If you own investment property then you will be well aware of The Credit Crunch. Whether this is a good thing or bad, whether you will massively profit from it or go bankrupt, very much depends upon Your Knowledge And Strategy. Toby Hone is an experienced property investor and landlord, who has written an eBook that offers advice and guidance on Surviving The Credit Crunch and, at just £14.95, it’s a “MUST READ”… It only takes one tip from its 86 pages to recover its modest cost many, many times over.

==> http://www.the-home-place.co.uk/page30.php

Any book is only as good as its author though, so a little about Toby Hone first: Toby is a UK-based full-time landlord who has been investing in property for the last 8 years, during which time he has built a multi-million pound property portfolio using a variety of methods, including new-builds with substantial discounts, refurbishing and remortgaging, repossessions, splitting freehold property into leasehold properties, developments etc. and has managed his own tenants. He holds an Honours Degree in Marketing and a Major Degree in Economics. In other words, Toby knows what he’s talking about!

The Surviving The Credit Crunch eBook begins with an in-depth look at both the US and UK property markets: both the surprising number of similarities, and the many differences, between them. The facts and statistics supporting this analysis are first-rate, and Toby has very obviously done his homework very well (exactly as you would expect when somebody with a degree in Economics researches their own specialist field). Toby then proceeds to put forward a well reasoned opinion as to where the UK property market will head, over what timeframe, and why. Suffice it to say that he does not necessarily agree with many pundits in the UK press, and his logical and well-founded arguments make compelling reading.

==> http://www.the-home-place.co.uk/page30.php

Having established where Toby thinks the UK Property Market is going though, doesn’t change where it currently is. To this end Toby looks at the areas that should be of concern to you, your portfolio and your cash-flow situation. These include, but (because I’m not reproducing the entire table of contents here) are not limited to:

Mortgages: Fixed rate deals expiring; Standard Variable Rate (SVR); Cash-flow projections; Talking to your lender, when and why; Improving your credit score; Last resort measures; etc.

Rent: Is it competitive? Maximising rental yield; Changing rent frequency; Reducing void periods; Other ways to improve rental income; etc.

Deposits: Are they sufficient? Tenancy Deposit Schemes; Inventories; A unique form of deposit protection.

Daily Operations & Costs: Letting Agents - advantages & disadvantages; Reducing management charges; Maintenance & repairs; Admin fees; Debt collection; Insurances; Corgi Certificates; Energy Performance Certificates (EPC); 18 essential tips to reduce costs; etc.

Other Areas: Personal expenditure; Personal mortgage; Portfolio mortgages; Insurances; Reducing debt burdens; Building cash reserves; Managing taxes; Selling properties; Buying properties; New ways to make money from property; Creating goldmines; etc.

Toby breaks every one of the above subjects, and more besides, down into their detailed sub-components and then, piece by piece, offers advice that may help you around, and even out of, problems in these areas. I challenge anybody not to learn something from this book that will recover its modest cost many times over.

==> http://www.the-home-place.co.uk/page30.php

How does Toby know all this though, all these problems and solutions, and how can we be sure he hasn’t missed anything out? In Toby’s own words “This property portfolio guide has been compiled using input from a number of professional landlords, solicitors and mortgage brokers, each specialising in different areas and with unique insights into the key areas that impact a landlord. I look forward to receiving your comments and feedback and I hope this guide will give you some practical insights into the many different ways of improving the cash position of your portfolio and if applied, the various ideas should help save you thousands of pounds in cash and ultimately help you survive the credit crunch.”

Certainly you already may be aware of some of what Toby says, but I don’t mind telling you that I picked up a few good ideas from reading Toby Hone’s book on Surviving The Credit Crunch, and I challenge you not to as well!

To get your copy of the eBook, go to Toby website and download your own copy NOW. If you don’t, then it’s £14.95 that you may later regret not having invested in yourself, your financial education and your property portfolio:

==> http://www.the-home-place.co.uk/page30.php

Have you seen this FREE report?It’s quietly kicking up a storm on the internet at present, not least because the author, Simon Zutshi, is a Number 1 best-selling property coach, and mentor to hundreds of professional property investors.

So when Simon releases a report entitled The Death Of Property Investing, you stop and take notice!

It is a thought-provoking, candid yet controversial account of the current market. But this report is definitely not for everyone; if you’re happy to believe everything you read in the papers then I recommend you don’t read this.

Me? I read it and found it very interesting.

Curious?

You can get a FREE download of The Death Of Property Investing here:

==> http://property.infusionsoft.com/go/pmlint/sumfin/

And when you’ve read it, post a comment below to let me know what you think!

