Articles
Property investment tips, insights, strategies and industry news
The Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, specifically Section 3 Notice, is a critical component of UK property law that every landlord and tenant should understand. This notice, which is required when property ownership changes, ensures transparency and fairness in the landlord-tenant relationship.
Navigating the complexities of landlord-tenant laws can be a daunting task for both parties involved. One such critical aspect is the Section 48 Notice, a legal requirement under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1987. This notice plays a pivotal role in safeguarding the rights of tenants.
The setting up of a national landlord register is a subject which is in the property news at the moment. In this article, we will look at what we know so far about the creation of a national landlord register. One thing seems for certain though, a register for landlords in England is coming.
The Renters (Reform) Bill was published in May 2023. It contains proposals that could drastically transform the private rented sector and the letting and renting of property. Here’s a closer look at what’s inside the Renters (Reform) Bill and at how it might help to empower tenants.
The Decent Homes Standard is a legal standard which regulates housing provided by the social housing sector. However, it is currently being proposed that this standard will be applied to the private rented sector or PRS at some point in the near future.
Stamp duty in the UK is definitely something that every buyer and buy-to-let investor needs to consider carefully. The rules and amounts around it are subject to change, it doesn’t apply to everyone, it can add thousands to a property purchase and legislation is different in Scotland and Wales.
Asbestos cement, a once-popular building material, lurks in many homes across the UK, a silent reminder of a time when its durability and resistance were prized above all else. Yet today, we know that the asbestos in this cement can pose serious health risks if disturbed.
Scotland used to have the same Stamp Duty system as the rest of the UK but it brought in its own system as of April 2015. Although the basic concept of Land and Buildings Transaction Tax is the same as Stamp Duty – it is a tax on buying property – both the way it works and the rates of tax are different.
Investing in property has made very good sense in recent years. It has been relatively easy and the value of your property investment has increased year after year after year. Just recently, property investment hasn’t looked like such an easy option. However, the numbers still add up.
Rents in London are the highest in the UK, but so are property prices. That means it can be tough to find the highest rental yields here. However, London can offer good letting yields if you know where to look. Here’s our guide for landlords trying to find find the best yields in London.
Harlow is within the London commuter belt but has great value property for a fraction of London prices. Harlow is also an up-and-coming town, with its sights firmly set on becoming a small city in the future. In this article, we look at the property market in this promising southeastern town.
Guildford is not a cheap property investment location. But good reasons to look at property investment in Guildford are that it is an employment hotspot with lots of well-paid jobs which benefits the housing market. It’s also a popular London commuter location.
Once overlooked as not very interesting property markets seaside towns like Eastbourne have come into their own post-pandemic – as people look for more space and a good quality of life. Eastbourne has a truly scenic location on the south coast and still has very good value property prices.
Discover the top 10 most affordable areas to buy a house or flat in Manchester, UK. Our comprehensive guide, based on data from property.xyz, Rightmove and Zoopla, breaks down average prices, location details, and local amenities to help both new and seasoned investors make informed decisions.
St Helens is often overlooked as a property investment location. But St Helens has a strategic location at the heart of north-west England and offers some really good value investment property. Here we look at the housing market in this town in Merseyside.
Cymru or Wales used to have the same Stamp Duty system as the rest of the UK but it brought in its own system as from April 2018. Find out every thing you need to know about the Welsh Land Transaction Tax and calculate your costs with our free tool.
Birmingham is a good value area of the UK for property buyers with property prices overall are well under the UK national average. There’s a huge variation in across the city. The average property price is £240,000 but in the cheaper areas of the city, it can be as low as £165,000.
The hipped roof has long been a fixture in the United Kingdom’s architectural landscape, gracing the skyline with its elegant slopes and practical design. From humble cottages to grand manor houses, hipped roofs have proven worth as a versatile and durable roofing solution.
With interest rates on the rise, it’s important to know what your monthly repayments will be on your mortgage. Our calculator is designed to help you estimate your monthly mortgage payments based on your remaining loan amount, current interest rate, and remaining term period.
Serviced accommodation is fully furnished, self-contained accommodation with hotel-style services, typically rented over the short term. It has become very attractive to landlords in recent years. Here’s our guide to what you need to know if you are considering investing in serviced accommodation.
London is an expensive part of the UK in which to buy a house or flat. The average house price in the UK is currently around £290,000. But the average house price in London tops £534,000. Average prices in the most expensive areas of London are now over £1 million.
The recent hot property market has meant that most houses have sold easily, often within days of being put on the market. Now that the market is cooler, however, it is likely to become more difficult to sell your house. So, for this kind of market, here is what you need to know.
If you are looking to buy a property then buying a property on an off-plan basis is one option you might consider. Here’s what off-plan property is, what are the pros and cons of buying it, and what you need to know if you are thinking of buying a house or flat off-plan.
Every property on the rental market must meet certain standards that ensure that it is safe and fit to live in. Health and safety in rented accommodation are assessed, normally by a local authority using the HHSRS (Housing Health and Safety Rating System).
An off-market property refers to a property that is not currently listed for sale on the open market, such as through a property portal and can be a good option for investors. In this guide we will look at what off-market property is and at how to buy property in this way.
