Property and Politics - Your Questions Answered

This episode is taken from the recent property network revolution event, where Mark takes questions from property investors and business owners. Mark answers questions on the current political climate and what this might mean for the economy, the property market and entrepreneurs and businesses. KEY TAKEAWAYS Labour still has a lot of left wing MPs in the party, convincing them to vote in more centrist policies will be a challenge for Kier Starmer. Whilst labour may now increase national insurance of income tax, they will find ways to stealth tax. Look at post war Britain, prior to Thatcher, shows the problems with rent controls and we are starting to see these issues again with the controls that have been brought in with legislation in Scotland. One way the country could help tenants and landlords and begin to solve supply and demand problems in housing is by reforming the planning system. Local planning regulations, with zones and permitted development within these would speed up planning processes and consent Whilst it may not be popular, someone in politics needs to make some tough decisions around planning and development so we can solve the housing crisis.   BEST MOMENTS  "He’s not Jeremy Corbyn is he” “The conservatives have done an appalling job for too long” “I would reform the planning system in a huge way” “Someone will balls needs to actually do it” VALUABLE RESOURCES  https://www.youtube.com/user/progressiveproperty https://www.progressiveproperty.co.uk/the-progressive-co-founders/ ABOUT THE HOST Mark has bought, sold or has managed around 1,000 property units for himself, Rob, his family and his investors since 2003. He is a system and spreadsheet geek and has developed a complex, confidential deal analyser system of buying residential, commercial and multi-let properties. CONTACT METHOD Email: [email protected] LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markhomer1 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/markprogressive Twitter: https://twitter.com/markprogressive‘Brought to you by Progressive Media’: https://progressivemedia.uk/

With the recent election announcement, Mark talks about what he would change in government if he were the housing minister. VALUABLE RESOURCES  https://www.youtube.com/user/progressiveproperty https://www.progressiveproperty.co.uk/the-progressive-co-founders/ ABOUT THE HOST Mark has bought, sold or has managed around 1,000 property units for himself, Rob, his family and his investors since 2003. He is a system and spreadsheet geek and has developed a complex, confidential deal analyser system of buying residential, commercial and multi-let properties. CONTACT METHOD Email: [email protected] LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markhomer1 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/markprogressive Twitter: https://twitter.com/markprogressive‘Brought to you by Progressive Media’: https://progressivemedia.uk/

Mark talks through recent property news headlines including why UK rental prices have continued to increase despite government measures. Mark gives his thoughts on proposed rent controls being introduced in Wales, the impact of current rent controls in Scotland and why the UK does not offer value for money in renting properties. He also reveals the many other reasons behind the current rental crisis in the UK. KEY TAKEAWAYS 50k rental properties are needed to meet the demand in the UK Rent controls do not work. In the 60s and 70s, this was proven and it is being proven again. Rent control reduces the rental stock and pushes prices up, it also impacts the country's labour market as people cannot move around easily. People in the UK live in smaller homes than many other countries including France, Germany and Japan. Planning is extremely slow in the UK, this impacts the speed at which properties can be developed. Women in the UK are having fewer children than are needed to sustain the workforce which means immigration is heavily relied on. BEST MOMENTS  "For the 17th consecutive time, the price of renting in the UK has gone up”  “Rent control doesn’t work” “It will reduce the quality and selection”  “Reduce the cost of childcare and get women back to work” “It’s stealing off a section of society and it’s not right” VALUABLE RESOURCES  https://www.youtube.com/user/progressiveproperty https://www.progressiveproperty.co.uk/the-progressive-co-founders/ ABOUT THE HOST Mark has bought, sold or has managed around 1,000 property units for himself, Rob, his family and his investors since 2003. He is a system and spreadsheet geek and has developed a complex, confidential deal analyser system of buying residential, commercial and multi-let properties. CONTACT METHOD Email: [email protected] LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markhomer1 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/markprogressive Twitter: https://twitter.com/markprogressive‘Brought to you by Progressive Media’: https://progressivemedia.uk/

