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An Open Letter to Portsmouth City Councillors - HMO Issues

Dear Councillors,

Having collaborated with many of you in various capacities and with different organizations around Portsmouth over the years, I wish to clarify my recent remarks regarding a potential HMO Kristallnacht. I understand that this comparison upset several of you, and I apologize for any offense caused but..

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TradePoint Offers For Members

In addition to your normal member discount, there are further discounts this month on landscaping, decor, kitchens and bathrooms. Read on for more detail and a reminder of how to get your card if you do not have one.

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  731 Hits

GDPR - Such a wonderful thing

I have had several landlords asking about the PCC HMO Licence Conditions which will force them to share details such as credit referencing information which does not seem to be an appropriate thing to ask for and may breach the landlords GDPR obligations.  If it helps, some comments from the ICO and my thoughts on what I do when the police ask for similar information.

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  836 Hits

When is a 257 not a 257?

One of the joys of holiday letting has been sloping off away from rules and regulations for a while, as the net tightens in the holiday let sphere (see last month's chat) housing regulators are struggling to let go. Unfortunately for us many of Southsea's holiday lets fall within 257HMO buildings.

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  994 Hits

Right to Rent Landlords' Code of Practice

It is funny, they call it a 'Code of Practice'  but it is actually a newly published draft of the list of things a landlord must do to avoid a civil penalty and a list of exemptions that let everyone else off the hook. 

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  417 Hits

A flurry of paperwork and certification, again…

 (with thanks to simplybusiness.co.uk) As of October 1 2023, owners of holiday lets are required to meet new fire safety regulations.

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  948 Hits

Fire Safety – It’s in the detail

At the start of October, new rules on Fire Safety were introduced – post Grenfell, everyone appears to be regulating and regimenting every aspect of fire risk. Obviously, this is good if it saves lives – but how do you know when enough is enough.And who is competent to make that decision?  

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  561 Hits

Oops, I seem to still be a landlord...

Despite my attempts to become a business owner, with my move to holiday letting, being a landlord is a responsibility that is hard to escape. 

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  1017 Hits

Summer ends with a festival

The sun glitters over the sea, the music plays and we enter the fray once again. Victorious festival brings a buoyant conclusion to the Summer season in Portsmouth this year.

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  872 Hits

Down with the Rentier class

 "Modern economists agree that the power dynamics of the rentier-tenant relationship are oppressive" Wikipedia.

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  960 Hits

Working remotely strike 2!

Having faced certain challenges last month, the second attempt to work remotely proves to be even more challenging

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  955 Hits

Not remotely in control!

I have taken the plunge and bought a camper van. Surely there is nothing that can't be done from a remote location…

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  940 Hits

What happens when your business starts running you…

 After 6 years of throwing myself wholeheartedly into my business, I am now ready to step away and see if it has legs of its own. The things that I own have ended up owning me and I am just a little worn out. My son has also left home so freedom beckons.

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  980 Hits

Legislation beckons

As the rental space became overwhelmed with paper and legislation, holiday letting was a breezy, carefree alternative. No tenants, licences or council visits. Not for much longer!

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  1108 Hits

A place in the Sun?

By now, my readers will know all about holiday letting in Southsea, but do you dream of foreign climes? 

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  1019 Hits

Dry January

Once again the tumbleweed is blowing through the bookings in the short let industry, what to do?

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  1048 Hits

2022 is a year best forgot, roll on 2023

 Life is a leasehold and far too much of '22 was spent in a legal knot with a business partnership that was no longer desirable. As I end '22 with it finally over, and with myself in recovery from a very challenging experience, the New Year brings a different sort of goal.

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  1034 Hits

November notes for a small business

Remember, remember, November means admin on this team…

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  1037 Hits

Autumn leaves

Autumn is the time for planning routine maintenance and counting the 'falling leaves of bank notes' of the Summer season.

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  957 Hits

What the!!!

The recent financial shock has yet to be felt in the holiday let market, but what does it mean for hosts?

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  928 Hits

What the fuel price increase means for your holiday let.

Remember the good old days, when you went to a holiday cottage armed with your own linen and a bag of £1 coins for the meter? Are we returning to these times?

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  999 Hits

Ready, Steady Summer!

Stop the clocks, forget the social life and make hay while the sun shines. This is why we do it folks!

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  1689 Hits

Does increased legislation really help?

There are many calls for greater legislation; whenever there is a complaint these days the answer is to increase the bulk of the Law. I believe that we should rip it up instead and let the market decide.

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  1428 Hits

Sharing economy- opportunities to make and save money are still there

  You can loan out a room, camper van, driveway and household equipment, even the family dog. What are the most practical and realistic ways to benefit from this way of operating?

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  1162 Hits

Ups and downs for short term rentals

Enthusiasm for the sharing economy seems like a distant memory…before Covid, many of us were busy mucking in and sharing/renting our homes, vehicles and household equipment. Some of us started using Airbnb professionally, where is it going next?

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  932 Hits

Notes from distant places

The world of property has consumed my last month. A business trip to the French Alps, working on the new Plymouth project and fresh determination to systemise and outsource parts of my business.

