UK Property Investment Blog

Plenty of news again this week about the UK property market and recession. Not that the media are painting a better picture yet – repossessions are up 71% in a year, house prices are down almost 15% in a year, the US economy is still shrinking, and the forecast is that house prices will not begin to recover until 2013!

Here are some of the stories from the last week:

• Fri 31^st – Euro and pound down on the dollar: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7701638.stm
• Thu 30^th – Low sales drive house prices down: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7698393.stm
• Thu 30th – Reaction to falling house prices: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7699841.stm
• Wed 29^th – Mortgage lending ‘rises slightly’: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7697069.stm
• Wed 29th – Darling set to relax fiscal rules: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7698339.stm
• Tue 28^th – Repossession number ‘up by 71%’: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7694819.stm
• Mon 27^th – House prices ‘to recover by 2013’: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7692814.stm
• Mon 27^th – Persimmon lowers housing forecast: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7692734.stm

All of these are stories you should be looking to bring in to the copy on your sites. Not only does this help to keep your site current and build trust but it also allows you to take advantage of the media reports and show your visitors why Property Mentor is a good thing to get involved in now.

If you need proof that rental demand is increasing then check out this article from the Financial Times: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/80b7395e-a03d-11dd-80a0-000077b07658.html

Finally the BBC ran an interesting feature on buy-to-let investing here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7087324.stm

Although would disagree with some of the comments its an interesting read none-the-less. In particular the summary which stats that investors are unlikely to see substantial revenue from rental income alone would be the biggest point to argue. With the market how it is with lower house prices and higher rental demand it is perfectly possible to find bargain properties that achieve fantastic positive cashflow.

To prove that point take a look at the deal below, this was actually discovered and bought by a Property Mentor delegate last week:

Area - Buckinghamshire

Property Type – Semi Detached

Number of Bedrooms – 4

Valuation – £299,950

Positive Cash Flow – £790/Month.

This shows the potential Property Mentor offers and this is exactly the kind of thing you need to stress on your sites. There are bargains to be had that produce massive positive monthly cashflow and this is all helped by the house price crash not hindered by it. If you could have bought the property above would you? Of course you would it’s an extra £790 in your back pocket every month. Now is the BEST time to invest!!

Its been another turbulent week in the economy and housing market. The value of the £ is falling dramatically, Gordon Brown has admitted we are going in to a recession and just today figures revealed that economic output fell by 0.5% in Q3, the first time the UK has seen negative growth for 16 years. If the same happens again in Q4 (which is expected) then we will officially be in a recession.

What does this mean for property investors? It means there will be more repossessions and more bargains to be had on the property market. Again, this really needs pushing to your surfers to generate leads. Take a look at some news stories from the past week and consider how you can use them to generate more leads:

• Fri 24^th – Recession Looms as Economy Slows: http://www.realityexpansionevents.com/contact.php
• Fri 24^th – Gateway Hit By Economic Downturn: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/kent/7688229.stm
• Thurs 23rd – Bank Mortgage Approvals Still Low: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7685888.stm
• Weds 22nd – Plans to Ease Repossession Rates: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7684162.stm
• Weds 22nd – Barnsley Building Society Rescued: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7683576.stm
• Weds 22nd – Mortgage Lenders ‘Pocketing Cuts’: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7682828.stm
• Tues 21st – House Sales Slump 53% Across UK: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7681741.stm
• Mon 20th – UK Economy ‘Already in Recession’: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7677436.stm

These are are all articles that you can use in your copy, take bits from them or rewrite the full article and make sure your sites are up to date. People are far more likely to signup if they see your site is keeping up with whats going on in the market. If you are unsure how any of these effect the property market please give me a shout.

In terms of generating leads, because of the recent media activity the number of leads is reduced as less people are searching for property investment course type keywords. Therefore you need to look at your strategy and test a few other methods out. We have seen success this week from bidding on keywords directly related to the market crash e.g. ‘House Price Crash’ – Just make sure you have a good landing page that explains the house price crash and how that can benefit property investors.

Last week all hell broke loose with the ‘end of the world’ arriving in the form of UK and Icelandic banks going bust: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7660511.stm

This was coupled with yet another announcement about the decline of prices within the UK housing market: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7660695.stm

Of course this helped to spark yet another mention of the dreaded R word…..recession: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7660631.stm

These were just some of the doom and gloom stories that broke towards the end of last week. As a result of all the economic and housing market uncertainty, the number of people searching for keywords related to Property Mentor dropped significantly. This fall was seen mostly by PPC affiliates but also by some of the SEO guys.

However, this week a recovery has begun thanks partly to the governments bail-out scheme for UK banks: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7666570.stm

This has helped to restore some confidence in the market along with the bank rate cut from 5% to 4.5% last week. However, tracker mortgages have not benefitted: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7673606.stm

When the housing market crashes prices fall and a credit crunch takes hold – people need to sell because they can no longer afford their mortgage repayments. The lack of demand caused by people being unable to afford mortgages means prices plummet and it becomes a buyers market not a sellers. This means properties can be bought for well below value, a property investors dream.

Not only that but everyone who sells still needs a place to live. Therefore rental demand goes up and and so do rent prices (or at the worst stay the same) – a buy-to-let investors dream!!

Here are some of the common excuses for not getting in to property investment now (as well as our answer to them):

1) Mortgages are too expensive/cannot get a mortgage

Answer: If you could prove to the bank that you can guarantee an income from the property that is greater than the mortgage repayments do you still think they would refuse or give you a poor rate? Of course not and Property Mentor are experts at this, a major part of their course is showing people how to find and structure a deal so that it is irresistible to the banks, using little or none of your own money.

