Property Forum for Residential Landlords - All Forums

BTL living space size

Thu, 05 Dec 2013 20:58:18 +0000

Hi - I'm in the process of buying a BTL one bedroomed flat in Bristol. Is there a minimum required space for the open plan kitchen/dining/living area? It's an Edwardian conversion, not a new build.

Rent Guarantee Insurance for LHA Tenants

Thu, 05 Dec 2013 20:40:02 +0000

Hi,

Just wondering if anyone can recommend an insurance company that offers RGI for LHA tenants, preferably for tenants that are 100% LHA? I'm probably asking a lot here and if it is available, I'm expecting the premium to be quite high but worth a shot. Also, if anyone has used this before, did you ever make a claim? What was the claims process like? Did they try to avoid paying out?

Thanks,
Gary.

Advice on Care Home investment please

Thu, 05 Dec 2013 19:31:02 +0000

Hi there,

I have been looking for some by to let and have 3 already , and came a cross such an interesting project .

It a Care home that generate % 10 NET for 10 years .

It features :

No hidden purchase costs - legal fees included
No running costs or maintenance charges during the 10 years
After 10 years retain for 50% share of profits, sell on the open market or should the developer offer buy back, this would be a minimum of 125%
Minimum weekly charges for residents, set by the Government
Long leasehold of 125 years
Managed by an experienced and well established Care Home operator

Now we might all agree that this NOT like student accommodation as its slightly different . First the market is not overwhelmed with theses projects , and in fact there might be shortage of such projects .
Second elderly people are good potential investment as far as I can see .

Any ideas or thoughts please ?

Your kind and in depth experience are highly appreciated .

Regards

Professional HMO and gardens…

Thu, 05 Dec 2013 16:06:40 +0000

How important is good access to a garden for a up-market professional HMO?

If the access to the small back garden was along an outside passage way, rather than from French doors in the kitchen would it make much difference to demand?

Foreigner lost in London

Thu, 05 Dec 2013 15:31:03 +0000

Hello everybody,
I am a Greek living in Athens .
I would like to invest in BTL property in the U.K. and I have a capital of 200,000 pounds.
My daughter will be doing a masters degree in UCL next year and She could use this property to live in during her studies ( she could spend more than 1 year in London), after which I could go on renting the property to other people.
I would like the property to be a flat, in a nice area , safe, close to the uni if possible and newly built or redone.
I have been looking at Zoopla and Rightmove in areas like Russell square and have understood that in those areas, I can only buy a studio with what i have and even need to get a small morgage on top of that. The rent I think could be around 1,200 pounds.
Should I do it , or should I get something outside London ( for ex. Canterbury ) where my money could buy a bigger property ( 2 bedroom flat) which can be let at the same price.
I am mainly interested in the income my money could get me.
I will be greatful of any advice
thanks

Refinancing / mortgage on mixed use

Thu, 05 Dec 2013 14:29:13 +0000

Hi all, long time lurker, first time poster. Thought you might be able to help out with something we are trying to make a decision on at the moment.

We have been doing domestic refurb and developments for a while but the market is crazy at the moment so we've been having a look at some other options including investing some cash for the longer term potentially.

We're looking at a mixed use building with A3 use (100m2) on ground and a couple of (fairly grotty) flats above. I think there is potential to get another flat at the back too. With an extra flat we'd be looking at about a 10% return on our investment, from the rent, which we could do in cash.

My question is really whether it's possible to remorgage these properties? Value with the extra flat would probably be around 900K and if we wanted to release some is that possible? I've been told various things from it being impossible, to it being possible to remorgage on shop value only to it being possible. I'd question the knowledge of some of the people telling me this so thought maybe some people on here may have better first hand knowledge?

Thanks for any help you can give.

Boilers! Boilers! Bl@#dy boilers

Thu, 05 Dec 2013 12:18:20 +0000

At this time of year i am wondering what landlords with multiple property do re boilers and ongoing costs of maintenance.

Do you
1.maintain existing boilers, replacing parts as required to keep them going
2.put problematic or old boilers on b.gas or other service contracts.
3.rip out old boilers once they start costing and boiler swap with new boilers and benefit from a 2 to 6 year parts & labour guarentee.
4.manage to get new boilers via eco funding.
5.buy a new boiler off jonny ball at £18 per month * read the small print

6....any / all of the above
7.any other sujjestions.

