Does Your HMO Require An EPC?

By Matthew Moody | Property Investing

Since October 1st, it has been made illegal to rent a property without an Energy Performance Certificate. 

The reasoning behind this is that it allows tenants to choose between properties and it clearly marks how energy efficent the property is.  The EPC will last for 10 years and has to be given to a tenant before they decide to rent a property from you. 

Personally, I don’t think having an EPC will make any difference to a tenants decision to choose one property over another.  It may if the energy gains are so different but unless they are choosing between an 18th century cottage and a new build house – its highly unlikely.

So, if you have a HMO; do you need to have an EPC?

The straightforward answer is NO, the more complex answer is SOMETIMES.

Following legal advice, Communities and Local Government decided that EPC’s are not required for bedsit-type HMO’s.  They only apply to self-contained properties and renting a room does not count as a self-contained properties.

So, where you have a HMO where the occupiers are sharing facilities such as communal areas and have a shared entrance, you do not need to have an EPC. 

Where the SOMETIMES comes in is if you have a bedsit where the tenants pay for their own utilities via card or coin meters.  Likewise, student properties or others which are let on joint tenances for the whole of the property will require an EPC.

The full information is found at www.communities.gov.uk/publications/planningandbuilding/epclandlordguide

If you don’t have a HMO; then you will need to get an EPC.  For a full and comprehensive review of what is required, I’d recommend that you pop over to House Finder who have written an excellent article on this subject:

http://www.housefinderuk.com/index.php?option=com_myblog&show=energy-performance-certificates-epcs-to-become-compulsory-for-landlords.html&Itemid=48

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Is now a good time to get into property investing?

By Matthew Moody | Property Investing

This is a question that was posed to me only the other day by a novice investor and it is not an easy answer.  I then read an article in one of the nationals which drove me to writing a response.

Lets look at the facts where we stand right now:

• House prices have dipped year-on-year and are continuing to slide in most areas by between 1 to 2% per month according to latest land registry statistics
• Buy to let mortgages are at an all-time low of less than 500 products – and these seem to be diminishing daily
• Confidence in the general economy, financial markets and world trade is low – and driven by media doom and gloom is rapidly vanishing as the media drive us into a recession (whether we wish to be in one or not)
• the credit crunch as its called has impacted the property markets due to liquidity issues impacting the ability for property investors to buy houses

However, lets step back and look at property investing for what it really is: a long-term investment designed to build month-on-month cashflow and capital appreciation through rising equity in the property.

The general rule of thumb often touted is that property doubles every 7.2 to 8 years; whether we will see this happening after recent events is difficult to say but even if it takes 10 or even 20 years for the value of a property to double; it will double in price for certain.

Why do I say this?  Simple; the burden on new housing is so immense yet so maligned and ignored that it beggers belief.  With the rising tide in immigrant workers, contract workers, divorcees, extended families and social patterns changing; there has never been as much demand for housing.  With the failure of the national housebuilders to even match demand and now with a widespread halt on all building; it will be virtually impossible for the housebuilders to keep up with demand; even if modern construction methods and materials are used, they are still at the beck and whim of the local planning departments who don’t have the same sense of urgency in pushing planning applications through.

So, is it the right time to get into property investing?

Well, lets look at what you can expect if you decided to get into property investing now.