2) The housing market and economy is too insecure – Ill wait until things start to recover / Ill wait until house prices fall a little more

Answer: Those who get in now will benefit the most. The fact is that house prices WILL recover, and once that recovery starts it will be fast and sharp. What are good property investors doing at the moment? Buying like crazy!! The average house price in 1988 (just 20 years ago) was just £50k, in the first quarter of 2008 the average house price was £180k – count it, that’s a £130k increase or 360% increase if you prefer. With that information, how many properties would you have bought in 1988? As many as possible right?

This increase is despite the housing market crash of the 1990’s: http://www.iht.com/articles/1994/10/22/mrfunds.php – Proof that no matter what happens house prices WILL recover, they always have done and always will.

The true way to making money from property is to buy cheap and rent it not sell it. If you are not planning on selling in the next few years then why does it matter if your house loses 10% of its value, in 5-10 years it will regain that value plus a lot more…..and that’s not speculation, its fact based on a long long history. History does in fact repeat itself! In fact UK property prices will always rise in the long term, why? Because the UK is an island and a pretty crowded one at that with population always growing.

3) How can I trust a property investment course? I have seen some go bust lately.

Answer: Because quite simply, Property Mentor does not rely on one investment strategy like so many others. They teach 8 strategies on the course. Do all 8 work in any market conditions? No – that’s why there are 8, because the state of the market effects how you invest. Property Mentor have been investing in properties since before the crash of the 1990’s and they havent done so bad for themselves.

These are just some of the excuses people use not to invest, but this all shows that you need to really emphasise why now is the BEST time to invest. Those who wait will regret it, those who get on board today will get the biggest rewards.

We have always been forcing home this message but now we are doing so even more. Unfortunately people do listen to the media, but the media only report on what will sell newspapers or get people tuning in – that’s how they make their money. Look back at newspaper headlines from during the 1990’s crash and you will see the same headlines that are around today – the property market is dead, it will never recover, blad di blah!

As connoisseurs of the property market ourselves, we were prepared to spot a flaw in their system. We were wrong.

In just 2 hours, they opened our eyes to endless investment opportunities that exist in the current market. They proved that the credit crunch can offer a potential investor – you – a credible future in property. In fact, now is the perfect time to invest in  property.

Here are the main factors that people are worried about when considering the Property Mentor course:

QUOTE: “People saying there’s no market to invest in, there’s no liquidity and it would be stupid to invest in property. A guy told me that “Prices will not bottom for at least 4 years. Look at 1990…prices started dropping in 89, bottomed in about 94, and didn’t start rising til about 97. That was in a mild recession…this is the mother of all recessions. Stay clear of property until the average wage (£22k) can afford the average house (currently £175k)”

Our answer: These are the people who wont get involved and then regret it later. People who buy now will benefit in the future. This is a long term approach not a get rich quick scheme. The early 1990’s was actually when the guy who runs Property Mentor bought most of his properties simply because house prices were low and rental demand was high – and whats he doing now? Buying as many properties as he can before the market starts to recover again.

During the house price crash of the 90’s the media were saying the housing market had died and prices would never rise so dramatically again. They were wrong, people who bought during the last market crash benefit the most when prices did rise again.

Click here to read our FULL review of Property Mentor!

The Property Mentor system is not about selling houses either, so if and when the prices bottom out have nothing to do with it at all – In fact PM never suggest to sell a property unless you made a mistake in buying it in the first place (which you shouldn’t do if you follow their system).

The PM system is about buying houses when they are cheap and renting them out so they pay the mortgage and generate a positive cash flow. The PM system is recognised by many mortgage lenders and just by being a Property Mentor delegate it becomes easier to get mortgages with no money down.

The PM system is not one investment system either. There are 8 in total so that whatever the market conditions you have a system that works. In fact 2 of the systems do not work in the current market, so although they are still taught (since when the market changes the systems will become effective again) they are not advised to be used at the minute.

Here’s a reply we got when we recommended Property Mentor to an advanced property investor:

“To get back to you, only a fool would purchase right now. The “system” will be based on the old chestnut of BMVs and gifted deposits – mortgage products allowing this died a while ago (Mortgages plc/Merrill Lynch were the big guys on this and they’ve all but gone).”

Our answer: Again this goes back to the fact that many mortgage lenders recognise the PM system works and so will offer better deals to Property Mentor delegates. Basically if you can prove to the bank your rental income will pay for the property and more they will give you whatever you need. The better your argument the better the rate you get.

Remember Property Mentor is a recognised NVQ, the only course which is which shows just how respected it is. The system is not based on BMVs and big deposits. Of course BMV is a factor but the whole system is designed to show you how to find properties that are good investments and collect all the information you need to get a good mortgage.

Another worried e-mail we received after posting our review of Property Mentor, claiming that Property Mentor is a generic UK property scam. That is certainly not true!

QUOTE: “Targets attend a free presentation, where scammers persuade them to spend money to enroll on a course promising to make them a successful property dealer, but the properties are often near-derelict and the tenants non-existent.”

Our answer: By the sounds of this you are referring to the courses that get you to pay a fortune for the course and then the whole thing is buying properties they tell you to buy. Property Mentor do not work like that, if they find a good deal they will buy it themselves.

They never recommend properties to buy….NEVER! What they do instead is show people how to find the good deals, give them the tools, software, networking, and skills to be able to find them, negotiate, and get tennants in. Lets put it this way…..how many scam courses do you know that become a recognised level 3 NVQ qualification?

Rest assured that Property Mentor is one of the best property investment courses available.

You can get a free 2 hour introductory course simply by clicking here!