EXPERT COMMENT AND FEATURED ARTICLES ON RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY LETTING AND INVESTMENT FROM LETTINGFOCUS

This page contains a number of articles of interest to landlords, anyone who in the business of buying property to let and managing a let property and for organisations selling services to, or wishing to develop a relationship with, the private rented sector.

I'm David Lawrenson, the UK's leading expert on buy to let investments and residential property investing and the author of the UK's top selling commercially published property book, "Successful Property Letting" - over 50,000 copies sold to date.

At LettingFocus we work as consultants to the private rental sector - helping a range of organisations improve their strategy, marketing and services for their landlord-facing or buy to let products and services. Our clients include local authorities, housing associations, building societies, banks and property portals.

We also help private individuals directly with unbiased and independent one to one property letting advice and information.

If you would like to discuss the possibility of me working for you, please feel free to send me an email or contact me on 020 8690 3138.

Of the many articles I have written, I’ve included some excerpts from just a few here, for you to read. For more topical and up to date comment, please see our property investment blog or send me an email to sign up to our Quarterly Newsletter of for any other query.

ARTICLES OF INTEREST FOR THOSE IN THE PRIVATE RENTED SECTOR (Updated June 2011. Next update December 2011)

The credit crunch and buying property at below market value

Landlord licensing and registration

Insurance for landlords

Inventories, tenancy deposits and the tenancy deposit schemes - What landlords need to know

Buy to let hotels

Auctions - How to achieve success at them

Using builders and tradesmen

Buy to let landlords, the growth of the rented sector in the UK and the future hotspots in which you should invest today

Should you use a buying agent or a property finder?

Choosing a letting agency

How to make company lets and corporate lettings work for you.

What you should know about credit records, credit files & how they impact your ability to get a mortgage

The laws on disability and what they mean for landlords

Flooding, flood avoidance and flood risk - What you should know

Guarantors in tenancy agreements

How to succeed with houses in multiple occupation (HMOs)

How to extend your lease or buy your freehold

The credit crunch & its long term effects on house prices and rents

Unfair mortgage closing and exit fees - How you can get your money back

How to use a mortgage broker to get the best buy to let mortgage

How to check references on tenants

Furnishing a rented property. Do you need to bother?

Getting rid of squatters

How to get a guaranteed rent for your buy to let

Investing in student lettings

Local Housing Allowance and Housing Benefit - The facts

How to avoid becoming a victim of credit fraud

Company lets - What you need to know to get in on the action

Tough laws for larger shared houses or HMOS

Is your tenancy agreement fair?

Investors who don’t give up the day job

Landlords should stop potential problems before they start