A lot of email lists that we’re prompted to sign-up for are met with caution – and rightly so.

However, when it comes to property, it couldn’t be further from the truth. Sign-up for as many lists as you can as email marketing is the best way to be first-in-line to view that potentially winning property.

Rather than having to scan websites every day or making regular trips to the estate agents, all you have to do is sign-up and they’ll email you the newest properties within your price range and location on a daily basis.

It’s vital to be one of the first to view a property, so by signing yourself up to one of these lists, that’s half the job done.

Email marketing lists aren’t the only ways that you can be first to view a property. Most of the major players in the estate agency game offer an application for mobile devices that allow you to scan the newest properties of the day while you’re on the move.

If your day job doesn’t allow you to regularly make or take calls from the estate agents, all you need to do is press a button when you have a spare moment and, hey presto, the newest properties are sitting on your screen.

The way we view and buy property is changing rapidly and whether you’re a first time buyer, looking to simply move house or perhaps build on your portfolio, it’s important to embrace the digital age so that you can stay one step ahead.

The last 12 months have been profitable for many of those with buy to let insurance and the good times look set to continue for the foreseeable future due to a lack of supply, according to one expert.

Property analyst at FindaProperty.com Samantha Baden said that people’s living arrangements have undergone a fundamental shift in recent years due to the effects of the economic downturn.

She stated that people have got used to spending prolonged periods in rented accommodation and many estate agents have had to acknowledge this and adapt their business models to reflect the changing times.

For Landlords, the picture looks rosy, as the expert believes the situation will remain as it is for the foreseeable future.

“The lack of supply is continuing to exacerbate the problem, driving up rents even further and it doesn’t look like this situation will change in the short term,” Ms Baden added.

James Davis, chief executive officer at Upad, said recently that the UK has undergone a “major shift” towards renting, with London leading the way.

Posted by Luella Ravelin

Article by Lisa Orme – This  article is actually a favour to myself!

A chance comment on a forum turned into another business opportunity. Rob Hubbard of Walker Fox is a deal finder; he posted on a forum a while ago saying that he was finding great deals but didn’t have a database of investors to pass deals onto furthermore it seemed that most people who he did speak to wanted No Money Down deals which he wouldn’t do and that usually meant they had little to no money and he was sure many deals would never come to completion letting down his sellers. I suggested that he partner with a mortgage broker; brokers have a ready list of clients wanting to buy, they have already been vetted by the mortgage broker so are mortgagable, and if you partner with the right one you can be assured there will be no NMD shenanigans.

So unsurprisingly a few weeks later Rob and I decided to JV together and a number of others have followed since! It certainly wasn’t my intention to partner with deal finders. Deal packaging is nothing new and to be honest I’ve never really been an advocate of them in the past as so many of the so-called deals offered simply aren’t. So therein lay a great opportunity. I am regularly being approached by property investors who are getting great deals but are not in a position to buy themselves or can’t buy as many as they would like and I have clients wanting deals.

The great thing is I get to sit in the middle to:-

• Ensure the deal is genuine
• Get to know the finder/packager and be able to recommend them to my clients
• Know the investor is mortgagable and can complete on the deal
• My clients get to do more deals and make more money meaning we all get more business

Brilliant!

The only issue I have at the moment is that a lot of the new finders/packagers I’m working with haven’t done it before and are unsure of what constitutes a deal that others will buy and how to package them up. So I thought I’d use this month’s article to create a bit of a how to guide to deal packaging that I can simply send to the finders. I’m sure readers will find it useful too and if you want to become a finder I highly recommend partnering up with a mortgage adviser who can match you up with suitable buyers just like we are doing.

So what constitutes a deal?

This is a major issue I’ve always had with deal packaging because what suits one person doesn’t necessarily suit another. But in general terms given current mortgage availability and the marketplace most investors are going to be seeking 20-40% discounts on a genuine open market value (OMV).

Most investors want to keep the property to let out but others want to buy to sell and some want to refurb to let out to try to recoup some of their invested monies.

You will need to understand your investor’s requirements before going out and finding deals. Or conversely have enough investors to offer deals to that you can offer out a variety of deals that will likely appeal to at least one of them.

What is genuine OMV?

I’ve seen all sorts of descriptions of what constitutes genuine OMV and the fact is it isn’t a set figure and certainly can’t be quantified. It isn’t even a figure determined by the valuer because if the valuer happens to find out your purchase price most times that’s what they value it at! Furthermore court cases demonstrate that it is not unheard of for valuers to be a party to overinflated valuations.

