Exploits of a Professional Property Investor

Why Lewisham is a good property investment

2012-02-22T12:08:00.002Z

The Lewisham Gateway Project has generated £250 million of investment in the area with many aspects making it a great place to invest for 2012

Firstly it has been designated one of the Lord Mayor of London's designated places to visit.

With 100,000 sq meters of new development split into 28,000m2 residential and 72,000m2 commercial and retail space- the regeneration programme has triggered a lot of interest from business with projects due to get planning approval in 2013.

The town centre is being reorganised with new layout proposed for the bus station, train station and terminal for the Docklands Light Railway underground links.

There is also a new riverside walk and park space being created.

All in all the area is going to be improved by a considerable amount which is why we think the Cube development (pictures below) is going to be sought after by investors and locals alike and therefore bring high rental yields and great capital growth expected.

For more information visit our website : http://www.midasestates.com/property-investments/england/white-cube-se13-london

How to avoid the Top 5 Death-bed Regrets

2012-02-08T19:35:00.005Z

A palliative care nurse recently wrote an article encompassing her experiences of numerous conversations with those on their death-bed and their regrets. It occurred to us that many of those regrets can be relieved or lessened by a lifestyle that we advocate here at Midas.

Let’s take a look at each:

1. I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.

We are told so many times by negative dream stealers that we cant be or have something and we get it from all angles – our family can often be the worst offenders and its sometimes the things they don’t say that causes us to be dis-enfranchised with following through on our dreams.
Being true to yourself takes a little courage and some resolve. Its often preceded by a moment of disgust as well - "Enough is enough" or "that's it I've had enough". Large scale quantum leap changes are often really difficult to make in ones life so its often the "Slight Edge" changes that made over time and in a consistent manner bear most fruit. They say a habit is formed when you repeat something 30 times. So start by making small changes and see what effects they have. Once the new habits are formed move on to the next change.

2. I wish I didn’t work so hard.

In the industrial world we have become so entrapped in our work to pay for a certain lifestyle that we lose sight of the work-life balance. In fact it becomes “live to work” if we are not careful. There are so many things we would like to do with our spare time if we had any – but with all those “must have” items we are marketed day in day out – try saying no to a teenager who wants an iPhone or a laptop! The pressure can be relentless and to top it all we have rising living costs without the pay rises – so we get trapped in the “too much month at the end of the money” rat race. Sound familiar?

There is a popular saying that “wealth is measured in time" i.e. how many days, months or years can you live comfortably without having to work. Sound strange? Well , imagine having an investment or asset or business that paid you whilst you slept and paid you more than your monthly outgoings? This is one of the secrets of the rich. Don’t let me explain it to you – have a look at this video from one of the world’s highest profile wealth educators.

When I read Robert Kiyosaki’s book “Rich Dad Poor Dad”, my life took a different turn because I started to look for opportunities to exploit the “Business” and the “Investor” sectors of the quadrant he talks of : to create a passive income source so I could escape the rat race.

Spending time with your loved ones, following your passion, being involved in a charity or social enterprise, seeing the world and visiting your favourite places more often are the things most of us just dream about. We are almost brainwashed to pay off our mortgages and stay in work til we are 65 – but this isn’t the case – we can get out of the rat race in 10 years or less!

Some say – its too late for me – well I would say back to them “The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago, the second best time to plant a tree is today!”

3. I wish I’d had the courage to express my feelings.

Being honest about who you are and how you feel brings integrity to your relationships and more importantly allows you to cut loose from negative influences and bring accountability to your life. Ultimately – living with a mask on is a bit like living someone else’s life. Bill Connolly says he “Lives life with his pants down” which is a fantastic way of saying – don’t worry about what others think about you and just get on with having fun without the fear and live it to the full. We love this and when talking to people encourage them to have a little courage and stand by their vision and dreams and not let anyone’s views or opinions prevent them from following their heart.

4. I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.

Your circle of “friends” can and should be constantly evolving. If you have regret that some of your older friends have fallen by the wayside – this is sometimes the best outcome for you. Your closest friends could be people who encourage you , build you up and challenge you to be the best you, you can be. Why would you want to keep old friends who don’t share your outlook?

On Facebook and other social sites you could easily have a clean out and start afresh with those that build you up and keep you positive. After all we are told no 30,000 times by the time we are 18 – we don’t need more nay-sayers in our online community do we?
Sometimes you can live in the same town as your friends but never see them… and sometimes you can be half way around the world and see them via the internet every day. Location is not as important as it used to be.

5. I wish that I had let myself be happier.

Fear of change and pretending to others how we feel is such a drag on your confidence and countenance. Watch any ex-pat community living away from the sometimes myopic hometown community where all the old hang ups live and all the old negative memories lie and you will see a bunch of people enjoying life, laughing and relaxing in a way a lot of us wouldn’t see fit. But this doesn’t have to be the case – why not try and frequent different places that have new and positive attachments to them and foster and nurture a happy sense. Life accumulates - so start accumulating positive happy experiences.

CONCLUSION
I once was told by an emergency room nurse that you can tell how someone lived by how they die. She told me that those who did not live out their dreams would cry in agony at their lost chance. Those who lived out their dreams passed on in deep peace.

Ask yourself – if I were looking at my own epitaph, what would it say about me?
If you could see all of your life’s achievements written down – what would you like it to say? Let’s imagine you could see this summary right now and then consider what would you need to do , how would you need to change to achieve these things? This is the beginning of goal setting and working backwards from this end view of your life can give you tremendous perspective in knowing what you want out of life.

No matter what your station in life, try to avoid these regrets. Unless the Buddhists are correct, we only live once. Don’t waste your chance.

Here are a few of our clients who are on their way to living a life of choice and by design.
http://www.midasestates.com/property-investments/client-testimonials

Author: Robin Campbell - Director at Midas Estates

Leyton Orient Property School

2012-01-16T16:44:00.000Z

The team presented at Leyton Orient Football club as our new partnership with the club was launched.
The view from the club corporate suite overlooked the Stratford Olympic site and we could see the Lett Road development from here.

Here is where we were promoted on their website.

One of our attendees Chris from Scotland said
"You have restored my faith in property investment" and is talking to us about his current property and seeking to buy an investment property.

Here is a snap from the school.

Looking forward to working more with the club in the future.
Come on the O's

Going Countrwide means increased sales

2011-12-23T10:53:00.002Z

Great News for us this month - we have agreed terms with working with Countrywide - the UKs largest estate agency branch network with 1200 branches.

We have to sift through an awful lot of properties when selecting for investors and it becomes a time consuming and frankly wasteful process at times because we have to discard 70% of all the sites / properties we see; often because they are in the wrong location or they aren't going to generate enough yield for an investment deal to stack up.

