Tuesday 20 August 2013

Standing on the shoulders of giants

please don't lego me just yet ...
Just noticed on one of my weekly property internet trawls that Direct Line have launched a 'Landlord Knowledge Centre'. Having clicked through to it, there are a number of options from which to choose such as 'rental trends'; 'staying in control' and 'maximising income'. Yup, interesting and useful AND quite wide-ranging too. So far, so good.

The two articles I have downloaded are written by the same woman, Kate Faulkner, who seems to know her stuff on property, except that in her article 'Invest Alone or via a Property Investment Company' she states

'BEWARE
- ‘Below market value’ deals rarely stack up
- Many strategies are not tried and tested under the law
- Some might even be considered mortgage fraud'

yet in her article 'Where do you find BMV deals?' she concludes with a list of suggestions as to HOW to find and BUY BMV deals :

'• Be prepared to dedicate time to finding BMVs
• Build a good local network of property professionals to secure below market value ‘leads’
• Set up a system so you can analyse quickly whether a property will ‘stack up’ as an investment
• Always be respectful of people’s circumstances – they’re only selling at a discount because they HAVE to
• Be ethical – don’t take excessive advantage
• Never buy without a good RICS surveyor who will work with you'

So Ms Faulkner, which is it? I must admit, I sense a dilemma for Direct Line here! They want to reach out to the property investor who is prepared to use creative and unusual (and TOTALLY LEGAL) strategies to help sellers. But they also want to make the inexperienced investor highly wary and fearful of this way of doing business using an unknown company through which to get the deals.

The problem is, there are lots of different views out there about risk. Only YOU can decide what kinds of risk you are prepared to take, with how much of your own money, using strategies that you are willing to implement. Getting direct advice is always a good idea when it comes to property, but think about WHO is giving it to you. WHAT is their motivation, and HOW their approach has influenced them. If you are not convinced by their experience, expertise or proof, and you feel that their approach will not achieve what you want, then AVOID.

Remember what Isaac Newton said 'If I have seen a little further it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants'. 

Stand on the shoulders of property giants - watch, read, listen learn. Take direct advice, but take it direct from someone you trust and whose experience and achievements speak for themselves.