Richard Butler Creagh Shares how to use bridging finance 

Welcome to the Richard Butler Creagh blog. This is one of the ways by which a company can secure financial liquidity when spending large sums of cash on investments that can contribute to the development of its operations, increase its market and transactional value. Bridging financing is a form of assistance offered by financial institutions, banks or enterprises that enables full implementation of the assumed plans between the period of investment financing and its refunding.

Richard Butler Creagh Tips in Property Investment

Welcome to the Richard Butler Creagh property blog.  Here we share golden tips to consider before taking the plunge into property investment. Richard Butler Creagh is the founder of Henley Finance which was established in 2013 and it is a short-term bridging finance company specializing in loans between three months to a year, of between £100,000 to £1,000,000 for the professional property developer. Read on to find more tips before buying that first rental property.

As a property investor it is important to decide on whether to invest time to build houses or flats. In recent years the market in London has changed. There is more demand for flats than houses in London and in fact, is often harder to sell a residential house than a flat. There is a misconception that flats on long leases are to be handed over to after it expires, yet years spent in industry has shown that it is extremely easy to renew the lease with the landlord. Thus, theoretically, the temporary purchase can be permanent in practice.

In densely populated areas flats are more economically viable options. Often old houses which predominately are large have been converted to flats due to profitability associated with it. Large houses are popular among investors due to the ability of conversion into flats. Conversion of a 5 bedroom house into 2/3 flats often yields a substantial return on the investment. This is the main reason why some of the houses become expensive and also in limited quantities.

The sociological factors of changing today’s society are the main cause of the change in housing habits. Houses today are not passed from one generation to the next. Those are more like accommodation for the family which changes on a remortgage. Further, only one or two generations live together i.e. parents and their children. Big houses are not needed to accommodate today’s average family and flats are better suited for this purpose.

The cheaper prices when buying flats mean that the potential investor can build the portfolio quicker. However, the financial instruments tend to require a lower Loan to Value (LTV) due to complications with the types of flats. The leasehold creates time constraints, especially if a mortgage will be 25 years. The LTV will be calculated by deducting the length of the mortgage from the leasehold.

Another limitation of flats is that the flats subject to the consent of the freeholder. This can prolong any work that needs to be carried out and create unnecessary hurdles for investment. Further, issues arise when the flats are part of a large block of flats the neighbors disapprove of the works. Houses enable freedom of investment and most importantly it is one of cost without having to increase the lease before it runs out at a significant cost.

Ultimately an investor is going to look at the yield compared with the investment. The cheaper flats are often attractive to new investors because of the low entry level however an inexperienced investor may fall into may legal traps. There is no perfect answer, however, it is good practice to consider the area and the potential mortgage costs as it may differ from leasehold to freehold.

Richard Butler Creagh is a financial consultant and founded Henley Finance in 2013. After a successful career in property development, he understood the needs of the professional and their requirements in short-term bridging finance and devised a way that they could be better met in Henley Finance. Find out more about property financing on the Richard Butler Creagh official website. Follow Richard Butler Creagh on his official Twitter page here and read Richard Butler Creagh news and updates here.

Richard Butler Creagh on  London Property Market Trends You Should Know 

Welcome to the Richard Butler Creagh blog. London has experienced a heavily disrupted 10-year property cycle. Prices in the capital capped out in July 2017 and have been declining slowly ever since. But healthy economic growth along with an insulated lettings sector suggests the market may not depress for much longer.
London property prices decreased for the sixth month in a row taking more than £15,600 off the value of the average home since the market peaked 18 months ago. Vendors are also holding back, hoping to achieve a higher price later in the year after political uncertainty has subsided. Despite this, the same report highlights a 5% increase in home-hunting, showing prospective buyer interest.

 Richard Butler Creagh Talks about the market challenges facing property developers heading into 2019.

This year has been difficult for many developers. From falling GDVs to the shadow cast by a looming Brexit, 2018 has not been without its challenges. This 2019, I wanted to share my insight into the often-overwhelming pressure on SME housebuilders and the market challenges that 2019 presents.
The main challenges

Land values
Finding the right opportunities at the right value has been one of the biggest themes of the year. Landowners simply haven’t aligned their expectations with falling GDVs. The result has been narrowing profit margins that have meant some developments are impossible to do and increased competition for sites where the numbers do stack up.

