Over the years I must have spoken to many hundreds of buy-to-let investors. The vast majority of them own a small portfolio of properties and seem quite content to get by each month on a few hundred pounds of “positive cash flow”.

They boast to me about how many properties they own and the value of their portfolio… and seem to ignore the fact that, after finance and maintenance costs, they’re making very little regular income… if any!

Now don’t get me wrong. BTL is a fantastic investment strategy. But most people only get to enjoy the fruits of their labour many years down the line. Hopefully your portfolio will allow you to enjoy a long and carefree retirement… but what about today? Does your monthly BTL income really deliver the standard of living and financial freedom you deserve?

Well, what would you say if I offered you the opportunity to supplement your income by at least £50,000 per year? What if I also told you that, as a BTL investor, you already possess many of the skills required to generate an additional FIVE or SIX figure annual income? And what if I mentioned that you could generate this income around your existing commitments, relying on other people to do most of the “hard graft” on your behalf?

At this point you’re probably expecting me to introduce you to some new and far fetched “passive income generating system”… another one of those ridiculous get rich quick schemes. Well, you’d be wrong.

I’m talking about new build developing… Basically, securing some land and building something new on it.

“But what on earth do I know about property developing?… I’m not made of money you know!” I hear you cry.

Surprisingly, developing for profit is strikingly similar to BTL investing… just on a larger scale. You already possess many of the skills you will need to become a successful property developer.

Using the methods I’ve honed over the last decade, you don’t need ANY construction knowledge and, to get started, you needn’t invest any more capital than a typical BTL project.

You see, just like a BTL investor, the job of a property developer is really that of a facilitator. They source the opportunity, organise finance, structure the deal and concentrate on sales and marketing. We leave all the specialist tasks and “dirty work” to other people… solicitors, finance brokers, builders / construction companies etc etc.

One big advantage of new build developing is that there are no nasty surprises. You’re working with a blank canvass so once you’re out of the ground you know exactly what you are dealing with. Plus, I always negotiate a fixed price contract with a single main contractor so my developments are always delivered on time and on budget.

Despite completing many successful development projects, I honestly wouldn’t be able to tell you how to lay one brick on top of another. That said, it’s always useful to have a broad understanding of the construction process so that you’re able to manage it effectively, however this knowledge is easily learned. And to help you on your way, you may just find this free download useful…

Download your FREE beginners guide to property development!

If you’re interested in new build developing but don’t know where to begin, then you’ll find the FREE guide that’s available to download from my website a useful place to start. It’s an extract from my new course “Developing Profits: from beginner to pro, the ultimate guide to profitable new build developing”.

Download your FREE introduction to Developing Profits right now and discover:

• Exactly what new build developing is.
• Why it’s a great time to start learning developing skills right now.
• Why developing is relatively easy for you to do.
• How you can learn the inside knowledge and develop the necessary skills to generate life changing profits from one or two deals a year.
• How one small project can generate more profits than working full-time.
• Why you don’t actually need to know very much about construction to become a successful property developer.
• How you can leverage the skills of other property professionals to make substantial profits.
• Whether it’s possible to develop as a part-time hobby or a full-time career.
• A complete overview of the development process.

In this FREE download, I’ll show you exactly how you can furnish yourself with the knowledge, skills and confidence to move from novice developer right through to co-ordinating multi-million pound projects just like a pro.

Don’t miss out on the opportunity to leverage your existing skills to generate a life-changing regular income as a property developer. Download your free guide now!

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Great news for land finders!

Google Earth has just made our land searches even easier by expanding it’s Street View service to a total of 96% of all roads, streets, avenues – and even lanes – right across the UK!

360-degree panoramic land finding – from home!

The service enables you to explore highly detailed, 360-degree panoramic images at street level. So, as anyone who’s read my Land Finder Fortunes report will know, this is really going to prove an invaluable asset to your land finding, enabling you to assess sites in great detail – all from the comfort of your own home!

Until now, the service was mainly available only in a handful of locations. Google introduced Street View in March 2009, initially concentrating the service on famous landmarks and city centres.

Nearly a quarter of a million miles of road now covered!

However, over the last year, the infamous Google camera cars have been out and about, taking snaps of everything from busy city streets to little lanes in the middle of nowhere. Now the increased coverage has been extended across an additional 210,000 miles of highly detailed street-level mapping.

As you may know, one of the main problems with Google Earth is that its images can be a few years out of date. However, the new Street View images will not only offer you fantastic panoramic views of plots you might be interested in but they will also be bang up-to-date!

Google Street View of a potential development site

Enhancing your desktop appraisals!

This has really enhanced the level of detail available to land finders. As a result, it should transform your ability to perform detailed desktop appraisals, and really assess which plots are likely to provide great development potential.

Best of all, it’s still free! So this should really give your land finding a massive boost… I know it has for me! So what are you waiting for… go and give it a try!

For further information visit: www.google.co.uk/help/maps/streetview/index.html

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It’s always great to get some independent feedback on my land finding techniques. So I was absolutely thrilled to see that Julie Hanson from property portal www.justdoproperty.co.uk has just started a series of blog articles about my Land Finder Masterclass called: “Diary of a land finder virgin”.

