Articles
Property investment tips, insights, strategies and industry news
Adverse possession is a legal concept where someone may be able to claim legal ownership of land just by occupying it in some cases. Here we explain what adverse possession is, how it works and what you need to know as a landlord or investor.
Leeds is not only part of one of the largest urban areas outside London it also has a larger economy than many European countries. Although Leeds has higher property prices than much of West Yorkshire it still has very good value investment property.
Liverpool is a world famous city for music, culture and spot but it also boasts low property prices and excellent buy-to-let rental yields! Suffering economic decline in the 70s and 80s it has really bounced back and is now a great place for property investors to be putting their money.
Whether you are an investor looking to invest in UK property or a property developer on the hunt for the means to finance a project, property bonds could be exactly what you are looking for. But tread carefully and always seek expert advice before moving forward.
Due to rising house prices and new construction technologies, there is currently a lot of interest in modular homes. Here we will look at what exactly are modular homes and at what the advantages and disadvantages of this type of design, are.
Build-to-rent homes are homes developed and built specifically for the rental market. Build-to-rent homes are not built to sell. They are not sold to owner occupiers nor are they sold to individual buy-to-let landlords. Build-to-Rent is a hot area of the market.
Curtilage is usually considered to be an enclosed piece of land that is immediately next to a property and which belongs to it. The curtilage of a dwelling might be a yard or garden as well as any outbuildings belonging to the property.
A Building Preservation Notice is an official notice which can be issued to legally prevent any work being done, or changes being made, to a specific building. Issued under Section 3 of the Planning Act 1990 it is usually used where it is believed that the building is at risk.
The Community Infrastructure Levy is a charge payable by those planning many kinds of building work. It is technically known as a planning charge, but in practice it is a kind of tax on new development. The money received from the Levy is used to pay for local infrastructure such as roads, transport and new schools.
Areas within the London commuter belt can offer a good opportunity for buyers and investors. They benefit from well paid London workers who can often afford to pay stronger rents than locals. So they can offer good buy to let yields.
Glasgow is sometimes called Scotland’s second city after the capital, Edinburgh. But in every other way Glasgow is bigger, much bigger – Glasgow has a bigger population, a bigger economy and a bigger property market too. There are lots of reasons to invest.
Are you thinking of investing in buy-to-let in Birmingham? It’s a city with great yields and opportunities for growth and a huge economic hub. Today, we crunch the numbers to tell you everything you need to know about the various city districts.
When buying or selling a house it is usual to have a solicitor or conveyancer handle the conveyancing process for you. However it is possible to do your conveyancing yourself. Here we will look at what you need to know about doing DIY conveyancing.
High Wycombe is a marmite kind of place it seems. It appears in surveys of both good places to live and not-so-good places to live. High Wycombe’s good points are that it benefits from a great location by the Chiltern Hills, has good access to London and low property prices.
External wall insulation is just one of many ways you might consider improving the insulation of your property. In this article we will look at whether external wall insulation is likely to be a good investment or not.
A butterfly roof is an inverted roof when compared to a more conventional gable roof. With a conventional roof two pitched surfaces rise to meet each other at a central ridge. In this article, we look at the pros and cons.
Student HMOs continue to be an attractive property investment opportunity for landlords. Here’s our guide to student HMOs, including the pros and cons of student HMOs, trends in the student market and what landlords need to know about running a student HMO.
Newham is a typical East London district. But it has undergone a massive amount of change and regeneration in recent years. One thing about Newham hasn’t changed though: It’s still a very good value part of London for property buyers and investors.
It could be said that Barnet offers more opportunities to invest in property than any other part of London! Because Barnet has the largest population of any London borough, so the largest number of people looking to buy or rent.
For investors looking to find good value property investments in London then Enfield could be the answer. Average property prices in Enfield are only around half of those in London’s more expensive boroughs. Here’s our guide to the best areas of Enfield to invest in buy-to-let.
Haringey is probably one of the less well known London boroughs. But Haringey has a great accessible location within easy reach of everything that’s going on in London. Haringey also offers some good value property investment opportunities.
The first thing to know about Waltham Forest is that it’s (mostly) not a forest! But Waltham Forest is known for offering more space – and better value – than inner London, alongside great access into the capital.
Redbridge lays claim to being London’s leafiest suburb thanks to its abundance of parks. Redbridge also has excellent access into central London, with the new Elizabeth Line services taking less than 20 minutes. Redbridge still offers below average property prices too.
