invest in property - Case Study

A client instructed us some three years ago to acquire a portfolio of twenty properties for him. We arranged a 70% mortgage facility in excess of £1 million at a competitive rate of interest from a Buy-to-Let panel lender, to which sum the client added more from his own funds.

Within the next six months we sought out, and identified fourteen suitable properties, (including some very "interesting" investment opportunities). We negotiated very keenly for these properties on our client's behalf, and saw each conveyancing process through to completion.

We partly-refurbished some, furnished most, and let all fourteen properties within two to three weeks of completion of purchase, at rent levels above the market average. All properties have been kept fully let over the last two and a half years, and on annual renewal or re-letting, rents have increased by more than the rate of inflation. When we re-assessed the market value of the portfolio, we were able to report an overall increase in the capital value of the portfolio of 32.3%, over an eighteen-month period.

Expressed as a return on our client's own funds, this amounted to a capital return of over 80% (or 53% per annum). The net rental income, after running expenses, has been more than adequate to meet the mortgage interest payments, with the excess being used to begin to repay the capital element of the loans.

The increased value of the portfolio enabled us to "re-mortgage" for the client, in order to raise a further considerable sum from the lender concerned.

Using these funds as 25% deposits, we purchased a further three 2-bedroomed apartments - one in Docklands and two in London SW1 - raising a 75% mortgage on each of the new properties. The growth in value of these properties has already exceeded 40% in less than two years.

All of the foregoing was achieved with a minimum of involvement by the client, who freely admitted, at the outset, that he had little or no knowledge of property or of the lettings market. Our comprehensive service includes complete responsibility for the on-going management of the properties, leaving the client free to pursue other interests.

Not all clients invest as heavily as this particular one did. Most prefer to start with one of two properties and re-invest again later on, once they have gained some experience of the market-place.

If you would like us to act for you in a similar capacity, please contact us in confidence our Acquisitions Manager, Mark Horak, B.Sc., MRICS. He will be happy to arrange an initial meeting, to discuss your requirements.

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