So in 2012 we are now able to represent some of our developers who want extra marketing by selling via the Countrywide branch network nationwide. This is a major milestone for us at Midas because , though the properties might not stack up for an investor, they can make perfectly good homes and it now means we will be engaging at a national level for most of the properties we get sent - and revenues will obviously be driven north by virtue of working in partnership as a corporate client of the nations largest asset management and estate agency business.

So we are looking forward to marketing our properties in the 3rd week of January 2012 and look to grow the partnership further with plenty more on the table to discuss. More to announce in due course.

Sunday Telegraph: East End of London attracts lots of investor attention

2011-11-22T12:23:00.001Z

The Sunday Telegraph posted a great piece this weekend on the rising boom in investor interest in the East End of London with particular attention drawn to the development in Lett Road Stratford and Isle of Dogs which Midas has access to with fantastic discounts.

Here is a copy of that piece.

For more information on the Stratford development click here: and feel free to call us to discuss in more detail on 0117 9117590

Oxford United and Leyton Orient do business with Midas

2011-11-17T08:28:00.001Z

Great News we have 2 new Property School partners in Oxford United and Leyton Orient who are both becoming business partners with Midas and hosting schools at their stadiums - promoting the events to their corporate and football fanbase for Midas. Its a great win win situation for Midas - because we now have fantastic venues to host our events as well as the credibility of league football clubs as advocates.

We are also excited to about all of our other negotations with other sports clubs including premiership rugby clubs and national property businesses - soon to be announced.

Work with Midas - The Introducer training

2011-09-17T21:01:00.006+01:00

Today marked a special occasion - our first introducer training session for those people who have caught the Midas Buzz and want to understand exactly how the Midas business works and how they can work for us in finding clients.

We had 4 sessions:

1. I gave the opening session on how to work the real estate business from an estate agents point of view

2. Robin gave his overview on the introducer numerous tools and resources available and a full explanation on how he uses networking and internet marketing to attract clients

3. Phil Clark , one of our preferred mortgage brokers gave an insight on what was possible for investors and how to understand the basics of buy to let investment mortgages

4. Andy Dillan our lettings manager explained all about the Lettings market and how to find new investors.

Here was a view from the car park at the new office.

Here was the team enjoying their lunch and getting settled back down into the afternoon session.

Here were some comments from some of the attendees

Rob Tolchard - Plymouth
Today's training has allowed me while listening to the great presentation to think of the points I'd been missing out on and I think there are a number of avenues I can now attack and build my Midas introducer business

John Doherty
I have been aware of Midas for a few months now and had already spoken to a couple of people but today it was good to get a good overview of the business, a greater in-depth knowledge of the model and the type of properties and the lettings and the backup service and the knowledge of all those elements helped me explain more fully to the people I talk to -its a really good model

Jawad Ahmed
I think the biggest thing I found today is that there is a lot more equity in your property that you realize especially if you are self employed and the other thing I found useful was the source of leads and different ways of contacting people and also getting an update on the back office tools available

Paul & Sian Mayer-Haart
It clarified a lot of things and answered a lot of questions and also a lot of things we would never have thought of ourselves. Helpful to meet other people and to get other perspectives - also the questions aren't necessarily occur to us. We found it equipped us for the future

Tony Ward
There are numerous things - the first thing I got was trust in the people that set up the business so I have confidence in their experience and what they can do has been proven. Now they have put it altogether in a simple presentation the client must understand its just there for them.

Mike Beckley
Its really interesting - there are a lot of questions you get asked when presenting the concept of property investment and the session today answered all those objections.

Robin asked Kevin Crook from London and Tamas Lakos from Bristol what they got from the sessions

Thanks for coming guys - we hope you can now go off and build a business that enables you to further your own investment plans

London School in Infiniti showroom Piccadilly

2011-09-10T14:34:00.000+01:00

We had a great Property School this week at the London Infiniti Showroom in Piccadilly. Such a good setting for people to get to and Paul and Andy at the showroom let all our guests sit in the cars and have a look at all of the models.

Our new improved content was well received and we had plenty of questions at the end which we hope were all covered satisfactorily.

Here are some of the photos of the event.

We hope to be bringing the school to London much more frequently in the future. Thanks to all those that attended.

Thanks so much Malcolm!

2011-09-06T12:35:00.000+01:00

What a lovely surprise this morning. Malcolm Wilson our client from our previous blog posting who kindly gave a video testimonial has also just sent us this lovely gift pack from Betty's tearooms in Harrogate. Lots of chocolate goodies and biscuits with this lovely message inside.

Thank you so much Malcolm - glad we could help you and not sure we can make those goodies last all week!!

Trip to London to see one of our clients

2011-09-03T10:21:00.001+01:00

My business partner Robin made a trip to London yesterday to make an important stop to meet one of our valued clients, Malcolm Wilson from Chepstow who kindly took some time out of his day to give us a testimonial on video.

Here is what he said.

We are obviously keen to tell people how our customer service values are important to us but Malcolm did a much better job than us.

Thank you to Malcolm for your kind words. We are very grateful.

7 Secrets os a successful property investor - Secret #7 Exit Planning and Review

2011-08-27T16:59:00.003+01:00

Exit planning & Review

Before you start building your portfolio you should consider your exit strategy because it’s important to plan with the end in mind.

Here are some case studies for different age groups we put together to help show the typical starting scenarios.

You can then plan your exit – here we have some exit strategies for you to consider.

You should discuss your plans and aspirations with your mortgage broker so that he or she can apply for the mortgage products which fit your timescales and flexibility.

If you want a free discussion with us on this planning stage of building your portfolio then please give us a call and we’d be happy to help you get started, regardless of whether you use us or not.

Every 6 months you should look at your portfolio from 3 angles:

Rents and whether you can increase rents – your letting agent should be writing to tenants 2 months prior to the tenancy end date if you are adopting secret#5 and so its important that existing tenants are notified of an increase in rent with good time for them to move out if they are unable to pay. You should conduct a rent survey on the property again in good time for you to determine whether your rents can be increased. Failing to do this every 6 months can cost you a lot of money – especially if you have a lot of properties.
Mortgage reviews – make sure you are talking to the same mortgage broker about your portfolio. He or she will be right up to date with the latest mortgage products and the market changes and because they understand your goals , they will also be able to recommend which products are going to be reduce your monthly payments and give you the flexibility to move onto your next property in the planned time frames. Therefore it is really important that you build up a strong relationship with the broker so they are able to come alongside you at any time. We recommend you look to review your mortgages every 6 months.
Equity review With Secret number #2 – Carry out a valuation of your portfolio. You will also be receiving all rental profits and paying them into your buffer (i.e. rainy day account , cash approximately 15-20% of money invested should be in cash) With the rent reviews complete and the mortgage review complete you will be able to see how much you can borrow and top up your buffer) All of our investors in keeping with their overall exposure – so the bigger the portfolio the bigger the buffer.

