FAQ’S:

As we are sure you can imagine, we get asked many questions and many pop up time and time again.

To save you time we have reproduced many of them here.

Believe me, if you read thorough these your property knowledge WILL increase dramatically!

Give it a go, and have fun

[Oh, and view our jargon busting dictionary here]

Q: What is progressive property?

A: Come on! Read the home page first click here

Q: Shouldn’t I just pay off my existing mortgage?

A: This is a question that we get asked many times over. In the industrial age this was very much considered to be the way to live: Work hard, earn money to feed your family, stay with the same company for life safe in the knowledge that you will be looked after for the duration of your retirement.

Times change and now, at the heart of the information/technology age there life is very much different. Many people move careers many times over, can earn huge sums in shorter time frames and know that their retirement is not as secure as it used to be.

Leveraging your time and money is the ONLY way to secure your financial freedom and your equity in your property is money that is not being leveraged. To see this in more detail click here

Q. How much money do I need to start investing in Property?

Q: What are the differences between new build and existing property?

A: Having spent much time researching, selling and investing in new build property alongside our existing portfolio, we took many essential lessons that we have been fortunate enough to pass on to you.

New build property is usually sold at a premium. Just like buying a new car, as soon as it comes from the forecourt it is immediately worth considerably less. New houses and flats are the same. Developers have margins that they need to meet and are in the business of profit just like any other company. In our experience the premium on new build properties can be as much as 15%, and so the ‘discounts’ that you are sold end up being imaginary much of the time.

We tell you this from direct experience having been directors of a new build property company. In our personal portfolios every single existing or older property outperforms the new one every time, without fail.

It will take you nearly 3 years at 5% growth for a new build property to realise the same ‘real ‘equity’ as a genuine discounted existing property.

When you buy an existing property on a street you know what your property is worth: you generally have a row or many types of exactly the same property to which you can realistically compare values. When a block of new build flats go up, most of the time they are in an existing [or brand new re-development area] and as such there is nothing of like to compare the values to, making it much more speculative and open to ‘exaggeration.’

A new build property will very often be considerably ‘upside down.’ When all costs such as mortgage and agents fees and voids and maintenance is factored in we used to regularly see investors buying property that shocked them when they were costing sometimes upwards of £200 per month.

With the right property, in the right area with the right people buying for you your yields will be considerably better with existing property, and we look at consistently achieving a yield of 6%

Q: Should I invest in 'off-plan' property?

A: Off plan property is, in our opinion, even more speculative than new build. In a 20% rising market you might make the growth often sold or predicted, but in our experience and the experience of so many investors that we have spoken to, this never ends up being the reality.

Many investors have experienced, once their builds have been competed the value of the property was much less than ‘predicted’ and the rents achievable were also much less than ‘predicted.’ The result: a property with little equity in it despite having time to grow and an upside down property.

Q. Everyone seems to be investing in London, should I not be investing there?

A: Some areas of London such as Chelsea and Kensington have grown considerably over the last 2 years, and were you lucky enough to own property there then you have done well.

The higher the value of a property, the more money you need to fund it. Property prices in London are as high as anywhere in the UK and we can get a three bedroom house in Peterborough for the same price that you can get a one bedroom flat in a poor area of London.

For risk assessment purposes breaking your portfolio fund up into smaller chunks [we recommend 100,000 or so] is a strategy that is much more able to take any potential market correction and your liability is spread with minimum capital outlay.

Q. What are the benefits of investing in Peterborough?

A: Starting in 2008 the master plan redevelopment of The City of Peterborough will see £1bn of regeneration and redevelopment over a five year period. With such a huge investment the city is going to be considerably improved in all areas and attract business and residential interest on a large scale. Many people are calling the plan ‘The New Leeds.’ All of us who have lived in Peterborough for a long while are very much excited about this, and even more so for the impact it will have on the Peterborough macro-economic markets.

25,000 new homes will be built as part of the £1bn redevelopment of the city and 20,000 new jobs will also be created.

There are 7,000 new homes being built in Hampton; the biggest housing development of its kind in Europe.

There will be a new train station linking the city to London, which is barely 50 minutes away on the GNER service, and then on to Paris

Peterborough is the cheapest city in terms of property average prices within a 75 mile radius of London. Many people and businesses are relocating to Peterborough because of affordability compared to London. London prices have skyrocketed in many areas and could well continue to do so with the arrival of the Olympics, and we believe that Peterborough should benefit from a ripple effect from this.

Q. How do you do your diligence?

A: Very carefully indeed! If you look at some of our software, spreadsheets and projections you will see how we construct our key performance indicators and research. If you go to our news and links page there are links to sites and bodies that offer up to date news on the property and economic markets, as well as trends, demographics and business news.

If you want to see how we do our diligence to buy you your property then click here:

Q: Why don’t you buy all the property for yourself!!?

A: As individuals, there is a finite amount of property that we can buy based on the amount of cash flow we have. We are buying heavily for ourselves and have a constant stream of property being sourced by our many contacts.

We will always be able to source far more property than we can afford to buy, no matter how much cash flow we generate. Having helped friends and family invest and still having a greater supply, we decided to help as many people as we could achieve the same level of success that we have achieved.

In order to keep continuity with supply, we need to keep buying properties from our sources. We think that this is a great win-win situation for all of us, and in committing with us you are also helping us build, develop and grow, and for that we are very thankful! This business is perfect for us because it enables us to grow our own portfolios as well as helping you do the same: a win-win whichever way you look at it, and so important in business.

Q: Who gets the best properties you source?

