THE QUESTION

Any tips on getting the highest valuation for a property you want to mortgage?

THE ANSWER

It helps to know that any surveyor's mindset when asked to value a property purchased a few months previously will be to value it at the purchase price paid, unless given compelling reasons not to.

When they arrive at the property they will be focused on the purchase price paid; your success in getting the highest valuation will be determined by how much you are able to shift their focus.  Here is what I teach on my workshop on this subject.

• You need a works schedule, but that in itself is not enough; it needs to be as detailed as you can possibly make it, think of what a Quantity Surveyor would produce. It also needs to be uncosted.
• You need to provide before and during photos.  The surveyor has to be given visual evidence of the scale of the work you have undertaken.
• You have to 'dress' the property. If it is already tenanted it will have that lived in look, but if it...

THE QUESTION

What the difference is between a commercial loan and a regular BTL mortgage is and what are the pros and cons?

THE ANSWER

BTL mortgages are usually where you start, commercial mortgages are usually where you end up. If you are just starting BTL lenders are your natural choice. Generically, the differences are as below.

BTL lenders have many tick box criteria, commercial have many less.

BTL lenders ideal borrower is:

• Employed
• Earning £25k+ pa
• Owns only a few properties
• Is willing and able to put down a 25% deposit which is their own (not anyone else's) cash and happy to leave it in the deal.

Their ideal property is a single let, max 5 bedrooms. They are happy to lend to first time landlords, but almost none lend to first time borrowers.

Commercial lenders are happy to lend to full-time landlords, but not exclusively so.

• They don’t lend to first time landlords, minimum 12 months letting experience is required.
• They lend on all the properties BTL lenders...

THE QUESTION

I've purchased a property (exchanged contracts already) that is currently let to a charity.

The charity, as I understand it, then put young adults who have recently come out of care into the property (either on a sublet or license I'm not sure at this stage).  It’s on a corporate tenancy agreement (i.e. just a common law tenancy not an AST).

Are there any lenders that allow this? Most want ASTs and the ones that I can find that allow corporate lets seem only to allow the company to then place one of their own employees in the property.

I did want to purchase this with a mortgage, but looks like I will have to use cash. I can give the charity notice a couple of months after completion so that I can get a buy-to-let mortgage, but it seems a shame to get rid of a tenant that is likely to be there for a long time so I could do with finding a mortgage lender that will allow all of the above.

THE ANSWER

There’s no need to get rid of a good tenant,...

THE QUESTION

I own two properties outright – both have tenants and yield 9.5% of their £85K (each) value. I've owned them for four months they have been let for two months. I have no proof of income as I've just started doing this full time. Can I BTL remortgage these at a competitive rate anywhere, or do I need to wait six months and go through TMW?

THE ANSWER

The wider issue here is that you can buy properties for cash, with all the advantages that brings, but you don’t want to then wait six months plus before you can repeat the process. If the mortgage lenders that give you the best rates require that you own the properties for six months before you can apply for a mortgage, you are missing out on potentially lucrative deals because your cash is trapped in these properties.

You have a defined chunk of cash and it is big enough to buy properties outright, as you have bought two worth £85k each (I’m not sure if you paid £85k or if, now you have...

I am looking to buy a house to multi-let, but the house I've identified comes with an elderly long-term tenant on a long term contract. Can I serve notice for the tenant to leave or does a long term tenancy come with regulations to stop me doing this?

THE ANSWER

This sounds like a pre-1988 Regulated Tenancy. If it is, that is a lifetime tenancy, with possibly the right to pass the same agreement down to the next of kin.

You have zero chance of serving notice and any court will back the tenant 100% if you do.

Tenants like this, or those around them, have a highly developed awareness of the value of their tenancy. One such tenant in a central London flat was reported to have refused £500,000 in cash to give up the tenancy.

You have zero chance of borrowing any money to purchase it either, as no lender will touch it with a bargepole due to the tenant and their rights of occupancy.

This type of property has long been the preserve of affluent cash buyers. These properties...

