Serious landlords are always looking for deals, especially in the current market

When one comes their way, it is sometimes not feasible to apply for finance. This is because the administration and paperwork will take too long, and this is likely to result in the investor losing out on the deal.

In such scenarios the landlord will end up buying the property using their cash reserves, and they will then re-mortgage the property to release the invested funds.

The question then arises as to whether the interest charged on the re-mortgage is tax deductible.

In Arthur Weller’s opinion, the mortgage interest is tax deductible in such scenarios. This is because the property was bought with the intention to take out the mortgage soon afterward.In such scenarios the purchaser will only pay cash originally because this is a better way to execute the purchase. (more…)

Amidst all the economic doom and gloom, Chief investment officer of ING, Ian Whittock, told the 124 attendees at their annual investor seminar that the current property markets represented the investment ‘opportunity of the decade’ (source: property week).

During the seminar he went on to say that though on the surface things may not seem all that good for the housing market, there was less risk in the market now than there was 18 months ago. He is of the opinion that if you are sitting on cash reserves, then there is a brilliant opportunity waiting if one can be bold. (more…)

Directors may incur expenses when on the company’s business. Most travelling expenses involve the cost of running a car.

It used to be a good tax planning idea to have the company own a car and allow the director to use it for both business and private purposes, as the rules for taxing directors on their private use of a company car were very generous.
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An increasingly popular way to boost property cash flow with the current financial market turmoil is to venture in to Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) or general multi-lets. In fact, I wouldn’t be too far wrong if I was to say that unless you had properties with a low debt to equity ratio, then this is probably the only way you are going to generate any decent cash flow.

What is going to generate you the greater cash flow? A three bedroom house let out at £595 per month, or the same house split in to four rooms, with each one being let out for £260 per month, thus generating monthly income of over £1,000!

However, as an increasing number of investors start to plunge into this market, you would be wise to take note and not to put all your eggs in to this one basket!

Will we see another apartment style plunge in coming years?
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Interesting question, isn’t it?

The doom mongers (many who missed out on the property boom) say property prices will fall dramatically (and so do most newspaper columnists), yet the property ‘optimists’ say that now is a very good time to start buying.

So who is right?

Everybody has an opinion but what I always say to myself is “look at the person who is giving the opinion and what their motive is.” For example, if someone is selling property, will they say prices are going to fall? And which headline sells more newspapers? Prices to Crash by 30% or Prices to Drop by 3%?

Nobody knows how far property prices will fall (if they do) and how quickly they will recover. The important point is that if your property investment deal stacks up, there is no reason not to buy in the current market for the long term.

In fact, experienced and smart investors are starting to see some GREAT deals coming through now!

The important thing now is to make sure you can answer ‘YES‘ to the following three questions:

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