As we approach the end of the current tax year, it is a time when landlords should reflect on their property business and plan for the year ahead.

If I was to ask you the following question, what
would your answer be?

“Do you have an idea of how much tax you will be paying for profits made in the current tax year?”
Will the answer be:

a) No, I will find out when my accounts are done - probably in January next year. :-)

b) I have a rough idea.

c) Yes! I know what both my profits are and what my tax liability will be.
Unfortunately, from feedback I get, the typical answer to the question from too many landlords is a).

This answer is very dangerous and can put landlords in a right pickle, especially if their
rental profits are much higher than what has been anticipated. The last thing you want to find out is that you have a tax bill that you can’t afford or will struggle to pay!
Remember: Forewarned is forearmed.

This is where our award winning ‘Landlords Property Manager’ software can help. It does all
the number crunching for you, tells you your profits and your tax liability too just by the
click of a button!

The only thing you need to do is enter your income and expenses!
Not surprisingly, the answer to my question by our Landlords Property Manager customers is c).

Take a look here at the short one-click tax report video demo that is produced from Landlords

Property Manager. I guarantee no other solution on the market will produce a more complete set of records:
>> www.propertyportfoliosoftware.co.uk/profit

You can also download a copy of a sample report here:
>> www.propertyportfoliosoftware.co.uk/str

Show this to your accountant (if you use one) and he’ll do one of two things:
- Get grumpy because you’ve slashed the amount you’ll be paying him and come up with some *excuse* to keep you paying his fees!
- Be delighted because he can focus more of his time on more interesting tax work (and probably earn more).
Either way, Landlords Property Manager is here to help you get better organised and boost your profits so you can do more.
This article is written by Amer Siddiq, founder of PropertyPortfolioSoftware.co.uk

Want more time and money saving tips for your property business?
Go here to get a free copy of Amer’s Landlords Insider Secrets Report.

If you are reading this now, I say a big congratulation; I can easily deduce that you are at the verge of buying that befitting home and perhaps start a family – if you haven’t yet. There is no iota of doubt to the fact that buying and living in your own property will give you more rest of mind and increase your chances of getting bank loans and a host of other perks.

Buying a new home in the U.K can be very tricky especially if you are not too familiar with the terrain and business/negotiating modalities involved. Below are some of the most valuable tips that would save you a lot of headaches and make the process smooth.

1. List out (in a piece of paper), all the things you would like to have in the property – and carry this paper along during each tour. This is quite important considering that there a thousand and one available properties online and offline to choose from; you don’t want to spend all day touring

2. Have a clear time-frame for your search. Organize the number of houses you want to see per day or week. Try not to extend it to more than two weeks because the more you see the more indecisive or confused you become.

3. Look at photos from each house and invite your spouse/friend/relative to contribute in eliminating them one after the other.

4. Don’t be over ambitious. The location you desire to live in would generally determine what you’ll find, so remember that always.

5. Buy at once. If you – and your spouse/friend/relative think you have found the perfect house, never procrastinate, just buy immediately; chances are there are others pleased with property and willing to buy too.

6. Before releasing your hard earned cash, make sure to check all amenities that may need fixing and factor it into the price – that’s a wise step to adopt.

7. Don’t throw you money away; make sure the estate agent is genuine by checking with the local council and other regulatory bodies.

If I were to continue, I’d probably be ending up writing a book on what to do or otherwise when buying a home for the first time in the U.K. however, these 7 golden tips would surely see you through any property purchase; just be smart!

As I said in the last blog the DPS (Deposit Protection Scheme) and the NUS have banded together to produce a guide for students renting accommodation. It is full of top tips and I highly recommend you grab one if you or your child is going to be heading off to college this year. For those who are interested in knowing the kinds of things the guide covers I thought it a good idea to give you the top few hints it contains.

• Never sign anything that does not clearly state how your deposit will be protected and what the process is for repayment.
• Ask for written proof that the landlord belongs to a Government approved deposit scheme before you hand over a penny.
• Tell you landlord you expect to receive a receipt for your deposit within 14 days. (Tell them nicely, of course.)
• Make sure your inventory contains a condition signed and dated and preferably with clear photos.You should be present when this condition report is signed and dated.

It is my strong belief that most landlords are decent people who have the best intentions. But even so these kinds of precautions also prevent misunderstandings. They are  good common sense suggestions.

Putting your money into a residential property in the UK is seen as a good move by those with an eye on the long term gain. It may not be the rock and roll of investment that it once was but there are many who consider that a blessing.

Many are pointing to low interest rates couples with high rental demand as factors that should influence landlords to expand their portfolio or Britons with money to enter into the sector for the first time. The other options such as putting money into stocks or storing it in saving accounts have their own unique problems. Stocks are seen as unstable and saving accounts bear little return.

So property comes to the fore. Of course that is if you actually have money to invest. Despite the freeing up of the mortgage loan market over the last few months things are still a bit tight and those looking to borrow to invest may have a hard time getting something that suits them.

But those who are cashed up are in a strong position and many can see the sense in property. It may not be rock and roll but it is solid and over time your money will grow. 

