The Property Blog Spot

Will the stamp duty holiday make any difference?

2008-09-08T11:01:00.000-07:00

Well at last he did it, 'dithering Darling' at last went into action. After halting the property market in its tracks by his 'will he? won't he?' scenario, he has at last chosen to take off stamp duty for a year on houses below £175,000. But, will it make a difference?

It may indeed make a difference to the market but we suspect not the way the Government intended. First time buyers still lack the confidence in the market, they after all, have a different mindset from investors. Their goal is to buy a home, one that is within their budget. For them investment, or the fact that the housing market will improve and the prices will rise, is not as important as getting the right finance.

That is the crux of the matter at the moment - finance. Many first time buyers or those with a less than a squeaky clean record are finding it difficult to get lenders to lend.

Investors on the other hand are poised to dash in for the kill! Investors have a different perspective, for them it is the price, the yield and the eventual remortgage possibilities which drive them.

Prices at the moment have fallen, fantastic time to buy.
Products from mortgage lenders are coming back on the market.
And now, no stamp duty for a part of the market where investors buy heavily.

But it won't last forever.

Go out and make hay now - because the market will change before long.

Join the Hampshire Property Club now and get access to masses of information, news, views and meet the experts!

All the best to you all
Dennis

Wow what a night! Hampshire Property Club

2008-07-07T02:01:00.000-07:00

We had an amazing insight into how two ordinary (well, extra-ordinary I think) people created a property portfolio worth over £25 million in three years using none of their own money!

The evening of the 3rd July at the Holiday Inn, Basingstoke was buzzing with members of the Hampshire Property Club. The audience included a wide spectrum from those yet to step upon the property ladder (and what a time to buy!) to those who already have a number of properties and have been in the industry for years.

Peter Hassett and Tony Swift gave a presentation that totally blew us away. They explained how they started with no money of their own, to the present day when they 15 properties at one go! They explained how they chose properties, how they financed their first deals and how we all can emulate their success.

They gave us advice and tips on how to start, what to look for, how to negotiate and how to create a portfolio worth over £20 million in a few years.

But the night was made extra special because they shared themselves. This was not a 'talk-down-to' presentation, or a diatribe on how good they are, Peter and Tony shared themselves. They explained their doubts, their mistakes, their struggle through to where they are today.

We felt as if the journey was ours!

It was a totally wonderful evening and we thank Peter and Tony for their commitment, their help and their advice on the road to property wealth.

The Hampshire Property Club itself is now one of the fastest growing property networking clubs in the UK. It is the premier club in the south-east of England with monthly meetings in Basingstoke.

http://www.hampshirepropertyclub.co.uk registration is free!

Over 200 members in just four months from a standing start! Can't be bad.

But the joy of it is the amazing people that belong to the Club. It is a privilege to meet and get to know others in the industry.

Networking is one of the most powerful tools in your armoury!

And thanks to Peter and Tony we now have something to aim for - a multi-million pound property portfolio.

All the best
Dennis

Get away to a place in the sun?

2008-06-14T06:41:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,
If you feel like you deserve a break, why not rent our apartment in Spain for a week or two?
The rent is moderate and it has all sorts of benefits. Full air-conditioning as well as 24hour fast internet access on an ADSL line. It is close to the shops and just a short distance to the sea, where the beaches are magnificent.
Have a look at the site with all the details at
http://www.rentals-costablanca.com/033.html
Best wishes, Dennis

Are you wary of no money down deals?

2008-06-14T06:21:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,
There are quite a number of ‘no-money down’ deals being offered in the property market. Since building societies and banks pulled this popular method of mortgaging, others have stepped into the breach. BUT? Are they legal? Will there be tax implications later in the years to come?

There are those unscrupulous sellers who will try to inveigle you into such a deal without telling you of those implications. The other week one finance property firm contacted us and offered us a deal with a £5,000 cash back. When asked if this would be viewed as income and so create an income tax liability, the seller quite blithely dismissed the idea, never, no, not at all. But, income is income, and yes it does involve tax issues.

On the other hand, some of these deals could be excellent in the present climate.

Our advice? Read all the information about these schemes, then at least if you choose to take one, you will be doing so from an informed basis – prepared for anything that might arise later.

