Following the recent cabinet reshuffle Mark Prisk MP has been announced as the successor to Grant Schapps. Do readers of Property118.com think Mark Prisk will do a better job?

Leeds Building Society BuytoLet department have discounted their two and three year products whilst keeping their 5 year deals at the same level. These are 65 and 70% Loan to value products with an attractive initial rate and good value fixed fees of £999 that really do benefit the larger loan over percentage based fees. […]

“Why are landlords being denied our  legal right to repossess  a “dwelling house” Under Section 21 of the Housing Act 1988?” – Mary Latham – Landlord After reading and posting on this discussion I have been thinking about the possession procedure and how the law fails landlords.

In this blog I intend to dispel a few urban myths which appear to be forming, both amongst landlords and squatters themselves judging from some of the readers emails I have received. As of today a person occupying a residential property without the owners permission is committing a criminal offence which is punishable by up to six months in prison and […]

What are your thoughts on the new laws scrapping squatters rights and making squatting a criminal offence? Squatting in residential property in England and Wales becomes a criminal offence on Saturday 1st September 2012. Under clause 144 of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act, the offence of squatting will be punishable by […]

Recently it was revealed that 15,000 fewer young people had applied for university places starting this academic year*. This reduction in student numbers will have a dual impact on landlords who traditionally let their properties in university towns. ARLA’s advice to landlords operating in university towns and cities

Thanks for the responses to the original post, also entitled “End of Tenancy Council tax Demand“. To clarify the position it was a furnished tenancy so the empty relief is not possible. Most of your responses confirmed my feelings on the matter but, as I had not been in this position before, I wanted to […]

Whether you are looking for Exclusive Liverpool Student Accommodation for your children or as an investment you really ought to check out Arndale house. It will be ready for occupation in Q4 2013 and is available to purchase off plan now. Please take a few minutes to peruse the details below, watch the embedded video (second picture […]

BM Solutions BuytoLet rates have been reduced across their five and 3 year fixed rate range in line with other lenders reductions and a decrease in LIBOR. There are also minor adjustments in the cost of some tracker rate products, but it is the cost of longer term fixed rate BuytoLets that reflect more accurately the direction the […]

This weekend I received an email from Cissie asking “If I move into a buy to let property which has been let for several years, and sell it after 6 months or a year, can I avoid CGT ? “ It’s a very interesting question, one which is close to my own heart as my […]

I am considering buying a property with a regulated tenancy. It is occupied by one person who is getting on in age. As I understand it once the tenant is no longer living there, either by going into residential care or moving or passing away, the property becomes mine to do with as I wish. […]

I’ve been writing for P118 for a while now and feel I have connected with enough sane voices here to put forward a slightly more insane idea for reasoned discussion, ideas that have been occurring to me for some time. The possibility that the very term ‘Landlord’ might be damaging relationships between landlords and tenants. […]

Renting your first home as a student can be exciting yet daunting at the same time. So the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA) and the National Union of Students (NUS) are offering advice to students on renting their first property at university.

As this is a true story about an illegal eviction I would like to remain anonymous please. I witnessed it, it wasn’t my property and it was not a scene you would associate with an illegal eviction. No thugs with baseball bats, just respectable people in a respectable suburb close and the Police keeping a […]

My letting agent has done a runner and left various aspects of my property management in a mess. In some cases, the tenants named no longer exist. The Gas & Electricity Supplier is owed a lot of money from these non-existent former tenants, and current ones which the agent has not advised them of. The […]

I have a property which I rent to my son who is on Housing Benefit. He has several medical problems mainly brought on by the use of drugs in the past. I had two other properties which I had let out before to claimants that were on Housing Benefit. One of which was sold and […]

Has anyone come across this end of tenancy Council Tax situation as I have for a property tenancy which recently ended? The tenants left on the end day of a 6 month assured shorthold tenancy. They were responsible for Council Tax and received the demands and paid the Council direct and contacted the Council to […]

Principality BuytoLet rates have been revised downwards by 0.2% and introduced two new products all with low fixed fees down to a minimum of £99 These are two year variable rate products for the Building Society with the biggest advantage being the low set up costs for higher value properties instead of large percentage fees […]

We receive hundreds of readers emails and telephone calls every month, the vast majority require contacts to arrange funding, hence this article which explores six very different strategies of financing property refurbishment projects.

I have a question regarding renewal fees from letting agents and would very much welcome any feedback or advice that readers of Property118 can offer. I have used the same letting agent for the past 7 years. I do not have a portfolio so felt it would be best to use an agency. The agreement I […]

With so many buy to let  property investors now considering buy/refurb/sell deals I feel the time is right to explain the tax treatment of property development vs property investment. For example, did you knowthat buy/refurb/sell deals are taxed as a trade (property development) and CGT annual exemptions can not be claimed on disposal?