HBF Investments are certainly here to help you make your wealth this year from your property investing.  We are already generating loads of great deals across the UK, simply because people still cannot sell their houses through estate agents so they are turning to us.  What is unfortunate news for home sellers is however, great news for our investors:  HBF are snapping up fabulous properties at barmy-bargain prices and we want to get off to a flying start in 2012 by giving our most motivated investors a massive New Year’s give-away!!

HBF are kick starting to 2012 with a BUY-ONE-GET-ONE-FREE sale for the next 10 of our investors who buy from us in January!!  This means that you can buy two fantastic buy-to-let deals, with around £50K equity, for just £5995!!!  How else can you generate a £50K instant return from less than £6K cash that you may have wasting away in the bank?

I recently sold a share in my new comedy club in Chester (www.thelaughinnchester.co.uk) to TV personality and top UK comedian, Jason Manford. We are no co-owners of a superb business with ambitious plans to expand across the UK.  This deal was all made possible with cash generated from the returns I have made from my property investing.   Simple as that!

I am continuing to buy property throughout 2012 and investing my profits in commercial property and other businesses.  You can so the same and I will be happy to show you how.

I will be holding seminars at my hotel in Chester (www.thecommercialhotelchester.co.uk) and at our offices in London throughout 2012.  We will be treating our loyal investors to fantastic nights of entertainment with top UK comedians at my comedy club as well as providing them with fantastic deals so they can make money – which is what it’s all about.

If you would like to learn more and get involved, please call me or my sales manager, Andrew Bradley-Cull, on 0151 651 3456, or check our website, www.hbfinvestmentproperties.co.uk.  Call us now and book an appointment to come and see us, and let us help you become wealthy from property.

The Bank of England base rate has now been at an all-time low of 0.5% for over two years and there’s no increase on the horizon for a long long time. For those previously relying on interest on savings to provide them with an extra income or top-up to their pension, it’s been a shock to the system to have the rates plummet so low and the extra pounds dwindle to pennies.

But whilst savers relying on interest rates alone have suffered, those who’ve invested in property have being doing very well, seeing great returns on their investments and reaping the benefits of high rental yields.

The demand for rental property continues to be high across the UK, with rental prices rising and they are at all-time highs in many areas. The combination of low interest buy-to-let mortgages and high rental prices have boosted the rental yields on property and provided another great reason why now is the time to invest in property.

What’s more, high inflation erodes the burden of debt. If, for example, you have a mortgage of £100,000 at the start of the year and inflation is 5%, by the end of the year, the capital value of it will be the equivalent of £95,000.  As the UK economy is not growing so the government is unable to repay its debt fast and therefore maintaining higher inflation may be a way out.  It may just be the case that high inflation and low interest rates will be with us for a long time yet, eroding your mortgage debts and increasing your rents and rental profits!

By the same token the value of your savings will also be eroded – so it makes more sense to make a long-term investment in property, where the value should rise over time, than lose your money.

I think it’s obvious now that although house prices will not increase for some time to come, that they are not going to nose-dive either.  Rental profits will continue to be good because of high deposits and low mortgage availability.  Savings rates will remain poor.  Stocks and shares are dangerous areas for even the experts.

Conclusion – SIMPLE – stick to bricks and mortar; buy properties at a discount in good rental areas and you are onto the safest bet.

Not only have I revelled in the challenges of battling the on-going barrages faced by my property businesses resulting from the continuing economic downturn and financial crisis; but I have been bold and brash (and some would say outright daft enough) to launch two new business ventures in the leisure/entertainment industry. 

All of these industries and sectors are taking a battering so, I have to ask myself, why I would be crazy enough to do this??!!  The reason is that I have total belief in the businesses and the people running them and that they make a profit.  Just as important is because I enjoy them so much.  The numbers stack and they provide massive future opportunities for combining both fun and business – the perfect combination!!

