The One About Glenn Cameron ! – PIP Birmingham – November

With breaking news and changes, almost on a daily basis in the world of politics, finance and the economy, members were looking forward to the Bank of England update from PIP Founder Adam Lawrence and our Mortgage Expert Peter Vandervennin from The Mortgage Consultancy.

And of course, members were looking forward to some much needed motivation and inspiration from our guest speaker Glenn Cameron.

As usual, we began with the introductions round. It’s always great to get an insight into what members are currently doing or looking for help with – and many conversations and discussions are had throughout the day amongst members on the basis of this round.

Our guest speaker for the day was Glenn Cameron, the man responsible for bringing the TASER to the U.K. Now used by all police forces as a non lethal method of law enforcement, it started off from a conversation in a Daventry shop 20 years ago between Glenn and the US manufacturers who were looking for a U.K. distributor.

There were lots of lessons along the way. Orders came flying in from The Home Office to equip the police forces, but import taxes and VAT had to be paid upfront and there were exchange rate risks. The company needed security to finance working capital and after much analysis, decided buying property was the solution. They started buying property, namely blocks of flats and apartments that would generate income for the business but also act as security for short term bank finance.

Glenn exited the business after taking it to £20m turnover and retained the property portfolio in SPVs and in his SSAS. He reminded us of the importance of taking opportunities, being tenacious in overcoming problems and having audacious goals. And of course another reminder of Property being one of the best stores of wealth and how it can be your own bank!

First of our sponsors updating us for the day was Pinder – with a couple of important messages.

Firstly, many properties are underinsured. Rising build and labour costs mean that reinstatement values are now much higher – so please check this. YOU are responsible for insuring at the correct value.

Secondly, many are opting for creating policies online, please be careful as a broker has specialist knowledge to ensure all perils are covered. The DIY approach maybe cheaper but possibly a false economy that could end up costing more! Speak to a broker!

The meeting saw a welcome return of Ranjit, who’s missed the last couple of meetings, but he was back with Property Investor News. He reminded us of having the right information and education on our side, especially in the current market and he had his usual event offer for signing up to his publication.

Next up was Peter Vandervennin from The Mortgage Consultancy with the first of his two updates of the day.

The Bank of England base rate had gone up to 3% the day before the meeting in the fight against inflation.

Things are beginning to stabilise, mortgage rates have risen sharply, but are coming down and the number of products is increasing, given 4500 products were withdrawn in 48 hours after the infamous mini budget!

But swap rates, the rates at which lenders buy their money, are falling and mortgage rates will follow. Residential rates will settle between 4-5% and BLT between 5-6%.

The message from Peter was that some of his richest clients are those that “hunkered down” during the 2008 financial crisis and hung on to their assets.

Furthermore, after lenders have cleared their backlogs, they may well be left with spare capacity for clients and may well issue some “loss leaders”, ie some great value deals for those that are ready. And that means get your April 2022 accounts and SA302s ready now!

Next from our Sponsors to present was Kirsty, with the latest bridging rates from Together.

From 0.85% to 1.05% per month for resi properties (up to 75% LTV) and 0.95% to 1.15% per month for commercial (up to 70% LTV) are the latest rates. Together are still here lending with no exit fees on loans over £100,000, desktop valuations on resi properties and no legal fees on new purchases less than £500k.

Lunch followed a busy morning of speakers and networking!

Adam and Peter provided some analysis and commentary on the BofE briefing following the monetary policy committee meeting that saw the base rate rise by 0.75% to 3% on 3rd November.

The language from the BofE is now recognising “persistent” inflation, not just “transitory” inflation caused by Covid. Around a 1/3rd of all properties are unencumbered from mortgages and the vast majority of mortgaged properties are on fixed rates – so unaffected by rate rises. However, inflation affects everyone and the raising of the base rate will continue be used to fight it, with a 7-2 vote to raise it by 0.75%.

Peter commented that the mini budget debacle has created massive loss of reputation for the U.K. in the financial markets, which will take some time to repair.

The message from Adam was that we all should look at what has happened and what could happen – and how does that affect me? Take action appropriately, the solution may be to control expenses, perhaps sell or change business model to HMO or SA.

Stay informed, keep calm and carry on!

The meeting concluded with our Round Table discussions and networking hosted by Glenn Cameron and Adam.

That concluded another superb meeting – and will meet again on 2nd December – which is also the day of the PIP Christmas Party!

If you’re attending the party, you’re welcome to join our meeting – at the time of writing, a few Christmas Party tickets are still available!

See you soon!