Your job is to provide a plethora of information to the investor that gives them confidence that they are buying a genuinely discounted property. After all if they are buying the property at the agreed purchase price and not trying to use smoke screens to create a perceived market value it doesn’t really matter. It’s only when you’re trying to con investors, valuers and lenders alike that this becomes an issue.

For approximately £150 you can arrange for an independent valuation by a RICS surveyor. This should be done when your seller has agreed to sell at a discounted price but that price has not yet been determined. The RICS valuation can not only be used to determine that purchase price but also to provide your investor with a current market valuation.

Please note that this is nothing more than the valuers opinion; it is not a scientific calculation! You should never only use a valuer’s valuation to determine the value of a property. After all when you go to the lender and state your actual purchase price the very same valuer will value the property at that price not the likely higher price he previously valued it at!

This exercise is to ensure your investor is confident of the valuation and that they are getting a discount worthy of your fee.

What Information Should You Provide?

I recommend that you provide your investors with an emailable pdf document comprising most or all of the following:-

• Independent RICS valuation
• Comparable sold prices
• Comparable for sale prices from a variety of sources
• Estate agents confirmation of current value
• Comparable rental prices
• Letter from a reputable letting agent confirming the rental valuation and demand
• An overview of the property including a full description of the interior and exterior
• An overview of the surrounding area
• Interior and exterior photographs
• Schedule of any works and likely costs

You can provide an illustration of the likely mortgage payments, cashflow etc but I recommend asking a mortgage adviser to draw this information up for you as publishing mortgage terms, rates and payments is highly regulated especially if it constitutes any form of advertising.

What Should You Charge?

The fee you charge is often down to negotiation with the investor and also whether there are other ways you earn out of the deal. For example you could arrange for the refurbishment and resale of a buy to sell and split the profits instead of taking a fee. Several finders I work with run estate or letting agencies so are happy to deal with the resale or management of the property as all or part of their fee. If however you are simply packaging up the deal and can prove a genuine minimum 25% discount then a fee in the region of £5,000 is usually acceptable. Significantly higher discounts could attract higher fees especially on higher value properties in areas where deals are harder to come by such as London and the SE. Conversely you may be able to pass on more marginally discounted deals for lower fees to some investors.

This is why it’s so important to get to know your investors requirements beforehand. When I work with the finder’s part of this fact finding mission is to determine their mortgagabilty and a strategy. It’s quite common for investors to approach me with a set plan in mind only to discover its not realistic or doesn’t suit their needs and had they have pursued that course may have found themselves in trouble or unable to buy more properties. Once we talk about their goals and financing options and develop a plan then it is much easier for the finder to work to – again we all win.

Article Provided by Lisa Orme

Mortgage Broker and Property Investor

The above is for information purposes only; rates can change and may not be applicable at the time of publication.

Please consult appropriate professionals and contact us for up to date quotations.

Keys (UK) Limited is an Appointed Representative of Julian Harris Mortgages Ltd. Authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority in the conduct of mortgage and general insurance business with FSA No. 304155.

Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on a mortgage or other loan secured on it.

Think carefully before securing other debts against your home.

Buy to let (pure) and commercial mortgages are not regulated by the FSA.

For full details of our terms, fees and disclosures please go to our website at www.keys-mortgages.com

Looking around a property that could become your new home is exciting, but you can’t afford to get swept up by the agent’s sales talk.

Fail to use the viewing time effectively and you could miss something that ends up costing you dear.

Here are 11 essential tips that will help you see the real property behind the sales pitch at every viewing.

1. Don’t view it alone

The more pairs of eyes you have looking around a property the better.

If you attend a viewing alone then it’s likely you will be lead around by an agent who does their best to highlight the positive features of the property, not giving you the chance to look closely.

So even if you will be living alone, take a friend or relative to view the property with you as they may spot something you miss.

2. View outside and inside

It is easy to get caught up examining the inside of a property and forget to take a thorough look at the outside.

Checking the exterior walls and the roof as well as the pipes and drainage is essential; if there are any problems then they could be expensive to get fixed.

If any work needs doing you may either want to arrange a professional survey if you are looking to buy, or look for a rental property elsewhere.

3. Give yourself plenty of time

The last thing you want is to have to rush around the property because you have another appointment or viewing booked.

You should leave at least 20-30 minutes to view the inside of a property and a further 20-30 minutes to check the outside and the local neighbourhood.

If you are being shown around by an agent or the owner, try and view the property at your own pace and avoid being rushed through.

4. Leave emotion at the door

Walking through the front door and immediately imagining yourself living in the property can be a good sign. However, it’s also likely to mean that you are looking through ‘rose tinted glasses’ for the rest of the viewing.

