Can I legally ask private investors for money to fund my deals?
This is where a lot of property education is quietly wrong. Inviting people to invest can amount to a financial promotion, which under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 may only be made or approved by an authorised person unless an exemption applies, for example certified high-net-worth or sophisticated investors. Promising a fixed return to an ordinary member of the public through a general appeal is the scenario the FCA prosecutes. Loans secured by a proper legal charge between two businesses sit differently from pooled investment schemes, and the line is genuinely technical. Take FCA-aware legal advice before you raise money from anyone who is not a close, informed business partner.
How does a bridging loan work and when is it worth it?
Bridging is short-term, interest-heavy, asset-backed lending, commonly 0.6–1.2% per month plus arrangement and exit fees, used to buy quickly, buy something unmortgageable, or fund a refurbishment. It is worth it when the deal genuinely cannot be done another way and the exit is certain. It destroys people when the exit is assumed: a refinance valuation that comes in low, or a sale that takes six months instead of two, turns a modest fee into a serious loss. Never take bridging without a written, tested exit and a second exit behind it.
What does a fair joint venture split look like?
The common structures are money-in versus work-in, one party funds, the other finds and manages, with splits from 50/50 to 70/30 depending on who carries the risk and how much work is involved. What matters more than the split is the paperwork: who owns the property, what happens if it costs more than budget, who decides when to sell, what happens if one party dies or wants out, and how the money is actually secured. A JV without a written agreement and a legal charge is a friendship with a mortgage attached.
What is BRRR and why do people struggle with it?
Buy, refurbish, rent, refinance: you buy below market value, add value through works, let it, then refinance at the new value to pull your capital back out. It struggles at three points. Lenders usually apply a six-month ownership rule before refinancing at the new value, so your money is tied up longer than the plan assumes. Valuers may not credit the full uplift, particularly on smaller HMOs valued on bricks and mortar. And refurbishment budgets overrun. BRRR works, but the version where you get 100% of your money out every time is a marketing version.
Do I need a broker or can I go direct to lenders?
For anything beyond a mainstream buy-to-let, use a specialist broker. Many HMO, holiday-let, commercial and limited-company products are only available through intermediaries, criteria change constantly, and a broker who places a lot of similar cases knows which lender will actually accept your situation rather than decline you after four weeks. A declined application leaves a footprint, so getting it right first time has real value.
How much cash buffer should I hold?
Per property, a minimum of three months of the full outgoing, mortgage or rent, bills, and management, plus a maintenance reserve. Across a portfolio, enough to survive two simultaneous voids and one significant repair such as a boiler or roof. Portfolios do not usually fail because a deal was bad; they fail because the buffer was thin when three ordinary problems arrived in the same quarter.
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