For more information on what we do please click here

7 Secrets of a successful property investor - Secret #6 Reducing Risk and Tax Planning

2011-08-27T15:56:00.002+01:00

One of THE most important principles of property investment is to have a Buffer. You might ask what is a buffer?

It’s your nest egg!

Or insurance against the following things happening across your portfolio

• Mortgage rate increase (buy to let or main house)

• Lack of rental

• Repairs to property

• Flexibility on rentals

Without a buffer you run the risk of running out of cash and getting wiped out.

We recommend 5% of your property value should be held in your rental account for such circumstances. So with 200k property, hold 10k as a buffer.

As your portfolio grows then so should your buffer. Our clients with 6 or 7 properties have buffers with 60-70k. Now some of this money can be held in a high interest account but you should have ready access to some of it to keep yourself safe. You must stay disciplined on this at all costs – we had one client who spent some of her buffer on a holiday and new clothes and on her review we asked for her rental account statements and asked her to put the money back or else we would resign her as a client.

You Must Plan from day 1

Income Tax

• Compliance - HMRC dictates that as soon as you receive income you need to declare it.

• Non Compliance - Failure to comply could result in fines, penalties and records going as far back as 3 years

• A tax specialist can register you, and liaise with HMRC and the client to cut down red tape and confusion

• They will inform you what you can & cannot claim, when this is done, the frequency and any updates to legislation through budget changes etc

Capital Gains Tax

Excludes

• Sale of your home

Includes

• a property that you've bought as an investment, for example a buy-to-let property

• a second home, for example a holiday home in the UK or overseas

• business premises, such as a shop or a factory

• land, such as agricultural land

Summary

Capital Gains Tax is paid through the Self Assessment system and will be calculated as part of your Self Assessment tax return.

You should keep any records and information that might help you work out your capital gain or loss. If you've made a loss on a disposal you'll need to claim it in order to set it off against your gains.

If you would like to be referred to our preferred supplier for all tax issues then please contact us

For more information about what we do please click here

7 Secrets of a successful property investor - Secret #5 Managing your properties

2011-08-27T15:07:00.000+01:00

Once you have a tenant in place you should ensure that your agent adopts the following practices.

The agent doesn’t have to be a local agent because you have now marketed the property on a find only basis using a local agent and now you can be really fussy about which agent you instruct to manage the property for you. These are some of the things we do for our clients which you may find useful in selecting your own letting agent.

• Take control of referencing process

To ensure the best possible tenants are secured and credit checked. References are taken from employers and landlords to qualify the tenant.

• Video Inventory checking.

We also carry out a full video inventory check on all items in the property to ensure all damage or loss is documented and costs recovered from the deposit. Date-stamped evidence at the beginning and end of the tenancy is vital for protecting the landlord from loss or damage to the property and contents.

• Rent guarantee policy

We also introduce a rent guarantee policy on every tenant which guarantees your rent when a tenant falls out of work or becomes made redundant. We also implement a £25'000 legal cover policy which covers the costs in the unlikely event of an eviction.

• Never allow contract to expire in a dead time

We never allow a contract to expire in a dead time i.e. We do not allow a 6 month contract in July avoiding the possibility of a property coming available in December and having it empty for months or a serious reduction in rent to secure a new tenant.

• Never charge landlords for re-signing tenants

We never charge landlords for resigning current tenants, potentially saving landlords up to 50% of the 1st month's rent each year. We also take care of any changeovers in tenancies instructing agents in the area of your property to find tenants.

• Use a 2 month notice period on all tenancy agreements

We contact tenants 2 months before the end of the contract to find out if they are resigning and making the property available again with all the agents if they are moving out.

• Conduct regular rent reviews

Midas will then always conduct a rent review 2 months prior to the end of a contract to see if an increase is possible. This gives us the maximum advertising time to secure new tenants ensuring as little of a gap as possible between tenancies, a real money loss for landlords.

• Single point of contact with one management company

Having a single agent for the management ensures you are dealing with one management company and not having to deal with lots of different practices and procedures and therefore standards.

• Nationwide maintenance team

Midas employs a quality management team of over 50 experienced staff covering every aspect of maintaining your property throughout the UK 365 days of the year. We pride ourselves on being able to respond to all repairs and maintenance queries on our clients behalf and we stay in touch with our clients to authorize all costs.

• Landlord dispute service

We have access to an expert legal team who have an extremely cost effective service. You should identify an expert in landlord disputes to be able to deal quickly and effectively.

For more information on what we do please Click Here

7 Secrets of a successful property investor - Secret #4 - Finding tenants quickly

2011-08-27T14:38:00.000+01:00

Finding tenants quickly for your property

The 4^th secret I am going to share with you is how we find tenants quickly in any location in the UK.

· Firstly with 2 months lead time to exchange on your purchased you should survey the property for its rental potential – so email as many letting agents in the area and tell them you have a property to let – proving the square footage and the specification for the property.

· You will get a variety of emails back providing a mixture of rental figures – you should now consider the ones that came back to you in the best available time and talk to each one and get a feel for their professionalism on the phone – you are aiming to select the best 4 agents from your list. Choose a rental figure in the upper 25% of the range you are given from the agents and don’t place it too high or you will price yourself out of the market.

· Once you have chosen 4 hungry agents who have been professional courteous you will instruct all 4 of them to market the property for you. Tell them that you are instructing multiple agents so that they are aware of the competition. This is critical for ensuring that they are going to work for you.

· Tell the agents you are an investor and have more properties to let and if this works out you will be bringing more in to them. Ask them if there is anything that they can do for you in terms of discount.

· Provide keys to each agent you have instructed and wait for your tenant to be found.

Using this method you are not limiting yourself to one agent and being left behind several other landlords during peak times and you should be able to negotiate down your finders fee.

Secret #5 will explain how to manage your properties once you have a list of suitable tenants in place.

For more information on what we do please click here

7 Secrets of a successful property investor - Secret #3 - Negotiation

2011-08-27T13:56:00.002+01:00

The 3^rd secret I am going to share with you is how to negotiate with a developer on price for your property and here are the questions I go to them with:

Ask the developer - How many have you sold to other investors? Because if you hear that 20% or more have been sold to other investors you will be competing on completion and this could impact your rental potential and you should leave this development alone.
Ask the developer to be shown a surveyors report for the valuation of the property. You want an independent valuation from a professional - not just what he tells you.
Ask the developer also to be shown that Joe public has paid the market price declared to you. You want to make sure that any discount you are being offered is genuine discount. Evidence of true value again here backs up what the market value is.

When you have all this information you are now ready to negotiate.

· Tell him you are ready to go to exchange in 4 weeks, with no chain, cash buyer.

