Recent statistics from MoneySupermarket.com suggest that the average age of Britons expecting to by their own property is now 37 years old – a resulting factor of UK market conditions continuing to make it difficult for first time buyers to get that all important first foot on the property ladder.

In this study, UK adults (who do not currently own a property) were subsequently asked at what age they expected to be when they are in a sufficient financial position where they could buy their first property and a staggering 41% (8 million Britons) claim they do not intend to buy one at all.

This mindset from would-be home owners is driving the buy-to-let market through increasing rental demand. Good news for UK property investors, with the main beneficiaries being private landlords. With this long term ethos of renting adapted by a relatively older generation, the letting of your BTL property is seemingly going to be the least of your worries.

Clare Francis, mortgage spokesperson at MoneySupermarket commented: “Home ownership is a really big thing here in the UK. For years it has been something millions of people aspire to and therefore it’s surprising to see that this may be changing and that some people are giving up on the hope of ever owning their own home.”

“To a certain degree it is perhaps understandable. Despite a stagnant housing market in many areas of the country, property prices remain exceptionally high. Coupled with this, mortgages remain hard to come by with the number of loans available to those with a small deposit well down on the pre-Credit Crunch days.”

Those looking to invest in property or build on an existing portfolio should be encouraged by these stats, though this does by no means make the process easier. Only experienced investors will benefit from this as other elements such as refurbishment and sourcing the right properties at the right discount can make or break a portfolio. This area is where experience and expertise in investing is vital in achieving a cost efficient foundation for long term profitability.

For the existing or new hopeful landlords, there has never been a better time to invest in B2L property. The main fundamental principles however, are to achieve adequate property discounts at the outset and buy in the right areas where tenants are plentiful.

A growing tenant nation could ultimately drive up rental prices by a surplus of demand which would effectively increase the annual yield of the overall investment for the Landlord.

To find out more about how Platinum Portfolio Builder buy below surveyed value property call 01226 732606 or visit www.platinumportfoliobuilder.co.uk where you will be able to request a copy of the brand new free 2012 Guide to Investing in Property and also pre-register for one of the first copies of Your Property Pension, due to hit the bookshops and Kindle this summer.

One of the best, and therefore most popular ways of picking up the best strategies and ethos’ of successful property investors, is Industry Events, in particular, Seminars.

You can learn:

1. Reliable and valuable information on property investments – with no added fee.
2. Key insights into market as a whole, and depending on the seminar topic; tax laws, appreciation and depreciation.
3. One of the biggest advantages is the networking possibilities – you should take all these opportunities to learn from others, and hear their experiences

Top Tips for attending Seminars:

• Research these events before buying tickets. These ‘educational’ events can sometimes turn out to be selling events to consumers who may have little knowledge and be misled.

• Researching also helps you recognise which speakers you are most receptive to which you should seek out, and ones that focus too heavily on selling their products.

• Pick topics that you are genuinely interested in, or that you can relate to with your own portfolio – you should try and compare theories and examples to your own investments. Comparing investments is healthy to make sure you are getting the best deal for your individual requirements.

Nick Carlile is speaking at the Property Investor Show 19^th-20^th April and will be presenting a seminar each day, discussing:

•  “Capitalising on the crisis – how you can profit from property in the current climate as so many before you have”

• “The 7 Biggest Mistakes Made by Property Investors and How to Avoid Them”

Visit our website today to request your free tickets: http://www.platinumportfoliobuilder.co.uk/contact

It may come as no surprise to hear that Landlords all over the country are optimistic in the current buy-to-let market.

Those polled in a recent survey by Mortgages and Business – found that 60 per cent of landlords are planning to add more properties to their portfolios over the next six months.

This show of confidence is positive for Landlords and private investors alike, and is accompanied by an increase in buy-to-let re-mortgage and purchase products. This is resulting in an increased number of lenders (now 22, up from 19 in April 2011) and the demand from buy-to-let investors for more product diversity.

