conrad_paton

Hi Chris, You can buy, refurb and sell after 6 months repeat do it again, but don't be surprised if you cannot buy on a BTL mortgage after 3 or 4 flips. BTL mortgages are for the purpose of renting...hence their name. To be honest, if you are selling after 6 months from purchase, you will have to he very careful if your buyers wishes to have a mortgage anyway, as your property has a high chance of being down valued to your purchase price plus estimated refurb costs only. Flipping is an art! Done well it's beautiful, done badly it's a waste of time. The reality of property development is not what you see on the TV. My 'flips' have been purchase, rent as is it/with tenant/leave empty, evict tenant/wait for tenant to leave, refurb, sell. Usually over a 18 month to 2 year cycle. So what I buy now, I'm starting refurbing in 16 months time or so. I'm currently refurbing now, what I bought in Oct 2017! Some may say this is a crazy but my ROI is minimum of 50% ROI per annum and usually a lot more. https://www.linkedin.com/in/conrad-paton-424446110 Find me here ^^ Conrad

Hello again Christoc, You're very welcome. If you are thinking of making an offer, find and connect with me on LinkedIn and I'm happy to share with you my offer template for investment properties. In essence email, NOT PHONE the agent or auction house with your offer and I'll give you the wording. Even if your offer is not accepted ( I cannot guarantee it obvs), you will shuffle up the estate agents developer call list, when they get another similar property ( this I'm certain of ). https://www.linkedin.com/in/conrad-paton-424446110 CONRAD PATON

Hi Christuc, The simple and only correct answer is will new replacement double glazing increase the value of the property by its installation cost as a minimum? If so put them in. Or to put another way, you have an end/finished valuation of the property? If so, will your buyers be expecting to see new windows for that price? If so, put them in....if you cant afford them, think of things your potential buyers wont be expecting for that price and Dont do that work instead. The only way you are going to know this is if you get quotes to replace the windows etc and do your homework, research and maths. As you havent purchased the property getting quoted may involve taking dimensions of the units you want to replace and telling the glazing companies the sizes. New Upvc windows can vary a great deal in price, from budget casement windows to sash style. Just try and not get the people like safestyle UK round. ( I recieved a quote for Upvc windows once from them for £23k lol!) Hope this helps a bit? Conrad

Hello again David, Dont forget Selco will give you a design consultation for free aswell. The kitchen design person may be able to offer you a discount on the cabinets and doors etc. Its worth a go tbh. I cant comment on the price as I dont know how many units and of what type you are putting in. Here is an example of an unfinished Selco self assembly kitchen with budget Corian worktops in Croydon. Good luck with it all. Conrad

Hi David, You dont say if you are letting after the refurb or selling. I'll assume your selling....... You can save some real money by shopping around for a development kitchen. Trade Builders merchants can be a great source for off the shelf kitchens. I dont know where you live but Selco has a branch near me and you can usually get a discount on the already competitive priced kitchen, as well as any other building materials you may be needing. Try and buy just cabinets, doors, decor panels and matching plinths and cornice etc and maybe worktops from your kitchen outlet. Handles, taps, sinks etc are always cheaper on the internet or ebay. For my developments I have always bought unbranded appliances from the internet/ebay aswell but with the correct spec for the development. Eg. Instead of an expensive Neff induction job I'd buy an unbranded induction hob at a 1/3 of the price. It's still an induction job in the sales particulars etc. Unbranded integrated appliances are great, as by their very nature they are hidden, and so unless you have a particularly fussy potential buyer, the brand (or lack of )is hidden from sight anyway. Specialist worktops, think marble, Corian etc, shop around the internet for. Never buy this stuff from a shop or retailer due to their mark up! Decent looking laminate worktops and up stands should be cheap as chips in your builders merchant but they may not have the a large range. Hopefully you can see the photo of a builders merchant kitchen, coupled with internet accessories that I installed in one of my developments. It shows what can be done on a tight budget. Hope this helps. Find and connect with me on LinkedIn CONRAD PATON

Hi Dennis, Sorry to hijack this thread, but if you are unsure of your end valuations then maybe you should seek advice? Your end valuation of £110k to £150k has a large variation in it of £40k. This is huge compared to your estimated sale price. I suggest you look at the SOLD prices of purpose built flats and terraced houses as these are the easiest to value. This should help get your eye in, for valuations. Practice for a few months, visiting auction properties, checking the sold prices on the auction sites and comparing these to your own estimates. When you get good at purpose built flats and terraced houses, then you can try it with other properties aswell. The difficult ones are the barn conversions and converted flats from strange buildings ( eg small mills) etc that are one offs. I'd advise to stay clear of these until your experience grows. Hope this helps. Find and connect with me on LinkedIn and we can chat more there? CONRAD PATON

