Just before we get into it, I forgot to mention that we had the third Birthday of The Property Voice Podcast mid-way through the PropTech series; three years and approaching 150 episodes of the podcast...isn't that something?
Now that we have completed the PropTech series, I thought it would be a good time to share some of what has happened in my world as an active property investor and developer over the past six months. Anyway, without any fanfare at all, let's hear about deals completed and projects under way in three countries, plus the odd bit of gazumping and changing tack for good measure, as I share the diary of a property investor since January.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Resources mentioned & used
Save Time, Save Money & Make Profit in your property deals with the Property Deal Tips service from The Property Voice
Link to the Podcast feedback survey
Today’s must do’s
Don’t forget to check out the new Property Deal Tips service to help insure you have great return on investment properties in your portfolio.
Do you fancy 'looking over my shoulder' on one of my projects to Earn & Learn at the same time? If so, check out the Investment page on our website for some background there.
Subscribe to and review the show in iTunes…and while you are at it please help us to spread the word by telling all your friends too!
Send in your property stories, questions or moans to podcast@thepropertyvoice.net and we will try and feature YOU on the show too!
Property Investor Toolkit – here is the book link on amazon.co.uk & amazon.com
Get talking!
Join in the discussion, either here in the comments section below, or by emailing us at podcast@thepropertyvoice.net
Start a conversation on Twitter with us @PropertyVoiceUK or on our Facebook page
Transcription of the show
Hello and welcome to another episode of The Property Voice podcast. My name is Richard Brown and, as always, it’s a pleasure to have you join me on the show again today.
However, just before we get into it, I forgot to mention that we had the third Birthday of The Property Voice Podcast mid-way through the PropTech series; three years and approaching 150 episodes of the podcast...isn't that something?
Now that we have completed the PropTech series, I thought it would be a good time to share some of what has happened in my world as an active property investors and developer over the past six months.
Anyway, without any fanfare at all, let's hear about deals completed and projects under way in three countries, plus the odd bit of gazumping and changing tack for good measure, as I share the diary of a property investor since January.
Property Chatter
My last 'diary of a property investor' update was back in January, where I talked about the shopping expedition over the Christmas / New Year period.
In that update, I referred to 3 new acquisitions, progressed as follows:
Penthouse apartment in Rio - the project is well under way, we taking it back to brick, adding an extra bedroom and putting it all back together again rather lovingly. We completed on the purchase in February and will finish the works programme on this one in September. Once finished, we will complete this as a holiday rental property. There is an intro video floating around on this somewhere, which I shall provide a link to in the show notes if you would like to see it.
Video links to this holiday rental project in Copacabana
Copacabana 1
Flip project in South Yorkshire - this completed in February, the works are under way, with an estimated handover date in next 8 weeks or so. I have brought in a couple of Earn & Learn partners into this project. So far, the learning is around finding and negotiating the deal, appointing a reliable project manager, scoping out the works, dealing with asbestos safe removal and finding ways to add value within a limited budget and within the context of limited local ceiling prices. In this case it will have a new open plan lounge / kitchen / diner that opens out onto a newly decked area with an updated fenced off and secure garden...appealing to families.
Flip project in Kent - This was also completed on at the beginning of February and we had to change direction from flip to BRR, due to a mix up with what was to happen with the sitting tenant, mixed up with my soft heart of course. You can read a little about that story in my column in YPN magazine's April edition or just drop us an email asking to receive the password for our subscription-free access to all of my personal YPN articles if you don’t subscribe to the magazine. Essentially, the moral of the story is that everything agreed on a sale should be put in writing and channeled through your solicitor.
Needless to say, the work has been completed now and we are awaiting refinancing. I had an option to refinance after around 4 months on this one but the better options become available after 6 months of ownership, so next month we start the refinancing process in earnest.
Other projects
Bungalow flip in Cambridgeshire
Since the last update, I have also agreed to purchase a Bungalow in Cambridgeshire, which I plan to refurb, remodel, extend and then resell. This is going to be another Earn & Learn project with a couple of 'over the shoulder' property investment students observing how I go about things on my projects. One very unusual fact about this particular project is that the vendor was sent to prison after I agreed to purchase the property! Besides access and authority issues, there are also some proceeds of crime and anti-money laundering minefields to cross before we complete on this one. All very interesting isn’t it?
Once we actually get to complete, it should take around 9 months to get through the project and out the other end with cash back in pocket.
Commercial to Residential Conversion - Midlands
Then, I have recently managed to buy a commercial building in the Midlands with existing planning permission to convert into 9 flats and an office. I am also looking at splitting the title on this one to create an additional plot capable of housing two more terraced houses. I might open this one up as another Earn & Learn opportunity to a small number of people, it’s still early days but do drop me a line if you want to hear more on this commercial to residential conversion project. There are also some videos of the building and my plans for it, which again I will include the links to in the show notes for you.
Video links to this project and my plans for it:
Coronation Court 2
Coronation Court 4
Midland - HMO conversion option agreement
I also have an option agreement, secured subject to gaining planning approval, on a potential HMO conversation project again in the Midlands. Option agreements are a good way to protect the purchase, whilst going after planning approval. My only risk is then the cost of the planning application rather than having to buy the property only to fail to get planning on it after all.