I wouldn’t normally promote any event twice but on this occasion I am making an exception. I have just learned that Dennis Coote and Hazel Reed of Hampshire Property Club are making an exceptionally generous offer:

They are running a prize draw for a FREE week in their apartment in Spain.

The draw will take place tomorrow evening on 7th August at the Hampshire Property Club event in Basingstoke, and all those members who attend the evening will have the opportunity to enter. Members must be registered as members prior to the evening to qualify for the draw.

For full details go now to:

==> http://www.HampshirePropertyClub.co.uk/SpainComp.html

And as a bonus, Dennis and Hazel are giving free entrance to the event for any member who encourages another to join the Club and go to the event on 7th August.

Oh, and don’t forget that you’ll also get to hear Nick Tadd speak, as described in my previous blog post at:

==> http://www.SummitFinance.co.uk/blog/?p=44

Dennis Coote and Hazel Reed are really looking forward to seeing you on Thursday 7th August at their fifth event where the guest speakers are Nick Tadd and Vanessa Tadd. 

The Hampshire Property Club is growing, which gives even more opportunity of meeting and networking with others. To reserve your tickets now, go to:-

==> Hampshire Property Club Members’ Page

In these times of uncertainty it is more important than ever that we network, collect information and discover the latest news in the property market.

Nick Tadd, the next speaker, is extremely knowledgeable and will without doubt give you some amazing information.  He and Vanessa will be telling us all about a couple of areas that may be new and interesting to you.  Always worth learning something new!  As Nick is fond of saying, ‘you can never learn less!’ 

Interestingly, Nick also believes that “your income is the average of the 5 people you network with the most. Therefore we believe, that adopting the mindset to willingly engage with like-minded people is a vital component in the success of your investment strategy.”  Networking!

We don’t usually do testimonials about speakers, but Dennis and Hazel have had some wonderful recommendations about Nick and Vanessa:

“Love Nick’s presentations, not sure about his taste in socks and ties, but his information is spot on!”

“Both Nick and Vanessa give very entertaining, informative discussions. Well worth attending!”

“A truly inspiring and motivating seminar.  Thanks for sharing your experience and wisdom with us.”

Certainly it’s holiday time, and the Olympics will be on, but it would be a shame to miss this evening. To book your place now go to:

==> Hampshire Property Club Members’ Page

If you have ever watched Dragons’ Den on BBC TV then the chances are that you have heard of, and seen, Duncan Bannatyne… quite possibly uttering the dreaded “I’m Out.”

I bought Duncan Bannatyne’s “Anyone Can Do It” autobiography on a whim, but I’m very glad that I did. It’s one of those rare books that, having once started reading, I really didn’t want to put it down again.

It begins by describing Duncan Bannatyne’s under-privileged start to life in a Glasgow tenement with a proudly working class father who didn’t believe it was right that “people such as us” should get ideas above their station in life, for example by dreaming of making money! Duncan continues by describing how he earned the money to buy his first bicycle (starting in a manner that few other children would have), before going on to describe his time in the Royal Navy (from which he was dishonourably discharged following a courts martial and imprisonment).

Duncan then talks about drifting through life before finally settling down and getting married. He spotted a business opportunity with a run-down ice-cream van in an auction, bought and repaired it, and eventually owned his own fleet of “Duncan’s Ices” ice-cream vans. This in turn led him into property investment, and he spent his evenings and weekends in hands-on refurbishment projects. From here he moved on through one business to another, always adding value as he went, until reaching the hugely successful position he is in today. The book explains his substantial charity work in Romania too, a side of him that is perhaps not so well known.

It’s fair to say that Duncan Bannatyne was not born with a silver spoon in his mouth and has used his natural intellect and self-taught business skills, combined with hard work and the occasional risk, to get where he is today. If, like me, you believe that you can learn from studying successful people then you cannot fail to do so from this man.

Duncan’s openness and honesty throughout the entire book - covering every aspect of his life, both private and professional, from why he never buys paper-clips right through to walking out of an IPO discussion with City Brokers on a point of principle - is as refreshing as it is fascinating. This is no stuffy business book, yet if you look for them it is packed with insights into how this hugely successful entrepreneur’s mind works; plus hints, tips and advice that you can carry across to your own business. My own copy of the book is now a mass of highlighter pen!

It’s a blindingly good read and I cannot recommend it enough. Best of all though is that you can buy Duncan Bannatyne’s “Anyone Can Do It” autobiography from Amazon in paperback form for just £5! Here’s the links to Amazon:

==> Duncan Bannatyne – Anyone Can Do It – Paperback

==> Duncan Bannatyne – Anyone Can Do It – Hardcover

==> Duncan Bannatyne – Anyone Can Do It – Audiobook on CD

Personally I think you’d be mad not to get a copy!

