Melboy

Same for my area........£45/£55 for an EPC and probably a bit cheaper if multiple properties are going to be done at the same booking. I paid £45 for a flat earlier this year. Don't forget new EPC regulations come into force in 2020 On 1st April 2020, the Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rules that came into force in April 2018 will expand to include all tenancies, including ongoing ones.That means that if you have a property with an EPC rating of F or G, then you only have six months left to make improvements and get your property re-assessed with a score of E or above.The improvements required could be considerable, and we expect tradespeople to be very busy near the deadline. So we’d recommend booking the work as soon as possible if this applies to you.

I think you have answered your own question with a personal recommendation from your friend.

Not bad for a self confessed Communist leaning politician who wants to rule the Peasants with his communist doctrine. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7423415/Shadow-Chancellor-John-McDonnells-idyllic-riverside-SECOND-HOME-Norfolk-Broads.html I have to admit I still struggle coming to terms how anyone can vote for these people and I say that coming from an ordinary post WW2 fairly poor working class background.

Comrade McDonnell has a proven history of failure in office going back to the days when he served on the Greater London Council. I doubt very much the UK voter will want to live under Commissar Corbyn & McDonnell government in spite of what you see with the baying rent-a-mob outside No 10 demanding Corbyn becomes the new Prime Minister. Sleep easy tonight with the thoughts that ALL politicians lie when in office.

James.........No, you can't do what you are suggesting. A phone call to HMRC/Solicitor acting for your sale will confirm this. Don't forget also that your solicitor is required by law to submit your property sale to HMRC within 30 days of the sale where it is recorded by HMRC. In the last 10 years HMRC have really tightened up on the recording of property sales and cross referencing these sales for tax collection.

Great news. Now you have to get them to cough up the money for you and I am in no doubt they will be reluctant to do this. High Court Sheriff's will probably be your best course of action rather than Court Bailiffs. Come back and let us all know how you get on with this please.

I have one of those coded push button key safes attached to the wall with the spare front door key inside fitted to two of my properties. They have been used twice in around 10 years for tenants with lost keys. All my properties are only 5 minutes drive away anyway so it's not really a problem for me. Water isolating handles are painted white and are shown to the tenant where to switch off in an emergency but where I could do this I fitted the later design lever valves with the red handles. I repeat the location exercise when I carry out 6 monthly property checks. My Son ( Plumber and Heating engineer) and Daughter take over when I am away on holiday and I inform all my tenants of this and provide contact numbers. Fortunately I have never had a problem when away. Be prepared is the key to minimise future mishaps.

Reading the above and thinking about it I cannot recall ever changing the locks after a tenant leaves.

What an absolute mess for you COR. With your experiences it just goes to show why any leasehold property these days is just not worth the hassle of it all if a new leaseholder can do what Comptons are doing to you..

Why are Comptons taking you to court again?

Without exception I always take a photo of new meter readings. New tenant's sign for the meter reading on the day they move in and I always inform the energy supplier of the new bill payer. Reverse is done when they move out. No chance of errors if I am in control of events.

I'm with Direct line for my rentals and my own property. I have no complaints at all. I like their terms of insurance on what is covered for my rental property. Are they the best? Don't know as yet because you always hope you never have to actually make a claim but Direct Line as with all insurance policies work on the strict rule going back 300 years that if you pay your insurance premium and your claim is genuine then any claim must be honoured.

Having just sold a property I closed the account with SSE easily on-line and eventually paid the invoice sent to me. I didn't encounter any problems. I also take dated photo's of the meter readings.

The purchase should always be "subject to contract" right up until exchange of contracts and the reason for this is due to unforeseen problems that may arise during the buying process like major structure defects revealed in the survey or undisclosed items that would not be included in the property sale that you thought were included and of course your mortgage money being declined by your lender even though you have the mortgage offer in principle you can still be turned down when the mortgage company start on the detail of their risk in lending mortgage money to you. You could pay the £2,000 as an act of good faith that you will proceed to completion but stipulate that the deposit is totally refundable back to you should the property fail any structural survey report etc. etc. Your Sol. will do this T&C for you and advise you on this matter.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/changes-to-tax-relief-for-residential-landlords

Having just sold a renovated property and now in the process of handling the HMRC side of taxation for CGT and I am fairly clued up now on what you can and can't claim. To answer Randell Bond No.1 question the answer is no......you can only claim SDLT back as CGT relief on your 2nd property when you sell. No. 2 Question. Look up Section 24 which is now in force for what the current position is re tax relief on mortgage payments. Section 24 came into force April 2019. HMRC do provide a comprehensive list of what you are able to claim when selling on AND what you can claim when setting up a rental property for tenants.

Well I have been buying property for renovation recently and 1 more rental has been added to my small but manageable portfolio. I have to admit though it is much more difficult to purchase and sell property then it was 10 years ago. SDLT is a bit of a killer for me and I will only seek out property that is well below market value and then add that value to it. This Conservative government have not been any friend of the private landlord over the past 10 years and with section 24 in place it is going to get just that bit more difficult for the sums to add up. Of course a Labour government will kill it completely dead for years to come if Comrade Corbyn carries out his threats.

Then it would be time to emigrate as you would now be living in a totally Communist run country.

If, in the unlikely event an extreme left wing Corbyn government were to be in government and to implement the above in their manifesto it would lead to a mass housing shortage and homeless families which would increase the burden onto the state.

Complex case. It will be interesting to see what the outcome is.

It will be interesting to see what happens RL. Fortunately it won't affect me right now.

Good point. You could affect your legal case. Probably better to tell the story and the outcome after the court case I would suggest. From what you are saying though it does appear you have a very strong case and you should win your case........getting the money though may be a bit more trickier. Call in the High Court Sheriff's for a prompt settlement.

Then with your complaint and grievance against Pearson Ferrier you should take legal action by going through the small claims court and follow due process to get your money back.

My EU vote today is a protest vote against the Conservative Party and Mrs May who, by her own making has been a disaster as Prime Minister for the UK. That is my opinion of course and probably the millions of other voters today who will be voting for the Brexit Party.

Mrs. May certainly knows how to bow out of he premiership as the worst PM in living memory and certainly mine. Talk about hanging on with your fingernails to power. Already her latest offering of a second referendum has been rejected by at least 50 of her own MPs so that's the end of that! I would not be surprised if there were some major cabinet resignations today as the poor woman is totally deluded with what she is trying to achieve in the dying days of her leadership as PM and Conservative Party leader.