Adding a property and keeping it up to date
What to put in each box, which figures matter most, and what to change after a remortgage or a new tenancy.
Before you start
Adding a property takes about five minutes if you have these to hand:
- Your completion statement from the solicitor, for the date you bought it and the price you paid.
- Your latest mortgage statement, for the lender, what you still owe, the rate and the monthly payment.
- The tenancy agreement, or your last rent payment, for the rent a month.
- A recent value. A valuation from a remortgage is best. Otherwise, use a fair guess from sold prices nearby; you can change it at any time.
Only the name is required. Leave out anything you don't know yet: the figures that need it show a dash until you add it.
Step by step
- Go to Your properties and press Add a property. The page is called “Add a property you own”.
- If you analysed it in the deal calculator first, pick it under “Start from a saved deal” and press Use this deal. The figures from your analysis come across as a starting point, so you only fill the gaps and correct what ended up different. Value now starts as the price you paid; change it if the property has been valued since. It also gives the property a Forecast column on its statement, next to what really happened.
- The property: a name you'll recognise (like “Brook House”), the address and the postcode. We cover England and Wales.
- Buying it: the date and price from your completion statement. Under “Owned by”, pick Me, Me and someone else or My company. If it's joint, put your share in “Your share (%)”: see Owning a property with someone else.
- Value, mortgage and rent: the value now and the date it was valued, the rent a month, and the mortgage details. Put the rate in “Mortgage rate (%)” as a plain number, like 4.79.
- Press Add property.
Details you don't need on day one, like the council tax band, title number and repair cover, are under “Key information”, which is optional. Fill them in now, or add them any time with Edit details on the property's page.
What each figure is used for
| You enter | It gives you |
|---|---|
| Value now, Mortgage owed | Equity and loan to value, on the property and the overview |
| Rent a month, Value now | Gross yield, to compare your properties |
| Price paid | The capital gains tax in “If you sold it” |
| Owned by, Your share (%) | Which tax rules your statement uses, and your share of the profit |
| Rate, monthly payment, lender | A record to compare when you remortgage. They don't change the tax figures: those come from the payments you record. |
Remortgaged since?
A remortgage changes the mortgage, not the purchase. Here's what to change, and what to leave alone.
- Keep “Price paid” as it was. It's what you paid when you bought, and it's what capital gains tax is worked out from when you sell. A new valuation doesn't change it.
- On the property's page, press Edit details and update the value now (use the lender's valuation, with its date), the mortgage owed (the new loan), the rate, the monthly payment and the lender. Save.
- Press Add a date on the property and pick Mortgage deal ends, with the date your new fixed or tracker rate ends. We'll email you 60, 30 and 7 days before, so you can look for the next deal before you're moved to the lender's standard rate.
- Record the costs of the remortgage with Add a payment, under Mortgage interest and fees: the arrangement fee, a broker's fee, a valuation fee and the legal fees for the remortgage. On your statement they count as finance costs, the same as interest. If the arrangement fee was added to the loan, still record it, on the date of the remortgage.
Money you took out isn't income. If you borrowed more and released cash, don't record it as money in: it's a loan, not rent. The interest on it counts as a finance cost if the money went back into the rental business, or if the total you owe is no more than the property was worth when you first let it. If you spent it on something else, like your own home, ask your accountant how much of the interest you can claim.
Paid an early repayment charge to leave your old deal? Record it under Mortgage interest and fees too, and mention it to your accountant.
Keeping it up to date
- Once a year, update the value. The overview tells you under “Needs a look” when a value is over a year old. Your area's page shows how prices nearby have moved.
- Every few months, update the mortgage owed if it's a repayment mortgage. The balance is on your lender's app or annual statement.
- When the rent changes, update the rent a month. Past rent stays as it was, because your statements use the payments you record, not this figure.
- New certificate or insurance? Update its date under Dates, and you'll get the next reminder.
- Sold it? Don't delete it. Edit it, set it to Sold and add the date and price. Its past tax years stay on your statements.