Page 951 – Property118

It’s the little things that make a big difference!

16th April 2011

Do the little things that make a big difference? If you are unsure, try going to sleep with a mosquito in your bedroom! What tips can you share to minimise rental voids.  Here’s one to get you started. When a tenant serves notice arrange to meet with them.  Let them know why it is so […]

Bank of England

When do you think interest rates will rise?

16th April 2011

My business partners keep a very close eye on the economy by attending several Bank of England briefings and reading their agents Summary Business Reports and minutes of meetings, all of which are publicy available and shared here.

Now there’s a north/south buy to let rent divide

15th April 2011

The great property divide between London, the southeast, and the rest of the country has now started to extend in to rents. Survey after survey in recent months has confirmed house prices in the region are outstripping those in the rest of the UK.

Landlords fined for breaching shared house rules

15th April 2011

Two Leeds landlords were fined for failing to comply with house in multiple occupation (HMO) regulations. Brian Davison, of Horsforth, was fined £5,000 and ordered to pay costs of £1,829, for failing to licence his property in Burley.

Help for landlords with problem tenants

14th April 2011

An introductory article written by Paul Shamplina, founder of Landlord Action, explaining how he got in to the business of helping landlords with bad tenants. This is Paul’s first article in an eBook series. A list of future articles coming soon is featurd below.

Brokers split on buy to let mortgage lending

14th April 2011

Buy to let mortgage brokers are split on the performance of the sector since the start of the year – with one half claiming business is booming while the rest report no change.

Shock tax checks surprise property businesses

14th April 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  specialises in providing taxation advice and accountancy services for property investors.

Buy to let couple’s row over money ended in murder

13th April 2011

Buy to let landlord Michael Parkinson was allegedly stabbed to death by his wife after their property dream soured under financial pressures. Jennifer Parkinson, 65, denies murdering her 63-year-old husband after a row at their home in Gosport, Hampshire.

TMW hots up buy to let mortgage war with new deals

12th April 2011

A range of new buy to let mortgages is available from leading lender The Mortgage Works from April 13. The Mortgage Works (TMW) – the specialist buy to let lending arm of the Nationwide Building Society – is among the UK’s largest lenders to residential property investors.

Sad house with Buy me plz in speech bubble

London leads the way in static UK housing market

12th April 2011

The housing market is firmly stuck in the doldrums with little hope of easing in the near future, according to the latest data – with London standing out as the only high spot. Estate agents say house prices and sales remained static in March. While the Communities and Local Government Department (CLG) released figures for […]

Video Interview – Asset & Legacy protection for Property Investors

12th April 2011

Mark Alexander, founder of Property118.com, interviews Jason Howard of Insight Fininacial Associates on Asset and Legacy protection for property investors. Something all landlords should consider within their financial planning strategy. Please contact us for more details.

Smiling house with a hammer

Commercial conversions boost for HMO developers

11th April 2011

Property investors could profit from government plans to encourage development of empty offices in to new housing. Communities Secretary Eric Pickles has announced proposals to remove planning restrictions to stimulate the developments – and the move is a good fit with councils seeking to dilute concentrations of shared houses in residential areas.

Judge throws out HMO challenge from councils

11th April 2011

A High court judge has thrown out a challenge to the government’s decision to review house in multiple occupation planning rules. Four councils led by Milton Keynes argued at the High Court, London, that housing minister Grant Shapps’ decision to overturn planning rules for house in multiple occupation (HMOs) did not give planners enough time […]

Buy to let mortgage guiode logo

Buy to let mortgage options double for landlords

8th April 2011

Buy to let borrowers and property investors can choose from almost 300 mortgage packages – more than double the number available a year ago. Competition between banks and building societies has hotted up as more lenders joined the market, and is set to intensify as more prepare to start lending in the coming months.

Mortgage lending springs back after a downbeat winter

8th April 2011

Mortgage lending thawed in February after a drab couple of months affected by the bad weather. The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) figures were upbeat all round for first time buyers, movers and remortgages.

Lorna Rose of TenantID

Reducing the risk of a rogue tenant

8th April 2011

Guest Blog from Lorna Rose of TenantID For some reason mortgage defaults increased during the first 3 months of this year. I’m not an economist, but I suspect the current financial climate may have had something to do with it.