1. There have never been so many bargains available.  Whether its repossessions, developers off-loading stock, distressed and motivated sellers; there is a bargain around every corner.  In this market, we’ve seen discounts of up to 50% off houses and average discounts of 25%-30% are not uncommon.  So, even for a novice investor, I would argue that its possible to get into property for less money than you may have needed last year as the discounts are larger.
2. There are mortgages available for cash-positive deals.  I know a lot of property investors have invested in off-plan apartments, sale and rent backs and low-yield deals across the country in exchange for equity in a property.  Whilst I’m not saying from a general equity growth perspective that this strategy may work; its not something I would recommend in the current climate.  You need to get the best possible cashflow out of any property you buy – as a minimum I would aim for £100 minimum before any additional bills kick in.  If you want true cashflow, then invest in HMO’s; to start, then go here and view this article http://yourhmoexpert.com/hmos/what-is-a-hmo-house-of-multiple-occupancy/
3. Those who  build their portfolios carefully in this market will be the wealthy property investors of the future.  Say that property does drop by 20-30% and you are buying at 20-30% discount to the market value.  Your equity is already locked in and then when house prices start to rise again, your net worth will begin to increase exponentially.  Its often said that you only need £1,000,000 worth of property to live comfortably off (and I’ll cover the economics and maths of this in another post) but say you did buy this amount in the next two years (and believe me, thats easy to do in this market), then in 10 years from now, you’d have a portfolio worth £2,000,000.  Just say you had never remortgaged or taken any money out – do you think that you might be able to take a few hundred thousand out at that stage?  Its a no-brainer.
4. The market is not risky and the credit crunch is a transformational phase that we must go through in order to emerge stronger than before; rental demand has never been higher.  We are getting more and more calls from people looking for accomodation.  You just need to follow the normal rules of property; buy in the right location at the right price.  Follow these rules and you will never go wrong.

So, is now a good time to get into property investing?

Yes, yes and yes.

To access the article which rankled me slightly, go here but come back here afterwards to learn more about cashflow secrets in the property market.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/borrowing/3130553/Blackest-week-yet-for-buy-to-let.html

Can You Really Learn Any More About Property Investing?

By Matthew Moody | Property Investing

I often ask myself this question whenever I see the latest greatest seminar, workshop or pitch-fest about property investing come through on email.

All of a sudden, every second email seems to be promoting the same thing to me but none of them are very different.  People you haven’t heard from for ages jump out of the woodwork and start telling you why you should go to this property event – as if their lives depended on it.

After all, what makes one person decide to go to a seminar may not be the same reasons another person decides to go to the same event.

So, I’m sure you’ve heard all about Simon Zutshi’s event taking place this weekend at Excel in London.  I’m sure you’ve heard that Dolf De Roos will be speaking.  I also know of several other high profile guest speakers that will also be appearing that have tons of great information to impart.  I’m miffed they didn’t ask me to speak about HMO’s but that’s their loss – right!

The event is called Property Magic Live and it promises to be THE event of the year for property investors.  However, its not for everybody.

http://tinyurl.com/matthewspropertymagiclivebonus

There are two questions you need to ask yourself:-

1) why should I go?
2) what will I learn?
3) why should I book through you?

Lets tackle them in turn.

1) why should I go?

I’d say it depends on where you are with your property business and where you want to be.

Don’t go if:-

• you’re new to property, not yet off the blocks or still deciding whether property is for you
• you don’t have enough money to cover next months expenses
• you are seeking some specific advice relevant to your personal situation
• you want a small intimate event where you can ask questions and get the answers quickly
• you’ve spoken to your mate down the pub and he’s told you that property is going to crash further and you won’t make any money out of property – and you believe him/her

You should go if:-

• you’re full-time in property and intend on making your living from this through the next couple of difficult “recession” years
• you’re in sale & rent-backs and you’ve reached the end of your cashback and you’re wondering what else can I do to generate cash
• you’ve been buying through a bridge and remortgage strategy and the bottom has fallen out of your world and you don’t know where to go to purchase your next property
• you’ve seen some great deals but you don’t know how to make them stack or where to go for finance or even how to finance them
• you used to buy new builds but can’t find anybody to finance or structure them any more

IF YOU SPEND MORE THAN 30 HOURS PER WEEK IN PROPERTY, YOU NEED TO BE AT THIS EVENT.  IN FACT, I’D SAY YOUR FUTURE DEPENDS ON IT.

http://tinyurl.com/matthewspropertymagiclivebonus

2) what will I learn?