Its just that at the moment for me boilers are a real pain in the a@se and is costing me quite a bit of money and i wonder how other landlords are copeing

The Autumn Statement from a property and landlord perspective

Thu, 05 Dec 2013 12:05:42 +0000

Here are the highlights of the Autumn statement from a property, housing market, and landlord perspective:

The economy is forecast to grow 2.4% in 2014.

Employment in Britain is expected to decrease and the number of people claiming unemployment benefit in the U.K. has fallen 200K in the last three months.

Unemployment is forecast to fall 7.1% by 2015.

We have the lowest proportion of work-less households in the U.K. for 17 years.

Borrowing is down - £111 billion to be borrowed this year and £96 billion for next year.

Whitehall Departments are expected to under-spend by £7 billion next year.

Next April the state pension will rise by £2.95 per week making pensioners £800 per year better off.

Pension age to rise to 68 in the mid 2030's.

New cap on total welfare budget next year.

30% of income tax is paid by 1% of tax payers!

Huge measures being introduced to tackle tax avoidance and evasion.

Private GCT allowance on private residences will be halved.

Non U.K. residents will pay CGT on UK property sales from 2015.

"We have to build more homes" said Osbourne.

Residential house building to be stimulated with £1billion of funding.

Aldermore and Virgin to join the "Help to Buy Scheme".

The Bank of England to be given the responsibility and measures to deal with "asset bubbles". The Government believes that the property market is not over-heating.

The Bank of England will endeavour to keep interest rates "lower for longer".

For the next two years, every retail premises in England will a rate-able value up to £50,000 will get £1,000 discount off their rates.

Council tax will be frozen.

Families will be helped with Energy Bills. Some levies to be removed to reduce energy bills.

Next year's fuel duty rise will be cancelled. Fuel prices will be frozen.

Rail fares will be kept flat in real terms.

"Britain is moving again. Let's keep going!! was the rousing end to the 50 minute Autumn Statement.

No removal of mortgage interest relief for buy to let borrowers, as had been forecast.

Related content:

The managed payment of "housing element" of Universal Credit to landlords

HMRC has landlords in their sights

Interview with Live In Guardians > how to save £££ on empty commercial property rates

Thu, 05 Dec 2013 10:05:06 +0000

We came across Live In Guardians on twitter and thought they were offering an innovative service that PT'ers might be interested in.

Having a live in Guardian in an empty commercial property can reduce empty property rates hugely (by up to 90%), as the building owner can pay council tax instead.

Having a Live In Guardian on your refurb site can also protect against theft.

Tax treatment of capital costs if purchase falls through

Thu, 05 Dec 2013 09:41:04 +0000

I am aware that certain costs such as solicitors fees and surveys are taken into account as part of the capital costs when purchasing a property and hence form part of the capital gains tax element of a house sale rather than offsetting them as revenue costs.

How are such costs treated for tax if they are incurred on a potential purchase if the purchase falls through and does not go ahead?

December Tax Tip #4: How to save £thousands with LESA energy allowance.

Thu, 05 Dec 2013 09:05:10 +0000

Today's video tip from Rental Income Tax Advisors is how to save £thousands with the Landlord's energy saving allowance:

December Tax Tips:

Tax Tip #1: Delay your payments by using your coding notice

Tax Tip #2: Record your property losses

Tax tip #3: Reduce your payments on account

Buy house at high price or wait for prices to reduce?

Wed, 04 Dec 2013 23:42:17 +0000

Hi all

I am looking to purchase a property in Croydon, South London. This will be my second BTL. I have the funds to purchase a property up to 240k (with mortgage).

Just in the past couple of months, house prices have gone through the roof due to limited supply. An average 2 bed which would have cost around 200k is now going for around 230k.

Trying to get through to an agent to arrange a viewing is very difficult, not to mention you will be competing with plenty of other buyers, who according to a few agent's I have spoken to, are offering prices ABOVE asking price! Majority of houses I see on right move are already under offer by the time I contact the agent,

So this all made me think... I am not really in a position where I can be too picky about the property I want (due to the limited stock available) so is it best to wait until prices come down, or is that not likely due to happen anytime soon, and just pay more for a house now?