Hi Dennis I'm not a broker, but I'll try and answer for lilla. Each mortgage application is based upon it's own merits. Just because you have 4 BTL mortgages doesnt mean you will automatically get a 5th. Applications start from scratch so 3 months bank statements, etc all over again for each application. The larger your portfolio of investment properties the more reliant you are for rental income and the more exposed to risk from property market downturn, and rental fluctuations you are. ( in the opinion of some/most lenders). Expanding your portfolio, particularly if you do it quickly, with or without a job requires more effort from the mortgage broker as the availability and lendering criteria for each mortgage lender alters as your portfolio grows. Some lenders restrict how many BTLs you can have with them, some restrict the total value you have borrowed, some do both. etc etc. A BTL mortgage is a given right. Its not automatic even if you think you and your property meet all the criteria. Hopefully this explains some of the question. I'm sure there may be more reasons aswell that I am not aware of. Find and connect with me in LinkedIn CONRAD PATON

Hi Zoopla's online valuation is a gimmick. For accurate valuations you need direct comparable sold properties within certain distances and timeframe than the one you are valuing. Just like the mortgage values and estate agents do. Hope this helps Conrad Paton

Hi Paddy, Why invest in property? What's your motivation and goals? And dont worry, nobody knows everything here or elsewhere for that matter! So building a great team around you is a sensible choice. Work out your goals and seek out a great mortgage broker (I assume you want/need one) and see if they can work with you. Finance and figures count more than bathrooms and kitchens in my book. It's fairly easy to source a bathroom fitter, but less easy to arrange the best finance to pay them. Keep us posted CONRAD

Different company. www.landlordadvice.co.uk is who I have used in the past or just search 'landlord advice uk' Conrad

HI Simon. Yes I have done this, purchased a flat in Croydon with 72 year lease, extended lease and sold. I got 109% return on my investment over 4 years. It works, but you must must must do your homework. You cannot convince a surveyor that the value has increased however. You can try your best, but mortgage surveyors value property a little differently to what you expect. They also work within the limits of their valuation insurance so will never over value something. I doubt whether the increase in lease term will have any effect on the value of the flat for remortgage purposes anyway. The flat's lease length makes it perfectly mortgageble as it is I believe. Why not tell us more about the flat itself, is it purpose built, or a conversion? If purpose built how many other flats are in the block or post code the same as yours? If you in a large estate with lots of identical flats or a one off building? These things matter more than you think. If you are renting your flat does the uplift in capital value still hold out agaisnt rental income in relation to remortgaging with a buy to let. Your rent (amongst other variables) dictates how much you can borrow. I sold my flat in Croydon because it's rental value couldn't keep pace with its capital growth without substantial cash investment, both into the flat itself and the building it was converted from, so I sold up and cashed in. There is no right and wrong answer to your question. Yes you can make £10k equity but this could take over 2 years to achieve. You have to do more homework or come back here with a lot more detail. I do hope this helps and I wish you luck. Find and connect with me on LinkedIn CONRAD PATON

Hi Matt, WELCOME. Where are you looking and what's your budget? If you post up where you are looking then the hub community may give you pointers on what properties to buy and what to expect in terms of yields and/or markets. Local knowledge can sometimes be very helpful. Dont be shy to ask for the more technical stuff either, mortgage advice, taxation and conveyancing questions are all part of the investment process so ask away. CONRAD PATON

Hi Makort You will have to enquire with your mortgage lender but I doubt they will agree. You would need to submit a tax return for your rental income. Hope this helps CONRAD PATON find me on Linkedin

Hi Sally, Be careful here. No AST in place could be trouble if the tenant has been there for a long time. Do you know when the tenant moved in?You could be buying a property with sitting tenant with rent terms unknown? Not disastrous, but you must know the date they took occupation of the flat. My best advice would be to call Landlord Advice UK in Crawley. They are a firm of solicitors that only deal with landlord/tenant issues. These guys are the best and will answer your question over the phone for no fee! Instead here on a public forum you'll get many public opinions...some good...some not so good. I have no affiliation with Landlord advice UK. I have used them in the past. I do not get paid a recommendation fee of any sort. Find and connect with me on LinkedIn though CONRAD PATON

Ohhh....I'm watching this thread closely lol