The Property Podcast

This week on Ask Rob & Rob, the guys are back again with two different questions that they’ve not covered previously. They’ll be talking about what to do in the event of there being a lack of comparables discussing if properties that have lost value are worth investing in now. Our first caller today is Paul from Burnley. At the beginning of the year Paul purchased his first buy-to-let property and now he’s hoping to soon complete on property number six!  That’s pretty good going for less than 12 month’s work!  Paul’s strategy is buy-refurbish-refinance with a difference - he focuses on  bungalows. So not your usual property choice, but clearly it’s working for him. However he’s now ran into a bit of an issue. Because it’s such a niche strategy, he’s having difficulties when it comes to searching for comparables in order to remortgage the properties.  Obviously Paul’s end game is to have made as much profit as possible on the properties, so he’s wondering what he can do to prepare that information when the valuations take place?  Luckily, Rob D is on hand to offer Paul some pointers on how he can go about this. The second question comes from Luke in Liverpool. He has a small portfolio himself and is continuously looking to add to it.  He’s been keeping his eye on the local market in and around Liverpool, in different areas and has noticed that some developments that were priced between £130,000 - £140,000 are now on the market for around £90,000.  So now he’s wondering if these kind of properties are a good investment opportunity or if they are just going to continuously lose value and he should stay well away?  Naturally, there was only one Rob that could offer advice on the Liverpool market, cue Rob B.   Do you have a buy to let or property investment related question for Rob & Rob? You could feature on the next episode by giving us a call on 013 808 00035 and leaving a message with your name and question (normal UK call rates apply).    Or if you prefer, click here to leave a recording via your computer instead. The next question on Ask Rob & Rob could be yours.  Have you joined us over on the Property Hub Forum yet? Our online community is friendly, informative, and the members are waiting to welcome you with open arms. So get yourself over and introduce yourself.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week on The Property Podcast, The Robs are doing something a little different. Rob B is interviewing Rob D on his own property development exploits.  One of our most popular podcast episodes this year was when we discussed our project in Crewe, which was a rather eventful and emotional journey to say the least. If you haven’t listened to that episode, you can do so here.  But amazingly, that wasn’t enough to put off Rob D. He’s just done a property development project just outside of York.  In the episode you can expect to find out: What exactly this development was What the results were  What went wrong What went right  And what lessons Rob D learnt from this project So sit down, grab a brew and tune in as Rob B picks Rob D’s brain about this new property development.    In the news this week, Savills have predicted that house prices are going to increase by £35,000 in five years for some parts of the country. No shock that it’s actually in line with what Rob & Rob have been saying throughout the year, and the highest regional growth will be in the North West, which will go up by 24%.  Maybe now you’ll take that leap into investing in one of the areas that The Robs picked as their 2019 property hotspots.    And if you haven't watched it already, last week we published our latest YouTube video, the essential guide to property tax which will walk you through the various taxes you have to pay and some ways that you can avoid them. So make sure you go give it a watch, hit that subscribe button and turn on notifications so you don’t miss our next one.    For Hub Extra this week we’ve got a podcast that Rob D just can’t stop listening to. It’s called The Missing Cryptoqueen from the BBC. Now before you jump the gun, Rob D isn’t interested in getting involved in crypto currency, or a massive scam, which is what the podcast is all about.  It’s only an 8-part series but it’s a really interesting one. To give you a brief overview, it’s about a woman who created a new crypto currency which was going to be bigger than Bitcoin. She secured billions of Euros from people all over and then just vanished, and nobody knows where she is. It’s very fascinating so definitely give it a listen!   We’d love to hear what you think of this week’s Property Podcast over on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. You might even have a topic you’d like us to cover in the future - if so, pop us a message on social and we’ll see what we can do.   Make sure you’ve liked and subscribed to our YouTube channel where we upload new content every week! If that wasn’t enough, you can also join our friendly property community on the Property Hub forum.