Sometimes a change is as good as a holiday. In this case I am talking about a change of housing minister. Grant Shapps announced yesterday that the proposals for huge regulation of landlords and letting agencies are to be totally scrapped.  This will come as relief to a lot of industry experts who were expressing grave concerns about over regulation.

Other people will, of course, be concerned that the findings and recommendations of the Rugg review are to be so totally ignored. Mr Shapps take on the proposals that were tabled in response to the review, however, is that they were burdensome. This is a position that is largely in line with what the industry has been saying all along.

Mr Shapps said: “With the vast majority of England’s three million tenants happy with the service they receive, I am satisfied that the current system strikes the right balance between the rights and responsibilities of tenants and landlords.”

There is some sense it that. The decision though will leave the industry in the UK completely unregulated as it has always been. It will be interesting to see how long that situation will be allowed to continue.

Despite the specter of the dreaded capital gains tax rise hanging over us there is good news in that UK house prices seem to be holding stable for now. The banks are showing slightly conflicting statistics but mainly they agree that things are fairly steady.

The Halifax points out that dips in April and February raised some doubts about the strength of a recovery but things have even out since then. Nationwide figures, however, showed a one percent increase in prices in April and this put the annual rate of increase into double figures for the first time in three years.

Chief Executive Graham Bell said “Unless there is a significant spike in interest rates, which we are not expecting, a major dip in prices is unlikely to occur over the next year,”

That is at least good news though many would be looking for something a little stronger such as a predicted increase, even a slight one. I guess the silver lining is the capital gains tax will not bite if there is no gain to tax. People will just be more likely to be patient and sit and wait for prices to begin rising.

It does not come as a big shock to anyone to find that landlords are suffering through a terrible period of rental arrears at the moment. With unemployment on the rise and people having real financial difficulties rental arrears have more than doubled over the past 12 months.

As I think I have said before, landlords in the UK have a real image problem. I would like to use an example to illustrate. Say there was a huge car company that ceased paying its employers their wages. Where do you think all the sympathy would be directed? Towards the poor people being robbed of their income I would hazard a guess. And yet when a landlord’s income, on which they rely, is suddenly stopped the sympathy is usually directed at the person who has stopped paying.

I am not saying I have no understanding for the tenants who are good payers who have something go wrong in their lives I am just making the point that landlords do it tough when their living is stopped too. The reason I choose to make this point now is because I think a lot of the things that are happening to landlords can be traced back to this image problem.

Things such as a huge hike in CGT is seen by the public as mainly affecting professional property investors and why should they care about them. The politicians have a free pass to do as they please as public perception is that landlords are a group of rich fat cats.

If only it were true.

After having failed miserably in my attempt to remain neutral on the issue of CGT in yesterday’s blog covering a story that was pro the rise, I think I am on safer ground today. I want to talk about an article that has sentiments much closer to my own heart.

In the Scotsman late last week political commentator Alex Orr wrote a strong condemnation of plans to hike CGT up to frightening levels. He pulled no punches as he branded the move by the coalition incompetent. His reasoning was fairly straight forward. The hike will strangle the life out of the budding UK economic recovery. Rather than resulting in money pouring into the nation’s coffers to be paid off the deficit, the opposite is likely to be true. The move will slow the trickle of money to the government even further as everyone shuts up shop and battens down the hatches. Investment will all but grind to a halt.

He further goes on to say that the government should not feel compelled to make its own mistakes when it can study the result of this kind of move by looking at what happened in the USA and Australia when they tried this trick. A drastic drop in revenue for anyone who is curious. I am all for learning from the mistakes of others, it is far less painful.

I, not surprisingly agree wholeheartedly with Mr Orr. I hazard that most professional landlords do. 

Most experienced landlords are well aware of the statement made in the headline of my blog. Sometimes, however, it is easy to forget that especially in more difficult times. It is worth restating it so that we can all strengthen our resolve.

This week it was Mike Goddard, CEO of Belvoir, one of the UK’s biggest specialist lettings agencies, who chimed in with a timely reminder.

His statement was closely linked to yesterday’s topic the hot rumours of huge rises in capital gains tax. Mr Goddard preaches caution and patience as the sensible reaction the talk of the CGT hikes. In part this is what he had to say

“At present I don’t think we need to view the situation with the rental market as all doom and gloom, particularly for those investors who are in this business for the long haul. I strongly advise potential investors to always seek the advice of a specialist lettings agent who is able to provide realistic and unbiased advice about rental yields.”

This seems like sage advice and I believe that most landlords will have been thinking in these terms anyway. At the risk of stating the obvious capital gains tax only applies if you sell.

A report this week has indicated that house prices will be on the up an up for the whole of this year.

The indices published by nationwide show that property prices rose by a full one percent last month. The reasons are simple ones of supply and demand. Properties are in scarce supply and high demand in most parts of the country. Sending the price steadily higher. Nationwide predicted a stabilizing of prices through the coming months but also that movement even minor should all be upward.  Meanwhile, the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) has also claimed that prices are set to grow a further five per cent over the course of the year.

For sure this means that those expanding their property portfolio will have to have deeper pockets to make a purchase but there is also a very bright side.

All of us landlords like to see the overall value of our investment increasing. We understand that we are in this for the long haul but in the end we love to see our money growing. Most landlords will be thrilled with Nationwide’s prediction.