In This Issue:

- A Note from John:  Launch of the Rapid Property Mentor

- Feature Article:  It’s getting harder finding deals that Stack Up – Are HMO’s the answer?

- John Recommends: 3 Fantastic FREE Tools!

A Note From John

Welcome to our monthly newsletter, which aims to give tips, advice, help and information to those interested in the BMV Property Investing Market. Whether you are a past, present or future client doesn’t matter – we just hope to add a short burst of information and energy to your inbox once or twice a month. We really appreciate all the feedback from our first issue last month. Please keep it coming.

What a month it has been! Agreed 2 deals locally, had half term, decorated my daughter’s bedroom, had a weekend away in Wales, and went on a HMO course. But the main focus has been on my latest project, which I have been working on for some months now with Robert Clark.

I happened to mention to Robert back in October that I was stopping my 1:1 coaching & mentoring for new investors because I could not keep up with the demand and needed to stop and find a way to help more people. I recognised that part of the solution was that I needed to commit my knowledge to paper as a manual, but I knew there had to be more to it than that. I had to find a way to give new investors the practical hand holding, encouragement, and support they need to put the theory into action. So I asked Robert if he would be interested in working with me on the project.

Five months and much work later, we’re really proud and excited that RAPID PROPERTY MENTOR is ready to launch on 17th March.  As someone said to me yesterday, “It’s like having a property fairy godmother on hand to call on when you need them”.

I have to admit it wasn’t quite the analogy I had in mind but it did make me laugh – and it is true: 10% off Robert’s leads and then ongoing help and support from my team in trying to convert your first five leads (Robert’s leads or otherwise).

So if you or someone you know could do with a Property Fairy Godmother on hand to help get their property business kick started and into ACTION mode then have a look at exactly what’s on offer by clicking here. 

Until next time hope you find the newsletter useful and all feedback is very welcome.

JR

Feature Article

This section is a short article around a topical issue that has come up whilst at Property networking meetings or online at PIPA 300 that many of you are members of:

This issue I ask: It’s getting harder finding deals that Stack Up – Are HMO’s the answer?

As we all know down south this has been an issue for some time with values increasing and rents static. But with Surveyors down valuing it has been getting even harder UK wide. Should actual market values fall as is expected, then maybe the calcs will be easier and expectations of vendors will shift downwards too - but that is certainly not the case at the moment and it makes for hard going when trying to agree a BMV deal.

I have for some time pondered on the pro’s and con’s of HMO’s (Houses of Multiple Occupation or multi lets) as an answer to this problem. It seems the cashflow is definitely there but I have two main reservations:

1. Is it worth the hassle in terms of the licensing that came into play in April 2006?

2. I don’t enjoy being a traditional landlord – surely HMO’s are a horror movie of tenant problems?

This month I went along to Matthew Moody’s HMO Day and am very glad I did (thanks Matthew!)

What I liked is that Matthew explained the different market sectors within HMO’s, examined the pro’s and con’s, and then got us to think about whether HMO’s would suit our individual strategies and investment style. He then went on to share his own experiences, resources and contacts – and is providing ongoing support too. (Not bad from a free course!)

JR CONCLUSION? There is definitely work attached to HMO’s but it can be minimized to make it worth it for the rewards. The licensing is erratic but not as intensive as I feared. Like any property niche, you can focus on the strategy that will work for you – in my case, more upmarket HMO’s for professionals rather than students or immigrants, and the key is buying the right property in the first place. As a result I have amended my 2008 goals to add two HMO’s to my portfolio… watch this space!

John Recommends

Three very quick tips this month!

TIP 1 – FREE tool for saving word docs, web pages or anything you like as an ADOBE PDF file. Go to www.cutepdf.com and download it for free. We use this to save our Due Diligence from web sites into a file we can email to customers or store in our Database. It’s so easy to use. It just adds it like a printer. SO you just choose Print As… and select CutePDF – job done!

TIP 2 - If you use tools like Google maps and Microsoft virtual earth then you’ll love this. www.flashearth.com allows you to flick from one of these tools to the other in one browser window. Brilliant and my favourite price – FREE! Thanks to PIPA member Michael Freer for this one.

TIP3 - Is an easy way to record your telephone calls to vendors so that you can review them later on and improve your technique. It works with Skype which you can download for free at www.skype.com Once you have Skype set up, you just go to the TOOLS menu, then DO MORE menu and select Pamela Call Recording and download the version you want. The free version gives 15 minutes recording time. I went for the Professional version – 19.95 EUROS for a lifetime licence with UNLIMITED recording. Great tool.

About The Property Investor PA

www.ThePropertyInvestorPA.com is a dedicated UK support service for Below Market Value Property Investors. Established in 2006, we specialize in helping you with the time consuming parts of your property business – leaving YOU to get on with doing the deals and running the business. Visit our website to read case studies and testimonials plus download our free brochure.