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 […]

Thousands of buy to let properties all over the country are at risk of becoming uninsurable and unmortgageable in a few months. Homes and business properties worth around £214 billion could be affected from June if the government fails to reach a new agreement with home insurance firms over flooding.

Buy to let mortgage lenders are creaming off the best borrowers and leaving the rest without any real hope of raising loans. The reality of the market is more lenders are swooping like sharks in a feeding frenzy on landlords with the best credit ratings and highest rental yields, although they would have property investors […]

The latest news and views from the property market and private rented sector. Guest columnist Roger Lancaster adds two more posts to his 21st Century Letting Agents blog and Mark Alexander shares his HMO dilemma and expertise on where to start with property due diligence.

In the last article we looked at how a 21st Century Agency can ensure the security of a landlord’s portfolio even against its own default, and how in the process it could increase income year on year as well as minimise voids and arrears. I would like to deal with the cancer that is the […]

Police are warning landlords that crime gangs are looking for rental homes to turn into cannabis factories. A clear trend is emerging as drug barons turn away from growing cannabis in bulk at single locations. The latest criminal intelligence reveals the drug dealers are favouring turning buy to let homes in to small factories to […]

Buy to let experts are transmitting mixed messages about the state of the market in two new surveys. The latest buy to let musings from the Association of Residential Letting Agents highlights the problem of sentiment surveys in the property market. In a confused rambling, ARLA suggest the market ‘may be softening’ based on month-to-month […]

Norwich City Council are now charging £1,800 for an HMO licence, a 650% increase! Extortionate I think but so far as I knew, it didn’t affect me as none of my properties are licenceable HMO’s, until… Before I go on with my story, just in case you don’t know what an HMO is it’s a property […]