Email Campaign Archives for list 'Joint Equity investors'

Christmas greetings from Joint Equity

jointequity — Wednesday 23rd of December 2009 12:40:04 PM

Click here to view this Newsletter online Click here for our Newsletter archive Click here to unsubscribe 23 December 2009 Dear %%First Name%%, you are subscribed to this newsletter using the following email address: %%emailaddress%%. Are you ready to make your first Joint Equity Investment? Register here to activate your portfolio and receive Joint Equity investment alerts direct to your inbox. There is currently NO FEE to register, so join us now. Already registered? Click here to login and view the latest Joint Equity Properties and Investment Opportunities. Not sure what to expect? Here's how it works: Registered Investor-Partners login here: http://investors.jointequity.com/ to see our properties and make reservations it's simple and quick. If you are not yet registered then click and complete the very simple form. You can then download the info pack. Clicking in the list on left hand side brings up a searchable list of all properties uploaded by our Estate Agent Partners. From this page you can get more details of the property by clicking and there is a link to the Estate Agents web site. You can also see if there is a reservation on the property, the reservation button turns red as here, and you can make your own reservations. Click <1st> <2nd> or <3rd> There is also the opportunity to put properties on your Watch List so that you can get back to them quickly. Click to add a property. Our Joint Equity Agents are adding properties every day so keep logging on to secure the best investments.Click here to see for yourself I and all the team here hope you all have a good Christmas and New Year and look forward to new and exciting opportunities in 2010. Regards Brad Joint Equity CEO www.jointequity.co.uk Click here to visit us online: www.jointequity.co.uk If you would like to stop receiving our newsletters, please click here to unsubscribe: Unsubscribe me from this mailing list The Joint Equity Scheme is for first-time buyers, home owners and property investors. Joint Equity Ltd works with Mortgage Beaters to provide case studies and Illustrations to prospective Owner-Partners & Investor-Partners. Joint Equity Ltd does not carry out any regulated activities and so is not regulated by the FSA (Financial Services Authority). Joint Equity Ltd are introducer appointed representatives of Mortgage Beaters Ltd, who are authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. The content of this newsletter is accurate to the best of our knowledge and for information only. We do not provide financial advice. Joint Equity Ltd., a UK company Reg No: 4915890 Registered office: 17 Hanbury Close, Cheshunt, Herts, EN8 9BZ ©Joint Equity Ltd (2008) unless where otherwise stated

Prophesy can easily go wrong, so why do we take such notice?

jointequity — Tuesday 20th of October 2009 10:50:03 AM

Click here to view this Newsletter online Click here for our Newsletter archive Click here to unsubscribe 20 October 2009 Dear %%First Name%%, you are subscribed to this newsletter using the following email address: %%emailaddress%%. Are you ready to make your first Joint Equity Investment? Register here to activate your portfolio and receive Joint Equity investment alerts direct to your inbox. There is currently NO FEE to register, so join us now. Already registered? Click here to login and view the latest Joint Equity Properties and Investment Opportunities. Not sure what to expect? Here's how it works: Registered Investor-Partners login here: http://investors.jointequity.com/ to see our properties and make reservations it's simple and quick. If you are not yet registered then click and complete the very simple form. You can then download the info pack. Clicking in the list on left hand side brings up a searchable list of all properties uploaded by our Estate Agent Partners. From this page you can get more details of the property by clicking and there is a link to the Estate Agents web site. You can also see if there is a reservation on the property, the reservation button turns red as here, and you can make your own reservations. Click <1st> <2nd> or <3rd> There is also the opportunity to put properties on your Watch List so that you can get back to them quickly. Click to add a property. Our Joint Equity Agents are adding properties every day so keep logging on to secure the best investments.Click here to see for yourself In this issue: 1. Brad's column News and views from Brad Bamfield, Joint Equity Chief Executive. The favourite bad beast of the moment is lying quietly by while politicians and the FSA bite chunks out of it and its reputation is pulled to new low levels. Why do banks not stand up for themselves, do they hope if they keep quiet we will all forget? 2. Property Focus Joint Equity Investment Opportunities available now. Preview some of the latest properties available through Joint Equity Estate Agent Partners. For more news and information: News updates on our website Latest articles from Joint Equity Brad's column I am fascinated, as it seems we all are, by the prophesies of "experts" on the economy and housing prices. Much of this is fuelled by the easy, high impact headlines the media are able to write. But are these predictions of any real value? Do the experts have any better track record than everyone else? Let's look at some results from a panel of experts put together by the Sunday Times and compare what they said in February and what they say now. Now remember house prices have risen by 4% this year and on current trends will reach 6% by the end of 2009, so how did the experts do? Name Company House prices next 12 months Feb 09 Oct 09 2010 Simon Rubinsohn RICS -10% to -15% +2% -5% George Buckley Deutsche Bank -15% -9% +1.5% Seema Shan Capital Economics -25% +3% -10% Lucian Cook Savils -5% +2% to 5% -7% to 0% Trevor Abrahamsohn Glentree International -2% -2% +5% Ray Boulger Charcol Mortgages -5% +7.5% +6% Now I am sure they are all very nice people and are very skilled at their jobs but as for prediction this is not a very good result for any of them. Read the article here. The problem is that there is no guarantee what has gone before will be repeated in the future and we can never know what we don't know. When I am speaking at conferences I like to use the example of car service intervals. For just about ever for every manufacturer your car had to be serviced at 6,000 miles and then one day the Japanese came along and made it 12,000 miles. I think much of people's thinking today, and about what will happen the future, is overshadowed by a moralistic view of should happen because of what we think of as "right" and what they would like to see happen. But "right" today is not what "right" was yesterday, and definitely not what "right" will be tomorrow. We are also influenced by a certain "lynch mob" attitude of our current regulators and Government. The FSA faced with extinction if the Conservatives win in May, are rushing out new initiatives on banking bonuses and "prudent" lending. The simple solutions, we all seem to demand, obscures our analysis of the interrelated complexities of finance today. The established reason for the banking crash seems to be different depending on who you are, but they are all equally fervently argued. It was the level of personal debt, it was the unsustainable house prices, it was the US subprime mortgage market, it was the out of control derivatives market, it was the lack of accountability of bankers and their bonuses. My view, and I know you all want my view, is that it was a combination of these factors that led to a crash in confidence that banks would be able to meet their debts. House prices fell because there were no affordable mortgages available,not high levels of debt, and they are rising now because, even at the current low level of activity (because most people still cannot get a mortgage) there is very little housing stock for sale. The old supply and demand. But all this gleeful bank bashing has led to the regulator clobbering us all. I have said in previous newsletters how inept I consider bank's management to be and how they are their worst enemy, but in this case it goes much further they are now causing harm to us all. I argued that the traditional "stay silent and it will all blow over" was a silly attitude. It has worked every time in the past when the banks did suicidal things but this time it would not, when the politicians needed a bogeyman to blame for the failure of their systems and ideas. The banks should have taken notice of how other major business responded to adverse public opinion, and I am thinking of Shell and the Brent Spa platform. Any humble MBA student would tell them, when in a hole doing nothing is not an option and you need to get the public and your customers on your side. Shortly after Christmas the banks should have been promoting banking as an industry, through the media, through Government and through all the good thing they do - like pay £billions in tax. Instead, if they advertised at all, they did it for competitive advantage, for example the Nat West campaign, in the hope that competitor banks would be harmed more than they were and they could bite off the bits they wanted. Barclays have done this very successfully all the way through the recession and without any Government money, and will probably do so again with the divestments Lloyds and RBS will be forced to make by the EU. Odd that there is no defence about the EU pronouncements from our Government. Instead of promoting all the good things banks do and how they benefit us all, they left the stage to commentators and politicians, such as Vince Cable, to grab the headlines with banal, questionable logic, sound bites that we all adopted as gospel as there was no counter argument. Let us just consider Self Certified mortgages for a moment. Many journalists dubbed them the "liars" mortgage, but they do serve a real benefit to a large part of the home buying population such as self employed or contract workers. The problem was that lenders found out during 2007 that many self cert mortgages were fraudulent, not by borrowers but by bent estate agents, surveyors and solicitors who all had to collude to get bogus mortgages often on property that was overvalued or had 3 or 4 mortgages already. This was not the fault of the self cert mortgage but the bank's inability to set up reliable processes to ensure they lent money only on viable deals. So the banks were quite happy to see the self cert mortgage disappear quietly without their mistakes being public. In 2007 there were 875 mortgages available through self cert, it is now just 2 (source Moneyfacts). So the FSA in its bid to make itself indispensible before its demise hits the headlines by banning a product that has all but disappeared, but would have come back better structured to avoid fraud and still provide a valuable service. For a good article and reasoned argument for retaining self cert mortgages click here. But the article says "The CML has been a bit slow here in heading off the inevitable backlash against self-cert and has not collected arrears and repossessions data to refute the alarmists who are ranting about irresponsible lending." So an easy target, that will have no staunch defenders, is banned to the detriment of a sector of the market. But hold on not is all that it seems. The FSA proposals are out for consultation until January 2010 and then the FSA will issue a final report in March and the implementation will be phased. How many want to bet that it will be another headline grabbing event, that drifts into obscurity just as Gordon Brown's statement at the Labour Conference to ban 24hr drinking, which I see has been quietly dropped in favour of bad bars having their license amended. Sorry, what is new there? That can and is done now. Finally I see that the Halifax, part of Lloyds has sold its 218 office estate agent business to LSL (Your Move) for £1. Do you remember when all banks and insurance companies bought small agencies for substantial sums and lumped them into amorphous brands? This brings to an end the ownership of estate agents by financial institutions and by my reckoning Halifax has lost in the region of £100m during its ownership. About par for the course and just another example of poor bank management. But then bank management is unaccountable for its losses.Regards Brad Joint Equity CEO www.jointequity.co.uk Property Focus How to find out more: Go to http://investors.jointequity.com to view full details and more pictures for this property, or to make an Investor Reservation. Not what you're looking for: Login to the Investors Area to browse all currently available Joint Equity properties. You are welcome to send this newsletter to a friend, please click here. Click here to visit us online: www.jointequity.co.uk If you would like to stop receiving our newsletters, please click here to unsubscribe: Unsubscribe me from this mailing list The Joint Equity Scheme is for first-time buyers, home owners and property investors. Joint Equity Ltd works with Mortgage Beaters to provide case studies and Illustrations to prospective Owner-Partners & Investor-Partners. Joint Equity Ltd does not carry out any regulated activities and so is not regulated by the FSA (Financial Services Authority). Joint Equity Ltd are introducer appointed representatives of Mortgage Beaters Ltd, who are authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. The content of this newsletter is accurate to the best of our knowledge and for information only. We do not provide financial advice. Joint Equity Ltd., a UK company Reg No: 4915890 Registered office: 17 Hanbury Close, Cheshunt, Herts, EN8 9BZ ©Joint Equity Ltd (2008) unless where otherwise stated

Predictions can come true & politics is a nasty game

jointequity — Tuesday 06th of October 2009 10:10:03 AM

Click here to view this Newsletter online Click here for our Newsletter archive Click here to unsubscribe 06 October 2009 Dear %%First Name%%, you are subscribed to this newsletter using the following email address: %%emailaddress%%. Are you ready to make your first Joint Equity Investment? Register here to activate your portfolio and receive Joint Equity investment alerts direct to your inbox. There is currently NO FEE to register, so join us now. Already registered? Click here to login and view the latest Joint Equity Properties and Investment Opportunities. Not sure what to expect? Here's how it works: Registered Investor-Partners login here: http://investors.jointequity.com/ to see our properties and make reservations it's simple and quick. If you are not yet registered then click and complete the very simple form. You can then download the info pack. Clicking in the list on left hand side brings up a searchable list of all properties uploaded by our Estate Agent Partners. From this page you can get more details of the property by clicking and there is a link to the Estate Agents web site. You can also see if there is a reservation on the property, the reservation button turns red as here, and you can make your own reservations. Click <1st> <2nd> or <3rd> There is also the opportunity to put properties on your Watch List so that you can get back to them quickly. Click to add a property. Our Joint Equity Agents are adding properties every day so keep logging on to secure the best investments.Click here to see for yourself In this issue: 1. Brad's column News and views from Brad Bamfield, Joint Equity Chief Executive. This week I look back at what we said in January and February about the market and I stray into the trouble waters of party politics, and the ambitions of a few that have contributed to our problems over the last two years. 2. Property Focus Joint Equity Investment Opportunities available now. Preview some of the latest properties available through Joint Equity Estate Agent Partners. For more news and information: News updates on our website Latest articles from Joint Equity Brad's column There are times in life when the temptation to say "I told you so" or to bang your own drum is very strong, but it must never be permitted to overcome our natural modesty and humility. Although I think it is appropriate to look back at one or two of my previous newsletters to see what we discussed. 9 Dec 2008 we predicted Christmas was just over 14 days away. Result: 25 December was declared Christmas Day 6 Jan 2009 I considered the predicted 85,000 repossessions in 2009 was too high considering the stimulus to the economy and the banks reluctance to repossess. Result: 22 June 2009 repossessions prediction reduced to 65,000 in 09. 13 Jan 2009 we looked at reports that said house prices would fall another 15% in 2009 and disagreed. Result house prices have risen every month from May to October. 20 Jan 2009 we said that the upswing had started and that statistics will lag by 4 to 6 months. Result May 2009 saw first rise in monthly prices of homes. 27 Jan 2009 I predicated house prices will be reflected in the statistics by end May 09. Result house prices rise in May and in every month up to now. 10 Feb 2009 I stated the 1st year after a housing recession the rises had averaged 15% in the last 3 recessions. Result: 2 October 2009 Nationwide report house prices up by 3.8% in last quarter if it maintains for the next 2 quarters we will achieve 15% in the 12 months since May 09. But I am humble and I am modest so I will put my drum away and move on to other things that have caught my attention this week. LIBOR slides again but I am not sure it is really relevant now as our lenders are accessing funds at much higher rates. It will be interesting this week to see what the Conservatives will say on the EU. It seems that once again the EU runs a steamroller over public opinion and views and cannot get the feeling that it has all been stitched up in advance. When Blair resigned and Brown took over I said, and I agree that I had no evidence other than my suspicions of all things politics, that Blair had done his usually double think by promising us a referendum on the treaty but they would find a way out of actually having it. My reasoning was this, Blair (the consummate master of public spin) conceded a referendum to assuage public opinion but knew that he would lose it as did the EU, his public utterances were consistent but what worried me was the non response of the EU machine (witness the pressure on Ireland when it said No), I suspected the public rhetoric was being translated in and to Brussels differently. Now comes the Machiavellian bit, the EU needs the UK (well actually England really) and used the ultimate inducement on Blair, becoming the first EU President. Blair in turn agreed with Brown that he would stand down if Brown agreed to sign the UK up to the treaty but that meant avoiding a referendum. Now whatever you think of Brown and his ability, or lack of it, he has been unbelievably loyal to all his agreements with Blair over the years and once again he took the hit for Blair when he said the new treaty was not a Constitution and did not require a referendum. What a gold plated plonker. And just another example of how Blair's nickname can be so apt. This is a classic example of how the ambitions of politicians can override what is best for their party and even their country. And now I am reluctantly being won over to the slash and burn scenario of what the Labour party is doing now. Reluctantly as I can't really believe they would do it, but it seems they are. Politics and business are modelled on war, and one strategy is to accept losing a battle if you might win the war. A strategic retreat can benefit you if it makes the opposition's advance more difficult. So the slash and burn theory goes like this: When retreating, or facing defeat, slash and burn the countryside so that your enemy can not live off the land as he advances. Example Hussein ordered the burning of all oil wells as his army retreated from Kuwait. Labour know they will be defeated at the next election. No one wants to stand against Brown now as they do not want to be leader during a defeat. So they are playing for the election after in 2015. Brown will lose in May 2010 and stand down. A new leader will be elected who will be responsible for the next election campaign. That means making life as difficult as possible for the Conservatives. Build the deficit to the highest possible, let unemployment rise, stir up the unions and not to think of the wrecks they are making of people's lives in the meantime. It also means the Conservatives will have to make the hard decisions, do the hard things and bring us back to being a reasonable economy again. Thenthe Labour party can jump in for the 2015 election without anything sticking to them. They are gambling on the short memory of the electorate to forget that it was Labour that made a bad situation worse. Farfetched? Well I was right in January and February about the housing market so ………. Mind you it already seems that history will be very unfavourable on Brown, his financial management, and the FSA and Bank of England will not get off lightly either. Benign neglect never really works in business or Government and banks and lenders should take note as well. I hope I can be more upbeat when I return in two weeks time. Regards Brad Joint Equity CEO www.jointequity.co.uk Property Focus How to find out more: Go to http://investors.jointequity.com to view full details and more pictures for this property, or to make an Investor Reservation. Not what you're looking for: Login to the Investors Area to browse all currently available Joint Equity properties. You are welcome to send this newsletter to a friend, please click here. Click here to visit us online: www.jointequity.co.uk If you would like to stop receiving our newsletters, please click here to unsubscribe: Unsubscribe me from this mailing list The Joint Equity Scheme is for first-time buyers, home owners and property investors. Joint Equity Ltd works with Mortgage Beaters to provide case studies and Illustrations to prospective Owner-Partners & Investor-Partners. Joint Equity Ltd does not carry out any regulated activities and so is not regulated by the FSA (Financial Services Authority). Joint Equity Ltd are introducer appointed representatives of Mortgage Beaters Ltd, who are authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. The content of this newsletter is accurate to the best of our knowledge and for information only. We do not provide financial advice. Joint Equity Ltd., a UK company Reg No: 4915890 Registered office: 17 Hanbury Close, Cheshunt, Herts, EN8 9BZ ©Joint Equity Ltd (2008) unless where otherwise stated

Our Banks are still missing golden opportunities.

jointequity — Tuesday 22nd of September 2009 10:00:15 AM

Click here to view this Newsletter online Click here for our Newsletter archive Click here to unsubscribe 22 September 2009 Dear %%First Name%%, you are subscribed to this newsletter using the following email address: %%emailaddress%%. Are you ready to make your first Joint Equity Investment? Register here to activate your portfolio and receive Joint Equity investment alerts direct to your inbox. There is currently NO FEE to register, so join us now. Already registered? Click here to login and view the latest Joint Equity Properties and Investment Opportunities. Not sure what to expect? Here's how it works: Registered Investor-Partners login here: http://investors.jointequity.com/ to see our properties and make reservations it's simple and quick. If you are not yet registered then click and complete the very simple form. You can then download the info pack. Clicking in the list on left hand side brings up a searchable list of all properties uploaded by our Estate Agent Partners. From this page you can get more details of the property by clicking and there is a link to the Estate Agents web site. You can also see if there is a reservation on the property, the reservation button turns red as here, and you can make your own reservations. Click <1st> <2nd> or <3rd> There is also the opportunity to put properties on your Watch List so that you can get back to them quickly. Click to add a property. Our Joint Equity Agents are adding properties every day so keep logging on to secure the best investments.Click here to see for yourself In this issue: 1. Brad's column News and views from Brad Bamfield, Joint Equity Chief Executive. This week a short newsletter when we return to a thorny old subject. The banks and their attitude to their customers. And news that our ethical investment web site is now fully published. 2. Property Focus Joint Equity Investment Opportunities available now. Preview some of the latest properties available through Joint Equity Estate Agent Partners. For more news and information: News updates on our website Latest articles from Joint Equity Brad's column LIBOR drops yet again to 0.59% but still mortgage rates seem stickily high, but in this market the relationship between money we borrow and base rates and LIBOR has been dislocated. Mortgage lenders are musing swap rates to ensure they can borrow at a known rate before lending it out at a profit. The current swap rates are around 3.3% so lending at 4.25% does seem reasonable. I know, we almost consider that an oxymoron; "banks being reasonable" whatever next? So the banks are being reasonable but we do not hear about it, and I wonder why? Is it because the banks are being shy and retiring? Or are they really not worried about public or customers opinion? This week the banking ombudsman has released the list of which banks that had the most complaints, and by implication the ones with the least. But the ones in the worst top 10 are not defending themselves and the ones in the best top 10 are not promoting themselves, and I wonder why? On reflection I think that as far as banks are concerned the last 2 years has had no impact on their senior management attitudes, it is head down until we can get back to business as normal. Very sad and completely wrong. We have previously discussed how BT's market was chipped away, in small bites, by many small players. And once small players start consolidating then you can face a sizable competitor, very quickly. But we have seen over the last 5 years how the unique position of banks, with their "closed shop" barriers to new competitors and the central bank's position as lender of last resort, leads bank management into complacency and arrogance. Is this why they consider it is unnecessary to tell us all the good things they are doing, and they are doing some things very well, it is just we don't know and they do not tell us. It appears that this becoming more of a problem as more banks consider spinning off and demerging parts of themselves and brands that they absorbed on the way to becoming so big. The EU and the regulators are looking for more competition but how much will we get if the new players are managed by the old boys from the existing banks? I have heard banking described as the biggest and longest lasting monopoly in the business world. And that seems a pretty accurate description. However, no monopoly ever lasts forever, it is either broken up by Government or by the businesses and shareholders themselves. Banks should remember this and work at rebuilding their reputation before they start raking in massive profits again. We have now fully published our new web site that looks at how investors can invest their money ethically, the options and differences between them. Please click http://www.ethicalpropertyinvestment.com and let me know what you think.As I said a short newsletter this week, I will be back in two weeks. Regards Brad Joint Equity CEO www.jointequity.co.uk Property Focus How to find out more: Go to http://investors.jointequity.com to view full details and more pictures for this property, or to make an Investor Reservation. Not what you're looking for: Login to the Investors Area to browse all currently available Joint Equity properties. You are welcome to send this newsletter to a friend, please click here. Click here to visit us online: www.jointequity.co.uk If you would like to stop receiving our newsletters, please click here to unsubscribe: Unsubscribe me from this mailing list The Joint Equity Scheme is for first-time buyers, home owners and property investors. Joint Equity Ltd works with Mortgage Beaters to provide case studies and Illustrations to prospective Owner-Partners & Investor-Partners. Joint Equity Ltd does not carry out any regulated activities and so is not regulated by the FSA (Financial Services Authority). Joint Equity Ltd are introducer appointed representatives of Mortgage Beaters Ltd, who are authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. The content of this newsletter is accurate to the best of our knowledge and for information only. We do not provide financial advice. Joint Equity Ltd., a UK company Reg No: 4915890 Registered office: 17 Hanbury Close, Cheshunt, Herts, EN8 9BZ ©Joint Equity Ltd (2008) unless where otherwise stated

Property prices rise & fast, but mortgage volumes are still low

jointequity — Tuesday 08th of September 2009 10:10:27 AM

Click here to view this Newsletter online Click here for our Newsletter archive Click here to unsubscribe 07 September 2009 Dear %%First Name%%, you are subscribed to this newsletter using the following email address: %%emailaddress%%. In this issue: Are you ready to make your first Joint Equity Investment? Register here to activate your portfolio and receive Joint Equity investment alerts direct to your inbox. There is currently NO FEE to register, so join us now. Already registered? Click here to login and view the latest Joint Equity Properties and Investment Opportunities. Not sure what to expect? Here's how it works: Registered Investor-Partners login here: http://investors.jointequity.com/ to see our properties and make reservations it's simple and quick. If you are not yet registered then click and complete the very simple form. You can then download the info pack. Clicking in the list on left hand side brings up a searchable list of all properties uploaded by our Estate Agent Partners. From this page you can get more details of the property by clicking and there is a link to the Estate Agents web site. You can also see if there is a reservation on the property, the reservation button turns red as here, and you can make your own reservations. Click <1st> <2nd> or <3rd> There is also the opportunity to put properties on your Watch List so that you can get back to them quickly. Click to add a property. Our Joint Equity Agents are adding properties every day so keep logging on to secure the best investments.Click here to see for yourself 1. Brad's column; News and views from Brad Bamfield, Joint Equity Chief Executive. A bank which has a view for the future, and which one may surprise you. Property prices are rising at the fastest level for many years. New low rate mortgages, but few takers, how will banks move the cash the Bank of England has given them? Will they move to higher LTVs and what will that do to supply and demand? 2. Property Focus Joint Equity Investment Opportunities available now. Preview some of the latest properties available through Joint Equity Estate Agent Partners. For more news and information: News updates on our website Latest articles from Joint Equity Brad's column This week a few questions and a bank that is thinking. Strewth! LIBOR slides to 0.675% just 67.5 basis point over base rate. Remember when it was 300 or more? So that leads me to ask a question of our banks. If the cost of your money is so low why are you still charging so much to loan it out? Full marks to HSBC marketing as they yet again steal the headlines with a mortgage that will appeal to very few. It is the detail that once again makes interesting reading. It is an SVR (standard variable rate) discount mortgage which is subtly but crucially different to a base rate linked mortgage. HSBC has total control over the level of its own SVR which stands at 3.94% today. HSBC also require a 40% deposit and it has a £1,199 fee which is added to the mortgage. Finally applicants need to have the squeakiest of squeaky clean credit history. Not even a hint of any missed payments. So big market there then, but brilliant headlines and that alone is worth £££'s to HSBC. But it is not just me that thinks that the banks are playing too tricky at present. The Governor of the Bank of England, no less, has said they may penalise hoarders of any quantitative easing benefits by making the central bank's rates negative. He went on to say commercial banks are currently holding £138bn in their accounts at the Bank of England, partly as result of the Bank's quantitative easing scheme. But the Bank may force these institutions to move this money into other assets that would benefit the wider economy. Banks should consider what is happening in the political arena just now with public opinion moving against the failing party. The crucial element banks have overlooked is that, when reminded by news media, the public (their customers) have long memories. It takes people, en masse, a long time to change their views but once they have it takes 5x longer to change it back. This is especially critical for banks as there are so many new entrants waiting to enter their market and offer their customers a new deal. From my perspective the only bank that seems to be doing anything approaching logical marketing and PR is Nat West, including cutting fees to customers when every other bank is criticised for their fee policies. Which is interesting considering who their parent bank is; RBS. Oh yes and what is happening with the RBS share price? 35p at the end of June now up to 58p. Consider the other banks and their share price growth, where is RBS going from now on? Mind you, they have a banana skin waiting with the CEO's bonus but I still think a spinoff of Nat West is on the cards. I wonder what the bonus will be for that asset sale? Now what about house prices? House prices in England and Wales rose to by their highest level in five years, according to the Land Registry. The Land Registry, which measures house prices sold in England and Wales, revealed that house prices rose by 1.7 per cent in July. It says the average house price in the two countries is now £155,885. According to its survey, this was the biggest recorded leap in prices since July 2004. This news comes after Nationwide revealed in its house price index yesterday that house prices also rose by 1.6 per cent. It says all areas of England and Wales experienced house price increases in July. Although the Land Registry recorded a rise in house prices, it says year-on-year figures are still down 11.7 per cent. It also says sales volumes averaged 35,848 per month from February to May 2009. In comparison to this, during the same months in 2008, the figure stood at 61,743. It seems now is the time to get into property with so much catch up still to do. The low volumes also tell me that prices will rise as the mortgage supply eases. What is your view? You may want to consider investing through a Joint Equity Investment Partnership which are proving very popular with many investors. More here. Regards Brad Joint Equity CEO www.jointequity.co.uk Property Focus How to find out more: Go to http://investors.jointequity.com to view full details and more pictures for this property, or to make an Investor Reservation. Not what you're looking for: Login to the Investors Area to browse all currently available Joint Equity properties. You are welcome to send this newsletter to a friend, please click here. Click here to visit us online: www.jointequity.co.uk If you would like to stop receiving our newsletters, please click here to unsubscribe: Unsubscribe me from this mailing list The Joint Equity Scheme is for first-time buyers, home owners and property investors. Joint Equity Ltd works with Mortgage Beaters to provide case studies and Illustrations to prospective Owner-Partners & Investor-Partners. Joint Equity Ltd does not carry out any regulated activities and so is not regulated by the FSA (Financial Services Authority). Joint Equity Ltd are introducer appointed representatives of Mortgage Beaters Ltd, who are authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. The content of this newsletter is accurate to the best of our knowledge and for information only. We do not provide financial advice. Joint Equity Ltd., a UK company Reg No: 4915890 Registered office: 17 Hanbury Close, Cheshunt, Herts, EN8 9BZ ©Joint Equity Ltd (2008) unless where otherwise stated

Estate Agents lose the plot; UK Buy to Let market failing.

