Archive for the ‘Property Resources’ Category

In a previous post, we looked at the benefits of staging an investment property for rental viewings. If you’ve been inspired to have a go, then here’s the first part of a guide offering practical steps to help you learn how you could stage your property ready for prospective tenants to view.

Clean The Property

Your property needs to be thoroughly cleaned from top to bottom to make it spotless for viewings, as potential tenants aren’t impressed by dirt or dust. If the carpets haven’t been cleaned for a while, then a deep clean may be in need.

Don’t forget to clean the windows and blinds, dust the ceiling to remove any spiders webs, wipe down the tiles in the bathroom and kitchen, and ensure the hallway or entrance is clean and tidy too.

Give the property a good airing by leaving the windows open to get fresh air through.

Sort Out Repairs

If the property has been let for a while, or you’ve just taken it on, check to see whether there are any repairs that need doing. Check for cracked tiles in the bathroom, loose paving outside, drawer handles that need tightening in the kitchen or light bulbs that need replacing. You want your property to look in tip-top condition, attract a good fee from rentals and rent quickly.

If you don’t want to do the repairs yourself, then hire a maintenance specialist to do the job for you.

Redecorate

If the interior walls, woodwork or front door are all looking a bit tired and worn, then get out a paintbrush and give them a lick of fresh paint. Choose neutral colours for the interior, to give it a fresh and contemporary look – it will also mean that the tenants existing furniture should go with the rooms if they’re not painted in bright colours.

Paint woodwork, such as skirting boards or door frames, in a satin finish, as it won’t go yellowy with age like gloss paint does.

You can use colour on the front door though, as that can help make it stand out from others on the street. Favourites include red, blue or green.

Clear Clutter

Ensure the property is clear and clutter-free. Remove unnecessary furniture to make rooms appear bigger and certainly remove or replace any old or battered furniture. Present clear and tidy rooms as they would be used – e.g. don’t have a bed in the living room (honestly, some landlords do!).

Outside, ensure the walk up to the house is clear – cutback overhanging bushes or trim hedges – and, where possible, hide the rubbish bins from sight.

Look out for part 2, to discover more ways of staging your property for rental viewings!

Renting out your properties and earning a good, regular income is usually the first priority of property investors. But if there comes a time when you want to sell one or more properties – perhaps in order to use the money to invest in something bigger and better – it’s useful to know what can help add value to your bricks and mortar investment.

A recent survey involving over 200 leading estate agents in the UK, carried out by movewithus, analysed the best ways of adding value to a property. They identified the most profitable additions that could be made and looked at how much value could be added, based on average price values.

The number one most profitable addition was found to be adding an extra bedroom, which could increase the value of a property by over £14,500. A loft conversion adds over £11,000 and an extra bathroom can add on just over £10,000.

If you’re prepared to put a bit of work and money into your property before you sell, you could end up with a higher sale price than you bargained for. Many of the improvements, such as a loft conversion, extra bedroom and extra bathroom, could also add a significant chunk of extra rental income to your property too, if you think about improving it early on.

Here’s the top 10 most valuable additions you can add to a property.

The first percentage figure relates to the typical average value added and the second monetary figure relates to the added value based on the Land Registry’s average house price (of £165,596).

1. Extra bedroom, 8.8% – £14,572
2. Loft conversion, 7.1% – £11,757
3. Extra bathroom, 6.1% – £10,101
4. New kitchen, 5.8% – £9,605
5. Central heating, 5.4% – £8,942
6. Off street parking, 5.2% – £8,611
7. New bathroom, 5.1% – £8,445
8. Conservatory, 5% – £8,280
9. Double glazing, 4.2% – £6,955
10. New conservative decoration, 3.7% – £6,127

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!! Discounted ‘no money down’ deals are available on the day which has been a massive hit with property investors!
 
Please come and meet Co-Founder & Property Millionaire David Coughlin and Property Investor Vanessa Laithwaite.
 
The venue is: Radisson Blu Hotel, Waltham Close, London Stansted Airport, Stansted Essex  CM24 1PP
 
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/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.

Consider new doors

When you’ve bought a new property and are getting ready to let it out, or are doing a quick revamp in between tenants, then changing the interior doors could help lift the look and help revive the property.

