Test Aug 2014 | Page 4

27744 HOW TO GROW A PROPERTY PORTFOLIO FASTER THAN YOU THOUGHT POSSIBLE KEVIN WRIGHT POSITIVE PROPERTY FINANCE The problem with buying property as an investment is that you need capital to put down as a deposit – and then it’s locked into your property for six months or more, until you can remortgage. The days of ‘no money down’ mortgages are gone; you need a deposit to get any mortgage these days. At this rate you’ll be lucky to manage to add two properties a year to your portfolio, unless you have a big nest egg. The secret is not to lock your capital into a mortgage, but to use creative financial packages specially developed for property investors. DO YOU FIT THE BUY-TO-LET LENDER’S TYPICAL PROFILE? It’s easy to imagine that lenders love property investors, because they have plenty of assets so their mortgage is secure. Wrong! Buy-to-let lenders like their clients to have a nice secure full time job earning a minimum of £25,000 a year and have their own cash for deposits. They don’t like you to have too many properties as that may mean you will soon leave your nice secure job, which makes them nervous. They expect you to be able to put 25% down on each property and then to go away and just pay your mortgage each month until it’s paid up. They don’t like people who want to remortgage their property after six months when the 4 IN ASSOCIATION WITH TENANTS HISTORY property has been refurbished and is now worth a lot more. Serious property investors are going to find it tough. Since the flexible mortgage products were withdrawn from the market in 2008 when people talk about ‘no money down’ strategies what they are really describing is a method of concealing the true purchase procedure from the lender. This is fraud and any legitimate investor, bridging financier or credible mortgage or finance broker will have nothing to do with it. However, there are creative means of putting together finance packages that are entirely legal and don’t put the lender, the purchaser or the property at risk. CASE STUDY of the refurb the bridger valued at market price of £125,000. The bridger released 65% of market value (£125K) on completion, releasing £81,250, which covered both the purchase price and most of the refurbishment costs. The finance structure that Kevin Wright put in place made this possible without Akhtar needing a substantial cash investment to purchase the property outright. To be successful in bridging finance you need an experienced bridging lender and a solicitor who understands bridging finance and can complete transactions in days, rather than months. Akhtar Khan used bridging to buy a property that had fallen into disrepair, had a kitchen fire and was unmortgageable. The owners had two charges on the property of £50K and £55K, although the property was only worth about £75K. ()A