We have received from Andrew of Summit Finance an excellent report entitled ‘The Truth Behind No Money Down Finance’

It is a 49 page report from well-respected self-made multi millionaires Mark Tolley and Chris Wright, and is particularly appropriate in these troubled financial times. Mark has a background of accountancy whilst his long time business partner has 18 years experience in the finance and mortgage markets. A formidable partnership!

Read all about it now at http://www.summitfinance.co.uk/nmdfinanceexposed/hpc.html

The report has been written because of the major changes in the lending market and the methods that many investors have been using have all but disappeared. Mark examines in detail many of the schemes being offered now as alternatives to the former ‘No Money Down’ schemes, and their viability.

Some have considerable tax implications although on the surface they appear suitable, while others have a somewhat doubtful provenance, and may be stacking up problems in the future.

The purpose of the report, which is very detailed, is not to make recommendations
but to examine all the available schemes and leave the investor to decide which he should adopt.

This is a very useful report indeed, and because of the experience of its authors is authoritative and makes excellent reading. We shall certainly be taking the advice contained in the report in our future investments.

We strongly advise you to purchase this very moderately priced report from
http://www.summitfinance.co.uk/nmdfinanceexposed/hpc.html

Dr Dennis Coote Property Investor Author of ‘Property Development for Profit’

Is Cyprus the new Holy Grail? Or is the bandwagon about to tip over?

2008-06-10T05:09:00.001-07:00

It seems that whenever there is a dip in the market in one place, someone finds somewhere to build, and build and build - and then sell, and sell, and sell.

There is money to be made from property, we all know those property millionaires who took the risk and went for it and made it. Congratulations to them - how did they do it? They invested or speculated whichever way you want to look at it, and it paid off. Most wealthy people have a property portfolio, so investing in property is obvsiously a good action to take. Many made their fortune through property and in the world there is always a 'hot spot' in which to invest.

The hot potato at this moment is Cyprus. A very interesting Island. We visited it a few times some years ago and it has had its problems. However the situation on Cyprus has radically changed in the last few years - joining the EU must be one of the greatest changes - as well as becoming a holiday destination for many - there is talk of oil exploration - it is a tax haven - international airports are being built.

There is excitement abounding in the Cyprus camp, with the areas, villages, towns, new build apartments and holiday complexes being shouted about around the Larnaca area.

But as with any country over dazzled by money from the UK and Europe, there are many who jumped gleefully onto the bandwagon and eventually upset it. Dodgy lawyers, dodgy builders, illegal licenses, mortgaged land, corrupt officials - all are eager to sell you their prime plot in the feeding trough!

Is there money to be made? Without a doubt, for those who do their due diligence, want to jump in quickly and then get out quickly, the prices of properties will rise within the next year or so. And then? Over building, corruption, another new hot spot and the prices will level and then drop.

The parallels with Spain are awesome. Many made a mint out of properties in Spain and no doubt Cyprus will be the same (providing it is the right place in Cyprus - one acquaintance of ours cannot sell his two bedroom apartment in Paphos for any money!).

Would we invest in Cyprus? Yes we would for the short term.

Comments gratefully appreciated, so please post.

All the best to everyone
Dennis
Hampshire Property Club
Renovation Riches

Stab in the back for independant mortgage brokers?

2008-05-26T03:12:00.000-07:00

There is a very worrying trend in the mortgage market.....banks and building societies are offering a number of mortgage deals direct to customers only. They are cutting out the independent mortgage broker.

Quick to take advantage of the fears and anxieties in the money markets, (which they created in the first place!) banks and building societies are now creating further problems. Mortgage brokers will not only feel the pinch of the credit crunch they are now being cut out from the best mortgage deals.

Many investors relied solely on independent advice from mortgage brokers. They were able to give us the best deals whoever the lender was. Now we have to go to banks and building societies individually, work out who is offering the best deal at what particular time and suffer all their hype as to why theirs and only theirs is the best.

http://tinyurl.com/46x8mg

It is a lean time for all of us, but to cut the carpet from under the independent mortgage broker is a real stab in the back for the industry.

Comments would be gratefully received. We need to know what is the truth of the matter, and how we can all stop this trend.

Cheers
Dennis

A pack of frozen peas and a fixed rate mortgage please?