What you will learn at this event is expert advice from some of the best property minds in the business.

Here’s a small sample.

** Know how to find motivated sellers **

The professional property investors all have multiple ‘buckets’ from which they gather leads. While each bucket is straightforward to implement the real challenge is to systemize it all so that it doesn’t take over your life. 

And systemizing your business is actually one of the key secrets to making your business work (which I cover in depth on my own workshop here)

For example: Estate Agents

In the current market, one of the easiest and cheapest ways (i.e. its free) is through Estate Agents.  So why is it that most property and BMV investors overlook this one?  Simple, their mindset has not changed enough to understand it works!  I’ve had tons of deals through estate agents – get the right one and you should be getting regular calls from Estate Agents offering you deals.  Get it wrong and you’ll be the one losing out.  

The experts will share with you how you can get estate agents working for you bringing you lots of deals where they have already negotiated a big discount. 

Matthew’s Value on this learning: in my mind, its worth at least £100 to know this – in fact, that’s far too lame, make it £500 to learn how to really improve and systematize this part of your business.

** Expert Negotiation skills **

Expert negotiation can take a ‘good’ deal and transform it into the Deal Of The Year (or the Deal of The Week!). 

This is where we are talking about adding 5-figures (in some cases more than your entire annual pay-check) just by executing 10 minutes of expert negotiation.

• It doesn’t take many of these deals to make you a millionaire.
• Who will be teaching you this at Property Magic Live? – none other than Mark Harrison, who just happens to be one of the top property negotiation experts in the world and someone I can personally recommend!

Matthew’s Value on this learning: Well, I know that Mark sells a fantastic ebook for just £27 (its madness, the information is worth at least £97) and his courses sell for between £200 to £350 on their own.  So the value for just this section along I would estimate is at least £150.

** How to mortgage-proof your property empire and make Cash flow from Options **

• Options can often allow you to make significant amounts of money from property without even having a mortgage, which is even more important bearing in mind the current mortgage market difficulties due to the credit crunch.
• Is negative cashflow on your properties slowly draining your cashflow? Well, you can use options to make extra cash flow from your existing property. I bet you with this info you can take at least a couple of properties in your portfolio and turn them cashflow positive.

Matthew’s Value on this learning: I’m not sure who they’ve got to present options but if its any of the usual “suspects”, then I know you’ll be getting between £197 and £497 worth of value from the people presenting this. 

** Your personal belief and mindset **

This was covered in depth by Simon on his Death Of Property Investing report.   This is not about mumbo-jumbo ‘if you think it, then it will happen’.   This is all about a mindset that leads to ACTION.

Aside from the in-depth strategies you will learn, the most important thing you will gain from Property Magic Live will be the self belief and inspiration you will gain from the numerous speakers sharing their success stories and strategies so that you can copy their success.

The truth is that there are no reasons, no excuses why you should not be making a fortune in the current market. Lack of belief and knowledge is all that may be holding you back.

Matthew’s value on this learning: I’ve paid anything from £20 to £197 to hear somebody talk about self-belief, mindset and taking action.  I estimate you’ll be getting at least £97 worth of value out of this session alone.

In truth, I take my hat off to Simon because these speakers together with Dolf De Roos (who I have seen three times and cannot wait to see again) are among the best of the best.  To pull these people together under one roof for two whole days is just INSANE.

** Networking with the professional property investors **

Simon mentions this on his website and I talk about it a lot (in fact, its why I run my own property networking group).

At this event, you’re going to be mixing with professional property investors who are still buying, top-flight mortgage brokers, solicitors, surveyors (yes, there will be surveyors at this event!), accountants, property finders, bridging and finance guys, your next joint venture partner – the list goes on and on and on.  And two whole days and one whole night of it – wow.  (remember the real deals are made about 11pm at night in the bar – be there!)