Now before you can claim this you will need to have your finance in place so it’s a pre-requisite that you have spoken to a good mortgage broker – if you haven’t got one then please ask us to recommend one our bank of preferred brokers. The mortgage broker will need to know that these timescales are required because he or she will know the lenders that can turn around an application in 4 weeks. For a list of benefits of using a dedicated mortgage broker click here – and then you will also have to “prime” a good lawyer to do your legal work in equally quick time – so talk to a lawyer in advance of your conversation with the developer.

Then ask the developer how much discount he will offer you and tell him you are able to exchange in 4 weeks – you have no chain and you are buying as an investment.

He will then be very motivated to offer a discount. Depending on the location and the demand for that location. Some extremely high demand areas will only bear small discounts but it is worth trying for as much as you can get.

For more information about what we do please click here for our full service

7 Secrets of a successful property investor - Secret #2 Research, Research, Research

2011-08-27T13:42:00.001+01:00

Research tips for your portfolio

Another common mistake made by some investors is not carrying out enough research. I am amazed at some of the stories from investors who have bought without even visiting a site. People sometimes even buy properties online!

Having established a good location you are going to need to roll up your sleeves and do put in some time to single out the best properties and sites to buy. Here are the questions we ask developers before we make any decisions:

Find out where the university is - close is best to bring strong rental demand.
Find out where the best schools are - again close to large schools is best to bring extra rental demand.
Visit the location during the day and go to the cafes, pubs and restaurants and get a feel for the place- what kind of people frequent them? These people are going to be your tenants.
Go back during the evening and find out what its like then.
Go to the schools and ask parents what its like living here – you’d be amazed what they tell you. try and tease out the issues by asking open questions like "how much crime is there in the area?". "What do you like best about the area?". "What would you change if you could?"
Where are the local authority housing estates in the area? - in the nicest possible way - we need to be further away from LA housing.
Ask about the developments in the area and seek local opinion of them. Your locals will dish the dirt on local developers and the issues that come up. You may get a heads up on the developer which will serve to warn you off.

Once you are satisfied that you have found a nice area in a good location and your research is complete you are ready to start negotiating which we will cover in Secret #3.

For more information about what we do please click here for our full service

7 Secrets of a successful property investor- Secret #1 - Location, Location, Location

2011-08-27T12:21:00.004+01:00

Finding the right location

The most important part of any property investment strategy should be location. A common mistake made by investors is to think that by employing the “Zulu principle” they can become experts in their own area and build a portfolio of properties wholly in the same area. I have no doubt that over time this strategy will identify the bargains in plain sight and also the better properties in the area – but this strategy has a big weakness.

Your potential for growth is limited to the strength in your area and when the market takes a rest, then so does your portfolio. Why not identify where in the UK the greatest strengths for growth are?

We look for 3 key themes in any area – a. Education – ie a university town, b. employment – good jobs market strength and business centres c. tourism – proximity to popular tourist hot-spots. This year we have identified these specific locations as good investments in the long term

Newquay

247 flights per week

Jamie Oliver and Rick Stein (celebrity chefs) boast prestige restaurants in the area

Fabulous beaches with surfing all year round

People seeking a duel lifestyle can commute use Newquay as the weekend location

Waterfront locations command the best rents and become the best for capital growth

The Cotswolds

Extremely popular destination for UK and overseas tourists www.cotswoldhomes.com gets 1 million hits per month from overseas web visitors. Tourist hot-spots in the area are Bourton-on-the-Water, Stow-on-the-Wold and Moreton-in-Marsh.

RAF Lineham closure lead to 200 families being relocated to RAF Brize Norton which is in the Cotswolds – We believe Rissington is a hotspot for the extra demand bearing on 2 and 3 bed properties.

London - Muswell Hill

In good locations 10 minutes walk from a tube station and you are in the centre of London

Up and coming area becoming very popular with young professionals

London – Stratford

The London Olympic games brings £2 billion investment into the area with 30,000 new jobs being created and a complete face lift of the site for the stadium. There is a new shopping centre destined to be the largest in Europe called Westfield and this will boast all of the high street brands. The new stadium will be the London Premiership club West Ham’s new ground. With 2 stops to Canary Wharf and the West End close by too – this location is too good to miss with the Olympic 2012 games just around the corner. Growth is baked into the cake.

The second weakness of building a portfolio solely in one location is that you are not diversifying into the strengths of different areas which have periods of growth. It is about identifying those periods of growth and buying into the growth story that gives you the most capital growth and if you have many properties in different locations you are spreading the risk of a downturn or lull in the market for a specific area.

For a full list of the properties we recommend grab some ideas from our website click here
Look out for Secret #2 - Research, Research, Research

New Bristol Office is open!!

2011-08-17T18:08:00.001+01:00

The search for an office is now over and we are over the moon about our new location a fabulous converted barn house in Flax Bourton.The beautiful peaceful village is close to the M5 with parking for all our clients and team.

Robin was over the moon because he gets to hear my lovely voice every day now!! and its a thrill to be able to move our lettings manager Andy into the same building.

If anyone wants to drop in for a coffee and a chat please feel free!!

Here's the address

Suite 1, Farleigh House , Farleigh Court, Old Weston Road, Flax Bourton, Bristol, BS48 1UR

Midas Hong Trip #3 in 2011

2011-07-20T12:41:00.002+01:00

What an incredible week this has been. With a packed itinery we set off on Tuesday last week with Air Newzealand and met up with some of our contacts in Hong Kong for a catch up and met one of our clients who had bought a property in Lett Rd Stratford overlooking the Olympic 2012 site in London.
We went up to the top of the Ritz Carlton Hotel for a drink with one of our clients - the ICC Centre is the name of the building and here is a view from the main entrance.

The building is 118 floors high and here is a video of the view from the top! Quite breathtaking. We managed to catch the sunset and get a daytime and nighttime view.

Rebecca became our expert with local knowledge and he invaluable insights about how to do business in Hong Kong and China has proved to be priceless.

During the week we joined the Chamber of Commerce and sought a location for a permanent office.

We took the train out to the outskirts of Hong Kong and almost over the border into mainland China to meet some clients who are also interested in buying in England.

We ran a property school in central district on the Friday and were well received.

We were also taken aback by the staggering wealth that is accumulating in the far east and an introduction to an ex-institutional investor gave us an insight into this - the average middle class person in China has a net worth of £10million!

We sampled lots of local cuisine and met up with Rebecca's family which was really nice and got introductions to some great local property consultants who are also interested in accessing UK property.

Our final day was a great one on monday - meeting Rebecca's family contacts who are looking to source large properties in London. Which expands our portfolio of services now to the high net worth clients.

All in all a great week in Hong Kong and looking forward to getting our base established.

Why is London still so popular with investors?

2011-07-05T20:53:00.001+01:00

I've put together some simple walkthroughs of 2 of our many London sites for our investors to give our reasons why these 2 sites are such good investments.

Here is Stratford Lett Road overlooking the 2012 London Olympic stadium

Each site is different and has strengths of its own - that's why its so important to do your research and visit the site and ask questions of the locals at the schools during the day and in the pubs and restaurants during the night.