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  1590 Hits

Airbnb: From home share to $4bn global titan

I am going back to the roots of Airbnb with a home share this weekend, the global corporation has modest roots that still work just fine.

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  862 Hits

Long distance investing

 I am not exactly writing from a far away beach but our long awaited bungalow in Plymouth has its renovations underway. This is a new way of updating properties for me, an 8 hour round-trip has to be taken seriously!

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  967 Hits

On board USS Small Enterprise, Star Date 2022

I am a starter – this means that I am comfortable setting things up, winding the clockwork handle, but then like to see things roll away. 2022 brings another new start for me so happy days.

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  903 Hits

Life from the sofa...

 November is creeping into December. It is a full 2 months since I have set foot inside any of my holiday let properties (broken ankle…still!) and my imagination is running riot with imagined disaster.

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  917 Hits

Looking forward to a relaxing retirement (just not quite yet)

October is tax time around here. I seem to have acquired several small Ltd Companies, part of an LLP as well as self employed, payroll, pensions and land & property pages, as well as the FHL (furnished holiday let) parts of my own tax return. Can you beat my record number of tax pages?

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  919 Hits

A sharp intake of breath

 September this year has brought something of a slowdown after the hectic staycation boom of August. Fate has intervened again with a broken ankle so how best to make use of the time?

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  1111 Hits

Ending the Summer Victorious

This year I decided I wanted it all, my desire was to max out the holiday lets AND attend the glorious Victorious with my friends. Was this too much to ask?

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  1002 Hits

Do you follow the stars?

Holiday accommodation ratings systems have been around for a long time, but are they still fit for purpose in the digital age?

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  1080 Hits

Finding my special niche

Shiny pennies in the property world…I am by nature discontent and fidgety. Having a property business fits this very well as all manner of things get thrown at you, but the latest idea to take my attention is a keeper for me.

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  1078 Hits

CCTV A Mixed Blessing, But Then, So Are Guests

 I took the plunge and bought ring video doorbells for my holiday lets, I really was better off not knowing!

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  1205 Hits

Spring clean 2021

Sweeping the pavement outside my short lets in Orchard Rd, I wondered how this old-fashioned habit had died. (Editor note: This is NOT a picture of Charlotte cleaning her door step!)

Cleaning the front step used to be a matter of pride for many households. This small threshold literally welcomed people to your home and displayed to the street that you were a person that did things properly and took pride in yourself, your work and home.

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  1126 Hits

When is a holiday let not a holiday let? When it is a holiday home….

 There have been stirrings and accusations in the world of holiday lets this month as HMRC announce a clampdown on holiday homes. Where does this fit in to the jigsaw of short term lets?

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  1341 Hits

Holiday Lets in The News, good and bad

This month short term lets have been splashed across the local paper for good and bad. Nothing can quell my enthusiasm for opening up properly on 12th April but have I slowed down too much to get back into business?

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  1040 Hits

'It's no holiday' - literally

I don't do stocks and shares, I don't do bitcoin, I am not even sure what FOREX trading is. Received wisdom is that wealth is best retained by diversifying your portfolio to weather the storms of financial life.

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  1208 Hits

2020 - Ouch!

A slap in the face is more effective than ten lectures. It makes you understand very quickly. Leopold von Sacher-Masoch

Some financial knowledge comes easily, some is learned through sweat and some lessons must be a slap-in-the-face before they finally come home.

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  1178 Hits

What is the difference between a rogue and a craftsman?

As landlords, we have all struggled with building trades over the years – big jobs are easy, you have a surveyor or similar to manage it, a contract with a builder chosen by tender and whilst much of the work is done 'as fast as possible' as opposed to as 'well as possible' generally, as long as the snags get properly recorded and resolved all is well.  But... 

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  1923 Hits

Guest Blog - Jonathan McDermot, TPX - How To Make Money With Property

So it's a rainy Sunday morning in Gosport and I have been reflecting upon the current state of the property education sector here in the UK. Like everyone else my Facebook and other social feed's are flooded with offers of free seminars, no money down deals, promises of a 7 figure salary or business, health, wealth and happiness!  

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  1152 Hits

Rock 'n' Roll bank holiday weekends return

How do you get your kicks in lockdown? My rebellious younger self wouldn't recognise me.

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  1129 Hits

Bouncing back (like an old tennis ball...)

Optimism deserts me as we dig in for the long Covid haul 

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  1961 Hits

The Thing About Smart Appliances

Charlotte is having a month off, so I thought I'd use her spot to share a thought this month as I just bought a new washing machine for one of the houses.  At £229 from ao.com with free delivery it was a no brainer, why even try and repair the old one. Not only  was the new one  A+++, it had a 10 year parts guarantee AND it was SMART - but that's where my worries began

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  1838 Hits

It's no holiday for anyone...

 What has the PDPLA ever done for us? 

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  1455 Hits

If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.

Swept up in ‘this time next year we will all be millionaires Rodney’?, never fail to create a joint venture agreement. Pulling together gives great value but what happens when you are pulling against each other?. My transition from Teacher and landlord to Serviced Accommodation provider has been enlightening of the value of the unseen benefits, and some of the disadvantages, of working for yourself and together.

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  1579 Hits