Stock Markets Drop Around The World On New Covid Variant Shock

Stock Markets Fall Around The World On New Covid Variant News

Stock markets fell sharply across the world after the discovery of a new Covid variant which threatens the economic recovery as more restrictions are introduced.

London’s the FTSE 100 share index dropped by nearly 3%, while markets in Germany and France also declined following falls in Asia.

40 Year Fixed Rate Mortgage Launched

Kensington Mortgages launched a mortgage product with a rate that can be fixed for up to 40 years.

First-time-buyers in major UK cities like London may be forced to borrow more than 5 times the average salary to get on the housing ladder, as the affordability ratio soars.

Free No Money Down Property Masterclass Register Here- https://bit.ly/32qvuZY

Food Prices Will Rise

A global shortage of fertilisers is driving up food prices and leaving poorer countries facing crisis, says the boss of a major fertiliser firm, the BBC reports.

UK Car Industry Suffers Worst October In 65 Years

UK car production dropped by more than 40% last month to the lowest level recorded for October since 1956.

Net Migration To The UK Falls By 88% As Asylum Claims Reach 20-Year High

The UK recorded a major fall in net migration last year as figures show a huge reduction in the number of people arriving due to the Covid-19 pandemic and Brexit.

Net migration in the UK was 34,000 in 2020, compared with 217,000 the year before, analysis showed. The number of immigrants coming to the country more than halved to an estimated 268,000 in 2020, compared with 592,000 people the previous year.

27 migrants die in Channel as boat overturns off the coast of France

The migrant crisis continues as thousands of people enter the UK illegally despite this week’s tragedy. Asylum applications to the UK have reached their highest level since 2004, according to official estimates.

India to Ban Cryptocurrencies

As a number of major economies plan to launch digital currencies, India is set to follow China in banning Cryptocurrencies.

The ban will relate to all private cryptocurrencies with certain exceptions to allow the promotion of the underlying technology and its uses. Cryptocurrency prices dropped on Indian exchanges after the decision on the bill's future was announced.

According to a government bulletin, the ban is part of the proposed Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill that will be introduced in its winter session.

The planned legislation aims "to create a facilitative framework for the creation of the official digital currency to be issued by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)".

See also:

Interest Rates Held At 0.1% But Will Rise Soon

9 Habits To Develop Extreme Productivity

Buy-to-Let Property Demand Down 60% Says London Estate Agent As Chinese Buyers Dry Up - https://youtu.be/4RLroedmkX4

What Can You Invest In That's Guaranteed To Go Up In Price In 12 Months? The Answer Will Shock You! - https://youtu.be/_ccb_gTVDkQ

Financial education in investing is the key to building and keeping wealth. Never stop learning!

Keep watching or listening to my free podcasts on iTunes and subscribe to my YouTube channel for regular financial news and updates.

I cover financial education and money mindset in my book, 'Yes, Money Can Buy You Happiness", which you can order on Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Yes-Money-Can-Buy-Happiness/dp/1095175858

DISCOVER HOW THOUSANDS OF ORDINARY BRITS ARE QUIETLY GETTING RICH USING NONE OF THEIR OWN MONEY!

At the No Money Down Discovery we reveal the many ways you can create a job replacing income from property using none of your own money. Register here - https://bit.ly/32qvuZY

Skilled trainers will reveal proven, successful methods for you to cash in on right now, even if you have no previous experience and little to no finance. 

When you join us you will discover:

• The No Money Down Matrix. A system of proven investment strategies guaranteed to secure property with none of your own cash.
• A Step-by-step guide on how to structure a property deal that’s right for you and the vendor.
• The 4 core investing principles you need to secure the perfect deal that creates a long-term cashflowing asset.
• How to cash in on the next big property strategy and control an empire of properties “Rent-To-Own.”
• For deals that do require cash, learn how you can use someone else’s money and quickly recycle it to give them all their money back, and you keep the property for free!
• How to recycle the money you have used to invest and give it back to the partners who gave it to you, leaving you with another cash-producing property to add to your portfolio
• What the Super-Rich do to make a fortune by controlling property without owning it, and how YOU can do the same. Donald Trump uses this very strategy!
• Learn how to do successful Joint Ventures - and become a Money Magnet, attracting more investment partners and more joint venture finance than you can handle
• Learn creative thinking, creative structures and master negotiation skills to make all deals the ultimate win-win

All the trainers have all 'been there, done that’ and you can relax in the certainty that you are getting the expert help you deserve! Register your place here. - https://bit.ly/32qvuZY

 

#property #financialeducation #freetraining #propertyinvestment #investing #passiveincome #nomoneydownpropertyinvesting #makemoneyonline #chinaproperty #buytoletproperty #rentalproperty #propertymarketnews #interestrates #immigration #netmigration #Mortgages

Cost Of Comfortable Retirement Now £50,000 A Year

Cost Of A Comfortable Retirement Reaches £50,000 A Year For A Couple

A study shows that a couple retiring in the UK will need £49,700 per year to live comfortably, an increase of £2,200.

The Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA) estimates that a “comfortable” retirement will include two cars, replacing items like a kitchen every 10-15 years, holidays abroad and £94 per week (Waitrose/M&S) for food shopping.

You could get by on a “moderate” retirement on £30,600 per annum and a “minimum” existence with just £16,700 and a food bill of £67 per week (Lidl/Aldi).

With the return of higher inflation, many retired people struggle to meet the rising cost of food, fuel and council tax, let alone home maintenance and overseas trips or cruises in the sun.

Many resort to the booming “equity release mortgage” industry to give them a lifetime re-mortgage on their home to help make ends meet.

How much do you need in cash to provide an annuity pension of £50,000 per year?

What is an annuity?

Are there alternative options?

Financial education is the key to building and keeping wealth. Never stop learning!

Keep watching or listening to my free podcasts on iTunes and subscribe to my YouTube channel for regular financial news and updates.

Millionaires and millionaire habits have been studied and documented at academic levels for the last hundred years. Bestselling books, like The Science of Getting Rich and Thinks and Grow Rich, were written almost a century ago. I have also published my own book on how people get wealthy and how some lose it all - Yes Money Can Buy You Happiness.

We know exactly what the millionaire and billionaire habits and traits are, as success leaves tracks. All you need to do is follow their tracks to become wealthy and financially free!

If you would like to learn more about investing and managing your money, become a professional property investor, or would like to be financially free without working any harder, watch this free on demand training.

I will give a special free gift which can help you to immediately transform your finances when you attend the online training.

Click on this link to watch the free training now https://bit.ly/3wLWqx2

Book now as spaces fill up fast...

#interestrates #buytoletproperty #property #stockmarketcrash #inflation #financialeducation #freetraining #pension #annuity #retirement #mortgage #lifetimemortgage #equityrelease

Which are the least affordable cities to buy a home in the UK? Its not G...

Which is the least affordable city to buy a home in the UK?

According to Britain’s biggest lender, the Halifax Bank, Winchester is the least affordable city to buy a home in the country.

Its figures suggest buying a home in the Hampshire commuter city will cost 14 times average earnings, higher than Greater London at 11 times. Central London would be much higher.

Typically, buying a property in a UK city will now set buyers back 8.1 times their average earnings, up from 5.6 times a decade ago.

House prices have "generally continued to outstrip wage growth", said Halifax managing director Russell Galley.

Winchester has leapfrogged Oxford as the least affordable city in the annual survey, while Londonderry is the most affordable for the third year in a row.

In the Northern Ireland city, a home will cost 4.7 times average earnings.

Over the past year, the Halifax reckons the average house price in UK cities has grown by 10.3%.

Its analysis of figures from the Office for National Statistics suggests average earnings for people living and working in cities climbed just 2.1% over the same time period.

Average city house prices increased to £287,440, while comparable average earnings rose to £35,677.

Surprisingly, cities are slightly more affordable than the average for the UK as a whole, according to the figures.

But that may partly reflect more people moving out of cities in search of more space during the pandemic.

A home in Winchester will now set buyers back an average £630,432, up 8% in the last year.

That leaves it with the highest average house prices of any UK city, ahead of St Albans at £604,423 and London at £564,695.

The least expensive average house prices among cities are in Londonderry at £155,917 and Hull £156,924.

Average earnings in Winchester are £45,059, higher than for the UK as a whole and only beaten by St Albans at £59,391 and Greater London at £51,257.

Where can you find more affordable places to buy a property?

There is some good news: in one in nine UK cities, property has become more affordable in the last 12 months.

Housing affordability improved in seven cities compared with a year earlier: Oxford, Carlisle, Portsmouth, Durham, Salford, Inverness and Glasgow.

According to the figures, Carlisle and Aberdeen are now more affordable than five years ago, while Inverness is the only city more affordable than 10 years ago.

An average home there costs 5.6 times average earnings, down from 6.2 in 2011, as wage growth there has outstripped house price growth.

"Affordability is significantly better in the North and there are now just two cities - Plymouth and Portsmouth - with better-than-average affordability in the South," said Mr Galley.