David Whittaker, managing director at Mortgages for Business, commented: “Although overall mortgage and lending to first-time buyers is finally starting to increase, landlords remain confident about the future of the private rental market and plan to expand their portfolios over the coming month”.

For nearly every optimistic investor there seems to be their equal and opposite counterpart that no matter what facts are proposed to them, they will still remain overly cautious due to perceived risk or unanswered questions that they need resolving to settle their worries.

Whilst this conflict of attitudes could initially sound a hindrance to the property market as a whole, the long term serious investor will appreciate this pessimistic view as a golden rule in property investing is to only invest in something you trust and ultimately you are satisfied that the calculated yields that encouraged you to invest in the first place….are on their way.

So any extra due diligence on popular investment opportunities is welcome; a telephone conversation can generally give you a good idea of the concept but until you meet face-to-face and see the company with your own eyes it is often hard for anybody to trust.

It seems the importance of the tangibility of investments should not be underestimated.
With the demand for rental property significantly increasing, hopeful first time buyers are kept off the property ladder due to the inability to come up with high level deposits. This increase in demand is not only pushing up demand but rental fees as well, which is good for investors.

The property investors, who aim to invest in the long term, are set to benefit from this continuing trend in high rental demand and of course the undeniable attractiveness of long term capital growth.

The logical progression now is to assess whether your capital assets will allow you to benefit from this current state of the market and if so, look at investment options. Booking a property tour and a day at our offices to see if a passive investment strategy is right for you is the first step we usually recommend.

To find out more about Platinum Portfolio Builder Property Tours call 01226 732606 or visit www.platinumportfoliobuilder.co.uk where you will be able to speak to one of the team and we’ll also send you our brand new free 2012 Guide to Investing in Property for you to review in the meantime.

Don’t forget to also pre-register for a signed copy of Nick Carlile’s Your Property Pension, due to hit the bookshops and Kindle in April this year.

The OPP awards for Excellence 2011 were hosted at the Property Investor & OPP live at London’s Excel Centre recently.

Nick Carlile and the Platinum Portfolio Builder team were proud to receive this recognition for the work that has brought the business to the forefront of the best alternative investment strategies on the market today.

The OPP judges said of the South Yorkshire based winners: “Platinum offers an innovative service, in which they are not only looking to help people make money, but to also educate them in the field.

Features such as a bestselling book on Amazon, which they give away free to those who enquire, and free educational days for potential investors, make Platinum stand out from the rest. There is no negative press surrounding their organisation online- which is a huge feat – and they are also accredited by various local authorities for their products and services.”

The next book by Platinum, written by Nick Carlile personally and titled Your Property Pension, is sure to replicate the success of the first while highlighting some huge areas of opportunity in the UK property market.  This reflects and uncovers unprecedented opportunity to maximise property investment for pension provision, a strategy that is being adopted by many savvy businessmen and the wider entrepreneurial community through Platinum Portfolio Builder.

The company has in-house teams of expert buyers, project managers, builders and letting agents and buys discounted property using an extensive knowledge and contacts that secure an instant profit for clients. The properties are then let and managed for clients on an ongoing basis until they want to sell them and cash in.

Platinum Portfolio Builder investor, Simon Davies, says “The honesty with which the Portfolio Builder team conducts business means they clearly have their clients’ interests at heart and that is invaluable when investing.”

To find out more about Platinum Portfolio Builder call 01226 732606 or visit www.platinumportfoliobuilder.co.uk where you will be able to request a copy of the brand new free 2012 Guide to Investing and also pre-register for one of the first copies of Your Property Pension, due to hit the bookshops and Kindle in April this year.

“It’s great to be recognised in this way and I’d like to thank the entire PPB team that have worked so hard during 2011. We look forward to 2012 and to delivering more great deals to both new and existing clients.”

