Passive Investments - A Great Company to Work with

They really do do a good deal. You put in the equivalent of two deposits. One covers all the work they do for you over about five years – and that includes acting as letting agents and property managers for the time you have up to five properties with them.
The second deposit goes into a property which they source for your below market value. They then refurbish this for you, find a tenant and then remortgage it – to release the deposit for the next property. And all you have to do along the way is sign bits of paper and send them back as quickly as possible.
I am impressed with how efficiently they do all of this. I am now starting on my second property with them. The first was let within days of the refurbishment being complete. I never hear a peep out of them. I guess there are no maintenance issues, as the refurbishment was done so well in the first place.
I’m pretty experienced myself with these things, so I can see that they’re doing well. I trust them so much that in neither case have I visited the property. They operate mainly around West Sussex, but are also looking at Portsmouth.

Another Property in Spain?

We’ve had problems booking our holiday this year. We are in a points system with a firm called Club La Costa. They’re not cheap, but for what you get – top-notch luxury, they’re very good value for money. We like, every other year to go back to Nerja right on the edge of the Costa del Sol. It is a magical sort of place and it’s there that I started writing anyway. However, I think because many people have opted back out of the points scheme, because it is expensive, we can never get a place there. Club La Costa does also do exchanges with the RCI time-share owners scheme, but even using that, we could only find somewhere near Almeria. Too much of a busman’s holiday for me – I already own properties there.
So, maybe the only solution is to buy there. Perhaps a two-bedroomed town house which will actually sleep six. Maybe a half or quarter share. We’re going to talk about it after the Christmas break.
Exciting times. I’m used to property, but this thrills me more than anything else.

Full Management - Way to Go

Now that I own eight properties in the UK, I use Letting Agents and go for full management. This means that they typically take between 10% and 15% of the rent. 15% is fairly common. I never actually pay 15%, because I have four properties with the agent who would charge that. They only charge me 12.5%. The one which only charges is 10% is not as cheap as it sounds. They take a month’s rent for finding you a tenant. So, it is only cheaper if the tenant stays a couple of years.
But what do you get for this? For one thing, it means the end of waiting in for the plumber who doesn’t come. If there’s a problem, the tenant rings the letting agent, who rings you to sanction a repair. They’re supposed to go ahead with anything that costs less than £150, but they still tend to ring and check first. Often, there’s a chance that the repair may be more major, so they want the go ahead first. That makes sense – it saves the contractor going out twice and therefore, in the long run, saves you money.
It’s also worth noting that they can get people out quicker than individual landlords can and they can let contractors in to properties, so you’re not relying on tenants being in. When I’ve had to renew furniture or appliances, the management team of my letting agent has acquired these through their contractors at far more reasonable rates than I could achieve.
So, it’s definitely worth the percentage to me. After all, your mortgage provider expects your rent to cover the repayments by 125% - 130%. The taxman, at the moment, is still allowing you tax against expenditure, and so paying for full management stops you paying some tax on the rent. You’re really making money for the equity in your investment.
I’ve been on the other end of this for the last few months. I’m renting someone else’s investment property. There have been some maintenance issues. They’ve all been solved whilst I’ve been out at work. If I’d have been the householder, I would have had to wait in to get the toilet unblocked, the alarms reconnected and the showerhead mended.
Winners all round.

The New Coventry House

I went to collect the keys on Friday. Before I set off, I’d looked on the ARLA web site to find a Letting Agent and had a conversation with them about the services they offered. It seemed very comparable with my others, but with the added advantage that they gave you three months’ rent guarantee cover, and then when you do have to pay, it is actually cheaper than the policy I have with another company.
The house seemed fine. I might try to do something about the garden, though, once it’s let. That will probably be the only time I visit it. I’ve handed all of the keys to the letting agent, Whitegates. They’ll value it on Monday, Fingers crossed that they don’t come in too much lower than surveyor did eventually. He went form £625.00 pcm to £1000.00. Unbelievable. I actually want about £865.00. Anything else is a distinct bonus.
What is more, I managed to park in Coventry for nothing. All of the estate agents and letting agents are in one road. There is one street, just near to one of the main car parks, where you can park for an hour. Plenty of time!

Panic Stations

sePanic Stations
Two lots of panic about the two houses I’m buying in Coventry yesterday – and I got to hear none of it because my phone had frozen. As soon as I got in, the panic started.
The £145,000 property did not complete as planned. There had been a last minute hitch about the loft conversion, which meant that the solicitor could not draw the funds in time. The vendors had moved out and so they had to spend the night in their caravan. It just shows how important it is to await the sollicitor’s instructions.
The other panic was about the house I am going to buy that is about to be repossessed. The Building Society in question went ahead with the repossession, even though they know the vendor had someone interested. In fact, though the judge threw it out of court. I myself had spoken at length to the Building Society on Friday and tried to persuade them how foolish this was – especially as we are in the weeks of seasonal dip. There may well be someone very senior working there who would know us.
So, now, though one completes tomorrow and the other goodness knows when. I await the deliberations of Mortgage Express.

Financial Crunch - Good News for Some

The Credit Crunch – Good News for Some
I have found another good deal in Coventry. I was offered it three weeks ago. The offer was turned down in favour of another one, of just two thousand more. They came back to me yesterday.
It is a four-bedroomed townhouse, immaculate condition, with four bedrooms, two bathrooms. It is quite close to a teaching hospital, so I'm aiming at sharing young professionals. It will, as usual, depend on how the surveyor sees it. I have it worth £222,000 and I’m paying £1757, 000. Rental comes in at about £1250 pcm. According to my spreadsheet it works superbly, and with the right deal, I could even come out with change. I believe anyway Mortgage Express are coming out with some new deals on Friday.
I shall, of course, be using Faster Bridging Finance. With that, you buy one day cash and remortgage the next day. It’s a really neat system.
I now just need to find a deal in Manchester.

Concept Property

Concept Property is doing some really good deals at the moment. For as little as £3,500 down and no deposit you can get some properties with instant equity and a good yield. However, if you want to use letting agents, who charge10-15% of the rent the rent only just or not quite covers the mortgage repayment. Never mind. Rents will go up. Houses are still doubling in price every seven years. A good long term investment. And the £3,500 represents the full purchase cost. I am so tempted, though I just don’t have the cash at the moment .They are certainly on my list. No brainer, isn’t it?
Offers at the money include town houses in Oldham and Wigan and one-bedroomed apartments in Wigan.
A good way for beginners into property investment.