Interior doors can inevitably suffer from wear and tear, as most of them will be used on a daily basis. Not all tenants will take good care of a property, banging doors, sticking things on them and knocking them, for example when children play with toys that knock into doors.

In addition, older houses may still have older style doors on them (look for doors that are completely flat, rather than panelled and doors where the handles are higher up than modern doors) which, unless you are keen on promoting a period look, can date the interior of a property.

Changing the doors is an easy and relatively inexpensive way of helping spruce up the interior of a rental property and give it a more modern or up-to-date look at the same time. If you’re in contact with any local trades people, or have your own account at a trade store, then it’s worth keeping an eye out for offers on doors. From experience, they do frequently tend to have good door deals, especially if you’re buying more than one, and it can help cut the cost for landlords.

If there are any rooms of the property that tend to be particularly dark, such as a dark hallway or kitchen, then you could help add a bit more light into the house by choosing half glazed doors.

Once the doors are purchased, all you need to is hang them, fit door furniture (handles etc) and paint them. If you don’t fancy doing it yourself, then this is an ideal job for a maintenance person. Painting the doors finishes them off well, but if you’re pushed for time or needing to cut costs further, you can leave the doors unpainted if you wish.

We’ve now got as far as F in our A to Z of Property Investing and F is for Freehold. As a property investor, it’s always advisable to double check what type of lease the property you have has before you buy, so that you don’t experience any unwanted surprises further down the line.

When you buy a property with a freehold lease, you gain complete ownership of the land and all of the buildings that are on it. Subject to laws and planning regulations, you have the right to do what you want with the property. Most houses in the UK tend to have freehold leases, but many flats and apartments have leaseholds.

In contrast to freehold, a leasehold property is leased to the owners for a set amount of time and usually comes with particular terms and conditions that need to be met in relation to the property, such as paying an annual maintenance fee.

When you’re researching properties to buy and looking at the particulars of certain houses or flats, then it’s essential to get into the habit of checking to make sure whether it is freehold or leasehold. Although there’s nothing wrong with owning a leasehold property and many people successfully do so, some investors prefer to stick with stick with an area they’re familiar with and always opt for freehold properties above leasehold.

As with any property purchase, as long as you do your research carefully, read the small print and are always clear about exactly what you’re buying, then you’ll put yourself in the best position for buying.

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

We have the UK’s TAX EXPERT at our ALL DAY 4TH BIRTHDAY EVENT at Hilton London Metropole on Sunday 27th June 9am-5pm and he will tell you how to set your business up so paying tax is VOLUNTARY!!!

All the speakers at our FULL DAY educational event are the BEST SPEAKERS in the business and you WILL NOT FIND THEM SPEAKING AT ANY OTHER EVENTS!

A FULL DAY EDUCTIONAL EVENT MEETING THE UK`s TOP PROPERTY EXPERTS

Including EVERYTHING you ever wanted to know about buying property without using ANY of your own money.

SPEAKERS INCLUDE :-

Mr Tax Man SIMON GOODY
•PAYING TAX IS VOLUNTARY! Yes that’s correct, find out how to pay little or no TAX. Simon unravels the taxmans secrets, to MINIMISE your tax liability, including ten little known tips to pay hardly any tax, also CGT changes & how it effects you, & how to plan for it.

HBFi & Homes Bought Fast (Owner) DAVID COUGHLIN
•In the space of a few years David has amassed 160+ properties cashflowing at well over £20,000 pm plus commercial properties incl hotels & public houses.

Property Millionaire & TV Pundit RAJ SHASTRI
•As seen on BBC’s morning news, money programme, the truth about property, virgin 1 money envy plus numerous radio shows in the UK & abroad ++ many more.

Mr Planning Permission JOHN CORDWELL
•John is surrey councils town planning expert & has spoken to 10`s of thousands investors nationwide. Learn why the UK’s crazy planning laws mean that there will NEVER be enough properties in this counrty to keep up with demand. EVERY landlords dream!

UK`S Top Master Mortgage Broker BARRY MICHELLE
•Barry’s easy style & knowledge explains the way around the mortgage market, & shows you how to save £1,000`s on little know techniques.

BUY PROPERTY ON THE DAY FOR JUST £995!!!

