According to the annual strategy review by global property fund manager La Salle Investment Management, the UK commercial properties market could be a great long-term investment. La Salle has reported that the UK commercial property market has fallen first and hardest therefore now making it one of the most attractive areas in terms of investment.
This is a great bit of news in an otherwise gloomy time for commercial property and should hopefully generate lots of interest amongst real estate investors over the next year. Due to the huge downturn UK commercial properties should offer some extremely appealing return on investments and provide investors with some great value deals in 2009 and 2010.
The commercial property market has been one of the credit crunch’s biggest victims. A previously booming industry has seen huge downturns and is still expected to fall further in value. Previous commercial buildings that once had leasing waiting lists are now standing empty with landlords having to offer all kinds of inducements and incentives in order to entice tenants in.
Dominant high street brands such as Focus and Land of Leather are some of the latest retailers that have had to seek concessions from their landlords as the impact of reduced consumer spending has taken its toll. Landlords and businesses have to remain ever reactive and innovative in order to stay afloat during these hard times. UK commercial property owners do appear to comprehend the downturn and are remaining vigilant and working out two-way deals between themselves and their tenants that are in all parties’ best interests. If you are currently looking for commercial property for lease or for sale within the UK there are some great bargains to be had.
Foreign investors have cottoned on to this and see the UK as an ideal area for long-term commercial property investment. A high percentage of office blocks, retail outlets and other commercial buildings are likely to come under foreign ownership over the next two years where investors will be taking full advantage of the current value declines within the industry. Previously iconic commercial buildings could be sold off at bargain prices to investors willing to wait for the market to right itself before they see returns on their investments.
Archive for August, 2010
UK Commercial Property Market Has Become the Best Value for Investment in the World
August 30th, 2010Student finance: managing your money
August 29th, 2010Student finance: managing your money
Managing your money will be one of the biggest challenges when you’re a student Financial support The handy student finance calculator at www.studentfinance.direct.gov.uk can help you to work out the financial support you can get. Two loans are available to full-time students: one to cover the full cost of tuition fees up to £3,290 for 2010/11, and a maintenance loan …
Subprime Lending: Trojan Horse Of The Home Loan Lending Industry
August 29th, 2010Home loan lending used to be relatively simple. Lenders were so hungry for business they readily accepted no-down mortgages, interest-only loans, and E-Z refinancing for borrowers with bruised credit. Recently, however, a wave of bad loans wiped out small independent mortgage brokers, devastated bad-credit lenders, and prompted the industry itself to tighten lending practices.
Today, it has become harder than ever for cash-strapped would-be homeowners to obtain home loan lending.
Who Is To Blame?
Experts blame subprime lenders for the recent home loan lending debacle. In the past, people with poor credit scores or large debts and modest incomes would not have been granted a loan. In recent years, however, a new breed of mortgage brokers – called subprime lenders – burst onto the market. Instead of denying loans to people with poor credit history, they let these people take out mortgages and then charge them higher interest rates to offset the high risks associated with the loans.
Such action on the subprime home loan lending front enabled a huge part of the population to own houses. Subprime home loan lending morphed dramatically from a start-up business into a $600-billion-a-year enterprise. The problem with high risks, however, is that they either pay off magnificently or go bust, and this is just what happened. The subprime market fell, and it was not long before homeowners who financed their purchase with subprime loans found themselves with foreclosure notices in their hands.
Stringent Loan Standards
When applying for home loan lending, expect more than run-of-the-mill scrutiny. The industry is cracking down on the so-called “liar loans.” These are mortgages obtained without verification of the buyer’s declared income, under a “stated income loan” or “no documentation loan.”
Additionally, the home loan lending industry has become more conservative in attaching value to houses. Before, bankers generously appraised homes for so much more than they’re worth. Today, the appraisal is based not on the recent market value of similar homes but on worst-case scenario market pricing. Worst-case scenario value is not the amount a house can be sold for, but the amount it will fetch once it goes into foreclosure.
The Silver Lining
That home loan lending implements stricter regulations is sure to dismay everyone, from borrowers to lenders . However, three good things can come out of this. First, inexperienced and even fly-by-night mortgage brokers will be driven out of business, leaving the home loan lending market to legitimate lenders. Second, with lenders no longer eager to grant high-risk loans, there will be more money and better rates for borrowers with sufficient downpayment and good credit. Finally, fewer high-risk loans that never should have been granted in the first place will be floated into the market. This will result in fewer homeowners being dismayed and losing their homes due to inability to meet payments.
Every story has a moral, and this article contains only one. If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is too good to be true. So when buying a house, do not be tempted to take shortcuts. Go the longer but perfectly legitimate and business-sound home loan lending route.
Travel Jobs & How to Make Money While You Travel
August 27th, 2010Ever had the desire to quit your lame 9 to 5 job, tell your boss to shove it, pack up and start traveling the world?
