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SEPTEMBER 2005
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Contact us Feedback & comments Did you know? Lighten up - The rules of Chocolate If you've got melted chocolate all over your hands, you're eating it too slowly. Chocolate covered raisins, cherries, orange slices & strawberries all count as fruit, so eat as many as you want. The problem: How to get 2 pounds of chocolate home from the store in hot car. The solution: Eat it in the car park..Diet tip: Eat a chocolate bar before each meal. It'll take the edge off your appetite and you'll eat less. A nice box of chocolates can provide your total daily intake of calories in one place. Isn't that handy? If you can't eat all your chocolate, it will keep in the freezer. But if you can't eat all your chocolate, what's wrong with you? If calories are an issue, store your chocolate on top of the fridge. Calories are afraid of heights, and they will jump out of the chocolate to protect themselves. If I eat equal amounts of dark chocolate and white chocolate, is that a balanced diet? Don't they actually counteract each other? Money talks. Chocolate sings. Chocolate has many preservatives. Preservatives make you look younger. Put "eat chocolate" at the top of your list of things to do today. That way, at least you'll get one thing done. Suggestion box |
Property and economic update Once again this month the UK housing market has experienced a small decrease. The Hometrack and Nationwide housing market surveys both report small drops of 0.1% and 0.2% respectively. Although these are tiny figures they clearly show a continuing downward trend. According to Hometrack this is the 14th month in a row that prices have fallen. This equates to a decrease of just over 3.7%. Of the 57 Hometrack regions 3 saw prices increase, 21 remained static and 33 showed a decrease. The best performer was Leicestershire at 0.8% with the worst being Avon at -0.6%. John Wriglesworth, Hometrack's housing economist comments: "While there is still little chance of a crash, another housing boom is unlikely for at least the next 3 years. Over the short term sluggish but stable is the most likely scenario". Fionnuala Earley, Nationwide's group economist says: "…the annual rate of house price inflation is now 2.3% compared to 2.6% last month and 18.9% at this time last year. This is the slowest rate of annual growth since May 1996. The price of a typical house in the UK is now £157,310 compared to £153,743 this time last year". So the outlook although disappointing is far from bleak and with supply far in excess of demand, now is a great time to secure a bargain. What's new? We have now moved to larger purpose built offices in Farnham town centre. Situated just a few minutes from our old offices in Borelli Yard, our new offices are around three times larger and will enable us to continue our current level of expansion without space constraints. The new offices now have a large client reception area and a fully fitted client meeting room. Located on the 2nd floor of Gostrey House - a purpose built office complex directly opposite the central car park - access and parking for visitors couldn't be easier. Our new address is:
All other contact information remains unchanged.
Yorkshire - a great investment region According to a recent survey, Yorkshire is still tipped as a buy to let hotspot with rapidly increasing rents, increasing property values and very high yields. The research carried out by Paragon reveals that rents in Yorkshire have risen by 36.7 per cent over the last 12 months and property values in the region have increased by 38.6 per cent in the same period of time. This now brings the cost of an average property in the area to £143, 684. However, despite these increases in property values, Yorkshire remains one of the highest yielding regions in the country at 7.3 per cent. A number of factors contribute to the sustained demand for rented accommodation in Yorkshire. There is the burgeoning student population, with some of the UK's biggest Universities situated in the area. This underpins demand for rented properties and following graduation a large number of students remain in the county as first jobbers looking for shared accommodation with their friends. In addition to this many of the regions towns and cities have become home to an increasing number of ethnic communities. This has created an exciting multi cultural diversity that is attracting people from all across the country drawn by the regions culture, food and arts. If you are interested in investing in this region please take a look at http://www.propertyforlife.com/property/property-available.php?i=20050810140349 We will be sourcing more investment property in this region over the coming weeks, so be sure to regularly check the website and your email for details. "Goals. There's no telling what you can do when you get inspired by them. There's no telling what you can do when you believe in them. And there's no telling what will happen when you act upon them."
"A dream is just a dream. A goal is a dream with a plan and a deadline."
