Book Categories

Description of The Landlord's Handbook

Letting property can be financially rewarding, but to be successful landlords must grapple with finance, tax and business decisions, human relationships, and with a mountain of rules and regulations that have become increasingly demanding.

The Landlord's Handbook is the ultimate guide to staying on top of all of this and to making a long-term success of property letting.

Making the life of a landlord easier

This book covers every element of property letting, from finding suitable properties and tenants through to fulfilling legal obligations, and solving disputes and problems. Succinct and thorough, it is a no-nonsense guide and includes chapters on:

- the benefits and methods of letting residential property
- buy-to-let finance and the best mortgage for you
- getting the best properties and the best tenants
- drawing up the most effective legal agreements
- keeping in line with laws and regulations
- rent, repairs, possession and more.

Drawing on the experience of thousands of landlords, this guide contains a host of real-life examples of what works and what doesn't, with pointers to common mistakes and miscalculations. Pitfalls are flagged at every stage, and best practice is always explained and illustrated.

The Landlord's Handbook will make your life as a landlord easier - no matter whether you've been in the business for years, have run into problems now or are considering letting property in the future.

Title Information

ISBN:

9780857190185

Pages:

272 pages

Format:

Paperback

Product Code:

473842

Publisher:

Harriman House

Published:

25/10/2010

Edition:

1st Edition

Press and Industry Reviews

"A comprehensive work of reference for new landlords and experienced ones needing to keep up to date - don't become a landlord without it."
- Residential Landlords Association

Write a review of this book

Customer Reviews from Amazon

About Leon Hopkins

Besides writing for a number of national newspapers, Leon Hopkins has edited and published a range of successful business magazines. These have included national and international accountancy titles, publications dealing with human resources, and Residential Property Investor, a magazine for buy to let landlords, where he was able to bring his business qualifications and journalistic experience to bear.

More recently he has edited www.residentiallandlord.co.uk, the leading information website for UK landlords and an important source of shared experience for landlords, including a landlords' forum and question and answer service.

Previous books by Leon Hopkins have included The Hundredth Year, Budgeting for Business, Cash Flow and How to improve it, and The Audit Report.

Contents of The Landlord's Handbook

Making the Life of a Landlord Easier

1. Why (and How to) Let Residential Property?
- Whether to Incorporate or Not

2. Buy-to-Let Finance
- Which Mortgage is the Best for You?
- When Bailiffs Come Knocking

3. Suitable Properties
- Who Are You Renting To?
- HHSRS

4. Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs)

5. Licences, Certificates and Safety Responsibilities

6. Suitable Tenants
- Doing it Yourself
- Using an Agent

7. Tenancy Agreements
- Types of Tenancy
- What to Include in (Most) New Tenancy Agreements
- Ending Agreements

8. Rent, Rent Controls, Rent Increases and Rent Arrears
- Rent Controls
- Who Pays for What?
- Rent Arrears

9. Repairs and Property Contents
- Repairs
- Property Contents

10. Possession
- The First Step
- If the Tenant Remains
- Other Circumstances of Possession
- Conditions of Seeking Possession
- Evicting Squatters

11. Local Housing Authorities
- Enforcement Powers
- Local Authority Grants
- Local Housing Allowance

12. Taxation
- Income Tax
- Capital Gains Tax (CGT)
- Corporation Tax
- Value Added Tax (VAT)

13. Record Keeping

14. Insurance
- Useful and Essential Cover

15. Qualification and Associations
- Landlord Qualifications
- Landlord Associations
- Landlord Accreditation Schemes

16. Scotland and Northern Ireland
- Scotland
- Northern Ireland

17. Ten Golden Rules

Jargon Buster
Index