2008-05-26T00:59:00.000-07:00

Well it had to happen. The banks and building societies caught by their own fear have left a gaping hole in the market. It is true that the lenders were lending out to many who could not afford to borrow, and that many new-build, off-plan properties were over-hyped and vastly over-valued. What we are seeing is a settling of the prices to a more realistic figure.

But there are still large numbers of purchasers desperate to buy properties and there are now a vast amount of vendors desperate to sell.

The void in the middle left by the banks and building societies are crying out to be filled. And then guess what......?

Tesco? Virgin? Well what about Asda?

http://tinyurl.com/62fe3g

So down to your local supermarket....pick up a shopping trolley....some veg and fruit and a Buy to Let Mortgage??

Well perhaps not that easily. But there is a silver lining on all clouds and maybe this time of turbulence will create other possibilities?

All the best to everyone,
Dennis

Buy with no money down offers?

2008-05-21T04:11:00.000-07:00

Continuing on from the last blog, already there are a few who are trying to fill the void left by the banks and building societies.

There are offers all over from 'property entrepreneurs' who have their own 'secret' methods of purchasing property without any money down. There are still a few ways of doing this but, it is sailing close to the tax wind, and the building societies and banks are not looking favourably on these methods.

I am sure that some of these offers are genuine, people are trying to fill a need, but in my opinion it would be safer to wait until the building societies and banks have got their act back together.

We have been offered properties at a discount and then the company states they will give us cash back as an incentive. When asked if this would count towards income tax they state firmly, no. But it does. Any 'income' is taxable.

What I am saying is, that some companies and property investors are desperate to sell their properties (and their secret money deals), to the point of flagrantly bribing the purchaser. They don't seem to care that at some point in the future you, the purchaser, will be chased for tax evasion......

My advice? Be extremely careful, there are a lot of sharks out there waiting to pounce on eager purchasers. Watch what you get into. And ask advice from your own solicitor and your own tax advisors.

It is not just desperate sellers in this market who need to take care, it is also desperate buyers!!!

Keep us posted on any 'offers' you get!

All the best
Dennis

Price drop? What price drop?

2008-05-21T03:47:00.001-07:00

So the doom and gloom merchants have their say! The papers sell their stories! And prices are predicted to fall by 30 to 40% this year.

BUT then I read on the Rightmove site (one of the top online property selling sites) that properties did only increase their price by 1.3% in May!

OK, so who is telling porky pies? Who is creating the stories?

In reality in most areas of the country the prices have not dropped. In the area where we are based prices have risen, risen more slowly than normal it is true, but they have risen all the same.

Bit of a nuisance really because property investors are all waiting to pounce on the price falls when they happen.

There are bargains about though. People do believe what is written in the papers and in some cases are panicking. The rise in interest rates is making it difficult for some to pay their mortgage and there are distressed sellers, those being repossessed out there. We don't wish this to happen to anyone.

Yet don't you think that the banks and building societies have something to do with this? It is their greed that has left a huge void where the financing should be.

On the one hand there are eager buyers everywhere, we see it in our property groups, and all over the country. There are those who need to sell quickly. Yet in the middle is a huge void where the financing used to be. Building Societies and banks have pulled the rug out from under the property market. And yet, prices are still rising.

It is a strange time. Who knows who will jump into the void? Some entrepreneurial company. Are we going to see the day of Tesco mortages? Virgin mortgages?

Well someone will fill the gap, whilst the market is still eager to work, someone will eventually jump into the hole left by those who left us in the lurch!

Comments? Lively debate? Don't be shy, answer me!

All the best
Dennis

Free DVDs from millionaires

2008-05-06T03:46:00.000-07:00

Not often you get the chance to get something for nothing these
days - and when it happens you need to grab it with both hands! We
did!

You may have heard of Andy Shaw and Greg Ballard, they are
extremely successful property entrepreneurs. Andy has written a
book about his life in property, which makes extremely interesting
and encouraging reading.

But on to the FREE part -

Andy and his partner Greg (who are rumoured to buy around 600
properties a year) have just released three videos which you can
get for FREE now, from us! Andy and Greg do state that this offer
will be removed soon, so go now to

http://tinyurl.com/4wmt8h

This special offer includes three videos
1. History and biographies of Greg Ballard and Andy Shaw -
how they started in property - where they are now - all about their
expertise and knowledge.
2. The Ballard Shaw 10 step process to being successful in property
Part 1
3. The Ballard Shaw 10 step process to being successful in property
Part 2

Tons of information in these videos - why property is a good
investment even today - how you can buy houses for free - why
renting is your biggest ally - why you should never sell a house -
the importance of cash flow and much, much more.

