Privacy Policy
BACKGROUND:
Property118 Ltd understands that your privacy is important to you and that you care about how your personal data is used and shared online. We respect and value the privacy of everyone who visits this website,
www.property118.com (“Our Site”) and will only collect and use personal data in ways that are described here, and in a manner that is consistent with Our obligations and your rights under the law.
Please read this Privacy Policy carefully and ensure that you understand it. Your acceptance of Our Privacy Policy is deemed to occur upon your first use of Our Site
. If you do not accept and agree with this Privacy Policy, you must stop using Our Site immediately.
- Definitions and Interpretation
In this Policy the following terms shall have the following meanings:
“Account” |
means an account required to access and/or use certain areas and features of Our Site; |
“Cookie” |
means a small text file placed on your computer or device by Our Site when you visit certain parts of Our Site and/or when you use certain features of Our Site. Details of the Cookies used by Our Site are set out in section 13, below; |
“Cookie Law” |
means the relevant parts of the Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003; |
“personal data” |
means any and all data that relates to an identifiable person who can be directly or indirectly identified from that data. In this case, it means personal data that you give to Us via Our Site. This definition shall, where applicable, incorporate the definitions provided in the EU Regulation 2016/679 – the General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”); and |
“We/Us/Our” |
Means Property118 Ltd , a limited company registered in England under company number 10295964, whose registered address is 1st Floor, Woburn House, 84 St Benedicts Street, Norwich, NR2 4AB. |
- Information About Us
- Our Site is owned and operated by Property118 Ltd, a limited company registered in England under company number 10295964, whose registered address is 1st Floor, Woburn House, 84 St Benedicts Street, Norwich, NR2 4AB.
- Our VAT number is 990 0332 34.
- Our Data Protection Officer is Neil Patterson, and can be contacted by email at npatterson@property118.com, by telephone on 01603 489118, or by post at 1st Floor, Woburn House, 84 St Benedicts Street, Norwich, NR2 4AB.
- What Does This Policy Cover?
This Privacy Policy applies only to your use of Our Site. Our Site may contain links to other websites. Please note that We have no control over how your data is collected, stored, or used by other websites and We advise you to check the privacy policies of any such websites before providing any data to them.
- Your Rights
- As a data subject, you have the following rights under the GDPR, which this Policy and Our use of personal data have been designed to uphold:
- The right to be informed about Our collection and use of personal data;
- The right of access to the personal data We hold about you (see section 12);
- The right to rectification if any personal data We hold about you is inaccurate or incomplete (please contact Us using the details in section 14);
- The right to be forgotten – i.e. the right to ask Us to delete any personal data We hold about you (We only hold your personal data for a limited time, as explained in section 6 but if you would like Us to delete it sooner, please contact Us using the details in section 14);
- The right to restrict (i.e. prevent) the processing of your personal data;
- The right to data portability (obtaining a copy of your personal data to re-use with another service or organisation);
- The right to object to Us using your personal data for particular purposes; and
- If you have any cause for complaint about Our use of your personal data, please contact Us using the details provided in section 14 and We will do Our best to solve the problem for you. If We are unable to help, you also have the right to lodge a complaint with the UK’s supervisory authority, the Information Commissioner’s Office.
- For further information about your rights, please contact the Information Commissioner’s Office or your local Citizens Advice Bureau.
- What Data Do We Collect?
Depending upon your use of Our Site, We may collect some or all of the following personal data (please also see section 13 on Our use of Cookies and similar technologies):
- Name;
- Date of birth;
- Address and post code;
- Business/company name and trading status;
- Number of properties owned;
- Accountants details;
- Contact information such as email addresses and telephone numbers;
- Proof of residence and ID;
- Financial information such as income and tax status;
- Landlords insurance renewal dates;
- Property Portfolio details such as value and mortgage outstanding;
- How Do We Use Your Data?
- All personal data is processed and stored securely, for no longer than is necessary in light of the reason(s) for which it was first collected. We will comply with Our obligations and safeguard your rights under the GDPR at all times. For more details on security see section 7, below.
