UK Landlord Forum / Life

Hi
My name is Greg. My story is that I am a full time fire fighter and a qualified sparks. I've got me own place which i live in with the Mrs and 2 daughters.
I am looking to get into a bit of small time property renovation with a view to making a few quid on each one I do. The master plan is to pay my mortgage off in 10 years
I found this forum which hopefully will give me lots of answers and make me a property tycoon overnight
Seriously tho' I am looking forward to being an active member on this site. I live in the Oxford area whichhas serious house prices

Hey Greg,

Welcome to the forums.
Have you looked at any property yet? What is your planned method of purchase? Going through an estate agent, auction?..etc.

At the mo I have just started putting feelers out.
I need to find the best way of financing etc and really know what the pitfalls are.
I am looking for property that is in need of renovating - new kitchen,bathroom etc which I could do mostly myself.
I've found a website which lists such properties and the agents selling.
Early days yet but I AM going to take the jump soon.
So what do I need to be looking for in the way of hidden costs, pitfalls etc
Whats the best way of financing the first project??

Is this thread length going for the record ?

cheers

simhar

email: simhar@talk21.com
web: Properite Landlord Software - http://www.properite.co.uk

Hey all, I'm m00.

I don't have much of a story but have recently decided to jump on the 'property developement' wagon and hopefully build a career out of it.

I have no previous experience so I'm researching my ass off at the moment...

Glad I found this site!

Hi Moo
You're in the same boat as me then. Where about in the country are you?
I'm in Oxford where the house prices are ridiculous

Hey kidneyboy,

I'm in Cardiff at the moment, renting, but may move back to England once the lease is over in Sept. I'm thinking of doing a small project before we leave.

It's good to have someone in the same position... 

Hi,

My partner and me are currently in the process of trying to get on to the property ladder, and would welcome any tips and advice.

Here is a brief summary of our current position.

My granddad has recently inherited a 2 bed- roomed terraced property in the Heaton area of Bolton, for those who don't know Bolton, Heaton is considered to be a sought after area close to local amenities and good schools.

This particular house has been valued between £95,000 and £100,000, however the house is in need of repair, has no double glazing or central heating, but has potential with the option, (according to my granddad) of rearranging the upstairs rooms to allow for a third bedroom.

My granddad has offered it to us for £92,500 (I was hoping for £80,000 to £85,000 lol).  Anyway, the idea is to see if we can get a mortgage, pay my granddad, who will then release funds back to us to do up the house; with the intension of us selling it on, paying back what we owe and hopefully coming away with a tidy profit to enable us to move onwards and upwards.

Sorry if this is a bit long winded but you get the general gist of my intension, so if anyone has any questions or suggestions as to what would be the best step forward, please feel free to ask or suggest.

Thanks 

Hey smooth,

Welcome to the forums. Sounds like you've got a great investment opportunity.

Before doing anything, I would first get a few evaluations for how much the work would cost. Then I would talk to estate agents and get estimates of how much the property would be worth once you've made the changes. Then you'll really be able to tell how worthwhile the project will be!

Are you going to do any of the work yourself, or do you plan on getting builders in?

Hey Fag!

Thanks for the sound advice, we have gone about it the other way around and are trying to find out whether we could get a mortgage would feel bad if we I wasted people's time, but on the other hand your suggestion makes perfect sense.

God this is soooo scary, I'm bound to have re-occurring nightmares if this goes through.

My other half reckons in order to get a mortgage we would need a substantial deposit, to put down, but given we don't even have any savings this will not be possible.

I'm not sure if this would have any impact on our attaining a mortgage but my other half inherited a share in the family home when his mum passed away.  The house is in his name, alongside his father who lives abroad and his two sisters, one of which is currently living in it.

We have discussed maybe releasing equity from the property but after doing our research have decided against it.  Another option is to remortgage it but we honestly don't have a clue weather this would be a viable option, or what it entails for that matter.

Any suggestions!   

In answer to the question about getting builders in or doing the work ourselves, I think getting builders in would have to be a necessity, as we wouldn't have a clue where to start especially when it comes to knocking walls down.  The most we will do is strip the walls, paint, gloss and any other lightweight tasks we could manage.

