Article 4 Directions for managing HMOs will only work if they are accompanied by good planning policies – a Southampton perspective By Guest Columnist Cllr Jeremy Moulton, Conservative Councillor for Freemantle Ward On 23rd March Southampton City Council will join a number of other councils who have implemented new planning rules, called an Article 4 […]

Responsible landlords are investors and business people who should present a ‘professional’ face to their tenants and letting agents. Not only are there harassment and equality laws designed to stop some of the more outrageous dealings perpetrated by landlords caught up in a spiraling web of anger, but the courts look badly on bullies who […]

News Sourced by Property118 News Team Aldermore have increased the loan-to-value on its fixed buy to let range to 80%, as well as reducing its buy to let reversion rates by 0.5%. They’ve also reduced their two year discount and three and five year fixed rates. The maximum portfolio size has been increased to 5 […]

Another year older, another year of more energy! On Thursday it is the birthday of Property118 founding partner Mark Alexander. Just to introduce myself, I am Mike Woodfine and I have been Mark’s business partner for 22 years. I thought it would be fun to share some little known facts about the man with the […]

The latest news and views from the property market and private rented sector.  Ben Reeve-Lewis continues on the Olympic theme and provides insight on how to avoid getting caught up in the letting scams during the games. Julie Ford and the HMO Landlady return with thought provoking articles on high street agents and house insurance. […]

Estate agents are blaming sellers asking unrealistic prices for their homes as one of the reasons for a flatlining housing market. Pointing the finger at sellers is unfair as they are probably pricing their home on the figure they need to break even from a deal.

Landlords are expecting another bumper for year of buy to let, according to research by a property investment lender. Just over half (56%) of landlords predict demand from tenants will continue to stay high.Few expect the private rental market to shrink – only 6% of landlords feel tenant demand will drop and hardly any (2%) […]

News Sourced by Property118 News Team A landlord in Blackburn has been fined £10,000 and ordered to pay £8,000 in costs after failing to ensure gas safety checks were completed at a property, home to a family of eight. Mr Rashid Hussain failed to organise an inspection, despite being handed an improvement notice requiring him […]

January heralds house insurance renewal month. Every year I promise to get excited about it, compare quotes and wallow for the next year in the knowledge that I’ve secured the most competitive deal. The reality is, when the broker calls I groan with resignation and tell him just to get on with it. As he […]

Lettings firm Belvoir intends to join the City’s Alternative Investment Market to raise capital for further expansion. The specialist lettings agency runs 142 franchised offices – and wants to raise up to £8 million from floating on AIM.

A buy to let lender was slammed for a landlord mortgage of £166,500 without carrying out proper income checks in a negligence case at the High Court. GMAC-RFC – now trading as Paratus-AMC – agreed the 90% loan-to-value advance on a £185,000 property valuation from Countrywide in 2004.

Having written my article on the predicted downside of renting during the Olympics I thought I had better provide a bit of guidance for landlords on how to avoid getting ripped off. Foreign sports tourists are also open to abuse simply because they don’t know London or the way things work in the UK. Already […]

The latest news and views from the property market and private rented sector.  Ben Reeve-Lewis and Mary Latham highlight some very important issues all landlords looking to take advantage of the Olympic frenzy should consider, Mark Alexander reviews a free eBook in his Landlords Log and we would like to welcome our new guest columnist Helen […]

People who are thinking of letting during the Olympics should be aware that it is a criminal offence to let a London property for less than 90 Days without permission. Landlords will risk fines of up to £20,000 and a criminal record if they do not get planning permission to let during the Olympics. Following […]

You can’t be involved in housing and not be aware of the upcoming rent-fest that is going to be the 2012 Olympics, and not just for London landlords either as Weymouth on the South Coast is hosting the Yachting events. There are now a plethora of websites set up specifically to help landlords make a […]

The New Year countdown for filing tax returns has started – with a timely reminder from HM Revenue and Customs not to be late. Individuals and partnerships must submit their tax return for the year ending April 5, 2011, on or before January 31 – and pay any tax due.

Frustrated sellers are turning into reluctant landlords as the stagnating housing market in some areas has driven buyers away. Around half of letting agents report a rising number of unintended lets as homeowners either cannot sell or are holding off accepting offers until property values increase.

Green, orange, black…… The wonderful colours of mould that you may spot in your house! Damp can be a major problem in student houses. It can cause mould on the walls and furniture, and make timber window frames rot. It encourages mites and can increase the risk of respiratory illness and quite frankly, it is […]

Landlord mortgage lender has changed borrowing criteria and released 50 new loan products – although most are just variations on fixed rates and terms. The main changes to interest buy to let landlords are revised rent and income criteria that bring more purchase and remortgage deals in to the scope of loans Paragon underwriters can […]

Would you be sceptical of an advert for fee free letting? Being a landlord for over 20 years has made me a bit sceptical so when I first heard about a fee free property letting offer my gut reaction was “what’s the catch?”

News Sourced by Property118 A new property platform has launched that allows property hunters to search for and sell their house while they’re on Facebook. Property Place is the only “fully embedded on Facebook” property portal, and has over 500,000 properties listed for the millions of UK Facebook users to search.