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Rob & Rob are back again this week to answer more of your property related questions. So let’s get started!  First up we’ve got Catherine from Bristol who is well underway with her property investment journey having built up a portfolio of five buy-to-let properties. She’s looking to build this portfolio to eight properties in order to achieve the income figure that she has in mind. The end goal is to be able to make big changes to the way she and her family live their lives. Currently, one of her properties in London is on an incredible mortgage rate of 1.54%! Definitely not the kind of rate you’d get now.  After speaking to two mortgage advisors, both have said that she could release around £125,000 in equity from this property, so she has the deposit she needs to grow her portfolio. However, this means giving up the amazing mortgage rate she’s currently on. If she were to do this, straight away she’d be paying around £9,000 more a year in mortgage fees on that one property. Wowza! So should she wait it out for a few years until she can release equity from other properties and keep the great mortgage rate, or should she act now? Our second caller is Ben from Aberdeen, who wants to know where Rob & Rob would recommend to invest in, in Scotland. Something they get asked all the time.  He’s had one buy-to-let property for the past six years and has recently bought a further two in the small town he grew up in.  Ideally he wants to move his location focus away from his hometown, but still remain in Scotland. He already knows that his main goal is cash flow and long term he’d like to look at Edinburgh, but feels that’s currently too competitive for him.  It’s finally the answer to a question a lot of you have been waiting for. Where would Rob & Rob invest in Scotland?  Tune in to find out!   Do you have a buy to let or property investment related question for Rob & Rob? You could feature on the next episode by giving us a call on 013 808 00035 and leaving a message with your name and question (normal UK call rates apply).    Or if you prefer, click here to leave a recording via your computer instead. The next question on Ask Rob & Rob could be yours.  Have you joined us over on the Property Hub Forum yet? Our online community is friendly, informative, and the members are waiting to welcome you with open arms. So get yourself over and introduce yourself.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week on The Property Podcast, Rob & Rob are talking about landlord licensing. We know it’s not the most exciting of topics but it’s up there with one of the most important as a property investor. And luckily for you, The Robs will be talking you through exactly what licensing is and what you need to do.  You may have ignored this topic in the past because it only ever applied to HMO’s - and maybe you’ve thought that this is still the case. But now, depending on where you are, even with single let properties, landlord licensing is something you might need to know about.  Here’s what The Robs will cover in today’s episode: What are the requirements? How much does it cost? Will they inspect the property? What should you do? What if you should have a licence but don’t?  This is a full-on episode, full of regulatory need-to-knows. If there’s one episode of The Property Podcast you need to listen to… this is it. By the end of the episode, you should be completely clued up on whether you need landlord licensing or not.   And in the news this week, Rob B’s home city of Liverpool back in the press: ‘Liverpool endorses 2m sq ft office masterplan’. The article from Place North West says that the council has signed off on helping to build a world class commercial business district in the heart of Liverpool to tackle the shortfall of offices in the city. So once again, even more positivity and investment being ploughed into the city, which will bolster the number of investment plans already in motion, such as Liverpool Waters and the high number of property developments that are in the pipeline throughout the city and the wider areas.    If you haven’t seen it already, we launched a new YouTube video yesterday and this one is all about tax! Some people love it, some people hate it and some just don’t understand it. In this video, Rob & Rob explain everything you need to know about tax and cover all the different types of tax that you may have to pay as a property investor.  So go and check it out, let us know what you think or ask us any questions in the comments section, and don’t forget to hit that subscribe button!    This week for our Hub Extra, we’re wanting to help make a difference to the planet and this week it’s a website called Team Trees. It’s all about helping to make the world that little bit greener. Maybe you’ve always considered planting a tree but you don’t want to get covered in mud or you just don’t have the spare time.  