Property firm expands Nottingham operations

Nottingham-based Property Investment Portfolio (PIP) has continued to expand its expert team with the appointment of Sandra Pickering, as the property company continues to grow despite the challenging market conditions.

Sandra, 50, joins PIP as finance manager, with over ten years’ experience in finance and administration roles.

Arv Soar, director of PIP, believes that this appointment marks a positive step forward for the company at a critical time in the housing market. Arv commented: “At a time when many firms are cutting costs, we are bucking the trend and expanding our operations. With new projects such as Paramount Windows in the pipeline, and a growing property portfolio in Nottinghamshire, Sandra couldn’t have arrived at a better time.”

Sandra from Bilborough joins PIP from Sian Accessories, where she held the position of company secretary and headed up the finance department. Sandra is looking forward to her new role: “I am relishing the opportunity to work for a company that is expanding and clearly succeeding in its market. PIP is a forward thinking property firm with a strong customer base and I am looking forward to being part of a company that is constantly evolving.”

PIP has recently opened an office in Hull and has appointed a further 40 sub contractors to work on its new portfolio in the region. The Hull office is PIP’s first regional office, opened to support the Nottingham HQ. The company is also looking to expand into North America in the coming months.

UK home repossessions - how to avoid it

It is very difficult to escape at the moment, with inflation rising and the hosing marking slowing down the latest piece of bad news is that the UK home repossessions have risen by 48% from last year.

Reading this article from the BBC, the total number of houses being repossessed was at just under 19,000 and being the cause of the current 'economic slowdown' with people struggling to repay their mortgages. The recent credit crunch has affected everyone and the place you feel the tightest squeeze is always your mortgage repayments. Yet again it is the sub prime borrowers that have been hit hardest and face the possibility of having their homes repossessed. Whilst we are told that the current economic conditions are nowhere near that of the early 1990's recession, there still seems to be nothing done to help the people in need most.

British Gas added to problems recently with a hike in fuel prices, which makes things just that little bit harder for people to get by on these soaring living costs and mortgage repayments. Comments made by charity Citizens Advice and the Financial Services Authority make it clear that repossession should be the last resort for lenders and that they should provide people with guidance and a repayment plan rather than take the aggressive move of legal action. This should always be a last resort rather than the first one.

By avoiding repossession you will help to maintain your credit rating, and this is a key factor in getting back control of your finances. Acting quickly can prevent the situation running out of control. Taking action as soon as you feel the pressure will help to stabilise your situation and there are many ways of finding information and advice on taking the best action to avoid repossession. One such way is taking up equity release from your property. This can help you stabilise your finances and give you room to plan your next move. If you sell your house quickly this doesn't mean upheaval of an immediate house move and there are always people available to help you avoid repossession.

Equity Fast specialise in quick house sales to help avoid repossession.

National TV show selects property investment expert

Nottingham property entrepreneur Arv Soar, of Property Investment Portfolio, has been chosen by Five’s Build a Life in the Country TV show to offer expert advice on how to source and refurbish farms, barns and historic buildings.

The new two-part series, titled How to Build a Life in the Country, starts on Five on Thursday 17th July at 8pm, with the second part being aired on Thursday 24th July at 8pm. The property series gives practical advice on how to create the perfect rural lifestyle and Arv is just one of four property experts set to appear in the first episode.

“The programme has been going strong for three series now and I was delighted to be invited to take part in this off-shoot, giving viewers’ property advice. I have worked in the property industry for over 20 years, sourcing and renovating properties across the UK and abroad, so it was great for me to be able to pass on some of that experience,” explains Arv Soar.

“Finding the perfect rural property is much more tasking than your standard property search. In the first episode, I give my top tips on the best places to look to find your countryside property and advice on what to look out for when buying a barn, farm or historic building.”

Arv has a property portfolio worth in excess of £23 million and he is a regular columnist in property investment magazines and a contributor to features in the national press. Arv has featured on the TV show Property Kings and is now set to appear in this new How to Build a Life in the Country series.

Using archive footage from the past three series of Build a New Life in the Country with new interviews and new footage from past contributors, this series tells you everything about renovating an old property. The past three series of the show have been a success, bringing in viewing figures of in excess of 1.5 million per episode for Five.

For more information about Arv and Property Investment Portfolio, log on to www.propertyinvestmentportfolio.com

Releasing Equity from your home.

Sell your house quickly

There are benefits to a quick property sale beyond simply helping with money problems! In the current harsh times of the credit crunch, its not just people planning their retirement that can benefit from property equity release.