Even if you feel that a property you’re viewing could be the one, try to look around the rest of the flat or house with a critical eye. If you do find a problem you may be able to negotiate a reduction in price, but even if it is too big an issue to resolve it is still better to find it before you are financially committed.

5. View in daylight

Make sure to view the property at least once in daylight so that you can see it in its entirety.

If you have to attend a first viewing when it’s dark and like the house or flat, try and arrange a second viewing during the day before putting in an offer.

Equally if you have viewed the property in the day and want a better idea of what the area is like in the evening you could arrange a second viewing later in the day. This will give you an idea of how light the property is at different times of the day, how loud the neighbours are and what the neighbourhood is like once dusk starts to settle.

6. Book multiple viewings

Making sure you go back to view a property after the first look can help make sure that you don’t miss any potential issues and ensures that your know exactly what you’re getting for your money.

It also gives you the chance to ask the agent of owner any specific questions that you have after looking around the first time and to negotiate on price if needs be.

7. Check for damp

Damp is a big concern regardless of whether you are looking to buy or rent a property, simply because it may illustrate more fundamental problems.

Signs of damp include a musty smell, peeling wallpaper or bubbling paint and mould or dark residue on the walls and ceiling.

If you suspect that the property suffers from damp it need not be a deal breaker but should definitely be an issue you raise with the agent and investigate further.

Any cracks or signs of subsidence may indicate a much more serious problem with the property so make sure you look out for these too.

If you are considering buying a flat or house which has damp you should make sure to pay for a full survey to make sure that there are no serious underlying structural issues. You can always ask the vendor to resolve these issues before you commit to buying, or find out how much it’ll cost to rectify and negotiate a sufficient reduction in the asking price.

8. Test the property

When you are looking around a flat or house, don’t be afraid to test the fittings and fixtures.

Check that the windows open easily and that there is suitable water pressure throughout the property by testing the showers and taps. You are also within your rights to check things like the level of loft insulation, the wiring and electrics during a viewing and it’s a good idea to do so.

Although you may feel awkward testing things in this way, any issues you spot at viewing can either be fixed before you move in or be used to negotiate a reduction in price.

9. Think space

An empty flat our house will always look bigger than a fully furnished property, so you need to check that there really is enough room.

Check what the property offers in terms of storage space. For instance, are there built in wardrobes in the bedrooms, or would you need to have space for a wardrobe in each room?

In the kitchen, are the white goods built in would you need to use vital space for a fridge, washing machine or dishwasher? What about the cupboard space, is it expansive enough to fit all of your pots, pans and crockery?

You can take this a step further by taking a tape measure with you to check if your furniture would fit comfortably in each room.

Would your bed, sofa, dining table and drawers all fit comfortably our would you be blocking radiators or sockets etc?

10. Get the camera out

Gone are the days where estate agents held the cards with regards to property images. Taking lots of photos, or even a video, is a great way of ensuring that should you miss something you a personal record of the viewing to look back at.

It also means that you can look back at the property and compare it to others you’ve seen in your own time without the pressure of going around with a letting or estate agent.

However, make sure to ask permission before you start snapping. Although letting agents and estate agents will not usually have an issue with you taking photos, if the owner still lives in the property it is only polite to check.

11. Question everything – take a list

Don’t be afraid to ask questions, whether you are looking to rent or buy you will be parting with a significant sum of money and you are well within your rights to have any of your questions answered.

Here are some questions you should ask the agent before you sign:

Why is the property available?
Hopefully the answer will be something that is not related to the standard of the property. For instance, if the current residents are looking to move because they have out grown their home or need to relocate then consider if you would be in the same position if you moved in.

How long has it been on the market?
The longer the property has been on the market the more likely that it is overpriced or has a problem of some description. Knowing this information also empowers you when it comes to negotiating a price – if it’s been on the market for a while, the vendor or landlord is likely to be keen to come to a deal and so may settle for less than the asking price.

How many viewings have they had?
More viewings indicate a greater interest in the property, however, if none of the viewings have resulted in an offer does this show that it is too expensive or has another issue. Again, getting this information also gives you more ammunition for price negotiations.

How long did you/the previous tenants live here?
The longer the better. If there have been lots of residents in a short period of time, why did they not stay longer?

What are the neighbours like?
Although you are unlikely to be told directly if you are set to move in next to a couple from Neighbours from Hell the reaction you get from the landlord or homeowner should give you some idea what the local residents are like.

Is there a neighbourhood watch scheme?
While the answer won’t necessarily tell you how safe the neighbourhood is, you should get a good idea if neighbours look out for each other if there is an active scheme in place.

