PROPERTY | SPECIAL
A COMMERCIAL APPROACH RUPERT SMITH, FOUNDER OF COMPLETE RPI, DISCUSSES THE ISSUES THAT INVESTORS NEED TO CONSIDER WHEN INVESTING IN UK PROPERTY.
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rust me I'm an estate agent ... Does "Oh yes, sir the cost of changing that light bulb for £185 is entirely reasonable" ... or better still "You really must buy a furnishing package, it will only cost you £10,000 for your one-bedroom apartment" sound familiar? When investing your hard earned cash in any other forms, be it stocks, shares, gilts etc you are normally given somewhat of a professional opinion from someone with experience and qualifications. Sadly, the UK property market and the advice that comes with it is something of a minefield. Having worked in this colourful industry for over 25 years I really have seen it all – from studio apartments with nine occupants, to fires being lit on the floor of a Knightsbridge apartment to keep it warm as the tenant did not know how to work the thermostat. Just as sadly, the typical overseas landlord who had the very best intentions to strategically acquire a UK investment property is ripe for the picking, as his eye is generally off the ball being thousands of miles away. To be an estate agent in the UK requires few qualifications short of the desire to don a shiny suit and walk with a swagger. Not wishing to generalise of course, as there are some excellent firms, however they are a minority in their field. Typically when appointing an agent to acquire from or indeed let and manage your valuable asset has been a process of recommendation from the developer who sold you the property (and dare I say it has a vested interest). Alternatively you may have appointed an agent purely by their location to the property itself. STOP! Press pause and inwardly digest if you will ... Property held as an investment should be treated like any other asset class and be managed in the same fashion with a commercial approach. Can you honestly say if you asked your agent what the ROI (return on investment) was on your property in the past 12 months, and if so, did they the faintest idea what you were talking about? Before Complete RPI was born I put this very question to a newly appointed property manager. This was just after they had just spent £500 of my money on a replacement microwave which cost more to install than the product itself. She blinked and asked me if I was on Facebook. This is a very typical experience I hear about day in day out, mostly from investors, predominantly those living outside the UK, when having to interface with the dreaded estate agent. “Hindsight always was the best trader” my father used to say and that’s exactly why I set up my business, Complete RPI (Residential Property Investments), in April 2001. I quickly realised that there was and indeed continues to be, more than ever, a market for providing a commercial approach to owning residential property as an asset class. Having personally experienced the pitfalls of owning residential property from thousands of miles away I thought it best to iron out the wrinkles of cold, hardfaced inexperience and be the captain of my own ship. With over 1,000 properties now under management across the UK and a fantastic, experienced team, we at Complete RPI are specialists in our field. Specialists, I hear you cry? Well let me share some advice over the next few editions and kindly over a cold beer or glass of wine ask yourself whether you can indeed trust me because I am NOT an estate agent. I was admittedly, but not anymore. 74
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ACQUISITION STRATEGY Strategy ... who said strategy? Surely it’s as easy as popping along to a very expensive hotel to attend another property exhibition on a Sunday afternoon? Tempted by free nibbles and feeling slightly jaded with a desire to build one’s property empire, that must be way to become a property mogul, right?. Yes you could or indeed probably have, but did you get lucky or make a major financial decision based upon gut feeling? Promises of a reception room “looking out to herds of wildebeest wandering majestically across the plain” – or in reality a dark redbrick wall and the sound of the 10:46 to London Waterloo thundering past? All that is shiny is not gold! Too many of my clients have been wooed by the 'SOLD' sticker and promises of emerging markets and rolled-edge marble effect work surfaces. Complete RPI take a completely different view when advising clients; we have no hidden agenda, no conflict of interest, just good old fashioned experience. Ask yourself the questions, why am I looking to invest? What are my motives? What can I actually afford? What is the net return after all costs allowing for void periods, service charges, disproportionately large agency fees and shifts in interest rates? We at Complete RPI will highlight every single last element of realistic expenditure to find out what the ROI really is. We advise clients to acquire a mixture of both HKGOLFER.COM
capital growth and yield driven residential investment opportunities. Let the income service the debt of your poor yielding central London apartment for instance and include diversity and spread your risk. Complete RPI have access to the entire UK market, not just the shiny new developments that may or may not be worth more than you paid for them in 12 months time. We acquire properties with tenants in situ and a proven track record of rental income rather than the “let’s tell the client what he wants to hear” approach. We acquire property with guaranteed corporate rental terms for 3 / 5 and 10 years, property which may require refurbishment where the value can be enhanced, real distressed properties acquired direct from the receiver or bank. And not only that. We will asset manage your property portfolio (even just the one property), giving you exclusive access to your very own bespoke property portal (which has been two years in the making and very expensive I hasten to add), which enables you to review financial performance, inspection reports, management statements, invoices, expenditure and much more. I shall be discussing fees, location, finance and letting in the next edition, but in the interim please take a look at www.completerpi.com.
FOR SALE
1. Golf Course - Includes Restaurant, Golf Shop, Practice Range. 2 Squash Courts, 2 Tennis Courts & Manager’s Residence. 2. Development Opportunity - 15 Lots. 3. 6 Approved Golf Frontage Lots (Last Available)
YOUR PROPERTY, OUR PRIORITY Let Complete RPI overview your UK property free of charge and answer the following questions: - Is your property under-let? We increased our rental income for client's by 7% last year, did your agent? - Have you contracted with the most up to date tenancy agreement? Changes in legislation occur daily. - We only charge monthly fees, are you paying up front? We charge a monthly Letting & Management Fee and no up-front fees, does your agent do the same? - We offer free rental guarantee insurance, does your agent? - Is your property inspected every three months by an independent inventory clerk? If not it should be and we pay the cost. Does your agent? - Do you have 24 hr access to your very own bespoke online property platform which allows you to view all aspects of your property including management statements, invoices, interim inspection reports, values, gearing ratios, etc ... at Complete RPI this is standard. The answers to these questions and many more could both save you money and increase the return on your capital invested. Please call us on +852-9307-0337 or write to info@completerpi.com Why not visit us at www.completerpi.com ... Your Property Our Priority." HKGOLFER.COM
Kangaroos free to Roam the course
Beautiful & Peaceful Natural Surroundings
Only 15 minutes to the Famous Noosa Beaches
View: www.noosavalleycountryclub.com.au www.visitnoosa.com.au Video: http://goo.gl/SzWjZ3
Ph: (+61) 402 152 687 Email: tim@assetagents.com.au HK GOLFER・APR 2014
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