Archive for the ‘Investment Properties’ Category

Staging a property is a technique that is used more and more by people selling a home, but it’s also a useful method for property investors to use when renting a property too. It works well for both properties that you’re trying to re-let, as well as properties that you’ve just purchased and are renting for the first time. Here are some reasons why staging a property can significantly help rental viewings.

The basic idea behind staging is to present a property in the best light possible. Careful thought and care is taken into getting the property ready for rental viewings, which may involve a degree of re-decoration, cleaning and tidying up. Although it can take time, money and effort, if you’re keen to achieve the best possible rental price for a property, then staging it can be very worthwhile.

If a property looks good, appeals to tenants and has everything they’d want in a property and more, then there’s more chance that you will be able to achieve a good rental fee than if you don’t bother with staging at all.

In addition, staging a property can help widen the appeal of a property too. If it boasts good facilities and good quality décor, then you may be able to attract a wider range of tenants – and those with more disposable cash – than you could otherwise have done.

In another post, we’ll look at how you can go about staging a property for rental viewings.

Saturday 7th August 2010. FREE HBFi Networking Event and 1-2-1 Personal Wealth Consultations – Birmingham NEC.

http://deals.hbfinvestmentproperties.co.uk/Event0708.aspx

Would you like a FREE personal 1-2-1 wealth consultation with the leading UK property experts and property buyers showing you how you can turn £995 into £52K in 5 years by buying just one discounted property ‘no money down’? Our experts are the ‘real deal’ – we are the guys WHO MAKE LOTS OF MONEY from property and we can show you how to do exactly the same! 
 
Our investors have learned how to make £52K in 5 years from buying one property for just £995 and pay NO TAX!! Discounted ‘no money down’ deals are available on the day which has been a massive hit with property investors!
 
The venue is: Crowne Plaza Hotel, Pendigo Way, National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham, B40 1PS.
 
The main event starts at 10:30am with your personal 1-2-1 consultations starting at 09:30am.  PLEASE BOOK EARLY for your personal 1-2-1 consultation with one of our property experts and to get access to the best properties that we have for sale on the day.

To confirm your place for you and your guests NOW for Saturday 7th August 2010, please register at:

http://deals.hbfinvestmentproperties.co.uk/Event0708.aspx

I personally look forward to meeting you at our event.

In our A to Z of Property Investing we’ve reached G – and G is for Goals. If you’re involved in the business of property investing, then it helps to have goals. Goals give you something to aim for and a target to work towards and can help keep you focused through good and bad times.

When you’re thinking about what goals you may like to have, it helps to consider them in terms of short-term property investing goals, medium term and long-term goals. In the short-term, your aim may be to purchase and let two properties, keep them going well and see the value on the properties rise. In the medium term, you may be keen to buy another two properties, to double your earnings. In the long-term, your goal for the future may be to build up a property portfolio of 20 or more properties.

It goes without saying that most people aren’t in the position to pop out and buy 20 properties outright – it takes time, commitment and effort to build up to that stage. If you were just starting out and only had one goal – to own 20 properties – it may seem rather far off, so having smaller goals along the way can help maintain your motivation and give you other, more achievable, milestones to reach.

Other smaller goals can be set on a monthly, half-yearly or yearly basis and can involve anything from putting a certain amount of money aside for future investments, to gaining new tenants for your properties. If you want to be reminded of your goals, then some people find that writing down your goals or sticking a copy of them up where you’ll see them regularly, such as on a noticeboard, can help them keep focused.

If you’ve not stopped to think about or plan out your own goals recently, then why not have a go now? We’re over halfway through the year, so you could use the latter half of this year to set some small, achievable goals and see how you get on. In January 2011, you could review how you’ve done and then set yourself some new goals to work towards next year.

Not all goals work out as planned, particularly if they’re affected by the wider economic situation, and there may be times when you have to go back a step or two before moving forwards again. In the case of long-term goals, your eventual goalposts may change over time, or you may wish to revise your aims.

Whether you stick to your goals completely, or find them changing over time, having the ideas mapped out in the first place can be very useful and, if nothing else, will give you ideas and information to look back on when you’re reflecting on your property investing career.

Catch up on the other instalments in our A to Z of Property Investing series:

A is for Appreciation
B is for Buy-to-Let
C is for Contracts
D is for Deals
E is for Experience
F is for Freehold

There’s good news for landlords in the UK, as recently released figures show that the number of tenants seeking rental property has risen again.

