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Introduction

The most valuable thing in life is a good relationship on a long term basis, because good relationships enrich our lives either spiritually, physically or financially, or if we are really lucky all three! We mention this fact in the first sentence of this first newsletter because it is important that our future relationship is built on the right foundation and to us the right foundation is honesty. So if you want the truth, then you should be pleased, on the other hand if you want to hear a lot of get rich quick nonsense or are addicted to hard research and scientific investment theory then you are going to be disappointed. Our aim is to create a relationship between us that stands the test of time, a relationship which creates value on both sides on a long term basis.

Although it may take time to get to the point where you can trust and understand what we are driving, because we are aiming at the long term, the investment of your time will be worth it. So many times we never get to the end of something because we fail to start at the beginning. To be fair it is understandable because the longer we live and the more experience we build up, the longer the story becomes, and as we are always being told by the press, we all suffer from too little time already. However, despite the powerful imperative to deliver the goods fast and cheap, in the long run I think this strategy will pay the highest dividends for everyone.

What’s in it for us?

We would therefore like to briefly explain how Choices came to be the market leading property company in our field and why we are prepared to send out this free newsletter, in other words what’s in it for us. We know that most people realise that businesses don’t do anything for nothing but if you are anything like us, then you will appreciate knowing what you are being sold up front. You will receive value from this newsletter even if you never use our paid for services. We believe it is vital that you receive real value from its contents because this information is our investment in you, an investment made in the expectation that a percentage of you will come to us to help you build your future financial security through property. There is no need to say more here as details of our fees and charges are on our website or can be sent to you on request, but in a nutshell we sell information, education and portfolio building services to property investors.

Choices Acquisitions: A Total Solution for the Property Investor

What is Choices Acquisitions?

As we have said, Choices Acquisitions specializes in providing property investors and prospective property investors with the information, education, services and resources to successfully build substantial high performing property portfolios. Choices Acquisitions is part of the Choices group of companies which was established in 1989 and we are proud to say is now considered one of the UK’S leading estate agency and property companies.

We came to be in this market partly because of our Chairman's background. Prior to starting Choices he was a Financial Advisor specializing in pensions, but decided to leave that industry because of a growing disillusionment with what he was selling. He felt he was supposed to be helping people achieve financial security but it became obvious to him that for most people there was no realistic prospect of doing this through their pensions. It seemed as though the only winners were the fund managers and insurance companies; the last straw was the implementation of government regulations which though intended to make things better, as usual made things much worse. We opened our first office in June 1989 at the very beginning of the worse property recession since the war, a recession which saw prices go down by a third and transaction numbers fall even more, a recession which didn’t let up until the summer of 1995. So unlike some we are realistic about property, we have seen it good and we have seen it bad, so we are in a position to tell it like it is.

Fundamentally there was no property investment market to speak of in recent times until the Housing Act of 1986. What the 1986 Act did was introduce the Assured Shorthold tenancy which in effect created the modern rental market as we know it today. Before 1986 if you rented out a property the tenant didn’t have to give it back at the end of the tenancy, they could stay indefinitely. Assured Shorthold tenancies allowed landlords to rent private residential property knowing that if the tenant refused to leave at the end the courts would evict them. Initially Choices benefited because of the buy to let boom of the early 90’s, in those days you could buy a property and make a profit from the rent as well as benefiting from massive capital appreciation. Initially the type of people investing in buy to let were property orientated already, but as time went by more and more people became attracted to the market. Ordinary people were building up property portfolios capable of giving them the kind of financial security unachievable through pensions or work.

About five years ago as the market was maturing, bargains were getting harder to find so we started to focus on auction property, distress sales and repossessions. We realized there was a gap in the market to provide this kind of information and that the Internet was an ideal way of making it available. This observation led to the birth of Choices Acquisitions and the services we offer today. From the start when we simply collated and listed the 2000 plus properties that come to auction each month, we have gradually gained valuable experience and knowledge. We have made contacts with developers and agents, we have advertised for distress sales and we have built up a centralized investment property finding machine capable of helping our clients with everything from basic information and education, to the sourcing of carefully selected property portfolios.

In addition to providing you with some valuable insights into the property market, we will also explain in these newsletters why we think it is best for most people to buy property with our help. We will introduce you to:

• The research we do
• The evaluation and analysis techniques we have developed
• Our contacts with developers and agents and how we have made them
• How to buy at auction
• How we find distress sales including re-possessions
• How we can help you buy property below the market value
• Why Property?

Before we get into the nitty gritty though perhaps the first question that needs addressing is why property in the first place? As we have hinted at already, in today’s society it is very hard to achieve financial security by work alone. In order to enjoy a decent lifestyle the amount of money we need to earn before tax is so great that the idea of making meaningful contributions into a pension just isn’t realistic for most of us. Equally investing into stocks and shares either directly or through insurance companies or fund managers is unlikely to yield significant returns in the long run, unless enormous and unaffordable contributions are made.

What’s next?

In the next newsletter we will be making the case for property while at the same time going through some of the financial basics that drive all markets, as well as our personal financial situations, things like:

• Supply and Demand
• Income and Expenditure
• Assets and liabilities

One of the most satisfying things about our job is to see the look on our clients faces after we have explained to them things about their financial situation they never knew or understood and never thought they would know or understand. We think that many of us regard all forms of finances as a taboo subject, surrounded by mystery and confusion. Our goal is to simplify some of the basic concepts in such a way as you will be able to clearly see and understand the situation as it really is, and therefore to be in a position to choose whether or not to do something about it.

In the meantime feel free to contact us with any feedback, or if you have a question you want to ask call us on 01342 840000 or submit it using the link at the top of the page and we will try and give you the answer by return.