We are looking for a growth story in an area where we are going to get strong rental demand - so strong economic, education or tourist influences.

We also ask the developers how many have been sold to other investors - and also to be shown a surveyors report to demonstrate real market values so we can pass on genuine discount to our investors.

We also make sure a full rent review is done to make sure that the rentals stack up - as a rule of thumb we are looking for £525 rental for every 100k borrowed.

Here is Mulberry House in E1 Wapping - another up and coming area.

Far Eastern Promise - Hong Kong beckons

2011-06-30T11:11:00.001+01:00

Well it's that time again when we fly to meet clients and agents in Hong Kong
The diary is filling up fast and we have 2 speaking engagements in mid July http://investinghk.eventbrite.com/

and also the Hong Kong Consulate with the Chamber of Commerce.

Our Stratford properties are creating quite a stir overseas with investors seeking a bit of London real estate with a growth story - and with 2012 just around the corner, 2 billion in local investment , 30,000 jobs in the area, the largest shopping mall in Europe being built, £1050-£1100 pcm rentals on 1 bed flats for £220,000 - it's not really that surprising to see why.

These ones overlook the Olympic stadium in the distance and the view here is from the rooftop of the Letts Road development. Andy our lettings manager has let all of our properties from day one with viewings complete before survey!

I'll be taking the team out to invest time with our existing clients and show the the "trust" is so important with us - we must spend quality time building up relationships with all our business partners and clients as its part of our company ethics.

Midas at the Welsh Business Show

2011-06-18T20:37:00.003+01:00

We've had some fun this week exhibiting at the Welsh Business Show over 2 days.
There were lots of great business exhibiting and it was a pleasure to share the Cardiff City Stadium exhibition hall with them.

The Mayor of Cardiff opened the show - that's me interrupting his speech - oops!

and then Andy , our lettings manager did some speed ~~dating~~ - I mean speed networking!! which was fun.

We also had a Midas draw for a free bottle of bubbly which was won by Mal Palmer from www.teglandesign.co.uk - well done Mal.

Finally after running a property school in the press room - Robin couldnt resist the urge to crown me the new manager of Cardiff City Stadium - and for a bit of fun we recorded the event.

We met some lovely people at the show and are looking forward to seeing more of you in the near future. Special thanks to the 4N stand for making Mari, Andy, Robin and I feel welcome.

Start Your Business Magazine - 2011

2011-05-05T14:28:00.000+01:00

Natalie from Full Portion has just come back with the copy of the March 2011 Start Your Business Magazine where I gave an interview to be published.

Click Here

for the full article on our website.

We are excited about our local Property School tonight in Bristol where we are expecting a great attendance. More and more people are finding out about us now thanks to the word of mouth marketing we are so keen to cultivate. People buy people at the end of the day and we know our track record and reputation is building.

Barratt Homes to work with Midas!

2011-04-14T14:16:00.000+01:00

We have some more exciting news today - speaking to the MD of Barratt Homes - they have agreed to offer exclusive deals for UK investors and will be running a Property School at one of their show-flats in London in the near future. Barratt Homes' extensive range means we can extend our range of properties in great locations even further. We want our clients to feel they have a sweet shop of choices to give them great returns.

With news yesterday about inflation rates at 4.4% the public are even more aware that any savings need to achieve over 5% to break even - they are losing money if they dont.

As property is made with materials that rise in price with inflation and also with a huge under-supply situation in the UK means we are hedged against inflation and due another surge in prices.

We are thrilled that this now means we have access to the national catalogues of Taylor Wimpey, David Wilson, Persimmon , Redrow and now Barratt Homes to offer our clients.

British Athletics Commission endorse Midas to athletes

2011-04-12T12:45:00.003+01:00

What a few weeks we have had - a number of critical negotations have taken place with some key future partners and the one partnership we can disclose at this point is our endorsement from the British Athletics Commission who's director, Brett Taylor ,has taken the mantle of introducing Midas to the athletes.

It is a privilege to work with such a high profile official body and we are so excited that the message of our proposition is ringing true with the professional sporting community.

We are hearing so many horror stories about sportsmen and women being ripped off by hard-sales tactics and terrible deals with no follow up or customer care, leaving them out of pocket and with bags of issues to have to resolve.

Brett has given permission for us to tell the public which is what we are doing and are looking forward to running a press release shortly.

10 things absolutely everyone should know before they start building a property portfolio

2011-03-24T08:34:00.000Z

Here are my top 10 tips for building a successful property portfolio

1.   Do your due diligence and carry out as much research as possible.
2.   Location, location, location.
3.   Remember that this is an investment, you're not looking for a home that you would like to live in yourself.
4.   Always go for growth if possible so you can refinance and buy again to keep building your portfolio.
5.   Don’t buy anything smaller than 450 square feet.
6.   Get to know the area you're looking to buy in - visit the shops, pubs and restaurants and speak to local people Ask them if it's safe at night, enquire about the schools etc, local people will tell you everything and these are the people who will rent your investment property.
7.   Look for easy access to motorways, train stations and public transport links.
8.   Always have a buffer or slush fund and increase it as you build your portfolio, this will cover for example, lack of rental or repairs or any mortgage increase and will let you ride any storm.
9.   Research on rentals within the area and take £100 off to make sure you get it spot on.
10. You should not buy your first buy to let investment if you are not prepared to give it 5 to 10 years. Above all, have fun!

For more information download our FREE 31 page investment guide from www.midasestates.com

Bath School well received

2011-03-16T09:26:00.001Z

We had a great school at the Bailbrook House last week and we asked Terry Baar our favourite photographer and also client with 3 properties to come and take some shots of the school. Mark Regan gave his testimonial and the response from our IFA audience members was very good.

Thanks to Robert Curwen-Reed of Rock IFA and David Lossl from the Really Useful Mortgage company for hosting the event and we are now progressing with helping several new clients with their free appraisals and getting them on the road to financial freedom through property.

Here are a few photos from the event:

We are very excited about the way our schools are going and our recent one at Cardiff City Stadium was also well received and many more mortgage brokers are IFAs are very happy to recommend us as a result because at last its a wholistic service that offers their clients access to property as an investment class - but without all the hassle.

Mark Regan with the Midas team at the Wells Rugby Dinner

2011-02-26T16:12:00.002Z

Mark , Charlie my wife , Alister and 2 of our clients and friends came to Wells recently to attend the Wells Rugby dinner and Mark did an after dinner speech which went down really well - there were lots of rugby anecdotes and Mark signed alot of rugby items for the guests.

Our next Wells Free Property School on March 9th @ 6:30pm @ The Kings Head so if you know anyone who wants to get into property as an investment let us know.

Here are a couple of photos from the dinner.