- Our use of your personal data will always have a lawful basis, either because it is necessary for our performance of a contract with you, because you have consented to our use of your personal data (e.g. by subscribing to emails), or because it is in our legitimate interests. Specifically, we may use your data for the following purposes:
- Providing and managing your access to Our Site;
- Supplying our products and or services to you (please note that We require your personal data in order to enter into a contract with you);
- Personalising and tailoring our products and or services for you;
- Replying to emails from you;
- Supplying you with emails that you have opted into (you may unsubscribe or opt-out at any time by the unsubscribe link at the bottom of all emails;
- Analysing your use of our site and gathering feedback to enable us to continually improve our site and your user experience;
- Provide information to our partner service and product suppliers at your request.
- With your permission and/or where permitted by law, We may also use your data for marketing purposes which may include contacting you by email and or telephone with information, news and offers on our products and or We will not, however, send you any unsolicited marketing or spam and will take all reasonable steps to ensure that We fully protect your rights and comply with Our obligations under the GDPR and the Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003.
- You have the right to withdraw your consent to us using your personal data at any time, and to request that we delete it.
- We do not keep your personal data for any longer than is necessary in light of the reason(s) for which it was first collected. Data will therefore be retained for the following periods (or its retention will be determined on the following bases):
- Member profile information is collected with your consent and can be amended or deleted at any time by you;
- Anti-Money Laundering information and tax consultancy records are to be kept as required by law for up to seven years.
- How and Where Do We Store Your Data?
- We only keep your personal data for as long as We need to in order to use it as described above in section 6, and/or for as long as We have your permission to keep it.
- Some or all of your data may be stored outside of the European Economic Area (“the EEA”) (The EEA consists of all EU member states, plus Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein). You are deemed to accept and agree to this by using our site and submitting information to Us. If we do store data outside the EEA, we will take all reasonable steps to ensure that your data is treated as safely and securely as it would be within the UK and under the GDPR
- Data security is very important to Us, and to protect your data We have taken suitable measures to safeguard and secure data collected through Our Site.
- Do We Share Your Data?
- We may share your data with other partner companies in for the purpose of supplying products or services you have requested.
- We may sometimes contract with third parties to supply products and services to you on Our behalf. Where any of your data is required for such a purpose, We will take all reasonable steps to ensure that your data will be handled safely, securely, and in accordance with your rights, Our obligations, and the obligations of the third party under the law.
- We may compile statistics about the use of Our Site including data on traffic, usage patterns, user numbers, sales, and other information. All such data will be anonymised and will not include any personally identifying data, or any anonymised data that can be combined with other data and used to identify you. We may from time to time share such data with third parties such as prospective investors, affiliates, partners, and advertisers. Data will only be shared and used within the bounds of the law.
- In certain circumstances, We may be legally required to share certain data held by Us, which may include your personal data, for example, where We are involved in legal proceedings, where We are complying with legal requirements, a court order, or a governmental authority.
- What Happens If Our Business Changes Hands?
- We may, from time to time, expand or reduce Our business and this may involve the sale and/or the transfer of control of all or part of Our business. Any personal data that you have provided will, where it is relevant to any part of Our business that is being transferred, be transferred along with that part and the new owner or newly controlling party will, under the terms of this Privacy Policy, be permitted to use that data only for the same purposes for which it was originally collected by Us.
- How Can You Control Your Data?
- In addition to your rights under the GDPR, set out in section 4, we aim to give you strong controls on Our use of your data for direct marketing purposes including the ability to opt-out of receiving emails from Us which you may do by unsubscribing using the links provided in Our emails.
- Your Right to Withhold Information
- You may access certain areas of Our Site without providing any data at all. However, to use all features and functions available on Our Site you may be required to submit or allow for the collection of certain data.
- You may restrict Our use of Cookies. For more information, see section 13.
- How Can You Access Your Data?
You have the right to ask for a copy of any of your personal data held by Us (where such data is held). Under the GDPR, no fee is payable and We will provide any and all information in response to your request free of charge. Please contact Us for more details at info@property118.com, or using the contact details below in section 14.
- Our Use of Cookies
- Our Site may place and access certain first party Cookies on your computer or device. First party Cookies are those placed directly by Us and are used only by Us. We use Cookies to facilitate and improve your experience of Our Site and to provide and improve Our products AND/OR We have carefully chosen these Cookies and have taken steps to ensure that your privacy and personal data is protected and respected at all times.
- All Cookies used by and on Our Site are used in accordance with current Cookie Law.