So,Dennis, get the videos, make yourself a cup of tea,
give yourself some time, sit and enjoy!

http://tinyurl.com/4wmt8h

By the way Andy's book is certainly worth having a look at, we
bought it and enjoyed the book thoroughly. It fired our enthusiasm
and encouraged us to increase our property portfolio. Always good
to read about someone who has actually 'done' it!

http://www.totalbusinesscart.com/app/?af=714242%20

Don't forget the next Hampshire Property Club event when Dr. Dennis
Coote will be giving his extraordinary talk on the 'Secret
Techniques of Renovating Property that will really Boost your
Property Profits!' June 5th Holiday Inn, Basingstoke.

Don't whatever you do, miss this one. It is truly enlightening
what you can do with a piece of string, a bit of wood, a sheet of
plastic.....you can literally save yourself thousands!

Make it a date and book your tickets now
Hampshire Property Club Member's Page

All the best,
Dennis and Hazel

120 Manor Park Drive, Yateley, Hampshire GU46 6JB, UNITED KINGDOM

Hampshire Property Club

2008-05-02T15:26:00.000-07:00

Don't miss the next meeting on 5th June. Dennis Coote talks about 'Secret Renovation techniques to boost your Property Profits' Many, never before revealed tips from an expert.
Membership free at http://www.hampshirepropertyclub.co.uk
Dennis

Hampshire Property Club

2008-05-02T15:21:00.000-07:00

Many thanks to all members who attended last nights Question Time, which was a roaring success!
At the present time with some investors worried (and the rest of us quite happy!) it was interesting to hear the questions and the answers from our expert panel. Don't miss the next one.
Go to http://www.hampshirepropertyclub.co.uk for FREE membership
Dennis

Mortgage Express changes

2008-04-28T03:54:00.000-07:00

Did you see the latest changes in Mortgage Express policies:

"Mortgage Express - Product update 23/04/08
As of midnight on Tuesday 22nd April 2008 Mortgage Express no
longer accepts any remortgage business where the borrower has owned
the mortgaged property for less than six months.
From the same date, we have also made some changes to our
Buy-to-Let and Buy-to-Let limited company deals:
· We have withdrawn our Extended Criteria 110% rental cover
option
· We have withdrawn all 2 year deals
Existing cases where a binding Decision In Principle (DIP) has been
issued will be processed subject to the following application
deadlines:

· Unpackaged - Close of business 29th April 2008
. Packaged - Close of business 8th May 2008"

Maybe time to join the Hampshire Property Club and hear our speakers talk about how to solve these problems! Join for FREE at http://www.hampshirepropertyclub.co.uk
Dennis

Question Time in Basingstoke

2008-04-27T02:25:00.000-07:00

If you live within striking distance of Basingstoke and you are free next Thursday, 1st May, then come along to the Hampshire Property Club at the Holiday Inn in Basingstoke.
This month we are hosting a Question Time with a team of experts who will answer questions from the audience. We have a property taxation expert, a mortgage broker and a negotiation expert. The Question Time will be chaired by me, Dennis Coote, and I will answer questions on renovation or refurbishment.
You can find full details at
http://www.hampshirepropertyclub.co.uk
and also get tickets.
It will be a very exciting and informative evening, so don't miss it

Watch out all Landlords! New compulsory directive.

2008-04-19T04:33:00.000-07:00

One vital piece of information we discovered from the Landlord and Buy to Let Show is that from October 1st 2008 Landlords will be required to provide tenants with an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) at the point of new rental.

This is another European directive in support of the Kyoto Protocol (whatever that is and who else keeps to it anyway!)

However this is compulsory - the EPC must be completed by a licensed and accredited domestic energy assessor. And yes, you guessed it, this is going to cost you between £55.00 - £65.00 PLUS VAT!

For more information go to

http://www.energyreportsdirect.com

Just to clear any confusion the EPC (whilst being part of the HIPS legislation) is required for all landlords. The HIP is only required at point of sale.

The EPC lasts for 10 years and is only required on the start of any new tenancy.

