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Saturday, July 31, 2010

Holiday homes - tax break change

The saga of those with holiday homes and their tax situation takes another turn.

This time to their detriment.

The Labour government swept away the tax benefits enjoyed by second home owners in April only for them to be reinstated by the Coalition.

The new government have now had a rethink and propose a compromise. Well there's a novelty.

Some tax advantages will be retained but there will be a higher hurdle rate for those qualifying for the business tax perks. To find out more.

Landlord tax - expert advice

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Friday, July 30, 2010

Tenants sells rental property

A tenant managed to sell his landlords London property for £1.4 million.

The tenant, Steven Rice successfully sold his Kensington rental property and was only finally caught when he attempted to transfer the sale funds into a Dubai bank account.

Rice used fake identities and falsified documents to take on the identity of his 83-year-old landlord Vernon Stratton.

Rice had also fraudulently rented a second house in Kensington and managed to obtain a £489,235 loan on the rental property but fortunately the money transfer was stopped just before completion.

Rice had also tried to a similar fraud on a £4 million rental property in Knightsbridge.

Good grief is this another worry to keep landlords awake at night.

Read more in the Metro

Reference my tenants

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New FREE letting guide

Landlords looking at advertising and marketing their property themselves should check out this new e-book written by Daniel Burgess a letting expert and Managing Director at the online property marketing company Discount Letting. Over the last 6 years Danniel has helped thousands of landlords get their properties viewed by 82 million home searchers & get their property let quick.

Over 8 chapters Daniel takes landlords through the process of marketing their property including the art of using photos and tips on how to write a rental advert.

The FREE 50 page e-book comes with loads of insider tips on how to best present your property to make sure your rental property gets let first.

How do I get a copy?

Simple - go to this link and sign up.

I've got mine.

FREE letting guide

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Rightmove - new search tool

The UKs most popular property portal has introduced a new search tool Draw-a-Search. This feature enables landlords to search for property outside conventional postcodes.

Draw-a-Search allows a landlord to sketch out and define their own area of search on a map and perform property searches in that specific location.

Miles Shipside, commercial director of Rightmove, said: “Home hunters often have a very specific search area in mind that does not neatly fit in a postcode area or a radius of a town.

“Using Draw-a-Search they can now specifically define that area to fully customise and fine-tune their property search process. It’s great news for Rightmove member agents that we have introduced another ground-breaking feature to impress their potential sellers and landlords.”

I've just used it straight away without even viewing the tutorial video. It's dead easy, click and draw and then save the area. You can view the properties meeting your defined search criteria within the area you create.

I'm glad to see that Rightmove are using some of their huge profits to invest in their functionality. For use it was the biggest but like Microsoft it certainly wasn't the best technology wise.

Landlord insurance - prime rates - portfolio discounts


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Thursday, July 29, 2010

Property price twitter - down

Down, down, deeper and down .............

House prices fall for the first time since Feb - Guardian
Recession fears bring on property price falls - Telegraph
Property prices hit 2006 levels - BBC
Mortgage approvals fall back to January levels - FT
Property prices forecast to fall over next five years - Telegraph
Property prices to fall by 8 percent in 5 years - DailyMail
How low can property prices go? - Daily Mail
House prices fall as demand declines - Independent



See all the property price tweets

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BTL Mortgages - most popular

Looking for a buy-to-let mortgage? Visit www.propertyhawk.co.uk and save time and money!

Our free online buy-to-let mortgage service aims to provide you with the most competitive buy-to-let mortgages in the market, whilst helping you choose a product to suit your individual requirements. You can use the free buy-to-let mortgage finder to get an instant personalised quote and apply for your mortgage online. There are no broker fees charged for this service so you could save yourself considerable time and money when arranging your next buy-to-let mortgage.

Below is a selection of the most popular buy-to-let mortgages currently available. For full information on these products, and all other buy-to-let mortgage schemes available to you, please visit www.propertyhawk.co.uk and click on Mortgages to use the free online buy-to-let mortgage finder. If you would like to discuss your requirements with a member of the support team please telephone 029 2069 5446.