- Before Cookies are placed on your computer or device, you will be shown a cookie prompt requesting your consent to set those Cookies. By giving your consent to the placing of Cookies you are enabling Us to provide the best possible experience and service to you. You may, if you wish, deny consent to the placing of Cookies; however certain features of Our Site may not function fully or as intended. You will be given the opportunity to allow only first party Cookies and block third party Cookies.
- Certain features of Our Site depend on Cookies to function. Cookie Law deems these Cookies to be “strictly necessary”. These Cookies are shown below in section 13.5. Your consent will not be sought to place these Cookies, but it is still important that you are aware of them. You may still block these Cookies by changing your internet browser’s settings as detailed below in section 13.9, but please be aware that Our Site may not work properly if you do so. We have taken great care to ensure that your privacy is not at risk by allowing them.
- The following first party Cookies may be placed on your computer or device:
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Strictly Necessary |
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Used only to collect performance data, with any identifiable data obfuscated |
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This cookie is strictly necessary for Cloudflare's security features and cannot be turned off. |
Yes |
- Our Site uses analytics services provided by Google Analytics and Facebook. Website analytics refers to a set of tools used to collect and analyse anonymous usage information, enabling Us to better understand how Our Site is used. This, in turn, enables Us to improve Our Site and the products AND/OR services offered through it. You do not have to allow Us to use these Cookies, however whilst Our use of them does not pose any risk to your privacy or your safe use of Our Site, it does enable Us to continually improve Our Site, making it a better and more useful experience for you.
- The analytics service(s) used by Our Site use(s) Cookies to gather the required information.
- The analytics service(s) used by Our Site use(s) the following Cookies:
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Purpose |
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First |
Google |
Helps to understand how their visitors engage with our website |
_fbp |
First |
Facebook |
Helps to understand how their visitors engage with our website |
- In addition to the controls that We provide, you can choose to enable or disable Cookies in your internet browser. Most internet browsers also enable you to choose whether you wish to disable all cookies or only third party cookies. By default, most internet browsers accept Cookies but this can be changed. For further details, please consult the help menu in your internet browser or the documentation that came with your device.
- You can choose to delete Cookies on your computer or device at any time, however you may lose any information that enables you to access Our Site more quickly and efficiently including, but not limited to, login and personalisation settings.
- It is recommended that you keep your internet browser and operating system up-to-date and that you consult the help and guidance provided by the developer of your internet browser and manufacturer of your computer or device if you are unsure about adjusting your privacy settings.
- Contacting Us
If you have any questions about Our Site or this Privacy Policy, please contact Us by email at info@property118.com, by telephone on 01603 489118, or by post at 1st Floor, Woburn House, 84 St Benedicts Street, Norwich, NR2 4AB. Please ensure that your query is clear, particularly if it is a request for information about the data We hold about you (as under section 12, above).
- Changes to Our Privacy Policy
We may change this Privacy Policy from time to time (for example, if the law changes). Any changes will be immediately posted on Our Site and you will be deemed to have accepted the terms of the Privacy Policy on your first use of Our Site following the alterations. We recommend that you check this page regularly to keep up-to-date.
Mark Alexander - Founder of Property118
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Sign Up17:46 PM, 31st July 2013, About 11 years ago
Hi Christopher
I have never come across a lender which has offered finance on ground rents. All the investors I know who own them buy for cash.
10% seems to be a very high yield, I believe 5% is closer to the norm these days.
As you say, they are an excellent alternative to holding large sums of cash as yields are better than returns from banks, they are a safe investment, they are relatively easy to sell (but time consuming), you can also make money off the back of selling lease extensions, there are plenty of companies who will deal with the management for you, rents rise.
The ONLY reason I don't have a huge portfolio of them personally is the lack ability to gear up.
.
Christopher Farrell
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Sign Up18:59 PM, 31st July 2013, About 11 years ago
Hi Mark,
Thanks for the comments.
The mentioned 10% yields are from some ground rents I have seen for sale. If they had associated problems, hence the high yield, I don't know.
It is a shame, is as you say, there is no gearing available via loans.
It is still something I would be interested in, in principle, for spare cash, if they are easy to sell on...
...although that said, being new to property, I would not see me having much of that spare for a while (apart from cash funds required for emergencies).
I would like to hear from anyone who has had experience with ground rent investing, pros and cons etc.
