Earlier this year, the EDP ask me my thoughts on owning a leasehold property.
There was some bad press around the sale of leasehold house in the north of England which tied the purchasers to unfair leases and made their homes almost unsalable.
With this in mind, what are the pitfalls to look out for and what should you consider before purchasing a leasehold property?
This week the EDP invited us to give an opinion on whether changing décor can really help properties sell (In 150 words!)?
Anything you do might not be the new owner's taste after all.
If you had £500 to spend to make your property "market ready", how should you spend it?
Click to see more...
In July the Government confirmed its plans to change the way that Capital Gains Tax (CGT) is calculated for properties that are part or fully let.
This week, the EDP asked me I was a country boy at heart or city dweller (In 150 words!)?
This is a deeply personal preference and highlights exactly why location is most people's number one criteria when looking for a new home.
To see if I prefer a pair of muddy wellies or some leather soled slip ons, click here...
Buying and selling a home can be a stressful process, so it's important you are aware of the pitfalls that can cause a sale (or rental) to fall though. If you address these early in the process your chances of the deal going through is much greater.
According to the NAEA (National Association of Estate Agents) Propertymark, these are the factors that most commonly cause issues..
This week, the EDP asked if we could shed some light on the mysterious world of a mortgage lender's valuer (In 150 words).
Unlike a building survey or homebuyers report, unless something goes wrong, most buyers will have zero contact with their mortgage companies appointed valuer, you usually won't even get a copy of the report.
So how do they come to their opinion of the value? Will they tell you if the place is falling down? Why do they sometimes not visit at all? Click here for a glimpse behind the wizards curtain...
If you are a landlord or have a portfolio of properties, you can claim ‘wholly incurred’ expenses against your property income. Expenses must follow the standard HMRC guidance and the expenses must be exclusively for the purpose of renting out the property.
HMRC provide a number of examples of allowable expenses including:
If you buy a new vacuum cleaner for your own home, and also use it to clean your rental property between tenants, you can’t claim the cost of the vacuum cleaner as an expense against your rental income.
However, you could claim the cost of any cleaning products you bought specifically for cleaning the rental property.
Where costs are incurred partly for your rental business and partly for some other purpose you may be able to claim a proportion of that cost if that part can be separately identified as being incurred wholly and exclusively for the purposes of the property rental business.
Want to extend your home, or a property that you are planning to buy? Here's how to do it without having to submit a planning application.
Permitted development rights enable homeowners to make certain building works on a property without planning permission from the local council and without approval from a neighbour.