Platinum Portfolio Builder is a business that builds and manages property portfolios for people who want to invest in property but who don’t have the time, knowledge or skill to do it themselves.

PPB only buy properties where they can achieve a minimum discount of 25% below an independent RICS valuation. Last year an average discount of 26% was achieved for the benefit of clients.

PPB work with clients who have between 75k and £1m to invest and can offer them market leading returns.

The company has in-house teams of expert buyers, project managers, builders and letting agents and buys discounted property using an extensive knowledge and contacts that secure an instant profit for clients. The properties are then let and managed for clients on an ongoing basis until they want to sell them and cash in their profits.

PPB recognise that many people are unhappy with the poor returns, high fees and uncertainty from traditional investments and pensions.

The proven models of property investment achieve market leading returns and security through intelligent property investment.
PPB has also been recognised with 2 nominations for the Business Excellence Awards 2012. The nominations are in the categories of Most Innovative Company and Entrepreneur of the Year.

This is in addition to the OPP Award for Excellence which was awarded in 2011 to the company.

Platinum Portfolio Builder investor and Chairman, Philip Easter who is also the Chairman of Aegon also added his comment saying ‘the team work extremely hard in building profitable portfolios for our clients, and it’s great to receive such recognition’

To find out more about PPB simply call 01226 732606 where you will be able to request a copy of their bestselling book The 7 Biggest Mistakes made by Property Investors and How to Avoid Them

We’ve all heard of a baby boom but it seems that we could be on the verge of a buy-to-let boom according to Yorkshire based mortgage broker Meridian. With house prices creeping up it is possible that the buy-to-let market will be buoyant in 2012.

With expectations increasingly not been met on their investments and pensions, people today are using savings or equity in their main homes to start their buy-to-let portfolio – a popular tactic amongst serial investors. Mortgage brokers are finding that more independent investors are adopting this tactic due to the better rent yields available and the lower interest rates available from the banks.

Co-founder of Meridian Mortgages, Mr Derry Walton said,” Depending on where the money is invested, a yield of between five and seven per cent can be achieved, which is very attractive when compared to most other options.”

“More and more people are securing mortgages as lenders relax the criteria, for example, Woolwich has recently increased the amount it is prepared to loan on a buy-to-let mortgage from 60 to 75 per cent of value.”

It is becoming more apparent to potential investors that there are a number of schemes available, all of which are encouraging investors back to a now prosperous buy to let market that struggled 3 years ago.If you need proof that this is more than speculation, independent financial research company Defaqto found that the number of buy to let mortgage products on the market has grown by 104% over the last three years.

Whether a passive or hands on investor, many are regarding buy to let as a potential growth area.

Growth is exactly what lenders and investors alike are anticipating, as wide spread uncertainty regarding the wider housing market is fuelling rental demand. Despite the drop in house prices since the recession, first time buyers are struggling to secure a foothold on the property ladder, so now is the time to utilise the surplus of tenants looking to rent.

The result therefore, is that rental yields are generating better returns than many cash investments making it an increasingly attractive prospect for those lucky enough, at this crucial time, who can afford to invest.

John Heron , managing director of Paragon Mortgages explains, ”2012 seems set to be a more successful and challenging time for the buy to let and general mortgage market as the impact of Eurozone crisis and wider economic factors hit us. “However, it’s positive to see the level of optimism among intermediaries and the fact that more than half expect to increase their level of buy-to-let business throughout the course of the year.”

The result is that rental yields are generating better returns than many cash or equity investments, making it an increasingly attractive prospect for those who can afford to invest.”

From the view of an investor it is always useful that you consider expert advice prior to making cash intensive decisions with your savings, if you are a first time investor.

Choosing the right property, in the right location, at a good price where the rental demand is high is important in managing expectations of the possible yield achievable, to ensure your money is working hard for you.