I guess it's kind of cross between a "where are house prices going?" type of question and a "should you buy when you have money, or when the market is at the bottom" question.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

How much works can you on a BTL mortgage?

Wed, 04 Dec 2013 22:27:08 +0000

I know you need to get the lenders permission to do anything much. Is a lender likely to agree to:

a) En-suite being added to bedrooms
b) Two small bedrooms being combined
c) An internal garage being converted into a sitting room or a bedroom
d) A small extension being built to provide more kitchen space

I am thinking of a property to be used as a HMO and doing the above would increase the yield, I don’t mind my money used to do the work being tried up for a year or two. The property could be used as a HMO without the work being done, just with a much lower income and I may not wish to do all the work at the same time.

Do lenders tend to be willing to agree to work being done before you have to commit to the mortgage?

HMO's in Nottingham

Wed, 04 Dec 2013 19:05:29 +0000

Hi,

I wanted to see if anyone had any recent experiences with HMO's in Nottingham? I am looking at a property with a view to converting it to a HMO for students and wanted to find out about your experience with the application process and how quickly it was processed etc?

If anyone has any idea on a rough cost estimate for the fire doors (5 bedrooms), fire alarm system and fire blankets etc, that would be useful as well.

Any info would be great.

Thanks
Chris

Life Assurance

Wed, 04 Dec 2013 18:29:10 +0000

I have just got a BTL mortgage after struggling for 6 months. It is interest only. Given that I have dependents, should I get life assurance to pay it off ?

What do the PT panel think ?

Thanks

Colin

Deal sourcing?deal buy and sell?

Wed, 04 Dec 2013 12:45:46 +0000

Hi

Any help appreciated..

We are looking at the opportunities which present themselves as a high yielding area ( Doncaster ) and low purchase prices available for the next few years . In the past I have bought upgraded and held but now the market is making a comeback however there will be deals that we would like to control and sell on as is..
Question..
What is the best fairest way to approach this..do we use an option agreement?if so how do we insure we get paid etc? Or do we exchange? As someone who as always liked to buy and hold I neve really built he skills to churn properties and sell..like to learn new things. Is the Auction route the best route?
We propose also to manage at 10% plus vat I would think we can easily be selling at a 8% to 10% plus gross yield we also are fans of LHA which we beleive can be more beneficial especially in Doncaster .

Thanks in advance.

Kim Stones

Landlord Insurance

Wed, 04 Dec 2013 12:41:05 +0000

Forgive me if this question has already been asked, but do you need landlord insurance on a leasehold flat in a block of 15+ flats where you pay service charges, ground rent etc?

December Tax Tip #3: Reduce your payments on account

Wed, 04 Dec 2013 08:30:44 +0000

Today's tip is regarding payments on account.

If you are one of the many landlords who face "payments on account" in January and July towards a future tax liability, remember to consider HMRC form SA303. Where taxpayers expect a drop in rental property profit year on year, form SA303 can be filed to reduce the payments on account.

As part of RITA's year round service, this is one of many areas we will review throughout the year for you, ensuring you pay the correct amount of tax, at the right time.

December Tax Tips:

Tax Tip #1: Delay your payments by using your coding notice

Tax Tip #2: Record your property losses

Any BTL Re-Mortgages where age disregarded?

Wed, 04 Dec 2013 00:08:36 +0000

SUGGESTIONS PLEASE :
Mortgage Term approaching for all my 3 residential BTLs in Scotland but been told at 69, I may not be able to remortgage.

Don't want to sell coz want to keep as legacies for children.

Anyone knows of lenders (conventional or otherwise) that would disregard my age for remortgages please?

Thanks,
SmallFry

class 3 council tax excemption

Tue, 03 Dec 2013 19:34:16 +0000

Hi all
I have a BTL and it has now just become void, Got a tenant lined up, so while the void is in place I sent a letter the the town hall to claim my class c exception from the council tax as I have always done, No problem, I then started decorating before the new tenant moves in the first week of Jan.
Today I have had a letter saying I can only have a week exception as the rules have changed. ????? Has anyone else had this , is it up to each council to set a time for class c, or is there a standard length? Does this seem unreasonable ? Best to all Rob

found the thread now