When The Bell Tolls

10 Things To Consider Before Investing In Property Part 2

This is the second of a series of 10 audio podcasts with tips on how to invest in property during the current downturn.  

Music courtesy of my friend Gordon Giltrap
"On Camber Sands" from his album Troubadour. Visit Gordon's web site here.

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Free Development Site or Property Price Calculator

In response to a number of requests for guidance on prices to offer for repossessed properties in our newsletter I decided to create a helpful calculator.

Whenever I look at a project for a client who needs finance I work the project backwards from the Gross Development Value and then come up with a maximum figure that can be paid for the site or the building to be refurbished. 

This is essential in today's climate.  You need to know the maximum price you can afford before entering into a negotiation.  Too many people negotiate a deal on the site and then try to make the project fit.

The calculator works like this.

• You fill in the details of the properties, the quantity and their end values
• You then fill in details of the build costs
• Then the non-build costs
• Finally put in the % profit margin you want to achieve 

The calculator automatically totals everything up and calculates a maximum price that you should pay in order to achieve your desired profit.

It's very simple to use and saves a lot of scribbling on envelopes and head scratching.

How To Get It

At the top of the right hand navigation bar is a short form to register for updates to this blog.  Complete the form and after you confirm your subscription you will get an email with the calculator attached.

Or, alternatively, subscribe to the "Early Bird" Repossessed Newsletter by completing the form below.

Best Regards

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10 Things To Consider Before Investing In Property Part 1

This is the first of a series of 10 audio podcasts with tips on how to invest in property during the current downturn.  

Music courtesy of my friend Gordon Giltrap
"A Dublin Day" from his album Troubadour. Visit Gordon's web site here.

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2 Plots Of Land For Sale On The Isle Of Skye

We have two 1 acre house plots on the Isle of Skye for private sale. They both have wonderful views across the sea to the islands of Harris and Lewis.  The seller will negotiate larger plots if a buyer wishes.

Both plots have access to the shore.  The site has a  historical connection to Bonnie Prince Charlie, ruins of a 5th. century monastery and an ancient Dun or mound.

To get full details you will need to join our "Early Bird" Repossessed Property Sales Newsletter.  Details of the Skye plots will be in the newsletter to be published later this week.  You can subscribe free via the form below the picture of the view from plot number 1.

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Repossessed Property Conversion North Wales

We've just been given to sell, a double fronted Victorian house in North Wales.  The house is a shell with planning permission to convert to two three storey semis.

Offers around £85,000

To get full details you will need to subscribe to our "Early Bird" Repossessed Property Newsletter.  Just fill in the form below.

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How To Make Sure You Don't Miss The Next Property Boom

If you think  the current situation, with property prices falling and a chronic shortage of residential and commercial finance,  is permanent then you'll probably disagree with the point of the headline.

But if you believe the current state of affairs is temporary, whether it lasts for six months, a year, two years or whatever, then you will probably agree that a boom is surely around the corner.

The adage "the profit is in the buying and not the selling" is truer now than it's ever been, because the opportunity to pick up property bargains is here and now.  The idea of waiting for the market to bottom out is, to my mind, flawed thinking.  How will we know when that point has arrived? There won't be a public announcement and prices will probably rise much quicker than they fell.

We'll only know the market has hit the bottom when it's already on the way up.  Once that's happened the bargain property prices will be history.  The savvy investor recognises that there are genuine bargains in the current market.  If you see a property you like at the right price then now is the time to buy, because if you don't someone else will and the opportunity will be lost forever.

Here's an example.  It's off market and only available if you know who to talk to.  A development site in west London valued recently at £1.2 million.  The owner is keen to sell and will accept an offer of £600,000.  Will it still be available when the market bottoms out?  It won't even be available next month. Call me on +44 (0)1828 628587 if you are interested.

Here's another one.  It's  in our current newsletter.   A site with development potential in a superb position in the famous Scottish golf town of Carnoustie.  Valued a year ago at £90,000 this repossession can be bought for a substantial saving.  You'll have to subscribe to the newsletter to get more information.

