One of the first things the new Liberal-Democrat & Conservative coalition Government has announced is its intention to scrap Home Information Packs (HIPs). So after more than 10 years in planning, just three years in operation and a whole load of wasted time and money, HIPs are once again no longer an unwelcome part of a property investor’s life…

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Last night on BBC TV, Inside Out took a High Court enforcement officer to pursue Ajay Ahuja who had refused to repay claims awarded against him in the small claims court. …Ahuja is then told that his car (a silver Mercedes) will be seized and sold at auction…

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We’re all aware of the benefits, to investors and vendor/tenants alike, that are involved in sale and rentback schemes. Many people reading this blog will undoubtedly have taken the opportunity to save at least one family from repossession and eviction from their home by the lender too, so readers both know that satisfaction and are now reaping the financial rewards…

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Paul Shamplina of Landlord Action is currently working with the BBC on a television programme to highlight the plight of landlords affected by a bad tenant.
They are looking for a case where the tenant has committed criminal activity in the property, and left the property trashed with severe rent arrears.
One client of ours is in [...]

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The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has yesterday cut the UK Bank Base Rate (BBR) to 2%, matching the lowest level in its 314-year history. This is a further cut of one percentage point.
The MPC has now cut the base rate three times this quarter:
Date                Rate cut (%)
8 October            0.5
6 November       [...]

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If you read Landlord’s Energy Preservation Certificate (EPC) Deadline Wednesday 1st October 2008 you will know that you’ll need to get an EPC before you can legally advertise a property to rent anytime from 1st October onwards. The penalty for non-compliance is a hefty £200.
There may be a rush for Energy Performance Certificates in October, and [...]

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EDIT 22/09/2008: We have secured a price reduction on Energy Performance Certificates to £67+VAT nationwide and are please to be able to pass this saving on to you. Please follow the links below to book your EPCs online now.
ORIGINAL POST 04/09/2008: If you have an investment property with a tenant whose AST is due to expire [...]

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The Bank of England figures for new mortgage approvals in July last year were 114,000, and only 33,000 this year, so the government today announced several measures designed to help both the housing market and homeowners themselves. The measures, announced on two separate occasions by Hazel Blears and Alistair Darling, included the new HomeBuy Direct [...]

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EDIT 01/09/2008: Since 1st September this book is now sold in printed copy by TaxCafe and includes both a downloadable PDF (so you can start reading immediately) and a bonus book ‘How to Save Tax 2008/2009′ - worth £19.95. The price of ‘Surviving the Credit Crunch’ has been increased to £24.95 to reflect this but [...]

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Do you have any DSS tenants? If so, you will probably already have heard about the transition from Housing Benefits to Local Housing Allowance (LHA) that took place with effect from 7 April, i.e. 2 months ago.
The Government’s rent service is now publishing, online, the LHA figures that councils will pay for tenants in receipt [...]

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