The top 20 least affordable cities in 2021

(Figures show the price-to-earnings ratio followed by the average house price and average annual earnings. Source: the Halifax)

1. Winchester, South East, 14.0, £630,432, £45,059

2. Oxford, South East, 12.4, £486,928, £39,220

=3. Truro, South West, 12.1, £356,788, £29,558

=3. Bath, South West, 12.1, £476,470, £39,508

5. Chichester, South East, 10.6, £446,899, £37,352

6. Cambridge, East Anglia, 11.9, £482,300, £40,492

7. Brighton and Hove, South East, 11.6, £449,243, £38,737

8. London, South East, 11.0, £564,695, £51,257

=9. St Albans, South East, 10.2, £604,423, £59,391

=9. Chelmsford, South East, 10.2, £424,690, £41,781

11. Salisbury, South West, 10.0, £392,355, £39,154

12. Exeter, South West, 9.9, £323,554, £32,635

13. Leicester, East Midlands, 9.7, £279,080, £28,725

14. Hereford, West Midlands, 9.7, 316,929, 32,839

15. Norwich, East Anglia, 9.4, £306,946, £32,632

16. Bristol, South West, 9.3, £346,902, £37,357

=17. Southampton, South East, 9.0, £310,435, £34,429

=17. Canterbury, South East, 9.0, £365,168, £40,565

=17. Gloucester, South West, 9.0, £287,600, £31,987

20. Worcester, West Midlands, 8.8, £303,132, £34,389

The top 20 most affordable cities in 2021

(Figures show the price-to-earnings ratio followed by the average house price and average annual earnings. Source: the Halifax)

1. Londonderry, Northern Ireland, 4.7, £155,917, £33,138

=2. Carlisle, North, 4.8, £163,232, £34,087

=2. Bradford, Yorkshire and the Humber, 4.8, £164,410, £34,219

=4. Stirling, Scotland, 5.4, £208,927, £38,744

=4. Aberdeen, Scotland, 5.4, £205,199, £38,016

=4. Glasgow, Scotland, 5.4, £196,625, £36,205

7. Perth, Scotland, 5.5, £203,229, £36,700

=8. Inverness, Scotland, 5.6, £191,840, £34,373

=8. Hull, Yorkshire and the Humber, 5.6, £156,424, £27,730

10. Dundee, Scotland, 5.8, £181,150, £31,344

11. Sunderland, North, 6.0, £179,567, £29,745

12. Lisburn, Northern Ireland, 6.1, £203,386, £33,138

=13. Salford, North West, 6.2, £211,903, £34,444

=13. Durham, North, 6.2, £196,274, £31,762

=13. Liverpool, North West, 6.2, £215,741, £34,911

=13. Belfast, Northern Ireland, 6.2, £205,228, £33,138

=13. Lancaster, North West, 6.2, £217,392, £35,004

18. Newcastle-upon-Tyne, North, 6.3, £229,434, £36,212

19. Stoke-on-Trent, West Midlands, 6.5, £200,161, £30,698

20. Edinburgh, Scotland, 6.8, £285,605, £42,245

(Source BBC).

The report shows further evidence of an exodus from London and the larger cities following the pandemic. Thousands of people are now working from home so commuting hundreds of miles is not an issue for the time being.

However, if employers start asking staff to return to the office in the City of London commuting from Devon and Cornwall will be a challenge!

With the rush to beat the stamp duty holiday now over property prices are starting to cool. Property investors should see a return to a more normal market in the coming months. I am definitely noticing more price reductions and properties coming back on the market after a sale fell through.

You can make money in property in any market if you know how, and you don’t even need to use your own money. You can start with zero capital using many of the ‘no money down’ strategies.

Would you like to learn more about making money from property?

A property expert friend of mine is running a web class on 18 August.

The Property Revolution Summit Web Class Experience is designed by top investing trainers to bring you 120 minutes of valuable content; providing you with the tools to successfully invest in buy-to-let properties, raise finance and build a mighty property portfolio from the ground up.

To register for the free web class from anywhere in the world click the link: https://bit.ly/2VLDCBd

Fraud Investigation Proves Why You Should Stick To Established Regulated...

·        SFO probe fraudulent care home investment scheme promising high returns.

·        Stick to regulated investments unless you possess specialised knowledge

·        Groupon ordered by regulator to get its act together on customer service

·        High Court offers hope of compensation for borrower with unaffordable loans

·        Many people borrowed at high rates with Provident doorstep loans for years

·        Loan sharks may not break your legs but will break your heart.

