Using a Property Company to Source Property Deals? Ask Them If They Have an Open Forum Where You Can Assess Past Investors Experience

If you are investing through a property company or other third party who sources deals, why not ask if they have an open internet forum where past investors / members can freely post comments - and which you can read up on before deciding to invest.
One company, www.propertysecrets.net whom I write for quite a bit (on UK matters) has such an open forum.
Right now they are getting a fair mix of positive and negative comments on that forum in relation to one or two of their overseas property deals.
But that's what comes with having an open forum - and I admire Property Secrets and their boss Neil Lewis for having the balls to have one. It's a credit to them.
Most property companies do not have one, so the would be investor has no way of knowing what other investors experience has been - apart from looking them up on the net to see if any negative press exists. And for some of the big property companies, there is a lot of negative press in the press and out there on the net - believe you me.
Please let me know if you know of any other companies that have an open forum for members -and we can post them up here. email david@lettingfocus.com
Copyright: David Lawrenson 2007. Back to main site: www.lettingfocus.com

Find Real House Prices for Free Without The Hassle

I was trying to find local house prices for the street where I'm currently buying a new property.
But, very irritatingly, I've found that most places now either charge or you have to register with the site - and then get bombarded with emails for ever more.
However, there is still one site that's free, and you don't have to register either. It's the site at http://www.houseprices.co.uk
It's a site that's free from noise and easy to use too.
Simply go there and shove in your postcode and you'll see all the prices local properties have sold for, simply presented.
Why pay more?
Copyright: D Lawrenson 2007. Back to site www.lettingfocus.com

Tenancy Deposit Schemes

Yes, they are here now.
And yet, I was surprised to see how little there was in the weekend papers on them.
If you have been confused by some of the reporting on them, here is just a few things to get straight.
They ONLY apply for NEW Assured Shorthold tenancy agreements dated on or after 6th April.
They DO NOT apply to existing tenancy agreements which were set up before 6th April where the agreements is already (or will in future) simply be extended to become a monthly periodic agreement.
They DO NOT apply YET in Scotland or Northern Ireland.
They DO NOT apply to other agreements other than assured shorthold ones. So, you could try an assured tenancy and not have to bother with putting a deposit in a scheme, but with an asured tenancy, you won't be able to get the tenant out unless he defaults or is in any other way in breach of the tenancy agreement.
Oh and finally, those bad landlords who make a point of never returning deposits - and who the schemes are supposed to stop - will ignore it anyway and use all their various nasty trcks to coerce and bully tenants into not reporting them for not being in the scheme.
So, the whole thing is a waste of time really.
Copyright: www.lettingfocus.com and David Lawrenson