jointequity — Tuesday 25th of August 2009 10:10:04 AM

Click here to view this Newsletter online Click here for our Newsletter archive Click here to unsubscribe 24 August 2009 Dear %%First Name%%, you are subscribed to this newsletter using the following email address: %%emailaddress%%. Are you ready to make your first Joint Equity Investment? Register here to activate your portfolio and receive Joint Equity investment alerts direct to your inbox. There is currently NO FEE to register, so join us now. Already registered? Click here to login and view the latest Joint Equity Properties and Investment Opportunities. Not sure what to expect? Here's how it works: Registered Investor-Partners login here: http://investors.jointequity.com/ to see our properties and make reservations it's simple and quick. If you are not yet registered then click and complete the very simple form. You can then download the info pack. Clicking in the list on left hand side brings up a searchable list of all properties uploaded by our Estate Agent Partners. From this page you can get more details of the property by clicking and there is a link to the Estate Agents web site. You can also see if there is a reservation on the property, the reservation button turns red as here, and you can make your own reservations. Click <1st> <2nd> or <3rd> There is also the opportunity to put properties on your Watch List so that you can get back to them quickly. Click to add a property. Our Joint Equity Agents are adding properties every day so keep logging on to secure the best investments.Click here to see for yourself In this issue: 1. Brad's column News and views from Brad Bamfield, Joint Equity Chief Executive. LIBOR slides again, investors can't make Buy to Let work here so now they are being offered BtLs in Australia, well that makes it all easier doesn't it? And are estate agents are the new dinosaurs heading for the next mass extinction? Well we have not had one for 65 million years so one is about due, and it might just be starting. 2. Property Focus Joint Equity Investment Opportunities available now. Preview some of the latest properties available through Joint Equity Estate Agent Partners. For more news and information: News updates on our website Latest articles from Joint Equity Brad's column A quiet week this week as the doom mongers are having trouble keeping us depressed with the economy looking better, swine flu trotting off to somewhere else and even our cricketers can't get it right and instead of losing we beat the Aussies. I was at the Bank of England last week for their quarterly presentation on inflation. Now you know me never one to avoid the contentious and I asked the Chief Economist why a country needed 2 quarters of negative growth (well that is a indicator in itself, why can they not say decline?) before a recession was officially declared but only one month of growth to declare the recession was over? After a long and involved explanation I think I distilled it to "it suits the politicians to put off the evil day as long as possible but to bring the end quickly". Blocking his exit superbly, I then asked the Paxman Killer Follow-up. If we are in recession and we have 1 quarter of growth the recession is over, but if we go back into negative growth (the double dip scenario) do we need another 2 quarters to go back to recession? The answer was a sheepish yes and I began to see how economists in the Bank of England also have to good at politics as well. Top of the news for me this week is that LIBOR has continued its gentle decline this week to 0.793% which is just over 0.25% over base rate. This is really good news although I am informed that volumes of loans in the interbank market are still low. Also this week I was surprised to see Paradigm Mortgages Services has been advertising the fact it has joined forces with property investment company Forrester Cohen to offer UK investors buy-to-let property investments in Australia. John Coffield says: "The buy-to-let market in the UK is suffering at present, with access to mortgage funding at an all-time low, meaning serious investors are unable to add to their portfolios as in the past." It seems to me that running a BTL in the UK is difficult even when in your own town, running one in another part of the UK is nearly impossible but considering a BTL in another country is a potential nightmare. Yes I know many success stories from Greece, Turkey and Florida with holiday homes, but a BTL is in a different market that presents a different set of problems. Think about the differences in the structure of a holiday home and a BTL for just a moment, and about the level of service each require. Frankly it seems to me to be a poor option and one that we will hear horror stories about in the near future. However, let's think about why a company such as Paradigm have come up with this option and let's consider some less risky and easier managed options. (No; don't jump the gun, even though you have guessed the direction I am taking). We know that the UK new BTL market is stagnant, and that remortgages are more or less impossible. The irony is that investors are still building cash reserves and, because they are experienced, they want to gear as highly as possible to maximise their return on investment. Paradigm tell us that they can provide BTL finance at 85%LTV In Australia with "streamlined" underwriting that only uses rental income to assess affordability of the borrower. Hold on for just a minute; does this not sound familiar? And do we not also remember the Australians being held up as the shining example of how lenders can avoid excesses? Do we feel they are chasing the dollar just a little too much; even as our lenders are avoiding the pound just a little too much? But of course there is a high yielding, ethical investment available here in the UK and it is of course; Joint Equity. Our Investor-Partners help their Owner-Partners to buy the home that they want by adding a cash deposit and taking the Owner-Partner default risk on themselves, which is welcomed by the lenders. Well it would be wouldn't it? For providing the benefits of their assets to the Owner-Partner, so they can achieve the required mortgage, and for accepting the Owner-Partner default risk, the Investor-Partner is compensated with 6% annually as the return on investment plus their Share of the capital growth. However, where we really provide security is that the Owner-Partner and Investor-Partner are co-owners with the Joint Equity Partners' Contract as the relationship management tool. The keen legal minds will recognise the Partners' Contract as a Deed of Co-ownership. So our Investor-Partners own the property, as with any other BtL property, and they have the protection of a very thorough Co-ownership Deed. Compare the returns we offer today, the security of English law, the future growth inherent in our market and the ease with which you can manage Joint Equity investments with other places you can invest your surplus cash. Like BtL in Australia. Hmm. And when you do, don't forget UK Buy to Let either, yes the very unethical, low yielding, high hassle way to invest in residential property favoured by so many. Want to know more about the comparison? Well we spell it out in detail on the web site (we would wouldn't we?) here and don't forget the two linked pages where we provide the numbers behind the words. But Joint Equity is not just an opportunity for new investments it also works extremely well for the majority of existing Buy to Lets. We call this our But to Let Xover product and one option is to offer the Joint Equity option to your existing tenant. If you want more information email us here. For the last couple of weeks we have been wearing out shoe leather visiting Estate Agents with varying degrees of success. We have coined the phrase "arrogant estate agent" to describe the attitude of some. After one meeting Dave Wilson, our Area Partner for agents in Essex, identified the poor agents as "lazy" and I think he has got it just right. 2 years ago we offered Joint Equity to Estate Agents and they were dismissive, not for the product or what we do but because they had 3 buyers for every property and if you did not want it, no problem the next person through the door will take it. Then came two years of no sellers and no buyers and, of course, no mortgages, But since the New Year we have seen that ease, as I have reported here over the last 6 months. Today we learn something new about Estate Agents; they have short memories. Already they are saying that they do not need new products, new opportunities to sell more properties because, you guessed it, they can sell every property they can get, as now there are two buyers for every property. The whinge we are hearing now is "all we need to now is convince our competitors to get the fees back to where they should be". Hold on sounds just like the whinge we heard from lenders not so long ago. It seems today that our businesses would rather stick to the old ways, which have let us down remember, but this time with higher fees. Where is the concept of competition? Where is the concept of new products to develop new markets and new customers? The concept ofcompetition? The concept of making higher profits? It seems that many parts of the property industry have forgotten that they run businesses that require good management and growth to survive. The attitude seems to be more and more, tell the vendor what they want to hear, offer a reasonable fee, slap it on Rightmove and sit back while three buyers fight over it. Still all is not lost and amongst the also ran's, the businesses that may survive but not prosper, we are finding real winners, businesses that are looking to the future and saying "doing the old things, in the old ways just will not do for this new economic cycle". There was a good article on Radio 4 last week where an economist argued that recessions have a good side and are needed to keep an economy vibrant. A recession clears out old businesses and managers that have become dinosaurs. He also said that 14 years was too long between recessions which allowed too many bad practices to run for too long which damaged business more than the recession ever will. Now it is only an economist that can ignore the human cost of a recession but his idea has a lot of merit. Businesses that don't grow and adapt their processes and products will die either slowly or quickly as soon as the trading environment changes. I have referred to BT as an example of this in the past and today I see a similarity in the attitude of many estate agents. There are a number of new entrants in the traditional house selling market and they are not willing to play the game by the "old boys" rules. One is a new franchise called Mousesale which is providing all the traditional estate agency services but they are online only without a High Street shop front. In this way they have avoided the problems Tesco encountered in providing house selling services. They even list your house on Rightmove and as traditional estate agents have told me they sell 75% of their properties through Rightmove. The interesting thing is the price structure for Mousesale, they have fixed price options that include marketing and HIPs and offer discounts for payment up front. With the options for which fee you would like, the full service that any other estate agent offers including floor plans, 360 pictures, descriptive write ups and newspaper advertising, access to Rightmove and the very competitive prices at around 0.5% I think they really have a product structure to challenge the old traditional estate agent. What makes me more sure is that existing estate agents dismiss them out of hand as too small to impact their business (just as BT did remember when new entrants started to provide competing services) and they are not looking for new competitive advantage to fight off these new upstarts. The final "proof" is that the new boys see the benefits of Joint Equity and are so keen to use the competitive advantages of Joint Equity to go head to head with the traditional estate agent. No one has ever accused me of not being biased towards my own business. Regards Brad Joint Equity CEO www.jointequity.co.uk Property Focus How to find out more: Go to http://investors.jointequity.com to view full details and more pictures for this property, or to make an Investor Reservation. Not what you're looking for: Login to the Investors Area to browse all currently available Joint Equity properties. You are welcome to send this newsletter to a friend, please click here. Click here to visit us online: www.jointequity.co.uk If you would like to stop receiving our newsletters, please click here to unsubscribe: Unsubscribe me from this mailing list The Joint Equity Scheme is for first-time buyers, home owners and property investors. Joint Equity Ltd works with Mortgage Beaters to provide case studies and Illustrations to prospective Owner-Partners & Investor-Partners. Joint Equity Ltd does not carry out any regulated activities and so is not regulated by the FSA (Financial Services Authority). Joint Equity Ltd are introducer appointed representatives of Mortgage Beaters Ltd, who are authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. The content of this newsletter is accurate to the best of our knowledge and for information only. We do not provide financial advice. Joint Equity Ltd., a UK company Reg No: 4915890 Registered office: 17 Hanbury Close, Cheshunt, Herts, EN8 9BZ ©Joint Equity Ltd (2008) unless where otherwise stated

Higher returns for investors from Low Deposit Scheme

jointequity — Tuesday 11th of August 2009 06:00:04 PM

Click here to view this Newsletter online Click here for our Newsletter archive Click here to unsubscribe 11 August 2009 Dear %%First Name%%, you are subscribed to this newsletter using the following email address: %%emailaddress%%. Are you ready to make your first Joint Equity Investment? Register here to activate your portfolio and receive Joint Equity investment alerts direct to your inbox. There is currently NO FEE to register, so join us now. Already registered? Click here to login and view the latest Joint Equity Properties and Investment Opportunities. Not sure what to expect? Here's how it works: Registered Investor-Partners login here: http://investors.jointequity.com/ to see our properties and make reservations it's simple and quick. If you are not yet registered then click and complete the very simple form. You can then download the info pack. Clicking in the list on left hand side brings up a searchable list of all properties uploaded by our Estate Agent Partners. From this page you can get more details of the property by clicking and there is a link to the Estate Agents web site. You can also see if there is a reservation on the property, the reservation button turns red as here, and you can make your own reservations. Click <1st> <2nd> or <3rd> There is also the opportunity to put properties on your Watch List so that you can get back to them quickly. Click to add a property. Our Joint Equity Agents are adding properties every day so keep logging on to secure the best investments.Click here to see for yourself In this issue: 1. Brad's column News and views from Brad Bamfield, Joint Equity Chief Executive. Lenders return to the market, but they are cherry picking only what they want, at prices they want. How can we help First Time Buyers still excluded from the market? And how can Joint Equity provide returns of 8% pa and still say the investment is ethical? Well, are you not used to financial miracles from Joint Equity yet? 2. Property Focus Joint Equity Investment Opportunities available now. Preview some of the latest properties available through Joint Equity Estate Agent Partners. For more news and information: News updates on our website Latest articles from Joint Equity Brad's column This is the 88th newsletter in this series and how things have changed from the first ones back in September 2007. Then we were just encountering the impact of the global banking industry losing confidence in itself and in everyone else. We have had the 20% per year crash predictions and numerous reports that "prove" the market has fallen between 10 and 25%. For the last 3 months we have had headlines about slowdowns in the falls, increased prices, projections of "only" -5% by the end of the year to +2%. I wonder what the economists of the National Institute of Economic and Social Research will be saying now? Remember the banner headlines this news story evoked just a month ago? The UK economy will not fully recover from the recession until 2014, according to a leading thinktank which also warned today thathouse priceswill keep falling for another three years. The National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) predicted that it will take another five years until income per head has returned to the level seen before the recession started in the second quarter of 2008. Hmm, 2014 eh? We have been saying the market is on the way up since January 09 and that the statistics will lag by 3 or so months. But then we live in the real world of supply and demand, not an economist's ivory tower of using historical trends and outcomes to predict the future. I have said that market forces affect house prices, and to predict house prices we need to look at what is happening in the real world. In Jan 2008 I predicted the first year of upturn (2009) would see 2% growth and the following year (2010) 10%. I based that on my view of supply and demand and I see no reason to change that view today. In the last two years we have seen price falls not because buyers deserted the market (as in previous recessions due to high interest rates) but because the lenders all turned off all lending at the same time. The desire for homes, and to go up market, is still there and as lending comes back so will the buyers. Simples. Today the banking industry has gained its confidence back in itself but now thinks that all borrowers and investors are about to go bust instantly and considers "risk" on that basis. It is the old 180o flip flop, of people who do not know their market, products or customers. Lend anything to anyone, no hold on; lend nothing to no one; help that does not work either. OK new plan; say we are prudent lenders, tighten all the criteria and only lend to 50% of those that qualify. Ah that works for us; phew. Does it matter about the disenfranchised customers, the supply chain including builders, estate agents, and mortgage brokers? Of course not; the view is turn off the supply when we need to, we can always turn it back on when it suits us. But this cherry picking of the "best" customers is attracting new foreign lenders such as Bank of China and Israel's Bank of Leumi. While they "steal" the best customers, higher value and lower loan to value, the First Time Buyer market is left high and dry as significant players have left market stopping, all lending, including Bank of Scotland, Egg, Giraffe, GMAC, Heritable and Darlington Building Society to name just a few. So where does that leave us? As always the low end of the market, which is a mass market with low returns (to banks) is left to its own devices and really ignored although it is the life blood of the UK house market. To be fair we are seeing lenders return but they are demanding higher than ever deposits, the FT reports that deposits have tripled since Aug 07 to and average 26% or £39,000. And that is the average, I would say that nearly all the normal FtBs are having to stump up 30% deposit. How can our home buyers afford that? They cannot without help from the bank of Mum and Dad. And what happens to the people who cannot use Mum and Dad? Well I am afraid the banks don't really care. Safety is everything today. Even with the additional security that Joint Equity Investor-Partners, or Joint Equity Investment Partnerships, provide lenders are still reluctant to lower the deposit requirements. And this is one time when supply and demand works against us, the supply of mortgage lenders is poor so they can set their own requirements and we have to work with them. We have therefore developed a Low Deposit Scheme that pays higher returns to the Investor-Partner for putting more cash into the property and taking slightly higher "risks". This means our Investor-Partners can earn up to 8.02% in today's market. But now back to the question I raised at the start. How can our Investor-Partners get 8.02% returns and the investment still be ethical? If an Owner-Partner has insufficient funds for a deposit they may be tempted to borrow the missing amount from a loan company or credit card at anything from 9 to 15% interest. A recent Low Deposit completion cost the Owner-Partner just £45pm more to get the additional help from the Investor-Partner. The Owner-Partner still has the benefit of the Joint Equity Partners' Contract that allows them to buy down the additional investment if their income improves in the future. Of course we will also place them with new lenders that require lower deposits as soon as we can. Remember that all this is done with low value properties and at costs that are relatively low. So all in all Joint Equity offers the Owner-Partner a way forward, to buy their home now and to get the benefit of living in it now. But let us not forget that the increasing capital value in the next 2 years will also reduce the loan to value. Back to my favourite; let's look at the numbers; So if a £135k property increases to £151k in 2 years (+2% and then +10%), a gain of £11,200, the Owner-Partner earns £5,600 with the additional cost of £2,400 (£100 pm). Not bad - a 61% return on investment, that they would not have had if the Investor-Partner had not helped with the additional cash injection. That is why a return of 8.02%pa for the Investor-Partner, returning a capital appreciation of 61% for the Owner-Partner, is ethical. Just another example that demonstrates that the Joint Equity model works in many different ways; and works to the benefit of all the Partners. If you would like more information on the Low Deposit Scheme and how you can invest at up to 8.02% ethically in UK residential property click here. But don't delay as as soon as the lenders see these opportunities, they will talking to us about higher interest rates for higher loan to values and the scheme will have to change. I will be back on the 25th August, if you are going on holiday we all wish you a good time. Regards Brad Joint Equity CEO www.jointequity.co.uk Property Focus How to find out more: Go to http://investors.jointequity.com to view full details and more pictures for this property, or to make an Investor Reservation. Not what you're looking for: Login to the Investors Area to browse all currently available Joint Equity properties. You are welcome to send this newsletter to a friend, please click here. Click here to visit us online: www.jointequity.co.uk If you would like to stop receiving our newsletters, please click here to unsubscribe: Unsubscribe me from this mailing list The Joint Equity Scheme is for first-time buyers, home owners and property investors. Joint Equity Ltd works with Mortgage Beaters to provide case studies and Illustrations to prospective Owner-Partners & Investor-Partners. Joint Equity Ltd does not carry out any regulated activities and so is not regulated by the FSA (Financial Services Authority). Joint Equity Ltd are introducer appointed representatives of Mortgage Beaters Ltd, who are authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. The content of this newsletter is accurate to the best of our knowledge and for information only. We do not provide financial advice. Joint Equity Ltd., a UK company Reg No: 4915890 Registered office: 17 Hanbury Close, Cheshunt, Herts, EN8 9BZ ©Joint Equity Ltd (2008) unless where otherwise stated

Politicians up to tricks again & banks still own worst enemy

jointequity — Tuesday 28th of July 2009 05:40:09 PM

Click here to view this Newsletter online Click here for our Newsletter archive Click here to unsubscribe 28 July 2009 Dear %%First Name%%, you are subscribed to this newsletter using the following email address: %%emailaddress%%. Are you ready to make your first Joint Equity Investment? Register here to activate your portfolio and receive Joint Equity investment alerts direct to your inbox. There is currently NO FEE to register, so join us now. Already registered? Click here to login and view the latest Joint Equity Properties and Investment Opportunities. Not sure what to expect? Here's how it works: Registered Investor-Partners login here: http://investors.jointequity.com/ to see our properties and make reservations it's simple and quick. If you are not yet registered then click and complete the very simple form. You can then download the info pack. Clicking in the list on left hand side brings up a searchable list of all properties uploaded by our Estate Agent Partners. From this page you can get more details of the property by clicking and there is a link to the Estate Agents web site. You can also see if there is a reservation on the property, the reservation button turns red as here, and you can make your own reservations. Click <1st> <2nd> or <3rd> There is also the opportunity to put properties on your Watch List so that you can get back to them quickly. Click to add a property. Our Joint Equity Agents are adding properties every day so keep logging on to secure the best investments.Click here to see for yourself In this issue: 1. Brad's column News and views from Brad Bamfield, Joint Equity Chief Executive. Banks told off by the Chancellor and find themselves between the rock and the hard place. Good US housing numbers. LIBOR slides lower. We are changing the newsletter - but just a bit. 2. Property Focus Joint Equity Investment Opportunities available now. Preview some of the latest properties available through Joint Equity Estate Agent Partners. For more news and information: News updates on our website Latest articles from Joint Equity Brad's column This newsletter is the 80th weekly edition, but now is the time for a few changes. Here at HQ we are getting busier all the time and although I very much enjoy writing the newsletter it does take up a large slice of the working week as, odd as it may seem, I do research as thoroughly as I can, everything I say. I checked my diary and found that my working week spans some 52 hours on average and the newsletter takes between 11% and 15% of my time each week. So I have reluctantly decided to move the Investors newsletter to fortnightly. I will not be stopping my writing but on my "off" weeks I will be contributing more to the Owner-Partner newsletter. After all our Owner-Partner are our life blood and you, our Investor-Partners, need them out there buying property; and that is what I will be promoting. Good news this week - we completed our first purchase with Bucks Building Society as funder and I am very pleased to report that their service has been exemplary, moving quickly when we required it. So now we are looking to put lots more their way and as quickly as possible. The estate agent network continues to be expand with several new agents in negotiation to join. However, I do wonder about some businesses and the people who run them. One agent who contacted us and expressed real enthusiasm for Joint Equity has failed to reply to 3 phone calls and 2 emails. Another thought our annual registration fee was too high at £500 even though we anticipate between 2 and 4 new sales per office per month. Now it does not need a genius to work out the cost benefit equation. Let us assume the lower end of 2 sales a month; 2 sales per month x £150,000 house x 1.5% fee = £2,250 pm x 12 months = £27,000 pa All for £500 which seems to me is a £26,500 profit. OK let us say my sales expectation is wildly optimistic and the average sale is 1 per month that still equates to £13,250 pa profit or 2,650% profit. No wonder the estate agent industry is falling apart due to poor management. I think there is a real similarity with the pub industry and the failings of small minded businesses. The good news is for every one poor agent we find 3 really excellent ones, the ones that will be here in 5 years and the ones that really do want the competitive advantage of Joint Equity to make more profit. However, for a business to be viable, to be sustainable over the long run, it needs to make profits to re-invest. I am somewhat pulled this week to the banks dilemma. The Government and Treasury says give more money to small businesses and at lower rates. The FSA says keep more cash to strengthen the balance sheet and move to more prudent lending. A bit of a problem that especially as the Bank of England says it wants consumer credit restricted to avoid inflation but at the same time increases money supply. Odd that the banks that the Government control are included in this bad boy scenario. If they cannot do it with their own banks, how do they expect to influence independent banks? Is it all just political manouvering I wonder? Poor old banks, and then they start making profits again, paying bonuses and I bet the old left wing windfall "one off" tax will raise its ugly head again. But this time it will be dressed up as a penalty for big bonuses. Still as we have said before banks are thier own worst enemy. Finally what has happened to RBS? On 23rd June I said they were under priced at 35p and the target of 70p by 2012 was not exactly stretching. The immediate effect was a rise to 40p and, after a profit taking dip, has continued to rise and was 44p on Monday. That is 25% towards the 2012 target and seriuos bonuses for the CEO. Other interesting snippets; Land Registry reports house prices rose last month, the first time in 19 months. I said the statistics would take time to catch up with what is happening on the ground and so this proves. I would say, from the information we are getting, prices have risen 5% since January which should be reflected in another 3 months. High street banks mortgage approval figures have risen to a 15-month high, according to the latest data from the British Bankers Association. LIBOR declines gently to 0.914%, down to 41 basis points above base. Argonaut Capital managing partner Barry Norris, believes there are clear signs the recession in Europe (does that include UK?) is over and that the recovery will be V-shaped, not double dip W shaped. Interesting. US housing figures, out today, tell us that sales were up 11% last month, at the highest for over 6 months, and new home stocks are at their lowest for 11 years. No supply/demand compression there then. We should remember that where the US is now we will be at in 6 months. I wonder where the PWC prediction of no housing market recovery until 2020 will go next? I will be back in 14 days.Regards Brad Joint Equity CEO www.jointequity.co.uk Property Focus How to find out more: Go to http://investors.jointequity.com to view full details and more pictures for this property, or to make an Investor Reservation. Not what you're looking for: Login to the Investors Area to browse all currently available Joint Equity properties. You are welcome to send this newsletter to a friend, please click here. Click here to visit us online: www.jointequity.co.uk If you would like to stop receiving our newsletters, please click here to unsubscribe: Unsubscribe me from this mailing list The Joint Equity Scheme is for first-time buyers, home owners and property investors. Joint Equity Ltd works with Mortgage Beaters to provide case studies and Illustrations to prospective Owner-Partners & Investor-Partners. Joint Equity Ltd does not carry out any regulated activities and so is not regulated by the FSA (Financial Services Authority). Joint Equity Ltd are introducer appointed representatives of Mortgage Beaters Ltd, who are authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. The content of this newsletter is accurate to the best of our knowledge and for information only. We do not provide financial advice. Joint Equity Ltd., a UK company Reg No: 4915890 Registered office: 17 Hanbury Close, Cheshunt, Herts, EN8 9BZ ©Joint Equity Ltd (2008) unless where otherwise stated

The FSA is now on borrowed time but will it go quietly?

jointequity — Tuesday 21st of July 2009 11:45:09 AM

Click here to view this Newsletter online Click here for our Newsletter archive Click here to unsubscribe 21 July 2009 Dear %%First Name%%, you are subscribed to this newsletter using the following email address: %%emailaddress%%. Are you ready to make your first Joint Equity Investment? Register here to activate your portfolio and receive Joint Equity investment alerts direct to your inbox. There is currently NO FEE to register, so join us now. Already registered? Click here to login and view the latest Joint Equity Properties and Investment Opportunities. Not sure what to expect? Here's how it works: Registered Investor-Partners login here: http://investors.jointequity.com/ to see our properties and make reservations it's simple and quick. If you are not yet registered then click and complete the very simple form. You can then download the info pack. Clicking in the list on left hand side brings up a searchable list of all properties uploaded by our Estate Agent Partners. From this page you can get more details of the property by clicking and there is a link to the Estate Agents web site. You can also see if there is a reservation on the property, the reservation button turns red as here, and you can make your own reservations. Click <1st> <2nd> or <3rd> There is also the opportunity to put properties on your Watch List so that you can get back to them quickly. Click to add a property. Our Joint Equity Agents are adding properties every day so keep logging on to secure the best investments.Click here to see for yourself In this issue: 1. Brad's column News and views from Brad Bamfield, Joint Equity Chief Executive. Conservatives stir, Liberals flounder, the FSA kicks butt (metaphorically) and Labour are on the back foot again. Freddie wins the second Test and Joint Equity new products are well received. Not to mention LIBOR and property prices. Another good week? 2. Property Focus Joint Equity Investment Opportunities available now. Preview some of the latest properties available through Joint Equity Estate Agent Partners. For more news and information: News updates on our website Latest articles from Joint Equity Brad's column I am writing this newsletter on Monday as I will be in all parts of Essex meeting new and potential estate agent partners on Tuesday when I normally write this newsletter. Accordingly it may be a little out of date as things move quite fast sometimes especially where the demise of the FSA is concerned. So the Conservatives have finally bitten the bullet and said something. For months they have been sitting on their hands with their mouths shut. I was told this was deliberate policy as every time they said something Labour picked it up and said they would do something similar, and then never did. Therefore the FSA is a "safe" target as it was Brown's baby and he has said through his Chancellor that it is safe with this Government. So there is no way they can steal the Conservatives idea, is there? And now we will see two ideologies begin the battle we all want to see played out before we vote next time. I expect more initiatives to be released in the coming months as we approach the next general election but the demise of the FSA is not unexpected as the tri-partite approach was doomed to failure as the similarities to the failures in the construction industry are just too close. In construction the Client appoints an architect, a structural engineer and an mechanical and electrical designer to design and oversee the project. And we are all doomed why? Because each team has specific brief and responsibilities and each team does its job almost in exclusion from the other two. The similarities are obvious with the financial regulation system Brown invented with control separated between the Treasury, the FSA and the Bank of England. Complete aside; with the Labour party's dedication to equality I wonder why the name of the Bank which controls the UK financial market remained the Bank of England and did not become UK Central Bank or similar? And why were the Scots Nats not kicking up more rhetoric about being "controlled" by an English institution? Could it be that the devolutionists were preparing for a split operation where Scotland regulated itself? Back to the main theme of today. We therefore have the "grey space" which is the construction term for areas or decisions which are not any one team or individual's responsibility. The financial regulation system has these same "grey areas" and it was ever going to be thus. What makes it worse is the power play between the three to see who controlled what. Now if regulation for banks goes back to BoE we will have one organisation responsible for the operation of our most important industry. Mervyn King has been playing a subtle and long game and seems to be the winner even if he will have a new committee to assist him. I also like the idea of bringing more competition into the market and making it easier for new entrants, which is not the case today. The problem with policemen is that we expect them to be unbiased and fair. Just so with regulators. And just as we always have the question "who polices the police" who regulates the regulators? At least policemen have to go before judges whereas the FSA is policeman, judge and hangman. We also have the added problem of politicisation of the regulators, where defending their turf and operation becomes as important as carrying out their remit. The classic politician's defence, which has evolved over the last 10 years, is not to address the failure but to concentrate on what they are doing elsewhere and the FSA is guilty of this, in spades. I have said before that banking is difficult to regulate or even supervise as the big banks have developed a defence in depth that adds significant complexity to even understanding what they do. We can show this by separating personal and commercial banking and lending, from investment banking and derivatives. The former is fairly straight forward and the latter hideously complex. Now add to the equation the quality of staff and time allowed for regulation, it is natural that to achieve targets the FSA concentrated on what they could do with the resources they had rather than what is most risky. Just as police concentrate on crimes they have a chance of getting a conviction, the FSA regulate the bits they can understand. Unfortunately they are the bits that need the least regulation and the bits that do need regulation go more or less their own way. Of course the FSA and Government have made a rod for their own backs as investment banking is an unregulated activity wrapped up in a regulated business. So the FSA falls into the classic regulator trap of doing the wrong thing, at the wrong time to the wrong businesses, and missing the bits they should look into. A year ago I went to see the Dunfermline Building Society as their new business director was keen that they provided Joint Equity mortgages. I turned up to face 12 of their staff of which only 2 seemed to have read my briefing documents. Only the Chairman, Mr Faulds, spoke and when he asked any questions of his team they seemed to phrase the answer in a way he wanted. At one point he left the room to make a phone call and nothing was said until he returned. He was affronted when I said that the Risk Manager seemed not to have read the briefing documents and did not understand Joint Equity at all. The result? They declined to become a Joint Equity mortgage provider; why? The reason we were given was that the Chairman thought Brad Bamfield was too aggressive and the Chairman would not like to work with him. See any similarities with other businesses I have looked at? Marks and Spencer under Greenbury for example? Or Lehman Brothers Gorilla? But the question is why the FSA missed the absolute control that Faulds exorcised obscuring adequate management accountability for their responsibilities. And why, with close supervision, the financial position was not exposed until as the FSA said "the problems with Dunfermline are so severe that a cash injection would have no effect. " And to support my contention of grey space in tri-partite supervision Faulds own defence, Channel Four 29th March, was that he had not heard from the Treasury since October 2008. So what was the FSA doing during that time? Instead of doing the right thing, which is difficult, the FSA has gone after easy targets that need least supervision and have flexed their macho muscles, becoming ever more adversarial to demonstrate to politicians they can "do things". But all without any consideration of damage they cause on the way to people, organisations and market recovery. But do we seriously expect turkeys to vote for Christmas? My view? Adversarial regulation has no place in a free market and should be replaced by cooperative care. The FSA should become a consumer protection body to protect against swinging fees. and bank excesses that effect the powerless consumer. The Depositors Protection Plan should be a fully forward funded insurance scheme. The BoE position as of lender of last resort should be removed. With depositors protected and the ultimate last resort lifeline removed, CEOs and bankers will know if they get it wrong or don't asses risk adequately, they will go bust and the shareholders will also know they will suffer the loss. Sort of focuses the mind do you not think? Let us now watch the final play as the Government tries to defend a broken system, the Conservatives leap to defend every counter attack by Labour, the Liberals snipe from the sidelines and the FSA will stomp around making big noises. All this and the final day of the 2nd Test - it is an exciting day. Opps Freddie has just won it for us. Talking of exciting days last week we saw LIBOR dip below 1% the first time it has ever been so low and now that it is +0.49% above base rate the high mortgage rates are showing the strain the lenders are under. Mortgage lending is up and property for sale is in very short supply. Result of this? Prices will rise. Joint Equity now has more properties available than ever before and our Investor Pre-Buy product is working well for experienced property owners who want to combine the benefit of improving value by buying and refurbishing run down property, with the benefits of Joint Equity Investments. If you would like more information on Joint Equity Pre-Buy please click here. Until next week. Regards Brad Joint Equity CEO www.jointequity.co.uk Property Focus How to find out more: Go to http://investors.jointequity.com to view full details and more pictures for this property, or to make an Investor Reservation. Not what you're looking for: Login to the Investors Area to browse all currently available Joint Equity properties. You are welcome to send this newsletter to a friend, please click here. Click here to visit us online: www.jointequity.co.uk If you would like to stop receiving our newsletters, please click here to unsubscribe: Unsubscribe me from this mailing list The Joint Equity Scheme is for first-time buyers, home owners and property investors. Joint Equity Ltd works with Mortgage Beaters to provide case studies and Illustrations to prospective Owner-Partners & Investor-Partners. Joint Equity Ltd does not carry out any regulated activities and so is not regulated by the FSA (Financial Services Authority). Joint Equity Ltd are introducer appointed representatives of Mortgage Beaters Ltd, who are authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. The content of this newsletter is accurate to the best of our knowledge and for information only. We do not provide financial advice. Joint Equity Ltd., a UK company Reg No: 4915890 Registered office: 17 Hanbury Close, Cheshunt, Herts, EN8 9BZ ©Joint Equity Ltd (2008) unless where otherwise stated

Is the market going up, down or nowhere until 2020? And does it matter to a JE Investor?

jointequity — Tuesday 14th of July 2009 06:50:05 PM

Click here to view this Newsletter online Click here for our Newsletter archive Click here to unsubscribe 13 July 2009 Dear %%First Name%%, you are subscribed to this newsletter using the following email address: %%emailaddress%%. Are you ready to make your first Joint Equity Investment? Register here to activate your portfolio and receive Joint Equity investment alerts direct to your inbox. There is currently NO FEE to register, so join us now. Already registered? Click here to login and view the latest Joint Equity Properties and Investment Opportunities. Not sure what to expect? Here's how it works: Registered Investor-Partners login here: http://investors.jointequity.com/ to see our properties and make reservations it's simple and quick. If you are not yet registered then click and complete the very simple form. You can then download the info pack. Clicking in the list on left hand side brings up a searchable list of all properties uploaded by our Estate Agent Partners. From this page you can get more details of the property by clicking and there is a link to the Estate Agents web site. You can also see if there is a reservation on the property, the reservation button turns red as here, and you can make your own reservations. Click <1st> <2nd> or <3rd> There is also the opportunity to put properties on your Watch List so that you can get back to them quickly. Click to add a property. Our Joint Equity Agents are adding properties every day so keep logging on to secure the best investments.Click here to see for yourself In this issue: 1. Brad's column News and views from Brad Bamfield, Joint Equity Chief Executive. This week we have the market up, down and nowhere until 2020, but with Joint Equity investors are making good returns. More news on the Low Deposit Schemes and how Investor-Partners can help Owners get their home and receive higher returns. 2. Property Focus Joint Equity Investment Opportunities available now. Preview some of the latest properties available through Joint Equity Estate Agent Partners. For more news and information: News updates on our website Latest articles from Joint Equity Brad's column A quick and short newsletter this week as I am taking a few days to mess about on boats on the Norfolk Broads and here must be where modern civilisation ends, as mobile reception is patchy to say the least. Without the help of locals sitting outside a pub in Stalham I would never have know that the only place to get O2 reception was just off the centre of the cross roads. O what fun they had watching me trying to have a conversation with the office while dodging the occasional car. Still they were very helpful and one kind local even offered to lend me "a real" phone. This week we have conflicting reports of recovery and extended misery. RICS says that confidence in prices rising is up throughout the profession however, Price Waterhouse predict that house prices will not recover to 2007 levels until 2020. Now I am not slow in making my own predictions based on some wild speculations, no comments please, but predicting 1 year ahead is just about impossible; so how do you do 11 years? And don't forget there will be 2 general elections before 2020, and you know how that will affect the economic situation. Of course returning to 2007 levels is a problem for negative equity people but for our Investor-Partners it is not. Buying now at 30% or more below 2007 levels makes good sense as our average growth assessment is 6%pa. At 6% it will take 5 years to recover to 2007 and at 6% compound growth the return on investment averages 16% over a 10 year cycle. Adding 16% capital growth to 6% annual return makes Joint Equity a very attractive investment in any market, let alone the one we have at the moment. The Low Deposit Scheme has been well received by Owners and Investor-Partners alike. If you have not seen details a quick reminder. Owners who do not have 30% deposit can ask for additional help from the Investor-Partner who gets a higher return for the additional investment. The cost to the Owner-Partner is around £50 pm and the Investor-Partner can realise annual returns of just over 8% with all the usual security and hassle free aspects of Joint Equity. If you would like more information on the Low Deposit Scheme please email us here. More confusion of reports; Nationwide reports higher prices for the last 4 months but Halifax reports a fall in July. But remember these use different statistics Inflation dips below 2%, at 1.8%, and oil drops back as speculators can't find anyone to buy their oil, although pump prices are still rising although oil is 50% of last year's high. Much of that is due to increased taxes but some is a degree of higher profits. I am afraid I do not accept the oil company's statements that they earn nothing from forecourt sales and all their profits are from extraction and refining. Even if they did earn nothing from retail sales they seem to think we are silly enough to forget that extraction and refining costs (and therefore their profit contribution) are a substantial part of the non tax cost of retail petrol. Oddly LIBOR slipped again now down to 1.086% but fixed rate mortgages rose. I wonder how the cost of what happens at the end of fixed or discount rates is squeezing the lenders? I know of some mortgages that are costing just 0.5% over base while some are on SVRs of 5 or 6%. So some borrowers are sitting pretty while others are being stung. The errors and complacency of lenders are causing a market imbalance that will take a long time to work through to a more balanced outlook. I always try and end on a positive note and this week I found a helpful article that tells you where 3G access is found for all the mobile networks. Here scroll down and click the links to your provider. Of course it did not help me in Stalham could not get any signal let alone 3G internet access, but the beer and food was excellent in the pub. Regards Brad Joint Equity CEO www.jointequity.co.uk Property Focus How to find out more: Go to http://investors.jointequity.com to view full details and more pictures for this property, or to make an Investor Reservation. Not what you're looking for: Login to the Investors Area to browse all currently available Joint Equity properties. You are welcome to send this newsletter to a friend, please click here. Click here to visit us online: www.jointequity.co.uk If you would like to stop receiving our newsletters, please click here to unsubscribe: Unsubscribe me from this mailing list The Joint Equity Scheme is for first-time buyers, home owners and property investors. Joint Equity Ltd works with Mortgage Beaters to provide case studies and Illustrations to prospective Owner-Partners & Investor-Partners. Joint Equity Ltd does not carry out any regulated activities and so is not regulated by the FSA (Financial Services Authority). Joint Equity Ltd are introducer appointed representatives of Mortgage Beaters Ltd, who are authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. The content of this newsletter is accurate to the best of our knowledge and for information only. We do not provide financial advice. Joint Equity Ltd., a UK company Reg No: 4915890 Registered office: 17 Hanbury Close, Cheshunt, Herts, EN8 9BZ ©Joint Equity Ltd (2008) unless where otherwise stated