Watch full video 

In both the above examples, people are being duped because they lack new financial education and knowledge. Education is key to becoming financially free and getting out of debt.

If you would like to learn how to invest and manage your money, become a professional property investor, and be financially free without working any harder and spending your life exchanging your time for money watch this free on demand training now to learn how to become financially free without working any harder.

As a thank you, I will give a special free gift which can help transform your finances when you attend the online training.

Click on this link to watch the free training now https://bit.ly/3wLWqx2

Check Out London’s Property Sales 2021 Hotspots

What Are The London Property Sales Hotspots?

The London boroughs of Camden and Barnet top the 2021 property sales hotspot table, report says.

Around £70bn of property has been snapped up by UK buyers this year fuelled by government incentives, such as the Stamp Duty Holiday and the furlough scheme which ends in September.

London postcodes Camden and Barnet were the most valuable sales areas, with Brighton in eighth place and the only location outside the capital, according to Mortgage Solutions. 

Watch Video version.

Estate agent Keller Williams UK analysed sold prices across the market in England and Wales since the start of the year and reports residential property sales reaching £68.8bn.

Higher property prices in the capital saw London lead the table. Property sales in Camden and Barnet alone reached £262.5m, with Merton and Wandsworth in SW19 hitting £248.8m. Kensington and Chelsea’s W8 postcode came fifth at £225,963,338.

However, the only top ten postcode outside London is BN3 postcode in Brighton and Hove, which has seen £206m worth of homes sold since the start of the year, making it the eighth-most valuable property postcode across England and Wales and the most valuable outside of London.

The popular seaside town of Brighton made the list (£157m), and was the only one on the list outside the capital.

The SL6 postcode in Maidenhead (£169.7m), the Dorset postcode of BN2 (£157m), SO41 in the New Forest (£125.9m), the Manchester postcode of WA15 (£120.7m), Southend’s SS9 postcode (£118.5m), BA2 in Bath (£117.1m) and Horsham’s RH12 postcode (£112.3m). Further evidence that buyers are seeking more space and fresh air, especially when given the option of working from home. Source: MortgageSolutions.co.uk

Is the property market about to crash?

Did you know that professional property investors make money whether the market is rising or falling?

If you would like to learn how to become a professional property investor, join the upcoming PROPERTY REVOLUTION SUMMIT where you will discover secrets that have turned thousands of ordinary people into millionaires. CLICK HERE TO JOIN - https://bit.ly/37iBZxi

UK property prices reach new highs, but London dropping as buyers move o...

UK property prices reach new highs, but London dropping as buyers move outwards

UK house prices went up again in October, at the fastest rate for five years, as buyers scrambled to beat next year's stamp duty deadline, the Nationwide Building Society reports.

Annual house price growth rose to 5.8% and the average price is now £227,826.

A similar survey by the Halifax show an even higher annual growth rate of 7.3%

For the next five months, buyers of properties valued at up to £500,000 in England and Northern Ireland will not have to pay stamp duty on the purchase. Second home buyers and buy-to-let investors will still have to stump up the 3% tax grab surcharge.

How long will the boom last?

Booms are usually followed by bust, something which has not escaped the attention of the Bank of England. Official figures released by the central bank this week revealed that home-buyer mortgage approval climbed to a 13-year high in September.

There are fears that the market is heading for a cliff-edge with potential buyers possibly pulling out of transactions in 2021 if they cannot meet the stamp duty deadline.

The BBC reports that NAEA Propertymark has called for action to avoid the cliff-edge by extending the deadline.

As the current furlough scheme comes to a close unemployment figures could rise rapidly leading to lower buyer demand and rising repossessions.

A second wave of Covid 19 is sweeping the country forcing regional lockdowns and restriction, which could stall economic recovery.

Meanwhile, Rightmove reports that asking prices in London’s zone 1 are falling while prices are rising in the suburbs, as buyer seek safer havens and more buck for their bang.

 

Source: Rightmove.com

More articles and money news available at Money Tips Podcast - www.moneytipsdaily.com

·        New Job Support Scheme

·        Welsh Government lockdown

·        UK state pension age rises to 66

·        Emergency help for energy bills - Ofgem

·        How a crash will affect your pension plan

·        House prices rise will reach all time high

·        How to avoid bankruptcy in business

·        Is this the end of office work as we know it?

·        Why live in expensive town centres anymore?

·        Thousands trapped in unsellable leasehold flats

·        Government extends ban on landlords evicting tenants

·        Self-employed, have you claimed your government grant?

·        Why UK Property prices rising after stamp duty cut, despite the downturn?