THE QUESTION

I have seen a great property I want to buy but I cannot decide if I should buy it for cash then refinance it once it is refurbed, or borrow to purchase it. I have the cash to buy outright, but I am worried that, by tying up all my cash in a property I will not be able to buy another property during the period I am waiting to remortgage it, if I found a really good one.

THE ANSWER

If you can fund a deal with cash, you should; that way you have zero borrowing costs.

Investors are often reluctant to do this on the basis that tying up their cash in one deal takes them out of the game if and when other juicy deals come along whilst they are waiting to remortgage to release their cash.

This is impaired thinking. I teach that, whilst you are in that limbo period, you can buy your next deal without any hard cash at all -- by intelligently using bridging finance, like this

1. A bridger will lend 70% on the next property (let's call it B) you want to buy
2. They will also lend up to...

THE QUESTION
I own outright two properties, which are rented out; both are worth £85K and both yield 9.5%. I've owned them for four months they have been let for two months. I have no proof of income as I've just started doing this full time. Can I get a BTL mortgage for these properties at a competitive rate anywhere, or do I need to wait six months and go through TMW?

THE ANSWER
The wider issue here is that you can buy properties for cash, with all the advantages that brings, but you don’t want to then wait six months plus before you can repeat the process. If mortgage lenders (the ones that give you the best rates) require you to own the properties for six months before you can apply for a mortgage, you are missing out on potentially lucrative deals because your cash is trapped in these properties.

As you have bought two properties worth £85K each you already know that being a cash buyer allows you to close deals fast, to negotiate harder, to buy unmortgageable...

THE QUESTION

I have a BTL property owned for 3 months which has 2 years ERC on it so I don't want to remortgage, but can I use the property as a security to buy another refurb property.  The property was originally purchased on a 75% LTV BTL mortgage, but has been re valued after refurb works and is now at 57% LTV.

Ideally I want to get on with buying and refurbing another property which would be a buy to sell; I have the finances for the refurb, but not the deposit. The properties I am looking at are low value ballpark PP 65-70k and the deposit I am looking for would keep the security property around 70%-75% LTV.

THE ANSWER

If you want a bridger to lend on a second charge basis they will go to 65%, less costs. So the most you will get is 8% less costs.  Based on your figures, you won’t be able to release enough for the deposit.

However, there is another way to structure this. Use part of the money for the refurb for your deposit instead and then use a bridger...

THE QUESTION

With regard to mortgages and HMOs if you buy a house using a BTL mortgage, with a no Early Repayment Charge can you then convert the property to an HMO and swap the mortgage over to an HMO mortgage?

THE ANSWER

Great strategy... if you want to get yourself blacklisted by No ERC mortgage lenders!

These lenders get really annoyed at being used as surrogate bridging lenders. They don't offer no ERC mortgages so borrowers can redeem them in 6 months; despite what is taught on property training programs. Looks like I am myth busting again!

If you doubt that, just give them a call and layout your proposal to them and see how keen they are to lend.

If they catch any borrower intentionally using them as a bridging loan, they blacklist them; and usually the broker who submitted the case. The only reason blacklisting is not more prevalent is that these lenders IT systems are not yet sophisticated enough to flag up serial early redeemers.

Every mortgage you...

THE QUESTION

What happens if you don't complete on time when buying at auction?

THE ANSWER

When you bid for a property and your bid is accepted you have made a commitment to purchase; to all intents and purposes the property has been sold to you and you will have to pay a 10% deposit at the point of sale.  If you fail to complete by deadline date, the vendors solicitor will give you a Notice to Complete; usually a further 10 days in which to complete the purchase. That is effectively your last warning, your yellow card.

You can be charged a daily rate of interest from the deadline day onwards, so the clock is now ticking and having a direct impact on your bank account!

At the expiry of that notice period the vendor can withdraw from the sale and retain your 10% deposit as you failed to perform. That is your red card.

The vendor retains the right to claim further costs from you, for instance, if they subsequently sell it for a lower price that you contracted to pay.

Most...