RBS share price rises, who is responsible, little old moi?

jointequity — Tuesday 07th of July 2009 02:22:40 PM

Click here to view this Newsletter online Click here for our Newsletter archive Click here to unsubscribe 07 July 2009 Dear %%First Name%%, you are subscribed to this newsletter using the following email address: %%emailaddress%%. Are you ready to make your first Joint Equity Investment? Register here to activate your portfolio and receive Joint Equity investment alerts direct to your inbox. There is currently NO FEE to register, so join us now. Already registered? Click here to login and view the latest Joint Equity Properties and Investment Opportunities. Not sure what to expect? Here's how it works: Registered Investor-Partners login here: http://investors.jointequity.com/ to see our properties and make reservations it's simple and quick. If you are not yet registered then click and complete the very simple form. You can then download the info pack. Clicking in the list on left hand side brings up a searchable list of all properties uploaded by our Estate Agent Partners. From this page you can get more details of the property by clicking and there is a link to the Estate Agents web site. You can also see if there is a reservation on the property, the reservation button turns red as here, and you can make your own reservations. Click <1st> <2nd> or <3rd> There is also the opportunity to put properties on your Watch List so that you can get back to them quickly. Click to add a property. Our Joint Equity Agents are adding properties every day so keep logging on to secure the best investments.Click here to see for yourself In this issue: 1. Brad's column News and views from Brad Bamfield, Joint Equity Chief Executive. Joint Equity Investment Partnerships, JEIPs, are becoming more established and RBS benefits from help from an unexpected quarter….. 2. Property Focus Joint Equity Investment Opportunities available now. Preview some of the latest properties available through Joint Equity Estate Agent Partners. For more news and information: News updates on our website Latest articles from Joint Equity Brad's column The demand for Joint Equity products and services continues to rise and we are dealing with many more live Owner-Partners now than we have for the last 12 months. Enquiries from Investor-Partners are also up. The estate agent recruitment is proceeding well and the new Investment Partnerships have received new backing from our favourite lender. Shh, I can't say too much, too soon but the pilot JEIP looks good with some interesting investments about to be confirmed. Want to know more about JEIPs? Of course you do; just click here and we will send you the Information sheet. You can also look at our web site www.jeips.com but be warned it is still under construction and a bit patchy unlike our usual slick professional online presence !!! But it will improve quickly. You may also be interested in our Owner-Partner newsletter this week about how to buy a property. Click here to read it online. You can also read other Owner-Partner newsletters here and Investor-Partner ones here on the link top right in this email. So what has twitched my business radar this week? LIBOR continues to slide now down to 1.17% which is 0.67% above base rates which is getting to "normal" ranges. However, the down side is that there is low demand from banks to borrow from each other, hence the low margin between the two. If the demand were higher, a good sign for the economy the rate would be slightly higher, supply and demand. (OK I am ready for your emails explaining the way the LIBOR market works is not as I se it.) House price falls hit single figures, well I have news for the commentators out there, they are already rising in places. As we have discussed "official" statistics lag real world by at least 3 months. Now to RBS and a new survey of 1,000 world banks:- "Royal Bank of Scotland has racked up the biggest losses of any bank in the world, but it still managed to rank higher than profitable rivals such as HSBC in a survey of the top 1,000 banks. RBS is the largest loss-making bank in the world after losing a staggering $59bn (£35.8bn), but still ranks the fourth best bank overall in terms of bank strength, according to a report to be published next month in The Banker magazine. This is because of its level of tier one capital bolstered by receiving a Government injection of $29.8bn (£18.1bn). Even if Government funds are not taken into consideration, RBS was still ranked seventh strongest in the world. This is a reflection of its huge size and large proportion of high quality funding, which will help it to easily absorb losses: it has the largest assets of any bank in the world, at a total of $3.4trn (£2trn), with 14% of this made up of top quality capital." Well who would have thought it? We would; it is what we have said for weeks the bank is very strong and its share price is undervalued. And what about RBS share price? In my Tuesday June 23 newsletter I looked at the RBS share price and its underlying value. I used my patented valuation method and came up with 200p. I also questioned the "difficulty" of raising it from the current 35p to 70p by 2012. Well now I know I have influence but really people was I responsible for the 11.5% rise to 39p in just 6 days? I don't know but the share price graph tells its own story. Is it coincidence I published the story on 23rd June and the share price reverses on the same day? Modesty forbids me from comment. [Denis this one is for you] If you did buy then hang on in there is much more to come. In fact by 25th June RBS was reported as the FTSE 100's biggest riser of the day. Evidence, support for my view? No less than Cazenove who raised its RBS rating from "in-line" to "outperform" and predicted 60p. So who at Cazenove reads my newsletter? Until next week. Regards Brad Joint Equity CEO www.jointequity.co.uk Property Focus How to find out more: Go to http://investors.jointequity.com to view full details and more pictures for this property, or to make an Investor Reservation. Not what you're looking for: Login to the Investors Area to browse all currently available Joint Equity properties. You are welcome to send this newsletter to a friend, please click here. Click here to visit us online: www.jointequity.co.uk If you would like to stop receiving our newsletters, please click here to unsubscribe: Unsubscribe me from this mailing list The Joint Equity Scheme is for first-time buyers, home owners and property investors. Joint Equity Ltd works with Mortgage Beaters to provide case studies and Illustrations to prospective Owner-Partners & Investor-Partners. Joint Equity Ltd does not carry out any regulated activities and so is not regulated by the FSA (Financial Services Authority). Joint Equity Ltd are introducer appointed representatives of Mortgage Beaters Ltd, who are authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. The content of this newsletter is accurate to the best of our knowledge and for information only. We do not provide financial advice. Joint Equity Ltd., a UK company Reg No: 4915890 Registered office: 17 Hanbury Close, Cheshunt, Herts, EN8 9BZ ©Joint Equity Ltd (2008) unless where otherwise stated

Trust is hard to achieve but, very easy to lose.

jointequity — Tuesday 30th of June 2009 05:55:25 PM

Click here to view this Newsletter online Click here for our Newsletter archive Click here to unsubscribe 30 June 2009 Dear %%First Name%%, you are subscribed to this newsletter using the following email address: %%emailaddress%%. Are you ready to make your first Joint Equity Investment? Register here to activate your portfolio and receive Joint Equity investment alerts direct to your inbox. There is currently NO FEE to register, so join us now. Already registered? Click here to login and view the latest Joint Equity Properties and Investment Opportunities. Not sure what to expect? Here's how it works: Registered Investor-Partners login here: http://investors.jointequity.com/ to see our properties and make reservations it's simple and quick. If you are not yet registered then click and complete the very simple form. You can then download the info pack. Clicking in the list on left hand side brings up a searchable list of all properties uploaded by our Estate Agent Partners. From this page you can get more details of the property by clicking and there is a link to the Estate Agents web site. You can also see if there is a reservation on the property, the reservation button turns red as here, and you can make your own reservations. Click <1st> <2nd> or <3rd> There is also the opportunity to put properties on your Watch List so that you can get back to them quickly. Click to add a property. Our Joint Equity Agents are adding properties every day so keep logging on to secure the best investments.Click here to see for yourself In this issue: 1. Brad's column News and views from Brad Bamfield, Joint Equity Chief Executive. A short newsletter this week as we are busier than normal and a bit short staffed…. So even I have to do things. My theme this week is trust who has it and who has lost it. Here at Joint Equity trust is vital if we are to represent our Owners and Investors and I am pleased that we still seem to have it from the people that matter to us. 2. Property Focus Joint Equity Investment Opportunities available now. Preview some of the latest properties available through Joint Equity Estate Agent Partners. For more news and information: News updates on our website Latest articles from Joint Equity Brad's column Who do we trust? It is something we think more about today than ever before, with MPs snouts in the trough and bankers back to their old tricks. Moneywise found out in their survey that Nationwide is most trusted mortgage lender overall and they had another 4 mentions in other categories. It seems we prefer the customer service of building societies to banks. Interestingly the Alliance and Leicester were runner up in best travel insurance. Well if you cannot do your core business well, go after someone else's. However, it appears we do not believe or trust the Governments, if the "success" of the mortgage rescue scheme is anything to go by. Just 150 applications since January 2009 and only 6 households approved for help. It seems Julian Knight in the Independent on Sunday 8th December was right when he wrote: "Fresh from bailing out the banks, Gordon Brown, Peter Mandelson and Alistair Darling are fast becoming addicts to the opiate of intervention. Every other day, it seems, the banking bigwigs are being told what the Government wants them to do next. They should probably apply for a Whitehall parking pass for their chauffeur-driven Mercs, they are there so often. …. bang the heads of the UK's biggest eight lenders together and get them to agree to its mortgage rescue scheme,…… But I fear that the initiative could be more style than substance. I know that is the way with politics – and Labour has one eye on a potential early election – but these are people's homes we're talking about. If the scheme doesn't meet expectations, it will be as cynical a political act as I can remember. Many of the repossessions are, after all, being brought by sub- prime and remortgage lenders that aren't in on this scheme. There is a risk that after the initial "hit" of the rescue announcement, many borrowers will be left to go cold turkey." So what do we make of yesterday's pledge to build 30,000 new social houses, or is it 15,000 a year? And today it seems the £1.5bn is coming from "reassessing priorities of other programmes" such as schools, roads and health. What is more, Messrs (sic) Brown and Mandelson seem not have informed any other Minister, before yesterday's announcement, by the way they are all protecting their department budgets today. How will the politicians explain that the Department of Communities is expected to foot £750m of the cost from its other budgets which, paradoxically, include improving 200,000 council homes under the Decent Homes initiative, which was supposed to be complete in 2010 and is already 6 years behind schedule? Another piece of the ever unfolding credit crunch story emerged this week and was not commented on in the main stream media. The Bank of England revealed that the worldwide losses from the credit crunch had been reduced by 33% to "just" £10 trillion, since March 09 when the last estimate was made. Mortgage losses have reduced from £1,100bn to £791bn (28%). Interesting; where will it be in another 3 months when Governments revalue their ownership of Banks? The Buy to Let market continues to deteriorate with over 557,000 tenants in arrears last month, and mortgage repossessions are steadily increasing. Do you ever wonder why house price indicators all show different results? This month Hometrack said house prices remained unchanged last month, Nationwide reported a 1.2% rise and Halifax said the rise was 2.6%. well have a look at this article which is very enlightening here and has a comparison of all the major indices. As you know I always try to end on an upbeat note and this week LIBOR 3 month has continued to slide gently down to 1.21% and First Time Buyer mortgages nudge up again. Back to trust, we attended a seminar about web based businesses and how hard it is to close the deal (read get their money out of them) as an internet based business. Actually I think they were selling call centres. Well Joint Equity seems to have achieved it, as we will not proceed with any Owner-Partner until we have received their Commitment Deposit, which they all seem quite willing to send. This quite astounded a couple of "experts" who did not think our Treating Partners Fairly Policy has anything to do with it. I was quietly smug about our very clear achievements in winning the trust of our customers and decided that I would not employ this company as I could not trust them. Until next week. Regards Brad Joint Equity CEO www.jointequity.co.uk Property Focus How to find out more: Go to http://investors.jointequity.com to view full details and more pictures for this property, or to make an Investor Reservation. Not what you're looking for: Login to the Investors Area to browse all currently available Joint Equity properties. You are welcome to send this newsletter to a friend, please click here. Click here to visit us online: www.jointequity.co.uk If you would like to stop receiving our newsletters, please click here to unsubscribe: Unsubscribe me from this mailing list The Joint Equity Scheme is for first-time buyers, home owners and property investors. Joint Equity Ltd works with Mortgage Beaters to provide case studies and Illustrations to prospective Owner-Partners & Investor-Partners. Joint Equity Ltd does not carry out any regulated activities and so is not regulated by the FSA (Financial Services Authority). Joint Equity Ltd are introducer appointed representatives of Mortgage Beaters Ltd, who are authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. The content of this newsletter is accurate to the best of our knowledge and for information only. We do not provide financial advice. Joint Equity Ltd., a UK company Reg No: 4915890 Registered office: 17 Hanbury Close, Cheshunt, Herts, EN8 9BZ ©Joint Equity Ltd (2008) unless where otherwise stated

Can RBS be serious? And Joint Equity offers new opportunities.

jointequity — Tuesday 23rd of June 2009 04:50:03 PM

Click here to view this Newsletter online Click here for our Newsletter archive Click here to unsubscribe 23 June 2009 Dear %%First Name%%, you are subscribed to this newsletter using the following email address: %%emailaddress%%. Are you ready to make your first Joint Equity Investment? Register here to activate your portfolio and receive Joint Equity investment alerts direct to your inbox. There is currently NO FEE to register, so join us now. Already registered? Click here to login and view the latest Joint Equity Properties and Investment Opportunities. Not sure what to expect? Here's how it works: Registered Investor-Partners login here: http://investors.jointequity.com/ to see our properties and make reservations it's simple and quick. If you are not yet registered then click and complete the very simple form. You can then download the info pack. Clicking in the list on left hand side brings up a searchable list of all properties uploaded by our Estate Agent Partners. From this page you can get more details of the property by clicking and there is a link to the Estate Agents web site. You can also see if there is a reservation on the property, the reservation button turns red as here, and you can make your own reservations. Click <1st> <2nd> or <3rd> There is also the opportunity to put properties on your Watch List so that you can get back to them quickly. Click to add a property. Our Joint Equity Agents are adding properties every day so keep logging on to secure the best investments.Click here to see for yourself In this issue: 1. Brad's column News and views from Brad Bamfield, Joint Equity Chief Executive. This week good news is hard to come by but in any turn round that is to be expected. Banks and lenders continue to shoot themselves in the foot (reminds me of that old funny story how many toes does a banker have?) by grabbing headlines and also quietly behind the scenes. However, I have some good news …… 2. Property Focus Joint Equity Investment Opportunities available now. Preview some of the latest properties available through Joint Equity Estate Agent Partners. For more news and information: News updates on our website Latest articles from Joint Equity Brad's column This week I am pleased to say that we have strengthened our Area Partners network with Jane Wallis, John Canham and Dave Wilson who all bring different and complementary skills to the team . I am pleased to welcome you all; and as these "three innovators" develop the network we will roll it out nationwide to 800 offices over the next 12 months. That leaves us with the challenge of finding Investor-Partners for each Owner-Partner and the funds to cope with the demand. I am pleased to say that our current lenders are keen to support Joint Equity purchases and are actively looking for more opportunities to provide mortgages. That, in turn, leaves us with Investor-Partners and we will shortly restart our advertising and marketing to add to our current Partners. But we do not want to disadvantage our existing Partners and we are offeing, for the next 14 days, all currently registered IPs the opportunity to join the Gold list of Investor-Partners who are actively seeking new investments. The Gold list is free to our current registered Investor-Partners and will ensure that new investments are offered to you 2 days before they go on general release. To join the Gold list please clink this link to register your interest. Click here. Remember it is free so what have you to lose? So what has excised me in the news this week? Headlines today are all about big bonuses for RBS's turn round CEO. Now call me cynical but here are my initial thoughts. The current share price is around 35p and the bonuses are linked to the share price rising to 70p by 2012. It has dropped from 625p in July 07 to 50p ish in Oct 09 in a fairly steady decline. See graph below. I accept that all banks have declined over this period and if we compare the graph shape with Barclays share price we see a remarkable correlation until Feb 09 when Barclays rose from a low of 50p to 275p 14th June 09. Now let us stop for a moment and consider RBS Q1 2009 results in a little detail (more here) and I quote from the official report here; - Strong income growth, up 26% to £9.702 bn. - Strong profit before impairment losses, up 42% to £4.079 bn. - Value of GBM (Global Banking and Markets) franchise and management efforts highlighted with headline revenues, up 97% to £4.269 bn. This level of revenue is likely to be exceptional. - Impairment losses and credit market write-downs totalling £4.927 bn. Now hold on here just a minute. Income up 26%, profit up 42% but write offs £4.927bn which means a £837m loss. So operational profits are rising but are offset by write offs and in his first statement Mr Hester, the CEO with all the incentives remember, says "First our strong business franchises remain intact, customer flows are solid and our people are hard at work. Second we are making good progress in charting the path back to stand-alone strength and executing against those plans. This includes management change, where we have made further announcements this week, the progress that is being made towards reducing our cost base, fulfilling commitments to our customers and laying the foundations for future business success." "No-one should be in any doubt that this is a process that will take years not months. We remain fully focused on the task in hand and recognise all the responsibilities we carry." Now I am no banker, no puns please, but it seems to me that once the write offs stop, the profits will be exposed for what they are - substantial. It is no sensational return to profitability, it is rather the end of writing off suicidal investments. I am sure Mr Hester will cut costs, fiddle with the management structure but I note that the banking industry has rejected risk management reforms "because current [risk] practices are fundamentally sound" (good example of living on another planet that one). This is because the current focus on short term investment and profit is endemic in our global banking structure. Now lets us consider human nature, when banks' share price all start moving up the focus will shift to RBS and will be "get in now" because sooner or later they will follow. This alone will raise the share price, "traders" will pile in and surprise, surprise the share price rises again. So now we have the speculators buying, the write offs reduce, the profits return and RBS repays Government loans. The fundamentals look good. And once again the share price rises. Let us turn for a moment to totally un scientific economic speculation. If RBS was over priced at 600p, was frothed up, a downward correction was due; it is underpriced at 35p and an upward correction is due. Barclays was overpriced at 700p; it fell to 75p; and recovered to 265p when fundamentals seemed to recover. I have a theory that over pricing can be sustained up to about +30%, I have no real evidence for that just the concept that the traders that "know" get out before the inevitable correction and at a 30% overpriced they will sell, get out and not buy back until the correction has completed. Assuming I am correct, (who will bet against me with my record?) then the underlying value of RBS is 400p, allow a 50% discount on that, and 200p should be easily achievable as the bad results unwind. If I am right how long will it take for RBS shares to double from 35p? Well Barclays "bottomed" at 51p on 23rd January and had risen to just over 100p by 30th January (umm, that is 7 days). Then they fell back to 65p by 6th March but were back through 100p by 20th March (14 days this time) and then they were away. Barclays then doubled again to 200p by about April 14th (all of 21 days this time). Enough you see where I am heading. RBS taking until 2012 (that is 3 years according to my maths) to get from 35p to 75p appears to be the toughest target I have ever seen. Hold on, one more small item, RBS have shed 7,200 jobs since Christmas, allowing for an average cost of employment of £35,000, that amounts to £252m saving a year. And you really think the gamblers are not going to pile in as soon as the Tier 1 capital edges over 7% (about 6.1% now) and RBS makes the first repayment of Government loans? Why would RBS remain trading at a 75% discount to Brad's underlying share value when every other bank is moving back up? What will be the Sun's headline when the RBS share price exceeds the bonus target level 2.5 years early? Will it be "CEO's magnificent management brings Bank back from the grave" Or "Banks up to their old tricks, bar set so low even a 2 year old could step over it" The other odd thing is that UK Financial Investments, the Government owned bank watchdog, has approved the "incentive" package. But then it is packed with ex bankers and I wonder who will employ them once all the loans are paid back and the quango is disbanded? Well I make that 3 toes off this week. But little reported data this week can account for another toe. Mortgage lending is down again, but not new loans, the remortgage market has all but disappeared because it is way cheaper to stay with Standard Variable Rates than to remortgage. This hurting the whole industry, but banks don't seem to worry as they continue to increase margins between investors and borrowers. Returning to an old theme of mine; do bankers consider themselves immune to customer and public opinion? Do they not see similarities in the demise of BT? Are they so short term focused that they do not see that the Conservatives will do what Labour seems incapable of doing? Final comment on RBS. At 70p share price the Government (taxpayer) will make £8bn profit. Did I not tell you this 6 months ago that we should consider some of the cash invested and was not lost forever? So to the good news this week. At least for Investor-Partners - at this time. More lenders are trying to help first time buyers and there are more FtBs looking for properties. The monthly market survey of the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) found that the average branch had 299 house hunters on its books in May – up from 265 the previous month and 247 in May 2008. The average branch had 69 properties on its books. Joint Equity Estate Agents report above average requests for valuations (+100%) and subsequent instructions (+50%). As they say, if you do not have properties on your books you cannot sell them. For the second month running estate agents also report a successful selling period. The average branch sold 10 properties, a 30% increase on the same time last year and 100% more than sold on average in August 2008. Joint Equity Estate Agents can add 4 new properties to their monthly sales numbers, which adds a staggering £120,000 per office to their bottom line. And for Investor-Partners that means more opportunities and more choice. Remember register for the Gold list of Investor-Partner and get details of new opportunities 2 days before general release. Click here. Regards Brad Joint Equity CEO www.jointequity.co.uk Property Focus How to find out more: Go to http://investors.jointequity.com to view full details and more pictures for this property, or to make an Investor Reservation. Not what you're looking for: Login to the Investors Area to browse all currently available Joint Equity properties. You are welcome to send this newsletter to a friend, please click here. Click here to visit us online: www.jointequity.co.uk If you would like to stop receiving our newsletters, please click here to unsubscribe: Unsubscribe me from this mailing list The Joint Equity Scheme is for first-time buyers, home owners and property investors. Joint Equity Ltd works with Mortgage Beaters to provide case studies and Illustrations to prospective Owner-Partners & Investor-Partners. Joint Equity Ltd does not carry out any regulated activities and so is not regulated by the FSA (Financial Services Authority). Joint Equity Ltd are introducer appointed representatives of Mortgage Beaters Ltd, who are authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. The content of this newsletter is accurate to the best of our knowledge and for information only. We do not provide financial advice. Joint Equity Ltd., a UK company Reg No: 4915890 Registered office: 17 Hanbury Close, Cheshunt, Herts, EN8 9BZ ©Joint Equity Ltd (2008) unless where otherwise stated

LIBOR and inflation falls again

jointequity — Tuesday 16th of June 2009 01:10:07 PM

Click here to view this Newsletter online Click here for our Newsletter archive Click here to unsubscribe 16 June 2009 Dear %%First Name%%, you are subscribed to this newsletter using the following email address: %%emailaddress%%. Are you ready to make your first Joint Equity Investment? Register here to activate your portfolio and receive Joint Equity investment alerts direct to your inbox. There is currently NO FEE to register, so join us now. Already registered? Click here to login and view the latest Joint Equity Properties and Investment Opportunities. Not sure what to expect? Here's how it works: Registered Investor-Partners login here: http://investors.jointequity.com/ to see our properties and make reservations it's simple and quick. If you are not yet registered then click and complete the very simple form. You can then download the info pack. Clicking in the list on left hand side brings up a searchable list of all properties uploaded by our Estate Agent Partners. From this page you can get more details of the property by clicking and there is a link to the Estate Agents web site. You can also see if there is a reservation on the property, the reservation button turns red as here, and you can make your own reservations. Click <1st> <2nd> or <3rd> There is also the opportunity to put properties on your Watch List so that you can get back to them quickly. Click to add a property. Our Joint Equity Agents are adding properties every day so keep logging on to secure the best investments.Click here to see for yourself In this issue: 1. Brad's column News and views from Brad Bamfield, Joint Equity Chief Executive. Apart from the political world turning itself inside out it has been a quiet week if you don't count Swine Flu and the IMF ……. 2. Property Focus Joint Equity Investment Opportunities available now. Preview some of the latest properties available through Joint Equity Estate Agent Partners. For more news and information: News updates on our website Latest articles from Joint Equity Brad's column What a funny week both in business and at home. For once we had a good weekend where the weather behaved itself and then last night on my way home up the M11 I was nearly blown off the motorway by high winds and absolutely torrential downpour. In business we are in the mixed message phase of the recovery. One moment we are on the way out, as the bulls get the upper hand, then we have the doom mongers out in force to counteract good news. For nearly 2 years inflation has been above the 2% target, generally accepted as bad, (just don't get me started on flexible targets again) and now it is dropping back to 2% which now is equally as bad. Just goes to prove the old adage commentators can find the bad in anything. We also got shock headlines "mortgage rates rocket" well they moved a bit, 0.25%, and for reinstated higher loan to values. I would have written the headline for the same news as "market improves with re-introduction of 90% loans". But then what do I know about media? But we are definitely in the half full or half empty phase. I have been searching my memory regarding the last recession (for me the real one was 1991 to 1994) and I cannot remember so much commentary on what is about to happen. Maybe it is the changed media or maybe it is just my memory. I see that my favourite marker, 3 month LIBOR, dropped again this week to 1.27% as lending again eased between banks. And that I think is the difference, with this recession, the cause is not fundamentally about our economy or even that of the world's, we all seem to be in better shape than ever before, but about a particularly important sector that just went bananas. And I include the regulators in that as well. It now seems generally accepted that the Fed made a big mistake in letting Lehmans go to the wall and precipitated the massive deterioration in the market globally. In a previous newsletter I discussed various reasons why they may have done it and nothing I have seen since has changed my mind. It was a clash of culture and personalities between two powerful organisations and people. So what is happening here at Joint Equity HQ? We continue to see strong demand for new first time buyer homes and we are getting more applicants who are coming to us from Housing Associations who have run out of budget and are unable to help the very people this Government said were their priority. We have developed a new product line that will provide Joint Equity purchases for retired people who without us would be condemned to stay in rented for the rest of their lives. We are piloting the first 2 applicants now and as soon as they complete, we will launch the product completely. Interestingly this is perhaps the most rewarding part of what we do, helping people get their own home. The first retired couple told us that the greatest fear they had for their old age was living in rented accommodation and being constantly under threat of the landlord not renewing their lease. The thought of having to move late in life was almost too much for them. So up jumps Joint Equity, so good we wear our pants outside our tights, and develop a product that not only helps them achieve security of tenure in their home, the opportunity to share in capital growth, but it has caught the imagination of the marketing arm of an ethical investment fund. Watch this space. Tamsin Fox- Davies, our Marketing Director, has been bashing me over the head with articles on how to write good newsletters and it seems I break just about every rule. I must say that despite that I do receive the odd compliment but I will have to give in, as we are reviewing our newsletter structure and policy. Therefore, in the future you will have a bit more about Joint Equity and a bit less about my views on the markets and the players. However, I am thinking about moving my column to a blog, I know at my age these things should not mean anything, but it does. Joint Equity is an internet based business and we need to use all available channels. So of course we have a Twitter site for Owner-Partners and Investor-Partners, which are empty at present. But we already have over 20 "followers" just waiting for our pronouncements on whatever we find interesting when we get round to pronouncing them. Modern times are odd in more ways than one, are they not? I think you will agree it will be a challenge for me to restrict myself to 256 characters or whatever the limit is on Twitter. Until next week. Regards Brad Joint Equity CEO www.jointequity.co.uk Property Focus How to find out more: Go to http://investors.jointequity.com to view full details and more pictures for this property, or to make an Investor Reservation. Not what you're looking for: Login to the Investors Area to browse all currently available Joint Equity properties. You are welcome to send this newsletter to a friend, please click here. Click here to visit us online: www.jointequity.co.uk If you would like to stop receiving our newsletters, please click here to unsubscribe: Unsubscribe me from this mailing list The Joint Equity Scheme is for first-time buyers, home owners and property investors. Joint Equity Ltd works with Mortgage Beaters to provide case studies and Illustrations to prospective Owner-Partners & Investor-Partners. Joint Equity Ltd does not carry out any regulated activities and so is not regulated by the FSA (Financial Services Authority). Joint Equity Ltd are introducer appointed representatives of Mortgage Beaters Ltd, who are authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. The content of this newsletter is accurate to the best of our knowledge and for information only. We do not provide financial advice. Joint Equity Ltd., a UK company Reg No: 4915890 Registered office: 17 Hanbury Close, Cheshunt, Herts, EN8 9BZ ©Joint Equity Ltd (2008) unless where otherwise stated

The trouble with politics today - how long do we have?

jointequity — Tuesday 09th of June 2009 03:10:12 PM

Click here to view this Newsletter online Click here for our Newsletter archive Click here to unsubscribe 09 June 2009 Dear %%First Name%%, you are subscribed to this newsletter using the following email address: %%emailaddress%%. Are you ready to make your first Joint Equity Investment? Register here to activate your portfolio and receive Joint Equity investment alerts direct to your inbox. There is currently NO FEE to register, so join us now. Already registered? Click here to login and view the latest Joint Equity Properties and Investment Opportunities. Not sure what to expect? Here's how it works: Registered Investor-Partners login here: http://investors.jointequity.com/ to see our properties and make reservations it's simple and quick. If you are not yet registered then click and complete the very simple form. You can then download the info pack. Clicking in the list on left hand side brings up a searchable list of all properties uploaded by our Estate Agent Partners. From this page you can get more details of the property by clicking and there is a link to the Estate Agents web site. You can also see if there is a reservation on the property, the reservation button turns red as here, and you can make your own reservations. Click <1st> <2nd> or <3rd> There is also the opportunity to put properties on your Watch List so that you can get back to them quickly. Click to add a property. Our Joint Equity Agents are adding properties every day so keep logging on to secure the best investments.Click here to see for yourself In this issue: 1. Brad's column News and views from Brad Bamfield, Joint Equity Chief Executive. Who is in the firing line this week? Well it has to be politicians and for a change the Treasury. And the decision to even publish this week was difficult. Why ………. 2. Property Focus Joint Equity Investment Opportunities available now. Preview some of the latest properties available through Joint Equity Estate Agent Partners. For more news and information: News updates on our website Latest articles from Joint Equity Brad's column As usual I really did not have a theme for this week and I wrote this from the heart. However, I then almost did not publish it, why? The prevailing culture in the UK is to avoid talking about certain things, race and, now, religion being two examples. It is also considered an old adage that at dinner you do not discuss politics and other men's wives to avoid conflict. So having written this I thought it might be inappropriate for my newsletter but then if what I fear comes about the UK business environment will change forever, and that is very relevant to our investment returns. Any way who ever accused me of being no controversial!!! Bankers and politicians at the double act again. Lloyds repay £2.6bn of the £17bn taxpayer loan from the £4bn it raised from its share placement. The odd thing which seems to have passed everyone by is that the Treasury, which I thought wanted it's, sorry, our money back, bought £1.7bn of the new shares? I have no doubt there is an argument for non dilution but we seem to have moved from a rescue to an investment strategy if that is the argument. Could it be that the Treasury sees the profit it will make when it sells the 43% we own diluted, if it does not take up its option like every other investor? If so should we not consider some of the loans made to banks not as additional UK debt, but as investing for the future with a profitable return? Could this be the miracle Gordon Brown is desperately holding on for? Could bank shares recover enough in the next 11 months for the Government to sell its shareholding at a profit, showing El Gordo as the world's most astute banker? But is that the whole plan? Why did Alan Johnson not stand against Mr Brown? It seems to me that there will be an election for labour leader after Labour are defeated at the next election, when Alan Johnson must be favourite to take over. So it is understandable that he wants to stay at arm's length from the current failure. A new broom taking over when he can impose his will on the party and sweep away whatever he feels is not needed. The problem we now have is that Mr Brown is now a broken leader, unable to get a cabinet together without 7 unelected ministers elevated to the Lords and in hock to a bunch of self seeking back benchers. I guess first to go will be any attempt to reorganise the Post Office and then there is the new ideas including parliamentary reform. What could possibly offer a lifeline to many marginal Labour MPs? What can they do to increase the chances that some might avoid being voted out in the election? What plan can they concoct to save, at least some, of them from being thrown out? Maybe I am cynical but both Labour and the Conservatives have been stoically against proportional representation (PR) for so many years that it seems inconceivable that Labour can now be proposing that we move to PR. The LibDems, who have no hope of ever being elected through 1st past the post, have been promoting PR for years. Now when Labour face wipe out, whenever the next election comes, they think it is right that we move to PR. Let us just pause for a moment and consider what PR would mean. From the experience of other countries, overall majorities would be a thing of the past and we would end up with a series of coalition Governments with accommodations between parties. Think it won't happen consider how many times this Labour Government has relied on Northern Ireland or Scottish National MPs to get its legislation through, and that is with an overall majority. Labour could work with the LibDems, they are natural bed partners, which effectively means the Conservatives would never be in power again as the two would always have an overall majority; especially if a few Scottish Nationals were thrown in. The political landscape of the UK will change forever. Remember the bad and the mad? The options are not good but some options are frankly scary. If we look at coalitions elsewhere they seem not to survive the parliamentary term as the "partners" invariably fall out when one side wants more than the other is prepared to give. So we will have more elections which will return that same old mix and the only difference will be a slight shift in power of the lead party. Except that this bunch of madmen, sorry, MPs wants to add fixed term parliaments. How will that work when the parties fall out and there is no election? We have a lame Government now with a huge majority but in that case we will have paralysis. The final nail in the coffin of PR for me is the madder madmen. PR works for parties that would never get a seat in any other form of election process, oh yes there are others as well as PR and first past the post, just look at the European Elections and the Greens and BNP. The other big winner with the UK moving to PR will be the Europen Union movement. Eurosecpticism will be banished to the same periphery as the Green movement. However, the very thing that the madmen, sorry, Labour MPs will promote as bringing moderation into politics will, I believe, cause the English to lurch to extremism. If extreme parties get a voice and the majority of voters believe they have no party on their side, whichever side that is, they will look to the extremes to represent their views. That is happening now as Labour continually says it will listen; then just ignores everyone with its policies, particularly on immigration and more appropriately illegal immigration. Can we fight it? Actually no. Labour has an absolute majority and this load of turkeys will vote for Christmas if they think one turkey will survive and they might be the one. Do you think it matters one iota to the current variety of MPs that they could adversely affect this country for years as long as they increase their chances of surviving from nil to 10%? Do you think that they would consider election reform important enough to consult us all by either a referendum or as the major proposal of their election manifesto? At least in Iran the Ayatollahs said, in a general election, that if they were elected they would move to an Islamic state and not have any more elections, ever. The population voted them in, but at least they got the opportunity to decide their own fate, something I fear we will not get. I was interested in the description of Mr Brown in Dispatches last night, "he would be more comfortable as Chairman of the World Bank". Maybe we now see his grand plan, hang on for 11 months, sell banks shares at a profit, change the electoral system, move us irrevocably into closer EU integration, stand down after the election (already agreed behind the scenes) and be elected as Chairman of the World Bank or similar. Enough politics, it is a dirty world unlike business, and I too depressed even to list all the good news over the last week. Regards Brad Joint Equity CEO www.jointequity.co.uk Property Focus How to find out more: Go to http://investors.jointequity.com to view full details and more pictures for this property, or to make an Investor Reservation. Not what you're looking for: Login to the Investors Area to browse all currently available Joint Equity properties. You are welcome to send this newsletter to a friend, please click here. Click here to visit us online: www.jointequity.co.uk If you would like to stop receiving our newsletters, please click here to unsubscribe: Unsubscribe me from this mailing list The Joint Equity Scheme is for first-time buyers, home owners and property investors. Joint Equity Ltd works with Mortgage Beaters to provide case studies and Illustrations to prospective Owner-Partners & Investor-Partners. Joint Equity Ltd does not carry out any regulated activities and so is not regulated by the FSA (Financial Services Authority). Joint Equity Ltd are introducer appointed representatives of Mortgage Beaters Ltd, who are authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. The content of this newsletter is accurate to the best of our knowledge and for information only. We do not provide financial advice. Joint Equity Ltd., a UK company Reg No: 4915890 Registered office: 17 Hanbury Close, Cheshunt, Herts, EN8 9BZ ©Joint Equity Ltd (2008) unless where otherwise stated