We opened the Commercial Hotel (www.thecommercialhotelchester.co.uk) in Dec 2009 and the Laugh Inn comedy theatre in Feb 2011 (www.thelaughinnchester.co.uk) – both in Chester and both full-on developments of empty premises.  

The Commercial Hotel is now one of the busiest and most highly regarded bars in Chester and receives great feedback from its customers in Tripadvisor.  It’s been a challenge getting all three aspects of the Commercial right: the bar, restaurant and hotel but we have now got a great chef and management team and staff and a loyal customer base so we are doing well and are thankful for the support we have received from our staff and customers. 

The Laugh Inn is rapidly gaining a massive reputation for providing top-end quality entertainment, comedy, music and food in a superb theatre.   It’s been a hard slog getting the building completed.  We took on a massive task and underestimated the building development challenges.  It took us from Dec 2010 to Oct 2011 to completely finish the building and satisfy all the current regulations.  A costly eye-opener for us but well worth the effort when you see the results!  The Laugh Inn will be a great place to spend a night out for all occasions, especially Christmas and office parties so I encourage everyone looking for a great night out in Chester to try us!

I also launched Corrius Asset Management (www.corrius.co.uk) in May this year.  Corrius has their offices located in Bank/London and has a client bank of High Net Worth (HNW) city-based clients.  It was set up to enable HBF to continue to sell the property deals to wealthy clients who have the financial means to buy them.  This was an essential move in the continuing economic downturn where mortgage lending is highly restricted.

It has definitely been the most challenging period in my business life leading and funding these three new start-ups but we are almost over the hardest bit and breaking through to success in 2012 will be very very rewarding.

I will keep you posted on how my businesses develop and will do better at providing more BLOG updates about the property market and business opportunities that can be exploited in the current economic crises.

I would finish on that although it’s really tough out there – there is money to be made.   You need to be the best at what you do.  Recruit the best staff you can afford and really look after your customers.  Keep your chin up and work harder than you have ever worked – the rewards will come.

The National Landlords Association carried out a survey involving nearly 600 landlords and found that 52% of people have experienced rent arrears in the last 12 months alone. The average amount of money owed by a late paying tenant was revealed to be £730.

When asked about the ease of being a landlord and letting property, 62% of landlords said the business was becoming more difficult. Coupled with the news that the government are planning to cut housing benefits, some property experts are concerned that this will put extra pressure on tenants who are already struggling to pay their rent on time.

This could put landlords in a difficult position, as it’s not financially viable to support tenants who are unable to pay their rent, especially for those who have their own mortgage repayments to meet.

No landlord wants to be faced with tenants who can’t pay, so could concerns about housing benefit claimants not being able to pay up reduce the number of landlords accepting tenants on benefits?

What are your thoughts on accepting tenants on housing benefits and do you think the payment cuts could be a problem for landlords? Share your views in the comments section below.

For once there was some encouraging news for first-time buyers, who are to be helped on the property ladder by a shared equity scheme and £250m fund. First-time buyers in households earning less than £60,000 will be offered interest-free loans to help them get a foot on the ladder and buy a new-build property.

Since 2008, it’s been increasingly difficult for first-time buyers to get that break into buying property, so this could eventually help take some of the strain off demand for rental housing.

Although benefits from this may seem unlikely for landlords, the void is not going to be filled immediately, it will only apply to new builds and there should still be a strong demand for rental property. Industry insiders believe that if this move helps aid the recovery of the market, it could have a positive knock-on effect for other areas of the property world.

George Osborne’s budget made the announcement that the government will begin to look at introducing easier ways for property owners to convert commercial buildings into residential properties. The idea behind it is that it will help increase the number of new homes in the UK, helping to ease the shortage of sought-after housing. This could well be good news for property investors and landlords, as it opens up more potential for creating rental properties.

Not everyone is convinced that the government have thought it through though, and some people are concerned that the plans could be damaging in areas where local councils don’t think new homes are required. This is one issue to keep an eye on though, to how the plan develops further and the scheme that is eventually introduced.

