Richlist

I've always been very flexible with notices. I'm happy to take a phone call giving notice providing its followed up in writing. Notice can be any day provided its a full months notice. They can move out earlier provided rent is paid for the full months notice.

There is sometimes an issue with council tax if they move out early and are paying c/tax in their new property.

I find being flexible works to my advantage 99% of the time as the tenants keep me informed of their situation and allow viewings. As rent is paid in advance I usually have to refund overpayment.

I realise non of this is any real help to you in your situation.

As potential tenants they presumably are not resident yet. I believe it's fairly common for tenants to ask for changes in homes valued around £3 million + in London and some expensive areas of Surrey & the home counties but I don't think it's acceptable in normal flats or semi's unless repairs are required.

I tend to be quite open minded toward these sorts of requests. For example, if the request involves a change that will enhance the value or desirability of a property then it's worth consideration......but only if the tenant pays a significant portion of the cost. If the change doesn't add value or desirability......ask yourself what's in it for you.

Remember, there is a massive shortage of good quality rental property........It's a landlords market, not a potential tenant market. If you turn them down and they go elsewhere then another applicant will be along very quickly.

First time landlords often think the biggest problem they are going to get is being able to find a tenant......believe me it isnt. We could provide you with a very long list of potential problems that you will encounter and I can guarantee finding a tenant wouldn't make it onto that list.

It will be interesting to know how this loan will work for rental properties.

I can't see a first time buyer or a new tenant moving in after October, who doesn't receive the loan, being happy to pay a £40pa surcharge for the next 5 years.

Whilst £88 million is an enormous sum to us as individuals it's a miniscule amount in terms of Government expenditure. To put it into perspective Covid-related emergency funding is £22 billion......& the health & social care budget is another £159 billion. I'm as keen to pay less tax as everyone else but believe if you can afford it you should pay it. I've paid very large CGT bills for the last few years.

Well, in the interests of ensuring a balanced discussion, let me side with the Government on this.

The country has been through an awful couple of years of pandemic that's cost billions of pounds. Energy prices are rising and the poorer in society will need help with the bills, then we have the NHS, the new social care expenses and a small problem in the Ukraine which will no doubt involve spending even more money.

Therefore I think it's only right that those well off enough to incur a CGT bill should pay it sooner rather than later. Allowing people to carry over into the next property would only delay tax income to the Gov'........and they need all the money they can get.

It can be anything you want it to be.

I also am of Welsh decent. My maternal grandmother was Welsh, I have a Welsh name, years ago i spent almost a year writing a Geography project on Anglesey, I love the place and would buy a holiday home there in a heartbeat........except the Welsh  don't want me or anyone else.......they prefer dolphins !

Apparently 400 dolphins have arrived off the Pembrokshire coast to complain about how the Welsh devolved Gov' have been handling things....(depleted fish stocks and so forth).

The Welsh are making a big fuss of them but someone ought to tell the dolphins that they get better treatment than English house buyers !!!! 😠😠

As an Englishman I rarely go to Wales, i've been a few times and I absolutely loved it, the place is fantastic. But apart from that everything, and I mean everything else about Wales comes over as bad news. It's bad news if you're a landlord, it's bad news if you want to buy a second home. Drakeford is always moaning & complaining about anything & everything. The news is full of negative stories concerning Wales....everything from a trapped Banksy mural to over the top Covid rules. On top of that some are now talking about a Welsh independance vote. .....It's such a shame.

I can only conclude that they have no idea how this is all driving public opinion or they do know &  just don't care.

* Your neighbours will need to comply with planning requirements.

* You are entitled to a surveyor to look after your interests.

* You get to call the shots with anything that affects you and

* All the costs are paid by your neighbour.

Search the internet there is plenty of details already available.

Thanks for sharing the details.

I rather suspect there are lots of these docs around that have not been completed correctly. It seems like a very easy error/ mistake to make in a busy office. 

* If I were a Ltd Company Lettings Agent I might be inclined to check the docs of every property on file for the same errors......

* If I were a tenant I'd check my copies to see if I'd won the lottery !

Go to the internet & type Camden Council, then select Housing, then select Leaseholders & Freeholders, then select Selling or Remortgaging your Property.

Simples.

Improvements are generally allowed against CGT. Your remote wireless thermostat could be offset against CGT but a replacement consumer unit would be considered a like for like replacement so that's a revenue expense which you should offset against income tax.

1. There are no reliefs when selling rental properties. Exactly the opposite in fact. If you sell to another landlord they will pay a 3% SDLT surcharge. When you buy another property you will also have to pay an extra 3% SDLT surcharge.

2. You can deduct capital expenditure to reduce your CGT bill. It's a complicated subject.....if you post the items you are considering claiming for I will try to give you an indication wether I think they are valid. 