The sun is out and things are looking better

jointequity — Tuesday 02nd of June 2009 02:25:02 PM

Click here to view this Newsletter online Click here for our Newsletter archive Click here to unsubscribe 02 June 2009 Dear %%First Name%%, you are subscribed to this newsletter using the following email address: %%emailaddress%%. Are you ready to make your first Joint Equity Investment? Register here to activate your portfolio and receive Joint Equity investment alerts direct to your inbox. There is currently NO FEE to register, so join us now. Already registered? Click here to login and view the latest Joint Equity Properties and Investment Opportunities. Not sure what to expect? Here's how it works: Registered Investor-Partners login here: http://investors.jointequity.com/ to see our properties and make reservations it's simple and quick. If you are not yet registered then click and complete the very simple form. You can then download the info pack. Clicking in the list on left hand side brings up a searchable list of all properties uploaded by our Estate Agent Partners. From this page you can get more details of the property by clicking and there is a link to the Estate Agents web site. You can also see if there is a reservation on the property, the reservation button turns red as here, and you can make your own reservations. Click <1st> <2nd> or <3rd> There is also the opportunity to put properties on your Watch List so that you can get back to them quickly. Click to add a property. Our Joint Equity Agents are adding properties every day so keep logging on to secure the best investments.Click here to see for yourself In this issue: 1. Brad's column News and views from Brad Bamfield, Joint Equity Chief Executive. This week I have been branded a "Green Shootist", we develop a new Joint Equity product stream, we are seen as offering ethical investment opportunities and a final word on MPs (well it might be)……. 2. Property Focus Joint Equity Investment Opportunities available now. Preview some of the latest properties available through Joint Equity Estate Agent Partners. For more news and information: News updates on our website Latest articles from Joint Equity Brad's column The doom mongerers were out in force this week in the media. They were trying to lash us with Swine Flu coming back in the Autumn with "terrible ferocity" and "green shootists" (I love being "named") were being flailed for calling the beginning of the end of the recession. Don't journalists read the same statistics I do? Don't they speak to the same people? Ok here is some things that make me right and everyone else wrong (and there is no comparison with me and the quotes at the end of this newsletter). Firstly the Rightmove.co.uk on 18th May reported a 2.4% increase in asking prices for the month – with London at +2.7%, East Anglia +5.1% and SE England +4.6%. This survey is a good leading indicator and indicates the start of a supply shortage, with sellers confident enough to put their home prices up. Of course it was treated with a bit of scepticism by the doom mongerers when it came out. Property Investing who are one of my "better" sources, have long held a view that the RightMove survey fairly accurately reflects the market and is the leading-first indicator in the direction of the market. The RightMove survey was then followed by the Nationwide survey on 29th May reporting national property prices rising by 1.2% on average in the month of May. Then we have the report from the Bank of England that mortgage approvals are up for 3rd month in a row and completions are up 35% on February. As I said in January this year, statistics take several months to report on changes in the market and this is the time lag we are seeing now. But what we see here at Joint Equity is a resurgence in Owner-Partners wanting to buy, and buy now. All our statistics are up and we have just had our first mortgage with a new lender approved, so it really is not all doom and gloom. Another highlight for us last week - we were contacted by retired couple, we don't have a retired product or at least we did not until last week. They are living in rented accommodation but hated it. They heard about Joint Equity, read our web site and asked if we could help them buy their own home. They had enough cash to buy 50% but not enough to buy 100% and of course with no job, being over 65 they could not get a mortgage. They could only see their future as living in rented accommodation with the prospect of having to move late in life when their landlord would not renew their tenancy. This was seriously frightening to them and we can all appreciate that. As you know we are flexible, here at Joint Equity, and never say never, but paying the Investment Return worried me. However, we looked at the structure again and found that for less than the rent they were currently paying now they could own 50% of their new home and remove the "problem" of a landlord, we could also provide the long term security they wanted so much and add potential capital growth for them that they would not get staying in the rented sector. We approached one of our new Joint Equity Investment Partnerships who were more than happy, in fact eager, to support this purchase. So now we are building a new product stream to join the existing First Time Buyer and Divorced and Separated streams. We will all do our best to compete this deal, not just because we get paid, but because it has a positive impact on the lives of our Partners. Ethical business and investing at it's very best. I was asked if there was no sector that Joint Equity could not help and unfortunately there is (at this time) but, as an ethical product for both the Owner-Partner and Investor-Partner, we can help some sectors who are currently excluded from the main stream market. To support this one of our Owner-Partners, who is making an application at the moment, said in an email today; "For those of us who aren't cash rich, you [Joint Equity] are no demon, but positively angelic. Thanks for the flexibility and I'm a good capitalist, so [the Investor-Partner] making a few bob is ok and we all win." Gulp. Enough nice stuff now; back to the horrible and a final word on MPs and expenses. Am I the only one that is getting fed up with all the endless coverage of the crooked dealings by MPs? We get the message; they are all on the fiddle and cannot be trusted. But then ask any employer and you will find they feel the same about all their employees. Who has not taken an office pen or paper home, or just copied the odd letter on the photocopier, (which is ultimately theft), or put the odd meal with your wife through on expenses, (which is really fraud). But normally these are "over looked" as small perks by both employer and employees, as long as we do not overdo it. It is almost an unwritten agreement, which requires trust on both sides. I am endlessly intrigued, another example of my odd thought process, why employers get so hung up on employees using emails to contact family and do everything they can to monitor and reduce it, but seem to ignore endless phone calls. One costs almost nothing, yes I know the IT arguments, the other is money out of the door. I asked an IT and an HR director why once, and the answers was "we can legally monitor emails but not phone calls". Essentially, we monitor emails because we can, and the implication was we would do phone calls as well if we could. Makes you wonder about relationships in businesses who "record phone calls for training purposes"? Here at Joint Equity there are few rules but we would rather people emailed than used the phone any day. Perhaps we have more trust than most. Oh yes back to the IT argument, emails cost bandwidth and additional storage and backup. It's not rocket science provide 2 email addresses, one business and another for "friends and family", for all employees. Filter the friends and family email so that they are deleted regularly and not stored, therefore no storage costs, and load balance the bandwith demand by holding back friends and family emails until there is low corporate demand. However, the IT and HR directors just looked appalled. "That would mean we have to trust the employees were not saying bad things about us and how would we get the evidence needed to sack them?" Ever heard of trust, and the fact it is a two way street? The MPs have lost it, mind you they never had it from me, but then I have met too many to have any illusions - who said "never trust anyone who seeks power"? Well it leaves us very few options. As John Emerich Edward Dalberg Acton, the first Baron Acton (1834–1902), an historian and moralist, said in a letter to Bishop Mandell Creighton in 1887: "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men." Another English politician with no shortage of names - William Pitt, the Elder, The Earl of Chatham and British Prime Minister from 1766 to 1778, said something very similar, in a speech to the UK House of Lords in 1770: "Unlimited power is apt to corrupt the minds of those who possess it" Source http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/288200.html When we look at politicians throughout history we see there are a few good ones, an awful lot of bad ones and some mad ones. We have the same spread today. Of the options I would rather have bad ones than mad ones, as the damage they can inflict is a lot less. Looking at the options for Thursday, many of the Labour and Conservative MPs are bad, but the rest have varying degrees of madness about their policies. Beware of not looking deeper than the single issue. Enough said. Well until next week anyway.Regards Brad Joint Equity CEO www.jointequity.co.uk Property Focus How to find out more: Go to http://investors.jointequity.com to view full details and more pictures for this property, or to make an Investor Reservation. Not what you're looking for: Login to the Investors Area to browse all currently available Joint Equity properties. You are welcome to send this newsletter to a friend, please click here. Click here to visit us online: www.jointequity.co.uk If you would like to stop receiving our newsletters, please click here to unsubscribe: Unsubscribe me from this mailing list The Joint Equity Scheme is for first-time buyers, home owners and property investors. Joint Equity Ltd works with Mortgage Beaters to provide case studies and Illustrations to prospective Owner-Partners & Investor-Partners. Joint Equity Ltd does not carry out any regulated activities and so is not regulated by the FSA (Financial Services Authority). Joint Equity Ltd are introducer appointed representatives of Mortgage Beaters Ltd, who are authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. The content of this newsletter is accurate to the best of our knowledge and for information only. We do not provide financial advice. Joint Equity Ltd., a UK company Reg No: 4915890 Registered office: 17 Hanbury Close, Cheshunt, Herts, EN8 9BZ ©Joint Equity Ltd (2008) unless where otherwise stated

Ethical investing is it really possible? Of course but not from where you think.

jointequity — Tuesday 26th of May 2009 02:05:03 PM

Click here to view this Newsletter online Click here for our Newsletter archive Click here to unsubscribe 26 May 2009 Dear %%First Name%%, you are subscribed to this newsletter using the following email address: %%emailaddress%%. Are you ready to make your first Joint Equity Investment? Register here to activate your portfolio and receive Joint Equity investment alerts direct to your inbox. There is currently NO FEE to register, so join us now. Already registered? Click here to login and view the latest Joint Equity Properties and Investment Opportunities. Not sure what to expect? Here's how it works: Registered Investor-Partners login here: http://investors.jointequity.com/ to see our properties and make reservations it's simple and quick. If you are not yet registered then click and complete the very simple form. You can then download the info pack. Clicking in the list on left hand side brings up a searchable list of all properties uploaded by our Estate Agent Partners. From this page you can get more details of the property by clicking and there is a link to the Estate Agents web site. You can also see if there is a reservation on the property, the reservation button turns red as here, and you can make your own reservations. Click <1st> <2nd> or <3rd> There is also the opportunity to put properties on your Watch List so that you can get back to them quickly. Click to add a property. Our Joint Equity Agents are adding properties every day so keep logging on to secure the best investments.Click here to see for yourself In this issue: 1. Brad's column News and views from Brad Bamfield, Joint Equity Chief Executive. This week we have been writing content for a new web site dealing with the ethical aspects of investing, which should be launched in about 2 weeks, and of course that got me to thinking……. 2. Property Focus Joint Equity Investment Opportunities available now. Preview some of the latest properties available through Joint Equity Estate Agent Partners. For more news and information: News updates on our website Latest articles from Joint Equity Brad's column Ethical Investing is very much like environmental policies and "green wash", we all want them but most Corporates see them as a hindrance, but at the same time a useful marketing tool if they do not affect business as usual. Therefore, most businesses play lip service to the principles with some platitudes and grand aspirations, without any attempt at identifying exactly what they can do, by thinking slightly differently. So it is with the Ethical Investing industry. They have latched onto a desire, by investors and consumers, that we really do want to buy things from, and invest in, businesses that can and do make a difference. A quick sweep through the advertising gives a very shabby picture of the sector. Try Googling "ethical investing" and you get over 5,000,000 pages, the page 1 search results are a Church organisation researching companies, 5 information sites providing general information with umpteen links to IFAs (one is actually called www.unbiased.co.uk ?), a Guardian article (quite good actually) and that is it. No one actually offering anything direct and I wonder why not, could it be because it is ethical wash? For example check out Legal and General ethical investments which "invests in FTSE 350 companies that conform to a range of ethical and environmental guidelines. You can read these guidelines in full in theterms and conditions (PDF 92Kb)." I include the link because although there was plenty about charges for the fund I could not find anything in the terms and conditions that told me what the guidelines were. And when you look at the list of companies it invests ethical funds in, including Vodafone, Centrica, BG and Prudential, you really do question the fundamentals of L and G's concept and guidelines. It is worth remembering that Prudential invests in BAT and Imperial Tobacco through many of its funds including the Invesco Perpetual Fund It is the ethical investment search niche that Joint Equity intends to exploit (an evocative word not usually associated with ethical products) with the new web sites. We are biased and proud of it, we tell it like it is, we provide information and the facts, we help 1st time buyers, when no one else seems to care, but we do it in a way that makes money for our investors, lots more than putting the same £ in Buy to Let. That is how we work, a bit different to most so it should make an impact, don't you think? Many advertisers try to muddy the waters even further by focusing on Corporate Social Responsibility, CSR, which is really at the far end of not good. CSR is about doing the right thing for everyone who is in your organisation or is affected by it, but how many businesses in these crunched times would consider helping their suppliers by reducing the time to pay their invoices? They would rather move from 60 day settlement to 90 days, but they still trumpet their CSR policy at the shareholders meeting. And it is the same muddy marketing that the major investment funds use to invest the cash of the ethical investor. They often rule out investing in companies that produce alcohol or tobacco products, are in the nuclear industry or are involved in betting, and of course anything to do with pornography. But do we really consider these things unethical? Well it depends on your viewpoint. I like to have a drink or two and consider village pubs the social hub of many villages, but I also see excess drinking in city centres a problem and alcohol contributed to my Mother's early death. So where do I fit in this spectrum? Blowed if I know. It is easier with tobacco, I hate it and everything to do with it but then many environmentalists have the same black and white attitude when they talk about nuclear energy. Of course they are wrong and I am right; which is more than half the problem. It is personal. Funds and offerings that try to be all things to all men are doomed to fail. Back to basics Wikipedia definesEthical Investing as Socially responsible investing, also known as sustainable investing, socially-conscious or ethical investing, describes an investmentstrategy which seeks to maximize both financial return and social good. In general, socially responsible investors favourcorporatepractices that promote environmental stewardship, consumer protection, human rights, and diversity. Some (but not all) avoid businesses involved inalcohol, tobacco, gambling, weapons, the military, and/or abortion. My definition is somewhat more basic and is "not taking advantage of the other guy but actively helping them when you can". It is not about me promoting my personal agenda, me telling you what you should do, or deciding that industries are bad; it is about working to help everyone involved in my business's activities. It helps that the Joint Equity basic service is ethical, that all parties benefit from Joint Equity and that we offer a social good. Are we evangelical here at Joint Equity? Yes I suppose we are but when we look at history we see that when making money gets overtaken by greed (remember Ivan Boesky and Greed is Good in 1986?) things turn nasty and cause recessions. Kevin Rudd, the maverick Aussie PM who says what he thinks (a rare politician), said in September 2008 that "we did not learn the lesson of the greed-is-good ideology". As potential investors in Joint Equity you are in at the beginning of a new way of investing, make more money than the readily available alternatives and still help people. Maybe we might have, at last, learnt the lesson, or maybe we are just master marketers, - yea right. Regards Brad Joint Equity CEO www.jointequity.co.uk Property Focus How to find out more: Go to http://investors.jointequity.com to view full details and more pictures for this property, or to make an Investor Reservation. You are welcome to send this newsletter to a friend, please click here. Click here to visit us online: www.jointequity.co.uk If you would like to stop receiving our newsletters, please click here to unsubscribe: Unsubscribe me from this mailing list The Joint Equity Scheme is for first-time buyers, home owners and property investors. Joint Equity Ltd works with Mortgage Beaters to provide case studies and Illustrations to prospective Owner-Partners & Investor-Partners. Joint Equity Ltd does not carry out any regulated activities and so is not regulated by the FSA (Financial Services Authority). Joint Equity Ltd are introducer appointed representatives of Mortgage Beaters Ltd, who are authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. The content of this newsletter is accurate to the best of our knowledge and for information only. We do not provide financial advice. Joint Equity Ltd., a UK company Reg No: 4915890 Registered office: 17 Hanbury Close, Cheshunt, Herts, EN8 9BZ ©Joint Equity Ltd (2008) unless where otherwise stated

Some green shoots? I think so.

jointequity — Tuesday 19th of May 2009 05:40:02 PM

Click here to view this Newsletter online Click here for our Newsletter archive Click here to unsubscribe 19 May 2009 Dear %%First Name%%, you are subscribed to this newsletter using the following email address: %%emailaddress%%. Are you ready to make your first Joint Equity Investment? Register here to activate your portfolio and receive Joint Equity investment alerts direct to your inbox. There is currently NO FEE to register, so join us now. Already registered? Click here to login and view the latest Joint Equity Properties and Investment Opportunities. Not sure what to expect? Here's how it works: Registered Investor-Partners login here: http://investors.jointequity.com/ to see our properties and make reservations it's simple and quick. If you are not yet registered then click and complete the very simple form. You can then download the info pack. Clicking in the list on left hand side brings up a searchable list of all properties uploaded by our Estate Agent Partners. From this page you can get more details of the property by clicking and there is a link to the Estate Agents web site. You can also see if there is a reservation on the property, the reservation button turns red as here, and you can make your own reservations. Click <1st> <2nd> or <3rd> There is also the opportunity to put properties on your Watch List so that you can get back to them quickly. Click to add a property. Our Joint Equity Agents are adding properties every day so keep logging on to secure the best investments.Click here to see for yourself In this issue: 1. Brad's column News and views from Brad Bamfield, Joint Equity Chief Executive. We have internet access problems from the office which BT says is to do with static IP addresses, so we are sending a shortened newsletter this week. With the news this week about the politicians and their expenses we look at ethical investments and how hard it is to really invest ethically. 2. Property Focus Joint Equity Investment Opportunities available now. Preview some of the latest properties available through Joint Equity Estate Agent Partners. For more news and information: News updates on our website Latest articles from Joint Equity Brad's column This week focusing on the property industry is difficult with so much going on in the political arena. But we will do so, as I am sure you are not interested in my views about thieving, robbing, lying, two faced g*ts that tell us the recession is all our fault for borrowing too much while they line their own pockets. And don't even get me started on the Speaker. Ultimate power corrupts ultimately and, as we have said before, it does not matter if you are in business or politics if you have too much power, for too long, you screw up. So let's focus on business and how we can all benefit from the market at present. Well one way you won't is through the Buy to Let (BtL) sector. BtL mortgages are down by 35% compared to last year as rents fail to provide rental cover required and the lenders ask for higher deposits of up to 40%. Just who would want to spend that much cash to earn 1% ROI? It is also important to note that BtL arrears are up to 3.06% of all mortgages while owner occupier arrears are about the same. BtL landlords are under increased scrutiny by the lenders. Rightmove report that average asking prices have risen by 2.6% in the month. However, this is not a good indicator as we can ask but we might not get. Buyers still have the stronger position and offers accepted by Joint Equity buyers this month are still up to 15% below asking price. But remember it was ever thus, we ask top dollar to accept a lower price and then we are all happy. I call it the "property dance". More relevant is the number of new listings on Rightmove, last month there were 61,000 down from 135,000 in April 2008. It is also the lowest monthly total since 2003. This decline in the supply side will inevitably reflect in higher prices as the mortgage famine is just about over, with new deals coming to market every day and 29% more mortgages agreed last month (which is clearly significant). We must also balance this supply decline with the fact that estate agents are now reporting an average of 10 sales per month per branch up from 8 two months ago. Of course there are now a lot less estate agents and branches so even with reduced sales the sales per branch must mean higher sales per surviving branch. I think we are where I predicated (just after Christmas) we would be once the market sentiment changed; in a period of conflicting statistics. However, what is evident is that Joint Equity is attracting a lot of interest from buyers and investors. Interestingly an Owner-Partner who registered with us in February 08 has just had an offer accepted and is proceeding with a Joint Equity purchase. In the unlikely event that were to be repeated across all Owner-Partners who have been registered for longer than 6 months we could see an additional 953 applications shortly. Let us hope, for my sanity, that they all don't click at the same time. In working this statistic out I realised something else (and you know the odd ways my mind works) that in the last 6 months we have had as many Owner-Partner register as we did in the previous 18 months, give or take a few. This suggests a rate of growth that could cause us customer satisfaction pressures in the future by over loading our existing lenders and exhausting our present stock of Investor-Partners. For a while now we have not been actively recruiting Investor-Partners as we tried to satisfy the (insatiable) demand of the existing registered Investor-Partners first, but with the current interest in ethical investment we are having to rethink our strategy. Joint Equity is the only way to ethically invest in residential property, we have discussed why many times but I read an article by Alan Oscroft from Motley Fool here I now wonder if we are the only way to achieve ethical investments at all. Alan uses the example of his assessment that Imperial Tobacco is an unethical company because tobacco products cause diseases and kill people every day all over the world. He then decides he cannot invest in any company that invests Imperial. So he traces the shareholdings in Imperial and finds that Legal and General holds 4.5% of the shares so insurance products with L&G are a no go area. But Aviva own about 15% of L&G so they are out as well. (No wonder my pension is doing so badly) But then it gets even worse as Barclays is one of Aviva's largest shareholders so I will need to close my account there as well. I suppose that there is always the Coop. The article raises some interesting problems with just how you do invest if you do want to be ethical I suggest you read it it will only take a few minutes. A quick review of the 1,000's of ethical investment sites available from Google shows that most focus on green and environmental issues with many highlighting wind power as ethical and nuclear fuel as not. I wonder how many actually enquire where the raw materials for the manufacture of the turbines come from and what conditions the miners work under? If they did I wonder how many would still consider wind power ethical? So back to Joint Equity, the Investor-Partner provides the only way for our Owner-Partners to get out of rented and into their own homes (social good). When our Investor-Partner makes money so does the Owner-Partner (economic good). If the Owner-Partner wants to invest in improving the energy performance of his home he can and often the Investor-Partner will contribute (environmental good). But the biggest impact we have is when a BtL landlord crosses over to Joint Equity and the tenant becomes an Owner-Partner and the landlord becomes an Investor-Partner. It not only makes them both better off it gives us all here a big buzz as well. So all in all Joint Equity provides benefits for all the areas of sustainability and provides ethical investment opportunities. Log in to your Investor-Partner area now here to see what investments are currently available. Regards Brad Joint Equity CEO www.jointequity.co.uk Property Focus Location: Romanes Street, Northwich Property type: 2-bed Terrace Joint Equity price:£57,500 for 50% ownership share About this property: A two bedroom mid terraced house, positioned within a popular location of Northwich, and within walking distance of local amenities. In brief the accommodation comprises to the ground floor: Entrance Hall with the original Minton Tiled floor, Breakfast Kitchen, Lounge and separate Sitting Room. To the first floor there are two good sized bedrooms and an excellent size family bathroom. The property benefits from gas fired central and majority double glazing. Paved yard and garage to the rear. Joint Equity Estate Agent: www.frankmarshall.co.uk How to find out more: Go to http://investors.jointequity.com to view full details and more pictures for this property, or to make an Investor Reservation. Not what you're looking for: Login to the Investors Area to browse all currently available Joint Equity properties. You are welcome to send this newsletter to a friend, please click here. Click here to visit us online: www.jointequity.co.uk If you would like to stop receiving our newsletters, please click here to unsubscribe: Unsubscribe me from this mailing list The Joint Equity Scheme is for first-time buyers, home owners and property investors. Joint Equity Ltd works with Mortgage Beaters to provide case studies and Illustrations to prospective Owner-Partners & Investor-Partners. Joint Equity Ltd does not carry out any regulated activities and so is not regulated by the FSA (Financial Services Authority). Joint Equity Ltd are introducer appointed representatives of Mortgage Beaters Ltd, who are authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. The content of this newsletter is accurate to the best of our knowledge and for information only. We do not provide financial advice. Joint Equity Ltd., a UK company Reg No: 4915890 Registered office: 17 Hanbury Close, Cheshunt, Herts, EN8 9BZ ©Joint Equity Ltd (2008) unless where otherwise stated

Another nail in the coffin of Buy to Let? It�s looking more like a pin cushion every day.

jointequity — Tuesday 12th of May 2009 12:15:01 PM

Click here to view this Newsletter online Click here for our Newsletter archive Click here to unsubscribe 12 May 2009 Dear %%First Name%%, you are subscribed to this newsletter using the following email address: %%emailaddress%%. Are you ready to make your first Joint Equity Investment? Register here to activate your portfolio and receive Joint Equity investment alerts direct to your inbox. There is currently NO FEE to register, so join us now. Already registered? Click here to login and view the latest Joint Equity Properties and Investment Opportunities. Not sure what to expect? Here's how it works: Registered Investor-Partners login here: http://investors.jointequity.com/ to see our properties and make reservations it's simple and quick. If you are not yet registered then click and complete the very simple form. You can then download the info pack. Clicking in the list on left hand side brings up a searchable list of all properties uploaded by our Estate Agent Partners. From this page you can get more details of the property by clicking and there is a link to the Estate Agents web site. You can also see if there is a reservation on the property, the reservation button turns red as here, and you can make your own reservations. Click <1st> <2nd> or <3rd> There is also the opportunity to put properties on your Watch List so that you can get back to them quickly. Click to add a property. Our Joint Equity Agents are adding properties every day so keep logging on to secure the best investments.Click here to see for yourself In this issue: 1. Brad's column News and views from Brad Bamfield, Joint Equity Chief Executive. A short newsletter this week (who said "I believe that when I see it"?) as I have been very busy with new lenders this week, with the first applications going through. (More news on that shortly when we launch after the pilot applications) So I am going to focus on a few nuggets of news that may have passed you by. Buyers coming back to the market, but Buy to Let takes a turn for the worse with a big hit. How do you now invest in residential property? Read on. 2. Property Focus Joint Equity Investment Opportunities available now. Preview some of the latest properties available through Joint Equity Estate Agent Partners. For more news and information: News updates on our website Latest articles from Joint Equity Brad's column This week a number of items have attracted my attention. LIBOR falls again to 1.43% House price decline, declines again from 1.9% to 1.7% in a month. (Nationwide) Rightmove reports 21% of first time buyers think the market will be worse (higher prices) for them in 12 months time and "As a potential alternative to outright purchase a huge 43% of the 3,120 First-Time Buyer respondents are considering or would consider buying through a shared-ownership scheme" However it goes on to say that the interest has been raised by the Budget changes but that 23% have yet to look at any homes, highlighting the reluctance many have to join the Government HomeBuy schemes. Miles Shipside Rightmove's Commercial Director says in conclusion "Policy makers and mortgage lenders need to take the plight of frustrated first-time buyers seriously and consider the effects of cherry picking equity rich buyers who are trading up, in preference to first time buyers with lower deposits. The result is short-chains which are counter-productive to the long-term health of the housing market. First time buyers help begin a chain and over the years they then move up though the rungs of the housing ladder creating greater liquidity of the housing stock. "The British aspiration of property ownership remains high and aspiring first-time buyers cannot be condemned to renting forever. We need to think about the long-term effects of the continuing mortgage famine and current lending policies." First time buyers also have Joint Equity as an alternative option to renting and the Government schemes and they are registering in ever higher numbers; 27% more new registrations in April than March; 15% more online Illustrations completed as well. It will not be long before this interest becomes applications, so if you are thinking of investing be ready to move quickly, as competition will be hoting up. Buy to Let landlords now face having to be licensed by the Government before they will be "allowed" to be a landlord, as well as having to register to hold deposits. If the tenant complains about anything that is contrary to the "strict code of practice" the landlord could lose the license and then be unable to let the property again. Once again the Government intervenes for the best of reasons but unsettles the market. This proposal moves the balance even more towards the tenant and further disadvantages the landlord. How long before unscrupulous tenants understand that they can pressure the landlord by threatening to complain with the possiblity of losing his license and income? And what will the licensing do for the security that the lenders require for the property. They rely on the income from the rent to pay the mortgage but if the license can be withdrawn at any time, how secure will the investment be? The lenders will run a mile. Moneysupermarket.com says that the number of Buy to Let mortgages on offer have dropped from 4,384 to 213 in two years, a massive fall of 95%. We can see what lenders think of the current BtL market. How many of the 213 mortgages will still be around if the Government scheme to license comes in? However, now Investors have a more profitable, no hassle and ethical way to invest in residential property, yes of course Joint Equity. I am pleased to say that more investors are realising that as we have a steady stream of new registrations; so welcome to all our new potential investors. Not only that but the lenders deserting BtL are coming over to Joint Equity, as a secure opportunity to place mortgages. Remember that a Joint Equity Investor-Partner is not a landlord, has no Landlord and Tennant obligations under the Act, and does not need to register with any Government quango or be licensed. But a Joint Equity Investor-Partner earns 6% return on investment a year, shares in capital growth, has very little maintenance cost and for the same £ invested in BtL will see +100% more return with Joint Equity. How? Check the web site it is all there www.jointequity.co.uk It is definitely shorter this week but I hope just as interesting. Regards Brad Joint Equity CEO www.jointequity.co.uk Property Focus Location: Long Acre, Northwich Property type: End Terrace Joint Equity price: £124,975 for 50% Ownership About this property: A well presented four bedroom family home, located in a quiet cul-de-sac within the desirable, prestigious area of Delamere Park, offering swimming pool, tennis courts, squash courts, community centre with bar. Close to Delamere Forest. Viewing is essential to appreciate the flexibility the property offers as a family home. In brief the accommodation comprises entrance vestibule, cloakroom, dining room, kitchen, good sized lounge that opens on to the rear garden. To the first floor there are three double bedrooms and family bathroom, with the master bedroom being on the second floor with en-suite shower facilities. Externally there are gardens to the front and rear, the rear garden offering a good degree of privacy and giving access to the detached single garage. Joint Equity Estate Agent: www.frankmarshall.co.uk How to find out more: Go to http://investors.jointequity.com to view full details and more pictures for this property, or to make an Investor Reservation. Not what you're looking for: Login to the Investors Area to browse all currently available Joint Equity properties. You are welcome to send this newsletter to a friend, please click here. Click here to visit us online: www.jointequity.co.uk If you would like to stop receiving our newsletters, please click here to unsubscribe: Unsubscribe me from this mailing list The Joint Equity Scheme is for first-time buyers, home owners and property investors. Joint Equity Ltd works with Mortgage Beaters to provide case studies and Illustrations to prospective Owner-Partners & Investor-Partners. Joint Equity Ltd does not carry out any regulated activities and so is not regulated by the FSA (Financial Services Authority). Joint Equity Ltd are introducer appointed representatives of Mortgage Beaters Ltd, who are authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. The content of this newsletter is accurate to the best of our knowledge and for information only. We do not provide financial advice. Joint Equity Ltd., a UK company Reg No: 4915890 Registered office: 17 Hanbury Close, Cheshunt, Herts, EN8 9BZ ©Joint Equity Ltd (2008) unless where otherwise stated