Most popular buy-to-let mortgages
Interest RateOverall Cost for ComparisonMax LTVProduct DetailCompletion FeeEarly Repayment Charges
3.64% Tracker5.2% APR60%Variable tracker rate of BBR + 3.14% until 31/08/2012 then reverting to the lender's standard variable rate which is currently 4.99% for the remainder of the term. This product is available up to 60% LTV and the rental calculation is 125% at payrate. An application fee will apply.3.5%4% of original balance being repaid until 31/08/2012
3.79% Tracker5.3% APR60%Variable tracker rate of BBR + 3.29% until 30/09/2012 then reverting to the lender's standard variable rate which is currently 4.99% for the remainder of the term. This product is available up to 60% LTV and there is a rental calculation of 125% at a notional rate of 4.99%. An application fee will apply.3.5% (min £595)3% of amount being repaid until 30/09/2012
3.88% Tracker4.1% APR65%Variable tracker rate of BBR + 3.38% for the lifetime of the loan. This product is available up to 65% LTV and there is a rental calculation of 100% at a notional rate of 8.5%. An application fee will apply. Available on a repayment basis only and for loans up to £150,000. The completion fee is payable at offer stage.£16951% of original balance being repaid for 1 year
4.14% Tracker5.4% APR70%Variable tracker rate of BBR + 3.64% until 30/09/2012 then reverting to the lender's standard variable rate which is currently 4.99% for the remainder of the time. This product is available up to 70% LTV and there is a rental calculation of 125% at a notional rate of 4.99%. An application fee will apply.3.5% (min £595)3% of amount being repaid until 30/09/2012
4.35% Tracker5.1% APR75%Variable tracker rate of BBR + 3.85% for 1 year then reverting to a variable rate of BBR + 4.19% to give a current rate of 4.69% for the remainder of the term. This product is available up to 75% LTV and the rental calculation is 125% at payrate. An application fee will apply.3%3% of amount being repaid for 1 year
4.89% Fixed5.1% APR60%Fixed rate currently of 4.89% until 30/09/2012 then reverting to the lender's standard variable rate which is currently 4.74% for the remainder of the term. There is a free valuation up to £680 for purchases and remortgages and free legals or £200 contribution for remortgages only. This product is available up to 60% LTV and the rental calculation is 125% at payrate. There is a £250 booking fee and an application fee will apply.£14994% of amount being repaid until 30/09/2012
4.94% Tracker4.6% APR70%Limited company product. Variable tracker rate of BBR + 3.84% until 30/09/2011 then reverting to a variable rate of BBR + 3.49% to give a current rate of 3.99% for the remainder of the term. This product is available up to 70% LTV and the rental calculation is 125% at a notional rate of 4.99%. An application fee will apply.3.5% (min £595)3% of amount being repaid until 30/09/2011
4.99% Fixed5.5% APR80%4.99% fixed rate until 30/09/2011 then reverting the the lender's standard variable rate which is currently 4.99% for the remainder of the term. This product is available up to 80% LTV and there is a rental calculation of 125% at payrate. An application fee will apply.3% (min £595)5% of amount being repaid until 30/09/2011
5.4% Fixed5.3% APR75%Fixed rate of 5.40% until 01/10/2012 reverting to a variable rate of BBR + 4.24% to give a current rate of 4.74% for the remainder of the term. This product is available up to 75% LTV and there is a rental calculation is 125% at payrate. An application fee will apply.2.5%3% of amount being repaid until 01/10/2012
5.69% Fixed5.2% APR70%5.69% fixed rate until 01/11/2012 then reverting to the lender's standard variable rate which is currently 4.79% for the remainder of the term. This product is available up to 70% LTV and the rental calculation is 120% at payrate. An application fee will apply.2%4% of the outstanding balance as of 1st January until 01/11/2012

IMPORTANT! Due to current market conditions, lenders are withdrawing and replacing products with little or no notice.
Please check our website regularly to see the most up-to-date products available.