Thanks to Terry Baar, one of our clients who has recently bought 3 properties with Midas, for taking the photos - we would like to recommend Terry's services for any sporting events - Terry's speciality is "in action" sporting shots and we would encourage any sporting club to hire Terry for their programmes, newsletters or marketing materials. Terry can be contacted on http://www.crystalclearstills.co.uk/ 07771 860 563

Midas 1st Chinese Property School!! see photos

2011-02-22T18:41:00.000Z

The Midas overseas team set out on Saturday to launch their 1st overseas property schools and appointments have been booked with some key clients and contacts to help get us off to a flying start.

Alister Betts and Rebecca Finney were key to the operation with their contacts, planning and Chinese liaison - so important to us for making a success of our venture.

We are really working hard to make sure our school content is more educational than anything else as we value being seen as professionals with knowledge to impart rather than SELL, SELL , SELL which we know other investment companies do without mercy and often give our types a bad name.

Here are a couple of shots taken on our 1st school

We have appointments lined up with some great business people in Shang Hai this week followed by Hong Kong shortly afterwards.

Looking forward to reporting back with more progress.

Newquay rentals up by 86% since this time last year - says BlueChip Holiday Vacations

2011-02-15T21:19:00.000Z

Speaking to one of our favourite lettings sources this year at Newquay and across the south west - we heard some not too surprising news - but to some this might make a jaw or 2 drop. Here is what they said in a press release today.

Blue Chip holiday boomPublished Tuesday, February 15th, 2011
Self catering holiday homes specialist Blue Chip Holidays is reporting bookings up by 86% compared to the same time last year.
The company has 800 holiday homes across the south west, Wales and the Isle of Wight, 40% of which are in Cornwall.
Bookings in Newquay, where the company has over 160 properties, have risen 158%, while business is also growing rapidly in St Ives and Looe, with figures up 231% and 161% respectively.
Blue Chip MD Alan Taylor commented: “2010 was our busiest year to date and 2011 looks like it has all the makings of another record-breaker. We’re already seeing a number of our most popular holiday homes, coastal apartments, cottages and lodges booking out for the summer months, and we’re boosting our portfolio of high end self-catering properties to cope with demand.”

Looks like Midas rentals are going to be very strong and it is reflective of people's choices to stay in the UK for their holidays to keep costs down and stay local.

New website and branding launched thanks to GWS Media!!

2011-01-26T17:47:00.001Z

After 2 months of hard work the new Midas Property School website is now live. GWS media worked with Robin , our IT Director to create a site which communicated our brand as effectively as possible to our target audience. Our new branding is now in place and our FREE property Investment Guide is also available as a free download from the site.

We were excited about how well the site presents our properties and look forward to getting further exposure to different markets with the online marketing campaigns due this year.

Check it out here www.midasestates.com

We stopped for a moment to celebrate the launch at the GWS office where we walked through the site content before flicking the switch this afternoon.

Thanks to David Graves , Nathan, Matt and the rest of the team at GWS for all their hard work - we really think they have done the utmost for Midas and exceeded our expectations.

Robin is already looking forward to his next project with GWS for internet marketing.

Act Now - Mortgage time bomb as cheap deals set to disappear!

2011-01-19T20:04:00.003Z

Britain is sitting on a mortgage ‘ticking time bomb’ homeowners were warned as an inflation surge pushed interest rate rises closer.

Rising inflation set to twist the Bank of England's hand.

Fixed rate mortgages are already being pulled from the market as the Bank of England faces renewed pressure to raise interest rates to combat inflation which hit 3.7 per cent.

City swap rates are already rising and the knock on effect is that the cost to Lenders in raising funds is also already rising. Lenders have already admitted any of its deals could be pulled within days.

Those who want to fix need to do so now.’

Midas in the Independent, The Mail and the Sunday Times!!

2011-01-14T17:44:00.005Z

Great news today - since starting our national PR campaign last tuesday - we already have hit the nationals and Natalie Whitlock from Full Portion PR who heads up the campaign told us on monday.

"Fantastic news - we will be in The Sunday Times Property supplement next Sunday!

In all my years in PR, I've never know a property client get such pick up across national media in so little time. It's taken at least 3 months before I've been able to place them in a national and in less than a week we have The Independent, Mail on Sunday and Sunday Times all wanting to do something with us!"

Thanks Natalie for your hard work on this - I expect we might be a bit busy over the next few weeks and months!!

Our schools are now taking bookings for :
24th Jan Cheltenham
25th Jan Exeter
2nd Feb Saxons Estate Agents
3rd Feb Bristol
7th Feb Yeovil FC
10th Feb Oxford
16th Feb Taunton
9th March Wells
14th March Cardiff

If anyone reading this blog knows anyone interested in property investment then please let them know and we will reserve a seat for them. Just email info@midasestates.com

Midas Somerset Schools a success

2011-01-08T11:42:00.000Z

We had a great time in our Yeovil and Taunton schools recently and as a result there are now clients waiting to buy and get their portfolios started. HQ Mortgages' Alister Betts and Trevor Quinn-Jones hosted the event and Mark Regan (MBE) and Lee Johnson were there as directors and ambassadors for the company.

It was so empowering to see both business and clients finding solutions in today's climate to alternative incomes and also pension provision which is on so many people's minds at the moment.

We are finding that there are so many people who would love to get involved in property investment but just dont know where to start. In fact with inflation threatening savings and investments people are genuinely worried about what to do. After attending the school and listening to how Midas help their clients build a portfolio over 10 years they get excited about getting access to property as an asset class which was previously reserved for the experts.

Dates are now planned for Property Schools in Yeovil, Taunton and Wells schools for early 2011 and articles will go out in the Somerset County Gazette and the Wells Journal.

David Wilson agree to sponsor schools for 2011

2010-12-24T16:37:00.000Z

I had a great meeting this week with David Wilson Homes and came away feeling even more excited about 2011 if that is possible!! We secured sponsoship to our schools in 2011 and have offers on 5 of their show homes all with fantastic discounts and leaseback options. So we know we are going to be able to offer properties which deliver both large discount and also really high rental yields for our clients in the New Year. We also have access to their national catalogue so we can offer locations to suit the needs of our clients.

This wraps up a whirlwind final quarter for 2010 and it feels like my feet havent touched the ground.

January is already destined to be a major month for Midas with a full appointment book, new website and branding launch, 4 schools and national PR campaign already in the diary.

From all the team at Midas we wish everyone a fabulous Christmas and a Happy New Year.

David Wilson South West of England Deal with Midas Property School

2010-12-07T18:49:00.002Z

Today was another milestone for Midas Property School - I had a meeting today with David Wilson Homes who were so impressed with our model that not only were they prepared to offer discounts to our clients in all of their sites across the South West but also would like to discuss sponsoring all of our Property Schools and host a school at every champagne launch of a new site.

