Property investors Brian and Mary Pat O’Donnell prospered in the boom times by buying up trophy office buildings in prime locations around the world, but are now fighting to hold on to their billion pound portfolio.

Prices are rising and the Bank of England is under pressure to raise interest rates to support the economy – but how does changing the interest rate affect what a family has to pay for food, fuel and mortgages? Inflation is the result of the amount of money spent in the economy increasing at a […]

By Neil Patterson, Partner of The Money Centre. Remember; insurance companies have to make money too, but as a landlord if you understand how they price schemes and view risk you can maximise savings on your portfolio.

Landlord Lynne Hampson faces jail for cheating the benefits system out of thousands of pounds and even spent some of the cash on extending her luxury home with a swimming pool to take in more paying tenants.

The monthly house price charade seems ridiculous when lenders and the government are still crunching the numbers for November when online stores and personal banking web sites can deliver real time stock and account details in seconds.

Landlords are often fined huge sums in court for failing to maintain their properties.  Some deserve their fines but many others are confused by the law and rely on advice from letting agents and other property professionals who may not know much better themselves.  This troubleshooting guide for buy to let landlords answers many of […]

Cash-strapped banks are offering to write off huge amounts to encourage landlords and property investors to remortgage to another lender. Some banks are offering up to 25% of any mortgage debt as an incentive.

The big freeze sent a chill through the housing market as sales slumped to an eight-year low in December. Estate agents say sales plummeted to just an average two per branch for the month – the lowest figure since January 2003.

Business guru Gerry Robinson is turning his talents to solving inheritance tax and estate planning problems for families in a new TV show. The new six-part series ‘You Can’t Take It With You’ starts on BBC2 tonight (January 14) with a look at families who want to split their money between their children and favourite […]

This is a story of how I will quadruple my gross annual rent in 2011 on a £120,000 property.

The Bank of England base rate remains unchanged despite economic pressures to step up a gear. The Bank’s monetary policy committee voted to keep the rate at 0.5% for a record 22 consecutive months.

The buy to let mortgage war is hotting up as more lenders cut rates as they grapple with each other to grab a larger share of the market. Landlords are not likely to make property investment mortgages easier to access – lenders are just vying with each other to attract business to their companies rather […]

Landlords can have a say about government reforms on local housing benefit for private tenants by taking up an invitation from the Residential Landlords Association (RLA). The RLA has sent out a plea to thousands of members to participate in an online survey.

Many landlords are worried that they will face problems paying their buy to let mortgages as more tenants are struggling to pay their rents.

A leading buy to let mortgage lender has warned landlords to watch out for an email scam. A bogus email seemingly sent by Platform Home Loans asks property investors for a processing fee and identification details that lets the lender release mortgage funds.

Commercial investors are celebrating average property values increasing by 8.9% and returns of 16.1% for 2010.

The two new topics will be: Cautionary Tales – this will include Case Studies from a panel of landlords and professional advisors explaining how they or their clients lost money and what they now do differently.

Buy to let lenders keen to attract new landlords have released several broker-only products with some keen incentives. Although most industry experts have predicted availability of funds will remain tight for several months, some lenders want to broaden their market share by extending borrowing to buy to let investors.

Property price rises and falls added up to the average home losing £110 in value every week last year, according to mortgage lender the Halifax. The average house price at the end of December was £162,435 – down £5,741 across the year and representing a drop of just 1.6% for the 12 months.

Two of the UK’s largest buy to let mortgage providers have introduced a criteria not to accept mortgage applications for properties purchased through property sourcers.  This has angered many people who don’t have the time to source properties for themselves or the necessary negotition skills.

This week I’ve been involved in a group debate with three people who hide their identity on a popular property investors forum. The people on the opposite side of the debate consider me to be a property Bull and themselves to be Bears.  They do not invest into property.  One went under the handle “Wisebear”.