There are so many different state of affairs that people could benefit from releasing equity in their home. Personal circumstances such as a derelict property that has been on the market for some time, a quick sale to avoid repossession may help your credit rating and get you back in control of your finances. Other situations might include selling your house in divorce or separation.

Whatever the reason we have a solution to suit you. We are sensitive to your circumstances and we work within your timescale and propose an offer to meet your needs.

Sell your house quickly to us - it doesn't mean the upheaval of an immediate house move. For example, you can stay in your home, rent free, for up to twelve months after the sale. This can give you the time to stabilise your financial situation before deciding your next step.

Rent or buy back

After, or even the twelve month rent free you still have options:

• You can remain in your home and pay rent as a normal tenant
• You can buy the property back from us
• We will offer you a cheaper property in the same location, where available
• We will even try to find you a mortgage, subject to status

Why not contact Equity Fast to see how we can help you today.

Choosing Your Property to Develop

Buy low and sell high – the fundamental aspect of property investment. It can be a minefield selecting the right property to develop or sell at a profit but with the right approach and limit your risk before you buy you can resell for a profit. Before you buy, make sure to have an plan set out for achieving the most amount of profit. If development is key for a buy to let property investment, consider which method of achieving profit you want to take on:

• property conversions: taking a large house and turning it to flats or vice versa. You need to know which one will suit the property more.
  
• know the facts: understand the building regulations and if your proposed conversion is possible with your resources.
• property improvements: increase the value of a house by enhancing the property's appearance without incurring planner's costs.
• changing the use of a property: converting a business property to housing can be very complex and requires careful planning.
  

Paramount to any decision on what development to start is where to do start your property development. Research in what areas are likely to be high growth markets and where there is strong demand from the local population. Such areas for example are Hull and Nottingham are a good place to look for investment property for sale. For more tips and information on property investment, have a look at an earlier post 7 Things Every Property Investor Should Know.

One of the hardest parts of developing property is knowing how to manage the project from start to finish. Using the expertise of a specialist property investment company can be ideal for any first time developer want to build a portfolio. Property Investment Portfolio (PIP), based in Nottingham are a specialist company with over 20 years experience in the business, PIP can help investors looking for cheap investment property. Our expertise in the buy to let area, along with our skills in the maintenance, development and conversion of properties has allowed us to help many investors build their own rental property portfolios. We can offer our investors anything from a single, run down house, ideal for development for rental or profit on resale, to the purchase of an existing tenanted rental property portfolio with a full managed service.

Why not contact Property Investment Portfolio today and start your first development project.

Making the Most of Buy to Let Property Investment

A recent survey into the fall of house prices by the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has shown an increase in the lettings market.

It shows that the letting market had increased significantly in the first quarter of 2008, as house values are falling the rental values are increasing. This means that the draw of renting a property is much more appealing than leaving it on the market for a possible long period of time.

To capitalise on this market change buy to let property investment is very appealing for people wanting to build a property portfolio. Strong rental demands look set to increase meaning returns will remain high for landlords.

If you are looking at buying property investment, you can use the expertise of Property Investment Portfolio to help with the maintenance, development and conversion of properties. We can offer our investors anything from a single, run down property, ideal for property development for rental or profit on resale, to the purchase of an existing tenanted rental property portfolio with a full managed service.

BUSINESS WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY AS PIP CLOSES FIRST COMMERCIAL PROPERTY DEAL IN MANSFIELD

Mansfield is the latest town climbing the commercial property ladder according to property experts at Property Investment Portfolio (PIP). The Nottingham firm has just acquired the site of Paramount Windows in Mansfield to convert into seven industrial units, creating a new business park in the town centre.

PIP has purchased the 6038 sq ft site at Rock Valley with funding supplied by Yorkshire Bank’s Nottingham Financial Solutions Centre, and the company plans to create industrial units which will be ideal for start up businesses or small industrial firms. The conversion of the site is expected to take three months with the units available for occupation in the summer.

The individual units will begin at 525 sq ft and will be offered for both sale and let to potential investors. PIP is expecting strong demand from investors looking for freeholds, as Mansfield town centre continues to expand, drawing new businesses to the area. These new units are close to the motorways and A-roads, come with parking facilities and importantly are affordable, with the mortgage payments in some cases being on par with rents.

Arv Soar, director at PIP explains: “We wanted to create a mini business park that was just a stone’s throw from the town centre and was affordable for new businesses. These will be the closest industrial units to the town centre and Mansfield remains one of the cheaper areas of the East Midlands for both residential and commercial property. I anticipate high demand for them as the local economy continues to grow.