Well this is the easiest option you’ll come across. Donating just $1 will plant one tree and Team Trees are aiming to have planted 20 million trees around the world by the 1st of January 2020. So go and do your bit for the planet and donate a dollar.    We’d love to hear what you think of this week’s Property Podcast over on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. You might even have a topic you’d like us to cover in the future - if so, pop us a message on social and we’ll see what we can do.   Make sure you’ve liked and subscribed to our YouTube channel where we upload new content every week! If that wasn’t enough, you can also join our friendly property community on the Property Hub forum.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Rob & Rob are back again this week to answer two more fantastic property questions from two of our listeners. This week our first question comes in from Luke in Manchester, who’s been inspired by The Property Podcast to get started in his investment career.  Luke is in a situation that most people are probably in when trying to start their buy-to-let journey. He’s looking to purchase his first personal home and an investment property at the same time.  At the minute he’s only going to have enough funds for one mortgage so he’s considering buying a two bedroom apartment (or house) and is looking to rent out the second bedroom. But he has a few questions around this: Is there a particular mortgage he’ll need to enable him to do this? How much stamp duty will he have to pay? Are there any other considerations? ...and is this actually a good idea? Find out what Rob D thinks of this idea and if it’s actually doable. Maybe this could work for you as well.  Our second caller is Sally who has a question about stamp duty. She’s changing her residential home to a buy-to-let so that she can buy a new house with her partner.  She’s been given two different sets of figures from her solicitor and mortgage broker in terms of how much stamp duty she’ll pay. One is saying £2,200 and the other £9,250!  Obviously that’s a huge difference so Sally wants this clearing up.  So, is Rob B about to put her mind at rest or burst her bubble?  Tune in to find out!   Do you have a buy to let or property investment related question for Rob & Rob? You could feature on the next episode by giving us a call on 013 808 00035 and leaving a message with your name and question (normal UK call rates apply).    Or if you prefer, click here to leave a recording via your computer instead. The next question on Ask Rob & Rob could be yours.  Have you joined us over on the Property Hub Forum yet? Our online community is friendly, informative, and the members are waiting to welcome you with open arms. So get yourself over and introduce yourself.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Last week Rob & Rob were joined on the Property Podcast by Build To Rent expert, Richard Berridge. Well, he’s back again this week for a second episode on the new craze that is Build To Rent.  In last week’s episode, The Robs covered what Build To Rent actually is, and this week they’re discussing why it matters for you and what the future of Build To Rent might look like. Here’s some of what you can expect The Robs and Richard to cover in today’s episode: What will Build To Rent look like in 10 years time? What’s going to slow it down? How will Build To Rent properties react to market cycles? What marks an area as suitable or unsuitable for Build To Rent? There’s plenty more to be covered in this week’s episode too. So, should you be afraid or optimistic about Build To Rent? You should have a clearer picture after this episode. So tune in to listen.   This week’s news story is possibly one of Rob B’s favourite headlines, ‘Welcome to Manc-hattan: how the city sold its soul for luxury skyscrapers’. It comes from The Guardian, and whilst the headline is actually pretty clever, it’s not very complimentary to the city.  The article is talking about the ever-changing Manchester skyline and the number of skyscrapers that are appearing. They even touch on the homeless issue that we have here in Manchester.  If you ask us, we’re really struggling to see how the amount of investment and regeneration that’s currently being ploughed into the city centre is a bad thing. If anything, it allows the council to use the additional higher rate council tax payments to put into schemes around homelessness. But have a listen and let us know what you think via email or social media.     And for our Hub Extra this week, we’re bringing you another podcast. No, it’s not from Rob & Rob sadly, this one is called ‘Startup’ by a company called Gimlet. It’s been going for five years and sadly it is coming to an end.  The purpose of the podcast at the beginning was to document their process of starting their business. And now, the podcast has come full circle as they are ending their podcast due to the fact that they have been purchased - by none other than Spotify! It’s really interesting to listen to how the deal came about, so it’s definitely well worth a listen. And while you’re there, why not subscribe to our podcast over on Spotify and be notified every week when our new episodes are released?   