Thursday 26 October 2017

Pictures say more then a 1000 words




























































Basically gives a flavour of the state of affairs AFTER the basic clear up of vegetation and rubbish so that one can "walk" or "climb" through the spaces.... (2 days X 2 people) Should be noted that this is all the office and backyard depicted here.
The main house is far from great, but liveable.... Update on that some other time.

Today we are getting the full house measured and surveyed so we get plans and sections in hand. That should help making sense of the nooks and crooks, basements, yards, levels... Etc.

Have to say have never seen something quite as bad....


Tuesday 24 October 2017

Voila.... Lets get started.

Keys in hand.... Have to say there is some satisfaction that comes from dealing with "brick and mortar". A satisfaction that is not available when dealing with stocks and shares, options, CDO's etc.

Call me old fashioned maybe, and having said that I will also admit that placing bets on the stock market  avoids the "fun" (inverted commas are for the slight cynical undertone) of the planning stages, the inevitable structural "surprises" and the rest of it.

But in the end I will quote Warren Buffet:
“Never invest in a business you cannot understand.”
So I think I will mostly stick to brick and mortar for the time being...


Monday 25 September 2017

Sadomasochistic purchase (but at a good price)

Happy to announce that a new project has been on-boarded! (At the border of a pretty good corner of south West London)

2126 sq ft residential and 717 sq ft commercial as well as a large yard with an amazing amount of upside. We believe we can add create up to 3500 sq ft of residential space.

Now I have to explain why the title of this post makes sense.
Well, the project is in Lambeth, which is the same council as the one we dealt with last time, and with all due respect.... It was a real hard battle we had to on our hands to get the plans through pre-planning stage successfully. To have gone in for more feels slightly masochistic frankly.

But on the other hand, based on the numbers we had crunched, it is the first time we bought what we believe to be a real good deal.

Obviously times are different and the climate not as bullish as pre-brexit but as Warren Buffet says "sell when everybody buys and buy when everybody sells" 

20 days to exchange, but for tonight a good celebratory drink should do it.

... A whole new adventure is starting.


Friday 22 September 2017

Sleepless nights, will she be the one? (Warning derelict content)

The last auction was a fail. Undervalued the top bid by quite a bit with my maths.

Whatever it was, that the other parties took into account, I did not see it in such bullish light.
Approx 350k above the top bid I had in mind... That's quite a miss.

But maybe it's all for the best... Because there is another auction on Monday and there is quite a beauty awaiting!

Will this be the one? Will I be enough for her to let me wisk her away?

How much will the planners let you get away in the large yard? What will the building costs be? And what realistic resale values can be expected after turnaround? What are the VAT and tax implications for the company if we decide to rent units rather then sell (in case the resale market is weak)?

Too many questions for me to sleep properly.

Below what my dreams are made of ( I know not everyone's cup of tea - warning derelict content!)


Saturday 2 September 2017

Getting serious again.

Despite not much sucess at sourcing the next project since the sale of the warehouse (now few months already), the scouting is on.

The subdued market post brexit means the buy needs to be particularly good value to ensure that little bit of extra margin buffer.

The last one we looked at (old printing works in north east london did not meet the reserve price and the planning risk felt a little too much for our apettite anyway...

But a new round of auctions is now few weeks away and one in particular has caught my eye.

So crunching numbers again and checking planning history (the basics)....

This one may be a mix of rental potential as well as planning upside and flip.

More soon. 

Sunday 21 May 2017

Before handing over the keys...

We just had to have a warehouse party!
In numbers:
- approx100 guests
- 4am end
- 1 entire iberico ham leg
- 8kg Comte cheese
- 2 DJ's
- 1 security guard (being Brixton, Had to keep gate crashers out) 
- can't remember specs of soundsystem, (but loud enough to trouble the neighbours across the road!)
- no's of cocktails served... Sorry did not count! 

I think it was wise not do this earlier, could easily become addictive... But now keys need to be handed over in couple of weeks for completion.

And the hunt for new properties is gaining traction again.
More on that soon.

Tuesday 2 May 2017

Celebratory diet coke.

After a long long year... (During which I hardly blogged - apologies)
I can confirm that our latest project has sold/exchanged  today!
In brief:
- 13 months turnaround.
- 20% return
- pre brexit purchase and post brexit exit.
- site untouched (apart from squatters episode)
- added value purely generated through an improved pre planning application.
- sold forward to another developer to execute.
- offer too good to refuse an easy exit at this stage.
- further 20% profit expected on buyers side (on purchase price) once completed (in addition to his transaction costs -stamp duty etc)

Stay tuned. Next post is about a warehouse party!