What is the local traffic like?
Especially important to ask if you have to commute to work by car. Again it’s unlikely that they will complain about heavy traffic but you may pick up some clues in the answer as to whether there is a problem.

When is the noisiest time of the day?
Any mention of aircraft or traffic noise?

Has the property ever been burgled?
Unfortunately if a property has been burgled in the past it can often be revisited again. If they have been burgled on more than one occasion then it even more likely that this is the case. It’s also a good idea to ask what security measures the property is fitted with – for instance an alarm.

Is the property on a water meter?
Would this increase your utility costs?

How old is the roof?
Roofs only last for a limited time so it’s worth checking just how old the current one is. The older the roof the more likely it will need work, which may be quite costly.

How old is the wiring and central heating?
The older the set ups the more likely that you may encounter a problem. You should also ask when the last time both systems were serviced by a qualified individual.

When was the last time the boiler was serviced?
Boilers should be serviced every 12 months, if this isn’t the case, you have no way of knowing what state it’s in.

Has there been any recent improvement work on the property?
Recent work can be both a positive and a negative. If the house has just had new windows or guttering that may be a plus. However, if it has been underpinned to prevent subsidence this may prove to be a significant negative.

Are there any issues that I need to know about?
Certain problems, such as if a property has been underpinned for subsidence, must be legally declared, however asking this question should ensure you know if there is anything else that you’re not being told.

How far is the property from local amenities?
Can you easily walk or drive to everything you need without a problem?

Are there any management charges?
Particularly important question to ask if you are looking at a flat within a residential block, however can also apply to houses and other residential properties.

What is the local parking situation?
You should be able to tell this by checking out the local area, but their answer may also signal if there are any problems with parking.

What’s the council tax band?
This should help you calculate your budget should you want to look at making an offer for the property.

Is the house haunted?

Why not! Even if you don’t believe in ghost or ghouls if the person describes sounds in the night this may indicate that there is something else wrong with the property.

Thanks to Money.co.uk for this article.  http://www.money.co.uk/article/1006621-11-secrets-for-successful-property-viewing.htm#ixzz1JykcvGOm

By Graham Phelps, GR Phelps Property Marketing, www.grphelps.com

In 2008, the Times newspaper predicted the UK housing market would not recover until 2011. Are they about to be proved right or wrong?

According to the Guardian, over the whole of 2010, the number of properties on the market increased by 24% while demand fell by 7%. But demand slumped by 18% during the second half of the year as concerns about the impact of cuts in public spending hit home, wiping out the modest price increases seen at the start of the year. During the second half of the year, supply also dropped as sellers became reluctant to put their homes on the market when prices were falling.

Before I examine the views of the experts, let us consider some of the factors that influence or trigger house price movements.  The top four are:

1.    Interest rates

2.    Mortgage ‘availability’

3.    Surplus  or shortage of properties on the market

4.    The ‘feel good factor’

Here you can be your own pundit:

Do you think Interest rates will rise in in first half of 2011, if so by how much?

a)      0.25% b)   0.5%  c) 1% or more

Do you think mortgages will be easier to get, with lower deposits, during 2011

a)      Yes     b)   No    c) Unchanged

Do you think that 2011 will see

a)      More properties than buyers or

b)      More buyers than properties

Will the economy feature an improvement or decline in the ‘feel good factor’?

a)    Yes   b)  no

Well, I suspect that your answers will be similar to mine and highlight that 2011 will see interest rates rise, probably by at least 1% and possibly more (3%?) by the end of the year. Also, whilst mortgage availability may not improve the general shortage of buyers will keep house prices fairly static and dropping in some areas. 2011 will see an increase in ‘must sell’ properties where the owner discounts the price to achieve a sale. This has already started in fact. This will be true across all price bands in all areas.

The trend towards ‘reluctant’ tenants and landlords will continue. First time buyers are probably not going to get their first step on the housing ladder during 2011.

The elusive ‘feel-good’ factor is unlikely to be around too much during 2011 either, maybe making a brief appearance for the Royal wedding. Otherwise, employment is expected to rise and economic news to be more on the gloomy side. Wage rates are not expected to rise either and in many cases fall in real terms.

Property investors

We are already seeing more institutional property investors looking at buying larger portfolios and investment properties.  Many equity stocks are still overpriced and property looks like a ‘once-in-a-decade’ opportunity for investment properties. I predict in the London and SE markets, where most of these investors are looking to buy, prices will creep up on these properties due to demand. These areas are often excellent long-term investments but bargains are hard to find. Valuation will continue to be difficult.

