“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.
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Sales and Rent Back Regulation Needed says LettingFocus

I read that The Property Buyers Association (PROBAS) has just been launched with a code of conduct for Sale-and-Rentback - and aims to gain eventual approval from the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) and the Financial Services Authority (FSA), the Government's City watchdog.
But so far PROBAS currently contains just three members and the danger is that unscrupulous operators muscle in.
Many of the companies who do sales and rent back say they can complete a house purchase within days, although the selling period is usually quite a bit longer in practice.
At present, the business of buying houses from people in mortgage difficulties is completely unregulated and there are lots of one man bands in the sector, learning the tricks of the trade from seminar givers at the trade shows – who often make a lot of their money by providing the would-be investors with bridging loan finance so they can seal up good property deals fast.
The fact that PROBAS now exists is good. It’s just a shame it is so late in the day.

One Sided SARB Deals
Whilst the business is unregulated lots of hapless people in debt will become tenants in very one sided deals.
In about 10 years time maybe the government may get round to regulating this. By then it will be too late for vulnerable people who lost their homes.

Horses for Courses
On another topic, one of the questions that vexes me is why do people spend thousands going on a course to learn about buy to let from companies who have terrible reputations for selling properties that are overvalued and won't rent well?
Just a few minutes on google would alert them to the poor performance of many of these players. Journalist Graham Norwood is the latest scribe to do a hatchet job on one of these firms in the weekend press.
So, if you have been mugged by one of these firms and spent £2,000 on a weekend’s course with one of them, please get in touch
Or maybe you think that the £1990.01 you paid over and above the cost of my own book, “Successful Property Letting – How to Make Money in Buy to Let” was £1990.01 extra well spent. If so, again, we would like to know.

About LettingFocus
If you need more advice on where to buy investment property ask me. I’m David Lawrenson from independent property investment experts www.lettingfocus.com
I’m the author of the landlords bible “Successful Property Letting - How to Make Money in Buy to Let” the UK’s top selling property title.
I’m an expert on property letting and a well known writer on buy to let and I contribute to newspapers and a host of property websites, write a property investment blog and run a landlord and tenant advice service - check out my columns for FinancialExpress.net and Archant’s “The Guide” magazine
I also work as a consultant helping banks, building societies, housing associations and web portals with their buy to let and property products and services.
You can read more of my landlord blog and details of my networking, advice, property investors seminar programme at my website www.lettingfocus.com.
What’s unique about lettingfocus.com is that we offer independent property investment mentoring 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.
If a property investment is lousy we’ll tell you straight and we will tell you all about buy to let and property investment - the good and the bad and we won’t make silly promises that you’ll become a millionaire overnight.
Our main site is at www.LettingFocus.com
Copyright: David Lawrenson 2008. This blog is updated at least twice a week. Permission must be sought before using the material in the blog.