·        New planning rules will open up more opportunities to make money in property

·        You can create a second income during the lockdown…and come out stronger

·        Learn how to make money from property without deposits, mortgages or cash

Millions of people face a bleak future post-Coronavirus lockdown, as businesses disappear and the job furlough scheme eventually comes to an end. However, life doesn’t have to end because of lockdown! You can join thousands of ordinary people who have increased their income and added streams of new income during this period.

Are you ready to adapt to the new economic model?

As lockdown restrictions around the world are being eased, the economic model has subtly changed forever. How will you adapt to this new way of working and running a business, what obstacles and opportunities lies ahead? Will you be a participant or spectator in this revolution?

By Charles Kelly, Wealth Mentor, Property Investor, Author of Yes, Money Can Buy You Happiness and creator of Money Tips Podcast.

There are more examples and practical steps to getting rich and being happy in my book, Yes, money can buy happiness, I cover the 3 R’s of Money Management, the Money B.E.L.I.E.F System and much more. Check it out on Amazon http://bit.ly/2MoneyBook.

If you’d like further information on wealth mentoring and coaching, how to survive the crisis and even quit the rat race, email me at Charles@CharlesKelly.net or send me a message through Facebook or my Money Tips Daily community. See more articles at www.moneytipsdaily.com

Heal your money wounds the Japanese way with Ken Honda Japan’s #1 bestselling personal development guru. Ken will take you on a journey where he will teach you the Japanese art of healing your money wounds and making peace with your money. Too often, money is a source of fear, stress, and anger, often breaking apart relationships and even ruining lives. We like to think money is the centre of our lives and everything depends on our financial status, but Ken challenges our beliefs to install more liberating perceptions of money and delivers concrete tools that have the power to change your life. Click to join his free masterclass – Click: https://bit.ly/2GqyYki

LAST chance to see the property investor who turned .37p into £100 MILLION fortune at today’s FINAL session of the Property Learning Week

LAST chance to see the property investor who turned .37p
into £100 MILLION fortune at today’s FINAL session of the Property Learning Week

Learn how Neville Wright, the property investor, made a
£100 million fortune starting with .37p!

Property is moving again. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has
just announced a multi-billion-pound infrastructure investment programme to
kickstart the UK economy following Coronavirus lockdown.

According to the online property platform, Zoopla:

·     
the number of agreed home sales is up 4%
compared to pre-lockdown levels in early March.

·     
House prices rose by 2.4% in May.

·     
Buyer demand across the UK is 46% higher
than it was in early March

Over the longer
term, property has always bounced back from recessions, depressions and even
wars. One reason is the simple economics of ‘supply and demand’.

The UK is small
country with a growing population, as well as being the 7^th largest
economy in the world, and there is still a housing shortage. 

If you are
interesting in becoming a property investor, join a host of expert speakers this
afternoon at 4PM including, Neville Wright, Mark Eaton, a commercial
conversion specialist, and Kevin McDonnell, at this special virtual Property Week Seminar online event.

The new ‘Zoom’
economy will bring MASSIVE changes to the way we all work. More people
will be working from home than ever, leaving millions of square feet of empty
office space and creating HUGE OPPORTUNITIES for creative conversions to
residential, mixed use and serviced accommodation.

At Property Week Experts
Will Reveal...

1) The post
pandemic landscape of property and investment

2) How to make
your money stretch as far as possible to build a portfolio

3) How you can
not only keep your money, but earn more, to support your family in these tough
times

4) The fastest
way to get cash into your property business at the moment

5) Discover How
To Unlock Your Property Portfolio’s potential

6) Learn how to
fund large commercial deals and how to build a Commercial Power Team

Click to join the webinar 4pm today -
https://bit.ly/31jtpMS

Last Chance to Apply for Help to Buy ISA and Qualify for 25% Tax Free Go...

Last Chance to Open Help to Buy ISA and Qualify for 25%
Tax Free Government Bonus 

By Charles Kelly, Property Solutions Investor, Author of
Yes, Money Can Buy You Happiness and creator of Money Tips Podcast.

In this Money
Tips Podcast episode:

·      
Help to Buy ISA ends 30 November 2019

·      
Must be over 16 and a first-time-buyer to
qualify for bonus

·      
Open now to qualify for 25% tax free government
bonus towards property purchase

Can you afford to retire?

Millions of people, or over 80% of the population, will
either retire in poverty or not be able to afford to retire at all. What’s your
strategy?

You can learn how to acquire income producing assets using
other people’s money and other no money down strategies in order to become
financially free.

