UK Property Investment Blog

Property investment in the UK has never been more attractive according to leading property investment magazine Jet to Let.

Following their recent annual survey into popular investment locations, the UK for the first time ever entered in at number 8 in their Top Ten places to invest.

An accomplishment that proves that the UK property market is on the brink of change.

Other countries included within this survey were:

1. Cyprus
2. France
3. USA
4. United Arab Emirates
5. India
6. Spain
7. Italy
8. UK
9. Morocco
10. Greece and Turkey

One of the reasons Jet to Let offered for the UK’s sudden appearance in their magazine was increasing property interest from foreign investors, and we can see why.

With the Euro already taking 20-30% off UK property prices, investors can now benefit from an instant 50% profit when investing in our reduced property prices. A profit that has spurred investors back onto the market.

Of those who were interviewed for this survey, 36% stated that they planned to make an investment in the UK in next 12 months, whilst a further 26% planned to invest even sooner opting for the next 6 months.

When you take into account that previous to this survey the UK has never before received such a high ranking globally, both of these statistics go on to prove that confidence in the UK property market is returning.

Investors have recognised the long term potential of investing in the UK and are taking advantage now in preparation for the capital they’ll receive when the market begins to stabilise.

An event that may not be that far off.

In the last two months, UK properties have on average experienced a value growth of £7,400. An increase that has occurred across the entire breadth of the UK.

Probate properties can soon convert to the driving force of the property market, concording to recent studies.

Reputed for bearing lower cost tags than other properties on the housing market, these hidden property jewels could provide the perfect investment answer for investors seeking continual sources of investment.

HomeTrack’s property analysts explained that while property sales may be cut down by 50-60%, the number of probate properties appearing on the market is still consistent. And part of this reason is due to life expectancy.

Although it may sound morbid, people are still dying at the same rate as they did before. It has not risen or fallen like house prices, but has remained the same.

For this reason, probate properties have become a core part of the economy. Bringing with them 500,000 new properties every year, which families traditionally try to sell fast in order to enable them to sort out their family’s inheritance tax.

Yet the important feature about these types of property has to be their ability to remain flexible and accessible in all financial climates.

Having earned themselves the reputation for being run down, tired and in need of repair. The main reason why probate properties are so cheap is due to their need for renovation. They need more work than the average household.

Now whilst as an investor your sole goal will be to rent out accommodation and not sell it, the easy accessibility of these properties means you can make increased instant profits on top of only investing for 80% of the properties real value.

Here is a very, very common question I have encountered over the years from fellow property entrepreneurs:

“How do I find bargain property?”

You need to know where sellers are and how you can find them.

Apart from the usual auction and estate agency routes there are many other ways of finding sellers but you must be ‘in the market’ to stand a chance.

You need to spend quality time letting people know that you can buy properties QUICKLY for CASH (whether you are a quick cash buyer or not is irrelevant at the
moment).

You have to get yourself known because motivated sellers (for obvious reasons) do not shout and scream about their debt problems or impending divorce…

The secretive nature of motivated sellers is precisely why it is so difficult to find and buy bargain property!

You MUST spend quality time nurturing relationships with people who come across motivated sellers, so that they call you right away as soon as they hear of
somebody needing a quick and/or cash sale of their property.

Some examples of people you need to know:

• Local estate agents
• Local letting agents
• Anybody involved in the building trade
• Surveyors
• Mortgage brokers
• Your local postman/post lady
  
• Local busy bodies (usually older ladies/gentlemen or members of neighbourhood watch).
  These people are surprisingly aware of what is happening in the
  community.
  
• Property finders – Usually paid a percentage fee for locating property.
  
• Local property dealers – also paid a finders fee.
  
• Solicitors – probate etc.
• Accountants will know of clients that may be in financial trouble.
  
• Your hairdresser – he/she will always spend a lot of time gossiping with customers so make sure you let him or her know about your property business, and the fact that you pay a finders fee for referrals.
  
• The owner of your local off license/store. He/she will also spend a large amount of time gossiping with customers. Sometimes storeowners will let you stick up one of your business cards on the window or door.
• Don’t forget to hand out your business card to EVERYBODY you meet, you never
  know who will come across a motivated seller.

I have purchased two of my properties from people who referred leads to me simply because I handed them my card and told them I paid £500 for referrals
(always mention you pay a finders fee!)

Remember referral leads will make you the most money because they cost nothing to obtain, somebody they trust has referred them AND they have already been pre-qualified for you.

Learn to become skilled at analyzing a deal by asking relevant questions of the seller (or agent, finder, dealer etc) when you speak to them – this process is known as ‘qualifying’.

Curious of other strategies to get property bargains? Click here to claim your FREE property course!