All of us have had that desire at one point! The thing that stopped you was probably the same thing that stops most people: money.
“How will I pay for my flights, food, lodging, transportation, yada, yada, yada,” you asked yourself.
Don’t let these concerns bother you too much, because there is an underground, growing group of travelers who are utilizing some simple but hidden techniques to make significant incomes while traveling.
Here’s an overview of how we make money traveling and by landing travel jobs:Underground Travel Income Method #1 – Traditional Travel Job – Hold a job that either a) pays for us to travel or b) is located in the place we wish to travel to. This is the lowest paying and most complicated method of all, but is the most commonplace.
Common jobs that pay for travels are for professional speakers, salespeople, package couriers, flight attendants, travel nurses/doctors, conservationists, cruise ship workers, etc.
Travel jobs located in the places we wish to go to can be any of the above, but also are specific to the location we travel to. There are some FUN jobs overseas that are looking for foreign workers!
Underground Travel Income Method #2 – Travel Writing – Travel writing jobs for magazines are more common than you may imagine. However, there are LOADS of other ways to write as you travel and make money, including blogging, picking up projects from sites like Elance and Guru, and writing travel guides, both online and offline.
Underground Travel Income Method #3 – Selling Affiliate Products – Using a simple website, you can drive online traffic to a product that will be of interest to your online followers. Don’t be intimidated by this! It can be as easy as using your very own Facebook or Myspace profile. Affiliate products typically pay 50% to 75%, so you can make a very healthy income for selling just a few objects. Underground Travel Income Method #4 – Filming Your Adventures – If you’ve got the camera out and you’re taking pictures, why not switch it to ‘film’ mode and make money from it? You simply make a video of your destinations using iMovie or Windows Movie Maker, then use your videos to create a customer base!Underground Travel Income Method #5 – Podcasting – If filming scares you off or intimidates you, you can make an iTunes podcast. It is easier than ever to get listed in iTunes and there’s a HUGE audience of podcast listeners. Simply talk about the places you visit two or three times a week and watch how your following grows… and how your bank account grows!Underground Travel Income Method # 6 – Ebay – The common misconception about Ebay is that you have to sell a physical product to make money. Here’s the trick: You can set up a fulfillment house to ship your product (or hire your little sister or the neighborhood kid). All you have to do is create your Ebay post from an internet café and collect the money!
Take any one of these six ‘travel job’ methods, and there are hundreds of travelers all over the world making more money than they would at a regular ‘job…’ and they’re living it up at exotic, world-class destinations. Take your pick, and take action on the ideas here!
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Getting Small Business Loans with No Collateral in this Recession
August 26th, 2010The global financial crisis has made it quite difficult for companies, especially small businesses, to get business loans. Ironically, it is also in this situation that smaller companies often need additional capital infusion to boost income. You may need to get small business loans to acquire a better business location, construct a new building, renovate your premises, pay for new equipment, fixtures or furniture or increase inventory and working capital. Most Small Business Loans Require CollateralTo get business loans, even small business loans, is a major challenge. First you need to identify which among the many types of small business loans you need. Small business loans ranging from $5,000.00 to $35,000.00 are called micro loans. For larger needs, such as for the acquisition of land, buildings and other major fixed assets, development financing is what you should find. There are also import export loans as well as franchise financing. Do your research to find out if you are qualified for small business loans guaranteed by the U.S. Small Business Administration or SBA. Any of these small business loans will require extensive preparations and paperwork. As a small business owner, you will need to prove your credit worthiness through a personal credit history report. Lenders will also require a business plan which includes your credentials as the business owner, your company financial statements, business assets and an analysis of your market. All of these should be packaged in a professional loan proposal which presents how the loaned amount will be used to strengthen the business and how you intend to repay the loan. Most of all, you need to present your loan collateral – the assets you will put up to secure the loan. Quick and Easy Small Business Loans with No CollateralFor smaller acquisitions or day to day business needs, there is a way for entrepreneurs to get small business loans easily and quickly with no collateral. This is through merchant services.Merchant services provide credit card services to businesses. This enables them to accept and process payments through credit cards or debit cards either through face to face purchases, online transactions, or even by phone or fax. Merchant service providers supply terminal equipment for card swiping, as well as the necessary software and high speed IP solutions.Most businesses need credit card services since consumers routinely pay for goods and services through credit cards and debit cards these days. If your business has not taken this step yet, you may have been missing out on more than half of your income potential.These same merchant services also provide the solution for your small business loans. Collateral-free loans can be availed of through their cash advances, with the loan amount computation based on the monthly credit card revenue your business generates. Credit card sales requirements may be as low as $3,000.00 a month. You will not be asked for collateral since your future revenue is your collateral. The best types of merchant cash advances do not require fixed monthly payments nor do they impose deadlines on loan payment. A certain percentage is instead deducted automatically from your credit card revenue each month to go towards loan payment. This way, you never have to worry about loan amortization.Once your cash advance has been fully paid, you may apply for another one. It is like having a revolving credit line. Make sure that you compare the terms of several merchant service providers, though, and read the fine print on contracts. There are so many merchant service providers competing for your business that you’ll surely find one that fits your needs.
