Archive for the ‘Finance Tips’ Category

Land Investment in the UK – Eight Things Smart Investors Know

April 17th, 2010 admin

UK land represents some of the best investment land available. These eight facts, presented by a land planning and land investment expert, will tell you what wise investors already know about investing in land

1) Investing in UK Land is a real asset

You can see, use, and most importantly, build on investment land. You hold the legal title deeds to your investment land as surety. There are no complicated concepts in land investment, just a burgeoning demand for a finite amount of UK land.

2) Investing in Land yields strong returns

A finite supply of UK land partially explains its historically rising value, and implies it is unlikely to depreciate. Mark Twain said, “If something is unable to be manufactured and the underlying demand for it is constant, then its value will tend to rise.” Demand for UK land is, at the very least, constant. The property market increases reflect soaring demand for houses from an ever-growing population. Therefore, investing in UK land offers strong returns. It is reasonable to achieve the equivalent of 30-35% annually in a 5-year land investment project. This equates to compounded returns of around 400-450%. Such returns are hard to realise with other UK investments.

3) Land Investment is an investment in “the real world”

The value of property assets is clear and transparent. This is not the case with all UK investments, such as derivatives. Even with traditional equity investments, the average investor rarely knows whether the equity is genuinely under-valued (buy signal) or over-priced (sell signal).

Stock market scandals resulting from accounting malpractice highlight the limitations of the average investor’s understanding of their exposures. UK land investors are usually already active players as homeowners, so they already have some market experience.

4) UK Land has a lower entry point compared with buy to let

The price tag on a typical UK property is around £200,000. A plot of UK investment land that offers substantially larger relative returns is priced at just around £10,000! Remember that the Iron Law of Investment is diversification, commonly known as “Don’t put all of your eggs in one basket.” Because land investment has a significantly lower entry level than property, wise investors can more easily practice the Iron Law.

A typical UK investment requires around £200,000 but a diversified land investment portfolio could be created for less than £50,000! Investing in land, with its lower entry point, therefore gives the investor more ‘chances’ to pick a lucrative UK investment. However, it is by no means essential to build a huge portfolio of land investments: the key considerations for anyone considering investing in land are two-fold: choosing good quality UK land, and choosing a good land investment provider. The 12 Land Investment Guidelines, located at http://www.land-investment-uk.com/homepage/index.html will help you make these two choices.

5) Investing in Land capitalises on UK’s housing crisis

Investing in land is the most lucrative means of capitalising the UK’s housing crisis. Supply pressure is being felt in both affluent and less affluent areas up and down the country. The number of UK council homes has fallen sharply over the past 25 years, while homes rented from social landlords has increased dramatically, and owner occupation has doubled.

The combined effects of the above factors make investing in land a sensible choice when allocating assets in a UK investment portfolio.

6) Investing in land is passive and hassle-free

All UK investments demand careful consideration when entering and exiting the investment. However, some UK investments also demand active management during the life of the investment (e.g. equity and commodities trading). Land investment, on the other hand, is entirely passive, which makes it popular with many investors. Investment land is easily managed and investors should be fully apprised of their investment progress.

7) Land Investment has low volatility of returns

Volatility of land investment returns is an important consideration. It refers to the extent to which the value of the investment rises and falls in its lifetime. Less volatility makes it easier for the investor to know their wealth at any given time.

UK Land investing is not volatile and is actually relatively predictable. The value of a land investment tends to follow a linear path: in a 4-5 year project, the value of the land investment in years 0-3 will tend to rise relatively modestly by the effect of ‘organic growth’, (what we commonly term ‘inflation’). The land investment typically rises sharply in value during years 4-5 (should permission to build on the land be achieved). The land investment may be divested of at this time for maximum profit.

The wise investor knows that they can more easily estimate the future value of their portfolio with land investments than with other asset classes. The land investor can plan for critical future funding requirements such as school and university fees, retirement planning, and healthcare expenses. More concrete future planning may not be so easy if the investor has exposures that are more volatile than investing in land.

8) Investing in land creates real wealth by compounding returns

As we have seen, returns of 400-500% in a 4-5 year project cycle are entirely possible if an investor chooses good UK land and an experienced land investment provider. Therefore, an initial investment of £10,000 could grow to £50,000. If these returns are then reinvested into another land investment project with comparable returns, then the initial land investment could grow from £10,000 to £250,000.

Some of the most successful individuals are enjoying the financial benefits from compounding in land investment. This approach requires a slightly longer-term view, but the rewards are significant. Compounding in land investment can offer more than just good investment returns: it can create very substantial wealth!

Leonard Montgomery is a Land Planning and Land Investment expert based in the UK. He enjoys sharing his expertise with common men and women to help them avoid the pitfalls of land investment and land planning that he experienced first-hand.