Richard Butler Creagh on Building Social Value in Development Projects

Welcome to the Richard Butler Creagh blog. Richard Butler-Creagh owns Henley Finance which is a short-term bridging finance company specializing in loans for the professional property developer. Here is the reason why social value should be the heart of your development projects.

A sustainable economy is a key goal for the UK. The government has developed a clean growth strategy, which means boosting national income while also cutting greenhouse gases.

How to Finance a Property Purchase

Richard Butler Creagh on Commercial Property Investment 

Welcome to the Richard Butler Creagh blog. Commercial investment in central London has seen its most powerful trading in almost a decade, per Savills. The real estate adviser announced that over £2.3bn was invested in central London commercial property in July alone, with total turnover for 2017 to the end of July reaching £11.5bn, a 24% increase on the same time last year. July was the strongest month recorded since March 2007 for Central London as sales were improved by the acquisition of 20 Fenchurch Street for almost £1.3bn to a Hong Kong-based property group.

Savills found that Asian investors continued to dominate the central London market, accounting for 63% of total City turnover in the year so far, while European and UK investors stood at 17% and 11% respectively.  In the West End, Asian investors accounted for 50% of turnover with UK institutions accounting for just 2% of acquisitions by turnover. This was also predicted by property development expert Richard Butler-Creagh.

“The first half of 2017 saw central London investment increased 12.3% on the same period last year; while we’re only a month into H2, the power has continued and total 2017 investment volumes may well exceed those of 2016,” said Stephen Down, head of Savills central London investment team.
“Although the limitations announced earlier in August by the Chinese government will decrease real estate investment from mainland Chinese property developers and institutions, investors from Hong Kong, who have been particularly busy in the market in the past year, are likely to continue to be active, however, we have noticed their buying criteria has become increasingly selective.”

Savills reported that its prime City yield was currently 4%, while prime West End yield stood at 3.25%. Stephen added: “We expect there to be more stock coming on to the market as we approach the end of the year as existing owners of investments to take profits and, provided these sales are priced correctly, we should see continued strong turnover activity in the next three to four months.”

Richard Butler Creagh is the founder of Henley Finance. Find out more about getting the right finance for you on the Henley Finance website.

Watch this video to find out more about Richard Butler Creagh and property investment.

Your 30s are filled with milestones and life-changing experiences. It’s a time when the things you learn start to become habits and when financial decisions can either lead you to great success or become a problem for you in the future. It would be great to have perfect planning so that you will know the best decision to make in every situation.

Here are some tips to avoid those financial mistakes:

Living on credit cards

Be grateful if you have not gotten deep into debt, and avoid it like it is a virus. Living on your credit cards is a desperate game to play with your finances. At some point, you have to pay for your purchases, and that usually means using all the savings you have saved. If you have already exhausted your savings, you may start the cycle of missing payments and opening new credit card accounts. Living on your credit cards will only lead you to live paycheck to paycheck, which is a very difficult habit to break once established. Left unnoticed, this practice will ultimately destroy your credit score as well.

Failing to set financial goals

 If you never stop to think about what you would like to accomplish in five or 10 years, it is likely that you won’t accomplish anything by the end of that period. The very act of identifying and setting financial goals for yourself in your life clarifies your choices and helps you naturally focus on ways to reach your goals. Failing to set financial goals can create pressure later on as you realize that you have to work harder to make any sort of progress towards what you want in life.

Not contributing to your retirement

 One of the most crucial mistakes you can make is not to save for your retirement as early as possible. It is easy to think that retirement is too far away and that you should be saving for more immediate goals like getting a car. You must start saving for retirement when you land your first job. If you don’t have the discipline to save for retirement, you may end up spending your entire salary and not saving for a car or anything else either. This is a difficult mistake to recover from that could cost you so much or more in the long run.

The best thing about being young is that time is on your side. You can recover from money mistakes more easily and enjoy a bright future, but making good financial decisions starts with learning about money and being willing to take responsibility for your own financial success.

Read more Richard Butler Creagh on his official website here, learn more about Bridging and Commercial app here and connect with Richard Butler Creagh  Linkedin page here.

Watch Richard Butler Creagh video here:

How to Save Money Wisely

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