Rightmove Dominance under threat as Battle of the Property Portals hots up

By admin on January 15, 2012

For several years Rightmove has been the dominant player in the UK property portal market. Attracting tens of millions of visits to it’s website every month, it is estimated that over 90% of property buyers use the website to search for a home to buy. In fact, recent research suggested that 67% of property buyers who completed a purchase in the UK, first saw the property they bought on Rightmove’s website.

It is easy to see why Rightmove is happy with this situation. They have expolited their dominant market position to consistently increase their profits since launching the website in the year 2000.  However, their contentment is not shared by  many Estate Agents who feel unhappy with the high fees they have to pay to Rightmove, but feel they have no choice but to continue paying them, because no other provider can match their market coverage. Their discontent has increased  markedly in recent weeks,  since Rightmove announced that it will be raising prices by a massive 21%  this year.

Aware of this situation, many other websites have been setup with the aim of challenging Rightmove’s dominant position. Unfortunately, as yet, no company has come up with  a strategy that has succeeded in matching Rightmove. The brands that have come closest to doing so are probably Zoopla, Findaproperty and Globrix, but individually they remain some way behind Rightmove.

However, in October 2011, an anouncement was made that  could change the online proprerty portal landscape in the UK for good.  This was the confirmation that Zoopla and  the Digital Publishing Group (owner of the Globrix and Finda Property brands) were intending to merge their businesses in an attempt to create a credible alternative to Rightmove, with enough marketing muscle to  gain significant market share.

Estate Agents greeted the annoucement with excitement and optimism that this might bring their online marketing costs down. However, after the fanfare of the October announcement there was little further comment on the merger from either Zoopla or DPG in the following months. At the start of 2012, both companies launched expensive marketing campaigns promoting their own brands separately, which quickly led to rumours of problems with the merger.

Zoopla were quick to deny that their were any problems and said that merger talks were progressing as planned. However, it emerged this week that the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) is investigating the merger. This has angered many estate agents who feel that the merger, rather than being anti-competitive, is  the most pro-competiton development in the industry in the past decade.

A number of Estate Agents revealed that they had received comprehensive questionaires from the OFT asking for their views on the merger alon with details of their usage of online marketing portals. Zoopla, publicly at least, appear unconcerned by the OFT investigation, commenting that an investigation is normal, and to be expected,  when a merger of such scale takes place. Their spokesman pointed out that “agents have been crying out for a genuine competitor to Rightmove for years” and said that they are confident the deal will be approved by the OFT.

The Zoopla spokesman also clearly stated their intention to  take on Rightmove by offering a cheaper  alternative solution to estate agents, saying: “We intend to change Rightmove’s dominance by being the most cost-efficient advertising option for agents and creating real competition in the market.”  Such words will, no doubt, be music to the ears of many estate agents.

Post to Twitter

Posted in | Leave a response

By admin on August 16, 2011

Discover a fantastic new service for Property Investors now !

Post to Twitter

Posted in , | Leave a response

Property in America – Guide to Buying Property in America

By admin on October 5, 2010

The real estate market in and across the United States of America is as varied and expansive as the country itself. Although the age old adage comes off a bit trite and certainly overused, when it comes to real estate investment and other real property purchasing opportunities in the United States, there actually is something for everyone. There are many different opportunities available to the savvy shopper.

Investment Property in America

In the 21st century, an ever growing number of men and women are electing to make the purchase of investment real estate in the United States. This includes both residents of the U.S. as well as people living abroad who wish to become a part of the generally burgeoning U.S. real estate marketplace. As a general rule, people who are snatching up investment property in the United States are doing so in three different arenas:

First, investors are electing to buy into commercial real estate holdings.

Second, men and women buying investment property in the United States are also spending a goodly share of their funds on residential rental property.

Finally, people who are purchasing investment real estate in the United States are putting at least some of their money into vacation types of properties.

Residential Real Estate in America – Single Family Properties

No where is the commentary that the real estate market in the U.S. is as varied as the country itself when it comes to the matter of residential real estate. Depending on where a person is interested in residing, in making the purchase of residential property, will dictate how much money will need to be spent on such a purchase.

In some cities in the United States — many of the major cities on both the east and west coasts of the country, for example — the prices of residential properties continues to increase rather dramatically over time. On the one hand, the ever rising cost associated with the purchase of residential property in some cities in the country is keeping some people out of the housing market all together. There are some cities in the America that are experiencing a flat housing market. In other words, the appraised value of real estate is remaining level and not increasing much over time.

Residential Real Estate in America – Apartments

In addition to stand alone, single family residences, the market involving apartments, condominiums and townhouses in many communities has become more active in the past five years. This has particularly been the case as the so-called “Baby Boom” generation begins to move towards the empty nest phase of their lives (their children have left home) and even towards retirement. As a consequence, people are moving towards purchasing apartments, condominiums and townhouses because they are more convenient and generally less difficult and time consuming to maintain. In many instances, these properties are also smaller in size than the typical single family residence.

The overseas buyers are also seen buying these types of property with greater frequency over recent years. In some instances, citizens of other nations are taking to the purchase of these types of properties in order to allow them the opportunity to have a second home in the United States.

