nick smith

Thanks Alistair, I'm viewing today so will take lots of photos and share them here. This is the aerial view and as you can see there are a few tree's close by so this could potentially be the cause I suppose...

Don't know, haven't viewed yet but will check when I do.

Hi, Viewing a property in a few days that has two fairly large horizontal cracks in the rear bedroom wall (see pics). It's a 3 bed semi and is an area which I don't believe has historically had any mining activity so wondering what could have caused them and what the likely remedy would be (and cost!). I've read that wall ties failing could be a cause but wondered if anyone else had come across similar cracks on properties they've refurbed and what they had to do to remedy? Needless to say I would of course be getting a structural engineer to inspect but just thought others on here

Not sure if this is for Instagram as well but if it is our handle is: ridex_properties Look us up and check out our refurb pics when you get chance....

References/contact details from existing by clients? Example case studies of properties they’ve sourced for other clients? Check at Companies House if they are operating under a LTD company?

Hi Steve, Well if they start playing those games and going against what they advertise in their terms by refusing further advances without any reasonable justification then they’ll just get more people like your client ditching them and shifting elsewhere, I know I would. Guess I’ll find out in a few months!

Just on the TMW comment, we are with them for one of our properties and our broker confirmed they do offer Additional Lending/Further Advances on BTL.....

Yes I was talking about reclaiming the “additional” council tax pain because it was unoccupied. In our case this amounted to £120 per month!

We had this and had to pay effectively “double council tax” for 6 months last year as the two years was up just as we bought the property. Thankfully the extra money could be reclaimed once the property was occupied so we reclaimed it all back. Are you sure they don’t let you reclaim it? Worth checking their website as my experience is the staff in the office don’t know the rules/policy themselves so we had to tell them how it worked!

Hi David, Thanks for the reply. No they're not based in London, they're a national franchise and we use the local branch. The properties are owned equally between us but the income is split in favour of my wife using trust deeds. There is nothing particularly complex about our situation we just have these properties and our salaries which are dealt with through PAYE. Thanks Nick

Hi, Was just about to ask the same question myself. We have just paid £1300 inc VAT for two tax returns covering 5 BTL properties in both names and over £25k income pa. They aren’t specialist property accountants and we don’t really get any property specific added value from them so was interested in views from those who use property specialists and what typical costs look like. As an additional point our firm charge £75 per return for each additional BTL so every time we add to our portfolio it will cost a further £150. Thanks Nick

Similar to others we have a wall box for keys and all are tagged with street name only with different colour tags for different properties. For docs we have a box file for each property and a standard folder structure for all properties that holds all electronic docs and related spreadsheets. Nick

Hi, Just to add to this, what you can do quite legitimately is choose a lender who offers “additional borrowing” and then after 6 months (which I believe the the minimum) apply for additional lending with your lender post refurb. This is effectively an additional loan against the property to extract some of the equity built via the refurb and obviously relies on the valuer agreeing to the increased value you now put on the property. Hope this helps. Nick

Hi, Just a general question on additional lending following a refurb. In terms of income requirements are these the same as they were for the full mortgage or less? Also in terms of personal income do lenders still generally apply the £25k minimum income rule and if so can rental income be used as part of this? Any guidance from any brokers on here would be much appreciated. Thanks

Hi, Have a deal which I was originally looking to take on myself but the timing doesn't work due to other commitments so now offering as a sourced deal to other investors. Full details can be provided by email however high level numbers below. Purchase Price: £125k Other Costs (SD, Legals, Refurb etc..) : £25k Total Cost: £150k Projected End Value: £165k Estimated Rental Value: £700/month Property is a 3 bed semi with large garden and detached garage located in West Yorkshire which requires full refurb. Seller has inherited it and is looking for a quic