The Property Podcast

Ahmed & Drew - My tenant has left me, what should I do? PLUS: Using crowdfunding to buy property...   Hear what Rob & Rob have to say in this weeks episode.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We need another 1.8 million rental properties, says RICS Landlords have lost their legal challenge over the Finance Bill Perhaps as a result of the same changes, 63% of new mortgage applications are for limited companies And mortgage applications are only going to get more arduous: the Bank of England have set out their new underwriting requirements, with tougher stress-tests and requirements for portfolio landlords Finally, it's more tough talk from another new government with the announcement of a £5bn fund to provide 25,000 new homes. Will it come to anything? Who knows... There was plenty to talk about, so take a listen and see what you think!   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week on Ask Rob & Rob, Bjorn... Asks Rob & Rob –  How much of my net worth should be in property? The Rob's are possibly not unbiased on this frequently asked question, but they do try to give a balanced take on the well publicised adage that you shouldn't keep more that 10% of your net worth in bricks and mortar.     Listen to this week's episode and let us know your thoughts on this one over on the forum.      See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Grab your passport and join us as we head off around the world of property investment, investigating whether you should be hopping on a plane instead of into a car to research your next acquisition. We look into: The reasons why investing abroad is attractive to so many people The prospects for popular investment spots like Spain and the USA The risks and opportunities in up-and-coming locations like Eastern Europe The "wildcard" locations for if you're feeling particularly brave What to watch out for to make sure your the only risk of losing your shirt is if the airline misplaces your baggage If you'd like to learn more, we've also got a huge feature on investing overseas in the next issue of the Property Hub Magazine – with more detail on the areas we mention, plus other countries tipped by overseas investment experts. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week on Ask Rob & Rob, Mike... Asks Rob & Rob –  Should I never sell a property?  Rob D admits this is something you hear a LOT from everyone, including from The Robs. However he also says that his thinking has changed a little in recent year. If your property price is increasing a lot faster than the rent and your yield has fallen, you could take the view that you have had the majority of your gains and you could sell now and buy a property elsewhere where there's more growth in it. There's no right answer, and there is a logic in both approaches.    Rob B says his attitude has changed too but only slightly - and that still feels that never selling is a decent principle. There's a time and place to take stock and maybe move some units on though - for example if you have a dud property that just hasn't performed as you expected, or was one of your earlier purchases and you made some mistakes on it, or you have had a constant string of bad tenants that have cost you a lot of time and money; then you sho

This week we're lucky enough to be joined by Pete Matthew from the Meaningful Money podcast, who talks us through how to set up your personal finances for property investment. Having Pete on the show allowed us to cover some topics that we've not devoted enough attention to in the past, including: The importance of life insurance if you have mortgages Where to keep your money while you wait to invest What kind of emergency buffer you should have on hand How to view property as part of a wider investment portfolio ...and Pete shares the biggest personal finance mistake he sees people making If you need more Pete in your life – and frankly, who doesn't – make sure you're subscribed to Meaningful Money Resource of the week Thank you to Matt Chan for pointing us towards Mubert – a site that generates sounds designed to help you concentrate. We've covered similar in the past, but it's always worth checking out another – and if you're going to be looking into insurance policies and bank account comparis

This week on Ask Rob & Rob, Mike... Asks Rob & Rob –  When it comes to refinancing, should I consider a longer term deal to avoid fees? Rob D & B agree that this is all about the numbers, but it can be tricky to work out. Get your mortgage advisor to do the calculations and work out what is best for you. Remortgaging can be an expensive business and even if the costs are not being paid out immediately, they are definitely still very real costs.  Rob D asks his broker to give him all the figures including any associated fees, just to be 100% sure that he chooses the best deal when re-financing.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Last week we talked about the whole property buying process, all the way up to completion. This week, we're looking at the easy-to-overlook steps you need to take in order to prepare your property to let. They include: Deciding whether to self-manage or use an agent Checking out the competition Informing the authorities and utilities about your ownership Obtaining any licenses that are needed Getting safety certificates in place Checking for any post-refurb minor maintenance issues Then it's time to either start marketing yourself, or hand it over to an agent. We've got you covered there too...   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week on Ask Rob & Rob, Andy... Asks Rob & Rob – What checks should you make when buying remotely? This is somewhat of a specialist subject for The Robs, as they both invest this way, and run companies which help people to invest with a completely hands-off method.  This is an important question and Rob B starts by saying you need to be very clear in what you want from the people you work with. Give them really clear guidelines so people know exactly what is an investment you would consider, and what you wouldn't touch in a million years. This will help preserve your working relationships and save you all a lot of time and avoid frustration. Give as much detail as possible.  Rob D agrees with the advice given but also says to clarify all information given - even if it's coming from a trusted partner. Get images, check market information, and do your research. This will give you complete clarity on your investment, and you wont feel like you really need to be there on the ground. This method is not for