Please visit www.propertyhawk.co.uk and click on Mortgages to search the full product range and find a buy-to-let mortgage to suit your specific personal circumstances.

Email: info@propertyhawkbtlmortgages.co.uk

Tel: 029 2069 5446

Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgages. The Financial Services Authority does not regulate some forms of mortgage.

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Refurbishment - bridge to let

Landlords looking at doing a refurbishment of a potential buy-to-let property can now take advantage of bridging finance during the development period and then move on to a long-term buy-to-let mortgage once works have been completed.

The 'bridge to let' finance is provided by Tiuta and is available through mortgage broker TBMC.

The product consists of a six month bridging loan up to 75% of the open market value at 1.65% per month whilst works are carried out, followed by a two-year 6.99% fixed buy-to-let mortgage.

Andy Young, chief executive officer at TBMC, said:"We are pleased to offer this niche product which will be useful for professional landlords looking to purchase bargain properties in need of some refurbishment. For the right investor, this product enables portfolio development and leaves little capital tied up at the end of the term."

Guy Garrard, head of business development at Tiuta, added: "In today’s lending market, many landlords are experiencing difficulty arranging buy-to-let finance for properties that need upgrading before letting them out. They have access to bridging finance for refurbishment but no guaranteed exit route. Tiuta’s bridge-to-let scheme caters specifically for this type of property investment, giving landlords the security of a buy-to-let mortgage after completion of the works."

Mortgage search - whole of market



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Good news on interest rates

Interest rates could be held at 0.5% until 2014 according to a recent article in Thisismoney.

Low interest rates is great news for many landlords with buy-to-let mortgages secured on their rental properties. The downside is that rates will remain at their record low whilst the Bank of England still fears a double dip in house prices & potentially the UK descending into a deflationary spiral.

The Bank of England's base rate has now been fixed at 0.5% since March 2009. This is the lowest rate since the Bank's creation in 1694.

The accountant Ernst & Young's Item Club forecast the rate may remain there for another four years.

Landlord insurance quote - prime rates

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Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Olympic effect - property investors

Only 2 years to go before the start of the 2012 Olympics.

Many property investors will see the up and coming London 2012 Olympics as a once in a lifetime opportunity to invest in London real estate and make a fortune out of the potential regeneration spin offs.

I recently went down to East London & carried out my own East London research on the potential investment opportunities in investing in London property and identifying the most promising areas to buy.

Have a look at my East London Odyssey and my area by area London analysis.

It could well be that the streets of London are paved with gold & not only on the Olympic track!

Landlord insurance - prime rates

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Savills predicts rent rises

Savills has predicted that an imbalance in supply and demand for rental property will result in healthy growth in rents over the next few years.

Yolande Barnes estimates that the UK faces a total shortfall of 1.138m homes by 2016.

This shortfall is particularly evident in London, where corporate tenants are adding to the numbers seeking high end rental properties.

Data from Savills show that prime rental growth is surging with rents up 2.5% in the second quarter taking annual growth to 5.6%. This leaves rental values at just 8.8% of their peak.

Savills is forecasting that rents will end the year 8% higher than at the end of 2009. It predicts rental growth of 7% in both 2011 & 2012 for prime London rental properties.

Landlord insurance - prime rates

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Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Buy-to-let yields - an assessment

I was interested to read a recent bit of research by Savills on buy-to-let yields across the UK.

The report in the FT indicates that rising rents are having a beneficial effect on residential investment yields.

A residential investment yield
simply measures the relationship between capital values and rents. Its a key metric for any landlord in assessing an investment.

The report shows unsurprisingly that rental yields in London and the south are the lowest with gross yields being 5.29% for Greater London & as low as 4.37% in Bath. The highest residential investment yields can be found in Liverpool and Manchester which record 6.89% and 6.43% respectively.


What do residential yields show us?