The data was collected by Countryside Residential Lettings, who have been gathering statistics since 2003. In the last three months until the end of June 2010, they found that over 50,000 people were looking for rental accommodation – the highest they’ve ever recorded. The biggest spike was seen during June, when over 18,000 new tenants registered for rental property.

These figures are noticeably higher – 16% up – than the first three months of the year and suggest that more people are beginning to look for rental properties.

Some of the data they gathered will be of interest to property investors and landlords, as it gives an indication of which areas people seemed to be interested in. For example, the most sought-after properties were two bedroom homes in south west England, where an average of 23.1 people were keen to rent each property.

On average there are now 5.5 tenants competing for every property, an increase from 4.9 tenants per property during the first quarter of 2010. With demand being higher, the sooner a property is available, the better for tenants, with properties being let within an average of two weeks.

In line with this increased demand for property, a small increase in rental prices has also been recorded, particularly on houses. For example, the average cost of renting a four bedroom family home has risen by 4% to £1,090.

Demand for rental property is likely to continue for the next few months at least, especially as the annual rush to find and secure student accommodation in university towns and cities will soon be upon us.

Thursday 29th July 2010. FREE HBFi Networking Evening and 1-2-1 Personal Wealth Consultations – Crowne Plaza, Crawley/Gatwick

http://deals.hbfinvestmentproperties.co.uk/Event2907.aspx

Would you like a FREE personal 1-2-1 wealth consultation with the leading UK property experts and property buyers showing you how you can turn £995 into £52K in 5 years by buying just one discounted property ‘no money down’? Our experts are the ‘real deal’ – we are the guys WHO MAKE LOTS OF MONEY from property and we can show you how to do exactly the same! 
 
Our investors have learned how to make £52K in 5 years from buying one property for just £995 and pay NO TAX!! Discounted ‘no money down’ deals are available on the day which has been a massive hit with property investors!
 
The venue is: Crown Plaza Hotel, Langley Drive, Crawley, RH11 7SX – http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/h/d/cp/1/en/hotel/LGWUK/transportation?start=1
The event starts at 7pm with your personal 1-2′-1 consultations starting at 4:30pm.  PLEASE BOOK EARLY for your personal 1-2-1 consultation with one of our property experts and to get access to the best properties that we have for sale on the day.

To confirm your place for you and your guests NOW for Thursday 29th July 2010, please register at:

http://deals.hbfinvestmentproperties.co.uk/Event2907.aspx

I personally look forward to meeting you at our event.

Following on from our post on what to include in a rental property advert, now we’re turning our thoughts to the all important issue of taking photos to include with your ad.

Property ads with photos tend to get more interest that those that don’t, so it’s always worth putting the extra time and effort into sorting out photos. However, don’t rush it or use any old photos you have to hand – first impressions count and poor images can cause people to quickly move on and not even read the crux of your ad.

A good property ad includes shots of the exterior of the property, photographed in good light and showing it off to its best ability. If you’re marketing the property in the summer, then include a recent photo, rather than one showing it in the depths of winter with snow on the ground.

As well as exterior shots, it’s helpful to have a few photos highlighting the interior of the property. Choose the best rooms for this and make an effort to ensure they are tidy and clean before taking your photos. Ideally, take them in the day, when there’s plenty of natural daylight, rather than at night, when the pictures may end up looking a bit gloomy. If you’re not blessed with good weather, then try putting on a few lamps in the room to create a feeling of light.

If you’re not known for your photographic skills, then find someone who is. Obtain high res images of the results, as this will help with the clarity of the photos and ensure they look good whether they’re used in print or online media adverts.

Wednesday 21st July. FREE HBFi Networking Evening and 1-2-1 Personal Wealth Consultations. Come and meet Co-Founder & Property Millionaire David Coughlin and his team at his boutique hotel (http://www.thecommercialhotelchester.com) in Chester!

Would you like a FREE personal 1-2-1 wealth consultation with the leading UK property experts and property buyers showing you how you can turn £995 into £52K in 5 years by buying just one discounted property ‘no money down’? Our experts are the ‘real deal’ – we are the guys WHO MAKE LOTS OF MONEY from property and we can show you how to do exactly the same! 
 
Our recent investor events have been a HUGE SUCCESS.  Investors have learned how to make £52K in 5 years from buying one property for just £995 and pay NO TAX!! This has been a massive hit with property investors!
 
The venue is: The Commercial Hotel, Northgate St, Chester, CH1 2HG – free parking is available at the Market Street car park after 3pm – just a 3 min walk to the hotel.
 