Mark Alexander - Founder of Property118
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Sign Up19:04 PM, 31st July 2013, About 11 years ago
Reply to the comment left by "Christopher Farrell" at "31/07/2013 - 18:59":
Check out these Member Profiles and the articles they've commented on 🙂
Annette Stone >>> http://www.property118.com/member/?id=384
Lauren Wadey >>> http://www.property118.com/member/?id=389
Roger Hardwick >>> http://www.property118.com/member/?id=449
.
Anon
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Sign Up0:56 AM, 2nd August 2013, About 11 years ago
Reply to the comment left by "Mark Alexander" at "31/07/2013 - 17:46":
I would strongly suggest people stay away from Ground Rents as an investment.
Yes, buy the Freehold for any property you own.
But frankly chasing a £50 ground rent is a pain. You have to insure the property and then keep chasing the leaseholder to pay up. You can't cancel the insurance as it opens you up to liability.
In the old days, if the leasehold did not pay, then you could go to their mortgage company and they would cough up and bills would be paid.
Now the laws treat leaseholders like consumers..... It is a lot of paperwork / admin / procedure for little money and a lot of aggravation. If suggest people spend time reading some of the LVT tribunal cases, you could end up loosing your shirt.
You might hit the jackpot, if a leaseholder wants to extend their lease, but to be honest, if they had wanted to do that, they would have bought the Freehold before you. Plus, there is a lot of horse trading in terms of valuations of leases and extensions....
Puzzler
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Sign Up15:10 PM, 2nd August 2013, About 11 years ago
1) if you live overseas you may not be able to get lending anyway as you have found for mortgages (why would freehold be different? in any case others have said that lending is not readily available for freeholds)
2) as the freeholder you are responsible for the fabric of the building and maintenance of communal areas (usually via a management company). The leaseholders pay for this but you have to arrange it and supervise the company whose client you are. So it's not just easy money.
The returns are not great until you get an extension which can be many years and there is no guarantee that the law will not change to favour leaseholders further as it did in 1993 giving the right to lease extensions.
I have one plus half the flats in a converted period property due to inheritance (the other flats sold off before I inherited) and do not foresee making much from the freehold for a long time. If leaseholders exercise their statutory right to extension before the lease diminishes below 80 years then you will make next to nothing. If the leases are short then that will be factored in to the sale price.
Puzzler
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Sign Up15:35 PM, 2nd August 2013, About 11 years ago
3) ground rents are set at the beginning of a lease and may or may not have a provision for periodic increase (e.g. every 25 or 30 years). Either way inflation will erode the yield from the start. If a lease is extended under the statutory process the ground rent will be nil (peppercorn). There are some good websites including http://www.lease-advice.org with the details.
Annette Stone
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Sign Up18:18 PM, 2nd August 2013, About 11 years ago
Interesting comments from everyone as usual. I bought my first ground rent in the early 1970s paying 4 x ground rent and have been investing ever since. The market has changed enormously but there is still a lot of money to be made. This is not, I repeat, not a business for amateurs and if you are buying ground rents which have management devolved as a freeholder's responsibility you have obligations which you either need to be able to deal with yourself or have good management in place.
My firm manage on behalf of a wide range of freeholder, including my own portfolio as well as for private landlords of either small or large portfolios and for lessees who have bought their freehold. . My speciality is the investment side of things adn I I continue to buy both on behalf of myself and also for investors. I also have a professional practise which deals with lease extensions for a number of investors
As far as yields are concerned for good stuff you cannot achieve 10% and as Mark says 5% is more likely. It is a fact that when interest rates are low ground rent returns offer better value but then the prices go up achieving 20 or 25 x ground rent at auction is not lunusual, depending on whether there is the possibility of a management income or if it is straight ground rent.
It is mostly small things that come to market now as many large blocks are bought by their lessees and most new build blocks are bought by ground rent specialists during the development process and the legislation regarding offering lessees the opportunity to buy is circumvented by the "investor" putting money into the development and taking the freehold as his "return"
As far as lease extensions are concerned it is true that you can make a great deal of money on a flat if the lease is short and the ground rent is one which increases at 25 or 33 year intervals. There is a formula for working out the value of a lease extension and even if this comes to Tribunal as a result of a dispute a fair price is set. I deal with many lease extensions each year and always achieve a fair deal for both lessee and client freeholder. There is no question of a freeholder not receiving the full value of his investment; this is a misconception.
