Page 950 – Property118
HMO fire death trap

“Death trap flat” landlords stripped of HMO licences

17th May 2011

Husband and wife property investors Michael and Margaret McQueen were branded as unfit landlords by councillors and have lost their licences to run a ‘death trap’ shared student house. Councillors decided they had a ‘total disregard’ for the upkeep of a flat housing seven students after hearing a damning fire safety report.

Young man with a house in thought bubble

Top 20 places for student property investors revealed

17th May 2011

A new student letting study has revealed the top 20 university cities in the UK for property investors. London comes out top of the pile – closely followed by Kingston-upon-Thames, Brighton, Edinburgh and Oxford. But rents outside the capital performed best – showing a 4.1% increase in 2010, while those in London slipped by 3.6%.

Spoof buy to let services make Google first page – this video explains how and why

17th May 2011

We recently introduced Nicket & Legett, the now infamous law company in Norwich that doesn’t exist, simply type BUSINESS LAWYERS NORWICH into Google and there they are on page #1. The You Tube video below explains why we created this particular spoof and a few others for training, PR and marketing purposes to promote the […]

Big red arrow pointing downwards

Mortgage lending – the real figures, not the spin

16th May 2011

The true state of the housing market is revealed by blowing away the smoke and breaking the mirrors that expensive PR erect to deflect the truth. The Council of Mortgage Lenders, the industry voice for all the UK’s largest banks and building societies, bravely states that remortgaging is up for the first quarter of 2011.

The Apprentice

Revealed – The house starring in BBC’s The Apprentice

16th May 2011

The candidates in this year’s The Apprentice series are living in a luxurious £4.67 million mansion in south-west London. Mark Halliley, the narrator of the top rating BBC TV series tantalising dropped a clue that the house was near Richmond, Surrey, in the voice over – but the exact location was secret until now.

Glen Ackroyd photo

How to get your property portfolio off “death row”

13th May 2011

With interest rates at a historic low, guest article writer Glen Ackroyd from National Property Group explains the steps he’s taking to protect his buy to let property portfolio from inevitable interest rate rises and taking his portfolio off “death row”. In September 2008 I was having what was supposed to be my dream holiday. […]

rustic looking Gavel

Landlords launch legal challenges over HMO licensing

12th May 2011

Hundreds of landlords are mounting two legal challenges against council policies over planning and licensing for shared houses. Landlords in Accrington, Lancashire and Margate, Kent, are preparing cases for judicial review in the High Court to force their local councils to rethink how they enforce house in multiple occupation (HMO) laws.

money dropped in Piggy bank,

Beat tax and inflation with a top rate savings account

12th May 2011

Inflation busting savings, with tax-free bonus boosting investment returns, are back for business with National Savings and Investments (NS&I). The government backed savings accounts threaten to beat most other investments as they are linked to the Retail Price Index (RPI), which is currently running above the Consumer Price Index (CPI), the measure for most other […]

Buy to let lending is down despite what lenders say

12th May 2011

Buy to let mortgage lending, in the first three months of this year, was down on the previous quarter despite the number of loan deals and lenders increasing. Lending for the quarter ending March 31was 27,600 new loans, totalling £2.9 billion, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders, the industry voice of the UK’s major […]

Handshake on cityscape background

Buy to let landlords offered choice of 463 mortgage deals

12th May 2011

Lenders are encouraging buy to let landlords to invest in more property by increasing the number of mortgages and dropping interest rates. Independent financial information firm Moneyfacts monitors the market and has disclosed borrowers can choose from around 463 buy to let deals – 55% up on the 299 mortgages offered 12 months ago.

A million buy to lets may slip in to negative equity

12th May 2011

A million buy to let properties could slide in to negative equity over the next two years if house prices keep falling, warns credit rating firm Standard and Poors. Analysts at the agency reckon if house prices dropped by 5% this year and next year, 30% of the UK’s 3.1 million buy to let homes […]

Landlords could see red over Green Deal letting ban

12th May 2011

Landlords are warned  that around 680,000 buy to let homes could face a rental ban if they are not upgraded to meet new energy efficiency laws. The warning was issued by Energy and Climate Secretary Chris Huhne, as part of the second reading of the Energy Bill in Parliament.

Does your tenancy agreement give you confidence?

11th May 2011

Tenancy agreements are important. They make it clear what you expect from your tenant and when they sign the dotted line you have a contract stipulating they will abide by the rules you have set down. That’s the theory.

The Modernizer, Property Renovation & Maintenance Kings Lynn and Norwich

11th May 2011

Specialising in property renovation, modernisation and maintenance for over 15 years. Whether you are a full time property investor who needs a project manager to organise the maintenance of your property portfolio or you simply need a bit of decorating, a new kitchen or bathroom fitted and anything in between The Modernizer can help. The […]

aa lettings logo

Introducing AA Lettings, Kings Lynn & Norwich, Norfolk

11th May 2011

AA-Lettings operate in Kings Lynn (PE30) and Norwich (NR), specialising in property management in the areas of South Wootton, North Wootton, Taverham, North Norwich and Norwich City Centre. AA-Lettings has a huge list of quality tenants who are desperate to find quality rental property in the areas above. SPECIAL OFFER – AA-Lettings pay £25 for […]

Bank of England

Bank of England Overview of Inflation Report May 2011

11th May 2011

The Bank of England Overview of Inflation Report (May 2011) was released today. Click HERE to be redirected to a PDF report on the Bank of England web-site. Your comments and feedback are always greatly appreciated, please see below.

House prices still falling, says the Halifax

9th May 2011

House prices are still slowly going down – but worries about mortgage interest rates and jobs are likely to buoy the market, according to the Halifax. The lender, one of the UK’s largest mortgage providers and part of the Lloyds TSB banking group, explained a fall in home values by 1.4% in April from March […]

VAT’s the problem for property developers

9th May 2011

How to handle VAT on labour and materials for property conversions is a recurring problem for landlords and property developers. The question pops up regularly from property investors who have ventured in to shared house conversions. Shared houses, or houses in multiple occupation (HMO) present special planning, VAT and tax problems as they are wrapped […]