Landlords will not have to improve any of their properties even if the reports states they need to. If Landlords do not comply with this legislation and commission an EPC report then they could be fined £500.00 or more.

Have fun!
Dennis

Landlord & Buy to Let Exhibition London April 2008

2008-04-19T04:17:00.000-07:00

The Landlord and Buy to Let Exhibition at Olympia, London 18th and 19th April 2008 was well worth the visit.

I did not discover this was on until a chance email alerted me two days before the event. But the tickets were free and Hazel and I decided to go. Their website was informative and flash, but refused to work either to buy the tickets (I had to ring up eventually and even then when we arrived they had no note of our bookings!) or to request a brochure. But the tickets were free and there were no problems at reception.

Trek to London, across London to a badly advertised event, no signs at all outside. The taxi driver was reluctant to let us out because he was convinced it was not on! But it was.

There were about 100 stands featuring everything and anything to do with property buy to let, mortgages, loans, Landlord Associations of which there seem to be a few (all charging for registration of course). Building Societies, Sourcers of New Build, Foreign, and BMV properties UK, Cleaning Firms, Plumbers, Builders, Specialist Furniture Providers, just about everything was covered.

And it was well worth the visit, we met and networked with some really great people, we learnt some startling facts and gathered information which we could not have done without.

Another of these exhibitions is being held in Glasgow 16th and 17th May, and no doubt there will be others around the country in due course.

There is a strange feeling about the economic state of the country and the world at present. There are vast numbers of people wanting to buy property and no doubt the market itself would be extremely buoyant, if and this is a big IF, the banks and building societies could get their act together to offer borrowing at good rates. It is the banks and building societies who have made the big mistakes, feels like we are all going to suffer for it!

Anyone wanting to add comments please do so.

And anyone wanting to join our own Hampshire Property Club, FREE, please do so!!!

http://www.hampshirepropertyclub.co.uk

We all need to help, advise and support each other now more than ever. The way to wealth may be rocky but it is easier if you travel in a crowd!

All the best
Dennis Coote
http://www.hampshirepropertyclub.co.uk

Doom and gloom, or skipping all the way to the Bank?

2008-01-20T11:29:00.001-08:00

There is a philosophy that states that we create a story and then make it come true! The papers need sensationalism and we all know that they create stories out of thin air!

So is this 'story' of a world economic recession true? Or should we take it all with a big pinch of salt? And what of us property owners/developers? Where does that leave us?

There is no doubt that some of the US banks, and some UK building societies have got their sums hopelessly and negligently wrong. They have borrowed to those who cannot pay back. They have lent out more money than they can afford. ( Who hasn't been sick this week to see those responsible for the collapse of Northern Rock being paid huge amounts?!) What is it about the world at present - you seem to fail at your job and get paid millions for doing so. Anyone about who would like to employ me in a sector that I know nothing about? And then give me millions as a golden handshake when I get it wrong? No? Thought not!

So back to those banks and building societies that have got it wrong. Does that mean we all have to suffer? Well unfortunately yes. The banks will not be out of pocket and so the credit crunch hits in. House prices have risen too far too fast and, as history shows, after a peak there is a fall.

However, the climate in the UK is different now. Well over 1 million immigrants are pouring into the country - the government really has no idea how many people are coming in! And over a million more are due to arrive within the next few years - all needing homes and housing. These are young families, with children, who grow up and need homes.

There is a train of thought that the world and the UK will have an economic crash during the next two years. The stories abound with doom and gloom - but every cloud has a silver lining and property investment has always been long term.

I have watched dozens of programmes, read countless reports, listened to numerous experts on this situation - and though most say that there is going to be a down turn in the economy, they refer to it as a 'slow down in the price rise'!

This does not mean an actual price loss does it? Rather that house prices will not rise as much as they have.

Ok I can live with that.

I would be happy for you to share your thoughts on this subject - please email me at
dennis.coote@googlemail.com

All the best to all
Dennis

Whoops property abroad!

2007-10-22T04:39:00.000-07:00

Gary McCausland does it again! Really the best property show on T.V. Does he tell it how it is!

The poor lads went for a property in Portugal. Again they did no homework, they did no proper due diligence, they jumped straight in and expected there always to be profit on property.

OOh how wrong can you be! Especially with buying abroad. It is fraught with danger. The laws are different, the ethos is different, the culture (even within Europe) is different, and of course the language is also different.