Join Mark as he talks about how to build the power team you need for your business. Mark also talks about how to keep your team motivated and why it’s essential for the success of your business to work with a team. KEY TAKEAWAYS Working with property is a team sport, you can’t do everything yourself. Find the people who know more than you and work with them. Due diligence is essential in finding the right people for the jobs you need. There are a lot of specialists when working with property, especially if you are working in renovating or conversions. You want an expert with experience, someone who has verifiable skills in the exact job you want doing. Progressive Property Approved, is a list of approved specialists that have proven experience with progressive so you can feel confident you have the right person for the job. Mentorship is essential for building you and your power team, allowing you to continue to learn from those who have been where you are. BEST MOMENTS  "I’m a bit of a conductor, trying to find the right person for each job that I need doing”  “You cannot know even a tiny percentage of what goes on in the property market” “I've kissed so many frogs, picked so called experts, picked the wrong ones for the wrong jobs" VALUABLE RESOURCES  https://www.youtube.com/user/progressiveproperty https://www.progressiveproperty.co.uk/the-progressive-co-founders/ ABOUT THE HOST Mark has bought, sold or has managed around 1,000 property units for himself, Rob, his family and his investors since 2003. He is a system and spreadsheet geek and has developed a complex, confidential deal analyser system of buying residential, commercial and multi-let properties. CONTACT METHOD Email: [email protected] LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markhomer1 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/markprogressive Twitter: https://twitter.com/markprogressive‘Brought to you by Progressive Media’: https://progressivemedia.uk/

Join Mark as he gives an overview of the current news stories around property including the growth of the construction industry and his take on the favourability of first time buyers and what targets we should instead be focusing on. Mark also talks about the current rent crisis and the impact of the cost of living on landlords, investors and tenants.   KEY TAKEAWAYS Historically, first time buyers keep the market moving and triggered economic growth but the favourability towards them with schemes such as help to buy have been detrimental in many ways too. The cost of construction has gone up by around a third, and this has created redundancies and collapses in the industry. Rent rises have surged post-covid and during this current cost of living crisis but Mark is seeing indications of this now slowing as demand is starting to reduce. Airbnb and other serviced accommodation providers have had a direct impact on housing stock. Some controls are beginning to be introduced but it’s important that these also incentivise traditional landlords to create choice and keep prices moderate. Building on brownfield sites is a key factor in meeting any kind of house-building targets but it’s also important that the targets are focused around the right types of properties in the right areas.   BEST MOMENTS  "For decades there's been the assumption that first-time buyers prop the market up” “First time buyers have become older” “Construction industry whilst not mended is probably on the way to being mended after a difficult period” “2020 was probably coming right to end to the previous cycle” “We should be focused on the types of properties being built in the right areas” VALUABLE RESOURCES  https://www.youtube.com/user/progressiveproperty https://www.progressiveproperty.co.uk/the-progressive-co-founders/ ABOUT THE HOST Mark has bought, sold or has managed around 1,000 property units for himself, Rob, his family and his investors since 2003. He is a system and spreadsheet geek and has developed a complex, confidential deal analyser system of buying residential, commercial and multi-let properties. CONTACT METHOD Email: [email protected] LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markhomer1 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/markprogressive Twitter: https://twitter.com/markprogressive‘Brought to you by Progressive Media’: https://progressivemedia.uk/