Julie has recently signed up to my Land Finder Masterclass, and in her weekly blog posts, she will be sharing her thoughts and progress as she works her way through the comprehensive 8-week course.

You can see how she’s getting on and read all about her progress here.

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Did you catch the recent news reports about the Government’s so-called “clampdown on garden grabbing”?

According to the press, garden grabbing – whereby developers build inappropriate developments within the back yards of existing houses – has become “a serious problem”. The Telegraph’s coverage is fairly typical of the way the mainstream press covered the story.

Someone reading the article could be forgiven for assuming that garden developments have effectively been banned. However, if you compare the news article with the official Government statement you’ll realise that nothing could be further from the truth.

But it’s worth looking at the facts of the story because behind the spin some interesting points have come to light…

“Not a problem in the majority of areas…”

It seems the Government commissioned independent research to investigate the issue of inappropriate developments within back gardens. The review’s findings are really interesting…

“Of the 127 [councils] who responded, less than half (50 councils) considered it an issue in their areas. Of those who reported a problem, only 5 per cent (7 councils) had specific, local policies in place.” It’s worth noting that none of the councils who responded asked for a blanket ban on back garden developments.

The Housing and Planning Minister John Healey admits: “it is good news that councils have told our independent experts that it is not a problem in the large majority of areas.”

So, despite what the press would have us believe, the Government isn’t advocating a ban on all garden developments. They’re merely reminding a minority of councils who have been a little lax, that they have the power to prevent inappropriate developments to be built in back gardens.

So what does this mean for land finders, self-builders and developers?

Successful property development relies on appropriate, carefully considered schemes that enhance a neighbourhood. I’ve never been in favour of inappropriate, oversized developments shoe-horned into tight back garden areas and welcome the Government’s efforts to tackle the issue in those few “hot spots” where it’s been allowed to become a problem.

To be honest, these sorts of development are often fraught with problems. I prefer to concentrate on “infill” developments – slotting new housing in between existing properties. It’s usually much easier to get infills through planning and they don’t tend to suffer from the same access issues.

Huge demand for UK developments

The fact is, there’s huge demand for additional housing (and therefore suitable development land) in the UK. The Government has set a target to build 3 million new homes by 2020 and, in the main, it’s down to the local authorities to allocate enough land to meet this ambitious goal.  Most local authorities see garden plots as a suitable and sustainable way of helping them achieve their targets. After all, most of the infrastructure required for a new development – such as roads, utilities and local amenities – are already in place.

It’s hardly surprising therefore that in some areas as much as 94 per cent of residential development is on gardens or other “occupied” land. The Government relies on the redevelopment of this land – known as “brownfield” land – to house the country’s growing population. To suggest that the practice of building on spare garden land could be banned is, frankly, ridiculous!

Due diligence…

So, if you’ve found a back garden with great development potential, none of this need put you off exploring its potential further. The new guidance doesn’t mean that all back garden developments are out of the question. It just means that the planners are less likely to let you get away with a really bad proposal.

As with all development schemes, it’s simply a case of performing your due diligence and checking with your local planners to gauge their reaction to your proposals.

But remember, there are lots of opportunities out there that don’t involve gardens at all! My most profitable deals have involved other types of brownfield sites… pubs, petrol stations, garages, farms. There are opportunities all around us, it just takes a keen eye to spot them!

Unless the Government is willing to release huge swathes of Greenfield or Greenbelt land – which is extremely unlikely – they must rely on industrious land finders and developers to identify alternative uses for existing brownfield sites. It’s the only way they’re going to meet their own targets and house the growing population.

So, as long as there’s a demand for houses there will be opportunities for those people “in-the-know” to make substantial profits from land. And if the press insist on labelling us “garden grabbers” then I guess it’s something we’ll just have to live with!

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Well, life certainly has a strange way of dealing out the cards sometimes. As Forrest Gump famously said: “Life is like a box of chocolates… you never know what you’re gonna get!”

Before Christmas I was busy helping to broker one of the strangest deals of my career. As regular readers will know, before I was made bankrupt, I had built a considerable property portfolio worth over £10m at the time.

Unfortunately, due to my involvement with a failed music distribution company, I eventually watched the entire portfolio slip through my hands.

Well guess what?

I recently helped to broker a deal to buy back the majority of properties within the portfolio… the very same properties I bought several years ago! It was touch-and-go… but after a lot of negotiation we eventually managed to strike a deal to secure the houses from the administrator on behalf of a contact of mine. Who’d have thought it!?!

Not only that, I am now helping my colleague to split up the portfolio and sell on these fantastic buy-to-let houses at an amazing discount.

It’s a fantastic way to launch my new BMV property brokering service. Most of my former properties are available now at a fantastic and genuine 30% DISCOUNT and many of the houses are already tenanted!

Of course, I know each of these properties extremely well and can confirm that every one represents a fantastic deal for those on the look out for good BMV opportunities.

Inevitably, quite a few have been snapped up already and there’s been a huge amount of interest in the rest.

So if BMV properties are something you’re interested in, you’ll need to act quickly if you want to bag yourself an excellent bargain – deals like this won’t stay on the market for long!

To find out more, join my BMV Properties mailing list today.

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