The interesting aspect of a residential investment yield is that in much the same way as dividend yields can indicate the market perceived view on the potential for capital growth and risk. A low residential investment yield is not therefore bad. For instance, take Bath for example. At just over 4% a landlord is unlikely to be buying such a property for income. However, what the figure implies is that there is strong demand for these properties & it is confident about future continued capital growth. Comparing Bath to Manchester and Liverpool, the market suggests that it is less confident about house prices in these two cities. Knowing the demographics of the two areas I would say that this is a fair assessment. We have witnessed recently in the decline in houses prices that prime towns and cities such as Bath and parts of London suffered less from house prices falls and recovered more strongly than other parts of the UK earning them the reputation of 'Teflon Towns'.

Lies Damm Lies and Statistics

The difficulty with statistics such as those produced by Savills is that they do little to measure the real yield that landlords are achieving on their investments. This is because they measure average capital values of property in an area and then use the average rent achieved. However, property investors will generally target certain types of property such as 1 & 2 bed apartments. The general rule for yields is that these increase the smaller a property is. Yields for a single room or HMO will be highest, whilst those for a large detached property are lowest.

As investors will generally target higher yields then the actual yields being achieved by landlords I would suggest are somewhat higher than those suggested by the Savills figures.

Target yields

Personally, I am not confident of house price growth in the UK over the next 5 years or so. I do think that landlords need to reorientate them to an income led investment approach where capital appreciation is an added bonus not necessary a 'given' as it has been for the last 20 years. I'm therefore setting a target yield of around 8%. To me that gives a reasonable cushion on finance costs when interest rates rise and also a fair compensation for the added hassle of having to manage a property rather than investing in a more passive form of investment.

Do you have a target yield? I'd be interested to know what yours is & whether landlords are still going for capital growth, income or both when making investments.


Landlord insurance - portfolio rates available

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Life of a landlord

Sometimes the media love to picture a life of doom and gloom for landlords and property investors.

Experienced landlords know that blocked sinks, leaky roofs and tenants that stop paying rent can be a drag.

So sometimes you just have to treat yourself and get away from the daily grind.

I went down to Oxford last week & treated my girlfriend to a birthday meal at Le Manoir.

Fantastic food (I was bracing myself to be disappointed but wasn't) & beautiful gardens which you can wander round at your pleasure. As always my girlfriend managed to choose the best plates of food. How does she do that?

Anyway, back to it this week: garage that needs a new lock, annoying roof leak that wont go away & a planning department that likes to say NO!

I put up a little photo just to remind myself what the daily grind is all about.....so you can enjoy yourself once in a while......

Landlord insurance quote

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Monday, July 26, 2010

Tips on Tenancy Deposit Disputes 7: What Adjudicators Want


Tip 7: Give the Adjudicator What They Want

I don’t mean that you should try to bribe the adjudicator but that you should try to see your claim from an adjudicator’s perspective before submitting it to your scheme’s ADR service. Your claim will probably be just one of several to pass across the adjudicator’s desk that day, and they will almost certainly be busy and have targets to meet.
In order to get off on the best foot, you should try to make their job as easy as possible. As one of my law tutors used to say, your written submissions are there to give the judge the reasons they will use when deciding in your favour. You have the adjudicator’s undivided attention for a few minutes. Make sure you state your case clearly and precisely, so that they can see straight away what is at issue and how your arguments relate to the tenant’s claims.
You will do yourself no favours if you force the adjudicator to go rooting around in your supporting documents, trying to work out the basis of your claim from your evidence. It’s frustrating and time consuming for the adjudicator, and you will only have yourself to blame if they misunderstand part of your claim.




Tom Derrett is the Principal of Deposit Claim, an ex-adjudicator and an expert on the Deposit Protection Schemes.


Free property management software, Free tenancy agreements
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BTL yield is the future


The Times has reported that Price Waterhouse Coopers have predicted that shares are going to out perform property in terms of investment returns over the next ten years, averaging a 5 percent annual return compared with 3 percent from increases in property prices.

