Oct
22
    
SIPPS - Need to Know More
Posted (admin) on 22-10-2008

What is SIPPS? What is A-Day? How could it affect you? Do you have investment property or want to invest in property? These are all questions, that you will want to find answers to.

Referred to as A-Day, April 6th 2006 will be an historical date for pensions in the UK and will mark the beginning of one of the most radical changes in pension legislation for decades. It is because of this, that estate agents, developers, and any landlords looking to sell any suitable investment properties are encouraged to advertise their properties for sale now in the run up to this exciting day.

It will be the first time that a pension saver will be given ability to purchase residential buy to let property inside a SIPP (self-invested personal pension) and many industry experts are predicting a massive amount of interest from private individuals and pension fund managers that will want to be part of this potentially huge market. For those looking to be kept up to date on SIPPS, investment property for sale and other issues relating to buy to let, they can find out more by clicking here

For those looking to take their first step on to the buy to let ladder but not sure about all the technicalties surrounding SIPPS, it may be worth spending the next few months doing a bit of homework and looking at your current pension provisions. It may also be worth getting a simple buy to let guide
to get a basic understanding and also looking at some of the different buy to let mortgage products available. As investors get more experienced and learn more about SIPPS and how they can benefit from it as a landlord, they can then decide at which point to take things further. Once A-Day arrives in the UK, and the activity starts for newcomers to the buy to let market, it is anticipated that this may generate another boom for UK investment property. Most importantly landlords will see this as another ideal opportunity to snap up good quality one and two bedroom first time buyer property especially if it falls below the stamp duty threshold price bracket.

For those not yet committed to the buy to let market, this will be an ideal opportunity to purchase a ‘ready made’ buy to let with the advantage of earning income from day one if they purchase a property with tenants already in situ. For any landlords looking to sell their investment property, this media coverage surrounding SIPPS and A-Day, could create an ideal window of opportunity to sell their buy to lets as the demand is likely to increase for suitable investment property for sale. It may also be worth considering trying to sell investment properties with tenants in situ as investors will be keen to see properties knowing how they are already performing.

As a property investor concerned about cashflow and profit, the opportunity of selling an investment property with tenants in situ is that it can result in considerable savings during the sale process, not to mention that the landlord would retain the rental income whilst the property is being marketed. Plus, if the buy to let is sold to another property investor, they are less likely to be involved in a property chain and many experienced landlords have good relationships with buy to let mortgage lenders resulting in fast turnaround times for mortgage offers. The other benefits of selling your investment property with tenants in situ, is that it gives the newcomers to buy to let, the chance to purchase a ‘ready made’ investment property without the normal set up costs associated with sourcing tenants, tenancy agreements, credit checks etc. If the property is managed through a letting agent, and the landlord sold the property to another landlord, the letting agent will be grateful to maintain the property under their management. Therefore, the new owner hasn’t had the expense of souring new tenants, and paying the usual set up fees associated with letting a property. The letting agents retains responsibility for the property, the seller hasn’t lost any income and finally, the tenants haven’t had to find alternative accommodation whilst the property is for sale. It’s a win win situation.

If the new buyer decides to transfer the property into a SIPP at a later stage, then it is likely that there will be costs involved but a good SIPPS provider will assist in securing the right product for the investor.

Jennifer Tweed is the founder of buytolet4sale.com, one of the UK’s first property portals dedicated to all types of investment property for sale and everything you should need for your sale and purchase. Learn more about buy to let
.

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Oct
12
    
How to Decrease the Value of Your Own House
Posted (admin) on 12-10-2008

Owning a house is part of the American Dream. Depending on where you live in the US - home ownership can be around 70%. That means that 70% of people own their own home. That is very high compared to other countries. Owning a home is usually a nice piece of independence and also part of building a nest egg for retirement. Home ownership is considered an investment. But then it is surprising how many home owners treat their own home as if it would be something they don’t own.

Imagine the case of a lady in Highlands Ranch, Colorado. She bought a ranch-style home in late 2004 for $265,000.00 - mainly financed through a mortgage. She owes about 95% of the house value to a mortgage company. Highlands Ranch, Colorado is a covenant controlled neighborhood. Strict rules are in place of how to maintain a certain level of landscaping and to keep the property in shape (+ many more things). The covenant rules give a development a more standard appearance, and control some of the activities that take place within its boundaries. When enforced, covenants protect property values. When buying a house in Highlands Ranch the new owner agrees to obey the covenant rules by contract.

The lady from our example above decided to let maintenance of her landscaping slip. The grass was growing out of control. Then summer came along and as she did not have an automated sprinkler system for her yard no watering was done at all. This took care of the fast growing grass in a certain way. The grass started dying in the dry Colorado summer. The outside appearance of the former $265,000 home took a toll. Currently a real estate agent estimates the value of this house in question at $250,000.

The lady from our example took her home and did not treat it as an investment. If she would have to sell her home now she will have difficulties to receive her invested money back. If she would continue to treat her home not as an investment she will eventually turn the investment into a liability and risk her credit history. Especially as her home is in a covenant controlled area she faces extra cost associated with her house. The covenant community association can even put a lien on her home and enforce the covenant rules by sending in a landscaping company to fix the problem - at the owners expense.

In our example the Highlands Ranch Community Association has started the initial process of getting the property back on track. A dated notification has been send to the home owner to bring the property back into compliance with the rules.

Overall - if investing money and letting interest in maintaining the investment slip, means the person involved is throwing money out of the window. If you have enough cash this is not a problem but who has enough cash to do this? Buying a house means to take on the burden to maintain it. Failing to do basic maintenance means to lower the value of the property.

About The Author

Christoph Puetz is a successful Entrepreneur and international book author.

Websites operated by Christoph Puetz are Web Hosting Guide and Highlands Ranch Information and Reminder Service.

This article can be published by anyone as long as the resource box (About the Author) is posted on the website including the links. These links must be clickable.

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Sep
26
    
5 Simple Steps for Serious Saving and Financial Growth
Posted (admin) on 26-09-2008

1) Pay off your loan, credit and store card debt and resist the temptation to keep on spending money you don’t yet have.

Credit cards and store cards attract the highest rates of interest and are the most inefficient way to work your finances. The average annual percentage rate (APR) for credit cards in the UK is 16.1% and consumers effectively waste

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