I’m actually watching one right now – “A Place in the Sun at Home or Abroad.” You always see these couples who have a certain amount of money and I always ask myself whether they’ve actually sold their house yet. I wonder, if that’s the case, where they are living now. And if they haven’t sold their house, how they can even be looking?
Even so, I like looking at their potentiel life styles. And I look at each property as a potential place for me and imagine what my life-style would be like there.
Why are these programmes so fascinating?
Why are we so interested in homes?
I’m going to tow shows soon: The Home Buyers and Property Investors Show and Grand Designs.
I can’t wait to see what they have on offer.
Friday, 29 February 2008
Sunday, 24 February 2008
Advertising a Property Abroad
A friend of mine who is very into Web 2, who happens to also be a writer like I am, swears by Google Adwords for optimizing the number of bookings she has.
She does also have a really pretty site. Interestingly, her “cottage” is really a bungalow, and is not in a really touristy area. Yet she has almost solid year round bookings. I think she’s partly cashing in on people who return. She has a real good set up there – dishwasher, wi-fi available and a really comfortable place. Her site contains really inviting picture. It’s not just the cottage she attracts you to, but the type of holiday you could have there.
Unfortunately, I don’t have her IT skills. But I have just set up my Adword page. There’s a technical problem, and the engineers say they will get back to me.
In the meantime, anybody interested in a beach holiday in Vera, Almeria, Spain?
She does also have a really pretty site. Interestingly, her “cottage” is really a bungalow, and is not in a really touristy area. Yet she has almost solid year round bookings. I think she’s partly cashing in on people who return. She has a real good set up there – dishwasher, wi-fi available and a really comfortable place. Her site contains really inviting picture. It’s not just the cottage she attracts you to, but the type of holiday you could have there.
Unfortunately, I don’t have her IT skills. But I have just set up my Adword page. There’s a technical problem, and the engineers say they will get back to me.
In the meantime, anybody interested in a beach holiday in Vera, Almeria, Spain?
Thursday, 21 February 2008
Closed Bridging
Joy of joys. I’ve found another Closed Bridging company – who charge nothing, for the closed bridging deal. It’s same day remortgage. Also, you can use your own broker.
Closed bridging really does enable you to buy property below market value. You can even come out with change. So, now it’s full steam ahead with my purchases in Manchester. I stand to make money on one of the deals and break even on the other.
I signed up and I had a phone call from them yesterday. I’m dealing with old friends. Powell Callen. They’ve done some excellent work for me in the past. So, I trust them absolutely.
Great day!
Closed bridging really does enable you to buy property below market value. You can even come out with change. So, now it’s full steam ahead with my purchases in Manchester. I stand to make money on one of the deals and break even on the other.
I signed up and I had a phone call from them yesterday. I’m dealing with old friends. Powell Callen. They’ve done some excellent work for me in the past. So, I trust them absolutely.
Great day!
Thursday, 14 February 2008
The Homebuyers and Property Investors’ Show
This show takes palce this year on the 7th, 8th and 9th of March at London’s ExCel Centre. Ther will be over 250 exhibitors. On Friday, it is open 10.00 a.m unitl 6.00 p.m., Saturdya 10.30 a.m unitl 5.30 p.m. and Sunday 10.30 a.m unitl 4.30 p.m.
I notice some old frids – Alan Boswell, whom I use for all of my insurance on my buy-to-let properties, Currencies Direct, whom I have used for freign exchange, Faster Bridging, who I have used to buy a property in Coventry – and ained £171,000 equity immediately – Ready-to- Invest, run by a couple hwom I admire and who for me are role modles and good old Fuel have got me some brilliant mortgages in the past. I notice, too, that Win Investing are also there. I’ve used their expertise about stock market investment before. Interesting to know that they are now tunring to property.
There is a fantastic lsit of seminars lso. There isn’t one I wouldn’t recommend. They all have advice to offer. But I would particularly recommend those by Vanish Patel, John Howell, David Sandman and Ranjan Bhattacharya.
I notice some old frids – Alan Boswell, whom I use for all of my insurance on my buy-to-let properties, Currencies Direct, whom I have used for freign exchange, Faster Bridging, who I have used to buy a property in Coventry – and ained £171,000 equity immediately – Ready-to- Invest, run by a couple hwom I admire and who for me are role modles and good old Fuel have got me some brilliant mortgages in the past. I notice, too, that Win Investing are also there. I’ve used their expertise about stock market investment before. Interesting to know that they are now tunring to property.
