Chinese landlords in London

The trend in the Chinese middle classes investing in London property, particularly the off plan new build apartments smacks of
 bubble blowing to me.

The home builder Barratt report that 15 percent of its new builds in the capital are now bought by the Chinese.

Read the full article here

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Tenant given life for murdering landlord

The psychotic tenant that murdered his landlord by bludgeoning him twenty one times with a hatchet has been hospitalised for life. This sad and harrowing story of the Northamptonshire landlord can be read in full here.

The story comes as a chilling warning to those landlords who rent out rooms within a property they share.

Property investment - interesting?

Being a landlord isn't difficult.  A healthy dose of common sense and a little bit of entrepreneurial zeal and I'm pretty sure anybody could do it.  It really isn't that difficult.

Once your property is let and you have some reasonable tenants in there shouldn't be that much to do either.

Dare I say it that for many landlords to once you have your investment set up it really isn't that interesting too.  What does amaze me some of the landlord orientated websites that seem to spend hours discussing the minutiae of being a landlord and investment strategies.  Personally, once I've brought my investment property and got them let I'd rather forget about them until the next problem and get on with my life.  Others may have a different view.
 
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Landlord faces up to cannabis farm

Another landlord has fallen victim to the scourge of cannabis farms set up in rental properties. A nottingham landlord, Jack Carr now faces a refurbishment cost of £200,000 to put the rental property in  Clifton, Notts back into order.

The unfortunate landlord he had no idea of the issue until the call from the police telling him of the discovery of 268 plants inside the rental property.

To make matters worth Mr Carr has been told by his insurer that he is not covered for the damage to the rental property. 

Mr Carr's insurers Towergate Insurance responded with a statement - It is vital for anyone buying insurance to check very carefully the precise cover their policy provides so that it meets their requirements. Unfortunately the let property policy purchased by Mr Carr clearly stated that it will not respond to damage caused by illegal activity to his property.

This story can only act as a reminder to landlords to fully check their landlord insurance and be fully aware that the cheapest landlord insurance is not always going to provide all the cover they require.

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Fake tanned students stain beds

Student landlords might be advised to add a little extra to rental deposits if their potential tenants are looking too orange. The faked tanned fashions inspired by Only Way is Essex are apparently applied to such extent in many student properties that it causes damage to bed mattresses.

The problem seems particularly problematic in that renowned glamour hotspot - Cardiff. The city streets glow orange at night as Umpa Lumpa students slather themselves in staining lotions. The bed mattresses are then left so badly stained after a year that they need to be replaced between
lets.

The advice to landlords is to buy memory foam mattresses with covers that can be washed or taken off and replaced for £30.

Read more on the costs of fake tanned students on landlords

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Autumn auction opportunities

Autumn is on it's way.  So time to pick up a residential auction bargain.  Check out the latest residential auction catalogue from Allsop.  It could be the way to pick up a bargain London buy-to-let.  But remember to do your research first on the area and buying property at auction.

Some of these high brow London auctions can be the place to pick up a provincial buy-to-let bargain as most of the landlords and investors attending will be London and South East focused.  So if you want a nice extended weekend break 'doing the posh' in London.  Why not check it out.

Personally, I was attracted by the renovation project a 5 bed farmhouse, lot 200 in an unpronounceable part of North Wales near Porthmadog where I used to go on holiday with my parents camping.  Perhaps a renovation project with holiday let potential and with a guide price of £100k one to bank for the future?

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