Jeremy Smith

Perhaps there's a case for some other mortgage company to take ALL of West Broms customers, take the whole lot from them, surely they will lose alot of income if that happened.

Keep up the fantastic work Mark, and YES, Def. an appeal !!... Read More

DSS !!!! - No, no, no, no......for me anyway......

But if you MUST !....
Then, as already suggested, check all the social sites you can, google their names and addresses, and even the mobile numbers they have, you may be surprised at what it turns up.
And the electoral register can reveal interesting patterns of where they used to live.
And yes, check if that house was really sold by checking out rightmove or zoopla, perhaps.

One chap I knew ripped out the door frames from the walls (not my tenant), amongst other things,
...and another chap, my tenant's boyfriend who didn't even live there, would break off my car's wing mirrors, presumably he just had a chip on his shoulder...

It is always good to learn from your mistakes,
....but even better to learn from other's mistakes !... Read More

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Why is your accountant suggesting a Trust ?
Is this to pass assets that you own on to your children, so that your estate value is reduced ? - I thought that this is the function of a Trust.
- I am NOT an advisor, nor do I have any experience in the field but only knowledge from friends who have created trust funds.

A trust, as far as I know, has nothing to do with transferring working profits from your business to your partner.
Perhaps other readers will correct me if this is not the case, and point out how it can be done through a trust.

If you AND your partner work in your business then it should be the case that you both have wages from it.
If you are self-employed, then you are taxed through your self-assessment tax return, but if you employ someone, then you should make them an employee, paying them through the PAYE system, deducting tax and NI at source (ie as you pay them)
..but if your employee is your partner, then you need further advice, to find out if you need to treat them differently than any other employee.
If your employees work for at least three people/businesses, then they can be self-employed, if they are not, they should be "employed" status and paid through your books. - You would need to register as an employer and get the information from the tax office about this.

If your partner or relatives are self-employed as well, then they should just give you a written invoice for their work. which you put into your accounts as a cost and tax deduction for you, if they earn less than the taxable income, then they will not need to pay tax on it, after they put their self -assessment tax return, but they would need to be paying their NI contribution of around £6-7 per week.
There is a rule about deducting tax at source from other contractors, but you would need to find out about that.

- I would suggest that you first read through ALL the HM revenue guidance notes that you can find on the subject, making notes, and then give them a ring to ask about all your queries, getting them to confirm all your questions in an email answer.

Good Luck !

....My various accountants have failed me over the years , with NO good advice in advance, and I have come to find that only the information that I have found out can be relied upon: one accountant declared 2 properties in one year, then 4 properties for the following year, with the income approximately the same, - a guaranteed recipe for the taxman to query my return !!!... Read More

I briefly looked into this, but first I have to pay for an EPC to tell me that it would improve the energy efficiency of my building - I think I know that already !!

Then I have to find companies that are signed up with the scheme - who I'm sure have to pay to be registered, and pay for all the training schemes, which just adds to their costs which they pass on to me.
I have to make sure the company fill in the correct forms, and if they get it wrong, then my claim in invalid.
Then, apparently, I only find out if my "voucher" is valid AFTER they have done the work and when the voucher is sent in to "redeem " it.

- Well, what a load of work, just to get a few quid.

- These companies are quoting £4-6,000 for a small installation, but adding up materials for my job, it would cost less than £1,000 for the materials,
....so I just have to find my hammer drill and ladder, affix the insulation and beadings to the building, then find someone ( someone who usually does wall rendering) who can follow the manufacturers instructions and apply the render materials and mesh to the insulation.
- Job Done !!

I'm sure there's a few more hoops to jump through, such as council/building regs, but it's not that complicated.
They do this type of insulation in Europe all the time, I'm sure you could find an east european company who would ship over two guys to do it for less than it costs to employ an army of british people to fill in all the paperwork to get a "voucher" from the government !!

- can you detect an air of cynicism here ?... Read More

Lots of good advice on here Kelvin:
-Keep a money reserve in the bank
-Make sure there's a profit margin in each property, even if rates rise.
-Be aware of ALL the costs relating to a property, and budget for unforseen ones as well.
-Look to add value to a property needing some renovation.
-etc, etc.

Best advice, I would say, is to buy yourself a house first:
As already said, most, if not all lenders will not lend for a BTL if you don't have your own house first.
...But just as importantly, is the fact that you can take a lodger, or lodgers, and get an extra £4,250 per year income with NO tax to pay, you don't even have to put it on your tax return !!
If you buy a property for yourself that needs some work, then after you've made some improvements, you might be able to increase your personal mortgage to add further funds for your first proper BTL property deposit.
With your first house, you will learn all the things you need to look out for when being a home owner, and all the things you need to fix for your tenants, since they usually don't have a clue, or expect you to do it anyway.

The very best of luck to you...
...One step at a time, don't try to run before you can walk, you might stumble or worse, fall flat on your face.... Read More

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We got it juliet !!
It WAS our house, before the spider got in and annoyed the tenant !... Read More

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Cambridge has seen over-average price increases, but are driven by potential rental returns.
In a nearby village, the dip and resultant bounce has been more dramatic:
2008: £193k
2009:£165k
2013:£216k

The data presented is very confusing, perhaps misleading, since it says the increase is almost 1% since 2007, but the table shows increases of at least 5.4%, but you have to assume that the data relates to the period from 2005 to present day.... Read More

Landlords soon learn to select carpets appropriate to the use of the property.
It's very difficult when the carpet is already there, but is not suited to it's new owners.

Perhaps a very large 'over-carpet' would have been a good idea, but easy to say after the event.

Some carpet cleaning companies guarantee to get rid of stains, perhaps they're worth a go.... Read More

Hi Carl,
I think Gilly has almost 'highjacked' your post !! - but at least she's keeping to the subject !!
IMO, no locks, shared, friendly house, a good idea, but as Phil has implied, a legal nightmare if anyone gets difficult about the arrangement.

Gas Cert - mandatory in any rented house
Elect Cert - not mandatory (yet) in a private single tenancy rented house, but a very good idea anyway. - if your electrics are not safe, the last thing you want is to electrocute a tenant and have the problem of trying to find another one, let alone the problem of trying to explain to the relatives what you have neglected to do, from jail !!

Being an electrician, I can say that one house can be easy to test whilst another can be a right pain. Try to find an electrician who is not just going to test a circuit or two, then just give you a certificate. Try to find one who will really check anything, and also any appliances you supply should be PAT tested, to ensure they are safe and don't have a live case, for example.... Read More

Hi Bob, I agree with Oliver, I have been to the Barnard Marcus auctions in london, it seems it's the only one where you can find the properties without having to sign up to an "auction-service", and the prices seem to reflect a good high streeet value, unless the properties are for renovation, then you can get a bargain, perhaps.

I also agree you should sell the individually.

And again, to re-iterate Adrain's suggestion, can you release some capital without selling all of them?, that way you won't get hit by a big CGT bill either !
Perhaps some funds can be released from the flats, then get further funds for your new venture because you then already have, say, 50% funding !
You then keep your reliable monthly income which ensures you have a good, solid foundation income to rely upon.... Read More

it might be blindlingly obvious when you say, but when would a tenancy period get out of step with a rent period ?... Read More