The Property Podcast

This week on Ask Rob & Rob, Sam... Asks Rob & Rob – What's the catch with student pods?   Rob D starts by agreeing that the propositions offered can look attractive and if all pans out as promised then they do indeed sound great. The key, however, is trying to figure out if things will work out as promised by the developer! So for this reason it's absolutely key to look at the previous projects of the developer and see if their history backs up their claims. Rob B is against student pods as he feels they're weighted heavily in favour of the people selling the product as opposed to those owning the product. He suggests that many of the claims made by the developers are greatly exaggerated at best. He also makes a very good point in saying that the mortgageability on student pods is pretty much non-existent, and the market if you want to sell is extremely limited.  Rob B finalises by saying he'd never buy one and he would never offer them to RMP customers - so no sitting on the fence here!  ASK YOUR OWN QUESTION TO ROB & ROB! Don't be shy! All you need to do is leave a message with your name and whatever's on your mind. Just pick up the phone and call 013 808 00035 (normal UK call rates apply). Or if you prefer, click here to leave a recording via your computer instead.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Buying property within a limited company is becoming increasingly popular – but when it comes to obtaining mortgages for companies, there are some extra considerations you need to know about. This week, with the help of our friend Dave Cookson from TC Financial Services, we're running through the important details you need to be aware of. Including: The kind of range and selection you can expect to choose from How to set your company up correctly The documents you should have to hand before you start The personal requirements for company directors that lenders will want to see How to handle the tricky issue of multiple lenders against the same company Why this type of lending is particularly attractive for contractors and business owners What Dave thinks lies ahead for the sector Related listening: TPP125: Should you create a limited company for your property portfolio? TPP124: Post-budget survival tactics for property investors Free video course: Should you use a limited company to invest in property? Resource of the week If you ever need to visualise a process, a flowchart or a mindmap, draw.io is a great free tool to use. Rob B recommends it for fans of Lucidchart, who are now seriously restricting their free plan (the cheek!) News this week It won't have escaped your attention that the Bank of England have cut the base rate to 0.25%, as reported by the Economist – as well as announcing a new round of quantitative easing. If you've got tracker mortgages, enjoy the lower payments! As for the longer-term consequences...we'll be getting into that next week. Join the conversation Have you learnt anything from a company mortgage application that other listeners might find useful? Was it easier or more difficult than you expected? We’d love to know, so join the discussion in The Property Hub! If you enjoyed The Property Podcast, please leave a review on iTunes Reviews are really important in helping other people to find the show, so by way of thanks we read out every single review we receive on air. If you’d like to hear your name on the show, leave us a review on iTunes here. Not sure how to leave a review? This video shows you how to review and subscribe on iTunes.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this weeks podcast, Jack asks a cracker of a question - where are we in the 18 year property cycle.  Given that this is one of Rob & Rob's favourite topics to talk about, they didn't need a lot of convincing to answer this one! Rob B starts off by stating that he thinks we're just heading into the mid-term wobble - where London and the South East prices should soften a little, and the North should grow a little less slowly. Of course the media will term this as a 'crash' but it's likely that the results will show it to be far less dramatic.  Rob D agrees the UK as a whole is heading into the mid-term wobble, and reminds us that the growth has been amazing in the past few years in London and the South East, so the 'wobble' is likely to be felt the most in these areas.  Both Rob B and Rob D agree the aggressive growth is to come in the second half of the cycle, though London and the South East may grow slightly less aggressively due to their growth beforehand.  Rob B reminds us that as most of our podcast listeners have predicted this is coming, it leaves us in a position to be a lot more relaxed about the situation, and make the most of it.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the course of getting to know hundreds of investors, we've come across a whole cast of characters who probably shouldn't be investing in property at all – including Stressful Susan, Dithering Derek and Gung-Ho Grace. Will you recognise yourself in any of them? Do you have the right temperament to be a successful investor, or are there traits you need to get under control? Listen to this week's episode and find out! Related episodes we mention: - When Property Goes Wrong - How Rob B lost £40,000 on one deal Resource of the week If you ever need to put together a flyer for a property, or just brighten or resize some photos, you might want to try Picmonkey or Canva. Both are free and extremely easy online image editing tools – perfect for quick, everyday tweaks that don't require anything as powerful as Photoshop. News this week Chinese buyers' interest in the UK has spiked by 40% post-Brexit, as reported in The Telegraph. In a way not surprising as the pound is on sale for the rest of the world, but still a remarkable indicator when there's still so much uncertainty about how things will pan out. Join the conversation What other "characters" would you add to our collection? Do you have any traits that you need to work on to make yourself a better investor? We’d love to know, so join the discussion in The Property Hub! If you enjoyed The Property Podcast, please leave a review on iTunes Reviews are really important in helping other people to find the show, so by way of thanks we read out every single review we receive on air. If you’d like to hear your name on the show, leave us a review on iTunes here. Not sure how to leave a review? This video shows you how to review and subscribe on iTunes.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week, the brilliantly named Rob, asks a question regarding the build to rent scheme, and how this may impact upon the existing PRS. Asking is this a ploy by The Government to eradicate small time BTL Landlords.  Rob D begins by acknowledging that there will definitely be more institutional investment in BTL, and that it is probably healthy for the sector not to be controlled entirely by private BTL Landlords. But thinks there is room for both in the marketplace, due to the demand for different types of products.  