Edit: HMO Conversion completed in the Midlands
I forgot to mention the fact that I had also completed on the conversion of a 7-bed all ensuite HMO conversion in the Midlands! This one required planning permission, making it HMO license compliant and also a decent chunk of cash to complete the conversion project. This resulted in a high-end property for the area, including all-ensuite bedrooms, a communal kitchen, lounge and dining area (I would have dropped one of these for an extra bedroom if I could get it through planning though), soft furnishings, wall art and good quality furniture and appliances, high-speed data connection points in all rooms, free Netflix subscription and so on. The result being that all rooms were let within 2 weeks without being advertised! So, that was a decent result. I am now refinancing this property.
More USA projects
I was also working on a couple of projects in the USA. One was a multi-family home in Chicago and I am also close to completion on a single-family home in Florida. Then, I have supported my business partner in the acquisition of a high yielding, affordable home in Ohio, which comes with simple vendor financing to make that essentially cashflow neutral for the next 5 years before being totally debt-free thereafter. If you want to know what I’m doing in the USA and why, just drop me a line and I will share more.
I did get rudely gazumped by Platform Home Loans, a member of the Co-operative...you know, the 'ethical bank' on another flip project I was a hare’s breath away from completing...in the process, I did pick up some abortive costs, wasted time and a bit of frustration besides on that one, but you can’t win them all can you?
I have a number of offers pending on other projects and am always looking for more, as the pipeline needs to be topped up constantly if possible. As it happens, I am finding many of my recent projects through my very own Property Deal Tips service, which has a habit of turning our decent projects for our subscribers. There’s a link to it in the show notes in case you want to give it a test drive...there’s a money back guarantee in case it doesn’t suit you after the first month. However, besides acting as a property shopping mall for me personally, several subscribers have also gone and bought properties that appeal to them and their particular investment strategies, be that BTL, Flips or BRR projects.
Updating some existing properties
Besides these new acquisitions, I am currently refurbing one of my current BTLs and also undertaking a garage conversion on another one. The latter will be a short-term let or serviced accommodation unit, which is also an interesting project, although a very different business model to BTL.
Working with nice people
As if all of that were not enough, I have also helped a few select clients with various consultancy services including one-offs like deal critiques, portfolio and strategy reviews on the one side to more engaging or involved shadow mentoring, Earn and Learn or JV partnerships at the other end of the spectrum. I like to work with just a handful of genuinely nice people, so I really enjoy seeing people get results this way. In addition, I have had some really enjoyable business conversations as well as socials with a couple of my individual investment backers...they even treated me to a spot of lunch or dinner, which was rather civilised of them too!
Oh, did I mention...besides the column on YPN and answering a few dozen of forum posters, I’m also writing the PropTech book to compliment the last podcast series. Drop me a line with PropTech Book Early Bird Offer in the subject line to hear more on that upon release.
Closing thoughts
Phew! Sounds like quite a lot when you put it like that doesn’t it? I might have missed out some bits and pieces, especially the more mundane elements such as tenant changeovers, issues with the odd letting agent, renewing my block policy insurance, remortgaging a couple of properties and other more routine things like that. So, there’s never a dull moment in the diary of this particular property investor I can tell you.
I was asked recently why I do the podcast and write to support property investors. Honestly, there is a ‘give and a get’ as there is so often in life.
The 'give' is that I want people in our property community to have access to good quality, in-depth and free or at least affordable property education, which was either lacking, dispersed or simply expensive when I started out. I am always delighted to receive notes of thanks from people that have had a personal response to a forum posting, have had valued the insights info shared on this podcast or have read some of my warts and all ramblings of the realities of being a property investor in various places. It really does help to keep me motivated me to carry on giving when I receive these simple thank yous, so keep them coming won’t you?!
The ‘get’ is that I get to hear from and meet some genuinely nice people. Some are just starting out, whilst others are further down the track and just want to network with another investor and developer like me. Some of the people that connect, I might go on to work with or partner with in some way and without the podcast and all-things The Property Voice, I’m not sure that I would have met them all.
So, I kind of just wanted to put that out there...the notion of the ‘give and the get’, I am a firm believer in balance, if all give, then we risk simply burning ourselves out before we realise it. But equally, if all get, we will be seen as selfish and greedy and this will turn people off too. It’s another example of the Yin and the Yang operating in perfect harmony I suppose. The reason for mentioning this is that I have found this principle to be one of life’s truisms if you like...there is always a give and a get and if not, something else has to give instead!
OK, so that’s all for this week. I will probably have a summer recess around mid-August as I am planning on taking a family safari holiday and I don't think the Internet coverage is that great in the middle of the Serengeti lol. We have a couple more weeks before that though, so if you have any specific topic ideas to share, then just drop me a line. I do fancy a bit of an easy ride for the next few weeks though, so nothing too deep or heavy hey?
That’s all for this week, and as usual, you can email me podcast@thepropertyvoice.net if you want to talk about anything from today’s show or more generally in property investing. Also, the show notes will be over at the website www.thepropertyvoice.net
But for now, all I want to say is thank you very much for listening once again this week and until next time on The Property Voice Podcast…it’s ciao ciao.