Getting an offer accepted on a property is always a great moment – but this week we see that rather than being the finish line, it's actually just the firing of the starter's pistol. The process of doing the legals and getting your mortgage arranged can be a lengthy and arduous one, and it's your job to take control of all the people involved and keep things ticking along. In this episode we go step-by-step through everything you'll encounter, and provide tips for how to boost your chances of coming through unscathed. We discuss: The preparation you can do with your broker and solicitor in advance At what point you'll have to fork over money What your solicitor should be doing behind the scenes (and why you need to check that they are!) How to balance patience with keeping things moving The critical milestones in the process of getting your mortgage agreed What will happen in preparation for exchange And in case it's all a bit much to take in, we've got a resource of the week to help... See omnystu

Rob B issues a note of caution - beware those who tell you there is a way to do this that means you pay a little more now to get started as an investor. The truth is there is no real shortcut, and you probably should pay your debts off first. It's frustrating, and tempting to want to find a quicker alternative, but not the best move. Avoid the people making the big claims and the courses that say otherwise are a waste of money.  If it's a choice of paying off your debts or investing, you need to make a decision based entirely around return. So if your debt costs you 9% a month and you can comfortably pay this, but you can get a property that gives you an 8% return, then it's a no-brainer - pay off your debt. But start by paying down your most expensive debt first, get that paid off as soon as you can, and then maybe you will reach a point where you have some cheaper debt which you can accept whilst investing.  Rob D admits yes, it's not the fun approach but waiting is the right thing to do, but suggests you

It's no surprise that we're big believers in the long-term power of property...but we were surprised when the Bank of England's Chief Economist said he'd back property over a pension too. So in this week's episode we ask if property is really better than a pension. We cover: What the BoE's Andy Haldane said Whether property really has outperformed equities over the last 30 years The advantages of property as a long-term asset The advantages of pensions over property Why property isn't the right retirement choice for everyone Why you definitely shouldn't be relying on your main residence to fund your retirement ...and a bit of a rant about the disaster of pension provision (also listen to our pension crisis episode) It's far from being a whitewash – so take a listen, and see what you think. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is a commonly asked question - basically 'how good is good enough'. The answer is different for everyone as Rob D points out, as everyone has a different approach and attitude to risk. Rob D does say that neither himself nor Rob B uses net yield as a measure, preferring to favour looking at ROI, this takes into account using a mortgage and tells us after factoring in that mortgage, how hard an investment is working. Rob D bases everything on ROI, occasionally looking at gross yield to compare different properties that have similar costs. Rob D (greedily) aims to get an ROI of 10% and in typical Rob D fashion, hasn't invested in a property that doesn't hit this measure, though definitely doesn't rule this out if the deal had the potential to make great capital growth or add value. Rob B has relaxed his approach slightly in recent time, having formally worked with a target of 10% as well. He will now accept 8% BUT only if this property needs zero work and is being handed over to Yellow Lettings to get let

Depending on who you listen to, it's either the perfect time to invest in property or it's horrendously overvalued and ripe for a crash. This week, we look at the data behind the claims that UK property is unaffordable – and show how easy it is to cherry-pick one measure to support an agenda. We look at affordability through the lens of: Actual house prices (and see the shocking impact of inflation over the long-term) Prices after adjusting for inflation, to identify the specific extent of house price inflation The price of houses as a multiple of earnings, and whether this is historically high The ongoing affordability of housing, looking at the monthly cost of a mortgage as a percentage of income There are some fascinating stats – as well as some really important insights into how affordability varies across regions, and where value might be found.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week on Ask Rob & Rob, Charles... Asks Rob & Rob – What is the snowball effect? Rob B says that from a capital growth point of view, if you see your portfolio at the top of the hill, as the hill drops down that represents time, by the time your snowball has been pushed down the hill - it is bigger. The point being, if you do more work in the early stages (buying BMV), your 'snowball' will be bigger at the end. The first few properties are incredibly important and you need to make wise decisions.  Rob D adds that when he thinks about the snowball effect, he thinks of compounding rent. For example, if you want to buy a property every year worth around 80K, with a 75% mortgage and cash for the rest, you would need to save 20k+ (with fees) to buy that property which for most people is a very big ask. But once you have your first property and it's making you money, if you don't touch that rent, you need to save less to put the deposit down on your next property - and if you keep doing that, you reach a sta

