Now I do not intend to preach about the complexities and various skills needed to negotiate! Ways of dressing up, holding notepads, getting your friends to call you while you are with a seller, practiced facial expressions, keeping quite and all the other tricks of negotiating are available through numerous courses and manuals which handle this topic, so what I would say is that the key is to be able to gauge the lowest level at which a seller will accept your offer.

I do have one vital Rule when negotiating that I always remember when negotiating:

The first one to give a number LOSES!

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On the face of it, this method seems ludicrous in the existing housing market. Why would anyone be buying property when the value is highly likely to go down for any length of time. The last housing crash in the 1990’s saw prices go down by 30% over a 4 year period and took another 7 years to recover in real terms. Most people would not be willing to commit to putting any amount of money into a depreciating asset?
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Is it still possible to Make Money from property in the Credit Crunch? The short answer is YES. Although house prices are falling, mortgage funds have been drying up, and the economic climate is bleak, there are still opportunities to make money from property – if you know what to look for. Read the rest…

This is a question that comes up time and time again and one that, frankly, is becoming a little tiresome. I have a couple of polite options for answers, so if that question is burning on your mind, here are your answers: Read the rest…

Part 1 discussed tree and soil characteristics. Part 2 will provide examples of the effects of trees on buildings with some guidance on defects and how to spot them. The subject of trees, soil and their influence on properties is complex with much engineering research having been done over the years and still continuing. Let’s look at soil first. The soils, which will not affect foundations within the vicinity of trees, are rocks (igneous) and sands (sedimentary). Rocks can be hard like granite or limestone or soft such as sandstone or chalk. Trees can split rocks but realistically in terms of the average house in UK, this is not a problem. Chalk is an exception because it is generally a soft rock but if a trench is dug in it and it rains, for example, the chalk will dissolve into a clay-like soil. So trees in any of the above soils will not normally affect foundations. Read the rest…

The Property Support Network is a Midlands based monthly network and are meeting on Tuesday 22nd July at 6.30pm. This month, Jim Haliburton will be talking to you about becoming a HMO landlord. With over 100 HMO’s he is the HMO Daddy.

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David Lee of CashflowFromProperty.com talks about his highly flexible ‘lease option’ system and how it can generate a fantastic positive cashflow without even needing to secure a mortgage!