Newbie property investor seeks advice

Be careful, there are more ways to hold property than in a Limited Company, and there are disadvantages to using a Limited Company as the vehicle to hold your property, as I mentioned before this is not a one size fits all situation.

Jason

Mary
Just a quick question on the use of limited companies-I have been advised not to use a limited company due to complications attached to operating through one, including the issue of finance. Have encountered any problems concerning raising finance?

good luck, but i would be cautious and buy one property with a deposit and a buy to let mortgage, just to dip your toe in the water, go for the middle market, an a good area.gi ve it 12 months to see if you like being a landlord its not for everyone and its not a quick rich thing either, it can be daunting, but its worth it it in the long term

Hi
Hi
'Mortgages for business' were excellent in getting us mortgages, but you pay a fee. You can go direct!
Paragon are great lenders to limited companies and I have always had great rates. There are others as well as and more recently Lloyds TSB!!! Just do some research and see what you come up with, things are always changing on rates and deals etc..
I found it best to keep my own affairs away from the business in the long term, but it might be different for you. A good accountant I use is AIMS, and you dont have to worry anything getting overlooked.

Hi Guys.

A lot of great information listed in the comments I really do appreciate all your replies and advice and I have documented a list of your better points and references to resources which I am going through now.

@Mark - Thanks for your advice. You make a lot of great points and I am still reading through your comprehensive list of URL's. Just to clear up a little misunderstanding I don't live in Liverpool. I love the city and know it reasonably well having spent quite a bit of time their when I was growing up. I am living in Spain but see Liverpool as a good investment opportunity.

I understand how important it is to network with good solicitors / accountants and local tradesman and starting from my position of parity can be quite daunting. I am not phased by this though and will do my due diligence in a methodical manner to achieve my goals. Maybe your next blog post can be trusted tradesman/professionals in Merseyside?

I suppose a typical newbie mistake that I detailed in my first post made would be opting for a maximum rental yield at the expense of location and price point.
This is something I have duly noted. Thanks.

The rental demographics in Liverpool are important to me and the replies in this post clearly outline this to me as a new investor. I am liaising with a local letting agent to ascertain market demand in the local areas.

Do you still recommend the same online letting agent as featured in point 1 of your top 20 list as it would be good compare this service with the local agent I am working with to weigh up the pros and cons?

Thanks for the link on "Landlords Buying Group Insurance" I will be definitely joining this group. Can I join and get a quote for the property's I'm currently looking to buy to see if I can get a competitive price and explore any other benefits?

Are you still recommending the full property management (£14.99) service and what are the disadv/adv over local agents?

I'm also looking into the benefits of joining Landlords Association over at http://www.northwestlandlords.com, wonder if any of your readers have good/bad experiences they could list in this post?

It would be great if any property118 readers could recommend a good accountant/solicitor in the Liverpool area.

@Mary - Mark presumed I lived in Liverpool but as I highlighted above I live in Spain. You offer some great advice in your post and I have take a lot of this on board. I have compiled your best points and put them into my list. Thanks for your help.

@Jason I have sent you an email.

@Vanessa thanks for the resource links I will be moving onto those next, phew!

@john Thanks for the great tips very informative and advice I will take.

@don I am planning to come back over to Liverpool in the next couple of months so would be great to hook up, thanks for the offer. I will contact you before I come to arrange a meeting.

@Elaineinfrance. You never supplied your email address would like to touch base if you dont mind.

Thanks to the community for everything so far

Hi Stuart

OMG that's a lot of questions all in one go!

It is very important to have good local tradesmen. So far as accountants and solicitors are concerned though, location is far less important than dealing with those who advise lots of landlords. There are recommendations in my Top 20 Tips links.

We did attempt to build a testimonials based directory here, hence the name 118, however, Rated People had a far bigger marketing budget than us so we gave up on that idea.

Yes I still recommend the same online letting agents. They are ARLA members and have local people on the ground to do viewings, inventories etc. The advantage they have over most letting agents is cost as they don't have office overheads. Obviously I checked that they have all the right experience and qualifications too but probably 20% of other letting agents in Liverpool could tick all of those boxes too. The disadvantage is that they will not be able to advise you on what or where to buy to the same extent as a local agent which has operated in the same town/City for several decades.

A lot of good points have been raised in this discussion. Just to reiterate a few important issues:
As mark says it is more difficult to mortgage/remortgage through a limited company and there advantages and disadvantages of using one-accountant a must.
As with all lending criteria it is more rigorous, stress testing of Ltv and rental cover being just a few issues.

As a mortgage/residential valuer we look for several issues-the property must be mortgageable, ie have a bathroom and kitchen! It must not be in the process of conversion otherwise it cannot be let , and you won't get a mortgage.

Generally do your homework and speak to several agents to get a general overview.
Maybe try an advert in the local paper and see what response you get!

Auctions are a good source of below market value property but really you need to do your due diligence and proceed with great caution.

I believe the letting market is a good market to be in but it is not for the faint hearted,
Good luck,
Craig Rennolds BSc MRICS

Stuart have you considered buying new build? i built my portfolio by buying new build and getting quite large discounts (new build are slightly over priced anyway) if i were you i would go look round all the new build 2bed 2bath flats in good locations near train station,town motorway links etc.. you will rent them all day long to young proffesionals with good jobs who will pay you every month on time so no need for rental insurance. Also if you check out when the developers year end is this is a good time to ask for large discounts, if you ring up or email the sales director and offer on 3 appartments with a discount of 30% on each you might be surprised! I always started off asking for 30% off and then see what happens you might get 25% or 20% especially if there struggling to sell the remaining plots.

Dont ask the pretty sales lady on site because she is not authourised to give much more away than a 5% discount plus stamp duty paid. And she will probably look at you like your some sort of idiot lol.

As for management you can do that for yourself for free,why use an agent,just use a local agent to find you a tenant and then take over yourself from there.

As for mortgage brokers if they charge you dont use them.they get commision from the lender so why should you pay them as well. there are plenty of brokers that dont charge so look out for that.

I Hope some of that is useful, im not saying how ive done it is the correct way and im sure some people will dissagree but its worked for me. Everyone has there own way of doing things and you just need to find whatever way is right for you. Good Luck!

I would advise it matters NOT how professional a tenant maybe; ALWAYS obtain RGI.
For £99 per year you'd be mad NOT to!

Hello,

Got to know something new, unique and informative in your Blog regarding real estate/property markets, and hope you will continue it in future. Can we expect some real estate marketing ideas based on the global research in your next post?

Have a great day ahead!

Timothy Manning NZ