P.s would it be better if I started a new thread charting our progress with pics of course, although we may not even get past first base if we can't get a mortgage.

Hey,

I would get quotes. You're not wasting anyone's time, afterall, giving quotes is what estate agents and builders do. They know that if they don't offer competitive rates, you'll go elsewhere. Seriously, don't be scared of "wasting time", because it's in your best interest, so you're definitely not wasting time.

If you find out exactly how much profit is there for the taking, you can calculate how much debt you can afford to get into. That's a powerful figure when developing.

Remortgaging and releasing equity would be pretty much the same thing, in your case. You'd ultimately be taking money out of the property and increasing your debt.

If I were you, I would find out how much profit I could make, and then if the figures stack up, get a bank loan. For example, if you find out you can make 20k profit from the development, you could probably afford to get a 10k loan for the development. You may end up paying 2k in interest, but you'll end up with 8k. Minus other legal fees, perhaps you'll end up with 7.5k. These are all vague figures, but you can get an idea of the logic...

Sure, start a new thread, then others will jump in

Hello, Frying Bullet here.

I have been patiently planning an entry into the property development game since, oh, about this time last year. I have a somewhat topsy turvey view of investment - invest when things look bad, move on when things are looking good (I can bang on for ages about why this isn't quite as daft as it sounds). So that would mean that now is the perfect time for property development!

Having said that, I am looking for a simple project to start off (buy, renovate, sell) and enough contingency/profit to ensure that I don't completely lose the plot when the inevitable screw ups happen. I'm convinced that the key to successful property development is heavily dependent on the "buying" bit of the process, so I have been actively looking at properties in my locality since last November.

Just after Christmas, I found a little gem of a property, but after the building survey I discovered it was only amazing in that it continued to defy gravity. The vendor had a lot more faith in the structural integrity of wallpaper than I did, so the purchase fell through. I learnt a lot of lessons about the timing of the elements of the buying process to minimise losses. They were expensive lessons...

I'm now going through the purchasing process on another property. This time, it's a more modern property that I believe I can turn from butt-ugly to presentable (sadly, it's never going to feature in "Beautiful Homes"). Here's hoping!

Cheerio, Frying Bullet.

Sounds good to me 

What kind of property is it ??

I have dreams that my house could be in 'Beautiful Homes' .... however I highly doubt it but a girl can dream .

Oh and

Welcome to the Forum ! We are all really nice ... and yes .

It's a 3 bedroom mid terrace dating from about 1960-sh in a pleasant suburb. It's a previous council property, but the neighbourhood is quite nice - so it must have been housing for posh council tenants (certainly a lot posher than many of the places I have lived!).

It does have a couple of things going against in though - it has an extension that was built by someone who played with lego as a kid and for whom building regulations were something of a mystery. It's got to come down - the challenge is that the neighbours extension which it shares a wall with (and adjoining flat roof) was built at the same time. "Hello, nice to meet you - can I knock your extension down please...Hello? Er ... Hello?"

Another thing is that it is just off the centre line of a runway to an international airport. Generally, planes are quiet at this phase of flight and at about 1500' - but someone scared of aircraft is going to need therapy if they live here. However, this is true of all the properties in the area and yet the prices are remarkably high. Like I said, it is a nice area.

Currently, the plan is to knock down my half of the extension and leave the neighbours in tact - and spend the money I got knocked off for it on the interior and towards my retirement fund. There is a plan B and a plan C which I have budgeted for, but I am running with plan A for now.

Nice to hear from you - seems like a nice crowd here.

Cheerio, FB

Hey Frying Bullet,

Man, what did your neighbour say when you passed on the good news?

That conversation is in the future - I'm waiting on my building survey next week before taking up the subject with the neighbour (which I will do before exchange of contracts).

Worst case - I'll report the matter to the council planning officers and try to get them declare it as a dangerous structure (which it is), but I would rather come to an amicable agreement with the neighbour - there may be ways that we can help each other in getting things sorted.

Besides, I don't like confrontations!!!

