Why are buy to let investors taking on the role of the Home office? And why do you need to know? There’s usually two ways of getting people to do what you want, or to achieve the result you are after; and that’s by using carrots and sticks. The metaphor, of course,…
What are the tax implications of owning (buy to let) investment property? There have been two big changes in the last few years First, section 24 of the 2015 Finance Bill restricts the amount of mortgage interest a property investor or second home owner can off-set against rent, phasing off-setting out so that after…
Refinance This is relatively straight forward, most Buy-to-Let lenders will allow you to borrow more if the rent is sufficient to cover the mortgage plus a bit. They will stipulate that the rent is 130% to 150% of mortgage payments. They will also want a revaluation and administration fee. The big proviso for the plan…
Wait for prices to go up This is the crunch part of the plan. If prices don’t go up, the plan won’t work (unless you bought substantially below market in the first place). I’ve heard it said that house prices double, on average, every seven to ten years. Looked at another way, average house prices…
Let it out at a rent that covers all costs This isn’t necessarily as easy as it sounds, because yields and capital growth often work against each other. It is generally true that the higher the yield, the less expectation there is in the market of capital growth. Conversely, the higher the likelihood of capital…
Is the plan I outlined in the Part 1 to make unlimited tax free wealth realistic? Actually, I think it is, but there are a few practical issues which need further thought and attention if the investor is to stay on track. Let’s have a look at these now under these headings: Buy a property…
Robert Allen, self made American property millionaire and guru, in his excellent book ‘Nothing Down for the 1990s’, suggests an interesting plan by which we can all retire early and live off a plentiful supply of untaxed income. Does this sound too good to be true? Well, actually, it probably isn’t, although there are some…
My wife and I each have a stupid amount of money tied up in personal pension plans which we paid into many years ago when we were both employed. It’s sat there doing nothing and if it were used to buy an annuity, we’d get nothing helpful by way of income. Have the recent budget…