If lessees seek to extend their leases when there is more than 80 years left then, again the formula is pretty much set. There is still a very good profit to be achieved and, particularly on modern leases where you can have a starting ground rent of £300 doubling every 25 years (or even every 10 years as I have seen) provides a very good profit when you take the multiples into account.
Of course, all the profit depends on how long you have had the ground rent and how much you paid for it and it is impossible to make generalisations as each case is different.
There is another possibility of profit and this is if you are able to establish any development potential. Recently I worked on getting planning permission to put three flats in a basement area which will give the freeholder an 18% rental return on his building costs.
My advice to the questioner is that if you are considering buying something ether privately or at auction make sure you see ALL the leases and check there are no onerous clauses such as the freeholder having to advance funds for major works. Make sure none of the leases have been extended and if you buy at Auction make sure that the lessees have not exercised their rights
Finally, the comments about cash flow are very important. It is not possible to either fund ground rent purchases or use them as security for loans. I have seen a portfolio worth £8m dismissed as valueless by one of the big four Banks. That having been aid, ground rents work are wonderful as a pension and if you look at ISAs paying around 2% per annum you can make your own comparisons
I hope this is useful
Hope this is helpful. I
Christopher Farrell
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Sign Up18:58 PM, 2nd August 2013, About 11 years ago
Hi Again,
I have just posted and now I see Annette's post.
Thank you, very informative...
...I know who I will be contacting if I decide.
initially I was more interested in them as something for future generations. A few free properties for my grand/great grandchildren (as leases expire) appealed to me. This probably wouldn't be so...
...I would hate to have 8 million in them and the bank class them as worthless.
Perhaps for now better to water the acorn than to value the tree.
Christopher Farrell
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Sign Up18:58 PM, 2nd August 2013, About 11 years ago
Hi all,
Thanks for your comments.
I was looking at ground rents for portfolio diversification. I appreciate it may be hard to want to invest in something which is rather abstract in nature.
I wasn’t, when I posted, aware if loans were available or not for ground rent purchases, hence the post. I was also ignorant of legislation.
I do know that there are many heavyweights (institutional investors) investing very large amounts of money in ground rent portfolios, there are even Ground Rent income funds out there (of no interest to me, I manage my own funds).
In all events, I wouldn’t need loans for ground rent purchases, just to use them as collateral for future loans. Mark has answered this in the first post. As he mentioned, the only reason he doesn’t have a huge portfolio of them personally is the lack of ability to gear up.
If loans were available using a ground rent portfolio as collateral then gearing would apply. I do appreciate there are management issues for them (as there is for property although perhaps more intense on larger ground rent portfolios).
In my ignorance, they initially appealed because of relative stability (no voids, immune to rising or falling property prices, interest rates (which will come eventually) etc. and although you cannot do much with them, 10% (compounded) yields did appeal, and as mentioned, I would probably have no need to sell them (or any property I buy).
I will probably not invest in them, so now I am just acting as Devils Advocate…
I live overseas in Spain, but I am British, and have dual residency, I just don’t have a credit rating because I haven’t worked for many years in U.K., but I will be moving back there on a more permanent basis within a year and property investment (I have family in U.K. already involved) has always appealed to me, and Spain IS NOT the right place for property investment at the moment. With 26%+ unemployment and almost non-existent Govt. help, the housing market (for investment purposes) is to put it mildly rather gloomy. I have friends who have lost almost everything with property portfolios. Rents unpaid, no LHA, unpaid mortgages, repossession difficulties, and properties repossessed etc., a nightmare.
That said, now is the time to get up to 50% discounts on your holiday home if you want one, as I am sure the same can be said about Greece or Portugal.
At this point, I will probably shelve the ground Rent Portfolio idea.
I would have liked to hear something positive about them (from someone who perhaps has invested in them).
Property investing is all about gearing in my opinion. If everyone had to pay cash for property there would be no appeal. The original question was to see if gearing was applicable to Ground rent portfolios and if anyone out there had invested in them, gearing or not.
Sam Wong
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Sign Up5:50 AM, 3rd August 2013, About 11 years ago
Does anybody know what rights are accorded the leaseholder and freeholder when a lease expires ?