Smart investors are using these creative
finance, ‘no money down’ tools to build massive property portfolios in
a few short years, as their hands are not tied by mortgage lenders and the need
to save large deposits and pay higher taxes.

Before you buy another, or your first, property, take
time out to learn proven successful strategies from expert multi-millionaire
property investors on a free taster ‘property discovery day’.

If you’d like more information on how to acquire wealth
building assets using none of your money, email me at Charles@CharlesKelly.net
or send me a message through Facebook or my Money Tips Daily community.

See more articles at www.moneytipsdaily.com

How
to Use Creative Property Financing to Beat the Banks

How to Use Creative Property Financing to Beat the Banks
  In the last few years, mortgage lending rules have been tightened up by
UK regulators. Lenders now dig into your finances far more deeply than just
looking at your annual income. Self-certificated mortgages are all but... see -http://www.moneytipsdaily.com/how-to-use-creative-property-financing-to-beat-the-banks/

There are more examples and practical
steps to getting rich and being happy in my book, Yes, money can buy happiness, I
cover the 3 R’s of Money Management, the Money B.E.L.I.E.F System and much
more. Check it out on Amazon http://bit.ly/2MoneyBook.

A low-price asset is not always cheap – look at value not price

Many years ago, are used to get a newsletter mailshot from a company recommending penny shares.  Penny shares traded at 10, 20 or 30 pence per share, and the idea was that you could buy these ‘cheap’ shares in the hope that they will go up in value massively compared to buying a blue-chip stock.

The company was offering a paid newsletter subscription which would send you a monthly report on the penny shares to buy.

In reality, the shares were not cheap, the value was the same as the price. They were high risk investments that could’ve gone either way. Furthermore, the share price depends on a many factors including the number of shares issued.

In the same way, buying a property because the price
seems cheap may not always be the best policy. Just because you see a property
for £50,000, which looks cheap compared properties in another area, does not
follow that you’re getting a bargain. You might be just paying £50,000 for a
property that is worth £50,000. There may be a reason it’s worth £50,000. 

You need to do your homework to ascertain whether or
not the property is really worth £50,000 and to find out the real value of the
property.

Value versus price

There is a difference between the price of something
and the value. Sometimes the price of a property or share accurately reflects
its true value, but not always.

As an investor, we are always aiming to buy a
property or asset below market value, not below market price, so don’t be lazy
and always do your research.

The stockmarket has been rising for over ten years

and is due for a correction. The UK economy goes through a recession every ten
years or so and the last downturn started after the 2007-8 financial crash.
Economies go through cycles of boom and bust and it is at those times of low
confidence when the markets drop, often irrationally, that you will find real
below market value bargains.

Recessions are scary, but they do open up opportunities to
acquire assets at greatly discounted prices. For instance, if and when the
stock market has a correction, or crash, there will be a number of good
company’s shares on sale at well below asset value. That will be the time to
buy. 

Now is the time to learn and do your research and have your
funds or funding in place.

The same applies to property, even if you don’t have much
cash. During property downturns when properties are at rock bottom prices,
lenders typically restrict or even stop lending! I have witnessed this
first-hand on a number of occasions when I knew there were bargains in London,
but could not get the finance to buy them.

If I had known then what I know now, I would have been able
to acquire those properties without using traditional mortgage lenders or
mortgages.

Can you acquire property with ‘No Money Down’? Yes you
can!

Learn multiple no money down strategies by joining me at
the “No Money Down Weekend” in London on 27 July.

For more information, email me at charles@charleskelly.net

Why You Should Invest In Assets Instead Of Leaving All Your Capital In The Bank

I once attended a seminar featuring Robert Kiyosaki of the 'Rich Dad Poor Dad' books fame. They got a very smart 10-year-old boy to stand up on stage and repeat his mantra. They asked him, what is an asset?

“Assets puts money in your pocket “, the boy gleefully replied.

They then asked him what is the liability.

The boy said, “liabilities (e.g. cars, consumer goods) - takes money out of your pocket”.

He’s probably a millionaire by now!

This is rather simplified description of an asset and does not really explain assets fully.

Whilst it’s true that assets can put money in your pocket, like property or shares, not all assets give you regular income and the value can go down as well as up. For instance, gold and silver, or classic cars and watches are not going to give you an income unless you rent them out, but the value generally increases over time but can also decline for many years. You can also enjoy using them.

Assets are not always tangible or physical. They can also be things you create like blogs, podcasts, books, songs, websites, online stores, copyrights, inventions, email lists, Facebook pages and many others including of course businesses. My best investments and greatest assets have been the businesses I started from scratch with hardly any money.

