in relation to landlord matters north of the border, in particular the tenancy deposit scheme? We’ve been regular readers and admirers of the Property118 blog for some time and have always had the strange idea that perhaps something was missing. We now think it might be the lack […]

Have you ever made the same mistake I did – and set the rent too high? I remember when one of my first properties became vacant some years ago. I carefully researched the local rental levels on Rightmove and all the 3 bedroom properties were marketed at between £575 and £599 per month. Mine was […]

Following George Osbourne’s Budget announcement, NAEA have offered a damning response as Wendy Evans-Scott, President of the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) labelled it a failure and a missed opportunity. “Not only has the Chancellor failed to offer any real help to lower and middle income homeowners and First Time Buyers, but from Saturday, […]

As councils across the country ramp up their campaign against student landlords and houses in multiple occupation (HMOs), the Residential Landlords Association and leading property solicitors claim tougher planning rules may not prove to be the answer to controlling shared homes. The issue is a technical problem that may not be settled until a council […]

Budget 2012 for property people Property investors are winners and losers in Chancellor George Osborne’s Budget 2012. Landlords paying tax on rents are likely winners as they will benefit from Osborne hoisting personal allowances for income tax nearer the £10,000 target. While top-end of the market investors dealing in buying and selling the most expensive […]

Today’s issue shines the spotlight on the private rented sector providing housing to a diverse range of tenants. Headlines and views of guest columnists cover the effects of Universal Credit reforms and HMO article 4 directions. The LHA expert, John Paul, guides landlords through the LHA claim procedure in this fifth article of his series […]

Consumer champion gets tough on ‘instant equity’ claims Slick property salesman trying to talk investors in to signing up for cheap buy to let homes with ‘instant equity’ will have to prove the advertised discount is real or face the wrath of consumer watchdogs. One firm – Nottingham-based Property Secrets – has already fallen foul […]

In a country where we have a housing crisis driven by a complete lack of an innovative and all-encompassing housing policy the PRS landlord is being made a scapegoat for simply seeking to run a profitable business. A business which, it is rarely noted, is doing almost as much to make housing available to low […]

Prime Minister David Cameron’s claim that buy to let landlords are dropping rents in response to the Government’s welfare reforms is untrue, according to information from councils. Cameron told the House of Commons that the new welfare policy was forcing landlords to cut rents, but social housing magazine Inside Housing tested the claim by sending […]

LHA Top Tips for landlords. Article 5 in a series of 8 Be thorough, do it once and do it right. Offer to complete all paperwork with the tenant but always hand it in to the council yourself. Ensure that you give the tenant copies of all paperwork. When you deliver paperwork to the council […]

On the 12th January, Councillor Jeremy Moulton set out the Southampton perspective in relation to Article 4 Directions taking away permitted development rights to change the use of single dwellings to small HMOs such as shared houses. The Residential Landlords Association, of which I am the Policy Director, has campaigned vigorously against the use of […]

After reading Experian launches rent payment profile for tenants, I am perfectly prepared to give a person a chance for a new start but I cannot afford to take people who will not pay their rent. Many landlords feel like this too. Many of us are in a position to pick and choose our tenants […]

Last week I had the privilege of meeting Norwich Mediator, Martin Plowman of Mediation-1st for a coffee in the City Centre before work. I kept him talking for almost 90 minutes – what a fascinating man! I had previously spoken to Martin over the telephone about risk assessment and probability outcome trees at the suggestion of another friend. What’s […]