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 […]

The Association of Independent Inventory Clerks has once again warned buy to let landlords to conduct inventories properly, even for unfurnished properties. They say it’s not just the ‘loose’ contents that need protecting with an inventory but carpets, bathrooms and even walls and cupboards. Worktop chips and scratches should be recorded in the inventory, as […]

Will changes in funding provide threats to private rented sector landlords or an incentive for parents of students to become landlords themselves to offset rising costs of education?

Next year I will have been a landlord for 40 years and I am going to throw a boomerang at each of my good tenants via twitter (@landlordtweets) during the month of December. I am fed up of hearing tenants from hell stories, most of my tenants over the past 40 years have been great […]

We’ve had our Indian Summer and weren’t some of the sunsets amazing!  Now apparently because the berries were on a certain shrub over August , we are in for a hard and cold winter.  I always thought that if the berries were untouched till late then it was because they were being saved for winter. […]

The latest pointless buy to let survey has hit the news feeds with the headline finding that broker buy to let mortgage applications are up 3.1% during the three months ending September 30. The problem is the figure is meaningless as the Paragon Mortgages survey gives no idea of the number of brokers taking part […]

Join UK landlords and associated businesses by posing your questions which will be featured in future blogs and video’s on YouTube and Property118.com. Please allow me to explain further ….

When a tenant has a beef with their landlord, I’m the guy they go to. My job is to either negotiate or prosecute, depending on the circumstances. This occasional and random series aims to let landlords know the common complaints that are made about them, the laws that cover them and how to deal with […]

Maps that show commuting times to a destination postcode are a great aid for landlords who want to highlight public transport links near their properties. Students and universities are big users of the new mapping service that works out bus and train travel times. Landlords can use the maps to show prospective tenants just how […]

The North may be lighting up the house sale statistics, but the number of homes changing hands is still down by almost half in the past 10 years. Bury leads the way with a massive 44% surge in sales in the first six months of 2011, compared with the same time last year.

The latest Homelet index found average rent prices dropped last month, only the second time it’s dropped in successive months this year. Across the country prices fluctuated, some regions saw big price drops while the regions where prices rose only did so slightly, accounting for the drop. East Anglia saw the biggest drop, dropping back […]

Judges have deemed new government rules to cap housing benefit and rental home sizes do not discriminate against poor families. The Child Poverty Action group launched a legal challenge against the shake-up of housing benefit rules as part of the government’s universal credit policy. As part of the welfare review, the government changed housing benefit […]

Buy to let rents are too high and are locking poorer working families out of finding homes to rent, warns a housing charity. Rent amounts to a third or more of take home pay in more than half of towns and cities across the country, says Shelter. The result is almost four out of 10 […]

When a tenant has a beef with their landlord, I’m the guy they go to. My job is to either negotiate or prosecute, depending on the circumstances. This occasional and random series aims to let landlords know the common complaints that are made about them, the laws that cover them and how to deal with […]

A landlord was fined £12,000 for failing to provide a fire alarm and electricity supply in a shared house he let to tenants. Sikander Hayat admitted seven safety offences in breach of house in multiple occupation regulations at Banbury Magistrates Court. In addition to the fines, he was ordered to pay £300 costs. Councillor Debbie […]

Tenants are still clamouring for buy to let homes, according to the latest survey of landlords. Many landlords (44%) reckon tenant demand has increased in the three months ending September 30th, says Paragon Mortgages, the firm instructing the research. Only 4% feel demand decreased. Almost half of landlords (49%) feel tenant demand will carry on […]

What better time to discuss holiday lets than whilst I’m on holiday? Are holiday lets a viable investment and how easy is it to manage a property at distance? Please share your thoughts and experiences. Whether you are into holiday let’s or not this video is well worth a watch just to enjoy the wonderful scenery of Taormina in […]

With the property market continuing to make headlines we have another great selection of articles for you ranging from the latest lender announcements, housing market survey updates and guest articles from industry experts.This week our new ‘video blog’ section features discussions on property management & refurbishment, landlord accreditation schemes and overseas holiday lets. These are […]