What kind of property investor are you? Part 1: the private landlord

By specialist property accountant Stephen Fay

Most property investors start their investing career by operating in their own personal name. but what do you tell lenders, friends, family, tenants and ‘nosey parkers’ when they ask about your business structure? This article explains how to describe yourself, and operate day to day, if you operate your property business in your own personal name.

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When property investing goes right

By specialist property accountant Stephen Fay

Property investing is a business that can be very financially rewarding – and often in my experience many property people dare not to ‘dream’ about how things might be if things do go to plan and those ‘back of the mind’ risks don’t actually materialise.

This article gives a ‘no-names’ brief summary of five of our clients who are making a real success of their property investing – and, unlike some of the stories you may hear on forums or at meetings, I can assure that these are absolutely true stories!
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Would a property LLP structure be useful to you?

By specialist property accountant Stephen Fay

Most investors operate their property business either as a ‘private landlord’ or as a company. In some cases, an llp (limited liability partnership) may prove to be a better, or additional, structure to use.

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The Positive Cashflow Vs Taxable Profit Enigma – What it is and how to benefit from it

By specialist property accountant Stephen Fay

A typical property investor will show positive portfolio cashflow from day #1, yet have income tax losses that mean no income tax is due. How can this be? This article looks at the typical investor’s cashflow and tax position during the various stages of their portfolio lifecycle.

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Are you making these property tax mistakes?

By specialist property accountant Stephen Fay

Successful property investors can easily lose a large chunk of their hard-earned profits by not arranging their affairs tax-efficiently. This article looks at some of the most common property tax mistakes – and how to avoid them. Continue Reading »

Extracting equity from your portfolio tax-efficiently

By specialist property accountant Stephen Fay

Residential property investors suffer a harsh capital gains tax regime and so selling properties that have increased significantly in value often results in a tax bill that is just too hard to take!

As an alternative, investors may instead choose to borrow against their assets –as a sale hasn’t occurred there is no CGT to pay. This article looks at how landlords can access their equity tax-efficiently using a borrowing rather than selling strategy. Continue Reading »

Why extracting money from your property company may not be necessary

By specialist property accountant Stephen Fay

Some property investors and entrepreneurs who operate via a limited company seem to be overly-concerned with how to immediately extract profits from their company. This article looks at how company owners can get maximum benefit from their company profits – whether extracted or retained. Continue Reading »

Why investing in commercial property in 2013 could save you £103,226 in tax

By specialist property accountant Stephen Fay

Most residential property investors shy away from investing in commercial property, despite there being strong tax benefits in doing so. From 1st January 2013, investors can claim up to £250,000 of allowances against their income tax bill – how much would your property plans be accelerated if you didn’t pay any income tax on £250,000 of income in 2013? This article looks at how commercial property can help you to save serious amounts of income tax – as well as being a sound investment. Continue Reading »

Audit your mortgage accounts and potentially claim a refund from your lender

By specialist property accountant Stephen Fay

Mortgage lenders generally use automated systems to manage the vast numbers of accounts that they manage. While the systems themselves can generally be relied upon – there are some exceptions! The old saying that ‘garbage in, garbage out’ applies, as a human being still needs to set up the account and deal with certain items.

This article explains how to ‘audit’ your own mortgage statements and how to claim a refund from your lender if monies are owed to you.  Continue Reading »

Should I transfer my properties into a company?

By specialist property accountant Stephen Fay

Most landlords start their portfolio in their own personal name, perhaps along with a spouse or business partner. In time, as a typical portfolio moves from initial losses to substantial profits – and tax bills! – many landlords look at using a company to mitigate income tax, as companies pay tax at 20% up to £300k of profits. This article looks at whether it makes tax sense to transfer property into a company to save tax.

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