Return of ethics to business and to our lives?

jointequity — Tuesday 05th of May 2009 02:05:06 PM

Click here to view this Newsletter online Click here for our Newsletter archive Click here to unsubscribe 5 May 2009 Dear %%First Name%%, you are subscribed to this newsletter using the following email address: %%emailaddress%%. Are you ready to make your first Joint Equity Investment? Register here to activate your portfolio and receive Joint Equity investment alerts direct to your inbox. There is currently NO FEE to register, so join us now. Already registered? Click here to login and view the latest Joint Equity Properties and Investment Opportunities. Not sure what to expect? Here's how it works: Registered Investor-Partners login here: http://investors.jointequity.com/ to see our properties and make reservations it's simple and quick. If you are not yet registered then click and complete the very simple form. You can then download the info pack. Clicking in the list on left hand side brings up a searchable list of all properties uploaded by our Estate Agent Partners. From this page you can get more details of the property by clicking and there is a link to the Estate Agents web site. You can also see if there is a reservation on the property, the reservation button turns red as here, and you can make your own reservations. Click <1st> <2nd> or <3rd> There is also the opportunity to put properties on your Watch List so that you can get back to them quickly. Click to add a property. Our Joint Equity Agents are adding properties every day so keep logging on to secure the best investments.Click here to see for yourself In this issue: 1. Brad's column News and views from Brad Bamfield, Joint Equity Chief Executive. This week we have examples of the parallel universe theory again. I seem to live in one and most commentators and politicians live in another. 2. Property Focus Joint Equity Investment Opportunities available now. Preview some of the latest properties available through Joint Equity Estate Agent Partners. For more news and information: News updates on our website Latest articles from Joint Equity Brad's column Before the budget last week numerous commentators racked over their pet theories about why we are in this mess. Most seem to say it is the banks' fault combined with everyone of us not saving enough. Oddly if we saved more the banks would have had more money to gamble with and lose. How many times have we all heard that endowments have not performed and that you, the saver, will have to save more to pay off the mortgage. The other oddness is that every time we do save more through pensions the Chancellor, well a series of Chancellors, have raided the pension funds as a cheap and hidden way of raising additional revenue. I guess that once Mr Brown carried out the first £5bn raid and got away with it, subsequent hits were inevitable. Once again pensions have been hit hard but we get very little reaction. Pension raids affect all of us, those with pensions obviously, but those without as well which is not so obvious, so why is there not more anger and dissent? This Government has engendered a culture of obscuration and envy, starting with the pledge not to raise income tax, while raising every other form of tax, through to changing the emphasis on to who is a victim and relying on envy to let them get away with taking more from "high earners". Combine this with the pernicious effect of the Human Rights Act, which will only be obvious once the social historians look back on it once we are permitted to do it, and we have the current climate of disaster and despair. What upsets me most about this whole thing is the slow erosion of our culture and our country over the last 11 years by a combination of a Labour Government, with an odd self serving agenda, and a European Union hell bent on bringing every member country to a mediocre lowest level. Contrast this with the aspirations of Margaret Thatcher, at least before she caved in to the cabinet wets, as we are reminded by Julie Meyer today in City AM. The core principle of Thatcherism is "accountability" the decisions we make in life our ours and we are responsible for them. That we could all grow depending on our merit and talent. And we all have merit and we all have talent, it is just different with every person. Essentially, why pull me down; why not encourage me and boost everyone else? This current fudging of edges and obscurity to promote our own agenda has invaded all walks of life and now, sadly, has become part of investment advice. I see the Sunday Times this week is bashing Buy to Let investments again with an example that shows pensions, even with the higher tax rate, and ISAs provide higher incomes. While I agree that Buy to Let is not the best way to invest in residential property (well I would wouldn't I) I do want to take issue with their assumptions for the next 25 years. For property. First they the rent will only cover the mortgage interest. Secondly they assume value growth of 4% pa. Thirdly there is no alternative. For ISAs.Firstly they assume the growth in an ISA is 4%. Secondly when you retire you can move the cash "into funds that pay a decent yield" (? Wow that is a big one). Now I am not a financial genius but I do know that I can manipulate numbers to get any answer I want by stacking the assumptions I make. That is why many users of Net Present Value, NPV, calculations for Government contracts ask me for advice and why the chairman of the National Audit Office asked me why the then current PFI contracts were such bad value for the tax payer. The answer is Bamfield Rule 1; The more complex the calculation method, the less people bother to understand it and the more likely the ones that do can manipulate the result. Not rocket science. I did take time to understand NPV, as part of financial management during my MBA, and I could see a number of ways that a skilled user could ensure the desired answer was achieved. Now I will admit that as a management consultant I did just that for my clients on the basis of "caveat emptor". So take 4% property growth, fudge the income numbers, and compare with a nebulous future option and hey presto get the answer you want. But there is another way to invest in residential property and it is part of what will drive the next 20 years of business, investment and our personal life. Of course I refer to ethics, including ethical investment and ethical behaviour. When I began putting the Joint Equity products and services together the first and fundamental principle I adopted was openness and transparency (is that 2 principles?) and we have built the Joint Equity culture on that. Therefore we have a 96 page web site that has all the information about Joint Equity that we think any Partner will need. Many business consultants have told us that we are "giving" too much information away and that we should draw our Partners in step by step until they give us "loads of money". We are not comfortable with that approach and we have never subscribed to the NLP, neuro linguistic programming, way of customer interfacing. And 100% of feedback Partners have made said that the web site provides all the information they need which they find reassuring from the moment they consider Joint Equity. The argument for reducing the information freely available was that we were gifting our competitors all our "secrets". Interestingly the culture of our business is very clear from our web site and the levels of "trust" we develop with our Partners is envied and unachieved by many businesses, or so I am told by consultants. Maybe that has something to do with publishing our Treating Partners Fairly results even when they are not so good. However, paradoxically the result has been quite the opposite. Competitors are deterred by our openness and culture of honesty, (we would welcome some competitors as we would benefit from their marketing) which is an area where they cannot compete. So when it comes down to a comparison between Joint Equity and Buy to Let, as the alternatives to invest in residential property, we are just as honest as we are in everything else and you can see it all here. We have to adopt some parameters, which we apply to each, and the results are quite dramatic in the difference where Joint Equity delivers 250% more than Buy to Let with a like for like investment. Other news this week. LIBOR drops again to 1.455% Building society mortgage approvals doubled in March. All mortgage approvals in March up to over 39,000 highest in 10 months. House prices dropped by 0.4% in April according to the Nationwide. That is £500 on a £125,000 Joint Equity home. Abbey profits up 25% in Q1. Only one homeowner has been helped by the Government's mortgage rescue scheme since launch. Kate Barker, author of the 2004 Housing Supply Review, calls on the Government to rethink new homes target as 240,000 was unachievable in the good times and now we need new ideas. (Thanks to David Thompson for referring this one to me). Finally Chancellor Alistair Darling has admitted that there is no scientific reason for setting the higher rate tax threshold at £150,000 and says this level was chosen simply on his own judgement. (You could not make it up). Until next week. Regards Brad Joint Equity CEO www.jointequity.co.uk Property Focus Location: Bradwell Village, Oxfordshire Property type: 2 bed, Terraced Joint Equity price: 87,500 for 50% ownership About this property: In our opinion a beautifully presented two bedroomed terraced house on this popular development situated between the market town of Lechlade and Burford. Accomodation comprises entrance hall, cloakroom, kitchen, and sitting/dining room on the ground floor. On the first floor are two double bedrooms and bathroom. There are front and rear gardens, the rear garden having gated access with a single sized garage in a nearby block, parking in front of garage and one allocated parking space. Joint Equity Estate Agent: www.wychwoods.com How to find out more: Go to http://investors.jointequity.com to view full details and more pictures for this property, or to make an Investor Reservation. Not what you're looking for: Login to the Investors Area to browse all currently available Joint Equity properties. You are welcome to send this newsletter to a friend, please click here. Click here to visit us online: www.jointequity.co.uk If you would like to stop receiving our newsletters, please click here to unsubscribe: Unsubscribe me from this mailing list The Joint Equity Scheme is for first-time buyers, home owners and property investors. Joint Equity Ltd works with Mortgage Beaters to provide case studies and Illustrations to prospective Owner-Partners & Investor-Partners. Joint Equity Ltd does not carry out any regulated activities and so is not regulated by the FSA (Financial Services Authority). Joint Equity Ltd are introducer appointed representatives of Mortgage Beaters Ltd, who are authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. The content of this newsletter is accurate to the best of our knowledge and for information only. We do not provide financial advice. Joint Equity Ltd., a UK company Reg No: 4915890 Registered office: 17 Hanbury Close, Cheshunt, Herts, EN8 9BZ ©Joint Equity Ltd (2008) unless where otherwise stated

The banks fail a further test, what is their future?

jointequity — Tuesday 28th of April 2009 04:50:02 PM

Click here to view this Newsletter online Click here for our Newsletter archive Click here to unsubscribe 28 April 2009 Dear %%First Name%%, you are subscribed to this newsletter using the following email address: %%emailaddress%%. Are you ready to make your first Joint Equity Investment? Register here to activate your portfolio and receive Joint Equity investment alerts direct to your inbox. There is currently NO FEE to register, so join us now. Already registered? Click here to login and view the latest Joint Equity Properties and Investment Opportunities. Not sure what to expect? Here's how it works: Registered Investor-Partners login here: http://investors.jointequity.com/ to see our properties and make reservations it's simple and quick. If you are not yet registered then click and complete the very simple form. You can then download the info pack. Clicking in the list on left hand side brings up a searchable list of all properties uploaded by our Estate Agent Partners. From this page you can get more details of the property by clicking and there is a link to the Estate Agents web site. You can also see if there is a reservation on the property, the reservation button turns red as here, and you can make your own reservations. Click <1st> <2nd> or <3rd> There is also the opportunity to put properties on your Watch List so that you can get back to them quickly. Click to add a property. Our Joint Equity Agents are adding properties every day so keep logging on to secure the best investments.Click here to see for yourself In this issue: 1. Brad's column News and views from Brad Bamfield, Joint Equity Chief Executive. I have been quite subdued for a couple of weeks but this is a spleen venting week and we are back to bank bashing because they give us so much ammunition. How can people who purport themselves to be so good, get it so wrong and not see the inevitable heading their way? 2. Property Focus Joint Equity Investment Opportunities available now. Preview some of the latest properties available through Joint Equity Estate Agent Partners. For more news and information: News updates on our website Latest articles from Joint Equity Brad's column It is Tuesday morning, I am in my Wapping office, I have had my bacon roll (without butter), I have read the Sun (so it must be true) and I am writing this newsletter with sadness, frustration and excitment. This week Fergus Shanahan reports that the Mortgage Support Scheme launched with such a political fan fare in December has limped into being this week but as a pale shadow of the original idea. Why, because once again the banks just ignored a brilliant opportunity to rebuild their reputations and avoid the cliff edge that is rushing towards them at 100mph. The fact that it was a poor scheme hastily cobbled together does not mean they could not have adopted it and improved it. "Cliff, what cliff" I hear you ask? Let me explain, in 1995 I took a year off and realised an, almost, lifelong ambition to return to University and complete a Master of Business Administration (MBA) with the support of my wife, family and friends. It was one of the most satisfying things I have ever done, it expanded my knowledge and stretched my ability, not least because of the excellent lecturers and the multi-national students in my class. I chose for my final dissertation the loss of competitive advantage of BT. Now this was the time when deregulation had just started, BT was the 99% monopoly provider of telecoms, mobile phones were in their infancy and expensive, and there were very few alternatives to BT, even phone boxes were profitable (but declining and the decline was increasing). Interestingly BT gave me real support in the research and their development centre at Martlesham Down provided some really interesting information on the technologies they had developed over the years. However, the management of BT had no interest in bringing any of it to market, they were quite happy to sit with the tried and tested and considered innovation just too risky, dangerous and unnecessary; as they were doing very well. What they mismanaged was that to stay dominant and profitable they had to continue to "grow" and they decided the growth they would go for was in "sexy" business services rather than their core business of technology. They wanted to be a providers of video content over the phone lines and the supplier of telecoms services to worldwide customers. The first fell foul of the regulator, who was madly incubating competitors to BT and protecting them from the big bad monopoly, and the second was never going to be a real income replacement for core business. Bear with me there is a reason for this line of argument. At Martlesham Down BT still has technology that can still blow the socks off nearly every telecoms company in the world, and I cite the very good BT internet home hub hardware they now produce which is only let down by their poor customer service and poor internet server implementation. In 1995 my idea that BT would be severely impacted by the growth of competitors was heresy and as none of them was even 1% of their size BT did not develop a defensive strategy. As requested by them I sent my dissertation to BT and as expected there was no reaction at all. However, I did get an A for the dissertation and I graduated the MBA with a distinction. My first principle of business is to protect what you have and then to add value to your customers from a position of strength, either product or technology or customer service. BT had forgotten that, or worse never appreciated it. They did not engage in the political (small p) elements of big business, they did not trade on what they had that would extend their led, rather they considered themselves too big to worry, that everyone needed BT and that they controlled the agenda. Oh dear, hubris raises its ugly head again, have we seen any evidence of it recently (I bet you are already in front of me and know where I am headed)? Fast forward to today BT has been losing market share steadily for 10 years, as a conglomerate they lost their focus many years ago and now profits and share price have gone south. The tragedy is that the managers who could have avoided this have long gone with their big bonuses and pensions. (Now you really must know where I am headed.) What corollaries can we draw between BT then and the banking industry today? Well at first sight BT seems completely different from banks but the similarity of what they did, and are doing to themselves is startling. UK banking today is effectively a duopoly, (several companies acting collectively as a monopoly), and as such they consider themselves untouchable by competition and regulation. Let us just consider competition for a second. Since banking deregulation, under Maggie, we have seen massive consolidation with regional banks merging to make nationals and then small nationals being absorbed into the massive banks we have today. Question: Can you remember when a new bank entered the market? Not Tesco bank, that was RBS with a Tesco marketing overlay, not Virgin Money which was essentially the same, no I refer to a genuine new entrant that provided a service to a broad market, was not connected to the big boys and provided a genuine competitive alternative.. No I cannot think of one either. However, what there has been is a nibbling around the edges with specialists setting up to provide a more focused offering in the very profitable bits. Do you see the similarity with 1995 BT? Individually each one of these new companies do not add up to much and the impact is small, but as in BT's day collectively they have a much bigger and subtle effect. And now it is accelerating and all the assistance they are getting from the regulator, the Bank of England and some well placed (currently) politicians will not save them in the long run. The banks have lost their focus on what they did well. They have adopted a business model that the rest of business tried and moved on from years ago, I refer to conglomerate and vertical integration. What seems odd is that the banks have ignored the past failures, remember their dire foray into estate agencies? They have not seen the writing on the wall and with the comfort of the regulator, who considers bigger business easier to regulate, have continued with this expansion into other areas. So now we have the ultimate failure of banks management. They moved so far from core business and principles, into "sexy" derivatives and massive transient (illusory?) profits, that they lost control and effectively bankrupted themselves. Today they still see no need to engage in the political arena of how the population perceives them. They pass up opportunity after opportunity to rebuild their reputations and future with the excuse of sticking to "prudent" banking. Now this is wearing thin. Banks are squeezing mortgage borrowers to rebuild profits and using "prudent" lending to save ourselves form ourselves. While doing nothing to put the underlying wrongs right. And now we all know it. If I remember correctly it was not the mortgages themselves that caused the problems, even the non conforming sub-prime ones, but the way the banks cut them up, repackaged them and resold them 20 times over, then insurers insured the buyers against losses. Then they did this so often they all lost track of the underlying asset value. Let us not mince words Northern Rock did not go bust as a result of bad debts even from its 125% mortgages, even though the banks, regulators and (some) politicians want us to believe they did, they went bust because the banks lost confidence in each other and would not lend to each other. In other words the banks brought it on themselves. Now we get to the nub of this newsletter. There is a growing number of influential people, politicians (some) and shareholders, who now believe banks are too big and should be broken up for a number of reasons including the parts are worth more than the whole and more focused bits can make more in the future. The other element is how many new entrants are trying to get into the market and who will strip the existing duopoly of its cash cows (see I do remember my MBA). Tell me that if my old mate Richard Branson really does set up a genuine new bank, that he owns and controls, people won't desert the old lags in their millions and move to the business they trust? Small boutique investment banks are now doing specialist things much better than the old lags and that sector will be lost to them as well. Even here at Joint Equity we are considering setting up our own ethical mortgage lender to provide Joint Equity Partners with funds; a potential market of £4bn a year. I agree it's not huge, when you consider the whole UK mortgage market, but it is a profitable low risk segment that will be lost to the big banks. The interesting question is why we are considering it and the answer is that the existing mortgage sources cannot, or will not, provide sufficient funds to allow us to build our business. And that leaves us with little alternative. Combine this erosion with regulation reform and change of political focus that is almost inevitable with a new Government, then you see why I say the cliff is rushing towards them. And that is it; when the dominant players lose sight of opportunities, the market will find a way to provide the need. New players, new products, new approaches, all the innovations the dominant players avoid. And when they lose sight of political pressures as well, they have only so long to save themselves. So my prediction this week is that banks shares have some way to grow yet and when they start to break themselves up there will be added value for shareholders. But excitement is the overriding emotion, we are at the beginning of the end of the old order and the future is now full of opportunities and we have the right people interested in making things happen. So who will be first? Well it seems to me that with the internal realignment going on at RBS then the Nat West brand will be reborn and shortly afterwards floated off as a separate company. And as you know where one lemming goes, so do they all. Until next week when I will return to market issues.Regards Brad Joint Equity CEO www.jointequity.co.uk Property Focus Location: Adlington Drive, Northwich, Cheshire CW9 Property type: End Terrace Joint Equity price: £67,250 for 50% ownership About this property: A delightful end terraced property, viewing is essential to appreciate the tastefully decorated and well presented accommodation, which in brief comprises entrance vestibule, entrance hall, lounge, modern fitted kitchen diner, two double bedrooms and modern ivory bathroom. Externally there is a lovely garden to the rear, with patio area, brick built barbeque and summer house. To the front there is off road parking. The property benefits from gas fired central heating and Upvc double glazing. Joint Equity Estate Agent: www.frankmarshall.co.uk How to find out more: Go to http://investors.jointequity.com to view full details and more pictures for this property, or to make an Investor Reservation. Not what you're looking for: Login to the Investors Area to browse all currently available Joint Equity properties. You are welcome to send this newsletter to a friend, please click here. Click here to visit us online: www.jointequity.co.uk If you would like to stop receiving our newsletters, please click here to unsubscribe: Unsubscribe me from this mailing list The Joint Equity Scheme is for first-time buyers, home owners and property investors. Joint Equity Ltd works with Mortgage Beaters to provide case studies and Illustrations to prospective Owner-Partners & Investor-Partners. Joint Equity Ltd does not carry out any regulated activities and so is not regulated by the FSA (Financial Services Authority). Joint Equity Ltd are introducer appointed representatives of Mortgage Beaters Ltd, who are authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. The content of this newsletter is accurate to the best of our knowledge and for information only. We do not provide financial advice. Joint Equity Ltd., a UK company Reg No: 4915890 Registered office: 17 Hanbury Close, Cheshunt, Herts, EN8 9BZ ©Joint Equity Ltd (2008) unless where otherwise stated

Alastair Darling supports Joint Equity schemes, no seriously!

jointequity — Wednesday 22nd of April 2009 01:45:02 PM

Click here to view this Newsletter online Click here for our Newsletter archive Click here to unsubscribe 22 April 2009 Dear %%First Name%%, you are subscribed to this newsletter using the following email address: %%emailaddress%%. Are you ready to make your first Joint Equity Investment? Register here to activate your portfolio and receive Joint Equity investment alerts direct to your inbox. There is currently NO FEE to register, so join us now. Already registered? Click here to login and view the latest Joint Equity Properties and Investment Opportunities. Not sure what to expect? Here's how it works: Registered Investor-Partners login here: http://investors.jointequity.com/ to see our properties and make reservations it's simple and quick. If you are not yet registered then click and complete the very simple form. You can then download the info pack. Clicking in the list on left hand side brings up a searchable list of all properties uploaded by our Estate Agent Partners. From this page you can get more details of the property by clicking and there is a link to the Estate Agents web site. You can also see if there is a reservation on the property, the reservation button turns red as here, and you can make your own reservations. Click <1st> <2nd> or <3rd> There is also the opportunity to put properties on your Watch List so that you can get back to them quickly. Click to add a property. Our Joint Equity Agents are adding properties every day so keep logging on to secure the best investments.Click here to see for yourself In this issue: 1. Brad's column News and views from Brad Bamfield, Joint Equity Chief Executive. News this week is positive, we have support from the Chancellor (although many may say that is a negative), mortgage lending up, sales up, so are these green shoots? 2. Property Focus Joint Equity Investment Opportunities available now. Preview some of the latest properties available through Joint Equity Estate Agent Partners. For more news and information: News updates on our website Latest articles from Joint Equity Brad's column So does this email headline grab your attention? Well if we believe yesterday's Guardian, in this afternoon's budget, Alastair Darling will support joint equity schemes. Quite what that will mean is anyone's guess, but it is interesting that joint equity is now becoming the standard term for shared home ownership and if you Google joint equity you get us as number one in the world from over 500,000 sites. (We are also number 3 for shared home ownership world wide as well.) We continue to see strong interest across the range Joint Equity products with first time buyers and divorced and separated particularly strong. I guess the separation rate goes up as the stress of recession bites which is a double kick for those affected. News this week. The Joint Equity online illustrator use is still rising which is supported by the news that house sales jumped 60,000 in March, source HMRC. LIBOR falls again, 6 month in a row?, to 1.53% and RICS says that buyer enquiries are up for the fifth month in a row. The Centre for Economics and Business Research said, on 10th April, rises in mortgage approvals will slow the rate of house price falls (do we really need an economist to tell us this really) and if approvals reach 60,000 a month then the bottom of the market is about 2 months away. Nice numbers those, worth remebering. Approvals last month were up 20% at 37,000. But there is a seasonal factor even so even after that it still means a 13% rise. So I would predict 60,000 will be reached in about 4 months (JUly/August) They also say 'The last month has seen the first real encouraging data on the housing market for quite some time. ' So I cannot see the green shoots anymore; because the forest is now too dense. But still the primary media do not pick up on the "good" news, they have now moved onto the redundancy risk as the latest frightener. At last a short newsletter and I hope the budget is kind to you. Regards Brad Joint Equity CEO www.jointequity.co.uk Property Focus Location: Long Acre, Northwich Property type: End Terrace Joint Equity price: £124,975 for 50% Ownership About this property: A well presented four bedroom family home, located in a quiet cul-de-sac within the desirable, prestigious area of Delamere Park, offering swimming pool, tennis courts, squash courts, community centre with bar. Close to Delamere Forest. Viewing is essential to appreciate the flexibility the property offers as a family home. In brief the accommodation comprises entrance vestibule, cloakroom, dining room, kitchen, good sized lounge that opens on to the rear garden. To the first floor there are three double bedrooms and family bathroom, with the master bedroom being on the second floor with en-suite shower facilities. Externally there are gardens to the front and rear, the rear garden offering a good degree of privacy and giving access to the detached single garage. Joint Equity Estate Agent: www.frankmarshall.co.uk How to find out more: Go to http://investors.jointequity.com to view full details and more pictures for this property, or to make an Investor Reservation. Not what you're looking for: Login to the Investors Area to browse all currently available Joint Equity properties. You are welcome to send this newsletter to a friend, please click here. Click here to visit us online: www.jointequity.co.uk If you would like to stop receiving our newsletters, please click here to unsubscribe: Unsubscribe me from this mailing list The Joint Equity Scheme is for first-time buyers, home owners and property investors. Joint Equity Ltd works with Mortgage Beaters to provide case studies and Illustrations to prospective Owner-Partners & Investor-Partners. Joint Equity Ltd does not carry out any regulated activities and so is not regulated by the FSA (Financial Services Authority). Joint Equity Ltd are introducer appointed representatives of Mortgage Beaters Ltd, who are authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. The content of this newsletter is accurate to the best of our knowledge and for information only. We do not provide financial advice. Joint Equity Ltd., a UK company Reg No: 4915890 Registered office: 17 Hanbury Close, Cheshunt, Herts, EN8 9BZ ©Joint Equity Ltd (2008) unless where otherwise stated

US Banks profits up; where now UK banks?

jointequity — Tuesday 14th of April 2009 02:30:02 PM

Click here to view this Newsletter online Click here for our Newsletter archive Click here to unsubscribe 13 April 2009 Dear %%First Name%%, you are subscribed to this newsletter using the following email address: %%emailaddress%%. Are you ready to make your first Joint Equity Investment? Register here to activate your portfolio and receive Joint Equity investment alerts direct to your inbox. There is currently NO FEE to register, so join us now. Already registered? Click here to login and view the latest Joint Equity Properties and Investment Opportunities. Not sure what to expect? Here's how it works: Registered Investor-Partners login here: http://investors.jointequity.com/ to see our properties and make reservations it's simple and quick. If you are not yet registered then click and complete the very simple form. You can then download the info pack. Clicking in the list on left hand side brings up a searchable list of all properties uploaded by our Estate Agent Partners. From this page you can get more details of the property by clicking and there is a link to the Estate Agents web site. You can also see if there is a reservation on the property, the reservation button turns red as here, and you can make your own reservations. Click <1st> <2nd> or <3rd> There is also the opportunity to put properties on your Watch List so that you can get back to them quickly. Click to add a property. Our Joint Equity Agents are adding properties every day so keep logging on to secure the best investments.Click here to see for yourself In this issue: 1. Brad's column News and views from Brad Bamfield, Joint Equity Chief Executive. Every week I set out to write a short note and each week it just gets longer. I am getting fed up bashing banks, but they cannot stop giving me reasons. This week news that US banks are making money. UK banks make hay. The market continues to improve; but mortgages get harder to find. 2. Property Focus Joint Equity Investment Opportunities available now. Preview some of the latest properties available through Joint Equity Estate Agent Partners. For more news and information: News updates on our website Latest articles from Joint Equity Brad's column News this week, released early, that Wells Fargo and Goldman Sachs have increased profits above analysts' expectations, even if Goldman's did a bit of sleight of hand by reporting a $1.1bn loss in December separately. Where US banks go today UK banks follow shortly, I wonder what joys the 1st Quarter results will bring us later this month? But just as banks may have turned the corner they are up to their old smoke and mirror tricks again, by saying one thing and really doing another. Headlines trumpet the "new" 90% LTV offer from HSBC. However, not all is as it seems with this new marketing blitz from HSBC. Remember how they scored the marketing coup with the offer to remortgage, at a reasonable rate, anyone coming to the end of their existing fixed period last year? How many column inches were devoted to it but delve into the small print and you find that it is only available to borrowers with less than 60% LTV. So too with this newest offer; the small print is the killer. The offer comes with a near £1,500 up front fee and you have to open one of their premier accounts at £12.95 per month, which itself is not very good deal with very low value "freebies" such as travel insurance, poor cover, and breakdown cover, even worse cover. Don't forget that they have also reduced the income multiples to 3.5 so the actual amount you can borrow is very limited. The average income is around £25,000 so the maximum mortgage is about £87,500 and with your 10% deposit the maximum value of property you can look to buy is £92.300. Generous. So who will be able to use the £1bn of fund available? So all in all not a very attractive offer but if you only have a small deposit then it seems to hold out hope, it also gets the politicians off the bank's back. Clever, and not costly at all but with big marketing returns. However, I was at a reception hosted by HSBC in Pall Mall 2 weeks ago when the bank's area commercial manager told us all that it was business as usual for HSBC and "we have never been away". Later the same manager told me unequivocally that they have been told "no investment in property will be approved for the foreseeable future". He made no distinction between commercial and residential. A conundrum then. We have a £1bn 90% mortgage but "no lending" instruction. This leads me to the conclusion that our banks are becoming as perfidious as our politicians at spin and not quite telling the truth. It is a universal truism that we get the politicians that we deserve and it now seems that we get the bankers as well. The current jolly jape of the lenders is to delay the application as long as possible by asking additional questions and requesting "proofs" and then declining all applications that have been with them longer than 6 weeks, with no explanation or appeal. Customer service? Unfortunately, I fear the good marketing is going to turn against them as the hopes and aspirations of home owners are dashed when they are turned down or cannot fund even a reasonable home. It will not take long for the word to circulate that the banks are up to their old tricks again and that they really have no interest in helping anyone but themselves. Especially when the profits start to roll in again. I see in the Sun today (so it must be true, OK it is just 1 column inch and buried at the bottom of page 17), that nearly 2 million are currently living rent free with friends or family which is 3 times the number compared to last year. Now not all these want to own homes but many do and the current Joint Equity estimate of the demand for first time buyer homes is around the 1 million, for this we have used reductions in first time buyer mortgages over the last 5 years and other statistics. This coincides with the demise of the buy to let market where new mortgages have collapsed to a fraction of 2 years ago. However, the desire to invest in residential property, from knowledgeable investors, is possibly higher now than at any time in the last 5 years. (Sorry no stats for that it is just my impression). Of course Joint Equity solves the dilemma for both, the first time buyer can now afford a reasonable home and the investor has the opportunity to buy into residential property with reduced risk and exposure. So there are 1 million disenfranchised buyers out there, there are investors with £'s trying to get back into residential property and the Joint Equity business plan grow to offer 25,000 Joint Equity mortgages a year. Now all we need is to agree a steady and reliable funding stream from the banks and other mortgage lenders. Don't hold your breath. Maybe George Osborne is right, the banks should be broken up and that smaller institutions offer more competition and better customer service. Once again the banks are presiding over their own doom. News this week, the £ rises against the $ and �, shares also rises further and LIBOR continues its slow progress to "normalisation" falling to 1.57%. New mortgages up 4% in February says the CML but remortgages down and market generally weak. I wonder why the banks continue to hold mortgage rates at around 4.5%? No, it is s rhetorical question we all know why. Until next week. Regards Brad Joint Equity CEO www.jointequity.co.uk Property Focus Location: Long Acre, Northwich Property type: End Terrace Joint Equity price: £124,975 for 50% Ownership About this property: A well presented four bedroom family home, located in a quiet cul-de-sac within the desirable, prestigious area of Delamere Park, offering swimming pool, tennis courts, squash courts, community centre with bar. Close to Delamere Forest. Viewing is essential to appreciate the flexibility the property offers as a family home. In brief the accommodation comprises entrance vestibule, cloakroom, dining room, kitchen, good sized lounge that opens on to the rear garden. To the first floor there are three double bedrooms and family bathroom, with the master bedroom being on the second floor with en-suite shower facilities. Externally there are gardens to the front and rear, the rear garden offering a good degree of privacy and giving access to the detached single garage. Joint Equity Estate Agent: www.frankmarshall.co.uk How to find out more: Go to http://investors.jointequity.com to view full details and more pictures for this property, or to make an Investor Reservation. Not what you're looking for: Login to the Investors Area to browse all currently available Joint Equity properties. You are welcome to send this newsletter to a friend, please click here. Click here to visit us online: www.jointequity.co.uk If you would like to stop receiving our newsletters, please click here to unsubscribe: Unsubscribe me from this mailing list The Joint Equity Scheme is for first-time buyers, home owners and property investors. Joint Equity Ltd works with Mortgage Beaters to provide case studies and Illustrations to prospective Owner-Partners & Investor-Partners. Joint Equity Ltd does not carry out any regulated activities and so is not regulated by the FSA (Financial Services Authority). Joint Equity Ltd are introducer appointed representatives of Mortgage Beaters Ltd, who are authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. The content of this newsletter is accurate to the best of our knowledge and for information only. We do not provide financial advice. Joint Equity Ltd., a UK company Reg No: 4915890 Registered office: 17 Hanbury Close, Cheshunt, Herts, EN8 9BZ ©Joint Equity Ltd (2008) unless where otherwise stated

