Here you can find all the resources we use own a regular basis to help build and support our own property portfolio. I can recommend all of these services based on personal experience – so drop me a note through the Contact Page if you need any help.

Note: Web links will open in new windows:

Tax Accountant and Tax Law

We use C Charles & Company, a London based specialist property tax expert, and Nicholas Charles (himself a property investor) deals with our accounts. On the website you’ll find several articles about the specifics of property tax that will be of use, especially if you’re new to property investment (click on Services / Specialist Services / Property Tax from the top of the home page). You might also like to check out Taxcafe.com for more articles, advice, and some really useful booklets that will help you on your way.

Remember… Its not just making the money that counts, its about how much of it you can legally hang on to!!

Mortgages and Finance

All our mortgage and financial arrangements are manages by M&S Mortgage Solutions, based in Bournemouth. Stewart and his friendly team are experienced in flexible finance solutions, and their office also covers insurance services. They also invest in property, so know exactly how to build a quality portfolio with sound money management.

Credit Reference

I often write about the importance of proactively managing your credit file, and the best resource I have found so far is at Checkmyfile.com . Loads of free advice, a free credit check, and some sensibly priced services that I personally wouldn’t be without. An absolute MUST.

Letting Agents

If you’re building your portfolio along with us, on the South Coast, you’ll find that Lewis Dean are the most proactive and competitively priced letting agents available. They have found good quality tenants for us on a “find only” basis, and I have colleagues who use their full management services with confidence. Ask for Debbie Corbin if you decide to contact them.

Housing, Planning, Landlord regulations etc

The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (now called communities.gov.uk) is an excellent resource for checking out legislation if you’re getting involved in property investment.

Legal Services

For property conveyancing we use The Commercial Law Practice in Dorset (can be used for property transactions anywhere in England & Wales). I have found these guys to be swift, thorough and accurate in managing our property purchases, and I’m happy to arrange a personal introduction if required.

Currency Exchange

Use Moneycorp.com and you can’t go wrong. Decent exchange rates, and the ability to fix rates into the future (fantastic if you’re buying off-plan overseas!).

Overseas Property Letting

For our overseas property letting, in Cyprus, we use Owners Direct and Holiday Lettings. Good value for money, and their websites are popular with the serach engines – so you get lots of “hits” on your page ads.  Here’s a link to our apartment in Mandria, so you can see how it works.

Checking House Prices

You’ll get obsessive about checking house prices as you spend more time on your portfolio, and there are three good resources I would recommend. Worth doing your homework on Upmystreet.com, Zoopla.co.uk and Housepricemaps.co.uk to make sure you’re not paying over the odds for your new properties!

Landlord Community

Good quality advice for Landlords comes from Landlord.net where you can subscribe to a free monthly magazine (delivered to your door) and read the current issue online. Tackles all the little issues that can gum up the works!

Rent Guarantee Schemes

We recommend Rent Shield Direct. The guys at Lewis Dean use this scheme, that covers rental, legal and damage costs to give you more peace of mind. Definitely worth it, especially if you’re investing across the UK and don’t want the hassle of having to get over involved.

Make sure you check back here, as we’ll add more resources as we find them.