(We would love to of linked to the article but obviously this would only work if you were willing to pay the Times subscription fees.)

PWCs prediction does not factor in rental yields which landlords should look at as their primary investment focus as capital growth becomes the secondary partner.

It's all about the rental yield for landlords from here on in.


BTL mortgages
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Double dip expectation

Debate as to whether we will be tasting a double dip in property prices or not in the Independent.

The tingling sensation in my mouth indicates that we probably............. will.

Read the Independent analysis here

Landlord insurance quotes
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Early Bird Grand Designs tickets


Grand Designs Live is on again. The dates are 8-10 October 2010 and it's at the NEC Birmingham.
You can save £5 per ticket by booking in advance.


Free property management software, Free tenancy agreements


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The ultimate iphone App?

The property portal Zoopla has launched what it is claiming to be the ultimate property iphone App.

This App gives:

* instant estimates on every properties value (all 27 million)
* current listing of property for sale
* sold property data for over 15 million properties dating back to 1995

I sounds ideal for landlords out in the field trying to pinpoint a property bargain.

Anybody used it yet. Is it any good?

Let us know by posting your comments.

Landlord insurance - professional rates

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Finance for flats above shops

I was chatting in the gym to Natalie, an old sparring partner of mine. No literally she was a sparring partner. We used to do a boxing class together & she's got a very effective left hook from what I remember.

It turns out that she is a self employed surveyor who does work for the Nottingham Building Society. Small world I used to be a surveyor too.

It turns out that the Nottingham BS after the spate of mergers and take overs is now the 10th largest building society. Interestingly it also transpires that the Nottingham specialises in providing finance for commercial property with residential units above.

Therefore, landlords looking at acquiring property with residential units over commercial premises or where they are buying a rental property in a mixed block where finance may be a problem should try the Nottingham BS.

Expert Mortgage Advice


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Sunday, July 25, 2010

Buying a repossession - tips

My experience recently highlights several aspects of being successful in buying a repossession.

Firstly, a landlord has to act quickly. Therefore, cash is king. Repossessions are increasingly being handled by specialist asset management companies who charge a fee to the lender to manage they sale. The lender is therefore keen to get rid of their property ASAP in order to keep charges to these companies as low as possible.

Lenders are under a legal obligation to obtain the most for any of the repossession they sell. This means that a landlord attempting to buy a repossession is always exposed to a potential counter bid. The secret is to get the sale to exchange to ensure that no other potential purchaser can secure the property.

Landlord insurance - professional rates

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Saturday, July 24, 2010

More repossessions on the way

Landlords who are hoping to pick up a property on the cheap as a result of the repossession by a mortgage company may be having more property coming their way in the Autumn if latest reports are anything to go by.

The warning comes from the Consumer Credit Counselling Service (CCCS), a debt charity which offers mortgage arrears and repossessions counselling to anyone who is two or more months behind with their mortgage payments.

It says it is counselling a “large number” of clients with suspended repossession orders on their homes which lenders have chosen not to enforce despite clients failing to meet payments stipulated by courts.

The CCCS says more arrears can be expected in October when Support for Mortgage Interest payments for those who have lost their jobs are halved from 6.08% to 3.09%, to match the Bank of England’s average mortgage rate.

Delroy Corinaldi, CCCS’s director of external affairs, said: “There is no doubt that lenders have shown leniency towards debtors during the recession by not enforcing suspended possession orders. However, this leniency may have been partly determined by the markets.

“In addition, some lenders are increasingly showing reluctance in allowing struggling debtors to switch to interest-only mortgages as a short-term solution, giving people the necessary breathing space to find other more sustainable options.”

Repossession is often a tradegy for individuals. However, as many landlords know this unfortunate financial turn of events can often represent a real investment opportunity for a property investment to pick up a bargain.

See my forthcoming tips on picking up a repossession.

Landlord insurance - price beat promise for portfolios

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Friday, July 23, 2010

Rental arrears ease

The FT has just reported that a fifth of private- residential landlords have had tenants in rent arrears over the last 3 months.