Housing market improvement sustained & (some) bankers receive another BB (Brad�s Broadside)

jointequity — Wednesday 08th of April 2009 10:55:11 AM

Click here to view this Newsletter online Click here for our Newsletter archive Click here to unsubscribe 07 April 2009 Dear %%First Name%%, you are subscribed to this newsletter using the following email address: %%emailaddress%%. Are you ready to make your first Joint Equity Investment? Register here to activate your portfolio and receive Joint Equity investment alerts direct to your inbox. There is currently NO FEE to register, so join us now. Already registered? Click here to login and view the latest Joint Equity Properties and Investment Opportunities. Not sure what to expect? Here's how it works: Registered Investor-Partners login here: http://investors.jointequity.com/ to see our properties and make reservations it's simple and quick. If you are not yet registered then click and complete the very simple form. You can then download the info pack. Clicking in the list on left hand side brings up a searchable list of all properties uploaded by our Estate Agent Partners. From this page you can get more details of the property by clicking and there is a link to the Estate Agents web site. You can also see if there is a reservation on the property, the reservation button turns red as here, and you can make your own reservations. Click <1st> <2nd> or <3rd> There is also the opportunity to put properties on your Watch List so that you can get back to them quickly. Click to add a property. Our Joint Equity Agents are adding properties every day so keep logging on to secure the best investments.Click here to see for yourself In this issue: 1. Brad's column News and views from Brad Bamfield, Joint Equity Chief Executive. Bankers are shooting themselves in the foot again, makes you wonder why do the "good" bankers associate their industry with the structured credit lot? Main stream media are still saying the UK heading for depression when the indicators seem to tell us a different story. Read on. 2. Property Focus Joint Equity Investment Opportunities available now. Preview some of the latest properties available through Joint Equity Estate Agent Partners. For more news and information: News updates on our website Latest articles from Joint Equity Brad's column This week a couple of items have attracted my attention. The Nationwide says house prices up 0.9% in March and Halifax says house prices down 1.9%. How can we have both? We can since the indexes are calculated using different methods and data and I predicted this as an indicator of the upturn beginning in a previous Newsletter, The Sunday Times, the Times and City AM all indicate that we may have reached the bottom of the housing cycle (more). Well (bit of drum banging here) you heard it first in my newsletters written on 6th,and 20th January 09 and again on 3rd and 10th February 09 with the reasons why I thought we had reached a turning point, you can read them, and all 62 back issues, in the newsletter archive here. The Times particularly focuses on mortgage approvals, which rose 19% in February. Well it does not surprise us as I identified the increased buyer activity, reported by our Joint Equity Estate Agent Partners, in December and January and those sales means more mortgages. However, the media in general still thunders on about the UK heading for depression not just recession. But City AM editor Allister Heath, who I consider to be a usually astute commentator, cites the Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) which shows for the 4th month in a row the speed of contraction slowing again, the manufacturers survey while still negative also showed us doing less badly and he also raises the CBI credit conditions survey showing what he says is a "decent" improvement. Allister goes on to say "Given all this semi decent news, which has been growing over the last couple of months, it is hard to understand those commentators still convinced we are on the brink of another Great Depression….. and the 1930's style mass soup kitchens". I agree it is time we look to the positives and, as we have said, recessions are about confidence as much as anything else. When confidence returns, recession ends, it is not the other way around. City AM also reports in its leader and in bold headlines "Banking Bonuses Down 62%" with "those selling structured credit" paid 86% less. Let us just look at what structured credit products are, they include; Up-front credit default swaps; quanto credit default swaps; credit swaptions (no seriously); zero recovery credit default swaps (does this not mean you get nothing?); first-to-default swaps/ Nth to-default swaps (????); credit linked notes; repackaging structures: (really you could not make this lot up if you tried). Then we have the whole collateralised debt obligations ( CDO ) market, including CDO structures, pricing and valuation, rating methodology, CDO variations, single tranche CDOs, hedging of CDO tranches, behaviour of CDO tranche (equity, mezzanine, senior and super senior) investments. (what about super-duper senior? Do we think they missed a product to sell?) To say nothing about credit default swaps and E2Cs (equity to credit that is) hedging (there is that word again). Frankly it all seems that if you make the name complex and nonsense then you can con more gullible people into buying your junk (do you remember Junk Bonds?). What is the old saying "you cannot con an honest man" well we now know that those who bought and sold these derivatives proves it is right. My thanks to Satyajit Das and his 3rd edition of Credit Derivatives, the complete reference work, for the above list and he goes on to discuss "trading in credit derivatives including more complex trading strategies such as basis trading and capital structure arbitrage trades". I think he uses the term "more complex" as a positive aspect of all this. Very odd. Recruitment agency Napier Scott warned that the fall in earnings "could have serious consequences…..as talented bankers head for better paid jobs overseas". Mr Springer Napier Scott's CEO went on to say "we must not lose sight of the fact that it took 30 years for it (London) to reach a position of financial supremacy and this status could be undone in a tenth of that time" (that's 3 years for non mathematicians) but we have news for you Mr Springer, they undid it in 6 months when we found out what they had been doing for the last 10 years. Now excuse me for being cynical but are these not the very trades and products that these "talented bankers" sold to each other, without any true understanding of the product or risk, that has bought just about every bank, involved in derivatives, in the world to its knees? Frankly if some overseas mug bank wants them - good riddance. Their sort of "talent" we can do without. London as the world's leading financial centre and our financial businesses will be stronger without them. But just as we thought things could not get worse the most diabolical "financial" activity developed by man, spread betting, has arrived in the residential market. IG Index now offers spread betting on the Nationwide Index of UK and London house prices. The idea is that you can offset the falls in value of your home by gambling on the housing market still falling or as IG says "make some money out of the downturn. The IG Index offer for Q2 09 is 152.7(sell) - 155.2(buy) for UK average index which predicts a further fall of £3,000 by Q2. The Q3 price is no better at 148.9 - 151.9. When gambling overtakes research and quantitative data then we are all doomed. Well IG is because boy are they going to be wrong footed. I am always suspicious when the example of how to make money by spread betting is based on the month with the single greatest price fall (April/May 08) since 1999.(Did you know IG also have a product called a Bungee Bet? No I will not say more if you want to know what it is look at their web site). This month sees a big increase in the number of listed Joint Equity properties but still we are being let down by lenders who seem to use any excuse to avoid providing mortgages. One of our Owner-Partners fell foul of the dirty tricks some use, no I will not tell you which lender it is nor will I confirm they are part of a Spanish bank that is advertising heavily at present saying they are offering more mortgages than any other provider, they delayed making a decision for 6 weeks by asking for more information each week and then declined a perfectly good deal with no reason and no appeal or negotiation. Now my cynical streak says the underwriter, who may well read this newsletter, waited hoping the buyer or seller would lose patience and pull out before he had to say no. He had to say no because I am more convinced than ever, by the number of sales that are dropping out due to mortgage declines reported by a wide range of estate agents, that the rumour that underwriters have been instructed to decline 70% of applications is actually true. I think I will start our own Joint Equity bank, we understand our customers better so will do it better and make more than the current incumbents. If Richard Branson thinks it's a good idea who am I to disagree? I wonder what the saviour of the world's financial system can do about his own domestic market? Or is he focusing on what he will do after the next election? Until next week. Regards Brad Joint Equity CEO www.jointequity.co.uk Property Focus Location: Northwich Property type: Detatched Joint Equity price for 50% ownership: £110,000 About this property: 3 Bedroom Central Heating Dining room Fully double-glazed Garden Kitchen Lounge Single Garage Joint Equity Estate Agent: Frank Marshall's Website: www.frankmarshall.co.uk How to find out more: Go to http://investors.jointequity.com to view full details and more pictures for this property, or to make an Investor Reservation. Not what you're looking for: Login to the Investors Area to browse all currently available Joint Equity properties. You are welcome to send this newsletter to a friend, please click here. Click here to visit us online: www.jointequity.co.uk If you would like to stop receiving our newsletters, please click here to unsubscribe: Unsubscribe me from this mailing list The Joint Equity Scheme is for first-time buyers, home owners and property investors. Joint Equity Ltd works with Mortgage Beaters to provide case studies and Illustrations to prospective Owner-Partners & Investor-Partners. Joint Equity Ltd does not carry out any regulated activities and so is not regulated by the FSA (Financial Services Authority). Joint Equity Ltd are introducer appointed representatives of Mortgage Beaters Ltd, who are authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. The content of this newsletter is accurate to the best of our knowledge and for information only. We do not provide financial advice. Joint Equity Ltd., a UK company Reg No: 4915890 Registered office: 17 Hanbury Close, Cheshunt, Herts, EN8 9BZ ©Joint Equity Ltd (2008) unless where otherwise stated

Green shoots identified by the Sun; how a building society goes down

jointequity — Tuesday 31st of March 2009 04:25:02 PM

Click here to view this Newsletter online archive Click here to unsubscribe 31 March 2009 Dear %%First Name%%, you are subscribed to this newsletter using the following email address: %%emailaddress%%. Are you ready to make your first Joint Equity Investment? Register here to activate your portfolio and receive Joint Equity investment alerts direct to your inbox. There is currently NO FEE to register, so join us now. Already registered? Click here to login and view the latest Joint Equity Properties and Investment Opportunities. Not sure what to expect? Here's how it works: Registered Investor-Partners login here: http://investors.jointequity.com/ to see our properties and make reservations it's simple and quick. If you are not yet registered then click and complete the very simple form. You can then download the info pack. Clicking in the list on left hand side brings up a searchable list of all properties uploaded by our Estate Agent Partners. From this page you can get more details of the property by clicking and there is a link to the Estate Agents web site. You can also see if there is a reservation on the property, the reservation button turns red as here, and you can make your own reservations. Click <1st> <2nd> or <3rd> There is also the opportunity to put properties on your Watch List so that you can get back to them quickly. Click to add a property. Our Joint Equity Agents are adding properties every day so keep logging on to secure the best investments.Click here to see for yourself In this issue: 1. Brad's column News and views from Brad Bamfield, Joint Equity Chief Executive. A building society goes bust, MPs caught with hands in the till, the Government seems unconcerned and the FSA falls over yet again. What is the connection and what will happen? Also times are changing green shoots are seen in the Sun and ethical property investment is centre stage at the Royal Academy debate. 2. Property Focus Joint Equity Investment Opportunities available now. Preview some of the latest properties available through Joint Equity Estate Agent Partners. For more news and information: News updates on our website Latest articles from Joint Equity Brad's column Today I am writing the newsletter in my Limehouse office, Sid's café on Commercial Road, and having just read the Sun two stories, and the connection between them, and an article stand out and attract my attention. Now the old adage is "it must be true I read it in the Sun" so who am I to argue? I refer to the latest trouble in the financial industry, the Dunfermline Building Society, and the latest trouble to hit the Government, and to be fair most MPs, the misuse of expenses. At first sight there seems little connection but my odd mind sees several correlations and for good measure I am going to throw in the FSA. So here goes. The Dunfermline has been broken by toxic sub-prime mortgages, not UK ones but US ones. It bought £1.6bn worth of US sub-prime mortgages, which it now has to make significant provision for. Now it is just about understandable that a bank may go for high risk, high growth investments but it is certainly not the remit of a building society, which as a member owned organisation has its prime responsibility to protect its savers first and foremost. According to the Sun the Dunfermline has sold £1bn of "good" mortgages, read UK mortgages, and £1.2bn of deposits to the Nationwide. Those numbers look fine so it is even more odd that they decided to invest £1.6bn in the US sub-prime market let alone £650m into a commercial property loan "subsidiary" that has been "dumped" into administration. Let us just spare a thought for the borrowers of these commercial loans. They, or at least most of them, will be motoring along with whatever project they borrowed the money for minding their own business and through no fault of their own that suddenly have an Administrator to deal with. The Administrator is there to recover as much as possible as quickly as possible for the creditors and that does not mean letting the debt roll on until the project is complete, that would be too risky for an Administrator. So he will call the debts in and if the borrower cannot refinance, and what hope is there of that really, he will take over the project as receiver and sell at a knockdown price. I already see the vultures circling. Locally this will have a big influence on employment and business confidence and since commercial loans are always backed by personal guarantees, expect to see a jump in home repossessions. Protection of these borrowers seems to have no priority at all, I hope the local media will not forget it when the local MPs are up for re-election. I met the board of the Dunfermline 12 months ago when they were considering developing an exclusive Joint Equity mortgage. Now the fact that they declined to do it, with the reason (excuse?) that I was too aggressive in defending the rights of the borrower in the conditions I required to protect our Owner-Partners, has no bearing on my assessment of the quality of the board. It was poor and the Chairman exercised far too much personal influence. If he said jump the board would ask "how high sir?". How similar is this to other examples I have already written about of a single person's excess influence? So how could the biggest building society in Scotland, where Alastair Darling invested his children's savings consider Joint Equity inappropriate but US sub-prime derivatives were? This brings me to the FSA. Now I can excuse them for light touch in regulating banks. They have shareholders, who are big enough and ugly enough to look after themselves, well that is the theory anyway, but building societies have very clear conditions of trading, what they can do and what they cannot do is very rigid and the members look to the FSA for strict policing. I can vouch for this as we are talking to two building societies who want to provide mortgages for our Owner-Partners and Investors when in our Joint Equity Investment Partnerships but are having problems with their conditions of trading. Now they can ask the members for permission to vary what they are approved to do, but it is a big step. So what did the FSA do during its inspections of the Dunfermline? The FSA appoints a single inspector who is the lead regulator for each society, who is supposed to get to know what the building society is doing in detail. They are often referred as "the little devils" who sit on the shoulders of the CEO and the compliance team. However, the attitude of the FSA is governed by its regulator, the Government, who is daily shown to have so many fingers in the till it is becoming a farce. When the overseers consider that claiming a replacement bathplug is an allowable expense and that they should not have to provide receipts for any single item under £20,000 then probity is out of the window. This reflects on how they control the regulators and the way regulators regulate. If your boss is bent, you tend to be bent. How can politicians stand up and tell us we are to blame for just about everything when they are institutionally ripping off their employer? Who polices the policeman? How would any investor get on with the Inland Revenue if they tried to claim a replacement bathplug as an allowable expense for their Buy to Let with no receipt? Do MPs not have to provide P11Ds? Actually thinking about it they have probably exempted themselves form the requirement, does anyone know if they have? So that is how I see these stories connected. It would appear, on the face of it, that someone in the Dunfermline has acted, if not actually unlawfully, certainly 'ultra vires', beyond their legal capacity. Will they be investigated by the police? Will the board face any sanctions, such as being banned from similar positions in future? The regulator would appear, on the face of it, to have turned at least a blind eye, or have actually been negligent. Will they be investigated by anyone? Will anyone resign or could the Government ever admit that the FSA is, at least, partially responsible? Our MPs would appear, on the face of it, to be fiddling their expenses if not actually illegal certainly pushing every grey area. Will they be investigated? Will they care, will they reform themselves? I fear the answer to all these questions is a big unequivocal - NO. Joint Equity is the ethical way to invest in residential property. Our Partners work together to make money and we are very clear about all our fees and costs. But does it help us with lenders? Not really, it seems they see such transparency, integrity and concern for the customer as dangerous and risky. Well of course it is if you are hiding something. Turning now to another small story, and I mean small; 3 column inches on page 6 just above the headline "Ma-in-law blown Investor-Partner". Mortgage approvals "soared" 19% to a nine month high in February, while house prices fell "just 0.6% in March the lowest fall for 10 months". Now this does not surprise me, as you will recall in December I reported a rise in JE enquiries and our estate agent network reported increased interest and offers through January and February. Back in October I wrote about how to predict the bottom of the market and when the statistics reported the upswing it was already months past. Well this demonstrates that. "Finally there seems to be some green shoots" says the Sun analyst. Odd that the Sun sees it before our financial news feed reports. However, that does not mean the bargains are all gone, quite the opposite, we have seen more properties coming to market and many have great investment potential. You can see a selection on our list here. If you are not registered do so now it only takes a moment and you can unsubscribe at anytime. Here at JE HQ are putting the final touches to our new option for investing in UK residential property, the Joint Equity Investment Partnerships, and the pilot Partnership is operating now. Once we have worked out the wrinkles and the lenders are happy with the structure (?) then we will let you know first how it will revolutionise investing in residential property and how it will be the final nail in the coffin of Buy to Let for most investors. Watch this space. I rarely bang my own drum, (I am too modest – no really) but if I was right about green shoots in December, what else am I right about, that the financial industry still treats with scepticism? The time is right for a new, ethical,way to invest in residential property that helps home buyers. Professor Susan Smith of Durham University is chairing a symposium at the British Academy tonight called "Rescuing the Housing Market" which looks beyond the credit crunch towards more "imaginative ways of sharing the benefits and mitigating the risks of volatile housing markets" (more) and Joint Equity falls exactly in the middle of her range of options for future development. Final word: 17 police bikes with sirens wailing and lights flashing have just past my Limehouse office, London is not going to be worth living in for the next couple of days. Until next week. Regards Brad Joint Equity CEO www.jointequity.co.uk Property Focus Location: Northwich Property type: 3 bed semi-detached with conservatory Joint Equity price: £125,000 for 50% ownership About this property: A delightful, traditional semi-detached home, viewing is essential to appreciate the well presented and tastefully decorated accommodation, tucked away in the charming village of Hartford. Hartford is a highly regarded village affording convenient access to the A556 for commuters and having its own main line and local railway station, an important consideration for commuters. Schools in Hartford have an excellent reputation and are available for all ages. In the centre of Hartford stands a Parish Church and good local shopping facilities cater for day-to-day needs. The property stands in a good size plot having a lovely private garden to the rear, with ample off road parking to the front as well as a single garage. In brief the accommodation comprises entrance hall, lounge with open fire, dining room, conservatory, kitchen, three bedrooms and a four piece bathroom suite, benefitting from gas fired central heating and Upvc double glazing. Alarm and security lighting. Joint Equity Estate Agent: www.frankmarshall.co.uk How to find out more: Go to http://investors.jointequity.com to view full details and more pictures for this property, or to make an Investor Reservation. Not what you're looking for: Login to the Investors Area to browse all currently available Joint Equity properties. You are welcome to send this newsletter to a friend, please click here. Click here to visit us online: www.jointequity.co.uk If you would like to stop receiving our newsletters, please click here to unsubscribe: Unsubscribe me from this mailing list The Joint Equity Scheme is for first-time buyers, home owners and property investors. Joint Equity Ltd works with Mortgage Beaters to provide case studies and Illustrations to prospective Owner-Partners & Investor-Partners. Joint Equity Ltd does not carry out any regulated activities and so is not regulated by the FSA (Financial Services Authority). Joint Equity Ltd are introducer appointed representatives of Mortgage Beaters Ltd, who are authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. The content of this newsletter is accurate to the best of our knowledge and for information only. We do not provide financial advice. Joint Equity Ltd., a UK company Reg No: 4915890 Registered office: 17 Hanbury Close, Cheshunt, Herts, EN8 9BZ ©Joint Equity Ltd (2008) unless where otherwise stated

Where has the banks� customer service gone? Down the plug hole with our billions

jointequity — Tuesday 24th of March 2009 11:30:02 AM

Click here to view this Newsletter online archive Click here to unsubscribe 24 March 2009 Dear %%First Name%%, you are subscribed to this newsletter using the following email address: %%emailaddress%%. Are you ready to make your first Joint Equity Investment? Register here to activate your portfolio and receive Joint Equity investment alerts direct to your inbox. There is currently NO FEE to register, so join us now. Already registered? Click here to login and view the latest Joint Equity Properties and Investment Opportunities. Not sure what to expect? Here's how it works: Registered Investor-Partners login here: http://investors.jointequity.com/ to see our properties and make reservations it's simple and quick. If you are not yet registered then click and complete the very simple form. You can then download the info pack. Clicking in the list on left hand side brings up a searchable list of all properties uploaded by our Estate Agent Partners. From this page you can get more details of the property by clicking and there is a link to the Estate Agents web site. You can also see if there is a reservation on the property, the reservation button turns red as here, and you can make your own reservations. Click <1st> <2nd> or <3rd> There is also the opportunity to put properties on your Watch List so that you can get back to them quickly. Click to add a property. Our Joint Equity Agents are adding properties every day so keep logging on to secure the best investments.Click here to see for yourself In this issue: 1. Brad's column News and views from Brad Bamfield, Joint Equity Chief Executive. More stories this week about banks shooting themselves in the foot, again. Poor old Fred the Shred gets it in the neck, again. And investors seem to be itching to jump back in to the stock market. 2. Property Focus Joint Equity Investment Opportunities available now. Preview some of the latest properties available through Joint Equity Estate Agent Partners. For more news and information: News updates on our website Latest articles from Joint Equity Brad's column It does seem odd that Northern Rock management could continue to provide 125% loans for some 5 months after they effectively went bust and the Government took them over. They are reported to have issued £1.8bn which equates to 12,000 £150,000 loans. Just what were they thinking of? Another example of the magnificent management of our banks. Fred still seems to be the embodiment of the evil banker and now is being investigated for profligate spending on expenses. I think the old saying "there is nothing like a woman scorned" should be changed to " a politician scorned". Perhaps we should rename him "head down Fred" as he seems to have disappeared (with his loot). This week the markets around the world seem to be accepting any morsel of reasonable news, or at least not bad news, to jump back in the shark infested water of the stock exchanges. I somehow think the current rises will reverse shortly. No evidence, but my piece of sea weed bent to the left as it dried this morning, a sure sign of troubled waters ahead. And is a good a way as any to predict the unknown future. Reluctantly we accepted a defeat this week as we have tried to place mortgages at 85% LTV and sort of failed. Just what is going on? Lenders are advertising up to 90% LTVs but the rates are sky high and the amount they have allocated cannot even get anywhere near the demand, even at the penal rates. So what we seem to have is the lenders saying "see, we are doing something" and lending at higher LTVs. But that is inconsistent with the falling numbers of new mortgages and especially first time buyer mortgages down from 550,000 a year in 1999 to 197,000 in 2008. Where have they all gone? Our poulation is still growing but about 950,000 who would have bought have not so where are all these homeless? Our experience is that lenders say higher LTV loans are there and available but then find every reason to decline the application. Rationing the availability is the worst of all worlds, raise peoples expectation then fail to live up to your own hype. Will they never learn? Do the banks not care about customers at all? It seems they still believe that the multi-opoly, the cartel they are, does not allow anyone to go elsewhere and it seems that the FSA and the Government are content to drive competition out of the market. This week more worrying rumours circulated that the FSA is turning it's ire on small building societies. Yes the very same ones who did not loss money or play with spread betting. The small well run building societies are seeing their profits wiped out by the bank rescue insurance charges that are being levied after the collapses last year. The reaction of the FSA is to force them into the clutches of larger building societies. How many lenders will we have left by the end of 2009? It seems co-incidental that the building societies that converted are the ones in the most trouble and their small ex-brothers are paying the cost. So we have been forced to reduce our LTV from 85% to 75% and that will choke off most of the current demand from Owner-Partners. Joint Equity offers several levels of security more than owner-occupier or the Buy to Let market but the banks fail to see it. They heap us in with all the other "standard" higher risk products. Where is the innovation, the entrepreneurship gone, or has it always been missing from banks? The cynical answer is that the open mindedness went out the 40th floor window with the big bonuses. Play safe, don't raise your head above the parapet. We know the demand is there, our web site is busier than ever, up 46% over the last 3 months. The rate of enquiries is rising and the our online Illustrator is being used more often by Owner-Partners who registered last year. Still we get the cold shoulder. Oh well, when the spineless get wobbly the tough get going. Anything Mr Branson can do we can do. Watch this space. A short newsletter this week as I writing it at 10pm on Monday due to going to Glasgow to meet new estate agents and developers on Tuesday. It is good to know that there are still people that want to work and make money. They see the opportunities, let's see if we can help them achieve their goals and along the way we can all make money and provide homes for first time buyers. And because Joint Equity is the only ethical way to invest in residential property, as the Investor makes money so does the Owner-Partner. It really is win/win with Joint Equity. Until next week.Regards Brad Joint Equity CEO www.jointequity.co.uk Property Focus Location: Knutsford, Cheshire Property type: End-Terrace Joint Equity price: £77,500 for 50% ownership share About this property: Located a short distance from Knutsford town centre this well presented and well maintained two bedroom end terraced house benefits from a recently re-fitted kitchen and bathroom. The property is warmed by gas central heating and double glazing and briefly comprises entrance hall, lounge, kitchen/diner, two bedrooms and bathroom. Externally there are gardens to the front and rear. Joint Equity Estate Agent: www.frankmarshall.co.uk How to find out more: Go to http://investors.jointequity.com to view full details and more pictures for this property, or to make an Investor Reservation. Not what you're looking for: Login to the Investors Area to browse all currently available Joint Equity properties. You are welcome to send this newsletter to a friend, please click here. Click here to visit us online: www.jointequity.co.uk If you would like to stop receiving our newsletters, please click here to unsubscribe: Unsubscribe me from this mailing list The Joint Equity Scheme is for first-time buyers, home owners and property investors. Joint Equity Ltd works with Mortgage Beaters to provide case studies and Illustrations to prospective Owner-Partners & Investor-Partners. Joint Equity Ltd does not carry out any regulated activities and so is not regulated by the FSA (Financial Services Authority). Joint Equity Ltd are introducer appointed representatives of Mortgage Beaters Ltd, who are authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. The content of this newsletter is accurate to the best of our knowledge and for information only. We do not provide financial advice. Joint Equity Ltd., a UK company Reg No: 4915890 Registered office: 17 Hanbury Close, Cheshunt, Herts, EN8 9BZ ©Joint Equity Ltd (2008) unless where otherwise stated

Banks on the up again? Well yes of course, what did you expect?

jointequity — Tuesday 17th of March 2009 03:05:03 PM

Click here to view this Newsletter online Click here for our Newsletter archive Click here to unsubscribe 17 March 2009 Dear %%First Name%%, you are subscribed to this newsletter using the following email address: %%emailaddress%%. Are you ready to make your first Joint Equity Investment? Register here to activate your portfolio and receive Joint Equity investment alerts direct to your inbox. There is currently NO FEE to register, so join us now. Already registered? Click here to login and view the latest Joint Equity Properties and Investment Opportunities. Not sure what to expect? Here's how it works: Registered Investor-Partners login here: http://investors.jointequity.com/ to see our properties and make reservations it's simple and quick. If you are not yet registered then click and complete the very simple form. You can then download the info pack. Clicking in the list on left hand side brings up a searchable list of all properties uploaded by our Estate Agent Partners. From this page you can get more details of the property by clicking and there is a link to the Estate Agents web site. You can also see if there is a reservation on the property, the reservation button turns red as here, and you can make your own reservations. Click <1st> <2nd> or <3rd> There is also the opportunity to put properties on your Watch List so that you can get back to them quickly. Click to add a property. Our Joint Equity Agents are adding properties every day so keep logging on to secure the best investments.Click here to see for yourself In this issue: 1. Brad's column News and views from Brad Bamfield, Joint Equity Chief Executive. This week I ramble around with random thoughts; magic wands are wonderful things; how history can be rewritten; a loss becomes a profit (really) and how banks are rebuilding themselves but will they ever recover the moral position they lost last year. 2. Property Focus Joint Equity Investment Opportunities available now. Preview some of the latest properties available through Joint Equity Estate Agent Partners. For more news and information: News updates on our website Latest articles from Joint Equity Brad's column STOP PRESS. Two stories hit the street after I have completed this newsletter. Nationwide releases new products including a 2 year fixed at up to 85% LTV. Good for competition watch other lenders bring out their own high LTV products. According to the Department of Communities and Local Government house prices were 0.2% higher in January led by a 4.8% rise in detached properties. I believe it will quickly spread through the rest of the market. This week LIBOR continued to slip from 2.02% to 1.89% but new mortgages stayed stickily high at 4.8% ish or as our banking mates say a "spread of nearly 300 basis points". Heady days for banks, with lending rates well over the 2% spread they traditionally dream of achieving. However, it is not all silver lining as once again sloppy risk management has allowed mortgages to be linked to base rates once the fixed period was over. There are many mortgages today at base +0.5% and even ones we have seen at base -0.75%. And they are all loss making hence the 3% margin. Still, with all the cash that the BoE is pumping into the financial institutions through quantitative splurging, I would expect the mortgage market to ease but that does not look likely in the near term. But all banks are now recovering their profit positions, with write offs declining and savers being clobbered, so now the media feels confident enough to start criticising them for hitting the ordinary customer when they can do little to defend themselves. This is exactly what we predicted would happen in pre-Christmas newsletters, just as we pointed out that they have done it each time they have screwed up in the past. History is often a good indicator of what might happen, not perfect as we can change things by experience,and certainly if you can rewrite history to suite your own requirements. So to; when is a loss really a profit? When the Government takes Lloyds and RBS onto its balance sheet, as publicly owned companies, and they have discovered a way to miraculously convert £49bn loss into a £28bn profit. How? Well a magic wand called classification. New Star's Simon Ward spilled the beans in a press release "The banks' underlying profits will be booked as public sector income, significantly reducing net borrowing," he says. "At first sight this looks odd since the banks suffered a combined operating loss before tax of £49bn in 2008 and may remain in the red in 2009. But ONS (Office of National Statistics) guidance, however, indicates that the profits definition to be used will exclude dealing and investment losses, credit impairments and goodwill write-downs." Ward says as a result of the reclassification, profits before these deductions for the banks were a combined £27.7bn in 2008. RBS and Lloyds are to be included in the public sector from 13 October 2008. A perfect example of extreme double underhand dealing, surely this is not prudent management and is on the same scale as the very thing they accuse the banks of doing. (oops I think I just defended the banks). It could only happen here, and I fear it could only happen with this Government. Let's see what Vince Cable makes of it. I wonder if the same fudge will be allowable for the non Government owned banks? Can Barclays and HSBC rewrite their last year's financial statements? Although repossessions are up they are up by less than they could be and are lower than at this point in the last recession. It is also interesting that many major lenders are holding back many potential repossessions, of owner occupiers, which means the majority of the current ones are in the Buy to Let market. Now on the face of it this seems like the lenders acting responsibly however, I fear it was just that prices in auctions were too low. Now with auction prices jumping we might see more repossessions in the owner-occupier sector. This leads to another interesting phenomenon in this recession. Although unemployment is rising to over 2m, and not to understate that unemployment is a tragedy for every individual who loses their job, the UK workforce is now larger than in the last recession and 2m unemployed is a lower % of the current workforce than it was last time. Once again though this Government has waved its magic wand and some unemployed are not counted but even so employment is robust. This means that for many people the impact of this recession is fear rather than actual. Many commentators (for that read doom mongers) predict unemployment to rise to 3m over the next year and it may as it will lag behind recovery. However, in "the Bottom Line" on BBC Radio 4 last night, the CEO's of Vodaphone UK, Eurostar and WPP said they would have cut costs quicker with 20/20 hindsight, but were now looking to the future and their sales strategy during and after the recovery. This suggests that while there may be some further slimming, from poorly run companies and those that have not innovated in the past, such as the car industry, the major employers have been through that element of this recession and are reshaping and restructuring for the future. All three, as did the three CEOs from last week, talked about innovation being the key thing in the next 3 to 5 years and were very bullish about the opportunities for the future. Innovation is required in the residential property market as well and Joint Equity offers that to Investors, home owners, and lenders and I am pleased to say that more financial institutions do seem to be receptive, if not eager, to consider new ideas now than they were just 2 months ago. A further indicator of easing of their problems that they can now take half an eye of the "here and now" to consider just what will they be doing in 12 months. I see the latest big idea in the media is the break-up of the mega banks to provide a more focused business for customers and shareholders, just as our Government is keen to promote them. That is what I like to see politicians with thier fingers on the plus. You know my view, small focused businesses, including banks, do it better. Final dig at the Government (they are such a rich mine of subject matter). I see Gordon Brown is lecturing Iran on climate change and offering to help them build nuclear power stations. Great, how about getting the UK energy problems sorted first. Just how many nuclear power stations are we currently building and who sold the leading European nuclear power company, Westinghouse, to the Japanese? As I said it could only happen here and with our Government. I wish you all a good St Patrick's day and it may be that some of you will read this on Wednesday with a heavy head. Until next week.PS I have been informed that some Investors, that have signed up recently, are not getting the newsletter. On investigation IT found that two databases were not communicating and so some email addresses were not being emailed. That should now be rectified. My apologies. Regards Brad Joint Equity CEO www.jointequity.co.uk Property Focus Location: Winsford, Cheshire, CW7 Property type: Detatched Joint Equity price: £90,000 for 50% Ownership About this property: This is a detached 2 bedroom house, with: Central Heating Garden Kitchen-Diner Lounge No Chain Single Garage Joint Equity Estate Agent: www.frankmarshall.co.uk How to find out more: Go to http://investors.jointequity.com to view full details and more pictures for this property, or to make an Investor Reservation. Not what you're looking for: Login to the Investors Area to browse all currently available Joint Equity properties. You are welcome to send this newsletter to a friend, please click here. Click here to visit us online: www.jointequity.co.uk If you would like to stop receiving our newsletters, please click here to unsubscribe: Unsubscribe me from this mailing list The Joint Equity Scheme is for first-time buyers, home owners and property investors. Joint Equity Ltd works with Mortgage Beaters to provide case studies and Illustrations to prospective Owner-Partners & Investor-Partners. Joint Equity Ltd does not carry out any regulated activities and so is not regulated by the FSA (Financial Services Authority). Joint Equity Ltd are introducer appointed representatives of Mortgage Beaters Ltd, who are authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. The content of this newsletter is accurate to the best of our knowledge and for information only. We do not provide financial advice. Joint Equity Ltd., a UK company Reg No: 4915890 Registered office: 17 Hanbury Close, Cheshunt, Herts, EN8 9BZ ©Joint Equity Ltd (2008) unless where otherwise stated