The press may be all doom and gloom at the moment, but the property market certainly isn’t. In fact it seems to be getting better and better with each passing month.

In a recent report released by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, they experienced – for the third month running – an increase in property interest of up to 16%.

An increase that backs up the growing theory that buyers and investors alike are returning to the property market.

But the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors are not the only ones to feel this surge in interest, the National Association have also reported a similar uptake.

Discussing these details in their January report, they found during the first 2 weeks of January, that the number of first time buyers investing in property more than doubled to 22.5%, whilst the number of registered buyers rose to 14.5%.

This sudden burst in interest is not that far off what is considered to be the first signs of a market recovery. The NAEA for example witnessed a surge of property sales topping on average 4 per estate agent during these same 2 weeks, compared to their 6 property sale average during November and December.

Now whilst the recession has still got a way to go, all of these figures when placed side by side, equal optimistic news for the property market!

Having lost a lot of consumer confidence during the onset of the credit crunch, the fact that 22% of these sales were due to property investors, proves that confidence is returning.

And it is not only property investors who are feeling the pull of the property market.

With property prices now 17.2% cheaper than they were this time last year, the appetising appeal of these properties is attracting a lot of interest.

The only obstacle left for obtaining these incredible deals is getting a mortgage – something that as an investor you won’t have to worry about if you take the first step towards your property success.

The Bank of England may have only cut their interest rates down to 1% last week, but the impact of such a change has already been felt by homeowners who have got tracker deals.

With many verging on the edge of falling into negative rates, mortgage lenders have confirmed that whilst they will not pay their customers for their loans, homeowners will not have to pay a single penny of interest on their mortgage. Meaning many homeowners are now looking forward to months of no repayments.

Now whilst not all tracker deals will fall into this category, this interest rate cut can still offer great savings for investors.

Those who were lucky enough to get Cheltenham & Gloucester’s minus 1.01% tracker deal (to the Bank of England’s 1% base rate), on a £100,000 property, can look forward to monthly repayments of only 8p.

8p compared to the £500+ increase in profits they will experience from renting out their properties on the buy-to-let market, if using the tried and tested Property Mentor scheme

Even those with repayment mortgages are now benefiting from lower monthly repayments. An investor who has a property worth £100,000 for example at an interest rate of 0.5% would only have to pay as little as £355 a month to own it. Not bad when most £100,000 properties have repayments of £600 a month.

Now factor into the equation that rental prices have risen by 20% in the last year and these falls in monthly repayments could prove to be a great asset.

The UK may now be in a recession but you don’t have to let this affect your property portfolio.

Instead you can offer your property portfolio more… Insight into which cities will most be affected by the recession.

Let us explain.

According to the BBC News, depending on a cities qualification level, the more qualified they are, the more likely they will be able to cope with the recession.

And this can be more useful to you as an investor than you might think.

By being able to confidently invest in a city where you know your tenancy market will be able to afford to rent your properties, you will be able to invest feeling rest assured that you will always be able to receive a positive monthly cashflow from each of your rental properties.

But there is more…

In this startling report, they split cities into 3 distinct categories: green, amber and red. And their colour schemes simply speak for themselves.

Green: least vulnerable – Oxford, Cambridge and Reading
Amber: medium – Bristol, London and Edinburgh
Red: most vulnerable – Belfast, Liverpool and Hull

*PLEASE NOTE: the cities mentioned are just a sample of the ones offered in the BBC News report, and are put under these categories by their recommendation alone.

And the reason for such key distinction between these cities? Their workforce levels and experience.

Continuing in their report the BBC found that due to Cambridge’s highly qualified workforce, they had experienced a lower increase in people seeking Jobseeker’s Allowance compared to cites like Hull who have more unqualified residents.

Now you are probably wondering what all this information has to do with you as an investor. Well here is the thing… whilst these figures do not affect you directly, they are good indicators on which cities to be careful of investing in.

After all, the higher the unemployment figures, the higher the number of tenants who will be unable to afford your rental properties. A factor you need to take into serious consideration.

What if we were to tell you that the media has got the buy-to-let market all wrong? That all their predictions that it is slowing down and failing is a lie? Would you be interested in finding out why? Well you can!

According to the Residential Landlord’s Association, professional landlords are experiencing the same level of profits as they did during the 2007 property boom.

In fact of the 75% of professional landlords who are experiencing profits, their income has risen by a further 5% in the last few months. Yes 5% on top of the 20% increase rental yields have already had in the last 12 months!

Now before you start wondering about the other 25%, who are not making profits, there is something you need to remember. And it is an important one too.

The reason why these investors are not making consistent positive cash flows is all down to lack of knowledge and training.

