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Surely the tradesman would remind the solicitor that he also charges for his time. So, the tradesman would then make an additional charge of £26 for being delayed by the solicitor ! Two can play at that game. 😁😁

Read a good one today on another forum........a solicitor called out an emergency plumber to stop a water leak. The plumber stopped the leak in just a few minutes and presented the solicitor with a bill for £100. The solicitor asked the plumber for a breakdown of the charges because he was only there for 5 minutes. The breakdown said..... * To turn off the stopcock - £1 * Knowing which stopcock to turn off - £99

There is a very buoyant market in building materials that are second hand, surplus/old stock, over ordered or generally bought but not required......all at a fraction of normal prices. It requires time & effort to search for it instead of just a phone call but it's out there nevertheless. I only ever buy new stuff if I can't find what I need from other sources......but then unlike builders I'm * not usually in a hurry. * can be flexible as I'm not working to a fixed budget.

Seems your problem might be tuning in to R4 😉😉......when I was younger listening to anything other than R1 labelled you old and past anything worthwhile. Nowadays there are so many great radio stations that R4 listeners usually find they feel old before their time. Tune in to some real music, turn up the volume and who knows, you may have many more years left as a property investor. Merry Christmas.

I definitely think the combination of freehold property purchased through a limited liability company is the way to go in the future. It's the model I aspire to going forward. I've been very happy to sell my leasehold properties over the course of the past 7+ years .......spread over the years in order to reduce my CGT bill. Small leasehold flats are great in terms of tenants ie usually singles or couples, no pets, no kids and usually no problems but leasehold admin' can be a pain to buy, sell, deal with freeholders, their managing agents, additional fees etc etc. Freehold houses on the other hand are usually easier & quicker to buy & sell, considerably less admin but they attract a different type of tenant.......families, kids, & pets. Balanced against that is they are more likely to stay long term.

If you receive income from property.....even 1%......you HAVE TO fill in a self assessment tax return. I can't make it any clearer than that. It not your choice, it's mandatory. My advice to you is to see an accountant for your future tax returns.

But it's not up to you to make that choice. You have agreed to joint ownership, you have elected to share profit on a 99:1 basis so you MUST account for profit & loss in that way. Let's look at an example.......If you make say, £3000 profit from letting then your 1% is only £30. If you are a 40% tax payer thats £12 HMRC won't recieve from you. Why should they let you off paying it ? Why should they not apply penalties ? The rest of us are expected to pay our taxes......so should you.

If I were to put a washing m/c in one of my rentals I'd certainly go for a very basic model as described above etc. However, in my own home we have a Bosch washing machine that is just over 20 years old.......it's never broken down, never needed a repair and I'm reluctant to replace something that still goes well & looks good. But of course its never knowingly been overloaded or abused as a machine might be in a rental property. German equipment is usually top quality but they also tend to carry a higher price tag.

That insurance sounds great value at £3 a month......and obviously costs less when offset on your tax return. When I started with my first 3 properties I put a new washing machine in each and paid for extended warranty to 5 years. Amazingly, in spite of numerous tenancies, no doubt overloading and abuse, all 3 machines lasted 10 years, one even lasted 12 years with no breakdowns. I think the secret is to only supply a basic model with limited programmes and minimal extras.....less complexity, less to go wrong. But I don't normally provide washing machines now. Sometimes a vacating tenant will leave their machine for me because it's to much hassle to move or they don't need it. I just offer it free to the new tenant, it doesn't go on the inventory. I make it clear it's a gift which I won't be repairing or replacing when it goes wrong. They all happily accept the gift.

* I was under the impression that landlords spending money on replacment flooring can offset the cost against income. * If the new flooring is as a result of a recent property purchase or a refurb then the cost can usually be offset against capital gain when it's sold.I Either way the cost is reduced for the landlord.

What is there to like about it ? Disadvantages. * No deposit means you have nothing from which to deduct the cost of missing, damaged, broken, dirty items. * The tenant has less incentive to look after your property. * Good quality tenants won't be looking for cheap property without floorcoverings. * There may be problems with RGI cover........you'd need to check. * You can almost guarantee that a departing tenant will leave you to lift and dispose of it. * I see nothing but problems. * I have never known any landlord to offer a property without floor covering. Advantages * No, can't think of a single advantage. Are there any ????

I know I can be a bit of a pain in the backside but it's in my nature.....I can't move on until I've mentioned everything else legal or otherwise. So, additionally you might like to consider: Deposit protection, prescribed information, standing order details, legionella advice sheet, booklet on how to control condensation, list or restrictions if leasehold, smoke alarm working form, template for reporting repairs, any AST extra clauses, help & information sheet from landlord.