The event starts at 7pm with your personal 1-2-1 consultations starting at 3pm.  PLEASE BOOK EARLY for your personal 1-2-1 consultation with one of our property experts and to get access to the best properties that we have for sale on the day.

http://deals.hbfinvestmentproperties.co.uk/Event2107.aspx

We have the “leading experts” who are ACTUALLY “doing” the BEST deals and “financing” the BEST deals and making the MOST money coming along to share their amazing knowledge and tips with you.  We will also have fantastic discount deals available for investors to purchase on the night – 20-25% discounts and 10% yields!
 
To confirm your place for you and your guests NOW for Wednesday 21st July 2010, please register at:

http://deals.hbfinvestmentproperties.co.uk/Event2107.aspx

Registration will be at 7pm and presentation to commence at 7.30pm and personal 1-2-1 consultations begin at 3pm.

p.s. The Commercial Hotel won the ‘Best Newcomer Award at the Chester Food and Drink Festival’ and we will be dishing out some of our amazing new summer menu nibbles to our investors – certainly making this a TASTY event NOT to be missed!

If you’re advertising your rental property, whether in addition to using a letting agent or if you’re promoting and advertising it yourself, then it’s essential to know what to put in your advert. This is the first thing that prospective tenants will see and, if it doesn’t give the right information or present a good impression, then they may disregard it instantly. Here’s a useful guide to the key points you need to include in your rental advert.

Property Type – Provide clear information about the type of property you have available (house/flat/bungalow/new build etc).

Location – The location of a property is a crucial factor for many tenants, so make it clear in which part of a town or city the property is located in. Include an address if you wish, or at least a postcode, as tenants may like to check out the area on Google maps before they even go and look at a rental property.

Size of Property – Describe the size of the property, giving information about how many bedrooms it has (and state details if one or more are doubles or singles), bathrooms, reception rooms, kitchen and dining rooms and any other interesting details, such as the existence of a conservatory or study.

Parking – Many tenants will need to know whether there is any parking available, so provide easy-to-spot details. Focus on parking that is available outside the property, on a drive or in a designated parking spot. If the property has a garage, then mention that too.

Garden or Balcony – The existence of a garden or balcony isn’t always important to every tenant, but it can help sell a property to some groups of people. So if you have a garden, include details of the size and whether it’s enclosed (this will appeal to families), or if the apartment has a balcony with room to sit out on.

Rent – This is an important detail, so don’t forget to include details of how much the rent is per calendar month or per week.

Other Selling Points – If your property has any other strong selling points, such as being within popular school catchment areas, having major train stations nearby, being close to a motorway, close proximity to major firms or hospitals, then be sure to include details in your ad.

Contact Details – At the end of the advert, and in a prominent place or in bold print, include contact details, such as a phone number or email address, so anyone can easily get in contact with you or the letting agent.

If writing isn’t your strong point, then find someone to write up the details for you or to proofread your advert before you send it out; poorly written ads, or ads with lots of mistakes, can give a poor impression to potential tenants. 

In addition to all this information, it’s helpful to include one or two high quality photographs of your property. One should be a good clear exterior shot, plus one or more interior images that show well presented rooms in a good light.

A Devon MP has called for new legislation to come into force to make it a requirement that all rental properties are fitted with smoke and fire alarms.

Adrian Sanders, Lib Dem MP for Torbay, called for the legislation after the tragic deaths of two children, who died in a fire at a rental property in the Torbay area of Devon in 2009. He believes it’s unacceptable that five people a week are dying as a result of house fires where there are no smoke or fire alarms fitted and feels that it’s essential that all rental properties should legally have to have alarms fitted as a matter of course.

The Fire Safety (Protection of Tenants) Bill has now been officially read in the House of Commons and a date has been set for its second reading, on November 19th 2010.

The Bill specifies that fire alarms fitted in rental properties should be hard wired, rather than have batteries. This gets over the issue of batteries running out or being taken out and not replaced, which is often also linked to tragic fire instances.

Although many landlords do already fit smoke and fire alarms in their properties, and it’s recommended to do so, Mr Sanders said there are still a small minority who don’t look after their tenants as much as they should and this new Bill could offer them much-needed greater protection.

What do you think? Is the proposed Fire Safety (Protection of Tenants) Bill a good idea?

For more details on fire safety issue in rental properties, check out this previous post – Preparing to Let Your Property: Fire Safety