What is your primary aim when assessing a potential deal: income or capital gain? In this edition we have divergent views on the above question from some very experienced investors in John Corey (page 42) and Nick Carlyle (page 22) which I am sure will provoke 'food for thought' for many readers.
Property development has certainly become more fashionable in recent years, with the challenges impacting on portfolio landlords as a result of the government's intervention to favour first time buyers with Section 24 and the additional 3% SDLT charge. There is no question that when done correctly and with astute market timing, developing and selling property can be very profitable. But it can also be a higher risk undertaking as some developers around central London have discovered of late.
Unfortunately, and this is not a London-centric story, I have been hearing some tales of woe of late - once again - about investors who've gone into joint venture development deals (JV) with some relatively inexperienced developers whose expertise appears to be somewhat questionable. Putting your hard earned £100,000 or more with individuals who are endorsed as experts by a property education company is no guarantee of success it seems.
As such, next month we will have another look here at the due diligence process one should go through when assessing potential JV partners.
Elsewhere in this edition we examine the impact that HS2 will have on Birmingham and the West Midlands when the high speed train service commences in late 2026. Locations such as Digbeth look set to be completely transformed in the upcoming years and I'm sure there will be significant property development opportunities ahead.
On page 15 our lead article analyses the impact of Build to Rent which is being enthusiastically promoted as a viable solution
to the 'housing crisis'. It's definitely gaining traction and Manchester in particular will be seeing quite a number of these schemes being built in the upcoming years.
Our monthly webinar on Monday 26th February at 7-45pm will focus on Build to Rent and Income based Investing, Registration details for the webinar are on page 40 and don't forget that as a PIN magazine subscriber you can also watch all our previous webinars at www.property-investor-news.com using your email address and unique membership password.
