If you want a quiet life, then property probably isn’t for you. The reality is, if you want to be successful in property investing, whether that’s in Buy to let, HMOs, SA, Flips or even Commercial Conversions, you need to be able to solve problems. In a simplistic sense it’s your ability…
Who is the most important member of your power team? Well, on the basis that you won’t do many deals if you don’t have any money, I’d have to say it is your mortgage broker. But be aware that not all mortgage brokers are the same. Some are very good, and…
There’s one thing we all need to do, but not everyone wants to do it. I’m ashamed to say, I’m one of them or, at least, I find it hard to do. What is it? It’s setting goals. Like it or not, whatever you want to achieve (in property or in…
I have to be honest, this is something which really winds me up. When I hear someone say “you have to do this” or “you have to do it this way”. Especially in property. I really believe we find our own way in property investing. We find our own ways to do things, and to…
From time to time you’ll hear buy to let investors moaning that a valuer has down valued their investment property, and either they’ll not be able to borrow as much as they wanted, or maybe they won’t be able to buy the property. But is a down valuation the worst that can happen? …
Over my 40 years in property I’ve noticed that the very best deals are usually fast deals, or conversely slow deals. Very often (but not always) it’s the in between (neither fast nor slow) deals that aren’t so good. And another I learned the hard way from buying multiple buy to let investment…
One of the (maybe few) advantages of getting older is that you get to learn a lot along the way. And one thing which I have learned in over 40 years in property is that 90% of the stuff we worry about never happens. That’s not to say bad things don’t happen. Of…
Over the last 40 years I’ve seen opportunity is literally everywhere in property. But most property investors don’t always spot it. Why not? Perhaps because they aren’t expecting it. Or perhaps because they haven’t trained themselves to see it. But becoming aware isn’t hard. As is so…
Some investors use buy to let mortgages for their SA (serviced accommodation) properties. They shouldn’t. Technically they could be committing mortgage fraud. Why? Because buy to let lenders assume a tenant with a tenancy of at least 6 months, maybe longer, but SA is all about short term occupancy. However, the…
What does number 21 say? ‘Perfection is the enemy of the good, which is why so many people don’t start and give up, and why so many move so slowly’. I see this all the time, people telling me I want to get into property, you say fine, great, you tell them what you know,…