There is also likely to be an increase of repossessions (according to the debt advice website www.freedebtadvice-uk.com ) coming on the market, although these are unlikely to be bargains or easy to find – not labelled but there are some specialist sites that list these properties.

At the same time, many property and buy-to-let investors, over stretched during the boom years of easy finance, may be facing cash-flow problems when interest rates creep up.

What the experts say

The increasing popular (?) website www.housepricecrash.co.uk confirms most of my views, with endless tales of crash and slump.  However, This is money predicts a slight rise in prices.

This is based on the Bank of England holding interest rates and pumping more money into the economic system, both of which are far from certain.

RICS believe that property prices will fall between 2% to 5% during 2011, with the North/South divide being an important factor. As always, location is everything.

Many of the big lenders and financial journalists are taking the ‘About the same but maybe a price drop’ line. They are naturally cautious and also do not want to scare the horses. Few can see the volume of transactions improving, and some getting worse as banks pull up the drawbridge as the economic conditions tighten. (Remember that old joke about banks and umbrellas).

Whilst statistics prove little, they can still be interesting. The overall trend in 2010 is still down with some experts predicting that we have a long way to go yet, with possibly 20% or more still to come off house prices before the end of 2012.

Hometrack also predicts  a 2% or more drop, but also highlight some interesting trends in the market. Sellers are finding it much longer to sell a property and subsequently dropping prices by more than 5% whilst being advertised.  During the last few month’s sellers have been achieving around 90% of asking price, the lowest for ten years.

Estate agent trends

With all this uncertainty and lower market activity, further changes to the estate agent market are also likely during 2011.

The reduction in newspaper and other forms of advertising, which started in 2009 is likely to continue. No doubt the larger national chains, or at least those not weighed down with debt, will try and assert their size to maintain market share. However, with the Internet increasing it’s dominance in property search (over 80% now find property online) many agents will be asking whether they need to be on the High Street. Larger branch chains might consider closing some branches that overlap and local independents move to a ‘virtual office’ approach.

In the portal world, Rightmove’s dominant position shows signs of weakening to the likes of www.zoopla.co.uk , www.findaproperty.co.uk and www.home.co.uk gaining significant market share during 2010.  Google property may also become a factor during 2011.

As one leading estate agent comments: “The Internet has totally transformed the market and I see this continuing to have a major impact into 2011 and beyond.”

Following the OFT report into estate agency in February 2010, encouraging ‘new models’ of property sales, there is likely to be more innovation during 2011. This will include new tools for estate agents and lower-priced services for private home sellers, with either lower commission or other a fixed-fee service models.

Summary

As we know, house prices fell by an average of 1.6% in 2010. This would have been lower if it was not for the surge in buyers and shortage of sellers earlier in the year. For 2011, most likely, expect house prices to fall, property finance harder to get and properties to take longer to sell. A good time to buy possibly, but location is more important than ever and valuing property will be more subjective. The search for ‘bargains’ particularly in London and the South East may create a ‘bubble’ effect in these areas. Longer term, some areas of the UK may not recover from this market slump for some time, certainly not in 2011.

UK property prices will either hold up or drop by a smaller a percentage (depending on your view), but only if the number of properties on the market continues about the same.  An increase in properties with no subsequent improvement in buyers or further economic bad news will force prices down further. On the other hand…

graham@grphelps.co.uk

GR Phelps Property Marketing

The UK’s Internet Property Marketing Specialists

www.grphelps.com

Cash Flow Strategies for 2010

This is no longer the case: the new investing landscape creates more opportunity than simply buying and holding. Those who are savvy are generating far more leads [online and offline] and there are many ways to monetise them, especially in the recent economic crisis.

Packaging deals and leads, creative finance tools and option strategies are some of the strategies that could significantly cashflow your property business without ever having to take out a mortgage. Of course, if you can and are able to get a 30% + Under Market Value [UMV] property then you will be increasing your long term wealth by building a bigger asset base.

Never before have I seen so many different ways to monetise Property investing. Never before have we generated so many leads  [uQL, QL, MS, LO & TB] though so many different marketing & lead generation strategies

In 2006-2008 over 85% of our deals were through Estate Agents. Still a great way to source, still our highest volume lead generation strategy, but things have changed & in 2010 leads & deals [uQL, QL, MS, LO & TB] have come through [some] previously unproven platforms: facebook & twitter, forums, newspaper adverts, newspaper ageing, WOM, our own agents boards, SEO & online lead gen, leaflets, postcards, online video, YouTube, and some I’ve probably forgotten as we use 33 strategies in all.