The report based on research by the National Landlords Association indicates that 24.5% of landlord reported a problem with rent arrears in the first quarter of 2010. The average amount of outstanding rent now averages around £800 compared to around a £1000 at the start of the year.

I suspect that this figure does not represent an accurate picture across the private rental sector. The reason for this. NLA are probably basing their research on their relatively small membership of fifteen or so thousand landlords. Many of these have large portfolios.

It stands to reason that if you have 100 properties there is a good chance that you will have one missed payment across your portfolio during a 3 month period.

It just shows that statistics even when they feature in the FT can be misleading.

If I'm wrong with my assumption I'm sure that this will be pointed out with impressive alacrity by the NLA.

Reference my tenants

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A good rental property?

A general article on Channel4 Homes site frameworking what makes a good rental property.

What to avoid, what to look out for, that kind of thing.

Read the channel 4 article here

Free property management software, Free tenancy agreements
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Community Right to Build

The new 'Community Right to Build' is looking to enable local people and communities across England to decide where to create new homes, shops business and facilities where they want them and where they are needed, not where local councils and central government think they should be and free from unnecessary red tape and bureaucracy.

Housing Minister Grant Shapps said:

"Far from the Nimbyism that often hits the headlines, up and down the country there are entire communities willing and eager to give the go-ahead for new developments in their area. The countryside must be a vibrant place to live, and cannot be allowed to become a museum. I want to give communities the power to preserve their villages, which are currently struggling to survive because of a shortage of affordable homes."


Read more on the new Community Right to Build here

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Thursday, July 22, 2010

Property price twitter

"What a swell party it was............"

House price falls as rush to sell swells supply - Dailymail
Housing market suffers in UK and US - Telegraph
House prices - where its cheaper to buy than rent - Citywire
House sales continue to increase - BBC
The 50 billion pound property unload is about to begin - Telegraph


See all the property price tweets

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Areas cheaper to buy than rent


An interesting article outlining the areas across the UK where it is cheaper to buy a property than to rent.

According to research by Zoopla it is still cheaper to buy a home than renting in 74% of locations around the UK .

With average monthly mortgage repayments typically 8% lower than the cost of renting the majority of the UK.

The areas that the research show as been cheaper to rent than buying are Huddersfield , Oldham, Brighton, Swansea, Bournemouth, Bristol, Cardiff, Plymouth, Stockport and Edinburgh.

Most of these are university towns and maybe are the areas that landlords should steer clear of investing in at this time according to Citywire.

BTL mortgage search tool
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How to avoid property tax

Taxcafe has today launched a fully updated edition of the No.1 bestseller:

"How to Avoid Property Tax

"

by Carl Bayley

The latest edition contains ALL of the tax changes announced in the June Budget, making it an essential addition to every property investor's bookshelf.

They have also just released a fully updated edition of How to Save Tax, which contains 134 pages of tax tips and is free when you purchase How to Avoid Property Tax.

Subjects covered in How to Avoid Property Tax include:

* A plain English guide to the new capital gains tax rules.
* How to minimise your CGT bill under the new rules.
* How to use trusts to get extra tax-free capital growth.
* How couples can now pay capital gains tax at just 10% on £10 million of capital gains.
* How your spouse or children can help you save more tax following the June Budget.
* How couples can save over £22,000 income tax every year.
* How to delay paying tax on rental income by up to 2 years.
* How to get the taxman to pay your travel costs (flights, hotels,restaurants).
* How to get a tax refund of £50,000 when you buy commercial property.
* How to write off new kitchens and bathrooms as repairs and get the taxman to pay 40%.
* Motoring costs you can claim.
* How to make the mortgage on your home tax deductible by borrowing against your buy-to-let properties.
* How to claim tax relief for mortgage interest even if the money is used for personal reasons.
* How re-mortgaging property can save you thousands in tax.

To buy the book go here.


Get expert tax advice



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Property guru bites the dust

Another property guru bites the dust.