One very sound reason for investing your money in assets, as opposed to leaving it in the bank, is to protect the value of your savings against inflation.

If you are earning half of one percent and your savings and inflation is running at 1%, The rate at which the buying power of your money is going down is double the amount you are earning on that money. Whilst a half percent doesn’t sound much, over the years it will eat into your savings like a moth ridden pair curtains. We all need some ready cash in the bank by the way.

Only about 15 years ago I could buy a flat in my area with a 15% deposit or around £20,000 - £25,000. Today, I would need £40-£50,000 to buy a similar flat with the same percentage deposit. This is because properties have gone up faster than inflation while savings in the bank have lost their buying power.

In other words, if I was sitting with £20-25,000 in the bank for 15 years the value or buying power of that money has diminished and would no longer be sufficient to put down on a flat, as first-time buyers saving for a deposit find to their cost.

Put another way, I have doubled or even tripled the value my money put into the property over a 15-year period. In addition, I also enjoyed income in the form of rentals. Had I left it in the bank I would have earned a little bit of interest, but the real value has gone down. Yes, it requires more effort on my part but the little bit of work itself was well worth it.

Assets can also include stocks and shares, which also provide dividend income and the prospects of future growth.

Today, we’re not even earning half a percent on our savings but less the .25% in some cases and inflation is running at nearer 3%.

You might say, okay everybody knows the value of properties go up and inflation reduces the value of your money. If that is the case, why do so many people leave their money in low interest bank accounts for years instead of investing in real assets?

Part of the reasons are lack of knowledge, poor education, complacency or just laziness – it takes a lot of effort, get up and go and tenacity to travel around looking at properties, doing your homework, applying for finance, dealing with tenants, builders, brokers and estate agents!

Not everyone wants to be a landlord or property developer. My own relatives don’t want the hassle and own one residential property at a time despite the fact that they could have used their equity to build up a sizeable portfolio.

When I worked in the bank, we had clients with substantial savings in an old, obsolete accounts earning extremely low interest rates. When we advised them to simply move the money into a different account, which required no effort on their part, they would refuse and preferred to just leave it where it was.

Investing in assets obviously takes some time and effort and requires knowledge and expertise. There are also risks.

For these reasons, millions of people hand over their cash to fund managers to invest into assets on their behalf – usually into shares and bonds on the stock market.

They do this through vehicles such as pension schemes, unit trusts, investment trusts or mutual funds as they are known in America. Fund managers collectively invest into assets typically property, bonds and shares and the holdings are divided into units.

This all sounds fine, but there are some drawbacks.

Firstly, charges, commissions and fees can have a major impact on investment returns and ultimately how much money you have when, or if, you can retire. Investment houses and fund managers charge fees including an annual management charge and ongoing administration fees. You may also have to pay commission or fees to an adviser for financial advice.

Whilst an annual management charge of say 1% may seem almost insignificant, over time it can add up to a substantial sum when applied to the total value of the fund.

An annual management charge of 1% of a £10,000 investment is £100 a year. However, in 20 years’ time the fund may have grown to £100,000 with growth and additional investments and 1% of that is £1000 per year.

There is also loss of growth on the money that would have been invested had the charges not been deducted.

There are other charges applied within a fund which you need to consider carefully in the information regulated companies have to provide. All in all, charges on managed investments over the longer term will affect the value of funds.

When you go to any major city and look at most of the tall office buildings they are usually owned by banks and insurance companies, the two institutions which largely control our money.

Obviously, nobody expects fund managers to work for nothing especially as they are actively managing your money. This brings me on the second drawback with entrusting your money to someone else. Performance.

Active management in my book means that by picking out the best stocks and shares the managers should beat the average growth of the market as tracked by the indexes, such as the Dow Jones, FT 100 Index or FT All Share index, right? Wrong! The vast majority of active fund managers do not even match, let alone beat, the average price rise of the various indexes. When you consider that the average index by definition includes the best and worst performing shares you would think that by selecting which shares to buy and sell the fund manager would easily outperform the average growth movement. Sadly, this is not the case.

Research published by Standard and Poors in 2017 on US funds reported that roughly 1 in 20 fund managers beat index funds. Over a 15-year period 92.2% of large-cap funds lagged behind the S&P 500 index in America.

When a few fund managers do manage to beat the index, they are hailed as superstars. Legendary investors like Warren Buffett and Charlie Monger have outperformed the index over decades, but they do not run a fund. Their investment vehicle is a listed company called Berkshire Hathaway, which invests in other companies. The share is trading at around $300,000 a share at the moment! You can buy a smaller fraction of a share though.

