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Posts Tagged ‘deal’

Who Says January Is A Quiet Month In Property?

Tuesday, February 16th, 2010

Some say January is a quiet month in property.  Well not for me it ain’t!

I’ve been working on a few deals through the end of 2009.  Here’s a quick run down …

4 properties all in the same complex.  These came to me one at a time but I’ve ended up with all 4 and they’re all great little renters.  All currently tenanted earning a nice income.  The vendor has owned them for a couple years, maximised the use of the plot (by extending out the back to create two new properties) and now he wants to cash out.  He wants his money and I’m happy to oblige and get 4 good properties earning cashflow from Day 1.

Another block of 4 – this time a new build.  This is an interesting lease option deal on a property that has been converted into 4 falts from a detached family home.  Good terms for me (payment of £300 pcm for a property that rents out at £650) but short timescales on the option (6 months) so the vendor gets his money quickly.  Fair enough I say.  These are great to hold or to sell on, either to investors or owner occupiers.  And I’ve already found my first tenant buyer so at least one will be a sandwich.  I like these, so I think I’ll hold on to the rest.

Then the tricky one …  This deal has been jumping in and out of bed.  Another 4 flats  – these all exist on a single leasehold title.  The developer who refurbed them all to a nice standard with lovely open plan lounge / kitchen areas is going into administration and the bank are looking for a buyer with cash who can move quickly.  There’s a bit of a discount in it but at the moment the sticking point is the price.  I put a great bid together at £320,000, but they are looking for £360,000.  Whether or not we can work this one out … only time will tell.

And finally, I’ve found a builder to do the refurb on the purchase I made in November of last year … so I need to get that underway now.

So, all in all, I don’t think it’s been a quiet month for me at all.  And here we are, Valentine’s Day passed already and well into February.

Here’s to a full house and achieving all of the above – 3 out of 3!

Your Property Deal Ain’t Over Till It’s Over

Thursday, August 20th, 2009

Until your deal is done it’s not a deal and it isn’t done.

Anticipate every problem you can think of, plan for the worst and don’t be surprised if you’re surprised.

Let me explain …

I’ve been doing one particular deal since January. It’s August now and it’s still not done. And once we complete I’ve got a 3 month refurbishment to do. So all in, I’ll be lucky if I get this finished in 12 months start to finish.

Now it’s a great deal and I don’t want to pull out so I can be patient, but boy does ‘being patient’ take a long time! And it takes LOADS more time than I ever imagined.

Guess what’s caused the most recent problem …. yep you guessed it, finance! It’s been going so long my mortgage has expired, and after 2 extensions the lender has lost all patience (and to be honest I can’t really blame them!).

That doesn’t account for the 7 month delay. There have been lots of other reasons, it’s just the latest. But add them all up and it’s pretty costly. I’ve had the money ready for this deal all that time and it’s sat there doing nothing.

I could have bought another place, refurbed it and got a remortgage in the time it’s taken this one so far!

The lesson … don’t ever expect the deal to get done until it actually is. It’s a good job I can afford to wait. And until it’s done, don’t under any circumstance expect the return or any money from it. Don’t expect anything, and never need a deal to go through. That starts to get dangerous!