If you see the words “Financial Freedom” or “Passive Income” you should leave now says Lawrenson of Letting Focus

One of the nicest back handed compliments I get is the fact that when one searches for LettingFocus or David Lawrenson on Google, one gets a load of sponsored ad results appearing at the top of the search results and down the side.
These sponsored links are usually slightly shaded in on the windows internet browser.
For those who are uninitiated in the black arts of search engines, what’s happened here is that other companies have bought google adwords for “David Lawrenson” and “LettingFocus.com” so that every time someone searches for those words on Google, that companies sponsored (advert) entry comes up too.
It will cost them X number of pence every time someone clicks on one of their entries.
There is nothing illegal about them doing this. Well, not unless one has trademarked one’s name, possibly.
These firms do it because they have no worthwhile content of their own on their sites, so have to piggy back off the likes of real property experts.
Actually, it is all a bit of a waste of money for them as about 70% of people never click on sponored search results, preferring instead to click on results that have been earned on merit in the organic (non-paid for, non-sponsored) search engine results – where I come pretty near the top anyway for these search terms.
Actually I was quite pleased that even more of these duff property firms are trying to “bum” off the back of my name than they are for TV property personalities like Gary Mclausland or Sarah Beeney. A real back handed compliment.
But I’m not alone. The names of other respected property people like Tessa Shepperson and Richard Bowser are similarly targeted by these guys who have bought google adwords for their names too.

FINANCIAL FREEDOM WHILST SITTING ON THE LOO
Now, one of the enduring features of some of these companies is that they always have a teaser free course – available for a limited period only, natch.
And they are always giving out gifts allegedly worth £X thousand pounds – only available for the next few days and if you sign up now, of course.
They often have a chap or lady with a smooth sales patter and good looks appearing on a video.
But most of all they promise you financial freedom with a passive property income within a few months just by going on their course.
So, no more daily grind to work to a boring job, getting stuck in traffic or under someones sweaty arm on the tube… become a property millionaire in a year, blah blah.
Just sit back, do nothing at all and watch the rent roll in.
Oh, and if anyone tells you it’s not that easy (i.e. real people like me, I guess) and that you are wasting time and your £6,000 signing up for their course, you should ignore them as people like me are negative and NOT TO BE LISTENED to.
I think the Moonies and the like used similar tactics.
Not all the companies that have paid for google adwords using my name do this, but a lot do.
So, for the record, I have no links with any of the companies who have paid for sponsored search results under my name or using the term “LettingFocus”
And if you have lost money as a result of going with a property company like one of the ones I have described here and you would like it featured in the press, please let me know and we will pass it on to interested journalists in the press or on TV.
ABOUT LETTINGFOCUS.COM and DAVID LAWRENSON
I’m David Lawrenson of LettingFocus.com - the property letting experts. Read Landlords Articles.
I’m the author of “Successful Property Letting” which for the last 3 years has been the UK’s top selling property book - buy Landlords Book.
The new edition is for accidental and experienced landlords and is fully up to date with all the recent changes to tenancy deposit schemes, HMOs, licensing, capital gains taxes and it has new sections on sale and rent back.
I’m an expert property writer and property speaker - and I run the well known landlords blog that you are reading now.
I contribute to newspapers and a host of property websites, write a number of columns in the press and I provide general property letting advice and consulting to anyone looking to buy property for themselves or to let out. I can help private individuals with any aspect of buying property or buy to let.
What’s unique about lettingfocus.com is that we are independent property investment advisors because unlike most people in the buy to let and property “advice” business we are not linked to a property company, developer, agent or bridging loan financier and do not receive commissions from these sources.
We simply give one to one unbiased advice and are often asked to evaluate other property investments.
Find out about some great deals we have arranged at our Landlords Links page.
Copyright: David Lawrenson 2009. This blog is updated roughly once a week.
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On Property Scams. David Lawrenson of LettingFocus Quoted in the Investors Chronicle Talking About Property Scams

If you think things are tough in your own little economy, spare a thought for the poor people who have been victims of the various "get rich quick in property" scammers.
OK, I know they were gullible and naive but that doesn't take away from the fact that many have lost fortunes. And that is not nice.
Sadly, the scam companies continue to proliferate as Claer Barret's article originally in the respected "Investors Chronicle" shows. It really is time the public was protected by FSA regulation.
I'm pleased to say that Property Week has reproduced the article in full. Here it is:
http://www.propertyweek.com/story.asp?sectioncode=297&storycode=3127429&c=1