If you already have a copy and wish to share your thoughts with other readers of this blog, please leave a comment below…

Surrey PWNE Group

The next Surrey PWNE Group meeting is tomorrow (Wednesday) evening and will be FREE.

It’s not often that you get something for nothing these days but that’s exactly what Chris Bignell and Christopher Doran are providing here. This is your opportunity to visit a pleasant country pub, and have a couple of drinks with fellow property investors whilst getting to know them a little better. There is no speaker so as to afford you the maximum possible networking time.

The only catch… you’ll have to buy your own drink!

As usual, it will be held in the bar at Bookham Grange Hotel, Little Bookham Common, Bookham Leatherhead, Surrey KT23 3HS. It starts at 7pm on Wednesday 23rd July. If you have a sat-nav then it takes you straight there; if not, you’ll definitely need a map!

Comments below as usual, please.

East Midlands Property Networking Club

This month’s guest speaker will be Paul Banks. Paul is a successful entrepreneur who spent 23 years in the Financial Services industry advising high net worth individuals. He now plies his trade in property and financial business transactions.

Paul has a passion for education and has developed a coaching programme ‘Financially In Front’ which helps people to increase their financial IQ and ‘I CAN’.

As an investor Paul has been investing in commercial property for the last few years and will be sharing his experiences; both good and bad!

The even is hosted by Rhett Lewis and the meeting will be next Monday 28th July, from 7pm-10pm, in Novotel Nottingham (NG10 4EP).

Comments below as usual, please.

If you ignored my advice in Berkshire Property Meet - Monday 14th July - Rob Moore & Mark Homer and weren’t at the Berkshire Property Meet last Monday, then you missed a superb presentation by Rob Moore and Mark Homer of Progressive Property.

These guys rock! and, unlike many of the established property ‘gurus’, they have a refreshingly humble and down to Earth approach: there’s no question they know their stuff, but they’re not full of themselves and they’re fun to be around. Oh, and they are also entirely open about how many properties they bought last year, how many were for themselves to keep and how many were for other investors, and how many they plan to buy this year. And compared with the ‘big names’ who brag of “hundreds”, it’s a reassuringly sensible number. In short, I like these guys!

On Monday night, at the Berkshire Property Meet, they really explained how to treat your property business as just that - A BUSINESS - and make some serious money from it during the property crash.

Rob started off by explaining the Pareto Principle, also known as the 80:20 rule. In this instance his point was that 20% of the people are likely to make 80% of the money, and that 20% of your portfolio is likely to cause 80% of your headaches.

He then proceeded to cite George Soros and Warren Buffet as people who have made serious money from crashes. He explained that $3 trillion moves around in the world every day, and that all you need to do to get seriously wealthy is what George Soros and Warren Buffet did: figure out how to direct some of that towards yourself as it drifts out of other people’s pockets and moves around the system.

Rob estimated that of the 250 people in the room, about 3-6 people, i.e. nearly 2% of the investors present, will make serious money through property investment over the next 2 years.

Rob is a keen reader as well as co-author of two books with his business partner Mark Homer The 44 Most Closely Guarded Property Secrets and Make Cash in a Property Market Crash and they occasionally referred to these during their presentation.

According to Rob Moore there are five main things that you need to focus on to be in that 2%:
    1) Rules
    2) Systemisation
    3) Timing
    4) Opportunity
    5) Finance

Rob then looked at these areas in more detail:

Rules

You need to set yourself some rules as to what you will buy and what you won’t. These rules should include location (Rob & his partner Mark Homer only buy within a 16 mile radius of their base), maximum price (they never buy anything that will incur stamp duty), rental cover (Rob & Mark require 125% minimum), target tenants (they prefer DSS), etc. They are currently having to buy 35% BMV just to get the finance to stack, so in that sense the credit crunch is actually helping them!

It’s very important that you must have the right rules though, so FIND OUT WHAT PEOPLE IN YOUR AREA WANT TO RENT AND THEN BUY THAT.

Rob agreed with our own sentiments that finance is available, and if you can find the right deals then they will go through. Rob and Mark expect to buy 20 properties for themselves this year.

There is more detail on this in Chapter 7 of the The 44 Most Closely Guarded Property Secrets and Chapter 25 of Make Cash in a Property Market Crash

Systemisation

Rob is very much a businessman (obviously!) and, I am very pleased to say, shares my own view on the importance of having documented processes, procedures and scripts. He documents everything and over the 2-3 years that he and Mark have been growing their Progressive Property business they have recorded and documented everything, constantly evolving it as they go, with the result that they now have deal analyser spreadsheets (with a download link in the book), call scripts, detailed viewing checklist etc.