Holiday Property in America

One of the most significant trends that has developed in regard to real estate in the United States in the past twenty years revolves around vacation property. In the 21st century, a growing number of people within the United States — as well as an increasing share of property owners from abroad — are investing in vacation and holiday property.

Investment in holiday property generally has been seen to occur in two different areas. First, people both in and out of the United States are making purchases of second homes or vacation homes for their own usage. (In some instances, these people do turn around and rent or lease out their vacation or second homes to other people during those segments of the year when they are not using the property personally.)

Second, men and women residing inside and outside of the United States can also be found investing in time shares in record numbers. A time share situation is one in which a person buys “time” in a piece of real estate. In other words, they are buying an interest in a particular piece of property that interests the purchaser during a specified period of time each and every year.

Mortgage Options

When considering the options for a mortgage on your overseas property there are a couple of choices to consider;

1. Do you consider raising finance on your existing property in the UK to cover the whole cost of your purchase abroad? A good idea if the interest rate in the country in question is a lot higher than it is here in the UK as you will pay a lot less in monthly repayments.

2. Do you secure a mortgage against the property from a local bank in the country of purchase? This can be a wise option especially if the interest rate is lower than our current UK interest rate. Most overseas mortgage / bank lenders will require upto 30% deposit on mortgages. However, you will need to give some thought to how you will service your mortgage payments each month especially if you are not living or earning in that country as you may well lose out on exchanging money each time to cover monthly expenses. Check out our Foreign Currency page to see how you can save money in this example

3. Some Builders and developers may well offer their own mortgage facilities on their properties for sale. This can be beneficial to both parties depending on the logistics of the mortgage or loan facility. Always check and compare with the two options above before making your final descision.

For more details on Mortgages in America visit our Mortgage page in the American section on our website.

Specific steps to buying real estate property in America

A person interested in making the purchase of any kind of real estate in the United States needs to give serious consideration to engaging the assistance of a qualified and licensed broker or of an equally qualified real estate service that has been established to service the needs of those people seeking to purchase investment, residential or vacation property within the U.S. When shopping for real estate in the United States, a buyer needs to keep in mind that the agent or Realtor works for the seller. The real estate agent or Realtor is legally obliged to protect and further the interests of the seller.

In addition to engaging the assistance of a qualified broker or real estate service, it is also important to note that the real estate markets found across the United States vary significantly from location to location. As a consequence, a person looking to buy real estate in the United States will want to make very certain that he or she has resources that are specifically knowledgeable about the real estate market in a particular region of the U.S.

One step that a person interested in buying real estate in the United States will want to consider taking up front is obtaining a financing commitment from a bona fide lender before beginning the search for specific pieces of real estate. In recent years, in the United States, lenders will extend mortgage facilities to people interested in purchasing real estate (provided that they are credit-worthy) in advance of identifying a particular piece of property for purchase. By having such a lending commitment in hand, a person looking to buy real estate will be in a better position to more efficiently and effectively procure real property in the least amount of time.

When making the purchase of real estate in the United States, the general practice and law in most states is that a purchaser accepts the property in the actual condition it is in at the time of the contract for sale is executed. In other words, a buyer generally buys the property in the condition it is in and cannot complain about significant defects after the deal is closed between the buyer and seller. (The one caveat is if the seller willfully and intentionally withholds material information about defects or problems of a significant nature associated with the real estate.) As a result, it is imperative that a buyer makes certain that the property is closely examined for flaws and defects before a contract for sale is finalized and certainly before the closing date on the transaction.

Once a particular piece of property has been identified for purchase, a contract is then drafted. In the United States, real estate cannot be sold in the absence of a written contract. Often, when residential real estate is sold, a standard form of contract is utilized to memorialize and effect the sale. However, if a person is making the purchase of investment or commercial real estate, more often than not a specific and individualized contract is created for the transaction.

When the contract is signed by the parties, a closing date is established. In the U.S., the closing date is the date on which all of the duties and obligations under the contract need to be satisfied — including the obligation of the seller to make certain that the title to the real estate is “clean” and including the obligation of the buyer to make certain that his or her financing is in order.

Generally, a closing date is set approximately 30 days from the signing of the contract for sale. However, there is no hard and fast rule pertaining to when the closing is to be held. The closing date is established between the parties to the real estate sales contract.

One of the items that a buyer will want to make certain he or she obtains after the contract is signed and before the closing date is title insurance. Title insurance will protect the buyer of real estate should a situation arise in which the title to the underlying real estate ends up being clouded. A clouded title is one in which another person or entity ends up having an interest in real estate that may not have been found or properly disclosed during the time period between the signing of the contact and the closing of the sale itself. For example, a prior lender may have a lien on the property that for some reason was not discovered. While such an encumbrance on the property’s title should have been discovered, there are countless examples in which mistakes occur and liens and other interests in a particular piece of real estate are not discovered. Again, title insurance protects a buyer of real estate from any expenses or loss that he or she might experience as a result of a defect in or cloud on the title to real property.

In most jurisdictions in the United States (but not all) local units of government assess property taxes on real estate. If a person is making the purchase of real estate, he or she needs to understand that they are likely to be responsible for paying a pro rata share of taxes that will be due and owing for the portion of the year of the purchase during which the buyer actually assumes ownership of the real estate. Often, the taxes will be due to be paid at the time of closing to avoid any problems between the buyer and seller in the future.