For more advice about UK Land Planning or investing in land in the UK, click here: http://www.land-investment-uk.com/

For more help navigating the many opportunities and pitfalls in Land Investment UK, including The 12 Land Investment Guidelines please visit http://www.land-investment-uk.com

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Personal Finance Tips For You by Nocita Carter

November 22nd, 2009 admin

Personal Finance Tips for You includes twenty-four topics covering an array of areas. The author states in the introduction “it is important to know as much as you can about managing your personal finances in these economic times.” Some of the areas covered are credit card traps, keeping on track to pay your bills, handling your checkbook, the price of gas, identity theft, catching up on retirement planning, what to do if you receive a lay off notice from your job, checking your credit report and talking about finances if you are planning to get married. These are just a few of the topics. There are many more.

The first topic covered is Don’t Get Caught Up in The Credit Card Trap, Stop Yourself Before That Happens. This is a very important chapter for everyone to read because it is so easy for this to happen in tough economic times. The author offers several excellent tips to help anyone who has this problem. It is clearly explained why it is so important for you to pay down the credit card debt.

Another important topic covered is How Do I Keep On Track to Pay My Bills on Time. The author gives the reader some tips on creating a budget and keeping track of your income and expenditures.

How do you survive the high cost of gas? We all know, not long ago the price of gas kept soaring. The author gives us many tips on how to save money by doing some simple things like consolidating trips just to name one of the pointers. There are many tips mentioned that I never thought of myself.

How do you establish your credit if you are young and just starting out on a job? Nocita Carter tells you exactly how to go about doing this.

Do you think you can save any money by just saving your change? This is one of the tips made by the author. I can personally vouch for this one because each day when I purchase an item, I take the change and add it to an old coffee can. After a few months, it gets quite full. I am always surprised by the amount of money I saved from my loose change.

I could go on and on with each chapter because there are so many good points in this book but I think you get the message and would get more out of Personal Finance Tips for You if you purchase it and read it yourself.

There are several aspects of this book that I really liked. It is written in language that is very easy to understand. It is not like some of the other books on finance that require you to have a dictionary by your side as you read. The book is very organized. Each chapter starts with an introduction to explain the topic. Once that is done, the author lists several tips to help the reader accomplish these tasks. Nocita Carter has written this book in a manner that makes the reader feel like they have a personal finance expert right there beside them. Personal Finance Tips For You is recommended for any age. It will be a valuable tool for younger people who are starting their first job. On the other hand, one is never too old to find something they did not know in this book. After reading this book, I learned quite a few tips to help me with my finances. You will find this an excellent resource guide to keep by your side at all times.

Nancy Eaton – Owner of:
http://www.bestsellersworld.com
This site has book reviews, book giveaways and a book discussion forum.

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Beware Of The Seller Finance Trap

September 22nd, 2009 admin

There are few things more attractive about the mobile home park business than seller financing. Non-recourse seller financing allows the buyer to escape the hassle and scrutiny of bank lending, while at the same time offering some degree of insurance against fraud (you have not yet paid the seller in full), the ability to give the park back and walk clean in the event of catastrophe, and often includes a below-market interest rate and longer loan term.

That being said, there is a trap often used by sellers that is baited with seller financing, and it is important to always be aware of, and stay clear of, this danger.

The trap begins with a seller who is having trouble finding a buyer. Maybe the park’s vacancy is too high, maybe the location is too rural or in obvious decline. Whatever the cause, the seller can either sit on the park for an eternity, or find a creative way to attract a buyer. And what can be more attractive to a buyer than an easy to qualify, below market interest rate loan.

Of course, there’s nothing wrong with a below-interest rate seller note. But not when it is used as a trap. And many times, that’s exactly what is being set.

You see, the seller knows that the park will never hold up to the scrutiny of a bank – the appraisal, the independent review of the numbers, even the negative logic of the loan officer. To keep you from finding out that the park is overpriced, or in a bad neighborhood, or basically completely unable to be financed, the seller offers to carry the loan and cuts the bank out of the loop day one. That’s the first leg of the trap.

The second part of the trap is to bait the deal with a super low interest rate to make the park look like it is a profitable investment, even though it could never carry a regular bank debt load of the same size. If a park is a 4% cap, then what better way to disguise the poor performance than with a 2% interest rate on the mortgage? The seller is effectively cooking the books with the buyer’s blessing. When you accept a cash-on-cash return that is spiked by ridiculously low interest rates, then you may be getting into trouble.

The final part of the seller trap is to offer only a short loan term, maybe two to five years, and the below-market interest rate for only the first year or so. What this does is to put the buyer in a negative cash-flow situation almost immediately, and force the round of bank loan requests that normally end in nothing but rejection. Faced with the loan coming due, and no bank loan prospects, the buyer often gives the park back to the seller, less his 20% down payment. There are sellers out there who have sold the same park two or three times under this framework, garnering 60% of their purchase price in down payments, and still owning the park.
So how do you avoid this trap? It’s easy.

