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Hi everyone, Back in April I went to my first property workshop event run by Rich Dad Education based on Robert Kiyosaki’s Book ‘Rich Dad Poor Dad’. I was brainwashed into signing up for the 3 day training event which cost £997 and I could bring a friend along too. When I got home I did some research online and realised it wasn’t worth paying £997 as most of the 3 day course was an up sell to buy their their more expensive academy course. So I begun the process of getting a refund back from their sponsor company Legacy Education Alliance (Legacy EA). Their office is in Richmond, London I sent back the book that was given to me at the workshop and as well as the refund form within the 14 day cooling off period. It has been almost 2 months since then I still haven’t got my refund back and I am really angry at the poor customer service and don’t know what steps to take next. I have sent emails and called the lady who deals with refunds but she’s really incompetent at her job and keeps promising I will get my refund this week and then the week ends, I check my account and I still haven’t been refunded. I asked to speak to the management team the other day and the guy on the phone just forwarded the call to the same lady again! This company is holding my money when I am fully entitled to get it back. I would really appreciate your help and advice as to what I should do next. please avoid this company at all costs!

Hi Everyone, I was very interested in an auction property in Salford. I got the legal pack from the agent and arranged for a solicitor to go through it. The next day the solicitor told me that everything was fine with the property except for their being a rent charge on the property. I had no idea what he was talking about. He explained that the rent charge was a remnant of an agreement between Landowners and property developers from hundreds of years ago. Just like we have ground rent on leasehold property, a rent charge was a charge that the land owner put on any property that was built on their land. Apparently, this is still in use mainly in Manchester and Bristol. I was worried that the rent charge would be a hefty sum that would eat into the amount I could charge any tenant and so diminish any profits I could make on the property. However, the some was only £4........... Per Year!! Happy that my the property was still financially viable, in my head I was excited and ready to make an offer. However,!! there was more. The solicitor continued to say that although a small amount of money, I needed to be careful. There is a scam going on with these Rent charges! Yes, a £4 rent charge! The scam is because it is such a small sum of money and paid every year rather than monthly, people forget to pay. Property owners that forget to pay the Rent Charge can find that the Rent Owner ( the person or company that owns the Rent Charge) is allowed to add a lease to their property in payment of their debt. Yes, even if this is just £4! Now, the scam is that to get the Lease off your freehold property, you have to pay whatever amount of money the rent owner suggests. I have not bought this property yet. I wrote this post mainly to find out if the information that I have is correct or if the people that I have spoken to have exaggerated the consequences. Would be interested if anyone here has any experience or advice as to whether I should buy the property or not. I have found out that the property has had a lease put onto it. Removing the rent charge permanently is very easy and not too costly. But you have to know who the Rent Owner is. Even though I have tried to find out who this is, I have reached dead ends. Thanks in advance for your help Chim

Someone that my husband and I know, is in school to become an architect and is leaning how to use a CAD. Here husband just graduated with the same degree but, she insisted that she would do all the work. We needed a layout for a ramp my husband would be building. My husband gave her all of the info to input, and 3-4 different times my husband had to help her recalculate because she had done it wrong. When it was over, she informed us there would be a fee. The fee was calculated based on what the architect she apprenticed under makes per hour. I need your advice as to if we pay her or not. Remember she didn’t say there would be a fee and the fee she decided on was that of a very experienced person...

Hello all. Me and my friend end have been in he process of buying a new build and nearly became victims of the recent spate of developers looking to charge £250 ground rent on the leasehold which doubles every 10 years. For anyone unaware of the problem with this have a quick read of this article from the guardian: https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/money/2016/nov/05/ground-rent-scandal-engulfing-new-home-buyers-leasehold We have been advised by our solicitors to pull out of the deal but are of course hesitant because it is a great location and we are so far down the line. Has anyone any experience with this and can offer any advice? Has anyone managed to buy the freehold? How Much did that cost? Has anyone been able to re-negotiate the ground terms? Thanks very much for all your help! James

So I received this email from Connells the other day. "Dear Landlord RE: Legionella Risk Assessments are now required in rented properties. We would like to draw your attention to recent changes in Health and Safety legislation concerning Legionella. The Health and Safety Executive have published both a Code of Practice and Technical guidance on Legionnaires’ disease, which now brings rented domestic properties into the regulations. This means that as a Landlord of rented properties you now have a legal responsibility for carrying out a Legionella Risk Assessment in order to meet the requirements of this code of practice. In the event of a Legionella incident, this Risk Assessment will provide evidence that you have complied with the HSE recommendations." Those are the first paragraphs and the rest of the email then goes on to explain how they can get it done for £150. What they failed to say is this... "Health and Safety law does not require landlords to produce a ‘Legionnaires testing certificate'. Legionella testing is required only in exceptional circumstances and generally not in domestic hot and cold water systems. Such letting agents and consultants are scaremongering landlords, for financial gain, by misinterpreting and exaggerating the legal requirements to manage and control legionella in domestic premises." That was taken from the NLA website, warning about letting agents scaremongering landlords into paying for this when in most cases it is not required. I was wondering if any other landlords have been getting these emails etc? I plan to respond to Connells asking them to clarify their position on this.

Hi Guys, I currently run my own construction company specialising in large scale high end refurbishments in Central London. I have read a few books and also listen to all the podcasts I can get my hands on. I fully grasp the power of property as it is something I have always been very interested in, but have never had the funds to get involved in. I have now saved up some money in my Ltd Company (Not really enough for London, but could possibly put a few deposits down elsewhere in the country) and would like to get started investing in property with the aim to replace my income over time, and eventually give up my work entirely for a full time property career. There are now three problems at my door: 1) After absorbing so much information I believe I suffer from an affliction which many others before me has encountered at this stage "Analysis Paralysis". 2) Listening to all the successful investors on the podcasts I can see the benefits / importance of having a good mentor to help you navigate your way through the white noise and stick to a path that suits your personal strengths, weaknesses and of course investment risk appetite. If anyone can assist with details of people to speak to, and also people or companies to avoid that will be greatly appreciated. 3) The are so many scams out there, some of which can seem very convincing and is something I'd like to steer clear of at all costs. Please could you let me know of any to avoid. With this in mind I would be very keen to speak to anyone that has managed to overcome these problems. I am keen to learn and endeavour to listen to any advice and take on board anything relevant to my situation and hope to be able to add value to this forum in due course as my knowledge increases. Thanks for taking the time to read this. Regards, Ockert