Is the lack of innovation crippling our financial sector? Yes of course it is.

jointequity — Tuesday 10th of March 2009 04:30:03 PM

Click here to view this Newsletter online Click here for our Newsletter archive Click here to unsubscribe 10 March 2009 Dear %%First Name%%, you are subscribed to this newsletter using the following email address: %%emailaddress%%. Are you ready to make your first Joint Equity Investment? Register here to activate your portfolio and receive Joint Equity investment alerts direct to your inbox. There is currently NO FEE to register, so join us now. Already registered? Click here to login and view the latest Joint Equity Properties and Investment Opportunities. Not sure what to expect? Here's how it works: Registered Investor-Partners login here: http://investors.jointequity.com/ to see our properties and make reservations it's simple and quick. If you are not yet registered then click and complete the very simple form. You can then download the info pack. Clicking in the list on left hand side brings up a searchable list of all properties uploaded by our Estate Agent Partners. From this page you can get more details of the property by clicking and there is a link to the Estate Agents web site. You can also see if there is a reservation on the property, the reservation button turns red as here, and you can make your own reservations. Click <1st> <2nd> or <3rd> There is also the opportunity to put properties on your Watch List so that you can get back to them quickly. Click to add a property. Our Joint Equity Agents are adding properties every day so keep logging on to secure the best investments.Click here to see for yourself In this issue: 1. Brad's column News and views from Brad Bamfield, Joint Equity Chief Executive. The media now seems obsessed with “when” the recession is over stories and how we predict the turning point. Are they really getting the message or is it they are as bored as we are with bad news? 2. Property Focus Joint Equity Investment Opportunities available now. Preview some of the latest properties available through Joint Equity Estate Agent Partners. For more news and information: News updates on our website Latest articles from Joint Equity Brad's column So around rolls the 60th Investor Partner newsletter, no big deal, but remember once you have read them they are not lost all are archived here. The Joint Equity read again IPlayer facility The interesting thing about the 3 recessions I have worked through is that it always stuffs the building and property industry big time and first, but other sectors seem relatively unaffected. As they say chickens still lay eggs. This time we do have a new set of circumstances with banks being stuffed as well, by bad decisions, very poor management, ridiculous regulation and a Government that seems to wear those glasses you get from joke shops that invert everything. My regular readers will know that I have the view that intervention (almost) always, yes even I can hedge my bets, has unforeseen effects, and a lot of this 'do do' we are in arises from the wrong intervention, at the wrong time. Let me explain this point a bit more. The Bank of England is the lender of last resort. Why? It is the worst type of intervention, as bank CEOs can make poor decisions knowing they have a safety net. What other industry has that sort of guarantee? None. OK, so now the car industry as well but that is a Labour Party thing. Then you get the decision to separate bank regulation between 3 entities, the Bank of England (BoE), the Treasury and the FSA. When I was at the BoE last week the questions over regulation failure were many and varied and the presenters did a magnificent job of not saying anything. Equally Merv the Swerve, giving evidence to the Public Accounts Committee recently, steadfastly refused to say where he thought the system had gone wrong and what he, as an expert, would advise us to do to put it right. Where is the BoE independence then whenthe Govenor is frightened to tell us what he has learned from the recent problems? Illusory is the answer, especially when the Government has a hand in appointing the BoE staff. I agree that savers should be protected, I really do not know why - I guess it is self interest, but that is possible without saving Banks from receivership. Let them go bust. If they run their business into the ground, then it is the right solution. Turf out the failing management and break up the business into smaller bits that can be bought by other businesses, dare I say even by 'not banks', and we will have a stronger sector. Can anyone prove to me that despite Margaret's deregulation the banks are not run by a cosy cabal of the favoured few, all of whom have destroyed shareholder value? And the management merry go round of senior board members means that the club is still strong. Ask Richard Branson for his view. Twice he tried to buy a failing bank, twice the Government and the ruling clique ganged up to thwart him. Now he says if he cannot buy a bank he will just start his own. Don't underestimate him he was the one that took on the other Government/industry cabal in the airline industry and won, when others had been broken on the way. Ask Freddie Laker how difficult it is to take on the monopoly business. Branson is the classic entrepreneur, starts a business and if it does not perform he ditches it, he even sells successful businesses to further his corporate vision and goals. Just how did he judge the market right and sell his stake in Virgin Money to RBS? Was it luck or judgement, or was it the realisation that his business culture and that of a "traditional" bank would never led to a happy ending? If Richard's CEO underperforms and makes a two or three bad decisions do you think he would not be dispatched 'toute suite' and do you think he would leave with a £12m pension pot? One thing, no two things I know, when Branson starts his bank it will be flooded with investors and borrowers as they desert the old banks because he has that rare thing in banking - we trust him. But we know the regulators and the existing banks will gang up to make it as difficult as possible for him and his team. Go Richard! Look at history of business when we have had consolidation in other sectors, it eventually ends in breakup. Remember the dash to build conglomerates and vertical integration? Mega businesses tend not to succeed and predicted rationalisation savings have a habit of evaporating pretty quickly. Take a look at the history of ABB the decentralised conglomerate for a good example of a well run company, from the headey days of 1989 where they aquired 40 companies in one year, to 1999 when it started to divest itself of companies; foundering in the end. But change is not always bad, it might be painful for some, but evolution can mean the business emerges changed but stronger. Again look at ABB now. Thatcher knew this and was hard enough to force it through, this Government is not. Hence the "saving" of banks and the car industry. Back in the 1980's Rolls Royce cars was a division of the aero engine company which did the unheard thing and went into administration. From recievership emerged the two separate businesses we still have today. Yes there was pain along the way, which can rightly be alleviated by Government, but I would argue they have provided shareholder value over intervening the years. How different from the banks over the samed period. Speaking of Rolls Royce I was listening to their CEO on "The Bottom Line", the Radio 4 programme, last night and he was asked when he thought the recession would end, as I said the media question of the moment. His answer was interesting and reflects a sectoral view, he said that in a recession the first thing to go was second hand car sales followed by new sales in the mass market. His barometer of the future is how the second hand mass car market was doing and before the programme he rang round his contacts and found that they could not get enough cars to satisfy rising demand. Interesting and correlates well with the rise in demand we see as well. He then went on to say that the problem for business was to predict the increase in demand and to be ready for it, by planning and innovation. That is where good and bad businesses are clearly separated, in a recession the CEO must have his focus on here and now but also be preparing to make the most of the upswing. The CEO of Rolls Royce and Richard Branson have that in common, they are looking to the future and innovating now to take advantage of the competitive advantage they can generate then. But what of banks? They are levelling down, innovation is alive and well in financial services but is crushed under the weight of poor management, the mantra is don't do anything the others are not doing. I have always been against 100% mortgages, as you will all know, and Joint Equity will never have a 100% mortgage product. But does that mean that 90% is bad as well? Hardly innovative is it? But the concept of risk in bank's today is that if we go to 90% then we will be exposed if prices drop 15% next year, so do not do it. The problem is that they are stuck in an old model that has been shown not to work but do not have the ability to innovate away from that failed model. Do you think Richard Branson will be afraid to look at new models? Do you not think that the innovation he will bring will unsettle the old school? Would Richard reject, out of hand, the option to avoid repossession of mortgaged properties, the way the existing banks have done? That is where we need to be with the finance industry today, innovate and prepare for the future. To remove the safety net of the BoE being the "auntie" of the banks. Then we need to regroup regulation back into one body and separate traditional banking activities from investment bank activities. Interestingly Joint Equity have been approached by Australian entrepreneurs to use our Joint Equity model down under. So where our banks are hesitant, yes they are still viewing Joint Equity as a dangerous diversion, the innovative new world is looking to the future and new ways to do old things. I wonder if they are still doing the £10 assisted passage? Until next week. Regards Brad Joint Equity CEO www.jointequity.co.uk Property Focus Location: Bradwell Village Property type: 2 Bed Terrace Joint Equity price: £87,500 for 50% Ownership About this property: In our opinion a beautifully presented two bedroomed terraced house on this popular development situated between the market town of Lechlade and Burford. Accomodation comprises entrance hall, cloakroom, kitchen, and sitting/dining room on the ground floor. On the first floor are two double bedrooms and bathroom. There are front and rear gardens, the rear garden having gated access with a single sized garage in a nearby block, parking in front of garage and one allocated parking space. Joint Equity Estate Agent: www.frankmarshall.co.uk How to find out more: Go to http://investors.jointequity.com to view full details and more pictures for this property, or to make an Investor Reservation. Not what you're looking for: Login to the Investors Area to browse all currently available Joint Equity properties. You are welcome to send this newsletter to a friend, please click here. Click here to visit us online: www.jointequity.co.uk If you would like to stop receiving our newsletters, please click here to unsubscribe: Unsubscribe me from this mailing list The Joint Equity Scheme is for first-time buyers, home owners and property investors. Joint Equity Ltd works with Mortgage Beaters to provide case studies and Illustrations to prospective Owner-Partners & Investor-Partners. Joint Equity Ltd does not carry out any regulated activities and so is not regulated by the FSA (Financial Services Authority). Joint Equity Ltd are introducer appointed representatives of Mortgage Beaters Ltd, who are authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. The content of this newsletter is accurate to the best of our knowledge and for information only. We do not provide financial advice. Joint Equity Ltd., a UK company Reg No: 4915890 Registered office: 17 Hanbury Close, Cheshunt, Herts, EN8 9BZ ©Joint Equity Ltd (2008) unless where otherwise stated

Big bonuses, do they really led to corporate silliness?

jointequity — Tuesday 03rd of March 2009 12:50:02 PM

Click here to view this Newsletter online Click here for our Newsletter archive Click here to unsubscribe 03 March 2009 Dear %%First Name%%, you are subscribed to this newsletter using the following email address: %%emailaddress%%. Are you ready to make your first Joint Equity Investment? Register here to activate your portfolio and receive Joint Equity investment alerts direct to your inbox. There is currently NO FEE to register, so join us now. Already registered? Click here to login and view the latest Joint Equity Properties and Investment Opportunities. Not sure what to expect? Here's how it works: Registered Investor-Partners login here: http://investors.jointequity.com/ to see our properties and make reservations it's simple and quick. If you are not yet registered then click and complete the very simple form. You can then download the info pack. Clicking in the list on left hand side brings up a searchable list of all properties uploaded by our Estate Agent Partners. From this page you can get more details of the property by clicking and there is a link to the Estate Agents web site. You can also see if there is a reservation on the property, the reservation button turns red as here, and you can make your own reservations. Click <1st> <2nd> or <3rd> There is also the opportunity to put properties on your Watch List so that you can get back to them quickly. Click to add a property. Our Joint Equity Agents are adding properties every day so keep logging on to secure the best investments.Click here to see for yourself In this issue: 1. Brad's column News and views from Brad Bamfield, Joint Equity Chief Executive. Some weeks it is very difficult to think of the aspect of the industry that I want to comment on and others it is easy. This week is a hard week because I think I am becoming cynical to the bad news that constantly pounds us from the media. So one of my non focused rambles but stick with it there is a point. 2. Property Focus Joint Equity Investment Opportunities available now. Preview some of the latest properties available through Joint Equity Estate Agent Partners. For more news and information: News updates on our website Latest articles from Joint Equity Brad's column When I "can't be bothered" to read or watch the financial news it is obvious that the rest of the world has already got there. And this was borne out by a conversation over a pint in my village pub on Sunday, while waiting for the result of the raised pie (that's a pork pie to the uninitiated) competition. A reasonably intelligent, articulate neighbour confided that he had stopped buying a newspaper and rarely now watched BBC news as he was reasonably confident about his income, was doing quite well and did not want to be constantly depressed about others misfortune. It is this element of any recession that I find fascinating. To the majority of the population there is no recession. They are still making a good living, they are not in mortgage arrears and have the real advantage of low prices. So OK their income from investments is down but then that seems not to have that big an impact on the working population. The similarity with banks is clear. Most of their core business is trundling along quite nicely making good profits the problem is with other bits of the organisation. So as we switch off the media finds a new target. This time it is making Sir Fred, and his pension, the No 1 enemy. Now it does seem to many that it is a lot of money, and it is, but we need to beware of the green eyed avarice syndrome. I have not got it so why should he get it? Unfortunately typified by many members of the Labour Party and this Government, from recent statements. We need more of the US approach: "he negotiated it, the board agreed, good on him. One day I will be able to do the same." You see the difference? After 11 years of "redistribution of wealth" we are getting the lowest common denominator approach. Leveling down rather than level up. The rule of the mob rather than intelect. Just recently, here at Joint Equity, we have reactivated our recruitment of Estate Agent Partners and to help we have recruited our first Area Partner, who will find and support them. We could have made the position salaried with a bonus and could have driven the salary down as the "profile" of the ideal person is (I probably can't say this but who ever said I was PC?) a parent (OK a woman) with young children who wants to work around them with flexible hours. But we need excellent people, who are committed to our vision and to making it work. So we have made the income open ended with an income sharing scheme, the more homes that Owner-Partners buy, the more the Area Partner makes, the more the Estate Agents make, the more the Investor-Partners make and in turn Joint Equity makes more. There is nothing wrong in making money, in and of itself, as long as it is ethical. Joint Equity is an ethical product as, fundamentally, we offer the Owner-Partner away out of the rental trap and a way into home ownership. We do this in a disciplined way always requiring a deposit and applying a real world affordability criteria. Add the help of the Investor-Partner who can earn more with Joint Equity than with Buy to Let and we have the foundations of the ethical residential property investment. And everything else we do must support this basic relationship. But already we see the stirrings of the old green eyed problem, not from our Owner-Partners or Investor-Partners, not from our Estate Agent Partners or our Area Partners but from those who are not in our network. Because we make a small return on a number of related transactions we make a decent overall return but that does not stop the accusation that we are "too goody two shoes" to be real. When developing the Joint Equity business model I used 25 years of property development and investment experience to look at what was good and bad and where the problems were. The result is the Joint Equity model and we are all, the Partners and the employees, very proud of it. However, I understand that with any multi-strand business model then the centre needs to understand, control and be able to work in any area. This is easier in a small business but is equally applicable to large organisations which need division heads that are trustworthy and can justify the confidence of the MD, since no MD can know everything everyone does in their business. And that includes me and Joint Equity. So where did Sir Fred go wrong? Everyone seems to blame him for the demise of RBS but there is a Board with non-execs, there are influential knowledgeable shareholder groups and divisional heads who should have the detailed expertise that the CEO could not have. What went wrong is an institutional problem that was identified in management theory many years ago. Success breeds blindness and incompetence. Blindness is accepting, in the short term, any dubious practise or activity because it makes money. Incompetence because bad managers recruit bad managers, a perennial corporate problem. It is not something new to banking and financial services and I can think of many times when it has happened in the past, OK not to the same extent as now but with the same causes and consequences. Remember the vertical integration to sell other products, when banks and insurers dashed into buying Estate Agents? Paying up to £1m per office just to sell them all not so many years later for as little as £1 per office? Remember the Dot Com rush, bubble and burst? And what was the banks action each time? It was to "sweat the assets" of the core business and rebuild the losses. And so it is with our banks and the mortgage lenders today. They moved away from core business into "sexy" areas, suffered blindness and developed corporate incompetence. Interestingly they all have different actual problems, HSBC says it was the purchase of 3 US lenders 5 years ago, RBS the purchase of ABM Amro, HBOS exposure to derivatives, but the cause is the same. The drive to improve profits with diversification but with poor management and control. But they have reverted to type during this recession and are all "sweating the assets". Look at any set of results most core activities are returning higher profits than even the good years, it's the noncore "sexy" bits that are useless. So is Sir Fred guilty? Yes but not for the reasons the politicians use. He is guilty because he just was not good enough to run a real business and did not impose the control he should have, I believe also that the rest of the senior management is just as culpable and the corporate blindness was there is spades. It was his job to protect the shareholders by finding the poor executives, who could not adequately control their operations, and get rid of them. Could it happen to Joint Equity when we get to £5bn of property transactions a year? Of course it could. Will it? Not if we have built the model correctly. We focus on the benefits to the Partners and as long as we provide value for money we will continue to succeed. If we deviate from the concept of an ethical business, we will ultimately fail. If you are interested in seeing how we enshrine that concept in our day to day business then take a look at our Treating Partners Fairly Policy http://www.jointequity.co.uk/tpf.html and we mean what we say. If we are to learn anything from the problems of today it is that business needs to retain the concept of an ethical approach to its business, that does not mean not making huge profits rather it means making huge profits because we are providing benefits to our customers, staff and shareholders.In case you were wondering, I did not win the raised pie competition but did enjoy eating the entrants, with mushy peas!!! Regards Brad Joint Equity CEO www.jointequity.co.uk Property Focus Location: Northwich Property type: Detatched Joint Equity price for 50% ownership: £110,000 About this property: 3 Bedroom Central Heating Dining room Fully double-glazed Garden Kitchen Lounge Single Garage Joint Equity Estate Agent: Frank Marshall's Website: www.frankmarshall.co.uk How to find out more: Go to http://investors.jointequity.com to view full details and more pictures for this property, or to make an Investor Reservation. Not what you're looking for: Login to the Investors Area to browse all currently available Joint Equity properties. You are welcome to send this newsletter to a friend, please click here. Click here to visit us online: www.jointequity.co.uk If you would like to stop receiving our newsletters, please click here to unsubscribe: Unsubscribe me from this mailing list The Joint Equity Scheme is for first-time buyers, home owners and property investors. Joint Equity Ltd works with Mortgage Beaters to provide case studies and Illustrations to prospective Owner-Partners & Investor-Partners. Joint Equity Ltd does not carry out any regulated activities and so is not regulated by the FSA (Financial Services Authority). Joint Equity Ltd are introducer appointed representatives of Mortgage Beaters Ltd, who are authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. The content of this newsletter is accurate to the best of our knowledge and for information only. We do not provide financial advice. Joint Equity Ltd., a UK company Reg No: 4915890 Registered office: 17 Hanbury Close, Cheshunt, Herts, EN8 9BZ ©Joint Equity Ltd (2008) unless where otherwise stated

New Options for Joint Equity Investors

jointequity — Tuesday 24th of February 2009 05:20:07 PM

Click here to view this Newsletter online Click here for our Newsletter archive Click here to unsubscribe 24 February 2009 Dear %%First Name%%, you are subscribed to this newsletter using the following email address: %%emailaddress%%. Are you ready to make your first Joint Equity Investment? Register here to activate your portfolio and receive Joint Equity investment alerts direct to your inbox. There is currently NO FEE to register, so join us now. Already registered? Click here to login and view the latest Joint Equity Properties and Investment Opportunities. Not sure what to expect? Here's how it works: Registered Investor-Partners login here: http://investors.jointequity.com/ to see our properties and make reservations it's simple and quick. If you are not yet registered then click and complete the very simple form. You can then download the info pack. Clicking in the list on left hand side brings up a searchable list of all properties uploaded by our Estate Agent Partners. From this page you can get more details of the property by clicking and there is a link to the Estate Agents web site. You can also see if there is a reservation on the property, the reservation button turns red as here, and you can make your own reservations. Click <1st> <2nd> or <3rd> There is also the opportunity to put properties on your Watch List so that you can get back to them quickly. Click to add a property. Our Joint Equity Agents are adding properties every day so keep logging on to secure the best investments.Click here to see for yourself In this issue: 1. Brad's column News and views from Brad Bamfield, Joint Equity Chief Executive. We are always trying to make the lives of our Owner-Partners and Investor-Partners easier and have been working on new options for when the demand from Owner-Partners came back - and demand IS back! News on where we are with a new option. Last week I attended the Bank of England Inflation Briefing and it was interesting to say the least not just what was said but what remained unsaid (although still obvious). 2. Property Focus Joint Equity Investment Opportunities available now. Preview some of the latest properties available through Joint Equity Estate Agent Partners. For more news and information: News updates on our website Latest articles from Joint Equity Brad's column At a presentation by the Bank of England last week they produced a graph that showed the fall in mortgage lending was more or less caused by the withdrawal of “other lenders”. By this they meant lending from organisations other than primary banks and building societies, which they said was broadly in line with what was expected. Significantly they cited the total withdrawal from new lending of Northern Rock and Bradford and Bingley as being the prime cause of the drop in mortgages provided. It is interesting that yesterday (23rd Feb) the Government said that Northern Rock will return to the new mortgage market. However, as with many other Government announcements the press release and sound bite, and the reality on the ground are totally unconnected. So we will see just how much of the £14bn gets into the market this year. £7bn a year is £600m a month and it remains to see how much difference that will make when lending has declined from £24bn to £12bn a month. Still a bit more competition will definitely stimulate the market somewhat. But here at Joint Equity we are not prepared to wait as the demand from Joint Equity Owner-Partners is continuing to accelerate and when we have a good Owner-Partner who wants to buy a decent property we have a good opportunity for our Investor-Partners as well. As I hinted at in a previous newsletter we have been working on the option of Investor-Partners working together in groups to combine their investments allowing them to invest in more properties lowering risk both from the Owner-Partners and the local market. We are calling these Joint Equity Partnerships. We are now working with the first 3 Partnerships to iron out any set up and operation bugs and will be moving forward to a full launch just as soon as possible. We will continue to offer the opportunity for Investor-Partners to invest in single properties as well as offering Joint Equity Property Partnerships (and other future options for Investors), but the new Partnerships have been well received by the small group of Investors that we launched to earlier this month. Investor-Partners have told us they want flexibility in their investments, and where we have strong demand from Owner-Partners, we can offer you the most appropriate route for you. More details on Joint Equity Property Partnerships soon. If you would like to pre-register your interest, and request more information about Joint Equity Partnerships, please email partnerships@jointequity.co.uk. Regards Brad Joint Equity CEO www.jointequity.co.uk Property Focus This lovely 3-bed detached property already has a first reservation, but you can still take the second reservation if it appeals to you. Location: Northwich Property type: Detatched Joint Equity price for 50% ownership: £110,000 About this property: 3 Bedroom Central Heating Dining room Fully double-glazed Garden Kitchen Lounge Single Garage Joint Equity Estate Agent: Frank Marshall's Website: www.frankmarshall.co.uk How to find out more: Go to http://investors.jointequity.com to view full details and more pictures for this property, or to make an Investor Reservation. Not what you're looking for: Login to the Investors Area to browse all currently available Joint Equity properties. You are welcome to send this newsletter to a friend, please click here. Click here to visit us online: www.jointequity.co.uk If you would like to stop receiving our newsletters, please click here to unsubscribe: Unsubscribe me from this mailing list The Joint Equity Scheme is for first-time buyers, home owners and property investors. Joint Equity Ltd works with Mortgage Beaters to provide case studies and Illustrations to prospective Owner-Partners & Investor-Partners. Joint Equity Ltd does not carry out any regulated activities and so is not regulated by the FSA (Financial Services Authority). Joint Equity Ltd are introducer appointed representatives of Mortgage Beaters Ltd, who are authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. The content of this newsletter is accurate to the best of our knowledge and for information only. We do not provide financial advice. Joint Equity Ltd., a UK company Reg No: 4915890 Registered office: 17 Hanbury Close, Cheshunt, Herts, EN8 9BZ ©Joint Equity Ltd (2008) unless where otherwise stated

Investor Opportunity available now - first call

jointequity — Tuesday 17th of February 2009 12:00:04 PM

Click here to view this Investor Alert online Click here to unsubscribe XX Month 2009 Dear %%First Name%%, you are subscribed to these alerts using the following email adress: %%emailaddress%%. Want to see more? This investment opportunity, and many others, are all available to view in the Joint Equity Investors Area. To login to the Investors Area click here. If you are first-time user of the Investors Area click here to create your free account. A sample of the other opportunities currently on offer: Investor Alerts are an additional service for subscribers to Joint Equity Investor News and bring you our latest investment opportunies, as soon as they become available. Joint Equity Opportunity Number 1019 Details: ``BEAUTIFULLY`` PRESENTED CONTEMPORARY 1 BEDROOM GROUND FLOOR APARTMENT LOCATED ON MODERN DEVELOPMENT *Joint Equity 50% Ownership: £47,475 *Communal Entrance *Spacious Entrance Hall *Lounge, Fitted Kitchen *Family Bathroom *Double Glazing *Allocated Parking & Visitors Parking Estate agent: Frank Marshall http://www.northgate-estates.co.uk Agent's property reference: Owner information: Value: £87,000 Share: 50% Deposit required: £8,700 Net income pa 6% Capital growth* 5 years £15,264 35% Return on Investment 10 years £ 5,886 41% Return on Investment * Using average capital growth of 6.2% pa (Council of Mortgage Lenders average since 1959) To reserve this exciting investment opportunity email reserve@jointequity.co.uk For more details please log in to: http://investors.jointequity.com The Joint Equity Investor Team If you would like to stop receiving our newsletters, please click here to unsubscribe:Unsubscribe me from this mailing list The Joint Equity Scheme is for first-time buyers, home owners and property investors. Joint Equity Ltd works with Mortgage Beaters to provide case studies and Illustrations to prospective Owner-Partners & Investor-Partners. Joint Equity Ltd does not carry out any regulated activities and so is not regulated by the FSA (Financial Services Authority). Joint Equity Ltd are introducer appointed representatives of Mortgage Beaters Ltd, who are authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. The content of this newsletter is accurate to the best of our knowledge and for information only. We do not provide financial advice. ©Joint Equity Ltd (2007) Company No: 4915890 Registered in: UK Registered office: 17 Hanbury Close, Cheshunt, Herts, EN8 9BZ

The property market is on the move again.

jointequity — Tuesday 17th of February 2009 10:05:01 AM

Click here to view this Newsletter online Click here for our Newsletter archive Click here to unsubscribe 17 February 2009 Dear %%First Name%%, you are subscribed to this newsletter using the following email address: %%emailaddress%%. Are you ready to make your first Joint Equity Investment? Register here to activate your portfolio and receive Joint Equity investment alerts direct to your inbox. There is currently NO FEE to register, so join us now. Already registered? Click here to login and view the latest Joint Equity Properties and Investment Opportunities. Not sure what to expect? Here's how it works: Registered Investor-Partners login here: http://investors.jointequity.com/ to see our properties and make reservations it's simple and quick. If you are not yet registered then click and complete the very simple form. You can then download the info pack. Clicking in the list on left hand side brings up a searchable list of all properties uploaded by our Estate Agent Partners. From this page you can get more details of the property by clicking and there is a link to the Estate Agents web site. You can also see if there is a reservation on the property, the reservation button turns red as here, and you can make your own reservations. Click <1st> <2nd> or <3rd> There is also the opportunity to put properties on your Watch List so that you can get back to them quickly. Click to add a property. Our Joint Equity Agents are adding properties every day so keep logging on to secure the best investments.Click here to see for yourself In this issue: 1. Brad's column News and views from Brad Bamfield, Joint Equity Chief Executive. News from our Estate Agent Partners, increases in registered Owner-Partners, use of the Online Illustrator growing fast. 2. Property Focus Joint Equity Investment Opportunities available now. Preview some of the latest properties available through Joint Equity Estate Agent Partners. For more news and information: News updates on our website Latest articles from Joint Equity Brad's column This week it is a short newsletter as I am writing this at 10pm on Monday night after returning from a 400 mile round trip visiting our Estate Agent Partners in Northwich, Buxton and the north west. And no time tomorrow as I am at the Bank of England for their quarterly inflation report, which should be interesting to say the least. All our JEEAPs are telling us they are getting more properties to sell, more enquiry phone calls, more people coming in to the office, more click throughs on RightMove, more offers and more sales since Christmas. But the real impact is how Joint Equity is helping the JEEAP and the local market; The JEEAPs tell me that when asked to provide a valuation when they tell the vendor that they are the only agent able to sell under the Joint Equity Scheme they now expect to get the instruction. Other agents are evidently feeling the pinch as they are winning very few instructions and those that they do are deep discounted. 100% higher enquires for properties advertised under Joint Equity in local papers. (Frank Marshall's Buxton office received 5 Joint Equity enquires this morning alone and they have arranged 8 property viewings just from those calls). Joint Equity properties achieve 15 to 20% click throughs on RightMove, (the norm is 5%). Our agents now have as many offers for Joint Equity properties as they do for traditional owner-occupied properties. We are now averaging 1 each week and, if the current increase in interest continues, that will rise to 2 a week very quickly. As you can imagine the Agents are very happy with the advantage Joint Equity gives them. So much for Agents what about our statistics? Our web site is being viewed more with hits up 66% these last 2 months compared to the 2008 monthly average The number of registered Owner-Partners using the Online Illustrator has risen for 3 months in a row and the number of Owner-Partners coming back to do new Illustration is also up again this month. All this tells us that there is growing demand from Owner-Partners for Joint Equity properties but that success has a down side, it means we need to find Investor-Partners to invest in the properties. And that has not grown as quickly as the Owner-Partners interest. We have several very active Investor-Partners who have more than 1 investment but now we need more. Below is a property that we circulated as a Property Alert for the first call last week. It provides 6%pa return on the cash you invest (the deposit), not bad at all in today's investment market but also provides 35 to 41% annualised capital growth (the total increase in capital (your profit) divided by the number of years (5 or 10)). Compared to Buy to Let Joint Equity is gives over 100% higher returns for the same investment. For more numbers to show just how we achieve it see our web site page http://www.jointequity.co.uk/jesbtlcomp2.html But on top of all this Joint Equity is the only ethical way to invest in residential property, enjoy the feel good factor of helping a first time buyer while you earn hassle free high returns - with no voids. Now is the time to raid your piggy banks and invest in Joint Equity properties to take advantage of the high annual returns and the future growth.The Owner-Partners for this property really do need your help to buy their first home and it is an attractive investment. The Owner-Partners have had their Independent Legal Advice and have paid their Commitment Deposit so they are serious buyers. Click the link to ask for more detailed information or to reserve it now. Don't forget it is first come first served so don't let another Investor-Partner get in first reserve now.Regards Brad Joint Equity CEO www.jointequity.co.uk Property Focus Joint Equity Opportunity Number 1019 Details: A very well presented two bedroom extended semi-detached home, positioned on a popular road within Rudheath, viewing is essential to appreciate the spacious living accommodation which comprises entrance porch, entrance hall, lounge with double doors opening to a good size dining room. Estate agent: Frank Marshall Frank Marshall http://www.frankmarshall.co.uk/property.htm Agent's property reference: NW957 Owner information: Young local couple Value: £127,500 Share: 50% Deposit required: £12,750 Net income pa 6% Capital growth at 6.20% pa 5yrs 10yrs Cap Growth (profit) 22 370 52 589 ROI pa 35% 41% To reserve this exciting investment opportunity or for more details please log in to: http://investors.jointequity.com & search with the Post Code CW9 7ET Any questions please email mailto:investors@jointequity.co.uk?subject=Investment Opportunity Number How to find out more: Go to http://investors.jointequity.com to view full details and more pictures for this property, or to make an Investor Reservation. Not what you're looking for: Login to the Investors Area to browse all currently available Joint Equity properties. You are welcome to send this newsletter to a friend, please click here. Click here to visit us online: www.jointequity.co.uk If you would like to stop receiving our newsletters, please click here to unsubscribe: Unsubscribe me from this mailing list The Joint Equity Scheme is for first-time buyers, home owners and property investors. Joint Equity Ltd works with Mortgage Beaters to provide case studies and Illustrations to prospective Owner-Partners & Investor-Partners. Joint Equity Ltd does not carry out any regulated activities and so is not regulated by the FSA (Financial Services Authority). Joint Equity Ltd are introducer appointed representatives of Mortgage Beaters Ltd, who are authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. The content of this newsletter is accurate to the best of our knowledge and for information only. We do not provide financial advice. Joint Equity Ltd., a UK company Reg No: 4915890 Registered office: 17 Hanbury Close, Cheshunt, Herts, EN8 9BZ ©Joint Equity Ltd (2008) unless where otherwise stated

First house prices rise in 9 months; start of a recovery or a bounce?