The difference between employees and entrepreneurs In 1983, the Harvard Business School published a paper entitled 'A Perspective on Entrepreneurship' written by Professor Howard H. Stevenson, that defined the differences between entrepreneurs and employees. It is one of the most articulate articles on this particular subject and two areas are particularly insightful. The first difference between entrepreneurs and employees is that employees are resource-oriented whilst entrepreneurs are opportunity-oriented. A person with an employee mindset might say, "I would start my own business but I don't have the money." Or "I'd love to invest in that property, but I don't have the deposit." In both of these examples the person focuses on their resources, in this case their lack of money, rather than the opportunity. In a similar situation, a person with an entrepreneur's mindset might say, "Let's start the business and we can finance the business from the cash flow." Or "Tie up the property and we'll find the money later." I am sure we can all identify with people who, over their lifetime have seen many opportunities, but failed to act on them simply because they were resource-oriented. Instead of taking action, they often say, "I wish I could do it, but I can't afford it." Or "I would go into business for myself, but I need a steady job. I have a mortgage and kids to feed." However, an entrepreneur would say, "If you do not have resources, you need to become resourceful." You must stop saying "I can't afford it" and instead start thinking "How can I afford it?" When we say, "I can't afford it" our minds turn off and go to sleep. When we ask ourselves, "How can I afford it?" our minds, our greatest resource of all, are turned on and put to work. The second difference between entrepreneurs and employees is that employees prefer to manage via hierarchical structures. Entrepreneurs manage via networks, utilising the resources of other people and organisations. This means that employee-type leaders would rather hire people and bring their talent "in-house." While there are economic reasons for doing this, the report stated that the primary reason is control. This is because employees gravitate to a leadership style that is more suited to a military command-and-control type of organisation. Although the entrepreneur style of networks is effective it should be remembered that leveraging the assets and resources of partners is not enough. It's important to choose the right partners - ones who are aligned with your goals and values. Choosing the right partners can make the difference between success and failure. In 1989 the world changed and the Berlin wall came down, at almost the same time the World Wide Web went up turning our world from a world of walls to a world of webs. There are key, fundamental differences between the mindset of an employee and the mindset of an entrepreneur. One of the great things about this world of webs is that the world is now open for business to billions of people who choose to think as entrepreneurs - rather than employees.
How to increase your hourly rate as an investor We have all heard the expression 'time is money'. Without time, there would be no property investors, investors are basically people who make money through time by securing good assets. But how can we value our time as investors? Take a look at the following: If you purchase an investment property valued at the current average of £150,000, assuming that you borrow 100% of its value and also assuming long term annual growth of 8%, yield of 5% and interest of 5% we can break this down as follows: With 8% growth and 5% yield, in the first year you will gain 13% gross.
With £1m worth of property your hourly rate would be £33.65 (£70,000 annually) You get the idea. This hourly rate gets better every year your properties grow in value. Most of us know that a jump in salary £25,000 to £45,000 is virtually impossible. But with property investment it's a lot easier, you just need to purchase a couple more good investment properties. Another way to look at time as an investor is like this: If your net gain is £9,000 a year after you purchase one property, based on the previous assumptions it would be generating £750 per month. Simply by waiting and procrastinating you're practically giving away £750 per month. Just imagine giving £750 a month to your next door neighbour for no particular reason each and every month, would you be happy to do that? Of course not, you'd be mad to. Most people would work for a whole year and wouldn't get a £5,000 increase in their pay, but buying an investment property even with 100% finance, could gain you £9,000 or more each year. It doesn't matter how busy you are, if you spend that much time working every day for the £5,000 increase then I am sure you can find a bit of time to think about how you can get at least £9,000 increase year in and year out. "It is better to be prepared for an opportunity and not have one than to have an opportunity and not be prepared."
"Failure is a part of success. There is no such thing as a bed of roses all your life. But failure will never stand in the way of success if you learn from it."