We have warned Property Hawk users repeatedly about parting with money for advice or anything else from so called property gurus.

For individuals who pertain to be investment experts and give advice to others about how to make money, they have an uncanny knack of going bust themselves.

One such expert is Rhett Lewis.

Rhett certainly set his sights high. By taking one of his courses he promised that he would make you not just a property millionaire but a billionaire. WOW!

Rhett has just petitioned for bankruptcy in Nottingham according to several reports on a property related forum.

If you know more on this please share your experiences.

Landlord insurance - professional rates

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Wednesday, July 21, 2010

BTL mortgages - most popular

Looking for a buy-to-let mortgage? Visit www.propertyhawk.co.uk and save time and money!

Our free online buy-to-let mortgage service aims to provide you with the most competitive buy-to-let mortgages in the market, whilst helping you choose a product to suit your individual requirements. You can use the free buy-to-let mortgage finder to get an instant personalised quote and apply for your mortgage online. There are no broker fees charged for this service so you could save yourself considerable time and money when arranging your next buy-to-let mortgage.

Below is a selection of the most popular buy-to-let mortgages currently available. For full information on these products, and all other buy-to-let mortgage schemes available to you, please visit www.propertyhawk.co.uk and click on Mortgages to use the free online buy-to-let mortgage finder. If you would like to discuss your requirements with a member of the support team please telephone 029 2069 5446.

Most popular buy-to-let mortgages
Interest RateOverall Cost for ComparisonMax LTVProduct DetailCompletion FeeEarly Repayment Charges
3.64% Tracker5.2% APR60%Variable tracker rate of BBR + 3.14% until 31/08/2012 then reverting to the lender's standard variable rate which is currently 4.99% for the remainder of the term. This product is available up to 60% LTV and the rental calculation is 125% at payrate. An application fee will apply.3.5%4% of original balance being repaid until 31/08/2012
3.79% Tracker5.3% APR60%Variable tracker rate of BBR + 3.29% until 30/09/2012 then reverting to the lender's standard variable rate which is currently 4.99% for the remainder of the term. This product is available up to 60% LTV and there is a rental calculation of 125% at a notional rate of 4.99%. An application fee will apply.3.5% (min £595)3% of amount being repaid until 30/09/2012
4.14% Tracker5.4% APR70%Variable tracker rate of BBR + 3.64% until 30/09/2012 then reverting to the lender's standard variable rate which is currently 4.99% for the remainder of the time. This product is available up to 70% LTV and there is a rental calculation of 125% at a notional rate of 4.99%. An application fee will apply.3.5% (min £595)3% of amount being repaid until 30/09/2012
4.35% Tracker5.1% APR75%Variable tracker rate of BBR + 3.85% for 1 year then reverting to a variable rate of BBR + 4.19% to give a current rate of 4.69% for the remainder of the term. This product is available up to 75% LTV and the rental calculation is 125% at payrate. An application fee will apply.3%3% of amount being repaid for 1 year
4.89% Fixed5.1% APR60%Fixed rate currently of 4.89% until 30/09/2012 then reverting to the lender's standard variable rate which is currently 4.74% for the remainder of the term. There is a free valuation up to £680 for purchases and remortgages and free legals or £200 contribution for remortgages only. This product is available up to 60% LTV and the rental calculation is 125% at payrate. There is a £250 booking fee and an application fee will apply.£14994% of amount being repaid until 30/09/2012
4.94% Tracker4.6% APR70%Limited company product. Variable tracker rate of BBR + 3.84% until 30/09/2011 then reverting to a variable rate of BBR + 3.49% to give a current rate of 3.99% for the remainder of the term. This product is available up to 70% LTV and the rental calculation is 125% at a notional rate of 4.99%. An application fee will apply.3.5% (min £595)3% of amount being repaid until 30/09/2011
4.99% Fixed5.5% APR80%4.99% fixed rate until 30/09/2011 then reverting the the lender's standard variable rate which is currently 4.99% for the remainder of the term. This product is available up to 80% LTV and there is a rental calculation of 125% at payrate. An application fee will apply.3% (min £595)5% of amount being repaid until 30/09/2011
5.4% Fixed5.3% APR75%Fixed rate of 5.40% until 01/10/2012 reverting to a variable rate of BBR + 4.24% to give a current rate of 4.74% for the remainder of the term. This product is available up to 75% LTV and there is a rental calculation is 125% at payrate. An application fee will apply.2.5%3% of amount being repaid until 01/10/2012
5.78% Fixed6.4% APR75%Fixed rate of 5.78% for 3 years then reverting to a variable rate at the lender's base rate + 1.00% to give a current rate of 5.98% for the remainder of the term. This product is available up to 75% and there is a rental calculation of 125% at the lender's base rate + 1.00% ( currently 5.98%). An application fee will apply.2.5%5% in year 1, 4% in year 2, 3% in year 3
5.89% Fixed5.4% APR65%5.89% fixed rate until 31/10/2012 then reverting to a variable rate of BBR + 4.50% to give a current rate of 5.00% for the remainder of the term. This product is available up to 65% LTV and there is a rental calculation of 125% at 5.00%. An application fee will apply.£14955% of the amount being repaid until 31/10/2012

