THE QUESTION

Who would be a good lender for existing B&B properties, with an estimated value of £400k?

THE ANSWER

There are specific commercial lenders that lend on B&Bs.  

With very few exceptions, B&B owners will have run their B&B in a certain way.  Show me a B&B owner and I can give you a very accurate description of them and their business mind-set, a B&B owner avatar, if you like.     

With numerous B&B and guest house finance arrangements under our belt, we know there are, invariably, very big issues getting mortgage on them.  On the face of it, it looks like difficult to almost impossible to finance these properties. But, if you know the workaround to it, it means you can pick them up very cheaply.   

The first thing you need to get from any B&B owner is their last 3 years accounts, because any commercial lender wants to see how much cash the business is generating to support a mortgage payment....

THE QUESTION

I have converted an end-terrace into two flats and these are both listed for sale. The building is presently owned by the Ltd Company as one freehold, unencumbered, with individual leaseholds to be drafted to prospective purchasers once sold.

Whilst I wait for these to sell, what options exist for raising finance towards the purchase of the next project?  What LTV ratios and lending rates could I expect to be offered?  Assuming that any form of traditional bank lending is a non-starter, what type of lenders could I approach?

Having all cash tied up in this one asset obviously results in quite the large opportunity cost!

THE ANSWER

Leveraging your cash into the next deal is the perennial problem for developers and there is a simple answer to your conundrum, but if you are thinking of using a mortgage, forget it, it’s a non-starter.  No mortgage lender lends when they can see the property is on the market to sell.  Nor do they lend when they know...

When you start a career in property your first purchases are often more by chance than planned, but once you’ve caught the property bug it’s important to start thinking ahead.

It’s a fact that people spend more time planning their holidays (and that’s gone really well this year!) than planning their careers!  However, there’s been a long-term survey running that has proven over and over again that the top 5% most successful people in the world have one thing in common - they are driven by goals and follow their plans with dedication.

This means that if you want to be successful, you need some goals, a plan to achieve them and the right mind-set to help you to achieve more easily.

Goals don’t work!

Goals are dreams you’re prepared to take action on - but they don’t happen without a bit of effort. 

Firstly, goals need to be specific.  ‘More buy-to-let properties’ isn’t a goal, it’s not measurable...

THE QUESTION

Is it possible to finance a well below market value property with 100% of the purchase price via bridging - and then refinance the next day to a BTL mortgage? Doing this would you get a true valuation of the correct value when you refinance and not the BMV purchase price?

THE ANSWER

The chances of you borrowing 100% of the purchase price are remote.  The only ways you might be able to do this are:

• To pick the property up 30%+ below the asking price
• Put up a property you own already with little or no mortgage on it as additional security.

There are a few bridgers who will lend on value rather than purchase price and this will reduce, rather than eliminate, the need for a deposit.

For refinance, you won’t get it mortgaged on day one, but you can get it remortgaged within 6 months by using the right mortgage lenders.  However, be prepared to pay more than leading market rates for this.

There is only one way to get it valued above purchase price paid - do...

The biggest challenge for property investors is cash flow.  First you have to have a chunk of cash to get started - and then your cash is trapped in the property you purchase.

If you have aspirations to become a buy-to-let (BTL) landlord, then you need to find a way to build your portfolio - without it taking years.  That’s the route to quitting your day job and being able to live comfortably off your property investments.

Here are three ways to invest make quick profits and get your money out fast.

1: Flip

This means you buy a property and sell it at a profit as quickly as possible.  Why isn’t everyone doing this?  Because some people see it as too risky - but with the right finance strategy, it’s not as risky as they think.

You may refurb a property to improve its value - but some people don’t even do that.  If you can find good bargains at auction it’s actually not that difficult to resell properties at a higher price, even...

It’s not someone who wears designer suits and likes fine wines!  If you’re getting into the property market it can be tempting to get someone with money to invest in your property purchase, to help to get your portfolio moving.  But any joint venture (JV) partner who is investing cash MUST qualify as a sophisticated investor - according to the FCA.

This is also known as Directive PS13/3.

It covers a range of categories of investment - and includes property deals.  So, before you consider getting into a JV, you need to be sure that your potential investor qualifies as a sophisticated investor or falls into one of the excluded categories.

What is an Unregulated Collective Investment?

Any financial deal that offers a split of the profits and, by definition, a split of the losses; and you cannot guarantee that your project will make a profit.

The FCA’s viewpoint is that an unsophisticated investor can’t do an accurate analysis of what is - or is...

THE QUESTION

I’ve managed to secure a 3-year lease option on a large 3 bedroom, 2 reception room house.  It has an annexe attached to the rear, already set up as a studio, which I will SA straight away after mild refurbishing and decorating.

The question is, how do I finance the initial conversion of the house into an HMO with an investor if we are not going to execute the purchase option potentially for nearly 3 years?  It will stack up as all money out on commercial refinance once done to my plans,

I'm wondering do I treat it as a similar scenario to exchange with a delayed completion, do the work and go for the purchase/refinance ASAP with the benefit of not having to have paid a deposit or stamp duty until we actually purchase or do I do a small conversion and run it for a few years first?

Luckily, there is no mortgage on the property; it’s currently owned by a retired couple who are fairly well off.

Basically, how on earth do I present it to an investor...

Have you ever bought a great programme online, sounded brilliant and you eagerly accessed the first module, but life got in the way and you never finished it?

Whether it was an online learning programme, a course of coaching, an ebook (or manual) - with all the secrets and systems you needed to make it work, it’s easy to get ‘too busy’ to actually work through it.  Some people call it procrastination, some people call it laziness, your Mum probably says you never finish anything - but we’re all human.

Regardless of whether you start with the best intentions in mind, any trainer will tell you that if their delegates leave the training course and change ONE THING, they’re doing well.

Change means discomfort; you’ve heard people say it, ‘you’ve got to get out of your comfort zone’.  That’s true, but our subconscious is very, very good at finding reasons why not.  Not stupid or ridiculous reasons, but good...