Additionally, insurance on the real estate needs to be in place to benefit the buyer on the closing date. A purchaser of developed real estate will not want to assume possession of the property without making absolutely certain that proper insurance is in place.

Property Abroad always recommends using a Solicitor or Lawyer

http://www.google.com

Property in America – Guide to Buying Property in America

Post to Twitter

Posted in | 1 Response

Learn How to Get An Accurate Assessment of UK Property Prices

By admin on August 4, 2010

Here in the UK it is almost impossible to turn on the TV or radio without hearing another statistic on house prices. A news announcer will boldly and confidently state something like “ House prices rose by 1.1% last month” or “House prices fell by 0.4% last month” and most people will just assume that what has been stated is absolute fact and get on with their day. But can we really trust these announcements and do they really paint an accurate picture of the current market ? To answer this question we need to understand where the data is coming from and how it has been compiled.

When a newsreader makes such an announcement, although they often won’t tell you this, they will almost always be referring to the monthly house price data produced by 1 of the five major UK house price indices – Acadametrics, Rightmove, Nationwide, Halifax and the  Department of Communities and Local Government (LCG Index) which is based on Land Registry figures.

However the problem is that these 5 indices are increasingly painting a very different and inconsistent picture. For example, in May 2010 the Halifax Index reported that UK House Prices were still 16% below their 2007 peak, yet the average of all the other indices suggested this figure to be 6.7%

So, why the discrepancy ?

The disparity arises as each index is skewed towards different parts of the market.

Halifax and Nationwide, for example, base their figures on their own mortgage approvals. These provide up-to-the-minute data on prices that are initially accepted by vendors, but only cover a very small proportion of the total number of property transactions, excluding unmortgaged transactions  and transactions funded by other lenders, completely.

Conversely the Land Registry information includes all sales and is based on completion figures, which show the actual price the property was sold for. These figures lag the market by an average of 15 weeks.

The Rightmove Index, compiled by the online property portal Rightmove, tracks vendor asking prices rather than sold prices.

How accurate are each  of the House Prices  indeces ?

In all but the most bouyant of markets, actual sold prices do tend to be lower than asking prices so, whilst the large sample set from Rightmove can provide a good early indicator of market trends, the Rightmove index is almost always going to provide an overly optimistic view of  prices.

The Halifax and Nationwide might argue that their indices reflect the most recent changes in the market and this is a fair point. However there can be no doubt that their indices are weighted more towards the lower end of the housing market and are more reflective of borrowers taking out larger than average mortgages. This is borne out by the fact that the average price paid by a Nationwide or Halifax borrower is 25% below the national average. Such buyers tend to be less affluent and normally take out higher loan to value mortgages which are subject to higher than average interest rates. To compensate for this these borowers are much more keen to haggle prices down. The result is that house price statisitics based on their data alone present an overly negative view of house prices.

Another issues with the Halifax and Nationwide data in recent years is that they rely on a relatively small sample size, especially during times of low housing transaction volume, the relevance of which can be called in to question. This can often produce wildly varying  and volatile data in consecutive  months, such as a 0.5%  fall in prices followed by a 1.5% rise in prices the following month

The CLG index, is based on actually sales data from the Land Registry so cannot be criticized for accuracy. However, with a delay of around 4 months it does not produce an up-to-date picture of market conditions  in a fast changing market.

The most accurate index

Probably the most accurate of the House Price Indices is the one produced for the Financial Times by the consultancy firm, Acadametrics. This is because it incorporates data from of all the other indices to produce it’s own figures. It is initially based on up-to-date mortgage approval figures from Halifax and Nationwide but tailored to include likely Land Registry figures for that month. When the actual Land Registry data is released, the FT figures are changed to reflect them

Post to Twitter

Posted in | 59 Responses

International Property Investment Hot Spots

By admin on August 4, 2010

The secret to a successful purchase of property abroad lies in finding the right property in the best location and snapping it up at the lowest price possible, before it becomes common knowledge. It is clear that wisely selected overseas property can offer some very secure and lucrative opportunities. Whether your dream property abroad is a holiday apartment, town house, luxury villa or a plot of land, you should make research and dedicated carefully choosing investment plans for the purchase of your property abroad.

You can use the International Property Investment Network (IPIN), which helps all types of investors in their quest to access up-to-the minute information on the very latest investment opportunities in the worldwide property market. All discerning property investors realize the importance of taking advantage of the most lucrative real estate opportunities as soon as they arise, before they become common knowledge. As a FREE member of IPIN, you, the investor, will stay a step ahead while IPIN advises you of the very latest carefully vetted niche opportunities on the global investment property market today.

You should find out the following information before making overseas property investment:

· Full financial data on the country and hotspot including exchange rates, GDP, interest and inflation rates and tax rates.

· Full demographic data on the country and hotspot including population, population growth, unemployment rates and ethnic make ups.

· Specific property data such as Property prices and rental values split by property type

· A full description of the country and hotspot including political environment, social security info, languages spoken, customaries, restaurants and bars, leisure facilities, transport and road networks, future developments, estate agents and letting agents

· Weather data including number of hours of sunshine, days of rain per year and rainiest month with measurement.

