Page 933 – Property118

Buy to let landlord pays £1,400 for failing to check gas safety

4th March 2011

A landlord who failed to safety check and look after gas appliances in a buy to let house rented to a tenant has to pay £1,400 fines and costs. Property investor Michael Smith was reported to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) by his tenant for failing to provide a valid gas safety certificate.

Slum landlords cash in on homeless by renting sheds with a bed

4th March 2011

Renting a shed with a bed to illegal immigrants is the latest money making idea from crooked landlords. Slough Council has uncovered 2,500 garden sheds, outhouses and lean-to’s converted in to squalid living space in a continuing battle against the problem.

Mark Alexander

Feedback required on Landlordzone.co.uk

3rd March 2011

I came across this web-site recently (http://www.landlordzone.co.uk) and I thought it looked very professional.  Can anybody who’s used it give me some feedback on it, positive or negative please, especially paying advertisers, do you get a return on your investment?  

Buy to let rents will keep going up, say letting agents

3rd March 2011

>Buy to let rents are rising fast as more tenants chase fewer properties, say letting agents.  They returned the highest positive rating ever in the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors residential lettings survey as four out of 10 letting agents confirmed rents continued to increase.

Spotlight on Robin Pilley, HMO investor – Part one of a four part story

2nd March 2011

Robin Pilley invests into HMO’s (Houses in Multiple Occupation) in the Haverhill area and regularly achieves up to 16% yields, he is also a Director of CXG Property Services, which is a Letting Agents and Property Sourcing Company.  We’ve asked Robin to share his story in a four part series as these yields are so […]

How to handle a property tax compliance letter

1st March 2011

Landlords and property investors are receiving letters from  the taxman that seem to ask innocent questions about their property businesses but really have a sting in the tail.

Billions gifted to the government by lazy taxpayers

28th February 2011

Guest Blog provided by Steve Sims, author of ‘Understanding And Paying Less Property Tax For Dummies’.  Steve and his wife Amanda also have a boutique accountancy business which specialisis in providing taxation advice and accountancy services for property investors. Taxpayers who can’t be bothered to work on their financial affairs are gifting the government £13.5 […]

Buy to let homes more affordable for landlords

28th February 2011

Prices of buy to let properties in many large towns and cities have dropped to more affordable levels for investors. Research from mortgage lender the Halifax shows a budget of £150,000 for a buy to let now buys a wider range of suitable properties in the UK’s top 10 cities than at the height of […]

Due Diligence – By Mark Alexander

27th February 2011

I am constantly amazed when I hear that people spend a fortune on property education courses or invest their pension pots into unbuilt apart-hotels in far flung places and then end up losing a fortune.  Don’t they Google these things or ask people without a vested interest for advice?

Buy to let market doubled in a decade

25th February 2011

The number of private renters is increasing while home ownership is in decline, according to the latest housing survey for England from the Department for Communities and Local Government.

Revealed – the councils taking on extra HMO powers

24th February 2011

Student landlords looking to expand their portfolios need to move quickly in many towns and cities to avoid new rules that require shared houses to apply for planning permission. Currently, a house in multiple occupation (HMO) investor can start letting to tenants without any licences or permissions, providing the house is less than three floors […]