This would be great news for our clients as we would have a wider range of stock to offer them, which along with Persimmon and Taylor Wimpey, who we already deal with, would mean we would be a trully national company with wide reaching access to all investable regions in the country.

We would also now have a sponsor with national credibility which enhances the Midas brand and gives added kudos for our standing in the property arena.

Finally David Wilson Homes will be discussing adding a link to the Midas website from their national website.

We will be meeting again on the 21st December to go over the fine details.

We are now really excited about what 2011 will bring when we host many more schools around the country.

Mark Regan and Lee Johnson tell us about Midas Estates

2010-12-02T18:59:00.004Z

We love having our ambassadors Mark Regan and Lee Johnson on board with Midas for obvious reasons - and we asked them for their thoughts on how Midas works for them and why it appealed to them in the first place.

In particular they both shared the experience of being given the hard sell by businesses from all angles and having to be aware of the motives of those who approach them.

Mark started by giving us his story

and then Lee Johnson from Bristol City Football Club told us of his views.

If you know any sports person who is thinking about investing then please share this Blog post with them and ask them to give us a call.

Schools in Taunton and Wells a sell out success

2010-12-02T18:42:00.003Z

We were delighted to hold two more Property Schools in the south west this week on Monday and Tuesday in Taunton and Wells and again we had some great feedback so thank you to those that came - the venues were both full - so thanks to Alister Betts for marketing the event.

Here is a taster of one of our schools - this was in Bristol recently

We'd love to hear from anyone who would like to attend one of our schools or if someone has got some general questions about property investment then we welcome their call for some free advice.

For instance we often get landlords contact us for a review or to take over the management of their portfolios because they want to give the stress to someone else. That is what Midas is all about - letting people get on with their lives while we get on with getting your money working hard for you.

Here is a brief testimonial from Bill Eaton who came to our Bristol school

We are now looking forward to planning for the new year where we have schools lined up for January and February for Cheltenham, Plymouth, Cardiff, Exeter, Bristol and Coventry.

Top London PR Company to work with Midas in 2011

2010-11-24T19:38:00.001Z

We visited London today to meet some clients and also meet the PR company who have been courting us for some time and who work with some of the large London Property Investment clubs - we were excited about their feedback.

They said we had no competition - because we were the only company that stayed with the client the whole 10 years and didnt run away. The other companies always try and fleece the client for money on expensive DVD training courses and also extortionate seminars. We know that people who attend these courses often leave excited and then lose their confidence and end up doing nothing afterwards which is a real shame.

So we are excited about getting national press and TV coverage next year.

Watch this space.

What is a Property School all about? Watch the video shoot here.

2010-11-20T12:10:00.016Z

Robin has been working with Worthers.com and account manager Ben Hull to create a promotional video for our Property Schools and are really pleased with the result.

Ben's team created a number of shoots on our last school in October and we want to be able to capture the spirit of the event to share with people online.

The new Midas website which is due for launch in January 2011 will incorporate the full range of footage and interviews with Mark Regan, Lee Johnson, Andy Dillan our lettings manager and me.

Take a look at the final edit

Thanks to Ben and the team for their efforts. We thoroughly recommend their work.

Investors Chronicle publish interview with Midas

2010-11-20T11:02:00.000Z

Yesterday I was called by Investors Chronicle magazine who wanted me to do an interview for their December issue. The magazine publishes nationally predominantly for equity investors and covers a wide range of topics from current affairs, UK and overseas market issues. Property is obviously another area which investors can turn to who are looking to protect their wealth in uncertain times.

I was able to comment on the fact that, when done properly the UK property market is a safe place to put your money and over 10 years, in the right location can experience fantastic growth.

Looking forward to December's issue where the article will be published and will be on the Newsagents shelves.

Cheltenham School is a success

2010-10-18T22:09:00.000+01:00

What another great night - our School in Cheltenham was well received.
The Midas team fielded all of our audiences questions and set everyone's mind at ease.

We were told that the presentation was gentle and informative and gave them confidence in the Midas offering and we know that the vaste majority of guests want to book one to ones with us and get their portfolios started.

We are finding that there are alot of people who wouldnt get started if it wasnt for our services and that's why its so exciting working with people who want to profit from property.

We were able to advice first time buyers who can benefit from our negotations with developers who can contribute to the deposit and costs and also with a landlord who was thinking of getting a full review done and have our lettings team take over the portfolio for them - a hassle free service which will allow him to get on with his life!!

Thanks to Andy Sawers for marketing locally and thanks to everyone who came. We look forward to seeing you again soon.

Ian

SELL OUT at Bristol School!

2010-10-14T22:58:00.000+01:00

Well what a fantastic night we had tonight at the Bristol School. We were so busy people were walking in and looking for chairs!

We had a film crew in who were taking footage for our new website and Lee Johnson from Bristol City and Mark Regan MBE world cup rugby player were there to conduct interviews and tell our guests how they endorse Midas to their sporting friends and recommend us to them.

We had a great response from people and we think we made another good impression with lots of people requesting one of our free one to one consultations.

We had the chance to explain in more detail how our lettings team work and elaborate on how our national property management service is so stacked in faviour of the investor that the rents are maximized and the voids are minimized down to days. Costs are also kept down to a minimum.

We love sharing our service with people and with the news spreading fast we know we are almost sold out for Cheltenham on Monday and have 2 more dates for Wells and Taunton for Novembers.

Midas want to thank everyone who came and helped to make it a great event.

Saxons Estate Agents join Midas

2010-10-07T21:09:00.000+01:00

Had a very exciting week this week with Saxons Estate Agents who have 3 offices; one in Cheddar, Bridgewater and Weston have teamed up with Midas Property School to offer our service to their clients. Matt and Geoff are very excited about this saying "This is a great idea because people do want to invest in property but are scared to , and to offer a service where we stay with them all the way is great and adds value to our clients in so many ways". They appreciated the 6 monthly customer reviews we do and the way we have everything under one roof - we find discounted property and rent it time and time again.

You go to Tescos for your food, a garage for your petrol but where do you go to get the right advice on how to build a property portfolio?

We look forward to working together and helping Saxons clients reture early and spend time with their loved ones.

Mark Regan MBE talks about the future for Midas

2010-10-01T10:00:00.006+01:00

Mark came in for a meeting at the office today to talk about his view of the future for Midas and regarding our growing endorsements from fellow sportsmen like Lee Johnson from Bristol City FC and Bristols own Glenn Catley super middle-weight boxer.

Best of Bristol

2010-09-28T21:31:00.004+01:00

Today has been such a positive day all round for Midas.
Robin and I set up an exhibition stand at Ashton Gate Stadium for the BestOfBristol which was a joint venture with the Federation of Small Business.

We were one of over 100 exhibitors and we were expecting to meet and talk to alot of people. We know the event attracts alot of different types of business so we were looking to find some like minded people there.

We saw alot of our networking friends and also met some new peope who gave us some great feedback.