You really do need your eyes wide, wide open when buying abroad. Never take anything anyone says at face value. In fact the best advice is, never believe anything you are told without checking, rechecking and rechecking again. You will always be told something different from different people, and even from the same person on a different day!

But there are some wonderful bargains abroad and lots of money to be made. Due diligence in its strictest form, lots of leg work, brain work and ask, ask, ask. Get to the truth. Don't be sold a finca because it is romantic, or according to the agent and sure profit maker! You may be buying the house but not the land!!! And solicitors abroad are nowhere near as strictly controlled, or truthful, as they are in UK. Watch your back, be wary, and then make a good profit.

Good hunting!
Dennis

Hot property or what?

2007-10-22T04:24:00.000-07:00

Been a few weeks since the last blog mainly because we have been busy buying again! We have gone for another little gem in Portsmouth. We have houses in Reading but since we bought those the price has gone sky high; the rents have not followed suit.

And that is what this blog is about.

Should you go for a property even if the rents do not cover the mortgage? Should you insist on the rent covering the mortgage and if so by how much? Or should you go for equity and take a loss on the rent?

Lots of different views on this one. For ourselves it feels uneconomical to buy a property which is not going to cover rent, expenses and insurance and come out with a bit on top. Some property entrepreneurs say never, ever purchase a property where the rent does not cover the mortgage. Others say go for the equity and take the loss.

Many companies are offering new build/off plan with the carrot of supposed massive equity in a few years. And it is an attractive proposition to buy a property at 16 or even 20% off, but where even then the rent falls below the mortgage by £100 a month.

You pick and choose. For ourselves we would much prefer that the rent does cover the mortgage and has even a bit of profit on top. The equity is still going to be there in a few years time, but, as one mortgage broker states, at least the property will be wiping its own face until then.

Any views on this subject? Glad to hear your opinions/experiences.

Back again soon,
Dennis
http://www.renovationriches.com

Property Investors Show

2007-09-22T04:07:00.000-07:00

Visited the Property Investors Show at ExCel on Friday 21st September 2007.

We arrived at ExCel after a great train journey from Hampshire, just in time for our first seminar with Vanish Patel in room 1. The seminar was about sourcing hot properties on the Internet in less than 24 hours.

Good seminar, full of great tips and advice. Vanish and other property entrepreneurs are not just good at property they are also sharp Internet marketeers.

The content of the seminar was good, full of interesting concepts. Vanish gave a polished speech with slides, which fortunately he promised to send free through an email address later in the week.

He did not miss the opportunity of getting the email addresses of all present, by offering free ebooks, and transcripts of the seminar. An extremely good selling tactic.

The next seminar immediately after was given by property entrepreneur, Ranjan Bhattacharya, who again did not miss getting hold of our email addresses by offering more free information.

His seminar was excellent with many valid points. He answered questions afterwards but somehow did not seem to answer the actual questions given. Got a feeling here that the concept was good but not sure if the factual element would work. The idea is to buy property at 18% or more if possible, less than the market price. His company would then give a loan for the house purchase folllowed the same day by a valuation and a remortgage from a mortgage company. Sounded good but the valid points were made, how do you find property at around 18% less than market price? Obviously people do it. Secondly if the valuer for the remortgage does not value the property at the marketable price you would end up paying for a deposit. And the whole point is not to pay any of your money down, for deposit, solicitors's fees, stamp duty etc.

Worth looking into.

We looked around the numerous stalls in the massive hall. Properties on the market from all over the world, Egypt, Cyprus, all of Europe, Canada, Morrocco, Vietnam, Caribbean, anywhere you can think of, you could buy property. Stands also for mortgage companies, finance, letting agents, off-plan, property clubs.....

The next seminar interestingly enough was probably the best as far as content was concerned. But the the company obviously have no idea of Internet marketing. They did not collect email addresses nor even gave out their cards or website address. This seminar was given by Property Frontiers. They discover, research and source properties all over the world in areas where there are property booms about to happen. North Alberta, Canada for instance where a massive oil field has just opened. The demand is very high and the supply of property very low. People are living in camps until properties become available. Other countries include Vietnam, Phillipines, Malaysia, Italy, Caribbean islands, very interesting talk indeed.