You see, they have witnessed the potential of the property market, have liked what they saw and have invested without thinking it out.

And their attraction to property investment cannot be denied. Offering low property prices, interest rates and monthly repayments, when you add this information to the fact that rental yields have risen by over 20% in the last year, investing in property has never been more lucrative.

So forget about the media. Forget it all. And offer yourself a future that will keep on benefiting you for many years to come: buy-to-let.

I have been considered optimistic for saying for a while that the bottom of the UK buy to let market is far sooner than many commentators are predicting and that we need to make the most of the next 3-6 months.

What have I been basing this on?

Simply how strong the rental yields now are alongside the strong local affordability. With saving rates at less than 1%, many large investors are cash buying to increase cashflow and make the most of the bargain prices.

First time buyers are chomping at the bit to buy as prices are very affordable based on their salaries.

With yields so high even the most conservative lenders are beginning to see the figures work in terms of debt servicability.

With base rate dropping to a new low yesterday of 1%, cashflow for buy to let investors as highlighted in the last newsletter is better than ever making it even more attractive.

With borrowing in December 3 times higher than predicted by many economists and Halifax announcing yesterday that house prices were up in January by 1.9% there are early indications that the market is close to bottoming out.

The key here is to differentiate between the buy to let market, which I would put as properties under £120,000 that cashflow well and the owner occupier market with properties at say over £200,000. The buy to let market will bounce back just as soon as there are more mortgage products on the market because there is huge demand for property that gives a strong yield. Compared to almost all other investmenrt opportunities this oiffers excellent potential and long term security – if you can buy at excellent value today, cashflow your investment well at sensible leverage then will do very well in 5-10 years time.

The bargains right now are incredible, and as long as you can get a mortgage, you are able to pick up some terrific deals! Experienced investors are buying as many as they can just now, and many new investors are entering the market as they can see the strong rental yields and the security of owning property far outweighing many other forms of investment.

Pretty much time to take action! Follow us on Twitter to get the latest updates and attend this free property investment course to get the ball rolling!

Want proof that the news in the media is not all ‘doom and gloom’? That the recession is not biting everywhere?

Well, you can!

The UK may now officially be in a recession, but if you look a little closer you will find an assortment of stories that can each prove to be very beneficial to the economy and to the property market too.

Take the recent revival in sterling.

Just hours after Barclays announced that it will not fail to raise fresh capital, the pound rose in value against the dollar, pushing it to above $1.40. A one-and-half cent increase just a week after it reached a record low of $1.35.

And the reason for this sudden escalation?

Well, alongside Barclays declaration that it will raise fresh capital, they have also revealed that during 2008 they received a record breaking income.

An income that has gone on to inspire investors to increase their shares in Barclay’s by a staggering 60% – a jump of 33.2p to 84.4p

But Barclay’s are not the only bank to bring positive news to the market.

Other banks have also experienced an increase in shares. Lloyd’s TSB for example rose by 23% to 60.8p and RBS by 15% to 14p. And all this took place in just one day!

Then there is the recent coverage on Santender.

Part owners of Bradford & Bingley and Abbey National, Santender is planning to give customers who invested in Mr Madoff’s fund management scheme, a 2% dividend share to compensate them for their losses.

And this is not a small amount either.

It is believed that all these shares combined equate to £1.28bn, essentially £12.8 million each.

With so many promising shares available it cannot be denied that this news should help to increase investors confidence in the market and help them to start rebuilding their investments.

Even you too – as an investor – can benefit from these stories. Why? Well, because each of these stories proves that the recession does not have to spell the end of anything.

If anything they are proof that the market is still filled with possibilities and opportunities. Opportunities that you can turn around to offer your family a more secure future!

John A. Hitchin:

Just completed the course and the next step is to stack 100 properties.

After trawling through 300 pages on Rightmove and filtering out all the unsuitable’s I now have got 39 properties saved on my Rightmove account.

The good news is all of them stack with £600+ cashflow, on a 7% interest rate, at full asking price!!! Don’t anyone tell me these deals are not out there!

Mark Warren:

I’ve just completed my second training day and it went fantastic! I didn’t expect such immediate responses…

Meeting other investors who are already renting out their properties and earning a positive cash flow every month, really put everything into perspective for me.

It is possible… And the amazing thing is I know that everything I have learnt today… I will put into practice tomorrow. Great!

Sharmir Khona:

Wow I am totally inspired!!! So much so that I have decided to go ahead and book a place on the Commercial Mentor course.

My partner even loves the content too and really enjoyed the day.

She can see my vision now and understands what I want to achieve. Thanks so much! There is no need for me to convince her now… she is already hooked!