Unsurprisingly, this month I thought we could consider the effects of the Brexit vote on our individual property plans. As we prepare to move into unchartered territory many people seem to be transfixed with the potential downsides to the property industry. There has been anecdotal evidence in the press since the referendum of over £1bn […]
Many people I have spoken to over the years say that their biggest property regret is the properties they have sold. Whilst it may be true to say that you can’t keep them all, with property remaining a good hedge against inflation and having the ability to provide an income, you can easily understand this […]
As 2017 draws to a close, I thought I would reflect on the various events of 2017 from a property investor’s point of view. Perhaps we can learn a few lessons to improve our businesses, or perhaps the exercise will reveal a pattern to help us more accurately judge what the future may hold. As […]
“Failing to plan is planning to fail” – admittedly a fairly cheesy corporate slogan apparently credited to Benjamin Franklin but incredibly apt for anyone considering a property development. Due in part to the permitted development rules and the ability to use the prior notification method for gaining consent for development, many BTL landlords are now […]
With the new stamp duty rules and the proposals to prohibit landlords from offsetting mortgage interest against their profit, many landlords I talk to are considering how to maximize their portfolio in what could be described as a potentially new economic and political landscape. Some are looking to further develop sites they already own and […]
This month I want to visit the role of letting agents and to establish whether they are a luxury to assist your business, or an indispensable part of your business. A recent report from the UK Association of Letting Agents (UKALA) stated that 47% of landlords would forego the services of their letting agents if […]
Many letting agencies are started by people who begin as Buy to Let Investors. There is nothing wrong with that; in fact it is understandable that a landlord does a fantastic job with their own properties and feels that they can provide that level of service to others. Reality is often very different. It is […]
If being completely honest, mostlandlords can probably admit to allowing a tenant to move into a property without undertaking particularly thorough checks. Maybe the tenancy went well, or maybe with hindsight it was the most foolish thing you ever did! Referencing your potential tenant is a vital part of the tenancy process. It is like […]
Buy to Let is one of the most popular forms of investment but can also be fraught with danger. Recent research by Credit Expert shows that nearly half of all identity theft victims who knew their impostor were landlords. Indeed an alarming 40% of identity fraud is conducted by a tenant posing as the landlord. […]
The amount of legislation that landlords have had to adopt over the last few years has been quite staggering. Indeed, just in the last decade we have had to get used to Deposit Registration, Energy Performance Certificates, HMO Licensing and Selective Licensing to name but a few. This month we are going to look at […]
I am continually surprised at the number of landlords who do not insist on having a Guarantor in place to support a tenant application even when the tenant referencing results may have recommended one. So this month we will look at how you can use a Guarantor effectively in your tenancies. For the novices amongst […]
This month we are going to look at the regulations regarding fire safety for landlords or agents who are in control of either a block of flats or an HMO where there are communal areas. Many landlords will be aware that from October this year there will be a requirement to provide main smoke detectors […]
Now that the summer is over many investors will be looking for that autumn project to keep them busy until the Christmas countdown commences. Therefore this month we are going to look at how best to work with Estate Agents to ensure that you get access to the properties that you want. As an ex-estate […]
The 2004 Housing Act introduced a raft of new legislative frameworks and was arguably one of the most significant measures of Housing law of recent time. One of the more significant matters to emerge from the Act was the introduction of Selective Licensing schemes, which were enabled from April 2006. Government research had identified that […]
In previous months we have looked at what you should do prior to the start of a tenancy to minimize the risk of that tenancy going wrong. Whilst due diligence will doubtless reduce the risk of problems later on, it is still the case that tenancies can deteriorate due to a change in circumstances of […]
If we are honest I think that there are some landlords out there who see the Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) as a worthless document and an additional administrative chore which has to be undertaken. As an energy surveyor myself I really do see the merit in them and see the advantage for a more energy […]
Landlords, as most people, are creatures of habit and often do not respond well to the need for change. But it is such inertia which will cause landlords pain and suffering if they fail to adapt and change in the face of an enormously fluctuating landscape. The last twelve months have seen the introduction of some […]
This month I want to share an experience that happened to me so that we can all learn some lessons. One of my properties had been let for twelve years and the tenant vacated. It was a while since I had been to the property or the area, so for the reletting I selected an […]
It seems impossible to open a newspaper or internet news feed without seeing a case study of the impacts of the proposed tax changes on landlords. Indeed we are seemingly being bombarded by information detailing that we will be running our portfolios at a loss once Clause 24 comes into effect, meaning that landlords can only […]