Review: guidance seminar for buy-to-let investors
Tuesday, 6 September 2011 3:23 PM
From identifying a property with strong rental potential to evicting tenants, becoming a successful landlord is a complex process. That's why Landlord Action's Paul Shamplina and Designs On Property's Kate Faulkner decided to start running one-day seminars explaining how to do it right – and make a healthy profit while you're at it.
I headed down to a session last week to see what it was all about, and was hugely impressed. This was not least due to the host of experts presenting. As well as tenant eviction specialist Shamplina and Faulkner, who writes the Which? books on property, we were privy to the expertise of To Buy Or Not To Buy presenter Sarah Walker, mortgage guru Andrew Montlake of the Coreco Group, and Alex Vintner, the commercial director of London lettings agent Edmund Cude.
I must admit I was only able to make the afternoon session – the first half of the day had already seen delegates educated in picking profitable buy-to-let properties, comparing areas in which to invest, and tracking investments – and I arrived to find a room full of enthusiastic, engaged attendees.
It was interesting to see how varied the audience was: the chap next to me owned a portfolio of seven properties while the young brother-sister duo on my other side were first-time buyers about to make their debut investment.
Sarah Walker kicked the afternoon off with a no-nonsense presentation in which the key message was "Do the donkey work yourself" – because at the end of the day, if you choose the wrong property, you're the one that will be affected.
The straight-talking TV presenter showed the group how to carry out effective desktop research but also emphasised the importance of really getting to know an area and a property 'in the flesh' before buying.
Next it was the turn of Andrew Montlake, who achieved the seemingly impossible by keeping me genuinely interested throughout his entire presentation on mortgages! And it wasn’t just me – the entire room was held captive by his insider tips on the types of properties and size of deposit lenders will be most amenable to.
Despite the current landlord-friendly rental market, the experts were all keen to stress how important it is to find the right tenant – and of course, this means not only buying a suitable property but making sure it's up to scratch both inside and out. Alex Vintner, who has worked for lettings company Edmund Cude for a decade, gave a fascinating insight into what tenants prioritise when choosing a rental property, based on research carried out by his company.
Amongst other things, we learned that the number-one deterrent to a potential tenant was a bathroom without a shower, and that the majority of Edmund Cude's tenants would pick an IKEA-furnished lounge over a designer one. Judging from the murmurs of surprise around me, I wasn’t the only one to find it quite eye-opening stuff.
The day ended on a somewhat sobering note, with Paul Shamplina explaining the processes a landlord must go through in order to evict a problem tenant – not a nice subject for someone who hasn't even bought a property yet, but essential nevertheless.
The most refreshing element of the seminar (which, incidentally, was called 'Buy-to-Let Investing in 2011') was the fact that no one was trying to sell anything. This was clear, impartial advice, and the breadth and frankness of the advice on offer was well worth the attendance fee.
Add to that a host of extras – including access to one of the most comprehensive spreadsheets I've ever seen, which allows landlords to input every single cost their investment will incur and calculates how much they'll make at the end of it – and you have on your hands a seminar that will pay for itself time and time again, whether you're an amateur or an old hand.
And, speaking from my personal perspective as a renting tenant, I feel I could now give my landlady – not to mention my lettings agent – a run for her money when it comes to buy-to-let know-how.
Buy-to-Let Investing in 2011, a one-day seminar, costs £299. To register your interest in the next event, email enquiries@landlordaction.co.uk. Paul Shamplina will be advising on how to avoid tenants from hell at the Landlord & Letting Show at London Olympia on Wednesday 7th and Thursday 8th September.
By Ele Cooper
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Tags:
- buy to let ,
- buying property ,
- investment ,
- landlords ,
- letting