Matthew’s value on this learning: absolutely priceless.  I’ve met all of my JV partners, financiers, marketeers and property sourcers through networking – you just cannot afford NOT to network. 

http://tinyurl.com/matthewspropertymagiclivebonus

3) So why should I book to go through you?

Yes, I was asked to promote this by Simon and yes, I will receive a commission from him if you book through me.

To be honest, I was a little lapsadaisal in my approach and I didn’t get the details through until well after the initial launch.  I sat back a little and watched the inevitable emails come through all using pretty much the standard email and patter.

Here’s what I’m going to do for you – my loyal readers and friends.

• I’m going to give you half of my commission so that you can use this on your hotel room (thats about £75 by the way)
• I’m going to invite you to join me on my 1-hour CASHFLOW IS KING teleseminar after the event to give you the latest strategies I am using to increase my CASHFLOW (value of a minimum of £49)
• I’m going to offer you a FREE 30-minute consultation on any aspect of your property business that you need help with right now – to ensure that you get the 1-to-1 support that you need (value of a minimum of £97)
• Total value of £221

So, if you’re interested, what do you need to do now:-

• Clear all the cookies from your browser as unless you book through my link, you cannot get my bonuses
• Click on the links and make your booking, then send me your receipt
• Remember the deadline for booking your place is Tuesday 30th September so you have ONE day to decide whether you wish to attend or not
• Don’t wait until the 30th, because there are still some bonuses that Simon is giving away that you will miss out on…
• Be decisive and book now

http://tinyurl.com/matthewspropertymagiclivebonus

I look forward to seeing you at the event

best regards

Matthew

Latest Workshops Now Live For Booking

By Matthew Moody | Property Investing

Since the over-whelming response to my last workshop in July, we’re holding not one, but two HMO workshops in September!

I’ve also refreshed some content, added in a new section focused entirely on BILLS – how to manage them and keep them low – and for the month of September only – I’m offering a special added bonus of a FREE 30-minute consultation with me following the course to discuss your HMO business.

The workshops take place on:

September 13th 2008 – Milton Keynes

September 27th 2008 – Newcastle

To book and to get more information on exactly what we’ll be covering, please go to

www.hmocashflowsuccesssystem.com

Look forward to seeing you there

Creating Your Own Power Team To Achieve More

By Matthew Moody | Property Investing

Why do you need a team?

Because Property cannot be done on your own. 

Lets look at if you did it all on your own. 

Firstly you’d need to find a property, then you’d need to value it, then search around for the best mortgage, then process the legal paperwork, carry out all the searches, do the building work, find tenants, service the boilers, do the little odd jobs that crop up etc etc.  Sounds like a lot of hard work to me. Creating a team is paramount to your achieving more in property. 

As Robert Allen said in the 1 Minute Millionaire about teams expanding your business. There is one very important calculation to remember:  

1+1 = 11 not 2 

So what I suggest you do now, is go get some paper and a pen – and brainstorm everybody who you feel should be in your team. 

Once you’ve done this, then read on for my recommended list of 8 power players that NEED to be in your team!

Read More

Property Services

By Matthew Moody | Property Investing

I am currently offering the following services:

• My intensive one-day workshop on how to build your own wildly profitable HMO business www.hmocashflowsuccesssystem.com
• A one-on-one mentoring programme where I spent a full day with you fine-tuning your strategy, which we then follow-up with a full 6 months of fortnightly mentoring calls PLUS you get free tickets to my HMO Workshop
• Property Sourcing – Bespoke and Generalist – mainly focusing on UK and American markets.   Discounts of up to 45% with cashbacks, rental guarantees and high yields.  The new website is going live soon – and I’ll put up the url once its ready!
• Furniture Solutions for Landlords.  I have an interest in a company which supplies landlords with high-quality furniture but at low prices!  Visit www.furnitsure.com for more details
• My monthly networking session and mastermind group is www.propertysuccessgroup.com – we’re a very friendly bunch and meet in Northampton and London, sign up to receive the latest details.