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Bookkeeping Blog

HMO Legislation Rethink.

Wednesday, July 7th, 2010

The British Property Federation (BPF) has won a significant concession on HMO law. Following intense lobbying, Housing Minister Grant Shapps announced that he will undo Labour’s rushed HMO legislation.

It is estimated that as many as 8,500 planning applications could be submitted each year if every landlord looking to let to unrelated tenants was first required to seek permission – instead, councils will be able to focus on neighbourhoods where HMOs present a problem, while landlords of HMOs in other areas will not be tied up in red tape. (more…)

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Posted in Property News |

7 Reasons To Have Buy To Let Insurance

Wednesday, March 10th, 2010

Buy to let properties can offer a great return on your investment. In the UK alone two million people, or 5 %, have a second home which they rent out. This has increased by 300,000 in the last five years. The number of buy to let mortgages has increased by 98% since 1994.
On average the typical landlord is a male aged 36 to 55 with another job along with their property investment. Most landlords see their property portfolio as a retirement safety net.
When investing in property you need to make sure you’ve researched all the risks. One of the ways in which can cover yourself is through insurance. (more…)

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Posted in Bookkeeping |

New Stats out make Interesting Reading for Landlords.

Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010

Government figures show a big increase in the number of people renting from Private Landlords

The number of people renting a home from a private landlord has soared by more than one million during the past few years, according to Government figures released on 23rd February.

Around 3.1 million people in England rented a property privately during 2008/09, up from 2.1 million in 2001, according to the English Housing Survey. (more…)

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Posted in Bookkeeping |

10 tips for buy to let success ?

Tuesday, December 22nd, 2009

We speak to current and potential buy to let landlords all the time, and one of the things they always tell us is how daunting things were for them in the beginning.

So it seemed nice to come across this post on the Telegraph detailing 10 tips for buy to let success - http://www.telegraph.co.uk/property/investmentinproperty/6672288/10-tips-for-buy-to-let-success.html

We’re not going to rehash it here, so a quick summary for you:

1 You are in the business to make money, not to help people
2 Buy two or three-bedroom houses – and never flats
3 Buy new or nearly new
4 Choose your tenants carefully
5 Leverage your money
6 Magnolia wins every time
7 Avoid ex-council houses or bungalows
8 Buy close to home
9 No smokers or mechanics – but dog owners welcome
10 Enjoy the experience of being a landlord

Now, with the exception of number 10, we’re not sure we agree and here’s why: (more…)

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Posted in Bookkeeping |

7 Ways Property Management Software Can Benefit Landlords

Thursday, November 26th, 2009

Property rental is one of the best ways to make a short term income from your long term investment. And the more properties you own, the more demands on your time you’ll have. That’s where property management software can release you from this burden. Read on to find out why we believe that property management software can really benefit landlords: (more…)

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Posted in Bookkeeping |

My tenant has stopped paying rent – what can I do?

Saturday, November 21st, 2009

One of the downsides to being a property landlord is that occasionally a tenant skips their rent, and it leaves you not quite knowing what to do.

So you ask your friends, and maybe in a few forums, and what answers do you get?

* Change the locks – it’s your property!
* Camp outside the property until they pay!
* Spend their deposit!
* Kick them out!
* Take them to court!

Pretty emotional answers to what amounts to a very emotional situation – after all, this is your house they’re living in and your money that’s not gone into your bank account!

But where do you stand legally? If your tenant hasn’t paid their rent, what can you as a property landlord do? (more…)

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Posted in Bookkeeping |