A jailed letting agent who stole cash from landlords to fund his ailing business risks another 15 months in prison if he fails to pay his victims £44,000 compensation in the next 12 weeks. Stephen Greenwood, 55, was sent to prison for 12 months in February after admitting four fraud charges at Warwick Crown Court. […]

Award winning buy to let portfolio building specialist speaks about his landmark David & Goliath victory over his local council. Robin Pilley is the founder of CXG Property Services which specialises in high yield HMO (Houses in Multiple Occupation) and letting. His combined business letting agency and property sourcing business is one of a kind […]

An article in the Telegraph last week really offended my sense of justice. I am well aware that only landlords can really understand our business but “well informed” people seem to have very short memories. I want to remind them about some recent history of why housing is now costing the public purse so much […]

My last article on Property 118 brought forth a host of questions from landlords wondering whether their property was in or out of the HMO grip. I got questions saying “Help! is my house an HMO?” and comments that they weren’t getting any sense or consistency out of their Environmental Health Officers. This seemed to […]

Having been a relatively “hands off” landlord myself now for over 20 years with a very well spread portfolio in geographical terms, I totally understand how frustrating it can be when you call your trusted contacts and they don’t answer the phone because they are too busy or they’ve gone out of business. You may […]

I would very much appreciate your feedback on this video blog and my confessions article below it.

Six days into my buy to let refurbishment project, see how it’s coming together. In this video I share a few tips on the best order to go about a refurb and the fixtures and fittings I’ve used and why. Join me again in a week or so and I’ll show you the completed project […]

Speculative developers looking to cash in on the student housing boom have been warned numbers of halls of residence have reached saturation in some areas. The writing is on the wall for some big developers as banks pull funding because they consider they are over exposed in the niche. Birmingham’s Aston University has slammed councillors […]

Buy to let rents are still going up – with tenants paying an average new high of £718 a month. The cost of renting a private home has surged by 4.3% in the past year, leaving tenants having to find around an extra £1 a day more than they were paying in September 2010. Rents […]

Recently, one of the properties managed by our portfolio management company, National Property Group, was subject to a legal challenge against the landlord. Since selling the property, the original vendor had subsequently been made bankrupt, and the Trustee acting on behalf of the creditors was demanding the difference between the below market value sale price […]

The Green Deal has become law – and landlords must comply with the new energy efficiency measures or risk a ban on letting property. The Energy Act lays out framework for the government to issue eco-friendly regulations aimed at making homes and commercial buildings warmer and cheaper to run. Buy to let landlords must comply […]

The Insolvency Service has seen a rise in landbanking scams, complaints have gone up by a third since 2009 at a cost of £13.4million. The scams involve a company selling portions of land to investors with the false pretence of planning permission only for the land to be found to be Green Belt and planning […]

Consumer champions are warning homeowners with financial problems about property speculators who offer a way to avoid repossession with lease option deals. The Financial Services Authority (FSA) is drafting guidelines warning homeowners about some unscrupulous companies that fail to deliver their promises to stop repossessions or ease their financial problems. Lease options are a controversial […]

Buy to let insiders have revealed some home truths behind the property business in an online video for mortgage brokers. The key speaker was Paul Howard, head of the Nationwide’s specialist accounts, which includes major landlord lender The Mortgage Works (TMW) The video debate was hosted by trade magazine Mortgage Solutions, bringing Howard together mortgage […]

Do flats make good buy to let investment properties? I have several in my portfolio but the dynamics of viability is very different to a freehold property as service charges and rent affect net yields. Also, what’s best, ground floor or upper floors? Please check out the short video below ….

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The Bank of England have released their Agents’ Summary of Business Conditions for October, and have once again found a depressed housing market. They say high loan to value products are being offered, but the take up has been low. Worryingly, they said the stagnant market and lack of transactions has provoked concerns for letting […]

I listened to a programme on Radio 5 Live a few days ago that investigated how “Property Investor and Guru” Phil Martin had left a couple close to bankruptcy after agreeing a lease option on their property. In a nutshell he agreed to take an option to buy the property at a future date and […]

With inflation hitting a 20 year high at 5.2%, the headlines are screaming doom and gloom. Instead, step back and read what high inflation and quantitive easing means to landlords running a buy to let business. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) – the government’s official inflation monitor – has registered 5.2% for September and is […]

Homes under the hammer are still knocking up strong sales with almost 2,500 properties changing hands for £282 million. Around 70% of all homes up for auction were sold, according to the latest UK auction statistics for September from EI Group. The number of lots sold were up from 3,450 (3.8%) on a year ago, […]

What hints and tips can you share about how to check out a letting agent or a property manager to manage your property investments? Did you know that a landlord can NOT contract his legal responsibilities to an agent and that he maintains responsibility for the actions of his agent? Please rate and comment on […]