The countdown has begun to the start of the UK’s first HMO blanket licensing scheme that starts in Oxford. From January 30, every landlord letting a house in multiple occupation (HMO) in the Oxford City Council area must apply to licence the property. The order covers small HMOs for three to five unrelated tenants as […]

Buying a house is still £100 a month cheaper than renting – if you have a credit rating and the cash for a deposit that a mortgage lender demands. The average monthly cost of buying a three-bedroom house is £600 per month, while average rent on the same property is £716, according to The Halifax. […]

The AIIC have told landlords again to ensure their inventories are up to scratch, as landlords continue to end up on the wrong side of dispute results. According to the DPS data, damage to property, cleaning and gardening issues are making up a large portion of the landlord tenant disputes.

Landlords have been warned of tenants fraudulently filling out tenancy agreements with fake names and barely paying rent. Let Insurance Services say similar cases involving landlords are on the increase and the lack of available credit for some after the credit crunch could be to blame.

So far in these articles we have looked at actions, activities and principles a 21st Century Letting Agency can adopt to deliver a truly 21st Century Service to their Landlord, but how will the landlord ever know if they are actually doing what they say they do? I, among the majority of landlords, have believed […]

Buy to let landlords could be made to pay water bills for departing tenants if they fail to pass on their details under a proposed new law. Water companies write-off around £328 million a year in unpaid bills – costing every consumer £15 a year, says the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs […]

The tax man is tracking down landlords with undeclared rental income by demanding lists of property clients from letting agents. Letting agents all over the UK are having to submit client lists with names and addresses of landlords and their rental properties to HM Revenue and Customs. For many letting agents, this is the first […]

Student landlords are bearing the brunt of protests from residents fed up with noise and rowdy behaviour. Residents from neighbourhoods in major university cities all over the country are voicing their anger at student developments and shared houses. In Fallowfield, Manchester, residents have started an anti-landlord poster campaign after they encountered problems selling homes.

As the buy to let mortgage wars hot up, several lenders are easing their terms for landlords. Yorkshire Building Society has decided to offer buy to let across England and Wales, instead of just London and the South East.

In the last year it has become very clear that many Local Authorities are looking very carefully at Private Sector Landlords and the various aspects of licensing. Some Councils have considered Selective Licensing, a discretionary scheme that allows local authorities to introduce licensing for all privately rented properties, with a charge, in a given area. […]

The latest property investment news including articles from industry experts. Helen Kirkham tells her nightmare tale of a HMO bed bug infestation, Roger Lancaster continues his 21st Century Letting Agent blog by looking at the importance of good day to day management and the HMO landlady decides whether or not to become a letting agent. […]

The Property118 research team were kept incredibly busy over the first few months of 2012 analysing literally thousands of websites which offer services to landlords and property professionals. The results will were promoted in our eNewsletters (weekly distribution > 500,000) for the benefit of our subscribers and were Search Engine Optimised to appear in Google searches. […]

AAaargggh, the very word ‘bedbug’ still sends a chill right through me and here is why… We had an HMO property where we provided the furniture. A new tenant moved in to one of the rooms and within 24 hours complained she had been bitten and that she thought it was bedbugs. I contacted our […]

The Bank of England has released the Agents’ Summary of Business Conditions for January 2012, calling the market ‘subdued’. They also noted the growing breaks in chains due to aborted sales and withdrawals having a positive effect in the rental sector. Social housing has taken a hit too due to the reduction of government grants […]

Last summer I met a very well heeled friend for lunch and listened as she commiserated her devastating investment losses over the past couple of years. She said “I need to get into property! It’s the only thing that I can rely on for the future and I’m fed up of hearing how much money […]

Last issue we looked at how a 21st Century Letting Agent utilises new technologies and techniques to maximise the chance of securing a good long term tenant and minimise the periods of voids in the a portfolio. In this we will look at how 21st Century Agent can- and should- provide a service that keeps […]

With over 56% of landlords looking to increase the size of their portfolio this year*, here at Property118.com we are continually improving our Due Diligence products and property calculators to help you make the best business decisions at the right time. Alongside our free to use Buy to Let Viability Calculator, Portfolio Review and Buy […]

I am often asked to review products and services which I and my fellow landlords might find useful. I was so impressed with the free Section 21 notice web app from National Property Group that I have decided to arrange for it to be added it to the “Due Diligence‘ section of Property118.com to compliment […]

Midlands landlords are chasing rents and deposits from a letting agent who suddenly closed for business. Police are looking at the demise of Baxter Todd, a letting agency with offices in Warwick, Leamington Spa, Coventry and Stratford-on-Avon. The offices are closed, phone lines have been disconnected and emails go unanswered – although the firm’s website […]

One in five landlords added property to their rental portfolios last year as confidence over interest rates and tenant demand remains buoyant. Buy to let investors in London have the highest hopes for 2012, with 85% expecting rents to keep rising by an average 2.4% and 100% predicting house prices in the capital will go […]

Ever since I got into this business I have avoided SVR (Standard Variable Rate) mortgages or discounted/fixed rate mortgage products that revert to an SVR like the plague. Now I’m not talking about bank base rate trackers or LIBOR rates, they are fine. I prefer bank base rate trackers myself but that’s another story and […]