If you want to invest your money into a managed fund, such as a unit trust, some advisors – I am NOT your financial adviser by the way - say that you could look at an index tracking funds, which track the main indexes and has lower charges due to being largely run by automated systems. There are a number of different types of funds and tracker funds and you should take independent financial advice.

The stock market has made money over the longer term, but it is still notoriously difficult to pick the right share, as even the expert fund managers have found to their customer’s cost. If you are planning to invest directly into shares you should take time to learn how the market works by reading books or taking courses. Then try investing in a dummy account before risking your hard earned cash.

Whilst I have invested in shares over the years, my favourite investment has always been property for three main reasons.

One, I can see and touch property – it’s tangible unlike a managed fund or a share certificate which is basically piece of paper.

Two, it is under my control not a fund manager or the management team of a company in which I am investing. I can rent it out, flip it, divide it into rooms or flats (subject to licensing and planning in some areas) or even live in it if I had to. It is more ill-liquid than shares but usually less volatile.

Three, and more importantly, unlike shares or bonds, I can use leverage or borrowed money to buy this asset class.

Depending on the markets and bank lending conditions, I can buy a £100,000 property for £25,000 along with a £75,000 mortgage. I will of course have to pay the loan back and pay interest, but I am enjoying growth and rental income on a £100,000 property (the rent usually pays the mortgage and leaves me with an income after all costs), not a £25,000 property. Do you see the difference?

If I’d invested my after-tax money into shares I would have a holding of £25,000 and received dividends and growth based on £25,000.

In my experience, most property I have bought has more than doubled over a 10-year period. If I sold the above property for £200,000, I would be sitting on a gross gain or profit, before costs, charges and tax, of £100,000.

Does this mean I’ve doubled my money and made a 100% gain? Actually no, because I only put £25,000 into the deal  (with a loan of £75,000), which means I have actually quadrupled my investment of £25,000 or made 400% return on my capital employed in the deal.

In the above example, I am ignoring taxes, legal fees and stamp duty which are costs, but also rental income which are gains.

But there’s another, often overlooked, bonus. When I repay the loan after 10,15 or 25 years, the value of the debt has diminished as inflation is now working in my favour. Governments benefit from periods of high inflation to their advantage when they borrow money through bond issues.

Try walking into your bank tomorrow and ask them to lend you money to buy shares in BT or Apple using the shares as security. Just for fun, when they try and sell you one of their own investment funds ask them to lend you the money. They will usually be surprised by the question and inform you that it is not possible to borrow money to buy these assets. When you delve a little deeper you will discover that they view shares, unit trusts and even their own funds as too risky for them to lend their money on but NOT too risky for you to put your life savings into.

Shares are used as security in ‘leveraged buyouts’ of large listed companies, but seldom for small investors.

In summary, you’re nearly always better off investing in assets over the longer term. However, the price of assets can fluctuate and you could lose your money if you buy the wrong asset at the wrong time or need to sell fast. It is always in your interest to seek independent financial advice, but even better to become educated so that you can be your own financial adviser.

Property has consistently made me money over the years and continues to do so to this day. Buying property and dealing with tenants requires effort and at times a lot of patience, however, the returns more than justify the work. You can easily do this in your spare time. As long as you know what you’re doing and buy locally or in a market you understand, you can run a small portfolio of properties while still holding down a full-time job. You can also use management companies to collect rents and deal with the tenants like the many landlords who never visit their properties.

Before you rush out and buy a property, I would suggest that you learn about property investment from someone who has done it successfully – not your relatives or someone who has a couple of buy-to-lets. Unlike when I started, today there are many courses available which can teach you the basics of getting started in property.

Over the years, I have attended dozens of property courses, but the ones I found most useful and practical are the courses run by Progressive Property. I have also got to know one of the founders, Rob Moore, who owns and controls over 600 properties with his partners. I think you can safely say that they know a thing or two about property!

With Brian Tracy

Progressive offers a free taster course which takes you through the basics of many different strategies from single lets and HMO’s to options and deal packaging. You’ll not only learn from these courses, but they are a great place to network and meet interesting and like-minded people. I attended their beginner course and was sitting next to a man who I later found out owned 140 houses!

Author and speaker Brian Tracy said that only 10% of people ever study after leaving school or university. I find that the most successful people I know are continually learning, attending courses and seminars and updating their knowledge. They stay on top of their game, which is why they remain successful and get richer.

If you’re interested in finding out more about property courses, click on the link below or drop me an email/messenger.