By Alicia Barlow.
PIP Mcr welcomed our members and some new faces back to the exclusive Together Conference suite.
Simon Das opened the meeting with a great tear jerking message about legacy, family and the importance of that in the foundations of his investment portfolio.
His 10 years + experience in the property industry has organically grown successfully through his bridging finance company (978) and HMO/ SA developments in Morecambe.
Simons message: Morecambe, where is the future value?
Beautiful area, back drop being the Lake District – and property values were very low (2011-2018) it was and still is ideally primed and ready for huge capital growth. 10 min train journey to Lancaster and on to Scotland, Manchester or London within 2-3 hours.
The new link road (Bypass) between the M6 and Morecambe brought so much more footfall quickly for the town centre and for businesses using Heysham Docks. Commuting is now possible in 1 hour to Manchester city centre.
Simon was attracted by huge Victorian properties, solid builds with lots of beautiful architecture to offer!
The Eden Project, the news that this fantastic tourist attraction has been given the green light for development in 2023 has seen a huge influx of regeneration potential and investors flooding into the local market. It will be delivered in 2 years (let’s see!) but opening the doors to tourists in 2025/2026. 400 site staff to be employed from opening, creating employment for almost 5% of the population in Morcambe.
Our sponsor Peter from The Mortgage Consultancy, explaining how inflation is sticking and affecting current rates. He explained the ability to leverage your home to invest further, lenders are keen to do more of these types of cross charges. Equally the structure of your businesses could be negatively impacting your lending ability, especially if you have a holding company in situ. Prior planning is crucial to avoid any unnecessary costs or risk.
Our next Sponsor Mish from The Mistoria Group, introduced their new agency in Cheadle Hulme and the potential growth there for a new up and coming area for investment.
Pinder our sponsor from Falcon Insurance gave the message that insurance costs are on the rise! Reinstatement values are climbing due to the cost of materials and labour – all of this is linked to consistently high inflation. You need to ensure that your insurance is sufficient for the leases or AST in place.
Our next sponsor Together, Kirsty Rogers, explaining how their funding is fast and flexible. Including any properties next to a commercial unit. They’d review the case and the Landlords income position. Recently funded her first 24 hour application to completion! Amazing work!
John Johnson a property flipper, looking to build wealth in business using the profits from his projects. He’s a qualified QS and has worked on some incredible projects in the UK and Europe.
His golden nuggets for the day are:
- If you see a developer using finance, you need to befriend the Lenders surveyor; they have the finger on the till of your potential drawdowns!
- ALWAYS have a formal contract with your building contractor!
- Health & safety is key, you need to understand your obligations and responsibilities, ensure you follow the correct procedures and get those around you who are qualified to help!
Moving onto our round tables after lunch we had a great selection of options for our members and attendees who had the ability to ask one to one questions from our Speakers and Sponsors on the day. Discussions about the benefits of a QS for your developments, including health and safety and cost maintenance. What insurance coverage you have / need and other benefits of having a good Broker, and finally Morecambe – where is the value? How can you get involved in the local market before Eden arrives?
Today was a great meeting showing how our members are doing deals in an increasingly uncertain markets with inflation consistently ravaging margins (I heard a fantastic guy had predicted this waaay back in early 2022!).
The speakers giving us incredible ideas and techniques on how the North West is a strong investment area and how being part of an active and experienced community like PIP is another important aspect of being able to add value to your opportunities and property businesses.
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Have a great week all !