ABOUT LETTINGFOCUS.COM and DAVID LAWRENSON
I’m David Lawrenson of LettingFocus.com - the landlord experts.
I’m the author of “Successful Property Letting” which for the last 3 years has been the UK’s top selling property title - Buy Successful Property Letting - How to Make Money in Buy to Let.
The new edition is fully up to date with all the recent changes to tenancy deposit schemes, HMOs, licensing, capital gains taxes and it has new sections on sale and rent back.
I’m an expert freelance property writer, property speaker and a well known buy to let blogger
I contribute to newspapers and a host of property websites, write a number of columns in the press and I provide general property letting advice for anyone looking to buy property for themselves or to let out.
In my work as a consultant I help private individuals with any aspect of buying property or buy to let. What’s unique about lettingfocus.com is that we are independent property mentors because unlike most people in the buy to let and property “advice” business we are not linked to a property company, developer, agent or bridging loan financier and do not receive commissions from any of these sources.
We simply give one to one unbiased advice and are often asked to evaluate other property investments.
In my corporate consulting role, I also advise banks, building societies, housing associations and web portals with their buy to let and property products and services.
You can read more of my blog & find details of my networking, advice and property training programme at my website.Copyright: David Lawrenson 2008. This blog is updated once a week.

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“WHAT ARE WE FIGHTING FOR? FINANCIAL FREEDOM” SAYS LAWRENSON OF LETTING FOCUS. PLUS, GOING UNDERCOVER TO CHECK OUT THE PROPERTY SCAMS.

One of my favourite TV comedy skits is the one of “Braveheart” by Jennifer Saunder and Dawn French.
In it Jennifer Saunders does a great immitation of Mel Gibson in the film “Braveheart” by mumbling numerous times “We’re fighting for freedom” in a curious part Scottish part Aussie accent.
Well, if I see another property company advertising a “Get Rich Quick in Property” deal with a byline containing something about people “Achieving their Financial Freedom” I think I might explode.
On the subject of property scammers, I’ve just been contacted by a journalist who has been going undercover to expose the property scamsters for a big piece soon to appear in one of the national papers.
Interestingly she came incognito to one of my own London seminars but I’m pleased to say she quickly found out I’m one of the guys in the white hats.
So, she called me to own up for that and to ask my profesional opinion on some of the scams for the article, which of course I am delighted to do. They will appear when the piece is published in a week or so - and we will bring it to you here.
Sadly, she observed that the majority of the people who went to the various seminars she attended did not own their own house and few seemed to have much money to scrape together. Mixing with other attendees round the coffee pot at these seminars she found that most had a low level of education and were financially quite naive.
However, lots of them bought into the guff about “Achieving Their Financial Freedom” and were prepared to hand over what little cash they had for a seminar to a firm that would probably buy them a duff flat that would prove hard to rent out and show little capital gain.
Meanwhile the promoters will earn a nice slice from the various fees -for mortgages, leads, introducing solicitors and the like – and in some cases get a nice cut from a developer.
It is high time this was stopped by regulation.

