PROPERTY INVESTMENT NEWSFLASH 

When is best time to buy?

Sir John Templeton knew a few things about making money. A millionaire many times over he made his fortune by doing what everyone else was not doing. He would sell when prices were booming and buy when prices were falling. By doing this he never got caught up in the euphoria of a "booming" investment or turned down an opportunity when an investment was "unfashionable". This way he was always able to take a realistic and measured view of what was really happening and so made his fortune.

It is not hard to make a case against property investment right now. With the credit crunch removing the easy credit many investors had enjoyed for years plus first time buyers no longer able to access 100% mortgages prices have fallen. The basic "problem" is that everyone needs to somewhere to live and until us pesky humans stop being born, living longer, getting divorced, moving jobs and generally existing this fact will not change. Unlike shares, gold and oil stocks property is a necessity.

We are not trying to convince anyone of the merits of buying property. That is a personal decision. The fact is if you do want to invest you should be taking Sir John's advice and looking for the best opportunities.

We consider that time to be now

The above proverb is a perfect fit for what is happening in property right now. It is a bad time for some but also a good time for others. So the people having the bad time are those who are facing the threat of repossession on either their own home or investments properties. The  developers who cannot sell their new properties due to the lack of cheap credit on which they previously relied.  The "no money down" investor who now has to find more elaborate ways to commit mortgage fraud since same-day bridging finance was stopped.  For these people now has never been a worst time in property. The good news is that the number of below market value property opportunities has never been greater. It has never been a better time to buy for the serious investor and to take advantage of the current "property pessimism".

At Choices Acquisitions we have seen record numbers of people looking to sell quickly and are prepared to offer a discount to market value. The only issue is how we decide on what price a property is really worth in the current market?

What is a genuine below market value deal?

When deciding on what a property is worth there are many factors for us to consider. You can look at estate agency marketing prices. Current rental yields. Demand for new homes in the area. Completion prices on the land registry. You can breakdown the local area and consider house price trends, population age, employment levels, crime levels and performances of local schools. All these pieces go towards assessing what a property might realistically sell for in the current market.

By doing this level of due diligence we are able to see what a property should realistically sell for and then look to get a discount of 15-20% off that price. So when you know that the average selling price a property achieves is normally 91% of marketing price in this current market you have to take this amount off straight away. Then by looking at all the other data we can then get the best possible deals for our clients.

At present we are getting some properties on at 60% of their 2006 purchase prices. In other cases we are getting them well below their 2002 and 2003 purchase prices. This is unprecedented in recent times that sellers are being forced to accept these price drops. Any further fall in the market is more than factored in and the added bonus is that the falling prices are now setting record rental yields as those who can no longer buy are forced to rent.

The trouble is these bargains will not last for ever and any change in the financial markets, stamp duty levels or pension rules could change everything very quickly. We are urging all our clients to take advantage of the best investment market in a decade and "make hay while the sun shines". 

If you are serious about buying property as an investment and don't want to miss out on the current boom in distress sales you need to act now. Becoming a member of Choices Acquisitions enables you to gain access to a wealth of information and advice, not to mention the opportunity to buy property at well below market value and give yourself a head start with your plans to achieve financial security.

Kind Regards

Choices Property Acquisitions & Investments

01342 840 000