Earning £3k -£ 9k+ per Month without a Mortgage

There are a few ways that you can earn and this is in relation to Finders Fees. Although terminology varies the few ways you can do this is:

1] Ready Made Deals [RMD] – The deal has been negotiated and agreed with the vendor and a signed Purchase Option agreement or assignable contract is in place. These deals will usually be packaged and can also be low or no money down [NMD] with all the costs including the Bridging loan. Cash back is sometimes available depending on the level of discount obtained. Fee: £3-7k per deal.

2] Qualified Leads [QL] – The vendor has telephoned and the lead has been qualified. [agreed that in principle they may take 25-30% UMV offer]. The more concrete the agreement of discount, the more you can charge. The lead may not have sufficient equity on the deal to be included in the above category, and may have the deal on with an estate agent. The lead will be confirmed by telephone that they are interested in an Under Market Value offer price and open to further negotiation. It will be up to the investor who you sell this lead on to, to use their skills to convert this deal by whatever legal means they deem reasonable. Fee: £75 -£250.

3] Unqualified Leads [uQL] – The vendor may not have been contacted at all. These are usually leads who have simply filled in a form on a website, called an automated phone number or rejected a significant discount. This can be a really passive way of selling the leads without much work. Fee: £50 +

4] Rent to Own [R2O] – Find unqualified leads from estate agents and sell your Lease Option deal to a tenant buyer/FTB [First Time buyer]. You will need to phrase the concept of this in way that they will understand: Don’t use terms such as Lease Option & Tenant Buyer. Keep it simple and sell the benefits – “How would you like to own your own home with a minimal deposit?” You can charge a 3% deposit upfront: Fee 3-5k.

5] Flip for Commission [FFC] – You’ve found a deal which is out of your area [patch] or not in your investment criteria [decent discount but no cashflow] and so you don’t want to keep it. You can find a joint venture partner [JV] who can get mortgage [MH] or pay cash for the deal, wait 6 months, sell it and split the profits or share the equity and cashflow by holding it.

There are many other ways such as using an Assisted Sale [AS], Shared Ownership [SO], Portfolio Building [PB] MH/DoT, B2S/& many more that will be shared on in our next events on Sat 10th July 2010: “9K in 90 Days: The 7 Way Property Cashflow Blueprint Beginners Event of 2010″

http://progproperty.infusionsoft.com/go/CFBL/a240

Other lead generation strategies that will be revealed on the day will include: Biz Directories, Aggregators, Google Local, Adwords Bing & PPC, Facebook Ads, WOM/Referrals, Med Cards, Affiliates and many more.

It is imperative for your business that you have multiple lead generating systems in place. Did you know that it takes 35 leads to do at least one deal making you over £20,000? How many systems do you have in place?

If you really want to accelerate your cashflow and adopt the new never revealed before 2010 strategies the only and last time we are planning to do this is in July : We only have limited number of seats still available.

http://progproperty.infusionsoft.com/go/CFBL/a240

Rob & Mark

Progressive Property

[That was after they wrote their 2 Best Selling Property Books, bought almost 300 Properties & Built a Multi-Business & Property Portfolio]

So here’s the deal:

The *Last Ever* “7 Way Progressive Property Cashflow Blueprint” Event of 2010, THE UK specific, Cashflow Property Event of 2010 is Sat July 10th And they are removing ALL of these Bonuses on July 1st at 11:59pm, so grab them NOW:

Bonus#1 – Under-cover  Estate Agents Insider Deal Secrets [1 Hour Audio Interview] [Secrets shared that would have got this Ex-Estate Agent sacked - Value GBP 97

Bonus#2 - Lease Option Cashflow Interview with Expert Trainer [Over 80 Deals]

[5 Ways to Cashflow Deals without a mortgage, Deposit or Credit Rating] – Value GBP 97

Bonus#3 – Brand New 2010 Emergency Property Buying Report [Twice Yearly Property Report *Just Released* get it before anyone else] – Value GBP 149

Cash Flow Blue Print Bonuses

And for the next 17 of my subscribers ONLY [make sure it's You]…

Bonus#4 – No Cost Unlimited 28 Day Access to the Progressive JV Community Members Site [Sold out in Jan 2010 to 1,150 people - over 150 hrs of non-public investing material] – Value GBP 34

Bonus#5 – ALL their Proven leaflets & Newspaper Ads they’re currently using  [exact copies] [Their best 5 deals 42% - 60% Discount were from these exact leaflets & Ads] – Value 1,182 That’s a total of GBP 1,559 at NO EXTRA COST Grab them all here before July 1st at 11:59pm when they will ALL be taken down

Cash Flow Blue Print Bonuses

You will need to attend the “7 Way Progressive Property Cashflow Blueprint” Event on Sat July 10th to qualify for some of these Bonuses

Why?