Financial resolutions count for just under half of the survey, with over 40% of people planning to make positive changes to how they manage and invest their money. As expected some find it easier to stick to those resolutions than others with 66% of people confident that they can deliver on their good intentions. With a brand new year upon us, it seems all options should be assessed regarding where your money will go this year.

The option of leaving your money to lay stagnant in a low interest account is less and less appealing to more and more people. The ongoing volatility in the stock market, pensions uncertainty and the increased risks of investing in overseas property is leading more and more people to look at UK buy to let investing again as a way to secure additional income and long term gains.

As the challenging economic climate continues to bite, many are choosing to profit in a more long term and secure way, by investing their money in property and starting to build their very own property investment portfolio.
Many people have carefully considered strategies and clear goals to see their resolutions out, with more and more choosing to reconsider their longer term strategies for wealth creation and pension security.

Having a clear goal of what you want to achieve is always a great place to start.

Being clear about whether you are investing for short term cashflow or longer term security is critical. Most will say that they want both and in our opinion property is one of the safest and most lucrative ways to achieve this.

Now is a great time to reassess whether you are investing in the right asset classes and if you don’t have property then now is a great time to start. If you already invest in property then expanding your portfolio during 2012 could be the best decision you make to secure your financial future.With the market having fallen significantly in recent years, the lack of competition for deals and a strengthening rental market, buy to let is becoming more and more profitable. Add in a long term view, introduce some smart leverage and secure a significant discount on purchase and you have a winning combination which no other asset class can compete with.

Buy to let lender Paragon seem to agree, with their research saying that more than half of landlords expect tenant demand to remain high in 2012.

Nigel Terrington, chief executive of Paragon Group, said: “2011 was certainly a good year for the buy-to-let market, with not only increasing tenant demand but landlords investing in their portfolios, low levels of arrears and more available finance. We should look to 2012 with optimism as it is sure to bring further opportunities.”

Data from the quarterly survey showed that 56 per cent of the landlords surveyed expect tenant demand to either “grow or boom” in the New Year, compared to 45 per cent who were asked the same question at the end of 2010.

Interest rates remaining at an all-time low have severely impacted growth on savings and an extremely volatile stock market has left many investors in a state of confusion about where they can safely place their money. Only last week reports suggested that poorly designed investment strategies have resulted in many defined contribution, or personal pension funds losing a quarter of their value in just seven weeks.

As a result, Nick Carlile says that interest in buy-to-let investments has risen sharply as ever-increasing rents have attracted investors. “Property provides an asset backed income stream which, despite being subject to periodical peaks and troughs like anything else, has still averaged 4.9% growth per annum since 1970.  House prices have doubled in the last decade, even taking into account the property correction of 2007-2009. Over the last thirty years residential UK property has out-performed both commercial property and equities”

This surge of interest in buy-to-let as an investment strategy is a trend that has been echoed across the market as UK housebuilder, Barratt, has also recorded a 25 per cent rise in sales to investors for the first half of this year. 

Nick says that the secret to this strategy however, is longevity and that mistakes that many investors have made previously have been to only to look short term. “You have to treat buying a property like any other investment which means setting goals and thinking about a time frame and strategy as well as what you can afford to spend. It’s best to hold on to a property for at least seven to 10 years to achieve good capital growth.”

Nick adds “House prices won’t necessarily go up evenly from one year to the next but rising rents and greater demand for rental properties than ever before offers a source of income whilst investors adopt a buy-and-hold strategy to protect themselves against market movement.  Also because of the overall position of the market this is certainly a buyers’ market where significant discounts can be achieved. Gone are the days of the short term buy and sell to make a quick buck, but investors need to realise Property is a solid wealth creation vehicle with built in capital growth opportunities.”

• Increased Property Prices
• Low interest rates
• High rental yields
• Buoyant rental market

Here at Platinum Portfolio Builder we already have many clients investing with us but over the last few months we have seen an 18% increase in the numbers of people enquiring about our investment products. If we look at the figures, it’s not hard to see why.

