Bouncing back (like an old tennis ball...)
Optimism deserts me as we dig in for the long Covid haul
Word on the street is massive job losses, so make hay while the sun shines.
My dear friends, when you set up a new venture all manner of things get left behind. I am not so good at switching off from work so enforced leisure is not good for me. My beloved other half enjoys a gentle retirement of literature, writing and discussion. This is not for me.
Having finished my third refurb (to holiday Let standard) of the period I feel worn out with the necessary decisions, purchases and setting up required.
A full review of my personal finances has revealed a lack of diversification in my portfolio (it's property and err…property) so a bit of learning here. A further exploration of SIPPs and SSAS pensions to find a route through to retirement (but not too soon), has also been a theme. A route has been found, now just to link it all together with payroll, quickbooks and hope that HMRC agree!
The toughest nut to crack has been a refinance on a block of flats (one of which is an HMO). There is more in the newsletter regarding difficulties with HMO, planning and mortgages. Suffice to say here that the bank have surpassed themselves in the quantity and quality of info that I have had to send. This block is to be partly used for holiday accommodation and part to remain on ASTs, the holiday accommodation is to be rented to my Holiday Let Operating Company, what's so hard to understand? I should be grateful that my offer of finance has stood, although the LTV offered reduced from 75% to 60% before bouncing back up to 70%.
Bouncing back – it is known that taking government support (mortgage holidays) for the Covid period can stand against you on your credit file, this week has seen bounce back loans being similarly questioned by mortgage providers. Arguing that your bounce back loan is for prudence rather than necessity seems to be effective so far…., but spending it on deposits for new places is frowned upon, proceed with caution if you are shaking up your portfolio any time soon..
Has business picked up? Well…Holiday Lets are back with largely UK guests, unfortunately there is a lot of pent up energy so extra measures to prevent the party animals are in place. UK guests are not the best, they drink a lot and leave a lot of rubbish but they are here and willing to spend money locally. Country and remote locations have seen more of a boom than Cities like Portsmouth and I am cautious for the coming months. A proper re-launch is coming next Spring though, maybe 2021 will be a better year, the market has slimmed down in terms of properties on the market and we managers have discovered the joy of having some time off so keeping an eye on structure and honing systems is the order of works in the coming few months. I would love to hit the ground running next year, ship shape in business and home alike.