Are you able to claim back commission you've paid a letting agent in the past?
If you're a landlord who used a letting agency to find you a tenant for a property, are you still paying them commission?
By Polly Botsford, legal journalist.
An ‘introduction fee’ or commission is often charged by estate agents and letting agents who find a tenant for a private landlord. In the past, some agents have also charged what is known as rent renewal commission. That is, they continued to charge a commission for all the subsequent years that the tenant was paying rent in the property – and that commission was as much as 11% of the annual rent.
Are property buy to let investment clubs ever worth the money?
Before the credit crunch there were dozens of property investment clubs and now, it seems, they’re making a comeback.
If you’re thinking of investing in property, have you been tempted to sign up to a property investment club? They operate in different ways but there may be trends in common. You may be offered access to a ‘property insider’s secrets’ for free before being targeted to sign up for one of their seminars. Do you really need to pay hundreds or thousands of pounds for a seminar to learn the ‘secrets’ of property investment or are you better off saving your money?
The new 'Green Deal' will give tenants the right to ask for their landlord to improve insulation in their home.
The government wants homeowners and landlords to make their homes more energy efficient, but some landlords are ahead of the game.
Updated 25th April 2011.
Under the government’s Green Deal plan, both homeowners and landlords would be encouraged to make their homes more energy efficient. In its forthcoming Energy Bill the government will make it easier for homeowners to go green and will put pressure on landlords to make their properties more energy efficient. I’ve spoken to one private landlord who’s been doing this for several years. And she believes it makes commercial as well as environmental sense.