After research you can see that MOROCCO is one of the new exotic destinations that Hot Spot have discovered recently. Morocco´s luxurious property developments are generally accepted to be of the highest standards available and very competitive prices allow Morocco to boast top quality property in 5 star luxury resorts for a fraction of the price of far less caliber property elsewhere. Morocco has attracted a great deal of media coverage with a large number of the world’s wealthy, including film stars and sports heroes, having already purchased property here; Richard Branson, Mick Jagger, Malcom Forbes, and even David Beckham have all purchased property in Morocco. Widely tipped to become the next elite holiday destination, Morocco property offers to the rest of us similar style to Puerto Banus, Monaco or St. Tropez at significantly lower prices. Moroccan investment property and apartments for sale can be found in Agadir, Asilah, Cabo Negro, Casablanca, Marrakech / Marrakesh, Saidia / Saida, Tangiers and Tetouan.

If you decided to make Morocco property investment, you should know about maximizing profit from an off-plan investment in Morocco

· Purchasing early

When the developer is offering units well below market value for the reasons mentioned above. In Morocco it is also important to buy as soon as possible as the market is in its early stages of development and prices are still very competitive but already rising. Investors who invest now will see the greatest profits.

· Purchasing the best units

Shrewd investors seek the earliest opportunity to purchase the most sought after properties on any given development. The best units always offer higher capital appreciation in the least amount of time and can demand the greatest rental income. Penthouses are often favorites.

· Price increases as development matures

As the development begins to be constructed, the value of the units rises. There is normally a completed show home at this stage and buyers are taking less of a risk as they now do not need to rely entirely on plans.

· Price appreciates as more units sell

As units are sold steadily, so the price of the remaining units will rise. This is due to buyers being able to see current units as mentioned above. Often a phase payment structure is in operation which mirrors the increasing value of the properties. Obviously, to the early investor, this means that should you decide to sell your property it will be worth considerably more at this stage than when you made your initial purchase and paid your 30% deposit.

After studying Morocco property investment you will know that King Mohammed VI of Morocco has a strong partnership with Dubai’s ruler, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum and both share a vision for the prosperity of their nations. And Dubai is experiencing a phenomenal property boom after enormous amounts of foreign investment and a push to create an economy founded on tourism. The similarities between the two leaders and their dedication to driving their nations’ economy forward has sparked ideas that Marrakech could be to Morocco what Dubai is to the UAE.

Dubai property offers overseas buyers some truly exciting options. Prices are still very affordable and a fast growing Dubai property market is currently underway offering purchasers many strong investment opportunities.

Property is so much part of Dubai’s infamous growth that real estate investment here allows buyers a spectacular chance to cash in on high growth of an average 18% per annum (over the past five years) and typical rental returns of up to 12%.

Dubai is “the epitome of luxury and glamour” with some of the finest and most opulent properties in the world to be had. More international businesses are setting up base here and some ambitious tourist developments are underway, meaning there is no reason to think the state’s time has passed.

However, be warned that a good investment hotspot might not automatically be somewhere that a buyer wants to live and that rental potential, growth potential and price should be considered when purchasing a property.

International property is currently very popular investment. Luxury real estate can still be purchased at excellent prices and purchasers enjoy the exotic atmosphere, stunning natural beauty and variety chosen country provides.

http://www.google.com

International Property Investment Hot Spots

Post to Twitter

Posted in | 57 Responses

How the Power of Gearing makes Property a Better Investment than Stocks and Shares

By admin on June 2, 2010

 How the Power of Gearing  makes Property a Better Investment than Stocks and Shares

Debating  the pros and cons of investing in stocks and shares versus investing in property is a popular subject amongst analysts, brokers and investors. This debate is often conducted under the guise  of comparing traditional pensions versus property investment, as most traditional pensions are invested in global stock markets.

Stock market analysts will often accept that property is the better investment in a given year compared to stocks and shares. However they will often fail to take into account some of the major advantages that property investment has over stocks and shares when declaring that stocks and shares have ouperformed property in another year.

For example, a stock market analyst might attempt to promote investments in stocks and shares by stating something like this:

“Last year  average property prices increased 7% and the stock market was up 10% so stocks and shares performed better  and represent a better investment.”

While the facts as stated, in terms of percentage gains, are entirely true, to claim that this automatically makes stocks and shares a better investment is very misleading. It is understandable  that, after giving such figures a cursory glance, you would believe that in the‘last year’ you  should haave been investing in stocks and shares . Indeed that is exactly the conclusion the analyst might want you to reach.

Gearing and the Return on Capital Employed

The Return On Capital Employed  (ROCE) from property in this case  will have easily been far higher. Why?  Because you can borrow money from a bank or other lending  institution to buy property and secure the loan against the property that is being purchased. This means that you only need  to invest the amount of your own money required to pay the deposit on the purchase rather than the full price of the property. This is often referred to as Gearing or Leverage and it is not something that can easily be achieved when investing in shares.