Rob & Mark have trained over 52,000 people Live at Property Events & have proven that those who get off their backsides & take action are the ones getting all the results

Everyone else is looking for the instant fix/pill/secret/easy way – they’re still looking

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Sarah Beeny takes a look at the American practise of house-swapping as a means of moving home and wonders if it could work here…

Only the most optimistic of industry watchers would say that conditions in the UK property market aren’t tough. The credit crunch, the lack of availability of mortgage finance for both first-time buyers and those with equity in their properties, and anxiety over the state of the economy in general have led to what is, at best, a pretty stagnant property market.

Meanwhile, in the United States, where the credit crunch originated, the property market is suffering more seriously from a lack of activity. Developers are desperate to sell units, estate agents have been going out of business and the number of repossessions is up sharply.

However, there may be a solution of sorts on the horizon for a few out there. For years, Americans have used holiday home swaps as a way of experiencing a different area and lifestyle while still enjoying all the comforts of home. Now there are some who are trying to see if this concept might work for more permanent home swapping. And you never know if it helps the odd person move over there you may see it happening over here.

How does it work?

In much the same way as holiday home swapping websites operate. The idea is to find someone in the area to which you want to move and who wants to move to the area in which you live. From there you can hopefully find a fellow home-seeker with the kind of property you are looking for, and arrange a swap.

This system clearly does needs a considerable amount of luck as you may well want to move to a family home from the cool city apartment you live in because you may have just had kids but will the older couple wanting to downsize want to retire into that city apartment?  There are clearly a great deal of luck and considerable amount of volume needed to make it work but apparently we are told that matches do happen and when this does happen it’s a pleasant and easy trip for everyone.

Why do it?

Shortly – why not – if it does work then you obviously don’t have the cost of an estate agent but also there is massive ‘feel good’ factor about knowing the people who lived in your home now live where you used to.  This kind of property transaction allows buyers and sellers the opportunity to ‘try before they buy’. As the system is based on a vacation home swapping system, those people who meet and propose a permanent switch should also be able to arrange a trial period in which they live in one another’s properties. This eliminates a huge part of the uncertainty that goes along with a relocation to a completely new part of the country.

Disadvantages

The main disadvantage I see is that matches are extremely unlikely to actually occur – there are various websites that do this in the UK but they are little known at present and even if they were very widely known and all properties were on them matches would still be rare.

Legal issues

There will need to be the normal legal agreements in place to transfer ownership, to enable permanent exchange of the properties to take place.

Properties will have to be approved by a mortgage lender in order to proceed, adding another layer of confusion and bureaucracy.

Legal and financial institutions will treat any home swap as an ordinary transaction of property.

Please do Share with your friends via the ‘Share and Enjoy’ buttons. It would also be great to hear your thought and experiences so do leave a comment below.

Buying from estate agents.

The only way to get the very best no brainer deals is to be the investor an estate agent rings first. So when someone comes into their office and wants to sell their property quickly you are their first call. It is important that the person you are dealing with knows how to create a deal.

How can you be the estate agents first call?

Let’s start from the beginning. The best days to call on an estate agent are Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday’s. This is because any good agent will be booked for viewings on Saturdays and Sundays and the only person in the office will be the weekend person and as you need to build up a relationship with the hottest agent in the office then weekends are out. Mark Penn who works for me now used to be the area manager of a 5 branch Estate Agency told me the following.

“Mondays are typically made up of meetings with their manager going through figures from the week before and Fridays are where they are setting themselves up with viewings for the weekend”.

When you arrive at the estate agents office if there is a good agent in there they will be jumping over desks to be the first to speak to you.

Mike who works in our office was the top salesperson for a large chain of agents for 14 months running and he says that he used to be the first person at the door anytime anyone walked into their office.

Now your objective is not to walk up to them and say “ I am a cash buyer, I can buy quickly here is my card see you later” It is to build a rapport with them the old adage people buy from people is the same when it comes to selling.

So as I said the key here is to develop a rapport and we do this by chatting to the agent for around 30 minutes mainly about the market in general but also about them. I would not go into details about your buying criteria yet. So midweek as it is the agents least busy time is when the agent will have more time for a chat. Then I will ask the agent to show me the best 3 buy to let properties they have on their books.

Now it would be very easy to rubbish the 3 choices but don’t ask to view them which will give you another hour with them and more time rapport building.

