Property
In 2016, UK house prices are now nine times average incomes. Since the 1990’s, property has become a mainstream investment. The 1990’s property crash provided a great opportunity for any potential property investors, not just because of the low cost of housing, but because mortgages were more accessible with more than one mortgage provider offering 100% loan-to-value mortgages (the first buy-to-let mortgages became available in 1996). The Telegra [...]
Earlier this month, the UK Government announced the introduction of a Help to Buy ISA to help first-time buyers purchase their own home. For every £200 that you save towards a property, the Government will add £50 (or 25% of whatever you save up to £50). The government will continue to top up your savings until their total contributions reach £3,000. The scheme is being touted as a way to help first-time buyers save for their property tax free. W [...]
At LLB, we’ve looked at peer-to-peer lending to find an alternative income stream whilst bank rates have remained historically low in the UK. We felt that we wanted to take that extra bit of risk to invest in something that will provide us with returns well above inflation. Peer-to-peer lending is still a relatively new concept and its longevity is arguable (it’s been around less than a decade at the time of writing). MM and CS have both invested [...]
Last weekend, I attended the first formal seminar/event that was aimed at aspiring and experienced property investors. There were many stalls and a series of free and paid seminars taking place throughout the two-day event. Whilst at the event, I attended two paid seminars, picked up a free issue of Property Investor News magazine and received a free copy of Property Magic by Simon Zutshi. Despite this book being a best seller, I’ve read many rev [...]
I took a lone day off work (something I’ve written about before) last week to attend my first property auction. My intention was not to bid, rather the idea was to observe and learn. The following post details my observations. If you are interested in investments, particularly property, you may find this intriguing. Caveat: This is not a post about how to prepare for and bid at a property auction. The BBC has a good basic guide for that here. Fir [...]