Tough new mortgage restrictions to stop borrowers falling in to arrears have been proposed by the Financial Services Authority after months of behind-closed-doors negotiation with lenders. Out go self-certification and interest-only home loans for most mortgage borrowers. In come strict affordability tests to combat payment difficulties and mortgage fraud for borrowers – with lenders having […]

Rents have eased back for the first time in almost a year – dropping around £7 a month to an average £717, according to one of the UK’s largest letting agents. Annual rent inflation has tumbled from 4.1% in October to 3.5% in November, but rents are still an average £25 higher than 12 months […]

What could be worse than laying on a beach or sitting on a ski lift whilst trying to sort out somebody to go out to fix a tenants broken boiler, cooker, blown down fence etc. Portfolio landlords often prefer to manage their own property portfolio’s and this can be a real problem for them. The […]

It has just occurred to me that a page dedicated to buy to let mortgage advice could be very useful, both to landlords and mortgage brokers. Landlords could leave question here and mortgage brokers could come here to answer them and leave their contact details. Free advice for landlords and the possibility of getting extra business for […]

I’ve been a bit quiet of late. Knocked out by a killer dose of what Frazzy calls ‘Man Flu’ and like the rest of you, running around tying up loose ends before Xmas descends on us for 4 days of food, alcohol, sleepiness and family rows. In a week when Leeds council reports a 200% […]

Landlords have become embroiled in a bitter battle for the election of the new London Mayor as candidates have made residential letting a major campaign issue. Tory Mayor Boris Johnson is standing for re-election and wants to introduce a citywide accreditation scheme for buy to let landlords.

Buy to let borrowers can expect the mortgage drought to continue throughout 2012, according to lending forecasts from banks and building societies. Funds for mortgages are likely to flatline for the next year, says the Council of Mortgage Lenders, the trade body of major mortgage lenders.

Landlord’s Log, the Personal Blog Of Mark Alexander, the Founder of Property118 As the credit crunch continues to affect property prices, the remaining equity in my property portfolio, which I’d not refinanced out, continues to shrink away. The more values fall the closer I get to being in a position of negative equity. Am I […]

News Sourced by Property118 Downletting is the new way to raise cash from a home that you can’t sell, according to letting agents. Many homeowners have problems selling large properties because buyers cannot raise deposits or mortgages, which means they cannot move on.

Mortgage lenders are quietly furious behind the scenes that Prime Minister David Cameron’s Euro treaty veto may have scuppered their fight to block the regulation of buy to let loans. As the dust settles on the UK’s lonely position standing in the kitchen looking on at the Eurozone party, buy to let could be one […]

The latest news and views from the property market and private rented sector. The Property Maverick returns with part two of his property analysis column along with news of Santander entering the buy to let lending market, Shelter’s latest findings and we’re still looking for your good tenant stories.

Missed Part One? Click to read Property Analysis – Part 1 Mortgage Cap Rate (Interest Only) = Net Annual Rental Income + Annual Mortgage Cost / Current Mortgage Outstanding Expressed as a percentage this indicator will tell you the maximum interest rate you can sustain and still break even. Obviously the higher the number the […]

When I first came up with the concept of Property118.com I wanted it to be the best property website ever. To achieve this I realised that it was important to focus on my website being found as well as producing interesting, informative and useful content. With this in mind I set about understanding the Google […]

Christmas is not only the time to be merry, but it’s also the time when the dreaded pundits come out with their property price predictions for the next year in a bid to garner column inches and web space for free publicity. Piles of press releases predicting this, that and the other for next year […]

Landlords who fail to submit their tax returns on time can expect no mercy from HM Revenue and Customs after changes in the law let the tax man levy more fines. HMRC will turn the financial screws on tax payers filing after the midnight deadline on January 31 – and then some as other new […]

Please leave a comment below if you think “The GOOD Landlords Campaign” is a good idea. One of my employees has had to move her family three times in two years because her landlords wanted to move back in or sell their property. She wasn’t told this when she rented the property and certainly would […]

Homeless charity Shelter is predicting thousands of tenants will skip their rents to pay for Christmas. Renters are putting festive presents, food and drink before the costs of housing and risking their homes rather than spending within their means and protecting the roof over their heads.

Santander has joined the buy to let lending frenzy with a range of purchase and remortgage deals for landlords. The property investment loans are available from IFAs and mortgage brokers under the Abbey for Intermediaries banner.

Landlord’s Log, the Personal Blog Of Mark Alexander, the Founder of Property118 Try associating the words ROGUE or UNSCRUPULOUS to a trade or profession which is not related in some way to property. Whether we like it or not, we now live in an age of digital communication and “no win no fee” lawyers. We […]

Landlords are seeing a rising amount of deposit disputes over the cleaning of properties according to The Association of Independent Inventory Clerks. They say 40% of all tenancy deposit disputes involve some sort of cleaning cost. They also claim tenants don’t see cleaning costs as anything more than “fair wear and tear”, hence the disputes.

Whether you own one or one hundred properties you must monitor the performance of each property on a monthly and annual basis. Before you can do this though, you need to have a goal or target in mind as to the performance you wish to achieve with each property over a specified time period, whether […]