IMPORTANT! Due to current market conditions, lenders are withdrawing and replacing products with little or no notice.
Please check our website regularly to see the most up-to-date products available.

Please visit www.propertyhawk.co.uk and click on Mortgages to search the full product range and find a buy-to-let mortgage to suit your specific personal circumstances.

Email: info@propertyhawkbtlmortgages.co.uk

Tel: 029 2069 5446

Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgages. The Financial Services Authority does not regulate some forms of mortgage.

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Solicitor wants more regulation

The Blair years were characterised by huge amounts of additional legislation and regulation. Given Tony & his chums were largely from a legal background; no real surprise there.

Funny how the response of most solicitors to any issue is more laws and regulation.

Is it a case of more 'jobs for the boys' & 'girls'.

Here's a case of one such solicitor Debra Wilson arguing for more regulation of the private rented sector.

Landlord insurance - quote me good!

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Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Rental demand at record high

Countrywide report 50,480 people wanting to rent a property registered with it during the three months to the end of June, the highest level it has recorded since it started collecting the data in 2003.

The figure was also 16pc higher than demand was during the first three months of the year.

They figures show a 6 percent fall in rental properties available leading to increased competition from potential tenants.

Countrywide report that there is now an average of 5.5 tenants for each rental property up from 4.9 earlier in the year.

Read more in the Telegraph

Time for landlords to become more choosy about their tenants........

Get tenant checks for £9.99

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Asylum LHA shocker cont....

The 'Daily Mail' latest asylum hot topic involving the Somali asylum seekers in the £2000 a week Local Housing Allowance shocker has a further twist to annoy the 'Shires'.

It turns out that the tenant still owes his previous landlord £7000 from his earlier “too poor an area” property in Kensal Rise.

His previous landlord accuses Mr Nur of leaving without paying all his rent.

“He was supposed to pay me £790 per week but he left without paying around £7,000.

“He was receiving money from the council but his payments had been falling short for quite some time. We asked him to catch up with the payments and then he suddenly left without telling us.” accuses the landlord, Mr Pindoria also says that he has been forced to spend a further £1,000 repairing the property because of damage caused by the family.

Read the full story in ThisisLondon


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Female BTL investors increase

The Landlord Centre’s Property Investor Profile Q2 2010 has reported that they continue to see an increase in the proportion of BTL mortgages taken out by women.

In their BTL they report -

“For the third quarter in a row we have seen an increase in the proportion of women looking to obtain buy-to-let mortgages with 43% of applicants being female, up from 42% and 38% in the previous two quarters.

"....let's hear it for the girls." ( tongue in cheek reference )

True equality is only around the corner, lets make it a 50/50 split.

Search the BTL whole mortgage market
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