There is a fantastic lsit of seminars lso. There isn’t one I wouldn’t recommend. They all have advice to offer. But I would particularly recommend those by Vanish Patel, John Howell, David Sandman and Ranjan Bhattacharya.
Saturday, 9 February 2008
Building Your Own Teams
If you’re being smart with property investment, you need to have your own fully trained people around you. I’m currently trying to buy Below Market Value properties. There are three ways of making money with property: when you buy it, when you rent it and when you refinance it. The two latter are normal and easy. The first is a little trickier.
One way is to take bridging finance, buy one day and then refinance, remortgage the next day. There are companies who will set this up for you. However, I have the urge to do it myself and set a slightly different pattern.
I’m negotiating a drawdownable amount form the bank. I buy, as normal, with an 85% loan-to-value mortgage. I have a floating agreed amount of about £45,000 which I use for a deposit. The first mortgage is a slightly expensive one, with no penalties. As soon as the place is tenanted, I remortgage for the full value. I’m aiming to buy enough below value each time, that I’m making £3,000 to £4,000 after paying all the costs – solicitors, stamp duty if needed, voids and any refurbishment costs. £2,000 then goes into my own residential flexible mortgage, and can be taken out again for the next loan, thereby reducing the amount I need to borrow. £1,000 goes into the emergency pot. This can cover voids and if not needed for void, goes towards the tax bill. £1,000 goes towards paying my own personal debts. I’m determined to pay off my own mortgage and personal debts in three years. Eventually, I’d actually have enough in my personal flexible mortgage fund to pay outright, giving myself a bridging loan overnight. The day my husband and I retire, I stop borrowing the mortgage back. But by then ….
Detailed business plan to follow….
Now, I already have one solicitor who understands the process. I have two very bright young men, an estate agent and financial advisor who are beginning to understand.
One way is to take bridging finance, buy one day and then refinance, remortgage the next day. There are companies who will set this up for you. However, I have the urge to do it myself and set a slightly different pattern.
I’m negotiating a drawdownable amount form the bank. I buy, as normal, with an 85% loan-to-value mortgage. I have a floating agreed amount of about £45,000 which I use for a deposit. The first mortgage is a slightly expensive one, with no penalties. As soon as the place is tenanted, I remortgage for the full value. I’m aiming to buy enough below value each time, that I’m making £3,000 to £4,000 after paying all the costs – solicitors, stamp duty if needed, voids and any refurbishment costs. £2,000 then goes into my own residential flexible mortgage, and can be taken out again for the next loan, thereby reducing the amount I need to borrow. £1,000 goes into the emergency pot. This can cover voids and if not needed for void, goes towards the tax bill. £1,000 goes towards paying my own personal debts. I’m determined to pay off my own mortgage and personal debts in three years. Eventually, I’d actually have enough in my personal flexible mortgage fund to pay outright, giving myself a bridging loan overnight. The day my husband and I retire, I stop borrowing the mortgage back. But by then ….
Detailed business plan to follow….
Now, I already have one solicitor who understands the process. I have two very bright young men, an estate agent and financial advisor who are beginning to understand.
Monday, 4 February 2008
Paper Work
No matter how much we like our work, there’s always something about it which we like less than the rest of it.
When it comes to property, what really makes me fed up has to supply mortgage providers with endless bits of paper. It is, after all, all there on my credit file – which is actually 31 pages long. They always say “Well you can fax everything to us”. Faxes get upset after a few pages, I’ve found.
It takes ages to copy everything. Yet if you supply originals, the problem can be that you don’t get them back for a long time and then you need them again for something else.
I do wish we could move to the paperless society.
I tried to email some copies of papers yesterday. They bounced. They’ve now suggested I fax them. But we’re talking about forty pages and that’s including payslips – which don’t fit in a fax machine. It ought to be possible by email, but banks tend not to like attachments. Surely though, we have the technology to do this all better now?
When it comes to property, what really makes me fed up has to supply mortgage providers with endless bits of paper. It is, after all, all there on my credit file – which is actually 31 pages long. They always say “Well you can fax everything to us”. Faxes get upset after a few pages, I’ve found.
It takes ages to copy everything. Yet if you supply originals, the problem can be that you don’t get them back for a long time and then you need them again for something else.
I do wish we could move to the paperless society.
I tried to email some copies of papers yesterday. They bounced. They’ve now suggested I fax them. But we’re talking about forty pages and that’s including payslips – which don’t fit in a fax machine. It ought to be possible by email, but banks tend not to like attachments. Surely though, we have the technology to do this all better now?
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