There was also news on the much-debated stamp duty front, with the government revealing that it will reform the stamp duty land tax rules that apply to bulk purchases and crackdown on stamp duty land tax avoidance schemes. In the autumn, they also plan to announce their review of the stamp duty relief scheme for first time buyers.

According to research carried out by the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA), the rental market in the UK appears to be very strong and buoyant at the moment, with landlords reporting a reduction in their average rental void periods. Previous research placed the average rental void as lasting 3.6 weeks, but it’s now gone down to 3.2 weeks.

In the South East of England, landlords have experienced the lowest void period at just 2.9 weeks, compared to figures of 3.3 weeks in Central London and 3.4 weeks in the rest of the UK. 

This is in stark contrast to the state of the rental market at the beginning of 2009, when void periods were nearly at an all time high.

This come as encouraging news for landlords, as when rental voids do occur, they can put a real strain on your finances. A short rental void isn’t a bad thing though, as it gives you the prime opportunity to get up-to-date with all those essential maintenance tasks and ensure the property you’re about to re-let is in top notch order.

For more ideas and insight into how to make the most of rental voids, check out these two posts on the topic:

Making the most of rental voids: Part 1

Making the most of rental voids: Part 2

FREE HBFi Networking; CAH FLOW & WEALTH STRATEGIES and 1-2-1 Personal Wealth Consultations – The Commercial Hotel – Chester

Would you like a FREE personal 1-2-1 wealth consultation with the leading UK property experts and property buyers showing you how:-

1. You can turn £995-£5995 into £52K in 5 years by buying just ONE property at 20-25% discount ‘no money down’! 

2. One simple WEALTH strategy can “earn” YOU £1M EQUITY and £100K/year “tax free income” for life from buying just 10 properties!

3. How to maximise the RENTAL CASH FLOW profits from your portfolio.  How to get up to 50% more rent than private/professional renting tenants paid directly by the UK government!

4. Why “NOW” is the opportunity of a life time!! Buy 20-25% cheaper at the bottom of the market!! 

5. How to turn your Property Investment into a CASHFLOWING Business

6. To obtain your “Power Team” for success through HBFi.

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!

We will tell you why:-

1. Many “amateur” Investors miss 99% best of the best profitable cashflowing deals 

2. Most people “work to you drop” plans FAIL and HOW TO AVOID THIS

The venue is:  The Commercial Hotel, Northgate St, Chester, CH1 2HG – www.thecommercialhotelchester.co.uk

The main event starts at 7:00pm with registration from 6:30pm.

To confirm your place for you and your guests NOW for Wednesday 8th September 2010, please register at:
http://deals.hbfinvestmentproperties.co.uk/Event0809.aspx

We look forward to meeting you at our event.

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.

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!

http://deals.hbfinvestmentproperties.co.uk/Event1507.aspx

At this must go to “FREE” Networking Event, Vanessa Laithwaite in conjunction with David Coughlin of HBF Investments, will show you:
 
* How from a standing start and with little money they bought over £20M worth of property generating cash flow over £40K/month.
* How anybody from a Beginner to an Experienced Investor can do the same!
* How you can make money from ALL properties at ANY TIME in the market – including dreaded refurbs which make the BEST deals!!
* How you can buy the very best discounted property deals from HBF with CASH BACKS and NO DEPOSIT!!
* how you can become financially free and give up your day job in just 3 years
 
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 with CASH BACKS and NO DEPOSITS available for you to purchase on the night.  These will be sold on a first come first served basis so please come prepared with cheque books and credit cards at the ready!  Better still, book your 1-2-1 wealth consultation and lets us start building a profitable portfolio that suits you!
 
To confirm your place for you and your guests NOW for Thursday 15th July 2010, please register at:

http://deals.hbfinvestmentproperties.co.uk/Event1507.aspx

Registration will be at 7pm and presentation to commence at 7.30pm and personal 1-2-1 consultations begin at 3pm.
 
I personally look forward to meeting you at our event.