Most people who embark on property investment are not cash rich.  Usually they have successful careers or may have run a business and have built up substantial equity in their own home, but don’t have massive savings.

To get started in property newbie investors often decide to release some of the equity in their own property to put down deposits on others.  Property values are...

If you’ve been in property a while you’ll remember the balmy days of 100% mortgages and 24 hour remortgages.  Things are tougher today and property investors need to be innovative to continue to invest in property and not end up with your capital trapped in bricks and mortar.

Many investors now think the only way to invest in property is to have saved up a substantial wad of...

THE QUESTION

I'm not a homeowner, but looking to purchase - either residential, BTL or to buy a derelict property and flip.

I have a limited company with a turnover circa £200K and projected to double that in the next year.  I have no personal debts or defaults and a good credit rating.

I'm entrepreneurial, confident I can flip properties, and would like some guidance in funding...

Many investors see the Estate Agent as the adversary – or at best a necessary evil.  After all, their client is the vendor, that’s where their commission comes from.  But the smart investor knows better.

Unless you’re good at building rapport with estate agents, you won’t have many deals to consider, but there are ways to get estate agents to take you...

Many people aspire to become a full-time property investor, but I wonder if they’ve considered the adverse effect it has on their ability to raise a mortgage.  They might find it better to slow down and take their time reaching that pivotal moment when mortgages are less critical to their property investment.

To be able to create enough passive income from property to be able to give...

Most property investors grow their portfolio by:

• Searching for suitable rental properties
• Putting down a 25% deposit
• Getting a mortgage
• Maybe refurbishing
• Then waiting six months and remortgaging to get as much of their money as possible out for the next property purchase.

It works, it’s taught on training programmes, but it takes a long time to grow your portfolio – and...

People say that a low-cost way to get your cash back out of a property purchase is to use the small group of Buy-to-Let lenders who offer mortgages that have no redemption penalty to finance the purchase.

After you have owned the property for six months, redeem that mortgage and get a new mortgage with a different lender.  If the property can be valued at this point at more than the...

THE QUESTION
I've seen a lot of adverts recently for Equity Release, does anyone know how it really works?

THE ANSWER

Equity release has two meanings.

For the general public it refers to a specific type of mortgage available only to the elderly who are asset rich, but cash poor.  In effect it means that they can borrow against their property and use the cash to enhance their lifestyle or...

The underwriting standards for buy-to-let lenders now mean much more rigorous background checks for potential borrowers – particularly ‘portfolio landlords’.  The rules state:

“A landlord will be considered to be a Portfolio landlord where they have four or more mortgaged buy to let properties across all lenders in aggregate” 

In reality this will depend...

Most property investors start out using the mortgage system to finance their property purchases, but then your capital is trapped – at least for a while – and your ability to buy more properties is limited.  But not if you’re a Ninja Investor!

Ninja Property Investors have developed a mind-set that isn’t limited to only buying properties through a mortgage. ...