Mark has been investing in property for 15-20 years, approaching the 100 mark in terms of deals made and has a 70 million equity stake in various portfolios. One of the questions he repeatedly gets asked, is whether it is worth using additional cash to pay of your mortgage or if it is better to invest it elsewhere. Listen in to this episode to hear his thoughts and answers to this common question.   KEY TAKEAWAYS If you are even slightly disciplined you should not pay your mortgage off. If you are worried about interest rates then look at fixed rate mortgages. If you can invest your cash somewhere else, you will earn more back on that lump sum than you will be paying in interest on your mortgage. Property is still by far the best investment opportunity particularly in terms of lending from banks; they will always give you a great interest rate on anything you borrow. BEST MOMENTS “Why would you want to pay of your mortgage if you can get consistently good returns by investing in your isa and getting much much higher investment returns”   “You’ve got to make your money work for you, no one else will look after your money like you do”   VALUABLE RESOURCES https://www.youtube.com/user/progressiveproperty https://www.progressiveproperty.co.uk/the-progressive-co-founders/   ABOUT THE HOST Mark has bought, sold or has managed around 1,000 property units for himself, Rob, his family and his investors since 2003. He is a system and spreadsheet geek and has developed a complex, confidential deal analyser system of buying residential, commercial and multi-let properties. CONTACT METHOD   Email: [email protected] LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markhomer1 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/markprogressive Twitter: https://twitter.com/markprogressive‘Brought to you by Progressive Media’: https://progressivemedia.uk/

Mark gives an overview of the current news stories around property including new legislation and the recent budget. Mark also talks about the many changes around serviced accommodation, current house prices and gives his thoughts and opinions on why other markets aren’t investing in the UK. KEY TAKEAWAYS When governments reduce taxes, they generally find they receive more tax as people spend more in the economy. Other markets aren’t investing in the UK as they don’t see our companies as efficient of innovative. There are big changes happening in serviced accommodation, you will no longer be able to claim capital allowances on SA and much more planning will be needed for new serviced accommodation. There have been more changes in the property market since Christmas with some areas seeing 10-15% drops. It’s a fine balance between legislation to help renters and pushing landlords too far, reducing the rent stock further and making the problem worse.   BEST MOMENTS  "As you reduce tax rates, often the amount of tax you take increases” “The markets see our companies as nowhere near efficient” “You’re not going to be able to claim capital allowances on serviced accommodation”  “Inflation is now at about 4%, we need 2%, we were and 10%” “Renters reform bill is on the brink of collapse” "It pushes rent up" VALUABLE RESOURCES  https://www.youtube.com/user/progressiveproperty https://www.progressiveproperty.co.uk/the-progressive-co-founders/ ABOUT THE HOST Mark has bought, sold or has managed around 1,000 property units for himself, Rob, his family and his investors since 2003. He is a system and spreadsheet geek and has developed a complex, confidential deal analyser system of buying residential, commercial and multi-let properties. CONTACT METHOD Email: [email protected] LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markhomer1 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/markprogressive Twitter: https://twitter.com/markprogressive‘Brought to you by Progressive Media’: https://progressivemedia.uk/

Mark Homer reflects on his 20-year journey to becoming a multi-million-pound property CEO. Hear how he started with naive investments abroad, learned difficult lessons, and shifted his strategy to focus on local houses with strong cashflows. Mark explains his role as a "conductor" in assembling teams for each project, shares current real estate trends, and advises aspiring investors. KEY TAKEAWAYS Focus on cash flow over capital growth for stable returns and safety during market downturns Assemble specialists for each project rather than maintaining large in-house teams Leverage permitted development rights to convert low-value buildings into prime real estate Retail properties are undervalued currently due to the rise of e-commerce Large-scale PRS apartment blocks are an emerging institutional investment class Keep debt below 50% of asset values over the long term for sustainable growth BEST MOMENTS   "So lots of investors are having to offload because of section 24." “I watched them make loads of money in a very short space of time. At the time, I had a friend who maybe bought something like 97, and within two or three years he’d made about 60 grand’s worth of equity." "I made a very, very poor investment. So I learned very, very quickly not to trust those who have a vested interest in selling me the property and to go out and do genuinely independent research to find out what something will actually rent for." "When I started in this sector, I was very much focused on capital growth. Capital growth is sexier to a lot of people. That’s probably, in reality, truthfully, where you make most of your money over the long run." "I also noticed on a much bigger scale that the wealthiest people in the country seemed to have made or had seemed to have invested their money into property. If you have a look down the rich list, the Sunday Times rich list that comes out every year, a lot of those were making their money from property." VALUABLE RESOURCES  https://www.youtube.com/user/progressiveproperty https://www.progressiveproperty.co.uk/the-progressive-co-founders/ ABOUT THE HOST Mark has bought, sold or has managed around 1,000 property units for himself, Rob, his family and his investors since 2003. He is a system and spreadsheet geek and has developed a complex, confidential deal analyser system of buying residential, commercial and multi-let properties. CONTACT METHOD Email: [email protected] LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markhomer1 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/markprogressive Twitter: https://twitter.com/markprogressive‘Brought to you by Progressive Media’: https://progressivemedia.uk/