  • You should never run your numbers based on any scenario other than one that considers legitimate bank debt.
  • And never buy a property without finding out, with great detail, that it could have a real bank loan if needed.

Seller carry should be treated as gravy – an extra perk – but not a structural part of the deal’s economics. If the park could support an 8% interest bank loan, and the seller offers 4%, then that’s an extra spike on your yield until the loan runs out. But you should always run the financials as if a bank loan is involved.

So the next time you see a deal with seller carry, make sure you don’t get sucked into a trap. Stay conservative and rational, and run your numbers based on a real bank loan.
Because, sooner or later, that’s how your deal will ultimately be judged by a buyer or lender.

More MHP Investing articles

For over a decade, Frank has been involved in all facets of the mobile home park business as an owner/operator of parks in four different states. His experience includes:
Purchasing and operating over 25 mobile home parks as an investor
Performing “due diligence” on hundreds of other mobile home parks.

At one point, ranking as the 63rd largest owner of mobile home parks in the U.S. Frank has achieved a high-level of expertise in evaluating, buying, operating, turning around, financing, and selling mobile home parks. His experiences are real life, and he can provide you with real life scenarios and solutions on almost any issue that you can face as an investor or operator.His knowledge can be yours through the unique offerings at “Mobile Home Park College” as a Faculty Member.

Mr. Rolfe has also authored and co-authored some very informative books on investing in Mobile Home parks , to see books written by Frank Rolfe visit Mobile Home Park Store

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Small Business Finance – The Next Big Banking Problem?

August 2nd, 2009 admin

For the past year, most banks and lenders have been subject to both disastrous operating results and negative publicity. Actual commercial lending activity reported by banks conflicts with the usual attempt by politicians and bankers to portray banks as normal and healthy. Most bank financial results have been disappointing after working hard to solve massive residential loan problems. It is reasonable to ask if commercial banking has more potential disasters about to emerge based on what has been seen and reported so far.

Based on a number of business financing statistics, commercial lending to small businesses is already on life support. In many cases, without government bailouts many commercial banks would have already failed. As bad as that perspective might sound, this report will provide an even more negative outlook for the future of small business finance programs. Unfortunately for banks and lenders, it does appear that business loans will be the next big problem.

During the past year or so, several banking problems have received significant publicity. The largely avoidable difficulties were primarily tied to increasing home foreclosures which in turn caused various investments tied to home loans to decrease in value. Such investments lost value so rapidly that they became known as toxic assets. When banks stopped making many loans (including small business financing), the federal government provided bailout funding to many banks to enable them to keep operating. While most observers would argue that the bailouts were made with the implicit understanding that bank lending would resume in some normal fashion, the banks seem to be hoarding these taxpayer-provided funds for a rainy day. By almost any objective standard, commercial lending activities have all but abandoned small business finance needs.

Small business financing appears to already look like the next big problem based on commercial finance statistics recently released by many banks. The general decline in commercial real estate values during the past several years is a major factor in this conclusion. Because many large commercial real estate owners could not make their commercial mortgage loan payments or refinance business debt, this has resulted in some significant bankruptcies. The resulting bank losses are clearly having an impact now on commercial lending to small business owners even though these difficulties were primarily happening with large real estate owners and did not usually involve small businesses.

Bank losses on large commercial real estate loans have caused many banks to reduce or stop their small business financing activities, and this has clear similarities to the earlier situation of residential mortgage loan toxic assets causing banks to stop normal lending because of capital shortages. The bank losses from large commercial property investors are producing a ripple effect that has caused small business financing to effectively disappear until further notice. While small business owners did not cause this problem, they are suffering the immediate consequences when banks are unable or unwilling to provide normal levels of commercial financing to them. This bad situation is made even worse when we learn that many banks are hoarding cash and approving fewer commercial loans to allow them to quickly pay bailout funds back to the federal government. The primary logic for this approach is that it will allow banks to resume excessive bonuses and compensation to their executives.

Unfortunately one problem will lead to another, as is common with complex circumstances. The failure to obtain normal business financing will most likely lead to an increasing number of commercial loan defaults by small businesses. Prudent business owners should begin to take action now in a timely manner to avoid such negative consequences. The most serious small business finance problems can be anticipated and avoided with appropriate action.

Even if they do nothing else, business owners should have a straightforward conversation with a small business finance expert to assess how exposed their business might be to the brewing commercial banking problems. If recent events are any indication, the banks themselves will not be very forthcoming about problems with their commercial lending practices. For many small businesses, the most objective business financing expert is not likely to be their current banker. To increase the chances that they receive sufficient small business loans in the face of ongoing lending problems, a healthy amount of skepticism and caution will be helpful for business owners.

Stephen Bush is Chief Executive Officer of AEX Commercial Financing Group and works with small business owners throughout the United States to provide effective small business financing options. Please contact Steve for candid and practical advice about working capital loans and commercial real estate financing.

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