Now for the whole key to dealing with agents.

You are not so much looking for a property that fits your buying criteria as they are very rare. You need the agent to find a vendor who is willing to meet your criteria ! So use the three viewings to explain your criteria.

After you have viewed the properties is when you start talking about your buying criteria and how you can make the 3 properties fit your buying criteria.

So firstly explain that THE RENTAL INCOME IS THE MOST IMPORTANT FACTOR and that your offer price will be based on your rental income being £150 per month more than your mortgage payments.

You then need to explain that you can borrow 75% of the ACTUAL VALUE of the property.

Example

Value of property = £100k

Amount you can borrow = £75k

Your offer is what you can borrow which in this case is 75k

less 4k buying cost

lest refurbishment costs of say 6k

In this case your offer would need to be 65k for the deal to meet your buying criteria

Assuming this also fits with your rental requirement of £200 per month cash flow.

If the property is on the market for 100k an offer of 65k does not normally appeal to an estate agent but this is where you need to be using the best agent in the office.

You don’t want the agent ringing the vendor and apologising for the call and explaining that they have just had a very poor offer as the vendor will nearly always say no.

Let me give an example of a deal we recently did.

The agent knowing our buying criteria and knew we would pay 90k for a property that does not need a refurb and that would value at 125k.

So he called me to confirm that he had just found a property for me that had been on the market for 125k that the vendors wanted to sell quickly as they had found a property they wanted to move into as soon as possible and that they were prepared to drop to 115k for a quick sale.

HE FOUND A VENDOR WHO MET OUR CRITERIA BECAUSE HE HAD A NEED

He had then contacted the developer from who they were buying their property from to say that they had had an offer from a very good reliable cash buyer at 30k less than the asking price. He then explained that they could only afford to drop 10k and would the developer be prepared to drop 20k from their price.

The developer agreed so the agent rang the vendors and told them that he had a brilliant offer for them from a very reliable cash buyer and could he come round to see them.

So rather than apologise to them that he had received an offer of 30k below their original asking price he phoned to tell them that he had received a brilliant offer and asked if he could make an appointment to discuss it with them face to face.

He then went to see them told them about how great it was to have an offer in such a poor market and how good it was to have an offer from such a reliable cash buyer. He then went on to tell them that he had managed to get a 20k discount from the property that they were buying because they had an offer from a great buyer at 20k below the asking price. They accepted the offer

That was when he phoned me, I viewed the property within 1 hour and agreed to purchase at 90k

It will take a while to establish this sort of rapport with an agent. I found from every 10 agents I visited I built this sort of relationship with one of them. It has been easier for me to develop this rapport with newly employed agent working in the large chains

rather than the office manager. The office manager normally already has a network of people he can call.

It is also not as easy to work with independent agents as they tend to buy these deals themselves or the owner will pass it on to a friend.

So to sum up YOU NEED TO EDUCATE THE AGENT TO WORK FOR YOU AS YOU WILL BUY EVERY PROPERTY THAT HE CAN FIND WHERE THE VENDOR WILL SELL TO YOUR CRITERIA

We offer a service where one of the ex estate agents who works for me will go out with you and visit agents in your area explaining your buying criteria and explaining the finance methods used.

Agents have big egos so you will need all your people skills. This business of buying cheap property is not about property it’s about dealing with people.

Out of the 8 Estate and Letting agents that attended the Lease Options meeting that Mark and Julie Jackson ran for us, we are working closely with 2 agents.  This is what had been predicted prior to the meeting, so it’s all going according to plan.

We are working with Clive a local Estate Agent, he’s brought 2 deals to us so far.  Unfortunately both deals didn’t fit the criteria as they were both 1 bed apartments, which, as you know are not good for investment properties.  Clive has really grasped the concept of lease options though and I’m sure they’ll be more deals coming through.

We’re also working with a letting agent called Purple Cow, Claire and Francis are joint partners.  They too have really grasped the concept.  Its early days but they are already thinking of possible deals that we might be able to do.

I feel that Mark really opened their eyes as to what was possible with the power of the lease option. They can see that it offers a solution for their clients and they will get paid in the process too.  Lease Options are such a powerful tool for an investor’s kit bag.  I’m really looking forward to doing my first one!

I’m working my way through the Lease Options Course which is excellent, I’ll review the course when I’ve finished, but so far it has given a lot of useful information.  I have also got an audio from Mark Jackson’s Lease Options workshop back in January.  This is a great resource as you can listen to it in the car, it really immerses you into the world of lease options and gives you a lot more confidence to go out and actually do a deal!