3. Moving your tenant will present problems. Presumably you will be looking to complete the purchase of a new property on the same day as you complete the sale of your flat ? Moving the tenant on that day will mean you have no opportunity to prepare the property or documentation required such as the inventory. Your sale will require you to provide vacant possession so your tenant will need to vacate on or before your sale completion. I can't see how you can make that work unless you buy your new property before you sell your flat. 

Top Buy to Let properties ? Top for what ?

* Availability of property ?

* People seeking accomodation ?

* Lowest rents ?

* Levels of satisfaction ?

* Best landlords ?

I don't understand what it's supposed to be telling me.......can someone help ?

I therefore assume that the main culprits are the ceiling & external walls. Your EPC should indicate what improvements might increase the property rating.

As there is probably nothing much that you could cost effectively do to increase the insulation on your flat roof (without lowering the ceiling height) that leaves the walls. Having just the external walls insulated might not be that costly with insulated plasterboard. It maybe that kitchen units, bathroom items & fitted furniture will be in the way so, leaving those in place and partly reboarding the walls which are accessible might do the job for a couple of £thousand. Once completed, with a few photographs showing work in progress, the EPC assessor will never know that some walls have not been done. Surely worth consideration ?

The EPC certificate itself normally indicates what can be done to improve the rating.....

Some low cost improvements (if you don't already have them) might be :-

* Dual rate electricity (economy 7).

* Wall thermostat/ timer controls.

* Thermostatic radiator valves.

* LED bulbs.

* Increased hot water tank insulation.

* Draught proofing doors and windows if needed.

Air sourced heat pumps, also known as  inverter air conditioners are not as expensive as you might think. We have one of these in our place in Spain. Incredibly efficient, very cheap to run but a couple of these for a small flat are likely to be around £2K and if you have already had a new gas boiler fitted seems like a crazy extra expense.

I've spent 20+ years using a lettings agent to find tenants and to handle some of the paperwork, whilst I self managed the properties. Its worked for me, I'm very hands on and enjoy dealing with the day to day stuff that gets thrown at landlords.

However, 

* I am local (within a few miles) of all of the properties,

* I have built up a list of trusted tradesmen I can rely on to carry out the repairs & maintenance I can't or don't want to do, 

* I have some years of experience and of making mistakes which I have learnt from.

* I have a trusted Agent who has been in business 35 years who I can rely on for contacts, legal & landlord advice.

+  Don't underestimate the absolute necessity of getting all of the paperwork done & done correctly.

+ You need to have most of those things in place to ensure any mistakes are small ones.

+ I recommend you join a landlord association, they can be very helpfull.

+ Try to build contacts with other landlords, you can learn a lot by sharing experiences.

That's unlucky.

What would you need to do to the property to gain the 8 points required ? Or is it a virtually impossible ask ?

Good......holiday home owners pay more tax......takes the tax pressure off the rest of us.

Interesting but statistics don't tell the whole truth !!!!

There is no indication of the parameters used.......

A smart property in a good area, near a train station with good road links that's not in the top 100......will trump most property in the top 10.

Conversely a run down property in a top 10 area won't hold a candle to a smart property near a large employer.

It's all smoke and mirrors and should be viewed with caution.

I certainly agree that tenants rarely, if ever, bring up the subject of EPCs. But that can be a missed opportunity for the agent or landlord especially if lots of work has been carried out to the property. 

Surely the secret is not to focus on the EPC certificate which we know most tenants just can't be bothered with......probably because they either don't understand it or don't want to understand it. Instead focus on the details of the work.......point out the new double glazing and the 12 inches of loft insulation and the super efficient heating system that together will result in low energy bills compared to anything else currently on the market. Sell yourself and the property by pointing out the newly installed features. 

If lots of work has been carried out to raise the EPC rating a couple of notches isn't it reasonable to expect an agent to at least make the effort to use it as a feature to attract new tenants ?

Some landlords may find the costs to comply with the EPC rating high but the other way to look at it is.....

* The expense is tax deductable.

* Improvements made in order to comply will increase value &/ or saleability.

* The property will be more attractive to potential tenants.

* Rents may be able to be increased.

* It doesn't need to all be done at the same time. The work can be planned to meet timing, finance, availabilty, voids etc.

* Any work can be spread over more than one tax year.

* Perhaps the most important.......those landlords looking to buy property which hasn't had the work done should be able to negotiate a substantial discount to cover part of the costs.

* Etc. Etc.

Thanks for that, very interesting and comprehensive article.

Well as it's Christmas.....which is a christian religious celebration and the season of goodwill to all men (& women) and which preaches forgiveness, why not ask your local vicar what he recommends you do ? He may suggest that you pray for your previous tenant but ask him for more practice advice in dealing with these sorts of people.

I've never found the church to be much use when it comes to real problems.