The result of all this is that (according to Rob) they can now pay somebody £10/hour and, with a small amount of training, that person can go and do all the Progressive Property viewings. Rob even went so far as to suggest that “we’ve made it so simple that a rhesus monkey could do it!”

Rob claims that his business activities are now largely location independent precisely because of the process modelling and systemisation, and that only 20% of his work (i.e. giving seminars and meeting investors) actually requires that he be anywhere in particular. Putting that another way, because Rob has properly documented his business model and processes, he can theoretically conduct 80% of his business from a sun-kissed beach should he wish to do so…

This is something of a pet subject of mine, and I’ll be writing about it in more detail at some point in the future.

There is more detail on this in Chapter 26 of Make Cash in a Property Market Crash

Timing & Opportunity

Continued in Part 2of   Make Money In A Property Crash with Rob Moore and Mark Homer…

…Continued from   Make Money In A Property Crash with Rob Moore and Mark Homer

Timing & Opportunity

Rob explained the importance of understanding both economic and property market cycles, and thereby knowing when to buy. Rob believes that now is the time to buy - this is the “summer market” - because right now there is little or no competition from other buyers. If you are out buying now, you may be the only potential buyer for that property… and that puts you in a very strong negotiating position!

On metrics Rob offered that, right now, if you view 500 properties then you are likely to have an offer accepted on 20-30 of them, and of those you will probably succeed in arranging finance on 10-15… but those properties you get are the ones that will be best over the next 10 years (…back to the Pareto principle).

Rob even went so far as to say that if your strategy is simply to offer 35% below market value (BMV) then, right now, you will get some offers accepted. So what are you waiting for???

You will need to be more creative than in the past about how you structure deals though, finding a unique way to offer a win-win deal to the vendor.

There is more detail on this in Chapters 10, 12, 13 & 18 of Make Cash in a Property Market Crash

Finance

Mark Homer now took the stage to talk about finance, his area of speciality within Progressive Property.

He started by saying that the next 2 years will offer the best opportunities for the next 15 years.

Mark referred everybody to the http://www.swap-rates.com website that, amongst other things, shows the inter-bank lending rates and compares it with the Bank Base Rate (BBR). He explained that the difference between these two figures is an indicator of how much we must pay to borrow money at our ‘retail’ end of the lending chain, and how hard it is to obtain, and that the differential is already starting to fall.

In other words, in Mark’s opinion, investment mortgages will soon become both easier and cheaper to obtain again (and there is already some evidence of this in Mortgage Matters - Refinancing Your Portfolio Before Your Fixed Rate Mortgages Expire) meaning that, as investors, we will soon start to face more competition again. Mark absolutely agreed with Rob that now is the time to buy.

Mark also said something that I have said many times before, namely that it really doesn’t matter to us what the overall UK market is doing: what matters to the investor is what the house you are buying, in the area that you are buying, is doing. That’s it, no more no less. So long as you are buying a good investment, everything else is pretty much irrelevant.

It was interesting to learn that while Rob and Mark once bought a lot of rentbacks, they are now buying most of their properties post-repossession; the reason is simply that they are finding a better choice of properties and less competition from other investors this way. The key thing though is that all properties they buy must offer positive cashflow.

One point that both Rob and Mark consistently made throughout was that all their investments must really be capable of cashflowing themselves, i.e. it is not merely sufficient to delude themselves by seeing that rental income exceeds mortgage, it must also exceed mortgage plus all other costs. They accepted that one or two properties may occasionally go £50/month negative in reality due to maintenance costs etc. but their strategy is to buy such properties if the initial cash out is sufficient to cover the cashflow for the next 5 years.

One thing they never, ever, ever do is use the cash out to spend on ‘toys’, liabilities, flash cars or other doodads (as Robert Kiyosaki calls them), all cash (i.e. equity) out taken out of their investments goes straight into their property portfolio pot, nowhere else. If you read my article on Why Did Mortgage Express (MX) Withdraw Their Same-Day Bridge and Re-mortgage Product? then you will already be familiar with my thoughts on this as being the best strategy. And yes, Rob and Mark do know of several investors who didn’t follow this advice and are now bankrupt as a result! Go and read Why Did Mortgage Express (MX) Withdraw Their Same-Day Bridge and Re-mortgage Product? to learn more.

Their strategy is to put in a deposit, add value (usually by refurbishing), and remortgage. Dr Dennis Coote of Hampshire Property Club is an expert on making money from Property Renovation and you can read my review of his excellent manual Property Development For Profit here Dr Dennis Coote - Property Development For Profit - Book Review.

