It’s easy to get frustrated in this game. I’ve written about it before and I know countless friends and other investors who feel the same way.
Property can be S-L-O-W!
But it is great no matter what. And I do know one or two very special investors who somehow manage to constantly do LOTS of deal, so it’s not slow for them.
But for us mere mortals who can only do one or two deals at a time. All our focus is on that one specific purchase. So a delay can be quite soul destroying.
So, it’s been a good week for me. The 4 flats deal in Southampton has made some progress. I’ve switched to a commercial loan on this one. It was just getting too hard to convince a BTL lender how it would fit their strict criteria. And the commercial lender has been very flexible so far. This week we’ve been focusing on valuations. 4 separate flats with 4 separate tenants, it was never going to be easy to get access to them all. And so it has proved. We’ve been at it for a fortnight and we’ve now got into to 3 out of the 4. And the final one is booked for Monday next week. Hurray! I’m going to remain positive and say that after that it’s all going to be plain sailing once that’s done. And then we should be near the finish line. I have a Property Boardroom meeting mid-August and I’m hoping to have it all sorted out by then.
And, the property I have been refurbing is now starting to come good. All the major work has been done to re-design the heart of the property and create 1 new bedroom and a bathroom, and completely strip back the other bedroom to brickwork and start again. The kitchen’s not in and with the lounge still looks like it’s out of the 1960′s but I figured it was time to get the valuer out. So that was sorted out a fortnight ago and was dragging, dragging, dragging. But more good news and yesterday I got a call from the valuer who had finally been instructed by The Mortgage Works to come and take a look. He call me in the afternoon and was very keen to get it done today – that’s what I call fast service! So he came round this morning and all seems well. I put £130,000 as the value on it, a number which I had calculated prior to the re-introduction of the stamp duty limit at £125,000. So we’ll see if it stands the test. He seemed to agree with me about the figure, if not exactly, then at least ball park. So I’ve got my fingers crossed for a good result on this one. And I’ve gone for TMW 80% LTV product so it should all work out nicely.
I can’t wait to hear from my broker. I’ll keep you posted …
And we’ve managed to agree the next date for our small, select group of Southampton Masterminders to meet up and share goals, ideas and enthusiasm about where we’re going and how we’re forging ahead towards financial freedom!