Over the last 12 months average property asking prices have risen by £4,617, roughly in line with CPI inflation at 2.2% and therefore outperforming other investments including instant access savings accounts and the FTSE 100. As we are all too aware, interest rates have remained at rock bottom throughout 2011 meaning that savings accounts have not been performing well either – the average instant access account now offers returns of just 1.04% which means that the motivation to save is just not there at this present time.

Naturally, investors are always looking for their money to be working. Therefore, if you have a sizeable amount of capital sitting in a bank and it is not working, much better to move that money into profitable investments.

Paul Harrison, who is operations director at Platinum Portfolio Builder, also sees evidence of the move to property investment, “Since the beginning of 2011, property prices have performed well, which is obviously great news for homeowners. Current prices may still be below the peaks we saw in 2007 and have some work to do before experiencing pre credit crunch growth rates, but with all things considered and in light of the economic challenges of the past few months, home ownership is clearly shaping up as a good and viable option for those looking to invest their savings.”

In the property investment market, prospective clients are always keen to know how quickly any investment will start working for them and with the current UK rental market really booming property investors are experiencing no problem in filling their properties.

The average rental property in the UK now has up to 5 rental applicants each and these properties are now filled within an average of 13.5 days. Further to this, recent data index from FindaProperty.com showed that rental yields this past quarter averaged 4.75% which is significantly better growth than either equities or cash are currently experiencing.

Here at Platinum Portfolio Builder, we firmly believe that investors are still out there looking for deals and in the last 12 months these investors have become much more willing to consider property as an investment opportunity that with the right guidance can become a profitable way to increase income streams during this current economic downturn.

We are receiving more and more enquiries from potential investors, both UK based and overseas as we strive to offer the best alternative to traditional investments and pensions.  Our model is tried, tested and proven to offer market leading returns in this secure and profitable ‘asset class’. We firmly believe that the UK property market is still vibrant, perhaps just not in the way many expected it to be.

Nick Carlile, who is Founding Partner of Platinum Portfolio Builder and has worked in the property construction and investment industry in and around Yorkshire since the age of 16, believes that renewed faith in the market has sparked a surge of interest. Nick comments “Even though a 25% deposit is still required, this is more achievable on a £100k property in the North than on say, a £250,000+ property in the South, where prices are still considerably higher.”

According to Carlile, experienced investors are recognising that stagnant house prices and high demand for rental properties from those who can’t afford to make a purchase, are making investments more accessible with greater security of a good return. “The north, versus the south, offers much greater opportunity to buy more than one property, building a portfolio over a faster period of time.  If managed correctly, it has the potential to return much higher returns than in the South where yields are often half what is achieved in the North (average gross yield of 8.9% achieved by PPB in the last 12 months).”

Nick adds “Having made many such investments myself in Yorkshire, I believe investing in property here has many opportunities.  Of course, there are thousands of micro-markets in the UK and this is just one, but successful property investing is about understanding these micro markets.”

Regional towns and cities in Yorkshire benefit from high yields, robust rental income and strong prospects of future capital growth, offering ideal conditions for those with money behind them or a decent deposit. Nick comments “Capital growth is part of a medium to long term investment, especially in the current market, so rental yield is crucial. Yorkshire offers a secure buy-to-let investment from a more affordable starting point.  There is more scope to purchase properties with a significant discount; on average we achieve 26% below survey value for our clients with an average gross yield of 8.9%. Typical yields for London are said to be around the 4% mark due to much higher property prices. 

Platinum Portfolio Builder has recently seen an 18% increase in the number of clients wanting to invest in the last quarter, in particular from investors based overseas.  Nick concludes, “There seems to be a distinct improvement and renewed faith with investing in property and 2011/2012 is offering the prime time to do so. During 2010 the discount achieved equalled to over 2 million in equity for the benefit of our clients and shows the strength of such investments in the North of England.”