CRISIS WHAT CRISIS ASK THE PEOPLE OF CARDIFF
Just back from a few days staying on a farmhouse near my old stamping ground at Cardiff where I was at University many moons ago.
I see that in the last few days the financial clouds have lifted which is interesting because I sometimes think the reality does not fit the facts.
Clearly, the finanical sevices sector has taken a bash and London is looking a wee bit sad. Fair enough.
But no one has told the good people of South Wales that we are facing economic armageddon.
You see, I love to walk around the sites of my old uni town - have my pic taken outside my old house in Woodville Road where I nearly froze to death in 1981, get the security guard to let me and my mates into my old hall to have my pic taken outside my old room etc.
But in the end we left the city centre early. The reason – it was just too full, too jammed with shoppers.
Business is booming there which gets me wondering if our London-centric press is all too downhearted about the grimness in the capital to bother to look at what’s happening in the rest of the UK?
The Welsh have always had a party streak about them and some of them really do “live for today”
But on the evidence of Cardiff last weekend, we are definitely not about to drop to our knees in depression and cut back our spending.
So don’t be too downhearted - the South Walians are certainly not.
ABOUT LETTINGFOCUS.COM and DAVID LAWRENSON
I’m David Lawrenson of LettingFocus.com - landlord experts.
I’m the author of “Successful Property Letting” which for the last 3 years has been the UK’s top selling property title - Buy Successful Property Letting - How to Make Money in Buy to Let.
The new edition is fully up to date with all the recent changes to tenancy deposit schemes, HMOs, licensing, capital gains taxes and it has new sections on sale and rent back.
I’m an expert freelance property journalist, property speaker and a well known buy to let blogger
I contribute to newspapers and a host of property websites, write a number of columns in the press and I provide general property education, training & advice for anyone looking to buy property for themselves or to let out.
In my work as a consultant I help private individuals with any aspect of buying property or buy to let. What’s unique about lettingfocus.com is that we are independent property mentors because unlike most people in the buy to let and property “advice” business we are not linked to a property company, developer, agent or bridging loan financier and do not receive commissions from any of these sources.
We simply give one to one unbiased advice and are often asked to evaluate other property investments.
In my corporate consulting role, I also advise banks, building societies, housing associations and web portals with their buy to let and property products and services.
You can read more of my blog & find details of my networking, advice and property training programme at my website.Copyright: David Lawrenson 2008. This blog is updated once a week.
WANT TO BE KEPT UPDATED WITH OUR LATEST BLOGS?
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Our home blog page should then open & you should then see my smiling profile. Then page all the way down and on the bottom right it will say “Site feed” - click there and away you go.
You then just copy the link that comes up into your News Reader or News Aggregator. Even a non techie like me managed to do all this.
Please note if you have a website & are thinking of reproducing material here - that’s fine but we DO require the full links shown in each blog to be included including also the links in the section “ABOUT LETTINGFOCUS.COM and DAVID LAWRENSON”
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Mortgage Company May Cost You says Letting Focus

I read in the Daily Telegraph, 3 great quotes from Warren Buffet, the “Sage of Omaha” and one of the world’s most brilliant stock market investors.
He was talking about stock market investments, but his comments could equally apply to buy to let – and the way that many novice investors have bought the wrong kind of property, egged on by property companies / agents masquerading as property experts.
Here are the quotes:
On investing generally - “Never invest in something you don’t understand” and “Seek only to be fearful when others are brave and brave when others are fearful” (I kept that quote in mind when I bought Barclays stock last week!)
On the credit crunch – “You only find out who was swimming naked when the tide goes out”
Great stuff isn’t it.

Mortgage Lenders
Of course, readers of this column will already know my opinions of those robbers – the mortgage lenders.
On this subject, I see mortgage lenders are now cashing in again. David Whittaker of Mortgages for Business was quoted by the Residential Landlords Association.
He pointed out that nervous investors were buying short-term fixed-rate mortgages that may be inappropriate.
This is because whilst many buy-to-let lenders are offering extremely competitive headline rates, they are gaining their margin through massive arrangement fees of up to 3% that can be added to the mortgage - and hence repayments.

Most Competitive Mortgage Deals
Of course, those with savvy will know that finding the most competitive mortgage means looking at the fees as well as the mortgage headline rate so you can see whether it is a good deal overall.
As a long term finance strategy for those holding on to property short term fixes are rarely appropriate.
Surely, the only reason for brokers and lenders offering these mortgage deals to buy-to-let investors is the potential re-mortgage business in 12 months’ time -i.e. another chance to get more commission for the broker and another juicy “arrangement fee” for the lender.

ABOUT LETTINGFOCUS.COM and DAVID LAWRENSON
We are LettingFocus.com - the landlords’ expert and I’m David Lawrenson, author of “Successful Property Letting” - the UK’s top selling property and buy to let book for the last 3 years.
LettingFocus provides independent unbiased seminars for property investors and one to one advice covering all aspects of being a landlord and investing in property.
Unlike many in the still largely unregulated buy to let and property “advice” business I am not linked to a property company, developer, estate agency or bridging loan provider.
I can advise where to buy (which areas), what type of property to buy, when to buy, how to buy property at a low price, how to eliminate the risk of getting a bad tenant and more. I have been a landlord and property investor myself for over 25 years.

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Related Article: Have you seen this article on unfair mortgage fees?: http://www.lettingfocus.com/pages/myarticles_Unfairmortgage.html

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