Top 20 best places to invest

[solutioninvestments]

Originally Posted by markdanshaw

Has anyone checked out Guest Invest as a possible investment?

I find the idea of purchasing a luxury hotel room interesting, but need to request the business plans and sales figures. Would these investments be covered by trading standards? Would investors receive a deed for the 'property'? Who would retain rights to the room? Would maintenance be covered by the hotel? Insurance? Is this a leasehold or a scam?

Anyone with further information on hotel investment or experience regarding this please respond.

Hi Mark

Yes I know of Guest Invest. They have a very professional set up and this type of investment is becoming very popular at the moment. The hotel rooms are usually on a 999 year lease and you will receive a 2 year rental guarrantee followed by a 50/50 room rate share. With room occupancy being very high in London you can achieve excellent yields. The hotel rooms are also SIPP compliant due to this being classed as a commercial investment which is also proving to be very popular amongst investors.

We are due to launch two new hotel projects across the UK with a similar mould so if you need any more info just let me know

Thanks

Duncan

[Damian George]

Those thinkg of investing in UK property it is not the Hotspots to watch but the Mortgage Approvals.

Doesnt matter how up and coming an area is - if buyers cant arrange finance buyers turn to window shoppers

read the following

Crosby Report on the UK Mortgage Market

[italylaw5]

What is rate in UK property?????
Property Law & legal Fee in UK?????

[lewi]

shropshire
its the UK's hidden secret

[paellataffy]

Pembrokeshire. Property in many parts is still relatively cheap (e.g. don't try to buy anywhere near Tenby harbour!), the landscape is astonishing and it's constantly being mentioned in the broadsheets as a quieter alternative to Cornwall.

[Lysos]

On yesterday's news - the average estate agency is selling 5 properties per month;i.e. not enough to stay in business. I wouldn't advise buying anywhere just yet.

[marcus-cpi]

Hi Lysos,

Couldn't you argue that the dearth of sales and prospective buyers for estate agents at the moment makes it a good time to buy?

Puts you in a very strong negotiating position if you're a buyer with a bit of cash and can find a vendor that needs to sell quickly.

We're looking at 25%+ discounts from the present market value on properties at the moment. I think that represents pretty good value.

It looks like the forum moderators pulled your post last night in response to our new properties in Manchester which was a shame as I thought it could have been an interesting debate to start.

Marcus

[Lysos]

Marcus,

I agree with you about cash buyers being in a strong position. However, I feel there is a lot more pain to come and a few more months of mortgage payments and no buyers will strengthen that position further. Buyers are always scarce in December/January, even in a rising market; in today's market I'd be looking at a resale, not a new build.

[marcus-cpi]

Hi Lysos,

You're definitely right about looking at a resale rather than new build at the moment. (the Manchester properties we were talking about were resales by the way).

Financing is only available up to 75% of the price at new build at the moment and if you're buying wiht a delayed completion date there is very little security that you'll be able to finance it at the agreed purchase price.

Unless you can find a new build with a huge discount of 30%+ it's not worth the risk.

And going back to the original posting in this thread about locations to invest, I think that anywhere there is a strong, reliable rental market - particularly with potential for HMO properties - is worth considering.

Areas like Clapham in London are expensive, but prices are dropping pretty quickly now and rental voids are non-existent because there is so much demand.

My thoughts are that as long as you follow some basic rules you'll do ok:
- Take a long term view (5 years +)
- Stick to buying substantially below the open market value (i.e. around the point at which rental yields are hitting the 7.5%-9% mark)
- Look for positive cashflow from day one
- Buy in areas with well-established, strong rental demand

I appreciate these rules aren't exactly rocket science but I speak to a lot of people who are struggling with serious cashflow issues because they banked on using cashbacks and/or savings to finance deficits on rental income vs. expenses and have underestimated the impact of the rise in rates or had to deal with serious rental voids.

Unless you have substantial cash reserves, anything with negative cashflow in this falling market is a very risky strategy - the last thing you want is to be forced to sell up because you've run out money to service the debt.

Marcus

[Investy]

Originally Posted by paellataffy

Pembrokeshire. Property in many parts is still relatively cheap (e.g. don't try to buy anywhere near Tenby harbour!), the landscape is astonishing and it's constantly being mentioned in the broadsheets as a quieter alternative to Cornwall.

None of this tells us whether the yield stacks up.

There are villas in lovely parts of Spain that only get 12 weeks rent per year, so the investment case is poor, if not down right foolish