Banks will generally not accept shares as security since they are considered highly volatile .Not only can they go down in value as well as up but, they can in certain instances lose almost all their value in a very short space of time. Companies can quickly hit huge difficulties  due to  factors such as poor management, strong competition and unfavourable market conditions. For example, shares in the HBOS group were trading at around £12 each before the credit crunch hit Britain, only to fall to be values at just a few pence during the height of the crisis. Such volatility simply does not occur in property markets. Despite all the media talk of a crash of epic and unprecdented proportions in the UK property market between 2007 and 2009,  the average house price decline amounted to around 15% at it’s worse.

The power of Leverage can be seen in this simple example:

In order to buy £100,000 worth of shares you need £100,000 in cash,  but to be able to buy a £100,000 property you would typically need £20,000 because you are able borrow the rest from a bank. Banks are happy to secure the £80,000 loan against the property being purchased, safe in the knowledge that people will always need somewhere to live ensuring that demand for the property, and long term price rises, will almost certainly guarantee the safety of their loan in the event of default

After a property is purchased and a mortgage isput in place you are then able to rent the property out to service the cost of the loan and other expenses and in many cases provide extra profit.

Using the above example we can examine the ROCE in 2 scenarios, one in a year where percentage gains were higher in property and another in a year  in which percentage returns were higher in shares.

Year 1 Capital Invested  Asset Value at Start of Year % Increase Over Year Profit
Stocks & Shares  

£20,000

 

 £20,000 7% £1,400
Property  

£20,000

 £100,000 10% £10,000
         
Year 2 Capital Invested  Asset Value at Start of Year % Increase Over Year Profit
Stocks & Shares  

£20,000

 

 £20,000 10% £2,000
Property  

£20,000

 

 £100,000 7% £7,000

 

As you would expect property provides the better return in the year when property prices rose higher than share prices – delivering a massive 50% ROCE with just at 10% rise in prices. However, due to the power of gearing, property also provides a far superior return to stocks and shares (2.5 to1) in the year that share prices rose higher than property prices.

As you can see, the Return on Caital Employed (ROCE) is a far better inidciator of profitablility than the headline percentage return for an asset class.

Post to Twitter

Posted in | 99 Responses

The Importance of a Positive Mind Set in Achieving Success through Property Investment

By admin on May 10, 2010

To achieve success through Property Investment, just as in any other type of business venture, having the right mindset is vitally important. Here are a few tips on developing the right mindset to become a successful property investor.

 Develop a Positive Attitude

Most of you will probably have heard of the movie ‘The Secret’ that took the world by storm a couple of years ago. If you haven’t then I recommend that you check it out on Youtube or get yourself a copy of the video or book. The basic principle of ‘The Secret’ is ‘The Law of Attraction’, the notion that your experiences in life are a result of what your mind focuses on. Focus on failure and difficulties and that’s what you’ll get. Focus on success and you’ll experience success. It’s not quite that simple, you can’t just spend all day thinking positive thoughts – you must also take action of course, but most successful people will tell you that this principle holds true.

Successful people in all walks of life have an ability to focus on the positives and not dwell on the negatives. Everyone experiences setbacks and periods of self doubt, and you’ll experience plenty as a property investor, but it is how we react to them that matters. Successful people will learn valuable lessons from their setbacks but will not dwell on them. They remain positive and look for the next challenge.

 

Maintain Self Confidence

 If you can maintain a positive attitude you will most likely already have the self confidence required to achieve your goals. In order to succeed in any area of life you must first have the belief that you are a success and be comfortable in what you are doing and trying to achieve. By merely making the decision to look in to property investment, you are taking positive action to improve your future and this in itself should give you a level of self confidence. Confidence and self belief will help to keep you on track through the tough times.

 

Break down any limiting beliefs

Any blocks, or limiting beliefs, the “Oh I couldn’t possibly do that…”  type of  persistent thought, need to be dealt with; and eliminated. In their place, you must program empowering beliefs, that are in line with your desires, aspirations and objectives. How can you do that? One simple method is  to jot down what your associations with making money from property are. For example, “its hard to make money from property”, “property investment is only for the rich”, and so on. Next write down the opposite of each of your limiting beliefs. E.g , ” it’s easy to make money from property”,” there are plenty of  opportunities for me to make money  in property”.  Then set these empowering beliefs in your mind by having them on your notice board, computer screen etc or any other place where you will see them frequently every day. Think about them as often as possible and in due course, you will have weeded out the limiting beliefs and will have instilled your empowering ones.

 

Be fully aware of what’s driving you and stay motivated

Obviously we need to be motivated to be successful.  In order to be a motivated Property Investor you will need to know exactly why you are investing in property. Motivation comes from knowing why you are doing something, and the clearer you are about why then the more motivated you will be.

We often don’t take the time we should to consider our actions.  We know that adding property to our portfolios is going to increase our net worth overall in the long term, and we aim for the type of property that brings in sufficient monthly income to cover mortgages and other expenses and still make a profit, but that doesn’t really answer the question of why we are investing.

 

What are your reasons for investing?