Robin paused to tell us a little about the stand and what we wanted to achieve.

"You are too nervous" Midas tells Paramedic from Cheltenham - who now has 5 properties

2010-09-24T20:15:00.002+01:00

Ian Summers, a paramedic from Cheltenham, tells us how his last 2 years as a Midas customer has opened up his life choices and changed his life. We are greatful to Ian for sharing his views - he explains how fearful he was initially and that Ian Clark took 2 years to accept him as a customer to make sure he wasnt too nervous. Ian Summers says that we are all conditioned to believe we must go to school , get good grades, get a good job, and work til your 65 and we need to train ourselves to believe that you dont have to work til you are 65 and that property allows you to get your life back.

Midas have 2 More Property Schools for October

2010-09-22T16:50:00.000+01:00

Midas have 2 More Property Schools for October

We would like to offer an invitation out to anyone interested in Property Investment to our next 2 FREE Property Schools - play the video below to find out the dates and venues and how to attend.

"Dancing like your dad!" Bristol City's Lee Johnson joins Midas

2010-09-21T11:38:00.000+01:00

Robin and I met with Lee Johnson of Bristol City for a chat about joining Midas and also how he views property investment.

We are thrilled to announce that Lee has decided to endorse Midas which further enhances our public profile and gives our brand further credibility - something which we treasure with so many of our competitors going down the route of taking clients for a ride.

We have been to a number of seminar type events which are basically just hard sell forums for their expensive DVDs and seminars which guests are pressurised to buy. These companies tend to charge fees for property finding as well and then leave you to it - which often increases the risk of failure in property investment. At Midas we believe passionately in staying with our clients for 10 years and making sure there are no mistakes made and that a relationship is build up based on trust and success.

Lee Johnson tells us about his views as a player and also his dancing!

Interest from Malaysia

2010-09-20T07:48:00.000+01:00

Was at the Dorchester hotel in London before I went to Spain earlier this month to meet Carol, a lady from Malaysia, and after an hour chatting to her she was so impressed that she is now buying three properties through Midas and wants to take our property school to Malaysia for her family and friends.

She did say however that she had seen five other companies before us and thought we were the most professional and loved the fact we hold the clients hand all the way , great news !!!!

Bristol City's Lee Johnson joins Midas and wants to share his view on what we do

2010-09-17T16:48:00.000+01:00

We are thrilled to announce that Bristol City's Lee Johnson is joining Midas and will tell us all about his excitement about joining us on Monday.

Best Of Bristol Show next on the Midas calendar

2010-09-17T16:42:00.000+01:00

Robin and I are really looking forward to presenting at the Best of Bristol exhibtion at Ashton Gate on the 28th Sept. Its going to be attended by 1500 visitors and there are over 300 exhibitors which should make for a great day.

In our experience people are open to the idea of investment once they are shown our strategy because they realise we do our research and the service we offer involves holding their hands for future.

We are looking forward to seeing alot of friendly faces too from the networking scene.

Cheltenham Property School now confirmed

2010-09-17T16:38:00.000+01:00

We have now confirmed a second school for October for the 18th October at the Holiday Inn Express @ 6pm and we are looking forward to another evening of sharing our tips and strategies for successful property investing in the UK

Bristol School is a success

2010-08-19T21:40:00.000+01:00

Our Bristol Property School was fully attended and the Midas team has grown significantly as a result of the attention we are getting on the Bristol networking scene.

A big thank you to all those people who made it to both our introducer induction and our main event in the evening.

Some of the feedback we received is shown below:

"Just the right length"
"Great educational content with facts and figures to back up the points"
"Liked the charts and maps"
"Good to see different people from different areas of expertese contributing"
"Learned alot about investment strategies"
"Useful to be able to ask questions of the experts"
"surprised at the growth in certain areas"

We want to extend our thanks to all those that attended and all the new introducers who are now joining our team.

It was nice to be validated by alot of IFA and mortgage professionals and now endorsed by the same people.

We are now looking for considerable growth in our client base and feel confident that our next school will require a bigger room!!!

Until next time.....

Aston Martins and Joint Ventures

2010-08-16T21:37:00.009+01:00

Today was a day for forging new relationships with partners overseas and in the City and to the Dorchester we went!

Robin tells us what we are up to and a little about his experience with Midas so far.

We took a few snaps of the cars parked outside the hotel and after one of our appointments cancelled at short notice - frustrating on a day like this - we headed back home.

The feedback gained from one of the largest taxation specialist was very positive and he was keen to explore a joint venture with us and create further growth for both companies.

Our second appointment was with a US real estate agent whose clients reach into Palm Springs and towards Las Vegas - she had over 25 years experience in the business and could offer some great apartments and holiday homes in a great region called Indian Wells which is just outside Palm Springs. There afre 360 days of sunshine - no aligators, bugs or rainy season and the golf courses, designer shopping malls and quality restaurants made the location desirable for an overseas investment.

The trip home left us feeling tired but Ian had time to give us his throughts in the car.

Our next trip should be Hong Kong but looking forward to the next few weeks following the Property School on thursday where we should have plenty to do!

Until next time...

What does a Bugatti Veron, Kelly Brook and Ronnie Corbett and a world cup rugby player all have in common?

2010-08-14T22:38:00.002+01:00

Meeting clients, developers , PR companies and joint venture partners is all done best at the Dorchester Hotel in London - it's easy to reach and sets the scene well to do business and we are always treated well - you'd hope so wouldnt you!

Last week my business partner , Robin Campbell and I had a series of meetings which turned out to be really exciting for us.

Speaking to the butler at the hotel he told us that the owner of the blue Bugatti Veron (see picture)

also had a Pagoni Zonda! 1.6million and 1.4 million of automobile - that would feed the whole of Bristol for a day!!

Robin bumped into Kelly Brook at the revolving door which left him speechless and I saw Ronnie Corbett!! Not quite the same experience but fun all the same.

We met up with Ben Sturnham one of our clients and ex world cup 2003 rugby player, who now has 6 properties with us, and was pleased with the capital growth of his portfolio and the decent rental profit coming from the drop in interest rates.

We also spoke to a property developer whose favourite trick was building underground carparking - and had done this for several properties in London - he had a fantastic development completing next year and we were offered good prices for our clients - plum location too.

We also spoke to a well known Finance Company who were acting insolvency practitioners for an Icelandic bank who were under administration and winding up their assets - they offered Midas 15 flats in Clifton , Bristol - a prime location and rents for fun. They had 2 year tenants already in and so made it even easier for us to offer this to our clients - and we knew at discount too.

Finally we met up with 2 people who want to sign as Midas Introducers - one from Brighton and a letting agent from Swindon - the news is getting out about our income opportunity and we feel that there is going to be no stopping it!

Back at 8pm and completely bushed but totally worth it and feeling confident about our next Property School.