“I needed prompt funding for this deal and worked together with Yorkshire Bank senior partner Stan Harrison to achieve this. Stan’s appetite for this deal and our combined market knowledge was crucial in this instance, as I had a lot of competition when buying this site and might have lost out if PIP’s finances weren’t in place as quickly as they were.”

For the past two years, PIP has specialised in the residential property markets in the Midlands and the North of England. This new project in Mansfield is the first commercial property venture for PIP, but as the company looks to expand its geographical reach, commercial property is now at the forefront of its plans.

PIP has recently opened an office in Hull to support the Nottingham HQ and the company is looking to expand into North America in the coming months. Managing director, Arv Soar is also a non-executive director of Grosvenor Consortium, which is planning a multi million pound commercial project.

For more information on the Rock Valley business units, contact Property Investment Portfolio on 0115 9289 333 or visit www.propertyinvestmentportfolio.com.

CITY MAKES A HULL OF AN IMPRESSION ON PROPERTY DEVELOPER

Entrepreneur Arv Soar went to Hull to develop property – but he did not expect to fall in love with the city.

But that’s exactly what’s happened and now Arv, who runs Property Investment Portfolio in Nottingham, is opening an office in Hull, his first office outside of his home city.

Arv commented: “With the current Government investment and positive migration into Hull, we see the city as a growth area. We had such fantastic reports from people wanting to invest in Hull and in the rental market, that we decided to open a base in the city.

“On a personal level, I want to complete the regeneration of streets like Wellsted – areas where others have tried, but failed, and given up. It is my goal to help the city of Hull.”

The new Property Investment Portfolio office is at 541A Anlaby Road, and will be headed up by Malcolm Fox. Hull native Malcolm has spent his career to date in the property industry.

Malcolm commented: “As a qualified mortgage and insurance sales manager, with a background in strategic business planning, I will be helping to drive Property Investment Portfolio forward in Hull.

“It’s a modern city that is developing quite a reputation as a place in which to do business and in which to live. I am proud to be a part of making that happen.”

One major project that Property Investment Portfolio, which has 40 sub-contractors in the Hull area, is conducting is the multi-million-pound refurbishment of nine Victorian-era properties near the town centre into 30 high-quality apartments.

When completed, it is intended that the apartments will be sold to investors and to first-time buyers.

Property Investment Portfolio owns hundreds of derelict properties in the town centre of Hull, with the workforce of sub-contractors working flat out to bring them back into use, with damp-proofing and the installation of gas and central heating taking place before the properties are painted and carpeted.

Added Arv: “These terraced homes provide affordable housing for all sections of society and that is what it is all about - making Hull a thriving community once again.”

The new office will open in March and will also sell and manage external properties. For more information about this and Property Investment Portfolio, please log on to www.propertyinvestmentportfolio.com or call the PIP HQ on 0115 928 9333.

POLAND’S THE PLACE FOR PROPERTY INVESTMENT

Spotting an investment opportunity outside of the UK is often a difficult task to say the least but Nottingham property company, Property Investment Portfolio (PIP), has identified the Polish property market as the perfect place for investment and has acquired a new development in one of the country’s fastest growing cities.

PIP is a global investment company that already owns properties in the UK, the Canaries and Goa, and has now further expanded its international reach by acquiring 35 new-build apartments in Mosaic House - a development in the tourist town of Wroclaw, Poland.

Mosaic House is made up of a total of 122 one-bedroomed and two bedroomed apartments, 35 of which have been purchased by PIP to offer to potential investors in the UK.

Wroclaw is now easily accessible from many of the UK’s airports, with low cost airlines offering regular services to the city. Property prices in the city have seen increases of more than 20% annually and Arv Soar, director of PIP, believes Wroclaw is the latest property hotspot to invest in:

“I have been researching Poland in general for the past year and after visiting Wroclaw several times I could see this city in particular was on the up. My research showed that the residential market was growing massively year-on-year and this, coupled with the investment that the city is experiencing and the good transport links to the rest of Europe, is why it offers investors great returns.”

Mosaic House is due for completion in July 2008 and the apartments are currently being sold off-plan to investors for between £67,000 (1 bed) and £94,000 (2 bed). Investors are being offered up to 100% financing, with discounts already secured – something which is unique for overseas investors buying in Poland.

Investment abroad often comes with uncertainty surrounding local taxes, buy-to-let laws and property regulations. However, PIP has an English speaking expert team in place in Poland to handle any buying and rental problems, and letting arrangements have already been established with local agents.

PIP has acquired more than 200 properties worldwide, worth in excess of £20 million, and Poland is the latest expansion to the company’s ever growing portfolio.