Author archive: BP Ni

Many landlords, owners and tenants are not fully aware of their liability for rates payments on rental properties. The rules regarding rates for rental properties are different from rules governing owner-occupier properties. Liability for rates on a rental property is determined by the Capital Value for Domestic Properties or Net Annual Value for Non Domestic…

New home registrations in Northern Ireland have shown year-on-year growth, according to figures out today. The latest statistics from the National House Building Council say that there were 759 finished new houses in the province between February and April this year. That was up from 648 during the same period the year before. However, the…

  Research the market Choose a promising area Do the maths Shop around and get the best mortgage Think about your target tenant Don’t be over ambitious – go for rental yield and    remember costs Consider looking further afield or doing a property up Haggle over price Know the pitfalls Consider how hands-on you want…

According to official figures, 2014 saw 20,200 transactions. Prices rose 8% across the year, but are still 1% below what they were at the beginning of 2005. Finance minister Simon Hamilton said the data was “encouraging” – houses are more affordable and the market is confident. The residential property price index is the most comprehensive…

House sales are now taking up to a month longer to go through than at the start of the year as lenders grow more cautious, surveyors have reported. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) said that stricter rules around the way that lenders can hand out mortgages and shortages of conveyancers and other skilled staff…

The Department for Social Development announced in a press release yesterday that it will launch a publicity campaign to raise awareness of tenancy deposit protection. One year on, the Minister said that whilst £10m of deposits have been protected he is still concerned that many are not. Here is what the Department said; Social Development…

Just to remind you that HMRC have an ongoing campaign in relation to giving landlords the opportunity to bring their tax affairs up to date. Under the Let Property Campaign, you can report previously undisclosed taxes on rental income to HMRC, if you’re an individual landlord renting out residential property. If you are renting out…