Make a list of your reasons and read them every day. Put the list somewhere prominent.  Reminding yourself constantly of the reasons behind your investments will help you to stay motivated and focused, especially during the tough times

 

Your Reasons can be anything that matters to you

 When considering their reasons many people often fall in to the trap of believing that only positive reasons are relevant. However, you can just as easily be motivated by something that you passionately do not want. For example, you may not want to have to continue working over the age of 60 like your parents are having to or you may not want to live in your current home for much longer.

Having said that, positive motivation works well for most of us. You may want to take  your family on an overseas  holiday every year, or buy the new car with the private number plate. 

 

Focus on the end results

Whatever you want to achieve in 5 or 10 years’ time, make yourself a list of the benefits you will get as a result of making these property investments. This will help you to build up a picture of what success means to you. List all the benefits you will be enjoying if your investments go to plan. One of my mentors asks his clients to write down 100 benefits they will get from making more money. Many of his clients will say that they cannot think of 100 benefits, but he tells me that it is almost always the people who are able to identify  100 benefits, able to visualize success,  that go on to be  achieve their goals.

You can also try making yourself a list of the consequences of not investing, to illustrate what life will be like in the future if you don’t take action.  Which list provides your greatest motivation?

There is no real point at all in accumulating property for the sake of it.  It’s not going to make you happier, unless you plan your investments to match your reasons for investing.  Without understanding your reasons, you may find that it becomes a burden or even a chore.  You won’t concentrate on the important tasks at hand such as collecting rents and finding the next bargain property to buy because you have lost the focus on why you are investing. If you know why you are investing then it is far, far easier to work out how you are going to invest and that will keep you motivated.

 

Need  Some Help to acheive and maintain the right mind set ?

Its one thing knowing that  you need to keep a positive mind set to ensure success,  but it can be very difficult to put this in to practice sometimes, when everything in the world seems to be going against you.  At times like these you might need a little help to stay on the right track.

I was lucky enough to discover a great program  called   Six Minutes Can To Success that has really helped me to maintain a positive outlook and greatly increase my success. You recieve a daily video message from Bob Proctor, one of the teachers in ‘The Secret’, in which he gives you a simple, 6 minute exercises, that will make sure you start each day on the right track and help you to quickly accelerate your progress towards your goals. Take a lokk at the program by clicking the link below.

Six Minutes Can Change Your Life! Find Out How.

Post to Twitter

Posted in | 70 Responses

How to Select the Right Tenant for your Property

By admin on May 4, 2010

 In a previous bulletin we discussed how to find a tenant through marketing and advertising your property. As we discussed, it is usually quite easy to find tenants who want to live in your property. However, finding a good tenant who pays the rent on time and keeps the property clean and tidy is a little more difficult. A careful methodical approach should ensure that you pick a very good tenant.

 

Below I explain the procedures I undertake to ensure that I select the right tenant for my properties.

 

 Listen to your Gut Instinct

 For me, the most important  initial consideration is the gut feeling I get about the tenant when I meet them for their property viewing.  If I get a bad feeling about the tenant I will never let the property to them, even if there appears to be no logical reason for my concerns. As a landlord you quickly develop a sense of what makes a good or a bad tenant and usually you are right. In the past I have gone against my gut instinct and it proved  to be a long, difficult and expensive process to evict the tenant when they stopped paying the rent.

 Usually, if a tenant is late for their viewing and doesn’t offer an apology, is particularly scruffy or behaves suspiciously at the viewing, I will discount them straight away. The tenant’s appearance may seem irrelevant but I find it is a good indicator of how well they will treat the property whilst they are living in it. A tenant who pays the rent on time is only a desireable one if, when they vacate the property, they also return it to you in the same condition it was in before the tenancy began.

  Of course, if I like a tenant at the viewing it doesn’t mean I will offer them the property straight away. It just means that their application will move to the next stage of the checking process.

  

Collect the Tenant’s Details

 The first part of my formal checking process is to ask the tenant to fill in an application form in which  the data I collect includes their full name, date of birth, current address, previous addresses for the past 3 years, national insurance number and employment history. The information I collect here can tell me if they have moved around a lot and are unlikely to stay in the property long. It also provides me with details that would help me to trace them in the event that they vacated the property owing me money.

 The form is quite comprehensive and if a potential tenant shows any resistance to providing this information I take this as a sign that they probably have something to hide and are therefore not a suitable candidate for my property.

  

Charge an Application fee

 I believe it is wise to charge an application fee to a tenant who has expressed a desire to move in to the property and completed you tenant data form. Although this will offset the costs you incur in the tenant selection process, I do not view this as a money making venture. By paying a fee at this stage (I usually charge £79) the tenant is demonstrating their commitment to your property and is much less likely to go looking at alternative properties, whilst you carry out your checks.

 

 Collect References

 Assuming that the prospective tenant has completed the application form to your satisfaction and paid their application fee, you should then take up references. These should include an employer’s, bank, previous landlords’ and character reference. The employer’s reference (assuming they are in employment) is the most important as it gives some assurance that the tenant will be able to pay the rent.

 Alternatively, if the tenant is going to be claiming local housing allowance to pay the rent you should ask for written proof of the tenant’s entitlement. Also try to establish if the tenant fits in to one of the categories that allows their rent to be paid directly to the landlord.

 You should be aware that the applicant’s current landlord reference may not tell you the whole story as the landlord may be anxious to get rid of the tenant and thus provide a reference that is more positive than it really should be.