A: Our property buying system ensures fairness by placing buyers in a queue based on the time in which You joined. All properties are sourced through our various marketing systems.

Q: How do you keep finding property at discount?

A: As a ‘powerful buying machine’ in Peterborough the supply of genuinely discounted existing stock properties is self perpetuating; the more we purchase, the more we are offered. We've built a great rapport with our large network of agents and property introducers and have created an efficient marketing system over time, which ‘pull’ in properties to us at a rate well in advance of demand at present. Properties can be purchased considerably under market value for many reasons: probate, divorce, sellers moving or emigrating, increasing debt and over spending, upsizing or downsizing, lack of market movement. We believe that we genuinely help these people by buying their property for them quickly and efficiently and helping them solve their problems in the least possible time; offering fast exchanges and repairing chains.

Q: How do I know I am getting value for money on my refurbishment?

A: At every stage of refurbishment, and indeed every stage of your property purchases, you will be kept up to date with the progress. Progressive property will send you a monthly pack on the progress of your purchases, which will include the stages of refurbishment. A copy of the invoices for the work completed will be sent to you so that you can track the costs and progress should you wish.

Because of the volume of refurbishments we undertake, and the rapport and contacts we have with various different tradesmen, we believe we can refurbish your property at a hugely competitive rate, well below what a member of the public would pay. We aim to save you both time and money.

Q: What if my properties do not rent out?

A: This is one of the most frequent questions that we get asked, and I can understand why! Everyone wants the peace of mind that their mortgage will be paid, leaving their assets to grow without straining income.

In our experience, and this is not the case with everyone, rental voids are not a problem, and not anywhere near as significant an issue as many people think. This comes with knowledge, experience, and rapport with contacts.

Our average void time for a property is 6 weeks including refurbishment initially, Once a property is up and running this reduces to around two weeks per annum on average. This is across a very large portfolio and this is a figure that we will be constantly updating and trying to improve as we go, and the more we buy. We believe that this is a very competitive figure.

This is factored into the figures that you receive, both for the duration of the refurbishment and pre-letting. We will only source you properties that fit within our system and one of the factors is to fit in within that short void time.

The reputation and contact list we have built has enabled us to get first choice among many agents and we are now able to pull in tenants on a consistent basis.

Q: Am I regularly updated about my portfolio performance?

A: Absolutely. You have the choice of receiving a monthly or quarterly statement from us with your figures, latest news and performance of your portfolio.

Q: Who are the portfolio bank accounts held with?

A: You hold your portfolio bank account with Barclays. The account will be held by you to which we are signatories.

Q: Do progressive Property own my portfolio if they are buying them for me?

A: No All of the properties are owned by you and in your name, we just look after them for you for the length of the term. All mortgages, tenancies and bank accounts are all in your name.

Q: How often will you need my purchasing Fund?

A: It's best for you to allow us to have the fund for anywhere between 6-9 months in any 12 month period. Because your fund will be used to purchase your 5 properties in 6 years we strongly recommend that you leave the money in your designated deposit account for that timeframe.

Q: What does the purchasing fund consist of?

A: The purchasing fund is broken down into the following monies:

• Deposit: £15,750
• Legal and search fees: £1,000
• 2 valuation fees: £750
• 3 month mortgage payments during refurb: £1,500
• Refurb cost: £5,500
• Contingency/unexpected [shortfall in rents repairs and maintenance]: £5,500
• Total: £30,00

Q. What do I do at the end of the 6 years investment with Progressive?

• 1. We pass on our contacts and you organise them to continue to manage your portfolio. Because the properties will be rented out the majority of the hard work will be done.
• 2. You employ us to continue to manage your portfolio at a reduced cost agreed at the end of your term.
• 3. You can choose to buy another 5 property package if you are happy with the performance of your portfolio.
• 4. You can 'tag on' individual properties at a reduced cost. [for example 1 property in year 7]

Q. What happens if there is a market crash like in the 80’s?

A. There are a multitude of reasons why we believe that there will not be another crash like there was in the 1980’s. We feel that it is very important to look at things realistically and make a risk assessment based on all of the knowledge, experience and history that you can find.

Here are the contingencies that we have in place to avoid a potential market correction or downturn:

We are sourcing you a property at 15% discount. This means that you have a 15% buffer in your property and you are protected from a correction. It would take something catastrophic for you to be in negative equity.

Never sell your property. We will never sell your property, and we strongly recommend that you hold on to it for life. As long as you do not sell it, even if the market is not moving or moving downwards, you will never lose money.

History looks after property. History for the last 60 years has looked bright in property. House prices have risen at an average of 11.74% since after the war. With this history and knowledge in mind, we should be able to assume that in the long term property will double every 7-8 years and any potential correction will be ironed out over time.

What if what if. As well as believing that risk assessments should be thoroughly researched and planned, there is a certain amount of just doing it that is essential in any decision making process. We have spoken to so many people who wished that they had got into property when the market doubled in 3 years and so on. These people will wish the same thing in 3 years and the 3 years after that.

Our quality of life is based on the decisions we make.

Q. What happens if interest rates rise?

A. 1. Your mortgages can be placed on a fixed rate [3-10 years] at your discretion and therefore any interest rate rise will not affect your rate of repayments.

2. We can begin to rent your properties out by the room. This is something that we may do for some of your portfolios and is an avenue that can be gone down should rates rise significantly.

If there are any terms that you do not fully understand here please click here for the Jargon busting dictionary

Any more questions we have not answered?

Please do not hesitate to contact us

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