Property FAQs
We don't charge membership fees, joining fees or demand that you place large sums of money for a property. You remain in control of your capital. We offer a property investment service which is completely free, privileged access to our resources such as articles, newsletters and personalised consultations with our experienced property consultants - all the tools required to build a successful property portfolio. We earn our fee each time you buy a property through us. Generally our fee is 2-3 per cent plus VAT of the property's valuation. This fee is payable within seven days of reservation. In the case of a build complete property, however, you may be able to pay the fee on completion of the mortgage.
An estate agent has a duty to the vendor to achieve the highest possible price on a property. As a broker we act for you, achieving the lowest price and then consequently the highest yield (the percentage of the purchase price achieved in annual rental income).
Our prime focus is on off-plan and newly built properties. Buying off plan offers the opportunity for significant growth in value from reserving the property to finally completing on it once it is finished. We offer an even proportion of off-plan and ready-built properties, and our property finders are always actively seeking properties across the whole of the UK.
The reservation holding deposit is non refundable as we will have taken the property off the market as soon as you made your reservation. The deposit is normally between £500 and £3,000. Your property will not be taken off the market until we receive cleared funds into our account or your credit card payment is processed.
Finders fees are non refundable once paid. These are payable within seven days of you reserving the property, but in the case of some build complete properties we may extend to the exchange or completion date. You will be notified regarding any deposits due. These need to be paid direct to your solicitor who will hold them in trust until they need to be paid.
Once registered with Lifestyle Brokers you will receive regular updates via email. A summary prospectus of the development or properties will be available from your Property Consultant. Working with your Property Consultant means that he or she will be able to call you direct when properties that match your criteria become available.
Once you decide to reserve a property or properties, simply inform us of the plot or plots by either phoning us or coming into the office. We will reserve the property for you immediately and then refer you to one of our mortgage brokers.
We will also put you in touch with our solicitor, who will guide you through the legal process of buying. The developer's solicitor will draw up contracts to exchange between yourself and the developer. Your solicitor will check over these documents on your behalf.
The contracts are then sent for you to sign and return to your solicitor. Before completing your purchase of the property or properties you will need to pay any outstanding funds to your solicitor, including any other fees such as stamp duty. Your solicitor will provide you with a detailed list. Once you have completed your purchase your Property Consultant will call you to arrange a review of your portfolio.
You would normally need to start investing with some initial capital. Ideally this should be in the region of £30,000. If you don't have cash available you have a number of options. If you have equity in your own home or other buy-to-let property you may be able to access this through a re-mortgage. We will refer you to one of our mortgage brokers for professional advice how to go about this.
Borrowing to start a portfolio isn't recommended. If you have no savings and no equity to access then it would be best to start saving and invest later.
We encourage our customers to think of themselves as professional investors and not landlords. It is therefore sensible to use a local, professional lettings agent to manage your property on your behalf. This also allows you to benefit from buying in a property hotspot much further away, and helps to spread any risk.
If your current mortgage is for less than 85 per cent of the value of your property you may be able to access this equity by re-mortgaging. We can refer you to one of our independent finance professionals to help you with this.
Developers will lower prices for bulk off-plan sales to generate money to fund future stages of development. In doing so they also save money on sales and marketing costs. A developer may also wish to sell multiple numbers of properties at below market value close to the end of a financial accounting period to achieve predicted sales figures.
Selling in bulk to an individual or organisation such as Lifestyle Brokers is also much quicker and easier.