 

Do a Tenant Credit check

 Complete a credit check on the tenant. There are numerous online companies providing this service and most are fairly cheap and very useful. They will pick up if the tenant has  any County Court Judgments (CCJs) against them and will also verify that the employment and address information they have supplied on their application form is correct.

 

 Get a Guarantor if required

 The credit check will also provide an assessment of the tenant’s ability to afford the rental payments. If the check suggests they might have difficulty you would be wise to ask them to provide a guarantor who will commit to pay the rent in the event of the tenant defaulting. Of course, if your tenant does need a guarantor you must also credit check them to be sure they have the means to pay the rent, on top of their own commitments, if necessary.

  If a tenant passes all of the above checks to your satisfaction it is very likely that they prove to be a good tenant for your property.

Post to Twitter

Posted in | 59 Responses

How To Find Tenants for Your Rental Properties, Free of Charge, Using the Gumtree Website

By admin on April 26, 2010

I’ve talked briefly about using gumtree  (http://www.gumtree.com) to advertise properties for rent in previous bulletins, but I wanted to devote a full bulletin to this subject because I’m a big fan of the site.

For a few years I shied away from using Gumtree because it was really a London focused website and, with the majority of my portfolio being located in North West England, I felt it wouldn’t be particularly useful for me. However in recent years, Gumtree’s use has expanded well beyond the capital and it is a great resource for most urban areas of the UK.

 I’m not suggesting that Gumtree should be the only method you use to market your property but it should definitely be one of your primary resources, assuming that you are happy to find tenants yourself, because it is free, quick and easy to use and generates a lot of enquiries

As with any marketing strategy, there are certain principles that should be applied  in order to achieve the best possible results. Here are my  tips for getting the most out of  Gumtree.

1. Before posting an advert, check out competitor advertisements

You’ll find it useful to see how other landlords are marketing their property. Before creating an advert, search the website for similar properties in the same area to your own.  For a start you will quickly discover if your planned rental price is competitive with the price offered by other advertisers. Consider marketing your property slightly below the ‘going rate’  for the area to generate more enquiries.

You should also  try to put yourself in the shoes of a potential tenant when looking at competitor advertisements. Observe which adverts intrigue you and make you want to find out more details, and consider using some of the wording of these adverts in your own  copy.  Its equally important to observe the unattractive adverts to ensure that you don’t make the same mistakes.

2. Market your property in the correct city/region

This is very important to ensure you get the best response rates. The Gumtree website organizes its listing by location (major cities and counties). Make sure you create your advert in the correct location. For example if your property is in Leeds, make sure your ad is created on the Leeds page of the website. It is very easy to get this wrong because the website sets the default location tp London if you fail to specify a different city or county. I’ve created adverts in London before instead of Lancashire. You can navigate to the correct location by clicking “change city” in the top left corner of the page.

For some properties your choice of Gumtree page will not be so simple. For example, I own a number of properties in Warrington which does not have its own dedicated page on Gumtree and lies approximately half way between Manchester and Liverpool, without  being considered to be a part of, or attached to, either city. In this case your approach should be to test your advert in all appropriate locations to see which  gets you the best response. In my case, I posted adverts in all the ‘North West’ locations – Liverpool, Manchester and Lancashire. I found that Liverpool and Manchester adverts both delivered a decent level of response but my Lancashire listing delivered very little. I therefore now routinely post ads for my Warrington properties in both the Manchester and Liverpool pages.

3. Regularly renew your adverts

Gumtree search results are displayed in order of age with the newest advertisements, i.e. the freshest content, appearing at the top of the listings.. Obviously, it goes without saying that adverts closer to the top get more exposure.

It used to be possible to resubmit your ad without changing it and this would result in your ad being returned to the top of the listings. However this feature has been abused by many advertisers, resubmitting their adverts on an extremely regular basis and gumtree now charges £2.00 for your advert to be bumped to the top of the listings.

The way to get around this is to create a new advert by cutting and pasting the details from your original advert. It only takes a couple of minutes to do this and get yourself back to the top listing position. How often you will need to do this really depends on your location. In an area such as  London, where gumtree is very popular,  there are hundreds of properties being added to the system daily, so your property will slip down the list rapidly and you may wish to renew your ad daily. However in other regions of the UK it may only be necessary to renew the ad every couple of weeks – hopefully  you’ll have let the property by then !.

4. Use an attention grabbing headline for your advertisement

Tenants will be scanning several adverts so you want to make sure that your advert stands out from the crowd. If you look at most adverts on gumtree, the headlines nearly all follow a similar format, along the lines of “Beautiful 2 bed apartment available in great location”. Try to think of a headline that will make people click on your advert before the others. For example a headline that I use when advertising properties that are well suited to housing benefit claimants is “House available, free to DSS”. The word ‘free’ grabs the attention of the reader and encourages them to look at the advert. In reality I am merely pointing out that a tenant who qualifies for housing benefit will have the rent paid by the government – which would most likely be the case with any property they were to rent.

