By Alicia Barlow
PIP Mcr are settling nicely into the new presentation suite, provided by our Sponsor Together Finance. Today we had many new guests looking to join the community which was really inspiring regarding the interest in Manchester/ North West for investment.
Michael Bailey opened the meeting with a great message about how Preston is an area to watch for investors! Michael is an Investor led estate agent in the area.
Along with Manchester and London, Preston has city status but equally is reported to have the most sustainable capital growth in the UK. Meaning the area is less susceptible to the effects of economic changes than those other cities.
Location is key, Preston is directly connected to London, Manchester, Birmingham & Scotland within a maximum 2 hour journey.
Equally easy access to wonderful, outdoor amenities such as the Lake District.
£434 million has been pumped into Preston over the last 5 years through the City Deal development fund. They still have a large amount of the fund to spend; their target is to meet for development of new homes and this will overall increase the local economy over the next 10 years by £1Billion.
GCHQ / Ministry of Defence for internet crime / cyber security have identified a site in Salmesbury for their new home. This is an exciting addition to the commercial businesses that call Preston home.
Adam became our lovely Sponsor Peter Vandervennin from The Mortgage Consultancy for the day, to give us a real time update on the latest developments in the mortgage world!
The Base rate graph is evidencing the uncertainty in the market and the short to medium term volatility of interest base rate, including any potential future rises and their impact on inflation … most believe a persistent trend of inflation with it coming down to 4% by 2024. The graphs are showing an easing but equally an uncertain outlook.
What does that mean to you as an Investor? Lower rates for lower LTVs, this is now creeping in for those borrowing less against their assets.
Capital values, there isn’t much chance of these “falling off a cliff” but most likely is that the exceptional values seen up to August 2022 have become more realistic. The premium has now been blown off the top. Leaving us in a higher value market than 2019 but lower than 2021… a balance somewhere in between.
Look out for Lender fees, make sure you add these to your costs when analysing your deals. What is the total cost? Some are becoming quite eye watering, including the early repayment charges.
The overall message is to keep your eye on the market, it is constantly changing.
Our next speaker; sponsor Ian Walmsley, from Planning Geek, described his vast experience and passion for property with his approach to planning being proactive, sustainable and efficient to the client. His knowledge of use classes was valuable and impressive.
Planning, use classes is not as clear cut as you are led to believe. Use class changes have started and are consistently changing. Given projects can take up to 3/4 years start to finish it’s important to be informed and understand the impact this could have on your development/ project.
Each and every local council will apply this differently and it depends on their abilities, knowledge and engagement in the local community. Most local authorities are under resourced and do not have the time to advise correctly.
Be careful of marketing information and sales particulars for potential redevelopments.. Most estate agents don’t understand the intricacies of the Use Classes… what the current use class is … what the use class can become.. or not! … never assume the agent is correct! It happens more often than you can imagine!
A great tool to use is google maps to determine use class, what was it used for? Click on the clock and go back in time; travel down that street and see what was there previously. Also, join any local Facebook groups, ask about the building.
Our sponsor Mish from Mistoria Group, discussed how the group adds all-round value to property investors and their businesses.
He has exciting plans to build an estate agency training company to help qualify their senior negotiators and also give Mistoria a high volume of quality employees for the future.
Our final speaker, Kirsty Rogers from Together Finance, our bridging lending sponsor explained how to obtain 100% finance (NOT 100% LTV) for your next project!
Asset rich investors can use other assets they own to leverage against new projects. It’s certainly proving positive to investors and increasing their ability to scale.
After lunch we moved onto the round tables in the Atrium, hosted by our wonderful speakers and PIP founders. This was a lovely change of scenery and we discussed current projects, macroeconomics and starting out in property until the close of the meeting.
Today was a great meeting showing how our members are doing deals in a tough market / technical recession. The speakers gave us incredible ideas and techniques on how the North West is a strong investment area and how planning is another important aspect of being able to add value to your opportunities.