Mark hosts an informal session answering attendees' questions on property investing and business. Topics covered include managing tenant arrears, using AI systems, recovering securing finance, choosing property strategies and leveraging technology to remove reliance on people. Mark provides his famous direct, no-nonsense advice, drawing on his extensive experience. The session offers valuable insights for property investors and business owners alike. KEY TAKEAWAYS Pursue former tenants with county court judgments using options like winding-up petitions to pressure payment, despite the costs involved. Expect Bank of England base rates to remain around 4-4.5% through 2025 before dropping, according to trading market predictions. Resolve cladding issues for financiers by providing EWS1 reports showing remediation works address combustible materials. Get multiple assessments when handling property contamination like asbestos to determine actual risks and remediation needs. Institute gradual rent increases for retained tenants to keep pace with market rates and offset rising mortgage costs. Leverage technologies like AI wherever possible to remove reliance on staff and minimise people management headaches. Seek out self-motivated employees requiring minimal oversight to avoid poor performance issues plaguing growth. BEST MOMENTS  "I issued a winding up petition on a care company...it probably cost four or five grand, but it's existential for them." "I check our rents once a month...I look back and a block we finished two years ago...Those rents are now going up 40%."  "When you attack landlords...then rents have to go up to a level where it works again. That's the adjustment that's taking place." "I'm looking forward to that because apparently this can remove quite a bit of admin. I would put as much technology in as possible."   VALUABLE RESOURCES  https://www.youtube.com/user/progressiveproperty https://www.progressiveproperty.co.uk/the-progressive-co-founders/ ABOUT THE HOST Mark has bought, sold or has managed around 1,000 property units for himself, Rob, his family and his investors since 2003. He is a system and spreadsheet geek and has developed a complex, confidential deal analyser system of buying residential, commercial and multi-let properties. CONTACT METHOD Email: [email protected] LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markhomer1 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/markprogressive Twitter: https://twitter.com/markprogressive‘Brought to you by Progressive Media’: https://progressivemedia.uk/

In this episode, Mark gives his thoughts on recent property news. He talks about current planning restrictions, ground rent problems and gives his educated opinion about the new suggested help-to-buy scheme from Jeremy Hunt. KEY TAKEAWAYS Jeremy Hunt is looking at creating a similar scheme to the previous help to buy where the government helps fund houses for buyers, including on existing homes. The previous help-to-buy schemes were often overpriced and put lenders and the government at some risk. Planning is preventing much-needed house building. Until this changes we can’t tackle the housing crisis in the UK. There is a government consultation that has just been completed to cap extortionate ground rents for existing leases. BEST MOMENTS  "Jeremy Hunt is looking at reintroducing a help-to-buy type scheme” “It was a great gravy train for the developers” “They’re not building anywhere enough, due to planning” VALUABLE RESOURCES  https://www.youtube.com/user/progressiveproperty https://www.progressiveproperty.co.uk/the-progressive-co-founders/ ABOUT THE HOST Mark has bought, sold or has managed around 1,000 property units for himself, Rob, his family and his investors since 2003. He is a system and spreadsheet geek and has developed a complex, confidential deal analyser system of buying residential, commercial and multi-let properties. CONTACT METHOD Email: [email protected] LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markhomer1 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/markprogressive Twitter: https://twitter.com/markprogressive‘Brought to you by Progressive Media’: https://progressivemedia.uk/