I have been renovating my buy to lets without making a charge for my time and effort. I told the accountant I want to start charging £10 an hour for my labour as this will give a more accurate figure as to the total costs of the properties and also limit the capital gains tax […]

The four tenancy deposit protection scheme providers have collectively issued guidance notes following the Court of Appeal ruling in the case of Supertrike Limited vs Rodrigues.  Landlords and Letting Agents should note that none of the tenancy deposit schemes can offer legal advice to landlords or lettings agents. Their guidance is not intended to give legal […]

The four tenancy deposit protection scheme providers have collectively issued guidance notes following the Court of Appeal ruling in the case of Superstrike Limited vs Rodrigues.  Landlords and Letting Agents should note that none of the tenancy deposit schemes can offer legal advice to landlords or lettings agents. Their guidance is not intended to give legal […]

I have heard a lot of Letting agents or private landlords tend to serve a section 21 notice at the early stages of any Tenancy agreement but I seem to have a lack of understanding what the benefits are of doing this. Could anyone explain, being a private Landlord, why there is a benefit to […]

I have just started investing in property. Living overseas, I have been unable to get a U.K. mortgage so I have had to pay cash for my first property. I have a good rental yield of 10.1%, but obviously no leverage for now. I am arranging more business commitments in U.K. to eventually remedy the mortgage […]

My partner and I are living in a part rent/part buy affordable housing 1 bed flat.  We would like to move house so we can start a family. We have enough money for the deposit on a new property and have been looking at bigger places to live. Our 1 bed flat has been up […]

An extensive refurbishment project of a beautiful Grade II listed building, X1 Town Hall has been designed to reflect the most sophisticated of tastes and offers residents the opportunity to experience a high-end lifestyle at affordable prices. Comprised of 122 individual double-apartments, investors will receive assured NET rental yields of 6% for the first 5 […]

Last week I was presented with a Manchester based buy-to let investment opportunity which looks particularly attractive. The gross yield is just over 11% but with the benefit of gearing, and having allowed for all costs, the cash on cash returns are coming out at 12.5%.  I have done some due diligence (you should always […]

Letting Supermarket have launched a new scheme which they have labelled “The DSS Landlords Ultimate Letting Package”.  The package includes:- Visiting your property, taking particulars and floor plans. Setting up an online account to store your documentation so it can be accessed at any time. Advertising on all major portals including Rightmove and Zoopla Viewings […]

I’m considering entering B2L for the first time. Rather than securing a B2L mortgage, can funds be released by re-mortgaging our own home and then purchasing the B2L property outright. Rents can then be used to pay the payments on the re-mortgaged home. I’m thinking of seeking a £200k re-mortgage from a £800k property which […]

Last night I finally got around to watching a TV programme I recorded on BBC a few weeks ago called “Meet The Landlords“. I was asked to appear on the programme when it was first considered but when I told the reporter what managing my portfolio entailed he wasn’t really that interested. Who could blame […]

I purchased a property about 18 months ago in the Falkirk District. It needed some refurbishment so was empty for a few months and I applied for and received a council tax exemption. Falkirk Council allow a 6 month tax exemption if property is unoccupied and unfurnished. However, I recently received a letter informing me […]

Being a first time landlord I was very naive in the rules around securing the deposit (yes, I am another one of those!).  I realised this after I tried to issue a s.21 notice seeking possession, being advised that I had to return the deposit in full. I realised this very late on and have […]

I have a house fully managed since 2006 through what is probably the largest agent operating in the UK.  I have not been at all impressed over these years but now I am really disappointed. On my last visit to the property I found that there has been an extension which looks more like a […]

I have 3 tenants who recently vacated a property. During their rental I only dealt with one of the tenants and we went through the check out procedure thoroughly so that he understood what was expected. On the day of the checkout the property was very unclean and the inventory clerk explained to the tenant […]

With growing and easier access to BTL mortgage funds comes the inevitable increase in borrowing, or as I like to call it … debt. BTL is the generic term, of course, for property investment, and for many people investing relies on having the right ‘debt’ in place to make those acquisitions and investments. Many investors […]

A flat that has been rented has developed an electrical problem. It keeps tripping intermittently. We have got an electrician to check out the fault but he has been unable to find the reason for this happening. The electrics tripped whilst he was checking them out but he wasn’t able to locate the fault. Are there […]

Our first flat was bought at auction and cost 33k, spent 7k on a refurb and was valued at 55k, it rents out for £335 pcm. I re-mortgaged for 30k and bought another one bedroom flat for 23k also at auction. It has just become vacant after 2 years during which time it rented for £350 […]

Last year I was in the process of identifying a good interest only re-mortgage – nothing out of the ordinary – just over 55% LTV; bags of rental cover, clean title and excellent credit score – By the time I was ready to move I had reached 70 years of age and all of a […]

Have you read the book recently published by Mary Latham yet? I’ve been talking to Mary about some of the topics in it this week and O – M – G this is going to ruffle feathers!!! This is certainly not your bog standard “how to buy to let” book by all accounts, but if […]

I have always found one particular lender on our panel hard to consider as they’ve always represented (in my mind) the last resort lender. As 99.99% of my clients are prime, own ‘standard’ properties, have sufficient income and mortgage amounts, this lender has never really been on our radar. However, the enquiries which I have […]