Landlord Guides

Most properties run on assumptions between purchase and problem. Twelve checks, once a year, that replace them with answers — and the three verdicts every property gets at the end.

One ordinary buy-to-let, three tests: the rate, the rent, and the things that break. Why a 7.67% gross yield can still lose money, and the three numbers worth knowing in advance.

Three things can happen when a fixed rate ends, and only two of them are decisions. The real cost of drifting onto the SVR, the rental cover test, and the six-month timeline.

What full management costs across a tenancy, what it genuinely removes, and the two variables that decide the answer for your portfolio.

The arithmetic that decides whether a rent rise is worth it, how much notice you owe, and why the tenant you keep is usually worth more than the increase.

What a void month really costs once utilities and local tax fall back to you, and the practical steps that shorten the gap between tenants.

Everyone quotes a figure. The honest answer is that the number matters less than what it has to survive — a rate rise, a void, and one boiler.

Most landlords find out whether a property made money at the end of the year — months too late to do anything about it. Here's how to track your real cash flow every month.

Gross yield is the number every listing quotes. Net yield is the number that pays your bills. Here is how to work out both, with a full worked example, and why a property showing 9.3% on paper can still leave you short each month.