Very interesting too to notice the different marketing techniques between the three seminars. The first two had catchy titles and were fully subscribed. Both Vanish and Rajan knew how to market their products, their online courses, ebooks, financing companies and how to capture email addresses for their list.

The third seminar was low key, boring title, but full of information. Probably a physical company that has very little knowledge of selling on the net.

More wandering around the stands, more drinks of free wine, free clocks, calculators, cups of coffee.

Summary: very very well worth visiting. Full of information and full of new ideas.

NOTE: at the same time there is another exhibition at ExCel about house building and renovation. We are visiting that tomorrow Sunday 23rd September.

See you there
Dennis

HIPs become law for 3 bed houses this Sunday

2007-09-07T06:02:00.000-07:00

Home Information Packs become law for 3 bedroom homes this Sunday at Midnight. From Monday 10th Sept any 3 bed home new to market will require a HIP at a cost of around £350, plus there is a £200 fine every time you are caught marketing your home without a HIP.
BEAT THE DEADLINE!!However, if your 3 bed property is on the market before 10th September, i.e. It must be on the market on the 9th September, then you will not require a HIP (unless you have not sold by1st Jan 2008) saving you £350 plus any fines.
MARKETING MUST BE CONTINUOUS.To comply a property must be continuously marketed from at least the 9th September with no break in marketing. A break of even just one day from 10th Sept will then trigger the requirement for a HIP at a cost of around £350.
Dennis

Have you come across this site?

2007-08-29T02:58:00.001-07:00

I think this site is one of the largest property investment sites around. It claims to have over 90,000 subscribers which as far as I can see seems to be the biggest. The forum is very active with plenty of little tricks and tips to help you profit from property investment. Its even got a live chat room where other investors meet at 1pm and 7pm everyday. Definitely worth a look.
Visit Ajay Ahuja's site Click here

We have used this site on occasion and find Ajay very professional.
Dennis
www.renovationriches.com

Buying in Spain

2007-08-27T03:18:00.000-07:00

A lot of people are doing it, (including us!)

There's a great deal to be said about buying in Spain. Some of the obvious ones are:

1.The year round excellent weather
2.Prices of food and eating out are much cheaper than the UK
3.Prices of Property are also much cheaper and in some ways more straightforward than buying property in the UK
4.You don't have to learn Spanish (although it could be useful) most people speak English.
HOWEVER, you will need a great deal of patience with the officials

We were helped tremendously by our estate Agent, Jon Sambrook, who runs an agency in Torrevieja on the Costa Calida
He has written a series of articles which are well worth studying and include the following:

Secrets Most Spanish Property Agents Don't Want You To Know!
1. How to make friends easily with complete strangers.
2. Is the tail wagging the dog?
3. How to avoid falling into the "price trap"
4. The Viewing Trip Myth
5. Don't be seduced by the sun!
6. A word of caution
7. Why you should NEVER pay a cash deposit
8. The truth about the 10%
9. Legal Beagles
10. Bring a good book and some aspirin!

You can access it here at: http://www.buy-spanish-property.info

Feel free to post any questions here - if we don't know the answer we'll find out.
Dennis
http://www.renovationriches.com/

Gary McCausland go, go, go!

2007-08-25T06:24:00.000-07:00

More about the 'How to be a Property Developer'.

Well done Gary McCausland, at last a property programme that is based on reality. Yes, the green developers made the biggest mistake, they did not listen to an expert.

Having watched so many property programmes I am absolutely delighted with Gary McCausland’s programme.

I was anxious because I thought this was going to be yet another property programme with the ‘Cinderella’ effect.

property plonkers buy house to renovate at vastly over the top price
property plonkers make complete hash of development going way over their budget
property plonkers do all the wrong things, they do not listen to advice
then they try to sell at a vastly over estimated price!

And that's when the Cinderella effect kicks in – some rich friend flies in with his helicopter and buys the vastly overpriced property and saves the day.

Well not with the Gary McCausland programme. And I congratulate him on that. It must have been a temptation to make everything end well. But he didn’t. He showed it as it was.

And he showed how much of an expert he is.

I liked this programme and will be watching it eagerly again.

http://www.garymccausland.com

http://www.richlandgroup.co.uk/

Cheers

Dennis

Not for the Squeamish!