We’d love to hear what you think of this week’s Property Podcast over on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. You might even have a topic you’d like us to cover in the future - if so, pop us a message on social and we’ll see what we can do.   Make sure you’ve liked and subscribed to our YouTube channel where we upload new content every week! If that wasn’t enough, you can also join our friendly property community on the Property Hub forum.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week The Robs are answering two fantastic questions on investing in Birkenhead, and talking about whether you should be overpaying on your mortgage. These are two questions that will definitely benefit a lot of listeners. Joe from Leeds got in touch recently, he’s currently living in London and has a budget of £80,000 - £100,000 and he’s looking for a buy-to-let deal up north.  He’s considering our hotspot areas of Leeds, Manchester and Liverpool but has noticed significant growth in the Liverpool area.  However, he’s wondering if Rob & Rob have any insider tips on investing just across the water from Liverpool, in Birkenhead. Could this be a good contender for capital growth when the ripple effect kicks in? Now we know this is an area that holds a special place in Rob B’s heart, so does he automatically think that Joe should be investing here?  Next up we’ve got Adam from Surrey. Before listening to The Property Podcast, he bought his first buy-to-let property on a capital repayment mortgage and has since remortgaged to an interest only mortgage.  The property makes a good income each month, so now Adam is wondering, now that he’s on an interest only mortgage, should he utilise the 10% interest free payments and chip away at his mortgage?  So, should Adam risk potentially losing out on £200 per month in his back pocket to reduce his mortgage over time? Or should he wait and allow capital growth to do it’s thing?  Tune in to find out what Rob D advises.    Do you have a buy to let or property investment related question for Rob & Rob? You could feature on the next episode by giving us a call on 013 808 00035 and leaving a message with your name and question (normal UK call rates apply).    Or if you prefer, click here to leave a recording via your computer instead. The next question on Ask Rob & Rob could be yours.  Have you joined us over on the Property Hub Forum yet? Our online community is friendly, informative, and the members are waiting to welcome you with open arms. So get yourself over and introduce yourself.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week Rob & Rob are joined on the podcast by Build To Rent expert, Richard Berridge. After listening to this episode, you’ll know more about Build To Rent than most people in property.  Build To Rent (or BTR) has been flying under the radar for a while now, but it’s only really just starting to become a well known, big thing.  So whilst it’s a topic that has piqued Rob & Rob’s interest, they thought it would be best to bring in the experts to help not only you, but themselves learn all there is to know about Build To Rent.  Richard is not only an authority figure on the subject, but he’s also a consultant, an advisor and a writer. He’s 100% the right man for the job.  Here’s just a few of the questions that you can expect to get answers on from Richard: What is Build To Rent? Who’s the actual owner with Build To Rent? Is it only about income and not growth? Who makes it all happen? We cover a lot of ground in this episode so hit play and listen.    This week in the news, Place North West are reporting that the region’s green belt has shrunk by 3,400 acres. So is the North West becoming the new concrete jungle?  Well, not quite.  What most people don’t realise is that green belt land isn’t always beautiful flourishing forests or national parks, it could be a really unattractive piece of land that’s more of an eyesore and could be put to much better use.   So once again, a big scary headline that’s been blown out of proportion.    Also…it’s that time of the month again, Meetups are just around the corner and heading your way next week! So, if you haven’t yet secured your spot, go and book yourself a ticket now!   And this week’s Hub Extra is a book that Rob D is claiming to be the most inspiring book he’s read all year, and that book is Finding Ultra by Rich Roll. It goes on to tell his story of turning 40, being out of shape, a recovering alcoholic and going on to being one of the fittest men in the world.  It even documents how he had a challenge with a friend to run five Ironman triathlons in a week! Who even thinks that’s a good idea?! He’s also got a very popular podcast too, which is also well worth checking out. We actually included this book on one of our Hub Extra emails a while back after Rachel in our invest team recommended it - The Property Hub book club is in full swing guys!   