The Medway towns are one of the cheapest parts of the south east in which to invest in property, yet are within just 40 minutes or so from central London. Here’s a property investor’s guide to the Medway towns in Kent in the South East of England.
PBSA is usually provided in modern apartment blocks of cluster flats or study bedrooms with ensuite facilities. These are sometimes known as student pods. PBSA blocks often have communal amenities such as residents’ lounges, gyms, cinema and media rooms.
Maidstone sits at the heart of Kent’s Garden of England countryside, so there’s no doubt that it is a green and pleasant part of the country. But how do the numbers stack up as a property investment location? Here’s what you need to know about buy-to-let in Maidstone, Kent.
Originally a quiet rural town Woking grew fast in Victorian times when the railway made it a favourite London commuter location. Woking continues to be a very popular London commuter location today and this helps to boost demand for property to buy and rent in the town.
If you’re interested in investing in real estate then you’ll probably be able to recognise the signs that you’re actually ready to go ahead and invest. Here are 14 signs that should tell you that you’re ready to to take the plunge and become a real estate investor or landlord.
If you want pretty Hemel Hempstead probably isn’t for you. A decade ago Hemel Hempstead was voted to be the ugliest town in Britain. But if you want great transport links, great local amenities and very attractive property prices then Hemel Hempstead is definitely a town you should look at.
Welwyn Garden City was originally established as a garden city in the 1920s. It was planned by Sir Ebenezer Howard. Ebenezer Howard was a town planner who wanted to create the perfect town – one which combined the benefits of both urban and rural life.
You’ll probably have a good idea about what a detached house or a semi-detached house is but do you know about link-detached? Here’s what a link detached house is and what you need to know about buying, owning and selling this type of house.
On the surface of it, it is a simple concept: that a house ‘sold with vacant possession’ is a house that is empty and ready for the next owner to move in, unhindered. The key thing, however, is that the new owner should be able to enjoy undisturbed enjoyment of the property.
In a tenement, each floor is occupied by two or sometimes more separate properties. They are self-contained with their own entrance and is occupied by one person or a single family. However a distinguishing factor of a tenement is that all the properties share common stairways and an entrance.
Being a relatively new town, Stevenage isn’t known for its history or beautiful architecture. But it is known for being one of the most convenient places in the country. Stevenage offers pretty much every amenity anybody could ever need, plus great transport links to the rest of the country.
Colchester is one of the UK’s newest cities. City status can help to raise the profile of a newly created city and could help to boost the economy and the property market too. With that in mind here’s what investors need to know about buy-to-let property investment in Colchester.
Manchester is not only the commercial and economic hub of the north west, it is one of the fastest growing, most dynamic cities in the country. Both are things that bode very well for the future of house prices and property investment in Manchester.
Crawley is one of those rare places in the south east – a town that is an attractive place to live but which has reasonable property prices. Add to that a buoyant jobs market and great access around the area (and around the world) and you can see why Crawley is an attractive place to invest in buy-to let.
Community land trusts are usually set up by people and organisations who live and work in (or have an interest in) a defined local area such as a village, town or suburb. They are membership organisations that are owned by their members and run democratically.
Although it was passed as a law over six years ago The Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 came into force in December 2022. The Act makes major changes to the law on letting property in Wales. Prior to the Act tenancy law in Wales was similar to that in England but this is no longer the case.
Rent Smart Wales is a centralised landlord registration and licensing scheme for all of Wales. It is run is partnership by the 22 local authorities in Wales. Landlords and agents in Wales need to be registered with and licensed by, Rent Smart Wales. Registration and licensing are compulsory.
Glass buildings are sometimes considered where there is a requirement to link a listed building with a new or non-listed building. Glass links may be used to satisfy planning requirements which restrict what can be done to listed buildings. However that’s just one use-case.
One type of rent that is sometimes found in property is a peppercorn rent, which is a notional amount to secure a contract. Here is what peppercorn rent is, how much peppercorn rent actually is, and why more people are likely to be paying peppercorn rent in the future.
Greater Manchester is the largest region outside London, with the largest economy and the largest jobs market. It’s still very affordable for property investors, however. Average property prices across Greater Manchester are well under half of those in London.
Land and property can be valued on the basis of its market value, ie. its value as a piece of land or property which may be based on the value of comparable property. However, the residual method of valuation works by assessing a value based on its developed value less the cost of developing it.
A compulsory purchase order is a legal order which can be used to acquire land and property from its owner whether they wish to sell it or not. A compulsory purchase order is known as a CPO for short. They can be used for projects such as new roads or new railways.
General permitted development is something that property owners who are planning any work on their property need to know about. Here’s what General Permitted Development Orders are and what you need to know about them as a would-be developer.
‘Let Agreed’ means that an offer by a prospective tenant on a rental property has been accepted, in principle, by the landlord or the estate agent. But, before the deal can be completed and the keys are handed over, there will need to be checks done on the tenant.
Land banking – where a property developer buys a plot of land now with the intention of developing it at some future time rather than immediately – is an issue that can have a serious impact on the housing market, driving up prices and preventing new houses from being developed.