Actually, that is a lie - I relish a challenge like this and love nothing better than turning muck to brass.

I'll let you know how I get on!

Cheerio, FB.

Hi new people, your projects sound great,

Moo, i have always thought what the go would be if you brought a place on the English border with Wales and did the refurb using shops and suplies from the Welsh side.  It would be alot cheaper dont you think !.  than from buying from the English side.

I have owned my property very easily with the help of property investors and I hope this help out for many others like me. These days we find very hectic regulations and huge motivations we cannot able to afford the exact time for finding property. So I had a help from the investors and I owned my property very easily.

This is my story:
Hi Everyone!
Do you know Propertyline International?
This real estate agency found me a house like I was looking for, within my prices range. This agency has properties in Cyprus, Portugal, Italy, Turkey, Morocco, Dubai and Egypt.
I can assure you that it's worth it to contact them!
Go to visit their site:
http://www.propertylineinternational.co.uk.
Good Luck in the purchase of your dreams' House.
See U!

Hi I got 5 k i wounder if they will find me something

I am real estate consultor having office in Prague city situated in Czech Republic. If any one want updated information and sales of houses, apartments and buying and selling property investments feel free to contact me.

Hi, My name is Lisa I work for a Property Investment Company in the North East of England I have been working in the property field for 12 years now in the same geographical area so I have alot of experience and knowledge of the areas where I source and sell properties, we also offer a property re-furbishment service and a lettings service so it's all 'in house'.  We offer excellent properties at high yields some of upto 13% and are sourcing properties for other investors in areas where we would only invest in ourselves.  We offer a variety of properties some of 20%+ under market value or properties which require re-furbishment but can be re-financed to release all or part of your initial deposit making most properties no money down deals.  If anyone is interested in investing in the North East of England where property prices are still relatively cheap as low as £45,000 for a 2 bedroom terraced property we can help you.  We can even arrange a viewing trip to the area where we would be happy to meet up with you and discuss your long or short term property strategies.  Feel free to visit our website at www.thecastledenegroup.com 

Hey Lisa,

What kind of rent can you get for a 2 bedroom 45k property?

For a 45k property on a 2 bed terraced property the local council will pay £109 per week which would be £471.97pcm whcih would be a yield of 12.58%.  We are getting properties cheaper but the rents have increased good news for landlords!

Hey Lisa, can you put me and my good buddy Fag up in Newcastle for a week, wine and dine goes without saying, while we cheak out the housing situ up there, lol, Welcome

Do you deal in commercial property as well

Yeah we deal with commercial property and HMO properties.  I can organise viewing trips and take you round the areas/properties to get an idea of price and types of property etc.

im graham,

been lurking round here for a bit. Stumbled across it by accident and seems a great resource. Im a software developer and am a landlord by circumstance. Had my own property since 99 in gosport, met my fiancee who lives in Salisbury, we had a kid and i moved in with her and rented out my place. Only been a landlord since feb this year but would love to own more property or get into redevelopment

I keep seeing amazing properties as well that are prime for redevelopment. Got my eye on a 4bed townhouse with 0.2 acres of land. It is up for auction again in october. currently at £385k (was auctioned in july but didnt sell) im told it is likely to come down to £300k or below. it needs a lot of work, new roof etc.. but a similar property on the same road with less land but in better condition is on the market for £485k!!! Just gotta get that lotto win so i can get the cash to put down a deposit...unless anyone wants to go into partnership? hahaha

Hey Graham,

I'm a web developer and a part-time landlord, and would also like to expand my portfolio! Seems as though we're in the same boat!

I'd love to do some redevelopment projects, but that's a full time job in itself! That's the only problem for me!

It's extremely frustrating when you see an ideal buy, but don't have the means to progress...

tell me about it!! But c'est la vie i guess.

The worst thing is if i didnt have so much debt hanging over me from when i was abit younger and more stupid with money, i would probably be able to finance such projects with the extra money i'd have each month and the equity in my house!!

you live and learn. Im hoping to put my IT skills to some use to make a bit of cash on the side, so we'll see how that goes