I wouldn't dream of letting any of mine without a minimum of floorcoverings, curtains & blinds, lampshades & light fittings & white goods in the kitchen (minimum cooker & fridge). Some places also have fitted wardrodes, the odd mirror, bathroom cabinet & a vacuum cleaner. If previous tenants have left pictures I leave them on the wall. Then there are the legal smoke alarm, co alarm and the not required but which I provide.....fire extinguisher & fire blanket. I also provide an initial supply of rubbish sacks, a spare vac cleaner bag & a toilet roll & brush. In a smart pad in Chelsea tenants would expect far more. In a slightly more downmarket area tenants will often accept virtually anything if that's all thats on offer to them. We tend to be very, very, very picky with tenants cos we can & it's to our benefit if we provide a home that is more attractive than the competition offer.

I've always thought the devolved Gov' in Wales had the wrong approach to property. I understand that there are issues with first time buyers and affordability but the restrictions/ proposals are going to destroy tourism in the area. As much as I like Wales and as much as I'd like to buy property there the negative messages and very unfriendly attitude of the Gov to anyone wanting to buy a second home is more than enough to put me off.

If its someone who has already been doing it successfully for a few years it CAN be a good place to put your money. As we know, new landlords can make some awful mistakes......so new entrants need an experienced buddy (a recommended letting agent perhaps) or they need to spend time reading do's and dont's. Even then there are so many variables.....region, location within, type of property, age, condition, price, yield, development potential, type of let, target tenant, sole trader or limited liability, their tax position, their attitude to risk etc etc. It's impossible to generalise without knowing an individual's personal circumstances. However with the best savings accounts offering very little return it's not very difficult to improve the return (sometimes significantly) through the right property investment. Just to add some balance to my reply although property can be an excellent investment it's also very, very easy to take shortcuts, make the wrong choices or just screw up and loose a lot of money.

I agree but I wonder how flexible the service could be. I know there are private investigators, they're a bit thin on the ground but they are available. * e.g. Would they offer a no find, no fee service ? On another forum there is a post about a guy who wants to buy a piece of land.....unused for at least the past 35 years but he can't find who owns it. He's got the land registry docs and has been in contact with the address of the registered owner but he's not there. The current resident doesn't know him, didn't buy the property from him so can't help. There have been various suggestions of how to locate him but none are particularly easy or quick. Would this service cover this particular problem ?

Removal firms can sometimes offer storage facilities. I assume you will want a firm to pack you up and move the furniture into storage ? So, contact local removals for a quote. It ain't gonna be cheap though......... * Pack, load, transport, unload into storage. * Collect from storage, load, deliver to new address, unload.

It may be that the Agent didn't protect the deposit in the time allowed but the buck stops with the landlord. It's up to the landlord to check these things......I do and everyone I know does. We check, we ask for copies of all the documents and we file them according. What we don't do is employ an Agent and then walk away and let them screw it up. In law they can take you for a lot of money, you can try to defend but will almost definitely loose. If you loose you have the option of taking action against the Agents to recover your losses from them. Do you have any insurance ?

Yes CoR I agree entirely, my comments were directed at the OP, not yourself. A letter to the benefits people is a good idea and might well provide an answer.

How can you be 100% certain that she is currently receiving UC or are you making assumptions based on past knowledge & experience of dealing with her ? Situations can change, quite rapidly. I can imagine a scenario where she is no longer in receipt of UC but the Gov' are not at liberty to discuss a change in her personal circumstances with you. Remember, you're a landlord, that usually means you are entitled to very little information about anything of any importance. 😉😉

Improvements to fire safety generally, it's not limited to the replacement of external cladding or height.

Before the pandemic I took a number of rail journeys......e.g. London to Blackpool, Manchester & Liverpool etc. I travelled first class and the experience was absolutely outstanding. The extra cost of first class was not eye watering and the additional benefits: * First class, reserved seats. * Food & waiter service. * 1st class lounge at the stations. All definitely enhanced the travel experience. I arrived relaxed, fed, watered and ready for a busy day. Compared to the time, effort and cost of driving I'd take the train every time. I'd certainly recommend you spend a little more and travel first class.

That'll seriously affect property prices along the route. It was interesting to see the public who were interviewed talking down the value of their properties by criticising the Gov'....which was totally unnecessary and will only go to fuel a media frenzy against the Tory party. It's even worse for property in the Bradford area. Bradford will now have to suffer a 2nd class rail service and property prices there will suffer accordingly. Still, it could be a lot worse......Diane Abbott could be in the cabinet.

What has this got to do with landlords and property rentals ? As landlords we don't leave all our money in savings accounts paying next to no interest. Instead, we choose to invest in residential property & our reward is a considerably better return than we could get from investing elsewhere for a small risk. We could put it into crypto currency or become poker players but many of us think that would be a very poor choice for our children inheritance.

As I say.....type ' section 20 notice' into your search engine and you will see what a section 20 notice should include and what you are entitled to do when you receive it. There are time limits involved so you need to read and act quickly. Do let us know how it goes.