Alex Liebenberg

This sounds like a sensible approach. Originally, I only wanted to invest in property for my retirement, but have been dabbling in S&S via those apps like Freetrade over the past year, it got me thinking about doing it through a company like HL or Vanguard. Does anyone have any particular companies they invest through? Looking at doing a SIPP as well as something like an S&S ISA , any information would be helpful, its a minefield?

Hi felllow hubbers! So we are purchasing our second leasehold property and would like to know what level of landlord insurance people normally take? Reason I ask is we do get building insurance through the 'landlord' right, by paying service charges, and if you do not really have 'contents' or are willing to just replace things, do we really need it for anything else? Could be a completely silly question, but just wondering before we add the second property to our current policy? Thanks so much! Alex

Hey guys! I have used 2 property sourcers before, one charged just under £5000 and did absolutely everything from finding the deal, and working with brokers/solicitors etc. The other one simply gave me the deal and was around £2500. Hope that helps. Cheers

WOW thanks for your responses! This will keep me busy for a while And thanks for the offer DerekT but I mostly audiobook em or read on my Kindle ....

Hi Jase, So done a bit of both really, if you read my response to Lilla. Feeling confident about the next city centre one I am buying and the value going up for the next 2 years to build up some nice equity, and then at least I wont have 2 remortgages coming up in the next 2 years at the same time All the best!, Thanks

Hi Lilla Thanks for your response! Re the arrangement fees, I have not actually considered paying upfront, I would think that it would work out more expensive over the 2 years, may work out over 5 years though. In the end, I decided to go for a 5-year fix (without a fee) as I am taking out some equity and just want to leave that one now (if I take out any more without the rent going up, the ROI will look terrible). I am purchasing another city centre one in Sheffield and decided to go 2 years on that one as I foresee a lot more growth in that area so feel confident taking a 2 year. Guess I still have the option of a further advance or a second charge for the 5 year fix, depending on all the variables, rates, rent etc. Thanks again for your comments, very much appreciated

Hi there, So I have read or listened to many of the great titles suggested on the Hub and just wondering if anyone can recommend any other titles? Any topic is good, just as long as its gripping! Cheers, Alex

Hey Fellow Hubbers! So my property in Sheffield is coming up for remortgage now and I am trying to decide whether a 2yr or 5yr is best. This is my first property and the first remortgage, so just interested in what people normally do. I know it depends on your goals, and for me, it’s maximise cashflow and pull out as much equity as possible to reinvest. I do like the idea of knowing what I will pay for the next 5 years but as I am only at the beginning of my property journey feel I need to be a bit more aggressive and recycle my deposit to get that snowballing rolling. So my thoughts are that rates will not go up too much over the next 2 years (according to economists but who knows with Brexit yawn), so I could do a 2 year and then a 5 year to lock in a lowish rate. I could also potentially just take a 5 year and then get a further advance or second charge mortgage to run alongside it if there is substantial equity. The 2 year would improve my monthly cash flow by about £30. The other thing is those pesky arrangement fees, sure they give you better cash flow the higher they are but your mortgage ends up getting bigger and bigger, what are your thoughts on this? I know that it may look cheaper paying the arrangement fee, but you will be paying interest on that fee for the life of the mortgage right! Any advice would be greatly appreciated! If you need any other info to give me a better answer, please ask  Cheers, Alex

Hey Fellow Hubbers! So my property in Sheffield is coming up for remortgage now and I am trying to decide whether a 2yr or 5yr is best. This is my first property and the first remortgage, so just interested in what people normally do. I know it depends on your goals, and for me, it’s maximise cashflow and pull out as much equity as possible to reinvest. I do like the idea of knowing what I will pay for the next 5 years but as I am only at the beginning of my property journey feel I need to be a bit more aggressive and recycle my deposit to get that snowballing rolling. So my thoughts are that rates will not go up too much over the next 2 years (according to economists but who knows with Brexit yawn), so I could do a 2 year and then a 5 year to lock in a lowish rate. I could also potentially just take a 5 year and then get a further advance or second charge mortgage to run alongside it if there is substantial equity. The 2 year would improve my monthly cash flow by about £30. The other thing is those pesky arrangement fees, sure they give you better cash flow the higher they are but your mortgage ends up getting bigger and bigger, what are your thoughts on this? I know that it may look cheaper paying the arrangement fee, but you will be paying interest on that fee for the life of the mortgage right! Any advice would be greatly appreciated! If you need any other info to give me a better answer, please ask  Cheers, Alex

Hi Jai! Try contacting Charles Louis mortgage brokers, they are very resourceful and if you had any chance, the would find it! Cheers

Hi James, This website has everything you need, the podcasts, courses, and forums. I started from scratch and with the help of propertyHub and their services, I now have 2 properties and it's going well so far and I am on course for the next one. Any questions you have can be answered here. You can also go to the meetups the arrange once a month and chat with investors that are more experienced than you. I hope that helps mate!

Hi PMC79 Go for it! I have had a ground floor flat for many years and never had a problem renting it out. Julia is quite correct, there are definitely certain tenants that prefer being downstairs, the older or less able, parents with children and those who just want an easy move, which always makes a better tenant than the young trendy 'I want a top floor rooftop garden' type who may also want to move after 6 months as they are bored! Regarding the safety aspect, that is probably true, but maybe don't buy in an area of you are concerned about that anyhow.... If the numbers work, the fundamentals are there, and it's a good flat, go for it. Hope that helps!

Hey Fellow Hubbers! So my property in Sheffield is coming up for remortgage now and I am trying to decide whether a 2yr or 5yr is best. This is my first property and the first remortgage, so just interested in what people normally do. I know it depends on your goals, and for me, it’s maximise cashflow and pull out as much equity as possible to reinvest. I do like the idea of knowing what I will pay for the next 5 years but as I am only at the beginning of my property journey feel I need to be a bit more aggressive and recycle my deposit to get that snowballing rolling. So my thoughts are that rates will not go up too much over the next 2 years (according to economists but who knows with Brexit yawn), so I could do a 2 year and then a 5 year to lock in a lowish rate. I could also potentially just take a 5 year and then get a further advance or second charge mortgage to run alongside it if there is substantial equity. The 2 year would improve my monthly cash flow by about £30. The other thing is those pesky arrangement fees, sure they give you better cash flow the higher they are but your mortgage ends up getting bigger and bigger, what are your thoughts on this? I know that it may look cheaper paying the arrangement fee, but you will be paying interest on that fee for the life of the mortgage right! Any advice would be greatly appreciated! If you need any other info to give me a better answer, please ask Cheers, Alex

Nope, it's quite a common strategy to generate some cash without putting a lot of money down here in the UK. I have a friend who does it and I was considering it, but to be honest, never went for it in the end. The returns are good, but its very time consuming, so I stuck with regular buy to let

Hey Paul, So in the end, I got in contact with the solicitor who helped us with the purchase originally, we had a look through our lease agreement and low and behold there was a clause that stated that they could charge us no more than the reasonable sum of £40 plus VAT. From there it was simple, emailed it over to them and they agreed to lower the fee to that and that was that. Lesson learnt though, make sure there is a clause in your lease agreement for this before purchasing a property, I got lucky, but it could have been pretty expensive otherwise. Best of luck, let me know if you need anything! Alex