So how do you make sure  you don't miss the next property boom?  One way is to subscribe to the "Early Bird" Repossessed Property Newsletter and buy repossessed houses, flats, land or developments directly from the lenders who repossessed them.  Just fill in the subscription form at the bottom of this post for your free membership.

And hot off the presses there's news of a new finance package designed to help investors buy at below market value and refinance six months later at full market value.  It gets over a number of problems and is suitable for all types of property purchase.  It will appeal particularly to buy to let investors.  Call me on 01828 628587 if you want to know more.

We live on an island.  Land is a finite commodity and the law of supply and demand will dictate the market.  The market is temporarily skewed because the banks and building societies are not lending.  But that can't go on for long. 

In my opinion there is a property boom around the corner.  Here's the question.  Who will take advantage of the current market and who will be left wishing they had?

Whether you agree or disagree please leave your comments.

Best Regards

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The Price Of Failure?

I suspect that most of you were brought up, like me, to believe that failure in a job leads to the sack.  That still holds true for most of us, but not if you are a director of a UK bank.  Just look at the 2007 salary and bonus packages of the HBOS board.

The price of failure to Andy Hornsby? £2million in Lloyds TSB shares and a job in the merged bank.

You can get the full details by following the link to Business Week's analysis of each directors income for 2007.

Andy Hornby CEO £1,643,000

http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/people/person.asp?personId=8132322&symbol=HBOS.L

Peter Cummings Chief Exec of Corporate £2,400,000

http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/people/person.asp?personId=22929462&symbol=HBOS.L

Colin Matthew CEO of Strategy £1,045,000

http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/people/person.asp?personId=8132328&symbol=HBOS.L

Ms. Jo Dawson Chief Executive of Retail Distribution £982,000

http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/people/person.asp?personId=22335439&symbol=HBOS.L

Lord Dennis Stevenson £708,000

http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/people/person.asp?personId=602375&symbol=HBOS.L

If you really want to put these obscene income packages in perspective compare them to;

Senior Consultant Surgeon approximately £160,000 a year

Firefighter approximately £32,000 a year

Army Private £16,000 to £28,000

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Rich Kids In Bright Shirts

In the wake of the Lloyds TSB takeover of HBOS (does anyone really believe that it's a merger?) there has been an outbreak of  "agreement" up here in the Scottish Parliament. 

First Minister Alex Salmond called short selling, which he blamed for the demise of HBOS, economic vandalism.  Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Tavish Scott welcomed the suspension of short selling saying  "Rich kids in bright shirts in London, New York and Tokyo are making money at our expence, Scotland loses its bank, people lose their branches and the country is worse off."  In fact all parties were in broad agreement on the the issue.

However Patrick Harvie of the Green Party took a swipe at the other parties. While he also welcomed the UK Government's action in respect of short selling, he said "Isn't the root cause of the problem the culture of deregulated buccaneer capitalism which all of these political parties have supported, celebrated and even courted?"

I have to admit that my own opinion leans toward his. We all recognise that a free society needs policing.  So why should the financial markets be different?  Perhaps if the Financial Services Authority had spent less time going after easy targets, like independent mortgage brokers, and more time on the banks and the city  things might have been different.

While everyone is rightly criticising the "spivs and speculators" in the city lets not forget that the banks have been acting like spivs for years by ripping off their own customers with their outrageous charges.

And doesn't bad management also come into the equation?

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Bargain Probate And Pre-Repossession Properties

I've just secured an agreement to obtain supplies of probate and other off market bargain properties.

The only way to get details of these and our regular repossessions is to subscribe to our free Early Bird newsletter.

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Repossessed Property Development Joint Venture Opportunity

I've just had details of a joint venture offer from one of our lenders.

The lender is willing to keep his money in the project until completion with a joint venture partner finishing the build out.

This is a repossessed Regency house conversion to three flats on the English south coast. 

To get full details you need to subscribe to our free "Early Bird" Repossessed Property Newsletter.  You can subscribe via the form below.

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