We’d love to hear what you think of this week’s Property Podcast over on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. You might even have a topic you’d like us to cover in the future - if so, pop us a message on social and we’ll see what we can do.   Make sure you’ve liked and subscribed to our YouTube channel where we upload new content every week! If that wasn’t enough, you can also join our friendly property community on the Property Hub forum.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Rob & Rob are back again to answer two more fantastic questions sent in by our Hubbers. Martin from Birmingham has got in touch this week. He’s had a property for a few years and has remortgaged a couple of times and changed his mortgage rate.  It’s coming up for renewal again soon and he’s not sure if he should withdraw some of the equity, or leave it in the property so he can get a better loan-to-value rate on his mortgage. So what should Martin do?  Well first and foremost it all depends on where Martin is currently at in his investment process, but Rob D has some excellent advice as always.  Our next caller has a question about insurance. She’s a landlord of a leasehold flat and only has building insurance.  She’s become a little bit worried thinking of the what-if scenarios. What would happen if something went wrong? Would the tenant be liable for damage? Would building insurance be enough to cover her? Also, should she be taking out other insurance policies?  Tune in to find out what Rob B has to say.   Do you have a buy to let or property investment related question for Rob & Rob? You could feature on the next episode by giving us a call on 013 808 00035 and leaving a message with your name and question (normal UK call rates apply).    Or if you prefer, click here to leave a recording via your computer instead. The next question on Ask Rob & Rob could be yours.  Have you joined us over on the Property Hub Forum yet? Our online community is friendly, informative, and the members are waiting to welcome you with open arms. So get yourself over and introduce yourself.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

They still hear it all too often ‘Rich Dad, Poor Dad changed my life!’ So this week on The Property Podcast, Rob & Rob are going back and taking a revised look at the book and sharing the lessons that they took away from it, and what they just don’t agree with.  In today’s episode you can expect to hear what the five key lessons are that you should take away from this book, but also the two things that you should be very careful of. This beloved motivational book is now 20 years old! But it still seems to have a huge impact on people’s lives. So Rob & Rob are going to explore why this book is so influential, their experiences, recap key lessons and let you know what they think of them now with the benefit of hindsight.  Here are the five lessons Rob & Rob learnt from the book: Be in control of your finances - Your employer or government will not. Passive Income.  Good debt vs bad debt. Pay yourself first. Keep your job and invest. And what don’t they agree with?  You’ll have to tune in to find that out.   This week’s news story is a 22 page report from HomeTrack on the current rental market, which is a quarterly report. Luckily the BBC website has summarised the report and what the key take away points are.  There’s a number of cities where the rents are up, and wage growth has been relatively strong this year too. So even though there’s plenty of locations where rents have increased, there’s only three UK cities where rents have risen faster than wages, resulting in renting becoming less affordable. These locations are Nottingham, Leeds and Bristol.  Looking at the report, there’s an odd mix of locations that are put together, but on the whole, it seems that Rob & Rob were right at the beginning of the year when they pegged certain cities as places to invest this year.    In other news (and just in case you missed it!), yesterday we had a new YouTube video go live! You can now head over there and find out how to invest £50,000 - a question that The Robs get asked all the time. So head on over, give it a watch, and don’t forget to subscribe.    You won’t be surprised that this week or Hub Extra recommendation is in fact the Rich Dad Poor Dad book, but as an added bonus, we’re also recommending Rich Dad Poor Dad 2: Cashflow Quadrant. These are by far the two strongest books that you need to read, so go grab a copy and let us know what you think of them.    We’d love to hear what you think of this week’s Property Podcast over on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. You might even have a topic you’d like us to cover in the future - if so, pop us a message on social and we’ll see what we can do. Make sure you’ve liked and subscribed to our YouTube channel where we upload new content every week! If that wasn’t enough, you can also join our friendly property community on the Property Hub forum.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.