When we first started renting flats – and then houses – we worked in isolation and didn’t network. That was fine up to a point – our portfolio increased and the rent came in. Financially, however, we were going about things in a very amateurish fashion.
By chance, a friend who was also renting flats told us that there were better mortgage options than the repayment option we had, without thinking, taken out. By changing to interest-only mortgages, we were able to afford more properties witht he idea of selling some to pay off the others when property prices rose.
Another friend an Ipswich Property Network and, from that we have learnt many new ideas such as options, HMOs (and how the rules for them have changed), how to buy under value, changes in the law on things such as sell and rent back schemes etc etc.
Most property network groups meet once a month and charge £10-£20 per person. One network of groups is propertyinvestorsnetwork.co.uk (run by Simon Zutshi) which have groups throughout much of England. Other regional groups include essexpropertynetwork.co.uk.
Rent Flats and Houses Blog 