More than any other type of property investment, the success of an HMO hinges on buying and setting it up right in the first place. We've talked recently about managing an HMO once it's up and running, but this week it's all about acquisition. We discuss: Where to buy, depending on your target market Two ways to find out where the "HMO areas" are Why you absolutely don't want to compromise on location The importance of understanding Article 4 The challenges involved in financing an HMO How lenders value HMOs (check out this episode of the Property Geek podcast for more on this) What you need to know about licensing The returns you can expect to earn The key components to setting yourself up for a high ROI   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Rob B starts by reminding you that what may be right for one person, won't necessarily be right for another. There will be pros and cons to each approach and there's no absolutely 'right' answer for everyone. However, whilst there is definitely an advantage in being a 'local expert' it is unlikely that your local area will consistently be a smart place to invest, which is why Rob & Rob invest all over the UK in places they consider to have good fundamentals. Rob allocates a lot of his time to research, and considers it to be lower risk to invest in different locations.  Rob D agrees, it's definitely lower risk to invest in different areas IF you do good research to avoid making any mistakes. Rob D also adds a note of caution for this weeks caller, who had stated she had received lots of BMV deals and reminds everyone to check out these deals really thoroughly before going ahead, and be super diligent with your fact-checking.  ASK YOUR OWN QUESTION TO ROB & ROB! Don't be shy! All you need to do is leave a m

Quantitative Easing: hard to understand, even harder to say...and about to have a serious impact on your property investing plans. In this week's episode we explain what QE is, what effects it has, and how you can position yourself to take advantage of it. Useful links: A video from the Bank of England explaining the mechanism by which QE works A letter to the Chancellor warning of the risks A report from the New Economics Foundation assessing QE and proposing an alternative TPP024: Inflation – your worst enemy or your best friend? TPP168: The disappearing middle class (and what you can do about it) We also said we'd reproduce a table with some of the figures we discussed in the episode: Percentage changes in asset prices since 5 March 2009: Average mortgage rate: -31% UK house prices: 32% UK stock market: 87% UK stock market with divs reinvested: 138% Total return from average deposit account: 5% Total return from UK gilts: 47% UK inflation: 16% Pension annuity rates: -27% Gold (in doll

This week on Ask Rob & Rob, Sam... Asks Rob & Rob – What's the catch with student pods?   Rob D starts by agreeing that the propositions offered can look attractive and if all pans out as promised then they do indeed sound great. The key, however, is trying to figure out if things will work out as promised by the developer! So for this reason it's absolutely key to look at the previous projects of the developer and see if their history backs up their claims. Rob B is against student pods as he feels they're weighted heavily in favour of the people selling the product as opposed to those owning the product. He suggests that many of the claims made by the developers are greatly exaggerated at best. He also makes a very good point in saying that the mortgageability on student pods is pretty much non-existent, and the market if you want to sell is extremely limited.  Rob B finalises by saying he'd never buy one and he would never offer them to RMP customers - so no sitting on the fence here!  ASK YOUR OWN Q

Buying property within a limited company is becoming increasingly popular – but when it comes to obtaining mortgages for companies, there are some extra considerations you need to know about. This week, with the help of our friend Dave Cookson from TC Financial Services, we're running through the important details you need to be aware of. Including: The kind of range and selection you can expect to choose from How to set your company up correctly The documents you should have to hand before you start The personal requirements for company directors that lenders will want to see How to handle the tricky issue of multiple lenders against the same company Why this type of lending is particularly attractive for contractors and business owners What Dave thinks lies ahead for the sector Related listening: TPP125: Should you create a limited company for your property portfolio? TPP124: Post-budget survival tactics for property investors Free video course: Should you use a limited company to invest in p