First time buyers head north First-time buyers looking for the best return on their investment should head north to purchase a home, research claims. The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) said three of the top five property hotspots for first-time buyers were in the north of England, while one was in Scotland and one was in Wales. The group looked at a range of factors to find where the best places for first-time buyers to get on to the property ladder were, taking into account factors which would affect future house price growth, as well as an area's current desirability. It found that Openshaw on the outskirts of Manchester was the top property hot spot for the coming year. It claimed the area was on the verge of an urban renewal, but currently had some of the lowest property prices in its index at an average of £52,690, well below the national average of £183,199. At the same time it has benefited from a recent regeneration scheme and the building of a new hyper market, helping house prices to rise by 14% during the past 12 months, double the national average of 7.3%. RBS is also tipping Teeside in Middlesborough, Ardwick in Manchester, Falkirk in Scotland and Ferndale in Wales. The other places to make it into the top 10 were Kingston-upon-Hull, Blaenrhondda in South Wales, Stratford in London, north central Stoke-on-Trent and Leven in Scotland. The group said buying a home in an up and coming area would enable first-time buyers to benefit from above average house price growth and climb up the property ladder faster. It said first-time buyers looking for an area that would be a good investment should look for places with a house price to incomes ratio that was below the national average, above average house price inflation during the past 12 months and Government funded regeneration schemes.
Six million Britain's would rather rent More than six million Britons would rather rent than buy, according to Alliance & Leicester Mortgages' movingimproving index. The bank finds that nearly half (47 per cent) of those choosing to rent are afraid of the cost of a mortgage. Expense is the next biggest reason for people not stepping onto the property ladder, with around one person in three (30 per cent) believing they cannot afford their own property. Alliance & Leicester adds that another one in five (17 per cent) of those who prefer to rent say a mortgage is too much of a commitment. "It seems the cost of a mortgage is the main reason why many people choose to stay off the property ladder," said Stephen Leonard, director of mortgages at Alliance & Leicester. "Of those who would rather rent, nearly half think a mortgage is too expensive or too much of a commitment. People are afraid that mortgages are unaffordable but the reality is that even though a mortgage is a financial responsibility, it needn't be a burden if people get the right deal to suit their circumstances." So-called 'mortgage-phobia' is most widespread in the south-west, where 64 per cent of those who prefer renting are afraid a mortgage is too much of a commitment and too expensive. The majority of 20-somethings (53 per cent) have the same fears. Residents of the north-east are the least afraid, with the overwhelming majority saying renting is a lifestyle choice and not about fear. But overall, mortgage fears do not get in the way of the public's desire to own homes eventually. More than eight out of ten people (84 per cent) would rather buy than rent, and 97 per cent of people who have taken the plunge feel they have made the right choice.
Need mortgage advice? Maybe you're thinking of buying an investment property, or you need to release funds tied up as equity in your house. Perhaps you just want to find the best mortgage rate for your own individual circumstances and cut your mortgage payments. Why not call our mortgage department today? Our resident mortgage advisers will give you the best possible advice to suit your requirements. Call them today on 01252 737575.
What's available? We currently have the following investment opportunities.
Please go to www.propertyforlife.com/discount_prop.php for full details and look out for more great opportunities coming soon!
Upcoming events Once again we will be exhibiting at the Property Investor Show South taking place at London's Excel exhibition centre from September 23rd to the 25th. As before we have secured a number of complimentary entrance tickets. If you would like one please go to http://www.propertyinvestor.co.uk/london/register.asp and enter our promotional code N497490 when registering. You will then be able to print free tickets with our compliments. Just be sure to drop by stand 515a to say hello. Our MD David Austin will be presenting on each day as part of the shows seminar programme. If you would like to attend one of these presentations be sure to book your seats when registering for show entry tickets. Seminar tickets are charged at £6.
Make some extra money? The 'Property for Life' referral programme is a great way to make extra money. Take a look at the table below to see just how much. If you know of anyone who is interested in purchasing investment property why not refer them to us. It's simple, if they buy you make money, and the more they buy the more money you make. Take a look at our website for full details www.propertyforlife.com/tellafriend.htm
Back issues Remember, you can read any of our back issues by following this link to our web site www.propertyforlife.com. If you missed one, or you want to read that really interesting article but can't remember where you put it, you will find it all here.
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