 

5. Upload good quality pictures

Gumtree  have stated that adverts that include photographs get, on average, double the number of responses compared to adverts that do not contain photos, so it really makes no sense to post an ad without photos. In this digital age, when technology makes it so simple to upload photos to a website, potential tenants are naturally suspicious of adverts that don’t include photos, often thinking that the landlord has something to hide and that the property is probably in a bad state of repair.

Make sure you use good quality pictures, and show the most attractive features of the property. Always try to include a picture of the front of the house, and  two other photos of the property’s best features. Currently gumtree allows a maximum of 3 photos to be displayed.

6. Create a full and accurate description of the property

Try to provide as much detail as possible and draw attention to the properties best features  in your description. This will weed out the people who require something that your property can’t give them and the potential for wasting time conducting unnecessary viewings. If you don’t mention the fact that your property has no parking facilities you really don’t want a two car family coming to view it as it just won’t suit them.

Try to include the following features in your descriptions:

  • Number of bedrooms
  • All other rooms
  • Parking  spaces/garage/off road parking
  • Bathroom facilites – bath/shower etc
  • What bills/charges are included in the rent
  • property condition
  •  gardens
  • central heating/double glazing
  • proximity to shops and other local amenities

7. Provide email and telephone contact details

Gumtree allows you to be contacted via email and/or telephone. I used to provide only email contact details but found that I received a lot more enquiries when I started to provide my telephone number. Some people, especially the older generation, are not comfortable with email and find it difficult and time consuming. These people will often only contact you by email if they have been unsuccessful in securing a property after calling other landlords who did provide a contact number. It pays to make it as easy as possible for someone to contact you.

8. Don’t use the paid options unless you really have to

Gumtree provides a great free service  but also offer various paid options such as the ‘Bump your ad up the list’ service discussed earlier and the ability to feature your ad at the top of the listings for up to 14 days. I’m sure the people at Gumtree won’t thank me for saying this but their free service is so good that you shouldn’t need to pay for these services. I’ve always been able to let my properties using the free service and if you follow the guidelines above you should too.

If you’re exceptionally busy and can’t spare a few minutes to manage your ads to ensure you always have a presence high up in the listings then it may make senses to you to pay for the services to keep your adverts high in the listings.

Post to Twitter

Posted in | 91 Responses

For Property Management Jobs How Do You Pick the Best Manager?

By admin on April 26, 2010

Are you a rental property owner who is worn down by your property management jobs? Then read on to find out how to pick your perfect property manager who can help you manage both your tenants and real estate today.

What Can a Property Manager Help You with?

The following are the more crucial property management jobs that a property manager can do for you:

- Find new tenants for your rental property if it is unoccupied and screen any potential tenants by interviewing them and running credit checks.

- Help you maintain your property in habitable condition according to the local health and safety codes. This will include making any property repairs if necessary.

- Collect rent from your tenants and prepare an income statement of your rental property so that you can monitor how well your property is doing financially.

- Attend to any requests and complaints that your tenants may have.

- Handle any problems that are caused by nightmare tenants and evict them if needed.

How do You Pick Your Perfect Property Manager?

The first rule in hiring a property manager is to make sure that he is licensed by your local housing authorities. This is one way of picking someone who has at least gone through some formal basic training to watch over your rental property.

Just like any other employer, you should always interview your property manager before hiring them. During the interview, take the chance to ask him for his past experience and references for the properties that he has managed before. You should also give his past employers a call to ask them for their opinions on his skills as a manager.

Ideally your manager should have at least 3 years of experience in handling property types that are similar to yours. If you have a residential townhouse, his experience in managing commercial shop fronts may not be helpful because the difference in the laws and tenant’s needs.

Some real estate agents manage properties and tenants for their client part time. While their services may be cheaper, I will highly recommend that you choose a professional property manager because running a rental property demands quite a lot of skill and attention.

Should You Hire a Manager for Your Property?

If you own rental properties, you will know that being a landlord can be a full time job. While some landlords actually enjoy dealing with their tenants and property management jobs, others dread every moment of it.

If you enjoy dealing with people or is handy with property repairs, then you may want to try your hand at managing the property yourself first. That way you can see if property management jobs are your cup of tea and you can also save money at the same time.

Being a landlord is something that becomes easier with experience so if you have been managing rental properties for a period of time you can consider just hiring a property manager just to handle certain property management jobs. For example you can choose to handle any property repairs yourself while your manager takes care of the tenants.

On the other hand, some landlords see their rental properties purely as investments and do not want have anything to do with their day to day maintenance. If you are willing to give up about 5 to 10 percent of your monthly rent, then it makes sense for you to hire a property manager.

Hiring a property manager is highly recommended as well if you own rental properties overseas. Just the amount of money and time that you save on air travel will make it worth your while to hire a manager.

Teo Zhenjie has been showing landlords how to manage their tenants and rental properties effectively on Propertydo http://www.propertydo.com/ – To learn more important tips on property management jobs, visit his website today for step-by-step real estate guides, free resources and forms.

http://www.google.com

For Property Management Jobs How Do You Pick the Best Manager?

Post to Twitter

Posted in | 153 Responses

Next Page »

Pick up a free copy of our new Property Investment Guide

Name:
Email:

Highly Recommended

Click here for Tax Liens Made Easy
SixMinutesToSuccess Banner