Owner Financed Homes Cedar Park – Austin Area Owner Finance Specialists
August 25th, 2010Build a Fortune With Real Estate Foreclosures and Short Sales.
August 25th, 2010Real Estate Foreclosure Short Sale Course Reveals from beginning to end how to short sale a property. Often Advertised. Rarely Delivered.
Build a Fortune With Real Estate Foreclosures and Short Sales.
Finding The Perfect Finance Manager For Your Finances
August 25th, 2010When thinking about hiring a finance manager to help you with all of your finances, you should make sure that it is a perfect match. Since this can be a troubling or maybe busy time in your life where you do not know what has been paid, and what hasn’t there are professionals out there willing and ready to help.The finance management that they give you will make sure you stay on top of things if you use their system, and also follow the tips they give you. This means you will not have to have them come back to help you in the future which can be reassuring to save some more money.You should make sure you know how much you make every week, and if this fluctuates then you are able to find out the minimum you would be making every week and go from there. This way any extra money that you receive in your paycheck will be extra to pay extra bills, or put away for other items.Make sure your manager knows the plan about where you want your money to go, and any extras that you spend throughout the month on household items, or personal care items so they can incorporate those in your spending budget.Find out how much money you could be saving when you find a manager that will help you with your spending, and help you save money along the way without having to worry about how the bills are going to get paid. Maybe you can go on the vacation you have been planning on after your financial needs are situated, and you feel confident enough that you can save enough money in the end to go.
Investment Property: Taking Advantage of Rising Rents
August 23rd, 2010Rentals have continued their upward climb down and are predicted to go even higher as certain factors that kept the rental market healthy continue to have an impact on the rental figures in the UK. According to figures from the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors, the demand for rental accommodations has continuously increased due to the stabilisation of property prices and the tightening of mortgage lending conditions. This bodes well for the property investor looking to add to his investment property portfolio.
Where to buy investment property
Buying a property despite the credit crunch may seem a disadvantageous move. However, according to investor 1st Asset, there are two markets that a property investor can look to. 1st Asset states that properties located in super-prime locations such as west London are worth considering. Areas that are set to receive major new investment boosts are likewise considered by the company as an excellent option. An example is east London which is being primed for the 2012 Olympics. For you to be able to take advantage of these areas, it’s best if you get in the market quickly before the spotlight is directed at these markets and before buyers start to move in and prompt the increase of property prices.
Advantages of buying today
If you’re looking to make a property purchase, today is a good time to go ahead with it. The reason? Stamp duty amongst many other things. Recently, the one per cent stamp duty threshold was increased from £125,000 to £175,000 for a period of one year. Because of this, many property buyers had the opportunity of paying lower stamp duty and significantly lowering transaction costs – which of course translated to considerable savings. Another good reason to buy today is the emergence of the buyer’s market and therefore, the abundance of affordable properties. The current property climate has led to a rise in the number of repossessed properties, which are often sold cheaply.
What investment property to consider
With the increase in rents, it becomes sensible to invest in a buy to let investment property. It’s true that the media is painting buy to let properties as investment vehicles to stay away from. However, the Council of Mortgage Lenders recently expressed its belief that the media representation of the fall of buy to let company Bradford & Bingley is erroneous. The media portrayal of the firm was thought to have caused a furore among many in the industry. CML released figures for the first half of 2008 that showed a lower proportion of buy to let mortgages in arrears of more than three months compared to residential mortgages. Apart from that, CML data indicated no difference in the rate of repossessions.
When buying an investment property for conversion into a buy to let, you should consider obtaining it at a price below its true market value to enable significant savings from the day of purchase. Acquiring a BMV property is possible by finding sellers motivated enough to agree to sell for lower than the market value of their properties – some define this as the price an estate agent could reasonably expect to achieve within three months of marketing the property. Once you have found such a property, you’ll be able to take advantage of 100% financing from several private property investors ready to finance your investment.
What are the returns from letting property?
According to the Association of Residential Letting Agents, gross returns vary between 7% and 10% and will be lower for pricey properties. ARLA adds that the average rental return in Britain today flits around the 10% mark with the capital appreciation expected to match, if not surpass, inflation for the immediate future. As a general rule, the gross rents should range between 130% and 150% of the monthly mortgage payments.
Investing in property today may be regarded by some as unfavourable. But if you do your homework, make the necessary preparations and invest for the long term, you can be on your way to a successful and thriving career in property.