So where are the best large towns to invest in buy-to-let in the UK? We’ve considered factors such as the population, economy, property prices and rental yields to come up with some suggestions for some towns that you might want to consider.
So where are the best cities to invest in buy-to-let in the UK? We’ve considered factors such as the population, economy, property prices and rental yields to come up with some suggestions for some cities that you might want to consider.
On a per square foot basis, city centre apartments are often cheaper than similar property in a suburban area and they often offer good rental yields. However, there are things that every investor should be aware of.
Mortgage stress tests have been used in mortgage lending for several years but have now been officially scrapped but what this will mean for mortgages and the investor buy-to-let property market.
If you are running (or setting up) a buy-to-let limited company tax rules differ from those if you are owning buy-to-let properties in your own name. Here’s a guide to understanding tax for buy-to-let limited companies.
Landlords are liable for Capital Gains Tax when they sell a buy to let property. Here’s a guide to how much Capital Gains Tax you have to pay when you sell a buy-to-let property and how landlords may be able to cut their Capital Gains Tax bill.
A property company is a company set up specifically to own property, such as a buy to let or a property development. Instead of owning a property directly a property investor owns the company and the company owns the property.
The policy paper Fixing Our Broken Housing Market is a housing White Paper. It sets out the Government’s plans to reform the housing market and boost the supply of new homes in England.
In simple terms brownfield land is a piece of land which has previously been built on. Brownfield land is usually considered to be land that is not presently in use either fully or partly.
Greenfield sites may offer more flexibility to build what you want to build and more design flexibility, subject to obtaining planning permission. They are in some ways a blank canvas for your property development plans.
A planning performance agreement is an agreement that is made between an applicant who applies for planning permission and the local planning authority. It sets down a framework for how the planning application will be handled and what timescales will apply.
The JCT is an organisation which produces contract documentation for building and construction projects. These include standard forms for both main and sub-contracts, homeowner contracts plus agreements, collateral warranties and associated guidance documents.
In the construction industry collateral warranties are used in building projects. They are used to create a contractual link between parties who do not directly have a contract with each other.
The Leasehold Reform (Ground Rent) Act 2022 is a new law affecting leasehold property ownership. Here’s more information on the what the Leasehold Reform Act could mean for landlords and buy-to-let investors in the UK.
Wandsworth has some hidden gems that offer good value for buy-to-let investors. Plus some huge regeneration projects that promise to make the Wandsworth property market even more up and coming in the future.
The first step to successfully investing in property is to know where you are investing. So where is Havering, we hear you ask? Havering is a borough on the eastern side of London. The largest town in Havering is Romford.
Harrow is one of London’s most popular residential areas, yet house prices in Harrow remain comfortably under the capitol’s average. This makes this London borough increasingly attractive to London-centric property investors.
Brent is often an overlooked part of London for property investment and many people don’t know where it is. But Brent is one of London’s largest residential areas, has great access into central London and has property prices that are still just under the London average.
Hounslow is one of the best connected places in all of London, with great connections by road, train and plane. And yet, for property investors, Hounslow also has some of London’s cheapest property prices, too.
The London Renters Union (or LRU for short) says it is a ‘campaigning union’ and it is aimed at renters, people who are homeless, people who are living in temporary accommodation and those who are living with their parents.
Lambeth sits just across the River Thames from Westminster, the West End and the City of London. That’s helped to make this once-overlooked South London suburb a property hotspot in recent years.
The Regulation of Private Renting report was published recently by the Public Accounts Committee but what does it mean for the PRS? Here we will look at what is in the report and at what it could mean for the private rented sector.
The concept of tokenised real estate is fairly new to the property world. However some people believe it could be the next big thing in property. Here’s our simple beginners guide to tokenised real estate.
Rising energy prices and the risks of climate change mean energy efficiency is more important today than ever. Here’s what landlords and property investors need to know about optimising their buy-to-lets for energy efficiency.
Property investors are not immune to worries around inflation, yet while it can impact the profitability of life as a landlord, our research suggests that if anything it is only adding to the appeal of property investment.
When you own or buy a buy-to-let property there are several risks to consider but one you must consider is flood risk. The Environment Agency estimates that around 5.2 million properties in England, or one in six properties, are at risk of flooding.
Net-zero carbon housing is often connected with a number of other terms such as eco-housing, sustainable housing, low energy housing or Passivhaus. These are not necessarily the same as net zero carbon housing, however.