ALL for £49 FOR A TICKET INCL FREE GUEST + FREE LUNCH plus £500 VOUCHER – Book NOW -

HBF Investment properties UK

In our series on finding property hotspots, we looked at the benefits of investing in property near improved transport links, amongst other factors. Areas on existing commuter routes have long been recognised as being popular places to live but, not surprisingly, properties in such areas often come at a premium.

There were two interesting articles in the Telegraph last week touching on new research carried about Savills. They’ve been analysing the habits of commuters over the last three years and have found that the 60-minute commuter belt is now fully saturated, but that more people are commuting on a part-time basis and are happy to live a bit further away from their work.

Property prices go hand-in-hand with the length of the commute, with a 100-120 minute commuter belt journey working out the most affordable in terms of property price.

In a bid to find some of the less well known property favourites on the commuter belts around London, Savills identified small country railway stations and looked at those where 60% or more of the journeys were made by season ticket holders. There’s an interesting top 10 of places on the list in this article in the Telegraph, ranging from number 1, Dunton Green in Kent being a 41 minute journey, to number 10, Pluckley in Kent being a 75 minute commuter journey.

Although they don’t go into any more details of numbers 11 to 25, these are likely to be the areas where the journey is slightly longer and the average house price is lower. If you’re interested in exploring the potential of buying property in lesser known commuter zones, then this could be a good starting point for your research.

You could also apply the same idea to help you look for potential property hotspots in other areas of the UK that may be popular with commuters. Even if you still can’t quite stretch to afford an investment property in the centre of these towns and villages, properties in nearby areas may also have benefits for tenants wishing to be within commutable distance from their work.

For reference, the areas listed from 11 to 25 on the Savills lesser known commuter belt list near London are as follows:

11 Eynsford, Kent
12 Dormans, Surrey
13 Newport, Essex
14 Mistley, Essex
15 Ashwell & Morden, Hertfordshire
16 Crowhurst, East Sussex
17 Alresford, Essex
18 Shawford, Hampshire
19 Salfords, Surrey
20 Burnham-on-Crouch, Essex
21 Cressing, Essex
22 Ockley, Surrey
23 Warnham, West Sussex
24 Eridge, East Sussex
25 Crowborough, East Sussex

Landlords won’t be facing increased regulation due to too much red tape, the government housing minister has announced.

Following recommendations from the Rugg Review which looked at the state of the private rented sector, the previous government wanted to introduce various forms of increased regulation. Regulation ideas included a national register of landlords, compulsory written tenancy agreements and better regulation of letting and management agents. But Grant Shapps, the new Housing Minister, has revealed that he is rejecting the proposals as they would involve far too much red tape.

Speaking in parliament, Grant Shapps said, “With the vast majority of England’s 3 million private tenants happy with the service they receive, I am satisfied that the current system strikes the right balance between the rights and responsibilities of tenants and landlords.”

“Today I make a promise to good landlords across the country - the government has no plans to create any burdensome red tape and bureaucracy, so you are able to continue providing a service to your tenants.”

Instead, it’s expected that local councils will have to use their powers to tackle any rogue landlords or landlord issues that arise.

Organisations such as the Association of Residential Lettings Agents were quick to announce their disappointment at this move, claiming that the lack of regulation could hamper standards in the private rental sector. If you’re a landlord, what do you think?

If you want to consider buying more discounted buy to let investment proeprties, please visit HBF Investment Properties

Would you like a FREE personal 1-2-1 wealth consultation with the leading UK property experts and property buyers? These are the guys WHO MAKE LOTS OF MONEY and can show you how to do exactly the same!

Would you like to hear how from the real experts how, from a standing start, you will be able to give up your job and have £500/week cash flow for life, with as few as just 5 properties?

If you do, please come and meet Property Millionaires David Coughlin from HBF Investments, and Raj Shastri as seen on the BBC’s “The Money Programme”:

http://www.myshowreel.co.uk/rajshastri/

on Thursday 10th June 2010 at London Hilton Metropole Hotel, 225 Edgware Road, London, W2 1JU

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://www.hbfinvestor.com/event.aspx

At this must go to FREE Networking Event, Raj Shastri 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 10th June 2010, please register at:

http://www.hbfinvestor.com/event.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.