2007-08-25T04:44:00.000-07:00

Successful Property developers beware! Did you see the little item in the Daily Mail this week about the Queen of Mean, the late Leona Helmsley. She was the widow of the New York hotelier Harry Helmsley who died recently aged 87.
Helmsley was so unpopular with staff that her parties were fraught with tension. On one occasion she gave a large dinner party at her Florida mansion. After the soup was served the second course failed to appear.
When Helmsley went to the kitchen to investigate she found the kitchen empty, her employees had gone and left a note stuck to the fridge which read "We just want you to know that we all peed in the soup before we left"
Daily Mail 22nd August Ephraim Hardcastle http://www.dailymail.co.uk/

Moral: Beware of rich bitch property developers!!

Dennis
http://www.renovationriches.com/

Gary McCausland Programme

2007-08-24T04:34:00.000-07:00

Just a quick post script to yesterdays comments about TV programmes!

How nice to see a Property Developer programme where instead of all sweetness and light, the rather silly 'developers' ignored the very good advice from Gary and did their own thing.
They lost £20,000 and serves them jolly well right!

The commonest mistake that inexperienced developers make is not to listen to advice from people who know.
Dennis
http://www.renovationriches.com/

To HIPs or not to HIPs that is the question!

2007-08-24T04:01:00.000-07:00

For some years the Government and the country have been driven by the idea of Home Information Packs for properties. All residential houses, homes, properties were by law to have a HIP by June 2007.

What a mess! What a shambles, the Government does it again. You know the drill…

There is a small group of people paid excruciatingly high salaries to sit in a room isolated from the real world. Their sole job is to think up ideas that have no touch with reality.

Their criteria is to change things, firstly that do not need changing, secondly that cannot be changed practically, thirdly that could be changed except it is impossible and costly to do so.

Their aim is to keep the rest of us on our toes so that we won’t look so closely at the hash the government is making of this country.

And before you say it, I think that all three parties are exactly the same. There is nothing to choose between them. They all kowtow to popular acclaim, they are all scared of doing anything that is not PC especially if it is good for the UK.

But stop, this is not a political diatribe, this is a blog about HIPs, which started with a small group……..

On the surface HIPs sounded good; but it comes into the second and third categories of the Governmental distractions.

The original HIPs was unHIPable, so it got changed and changed again. The date of introduction was postponed and so on,

You put your left HIP in
Your left HIP out
In, out, in, out,
Alter it all about
Another government cock up
So here we go
Bash up the middle class again!

Eventually the HIPs came out for four bedroom houses only…………

Read more……http://www.homeinformationpacks.gov.uk/…….

What do you think? How much money is coming out of your wallet?
Dennis
http://www.renovationriches.com/

TV property programmes that make you sick!

2007-08-23T04:12:00.000-07:00

There it was again, another programme about property featuring some really daft people trying to climb the 'property ladder.' Good job they have the 'experts' on because otherwise the three daft people would have chosen completely the wrong houses.

You know the scenario, stupid person goes into buying property blindfold and gets stopped at last moment making horrendous mistake. Only to come out on top yet again, with profits that they don't deserve. I sit there and cringe!

And how, oh how, someone tell me, do their figures add up? Somehow they make hundreds of pounds a month out of a rented property when the rest of us are struggling to make minor profits. (Actually some landlords are making losses according to my accountant, they are holding on for the equity in the properties). So how do these numbskulls make a good profit?

Well you tell me....

Dennis
http://www.renovationriches.com/

Property Exhibition - don't miss it!

2007-08-23T04:02:00.000-07:00

Everyone, but just everyone, is going to be at the Exhibition at Excel, London, on September 21st/22nd/23rd. Look at the Excel site.

Three glorious days of exhibits, stands, info. And throughout the day there are some amazing seminars taking place throughout the centre.

Everything you will ever need to know about property, raising finance, mortgages, developing properties, starting your own portfolio, sourcing low priced properties, the lot!

And it is FREE to visit, just the seminars cost at £5.00 a shot for around 45 mins. There are dozens of speakers and you choose how many, or few, you want to attend.

Hazel and I will be there of course. Couldn't keep us away from a property do!

So if you want to talk to us about our own properties, renting out, starting your own portfolio as we have done, renovating, developing etc. just look out for us.

Dennis's picture is on http://www.renovationriches.com/ so you can't help but recognise him

See you there!