Rob B agrees that whilst the balance my shift, it shouldn't do so radically. Rob B goes on to discuss how quality has improved for student accommodation, and how in the long term this could give us a glimpse into the future of the BTL market, and that it could be a good thing if this competition increases the quality of stock available to tenants.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week we're talking about how to hire for your property team – whether it's a property manager, an assistant, a bookkeeper, or just about any other role you can think of. We've talked about the benefits of hiring many times, so this week we talk through the exact process we use to maximise our chances of finding the perfect candidate. We cover: How to set yourself up for success before hiring begins The different hoops we make applicants jump through (and why) How we organise the process to keep track and minimise our time input The questions to ask in an interview One critical step you mustn't miss out The killer question to ask when taking up references Resources we mention are: Topgrading Who: The A-method for hiring (book) Talent Dynamics Resource of the week This week's resource is a Trello board, which is the template we use when we're executing the hiring process we talk about in this episode. Take it, make whatever modifications you want, and you'll find that it makes it way easier to keep track of where you're up to with all your applications. Get the Trello board here And as an extra bonus resource, Rob B was on the Graduate Jobs podcast talking about how to land a job in property – so if you're seeking a role rather than hiring for one, make sure you check out his words of wisdom. News this week House price growth is hotting up in the north and cooling down in the south, according to The Telegraph. Wow, does that mean we've actually got a prediction right for once? Don't forget to register for a meetup! Next week will be the first Thursday of the month, which means...it's meetup time again! There are over 30 meetups taking place, and they're totally free. All you need to do is find one near you, put your name down, and turn up for an evening of friendly and informative chat with other property obsessives. See the full list and sign up here Join the conversation Do you have any tips from when you've hired for your property team? Which tasks do you wish you could hire someone to take off your hands? We’d love to know, so join the discussion in The Property Hub! If you enjoyed The Property Podcast, please leave a review on iTunes Reviews are really important in helping other people to find the show, so by way of thanks we read out every single review we receive on air. If you’d like to hear your name on the show, leave us a review on iTunes here. Not sure how to leave a review? This video shows you how to review and subscribe on iTunes.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this week's episode, Rob & Rob talk about getting a mortgage when you're not yet a property owner. Rob B says that there are a lot of mortgage lenders out there, but as a non home owner, and not yet a property investor, the pool of products available are actually quite small. Rob B goes on to say that in 6 months time there will be more options. Both Rob and Rob discuss the options available to you and say how important it is to have a good mortgage advisor.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week it's all about the money, as we explore alternative ways to raise funds for your property investments. We explore the pros and cons of using: Credit cards (!) Bridging finance Private finance Joint ventures Second charge loans Each funding source we discuss could be (and most will be) a separate episode in itself – but in this value-packed episode we give you a quick run-through of the different strategies you might want to have in your kit, and how to decide which is the right tool for the job. Resource of the week You've probably rhetorically asked yourself, "where did today go?" – but with Toggl, you can actually look back and check. It's a time-tracking tool (that integrates nicely with Chrome) that makes it easy to monitor the amount of time you spend on different tasks and projects. It involves some manual work and discipline, but the act of being mindful of your time can be beneficial in itself – and Toggl gives you reports that you can dig into to review your biggest time-sucks. Certainly this won't be for everyone – but if you feel like you'd benefit from the insight of knowing how you spend your days, Toggl is a great (and free) way of doing it. News this week As reported in The Telegraph, six commercial property funds have suspended trading – basically meaning that investors aren't allowed to take their money out. We discuss the nature of different types of funds, and what (if anything) this news tells us about the future of commercial property. Join the conversation Which of the financing methods we mentioned have you made use of? Are there any others that we didn't think of? We’d love to know, so join the discussion in The Property Hub! If you enjoyed The Property Podcast, please leave a review on iTunes Reviews are really important in helping other people to find the show, so by way of thanks we read out every single review we receive on air. If you’d like to hear your name on the show, leave us a review on iTunes here. Not sure how to leave a review? This video shows you how to review and subscribe on iTunes.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this week's episode, Rob & Rob discuss the pros and cons of buying a home or an investment property. Tony has been living overseas and is looking to return to the UK with his young family - he doesn't have enough to buy in the location the family want to live and he wants to know whether to buy an investment property instead. Rob B starts off by addressing the pros of investing in a property, then renting a home to live in. He says that if you're moving to a new area, renting will give you a chance to see if the area is actually right for you. He then goes on to say that you can build your asset base by investing in property, then use your capital to invest back into buying your own home, leading to a double win. Rob D talks about shaking off the mindset of "You have to own your own home", and goes on to cover some of the advantage of owning your own property, such as accessing more mortgage options.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Brian from Birmingham and his partner are eager to invest and have saved up to buy their first property, but will need some more capital in order to complete their first flip. Rob & Rob give their tips on gaining finance in this situation and note the things to be aware of as potential pitfalls to gaining finance with no previous investment track record.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.