As I mentioned at the start of this article, Rob Moore and Mark Homer have written and published two books to which they made reference throughout their presentation, and I was lucky enough to win a copy of each in a prize draw at the end of the evening. Each book is nearly 400 pages long and, while I obviously haven’t finished reading them all yet, my initial impression is that both are well written and packed with valuable content. Their cost is modest compared with what they can help you achieve, and you can buy copies of both on Amazon as The 44 Most Closely Guarded Property Secrets and Make Cash in a Property Market Crash.

And don’t forget that if you need bridging finance or a mortgage for your investments, then we have access to some very cheap mortgage products as detailed in Mortgage Matters - Refinancing Your Portfolio Before Your Fixed Rate Mortgages Expire as well as access to an exclusive same-day bridge and remortgage product.

If you wish to comment on this post please do so below.

This is just a reminder that the Berkshire Property Meet is on Monday 14th July at The Holiday Inn, Manor Lane, Maidenhead, Berkshire, SL6 2RA.This month, Sylvia and Juswant Rai are once again honoured to have a premier speaker: Rob Moore from Progressive Properties.

Who is Rob Moore?

Rob Moore is a self-made businessman, full-time property investor and (together with his business partner, Mark Homer) best selling author of The 44 Most Closely Guarded Property Secrets and Make Cash in a Property Market Crash.

Rob Moore became director of a new build property investment company prior to Progressive Property Ltd after realising the potential of property, and learnt a huge amount about ‘what really works’ in property investment. Rob is trained in Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) and Platform Presenting, and reads a business related book every 8.3 days.

Rob is head of marketing within Progressive Property.

Rob Moore and his business partner, Mark Homer, have been regularly buying below market value (BMV) property with great success for themselves and fellow investors. They share what their experiences are of the current market and how they are turning this to their advantage.

BONUS

Win one of 10 bundles of The 44 Most Closely Guarded Property Secrets and Make Cash in a Property Market Crash, plus an iPod Nano packed with great audios to help you succeed. Just follow this link to enter the DRAW :

==> http://www.progressiveproperty.co.uk/landing/property-book-set-video-launch

There’s now less than a week until the draw closes, so don’t delay!

In addition to Summit, some of the experts who regularly attend the Berkshire Property Meet include:
Glenn Armstrong (bought and traded nearly 500 properties)
Barry Danser (Rent Rescue)
David Lee (Cash Flow Investor)
Richard Shepherd (Property Tutor & Investor)
Abdul Malik (lease options)
Nick Pedrithes - (BMV & HMO Expert)
Sonny Walia (Meet the Surveyor)
Darren Hunt (Property Sourcer & Investor)
Simon Zutshi (Property Investor Network)
Jim Haliburton (HMO Daddy)
Kevan Keegan (Rent Back Charter Association)

If you wish to comment on this post, please do so either below or on Summit Forum, our FREE Property Investors’ Discussion Forum at

==> http://www.summitforum.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=37&t=216&p=958#p958

Are you looking to refinance your existing portfolio while you can still get reasonable valuations? Perhaps you need to do this before your existing fixed-rate mortgages expire and the rates rocket?

We’ve had loads of questions about mortgage products for NMD / BMV / BTL investment recently, so I thought it would be easiest to simply let you know what’s available.

Specifically, we have access to some excellent ‘conventional’ Buy To Let (BTL) products with rates starting from just 5.39%.

So if for example you wish to refinance your portfolio while you can still get a reasonable valuation and before your existing discounted period expires and your repayments soar out of control – or you simply prefer to leave money in a purchase to reuse equity released from another property and as a hedge against negative equity in the predicted crash – then these products may be of interest to you:

♦ 5.39%, 2 year tracker, 120% rental cover, no ERC, 3.00% entry fee, 70% LTV

♦ 5.49%, 2 year tracker, 120% rental cover, no ERC, 2.50% entry fee, 7.5% APR, 50% LTV

♦ 5.59%, 2 year tracker, 120% rental cover, no ERC, 2.50% entry fee, 7.5% APR, 65% LTV

♦ 6.29%, 2 year tracker, 120% rental cover, 5% ERC, 1.25% entry fee, 7.5% APR, 75% LTV

IMPORTANT: due to the changing financial market these rates are liable to be revised at any time without notice.

To learn more about any of these products, the first step is to complete the application form at:

==> http://www.summitfinance.co.uk/applynow

Once you have done this we will contact you to discuss your requirements and how we can help you. We expect these products to prove very popular so get your application in now.