jointequity — Tuesday 10th of February 2009 11:00:04 AM

Click here to view this Newsletter online Click here for our Newsletter archive Click here to unsubscribe 10 February 2009 Dear %%First Name%%, you are subscribed to this newsletter using the following email address: %%emailaddress%%. Are you ready to make your first Joint Equity Investment? Register here to activate your portfolio and receive Joint Equity investment alerts direct to your inbox. There is currently NO FEE to register, so join us now. Already registered? Click here to login and view the latest Joint Equity Properties and Investment Opportunities. Not sure what to expect? Here's how it works: Registered Investor-Partners login here: http://investors.jointequity.com/ to see our properties and make reservations it's simple and quick. If you are not yet registered then click and complete the very simple form. You can then download the info pack. Clicking in the list on left hand side brings up a searchable list of all properties uploaded by our Estate Agent Partners. From this page you can get more details of the property by clicking and there is a link to the Estate Agents web site. You can also see if there is a reservation on the property, the reservation button turns red as here, and you can make your own reservations. Click <1st> <2nd> or <3rd> There is also the opportunity to put properties on your Watch List so that you can get back to them quickly. Click to add a property. Our Joint Equity Agents are adding properties every day so keep logging on to secure the best investments.Click here to see for yourself In this issue: 1. Brad's column News and views from Brad Bamfield, Joint Equity Chief Executive. The Nationwide reports a 1.9% rise in January but is it the start of the recovery or a bounce on the way down to 30% loses as the doom mongers are predicting? I will try to provide some background and my usual "off the wall" analysis. 2. Property Focus Joint Equity Investment Opportunities available now. Preview some of the latest properties available through Joint Equity Estate Agent Partners. For more news and information: News updates on our website Latest articles from Joint Equity Brad's column This week a number of indicators have attracted my attention and provide some interesting pointers to what the property market might do in the next few months. Interest base rates dropped to 1%. LIBOR fell back this week to 2.163% after a tiny rise last week. Two-year SWAP rates are now 0.4 per cent lower than at the last rate cut while five-year rates are below three per cent. Barclays shows underlying profits strong in all business streams, just as the other banks that have reported have done, before bad debt write-offs. The Halifax house prices index rose by 1.9 per cent last month - the first increase since February 2008, when they rose by 0.1 per cent, and the largest monthly rise since January 2007. The FT reports Allan Monks, an economist at JPMorgan, believes a slower pace of price falls in the Halifax and Nationwide indices over the past three months, compared with earlier in the year, points to a possible easing of the housing market. Other data have also shown signs of moderation. There was a 15 per cent rise in mortgage approvals in December, according to Bank of England, indicating banks have started to lend again. This should start to translate into some form of stability as long as unemployment levels do not rise dramatically. New buyer enquiries have also been rising for several months which is a sign of renewed interest in the housing market. The Sunday papers are full of adverts from Banks telling us what good deals they are offering. They are not going to advertise if they do not want to lend but at current LTVs they are not lending anywhere near what they want or need to. This re-ignition of competition between banks will drive rates lower (which is already happening) and when that does not attract enough borrowers then LTVs will be adjusted. But are these real signs of recovery? Let us look at some additional anecdotal evidence. Rightmove.co.uk reported the number of new properties on the market has actually gone down to 45,000 whilst the number of new buyer enquirieshad shot up to 450,000 in December - almost double the level of a year earlier. January will see this trend continue. Some commentators are now worried about inflation rising later this year as the interest cuts finally feed through to prices. Where will inflation come from if we are in a recession or as Gordon possibly more accurately put it "depression"? Apart from the monopolies such as local Government, the utilities and oil, the only place it can come from is manufacturers feeling confident enough about their buyers and market to raise prices. But that confidence will only arrive if the population in general feels more confident. The key to that confidence is jobs and house prices. If we are confident in our financial future then we can take on debt. So now that houses cost less than they have for many years and mortgages are historically quite cheap, but rents stay stubbornly high, then renters start to look at buying again. And that is what we are finding. Joint Equity Estate Agent partners all report increased activity from First Time Buyers both for owner occupation and Joint Equity. The agents also report more vendors looking to sell at realistic prices. Our online calculator is being used more each month and in the last 4 weeks we have had a record 4 sales from one office alone. Well done Marshalls' office in Northwich. But our inquiries are not just coming from our Estate Agent Partners but from all over the country through our web site. Our web site www.jointequity.co.uk has seen a 60% rise in visitors in January compared to the last quarter of 2008. And this morning we were contacted by a UK developer whose US investors are looking to invest substantially in the UK, as they see greater returns here than the US in the next 5 years. So my [humble] opinion is; if demand goes up, then more vendors come back to the market, sales will rise, confidence rises and sales go up again. Remember that in the last 3 recessions the first year of real recovery saw rises of 15% or more. We have now resumed Investor Opportunity emails as new Owner-Partners have offers accepted making reservations very easy. Check out the Investor-Partner area to see just what a £10,000 investment can get you through Joint Equity and we are still the only ethical way to invest in residential property.Regards Brad Joint Equity CEO www.jointequity.co.uk Property Focus Location: Northwich, Cheshire, CW8 3AQ Property type: 3 bed Detatched Joint Equity price: £125,000 for 50% Ownership About this property: An attractive 1930's detached family home, tucked away in the charming village of Hartford. Hartford is a highly regarded village affording convenient access to the A556 for commuters and having its own main line and local railway station, an important consideration for commuters. Schools in Hartford have an excellent reputation and are available for all ages. In the centre of Hartford stands a Parish Church and good local shopping facilities cater for day-to-day needs. The property stands in a good size plot, viewing is strongly recommended to appreciate the very well presented accommodation with many of the original features. Which in brief comprises of entrance vestibule, entrance hall, cloakroom, lounge, sitting room which is open to the conservatory and then leads into the kitchen. To the first floor there are two double bedrooms, plus a good size single bedroom and family bathroom. The property benefits from gas fired central heating and Upvc double glazing. Externally the property is set back from the road behind a lawned garden with hedged boundaries, driveway and carport, to the rear there is a decked area plus paved patio area. Joint Equity Estate Agent: www.frankmarshall.co.uk How to find out more: Go to http://investors.jointequity.com to view full details and more pictures for this property, or to make an Investor Reservation. Not what you're looking for: Login to the Investors Area to browse all currently available Joint Equity properties. You are welcome to send this newsletter to a friend, please click here. Click here to visit us online: www.jointequity.co.uk If you would like to stop receiving our newsletters, please click here to unsubscribe: Unsubscribe me from this mailing list The Joint Equity Scheme is for first-time buyers, home owners and property investors. Joint Equity Ltd works with Mortgage Beaters to provide case studies and Illustrations to prospective Owner-Partners & Investor-Partners. Joint Equity Ltd does not carry out any regulated activities and so is not regulated by the FSA (Financial Services Authority). Joint Equity Ltd are introducer appointed representatives of Mortgage Beaters Ltd, who are authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. The content of this newsletter is accurate to the best of our knowledge and for information only. We do not provide financial advice. Joint Equity Ltd., a UK company Reg No: 4915890 Registered office: 17 Hanbury Close, Cheshunt, Herts, EN8 9BZ ©Joint Equity Ltd (2009) unless where otherwise stated

Investment Opportunity West View Northwhich - 2nd call

jointequity — Monday 09th of February 2009 04:45:02 PM

Click here to view this Investor Alert online Click here to unsubscribe 9 Feb 2009 Dear %%First Name%%, you are subscribed to these alerts using the following email adress: %%emailaddress%%. Want to see more? This investment opportunity, and many others, are all available to view in the Joint Equity Investors Area. To login to the Investors Area click here. If you are first-time user of the Investors Area click here to create your free account. A sample of the other opportunities currently on offer: Investor Alerts are an additional service for subscribers to Joint Equity Investor News and bring you our latest investment opportunies, as soon as they become available. Joint Equity Opportunity Number 1019 Details: A very well presented two bedroom extended semi-detached home, positioned on a popular road within Rudheath, viewing is essential to appreciate the spacious living accommodation which comprises entrance porch, entrance hall, lounge with double doors opening to a good size dining room. Estate agent: Frank Marshall http://www.frankmarshall.co.uk/property.htm Agent's property reference: NW957 Owner information: Young local couple Value: £127,500 Share: 50% Deposit required: £12,750 Net income pa 6% Capital growth at 6.2% pa 5yrs 10yrs Cap Growth (profit) 22 370 52 589 ROI pa 35% 41% To reserve this exciting investment opportunity or for more details please log in to: http://investors.jointequity.com & search with the Post Code CW9 7ET Any questions please email mailto:investors@jointequity.co.uk?subject=Investment Opportunity Number If you would like to stop receiving our newsletters, please click here to unsubscribe:Unsubscribe me from this mailing list The Joint Equity Scheme is for first-time buyers, home owners and property investors. Joint Equity Ltd works with Mortgage Beaters to provide case studies and Illustrations to prospective Owner-Partners & Investor-Partners. Joint Equity Ltd does not carry out any regulated activities and so is not regulated by the FSA (Financial Services Authority). Joint Equity Ltd are introducer appointed representatives of Mortgage Beaters Ltd, who are authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. The content of this newsletter is accurate to the best of our knowledge and for information only. We do not provide financial advice. ©Joint Equity Ltd (2007) Company No: 4915890 Registered in: UK Registered office: 17 Hanbury Close, Cheshunt, Herts, EN8 9BZ

More green shoots?

jointequity — Tuesday 03rd of February 2009 03:15:06 PM

Click here to view this Newsletter online Click here for our Newsletter archive Click here to unsubscribe 03 February 2009 Dear %%First Name%%, you are subscribed to this newsletter using the following email address: %%emailaddress%%. Are you ready to make your first Joint Equity Investment? Register here to activate your portfolio and receive Joint Equity investment alerts direct to your inbox. There is currently NO FEE to register, so join us now. Already registered? Click here to login and view the latest Joint Equity Properties and Investment Opportunities. Not sure what to expect? Here's how it works: Registered Investor-Partners login here: http://investors.jointequity.com/ to see our properties and make reservations it's simple and quick. If you are not yet registered then click and complete the very simple form. You can then download the info pack. Clicking in the list on left hand side brings up a searchable list of all properties uploaded by our Estate Agent Partners. From this page you can get more details of the property by clicking and there is a link to the Estate Agents web site. You can also see if there is a reservation on the property, the reservation button turns red as here, and you can make your own reservations. Click <1st> <2nd> or <3rd> There is also the opportunity to put properties on your Watch List so that you can get back to them quickly. Click to add a property. Our Joint Equity Agents are adding properties every day so keep logging on to secure the best investments.Click here to see for yourself In this issue: 1. Brad's column News and views from Brad Bamfield, Joint Equity Chief Executive. Reintroduction of the Investor Alerts as Owner-Partner demand rises. The media are at it again, the bad news is headlines and the good news is hidden away in by lines. We bring you a brief alternative view. 2. Property Focus Joint Equity Investment Opportunities available now. Preview some of the latest properties available through Joint Equity Estate Agent Partners. For more news and information: News updates on our website Latest articles from Joint Equity Brad's column Do I see too many green shoots? I do not know but the number of Owner-Partners making offers continues to rise week on week and we are now back to early 2008 levels. So much so that we will be re-introducing the Investor Alert emails shortly as using the online property listing is becoming too slow to satisfy demand. If demand keeps rising we will also bring back SMS alerts. Make sure you are registered if this newsletter is forwarded to you. http://investors.jointequity.com/ I am not sure why but falling house prices are a concern for most existing homeowners, lower values only impact if you need to sell and not buy another house or if you cannot afford to pay your mortgage. For the vast majority the fall in prices is a "paper" lose which will have little effect in the medium/long term. What it does is affect our confidence and the unprecedented rapid deterioration in confidence is the big contributor to this recession. Everyone is involved in this bad news mongering from politicians to media to the "expert in the pub". This recession is different from the last three I have lived through. Previously they have coincided, note I do not say caused by, with an oil shock, higher inflation and interest rates. This one does have an oil shock but not high inflation or base rates. What it does have is really low confidence and high "real" interest rates as banks rebuild their profits and balance sheets. However low property prices are actually good news for first time buyers and residential property investors. And the message is getting through, the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) reported a 17% increase in new buyer enquiries at the end of last year, as consumers went in search of bargain opportunities. And property website Globrix says it saw more searches in the first two weeks of January than during any full month in 2008 as a result of a 111% increase in sellers lowering asking prices. Meanwhile, figures from the Bank of England show mortgage lending increased in December from the previous month. And, earlier this week, the Woolwich launched its cheapest mortgage ever. The lender, which is owned by Barclays, is offering a fixed-rate mortgage at just 2.29%. This is a full 1.5% cheaper than Woolwich's previous fixed-rate offering, and is the lowest mortgage on the market for either tracker or fixed-rate deals. However, it is only available for 60% LTV borrowers, which just about rules out every first time buyer. "We are seeing some of the best mortgage rates in a generation," says Andy Gray, head of mortgages at Woolwich. "This is down to increasing competition and the falling cost of lending for the banks." But hold on, does this seems to go against what we are being told, and therefore "know" about the credit crunch? It is an established "fact", and it must be true as it is the media that tells us, that there is a lack of funding to banks and it has prevented lenders from offering competitive mortgage rates and forced them to tighten their criteria. So, is all this evidence that the housing market is stabilising, and potentially even on the road to recovery? Not necessarily (a bit of reign back from me?) property prices will only sustain the improvement if confidence improves, it which case this might be a bounce not a recovery. So what have we heard from other bits of the economy this last week or so? The construction and housing industry was first to take the hit and is usually first to show the pick up. The Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply/Market construction PMI index rose to 34.5 in January from 29.3 in December. This is the highest reading in 3 months, but the 11th month running the index has been below 50, the level which marks contraction. Analysts said it was too early to say the sector had passed the worst but noted the improvement was widespread, with activity in the housing, commercial and civil sectors all climbing off December's all-time lows. LIBOR continues to behave, if not well at least consistently, with base rate margin being more in line with expectations. I am not sure why the Evening Standard 26th January thought a 0.0002% rise in 3 month LIBOR warranted the banner headline "Libor rises for first time in three months". Bizarre but then it supports my contention that the lack of confidence is media driven. Graph source http://www.thisismoney.co.uk Or what was achieved other than scaring the living daylights out of us, by the article in the Mail on Sunday 25th January under the huge banner headline Bankrupt Britain: what would it mean? Dan Atkinson, Economics Editor, wrote "For the first time in more than 30 years, the old fear is stalking us once more, the anxiety we hoped had been dumped in the skip of history along with secondary trade-union picketing, Sunday afternoon pub-closing and The Smurfs." "The name of this spectre is the fearful question - is Britain going bankrupt? More pertinently, can Britain, or any other country, ever actually become insolvent?" Let's look at this a little more closely and see if his analysis is correct. Strike 1. Secondary picketing is back at Esso refinery in Fawley and at Marchwood Power Station following the walkout at Lyndsay Oil Refinery. Strike 2. The pub in my village in North Essex closes at 3pm on Sundays. (I know I should really move). Strike 3, The Smurfs are alive and well in toy shops around the country and on DVDs. So there you are then, if the 3 supporting "facts" are untrue what of the central hypothesis? It too is suspect. I won't go into any more detail but it is yet another example of media doom mongering. Finally I found this interesting site and have already saved over £60 in fuel.http://www.petrolprices.com/ The registration questions are a bit more intrusive than I like but it is a clever site that delivers the cheapest petrol prices where you live and where you might be going to. Really finally you know I like numbers and economics, especially the effect of cost in use on purchasing decisions, and I love the certainty of the diesel exponents that they get better value than us poor old petrol heads. Well take this my friends. A Golf or Mondeo diesel takes around 6 years to recoup the extra cost of buying a diesel and the higher price of fuel. And a BMW 318 a whopping 24 years. Game, set and match? Speak again next week when I hope the weather is better. Regards Brad Joint Equity CEO www.jointequity.co.uk Property Focus Location: Knutsford, Cheshire Property type: End-Terrace Joint Equity price: £77,500 for 50% ownership share About this property: Located a short distance from Knutsford town centre this well presented and well maintained two bedroom end terraced house benefits from a recently re-fitted kitchen and bathroom. The property is warmed by gas central heating and double glazing and briefly comprises entrance hall, lounge, kitchen/diner, two bedrooms and bathroom. Externally there are gardens to the front and rear. Joint Equity Estate Agent: www.frankmarshall.co.uk How to find out more: Go to http://investors.jointequity.com to view full details and more pictures for this property, or to make an Investor Reservation. Not what you're looking for: Login to the Investors Area to browse all currently available Joint Equity properties. You are welcome to send this newsletter to a friend, please click here. Click here to visit us online: www.jointequity.co.uk If you would like to stop receiving our newsletters, please click here to unsubscribe: Unsubscribe me from this mailing list The Joint Equity Scheme is for first-time buyers, home owners and property investors. Joint Equity Ltd works with Mortgage Beaters to provide case studies and Illustrations to prospective Owner-Partners & Investor-Partners. Joint Equity Ltd does not carry out any regulated activities and so is not regulated by the FSA (Financial Services Authority). Joint Equity Ltd are introducer appointed representatives of Mortgage Beaters Ltd, who are authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. The content of this newsletter is accurate to the best of our knowledge and for information only. We do not provide financial advice. Joint Equity Ltd., a UK company Reg No: 4915890 Registered office: 17 Hanbury Close, Cheshunt, Herts, EN8 9BZ ©Joint Equity Ltd (2008) unless where otherwise stated

The statistics begin to reflect housing market movement

jointequity — Tuesday 27th of January 2009 06:05:03 PM

Click here to view this Newsletter online Click here for our Newsletter archive Click here to unsubscribe 27 January 2009 Dear %%First Name%%, you are subscribed to this newsletter using the following email address: %%emailaddress%%. Are you ready to make your first Joint Equity Investment? Register here to activate your portfolio and receive Joint Equity investment alerts direct to your inbox. There is currently NO FEE to register, so join us now. Already registered? Click here to login and view the latest Joint Equity Properties and Investment Opportunities. Not sure what to expect? Here's how it works: Registered Investor-Partners login here: http://investors.jointequity.com/ to see our properties and make reservations it's simple and quick. If you are not yet registered then click and complete the very simple form. You can then download the info pack. Clicking in the list on left hand side brings up a searchable list of all properties uploaded by our Estate Agent Partners. From this page you can get more details of the property by clicking and there is a link to the Estate Agents web site. You can also see if there is a reservation on the property, the reservation button turns red as here, and you can make your own reservations. Click <1st> <2nd> or <3rd> There is also the opportunity to put properties on your Watch List so that you can get back to them quickly. Click to add a property. Our Joint Equity Agents are adding properties every day so keep logging on to secure the best investments.Click here to see for yourself In this issue: 1. Brad's column News and views from Brad Bamfield, Joint Equity Chief Executive. Statistics and quotes this week but as we know they can be interpreted in many way. However, when graphed they do not look as bad as our media would have us believe. Is it constructive always to compare to the top of the market in Sept 07 and to then write banner doom and gloom headlines? I am not sure it is and I look at what has happened in the last 7 months, which you may find surprising. 2. Property Focus Joint Equity Investment Opportunities available now. Preview some of the latest properties available through Joint Equity Estate Agent Partners. For more news and information: News updates on our website Latest articles from Joint Equity Brad's column Some interesting statistics and quotes this week. Gary Booth, CEO at Tiuta, (a bridging finance company) said: "Contrary to what the papers say, there is demand to buy property. However, mainstream lenders are not working with the property market as it is operating at the moment. There are competitively and realistically priced properties available, but often the sellers want to move quickly and, sadly, most lenders are unable, or unwilling, to do so." Michael Coogan, CML director general, said: "A mortgage market solely funded by a few large banks and building societies would be unlikely to have the capacity to match future consumer borrowing demand, or be as competitive in the long term as the UK market has been before the credit crunch. Increasing the range of active lenders and funding capacity in the market overall is a vital next step. In December, net Bank mortgage lending rose by £2.9 billion, according to figures from the British Bankers' Association (BBA). However, this was lower than in November, (but higher than August a small but significant point) , and below the average of the previous six months, but then December is a 2.5 week month. The BBA says of its Seasonal Adjusted figures "monthly data movements vary due to the time of year, the number of working days, holiday seasons, etc.Seasonally adjusting these data reveals the underlying trends and allows all months to be directly compared with each other." In the December monthly seasonally adjusted statistics there are some interesting results. Net outstanding amounts secured on housing fell by £28bn between November and December. The average mortgage amount is now £116,000 down from £158,100 in Feb 2008 The current average is now the same as June 2004 The value of loans approved in December was 26% HIGHER than November The number of loans approved in December was 27% Higher than November So this tells us that the value of loans is going up, and the number of loans is going up, with a lower average value of loans. Therefore it seems to support the anecdotal evidence from estate agents and conveyancers that activity is increasing. Now turning to the averages for the last 7 months we see that; Average loan size is dropping month on month, which reflects lower house prices. The number of loans is fairly consistent and has recovered from a dip in November. The value of loans approved is moving back towards the average after the November dip So what do we make of all this? Well firstly I love statistics and that I expect the housing survey results will begin to show a rise in house prices in May 09 triggering the next round of rises. If you would like more information on becoming an Investor with us please email me at investors@jointequity.co.uk Regards Brad Joint Equity CEO www.jointequity.co.uk Property Focus Location: Weaverham, Cheshire Property type: Semi-Detached Joint Equity price: £82,500 for 50% ownership share About this property: 3 Bedroom Central Heating Dining room Garden Kitchen Lounge Joint Equity Estate Agent: www.frankmarshall.co.uk How to find out more: Go to http://investors.jointequity.com to view full details and more pictures for this property, or to make an Investor Reservation. Not what you're looking for: Login to the Investors Area to browse all currently available Joint Equity properties. You are welcome to send this newsletter to a friend, please click here. Click here to visit us online: www.jointequity.co.uk If you would like to stop receiving our newsletters, please click here to unsubscribe: Unsubscribe me from this mailing list The Joint Equity Scheme is for first-time buyers, home owners and property investors. Joint Equity Ltd works with Mortgage Beaters to provide case studies and Illustrations to prospective Owner-Partners & Investor-Partners. Joint Equity Ltd does not carry out any regulated activities and so is not regulated by the FSA (Financial Services Authority). Joint Equity Ltd are introducer appointed representatives of Mortgage Beaters Ltd, who are authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. The content of this newsletter is accurate to the best of our knowledge and for information only. We do not provide financial advice. Joint Equity Ltd., a UK company Reg No: 4915890 Registered office: 17 Hanbury Close, Cheshunt, Herts, EN8 9BZ ©Joint Equity Ltd (2008) unless where otherwise stated

Green shoots - wither now? & just how many feet do Banks have to shoot themselves in?

jointequity — Tuesday 20th of January 2009 04:50:03 PM

Click here to view this Newsletter online Click here for our Newsletter archive Click here to unsubscribe 20 January 2009 Dear %%First Name%%, you are subscribed to this newsletter using the following email address: %%emailaddress%%. Are you ready to make your first Joint Equity Investment? Register here to activate your portfolio and receive Joint Equity investment alerts direct to your inbox. There is currently NO FEE to register, so join us now. Already registered? Click here to login and view the latest Joint Equity Properties and Investment Opportunities. Not sure what to expect? Here's how it works: Registered Investor-Partners login here: http://investors.jointequity.com/ to see our properties and make reservations it's simple and quick. If you are not yet registered then click and complete the very simple form. You can then download the info pack. Clicking in the list on left hand side brings up a searchable list of all properties uploaded by our Estate Agent Partners. From this page you can get more details of the property by clicking and there is a link to the Estate Agents web site. You can also see if there is a reservation on the property, the reservation button turns red as here, and you can make your own reservations. Click <1st> <2nd> or <3rd> There is also the opportunity to put properties on your Watch List so that you can get back to them quickly. Click to add a property. Our Joint Equity Agents are adding properties every day so keep logging on to secure the best investments.Click here to see for yourself In this issue: 1. Brad's column News and views from Brad Bamfield, Joint Equity Chief Executive. This week the news is all bad and made worse by the Banks themselves however, they have quietly been preparing for the future. Green shoots, yes others are seeing them as well, but where did they get the anecdotal evidence? Read on. 2. Property Focus Joint Equity Investment Opportunities available now. Preview some of the latest properties available through Joint Equity Estate Agent Partners. For more news and information: News updates on our website Latest articles from Joint Equity Brad's column This week we have seen the BB2 (Brown Bailout II) lead to falls in banks share prices. On the face of it the measures which should have reassured the market makers, have done the opposite. Richard Buxton, Head of UK Securities at Schroders, said this morning that the steps should have had a positive effect "but lack of clarity on key measures, coupled with deterioration in Royal Bank of Scotland's credit books, have spooked the market. He also said "The exact details of key elements of these initiatives will not be announced for some time. The details of the Bank of England's asset purchase plan will only be set out by the end of January, whilst the premiums that banks will be forced to pay for their 'bad loan insurance' will not be disclosed until the end of next month." However, New Star economist Simon Ward obtained statistics from the Bank of England under the freedom of information act, which showed UK lending institutions were down from 2007's £29bn of profit. The information obtained by Ward reveals that the loss over Q1-Q3 2008 was due to a negative contribution of £18.9bn from dealing activities, which Ward thinks is probably reflective of write-downs on securitised assets. There were also provisions of £12.8bn for bad and doubtful debts. Ward also found that, despite the £5.8bn loss, banks and building societies paid out dividends of £17.9bn over the three quarters. Consequently, he says their stock of retained earnings fell by £23.6bn, which was more than cumulative retentions by banks alone over the previous three years. Ward says: ""Even allowing for a further retained earnings loss in the fourth quarter, the erosion of internal capital last year will have been comfortably exceeded by new capital-raising of more than £70 billion, with the government contributing £37 billion." In other words, "despite staggering write-downs and provisions, banks and building societies aggregate capital ended 2008 significantly higher than a year before." I do wonder why if things are so bad Banks are still paying such high dividends. Is it the last "favour" to investors for 10 years of good times that are now at an end, as the Government inexorably moves to nationalise the banks at rock bottom prices? If the shares are worthless the management at least gave away the last of the cash to investors as a sweetener. Do I see too many shadows? I wrote last year about the hubris of the CEO of Lehman Brothers and how central bankers have long memories. Do you know, I see some of that now here in the UK. For the last decade Gordon Brown, as Chancellor, really did not get his own way with the Banks and much of what they did was contrary to Mr Brown's left wing ideology however, in the face of sustained growth in GDP he was powerless to make them toe his line. Being powerless, and seen to be powerless, is an anathema to a politician. Brown was therefore reduced to nibbling around the edges, ripping £5bn from pension funds and raising taxes. Now the shoe is on the other foot with the banks in big do do and Brown, now the Prime Minister, can extract his pound of flesh from the greedy bankers and their shareholders. Far fetched? Stranger things have happened and politicians have long memories when their public image is adversely affected, or even when they believe it has been. Look how Mr Brown's attitude has changed to one of his closest advisors and "friend" for 10 years, Sir Fred Goodwin. Yesterday Brown denounced Sir Fred's stewardship of RBS as "irresponsible" and hinted at punitive action by unspecified "authorities" when asked if Sir Fred should lose his knighthood. "Hell hath no fury like a politician spurned" as I always say. So I reluctantly concede that the senior management of our banks are poorer than we could ever have envisioned and that they continue to operate in ways that no sane business would. Does it mean we can afford to lose them? No, I do not think it does as I think the politicians who now "control" most of our banks have even less clue what to do, for example the u-turn at Northern Rock. A final observation on the inability of banks to read customer opinion. I was with a bank this morning who said that how could we expect any interest on a £100,000 balance in present circumstances? So where is the risk premium then? And since banks have decoupled borrowing from base rates, why not investor rates? Oh yes the LIBOR red herring I here you all cry out. Moving on from banks, I see that politicians have started to agree with me that "green shoots" are beginning to appear. Namely Margaret Becket, the housing minister, supported by Baroness Vaders, the business minister, who in an interview in the Sunday Times 18th January 09, said the signs of recovery are "quite recent and anecdotal". However, she is clearly very perceptive and wise. Now I am sure that her staff have access to the same information as I do, and a lot more, but I wonder how she reached the same conclusion as poor little 'ol me? Of course the obvious answer is that the readership of this newsletter is a lot wider than we ever believed !!!! Until next week, when something mundane might have happened - for a change.Regards Brad Joint Equity CEO www.jointequity.co.uk Property Focus Location: Northwich Property type: 3 bed semi-detached with conservatory Joint Equity price: £125,000 for 50% ownership About this property: A delightful, traditional semi-detached home, viewing is essential to appreciate the well presented and tastefully decorated accommodation, tucked away in the charming village of Hartford. Hartford is a highly regarded village affording convenient access to the A556 for commuters and having its own main line and local railway station, an important consideration for commuters. Schools in Hartford have an excellent reputation and are available for all ages. In the centre of Hartford stands a Parish Church and good local shopping facilities cater for day-to-day needs. The property stands in a good size plot having a lovely private garden to the rear, with ample off road parking to the front as well as a single garage. In brief the accommodation comprises entrance hall, lounge with open fire, dining room, conservatory, kitchen, three bedrooms and a four piece bathroom suite, benefitting from gas fired central heating and Upvc double glazing. Alarm and security lighting. Joint Equity Estate Agent: www.frankmarshall.co.uk How to find out more: Go to http://investors.jointequity.com to view full details and more pictures for this property, or to make an Investor Reservation. Not what you're looking for: Login to the Investors Area to browse all currently available Joint Equity properties. You are welcome to send this newsletter to a friend, please click here. Click here to visit us online: www.jointequity.co.uk If you would like to stop receiving our newsletters, please click here to unsubscribe: Unsubscribe me from this mailing list The Joint Equity Scheme is for first-time buyers, home owners and property investors. Joint Equity Ltd works with Mortgage Beaters to provide case studies and Illustrations to prospective Owner-Partners & Investor-Partners. Joint Equity Ltd does not carry out any regulated activities and so is not regulated by the FSA (Financial Services Authority). Joint Equity Ltd are introducer appointed representatives of Mortgage Beaters Ltd, who are authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. The content of this newsletter is accurate to the best of our knowledge and for information only. We do not provide financial advice. Joint Equity Ltd., a UK company Reg No: 4915890 Registered office: 17 Hanbury Close, Cheshunt, Herts, EN8 9BZ ©Joint Equity Ltd (2008) unless where otherwise stated

January is always a good month to buy property is 2009 any different?

jointequity — Tuesday 13th of January 2009 12:45:01 PM

Click here to view this Newsletter online Click here for our Newsletter archive Click here to unsubscribe 13 January 2009 Dear %%First Name%%, you are subscribed to this newsletter using the following email address: %%emailaddress%%. Are you ready to make your first Joint Equity Investment? Register here to activate your portfolio and receive Joint Equity investment alerts direct to your inbox. There is currently NO FEE to register, so join us now. Already registered? Click here to login and view the latest Joint Equity Properties and Investment Opportunities. Not sure what to expect? Here's how it works: Registered Investor-Partners login here: http://investors.jointequity.com/ to see our properties and make reservations it's simple and quick. If you are not yet registered then click and complete the very simple form. You can then download the info pack. Clicking in the list on left hand side brings up a searchable list of all properties uploaded by our Estate Agent Partners. From this page you can get more details of the property by clicking and there is a link to the Estate Agents web site. You can also see if there is a reservation on the property, the reservation button turns red as here, and you can make your own reservations. Click <1st> <2nd> or <3rd> There is also the opportunity to put properties on your Watch List so that you can get back to them quickly. Click to add a property. Our Joint Equity Agents are adding properties every day so keep logging on to secure the best investments.Click here to see for yourself In this issue: 1. Brad's column News and views from Brad Bamfield, Joint Equity Chief Executive. Why is January a good time to buy property? What will happen for the rest of the year? Why is this recession so steep? 2. Property Focus Joint Equity Investment Opportunities available now. Preview some of the latest properties available through Joint Equity Estate Agent Partners. For more news and information: News updates on our website Latest articles from Joint Equity Brad's column My regular readers know I am an avid reader of statistics and of reports. (Yes I know pretty sad but I enjoy it). I also synthesise the data into a more coherent job lot. It is never a good idea to take one set of statistics or one report as the definitive authority on what is happening now. Not least the time delay between research and publication but the time lag any change has on statistics makes it all worse. As I have said before I particularly like the guys over at www.propertyinvesting.net, they do not say much but what they do say has been pretty well on the nail over the last 18 months. The nub of their latest analysis is that the global turmoil started in June 2007 when the oil price topped $70 /bbl. However, it was masked by the general economy and the sustained period of growth. As inflation picked up worldwide central banks increased interest rates and choked domestic demand. Why is this recession different from other rescissions? My view is that previous recessions have been focused on a geographic collection of economies leaving room for other economies to grow. This time the oil spike coincided with the financial provider to the world (the US) finding that it's house was not in order and that the diabolically clever financial products invented over the last 10 years in the US, and to be fair here as well, were in fact just diabolical. We had been living in an economic instrument fantasy land, and lost sight of the fact that lending needs to be based on assets and income. As the capital bases of lending institutions are rebuilt stability will return to capital markets and cash will once again flow around the system. This will begin to percolate through to businesses in Q1 09. However, my mates at propertyivesting think we "will not see $33 /bbl again" and midday 19th December was the pivot point when super low prices ended. Where do they think the "natural" price of oil is? Well they don't say but oil under $50 is a property stimulus (price corrected in each of the previous recessions) and over $70 is a brake. On 10th January Deutsche Bank lowered its forecast for oil prices to $45 from $55 for the first quarter and reduced its annual average oil price for 2009 to $45 from $47.50. How does this affect sentiment and property? (The following comes, mostly, from www.propertyinvesting.net, ) As we have already reported there is a definite wind of change in the Joint Equity market. For investors it could be a good time to purchase property at present - the best time to buy in the UK year is probably early to mid December – but January is not bad either – why? Miserable weather – dark, cold, rainy, short days, long nights Miserable feeling in the air People focused on Christmas shopping, Christmas parties, finishing work late to enable a Christmas and New Year's holiday, then recovering from New Year celebrations and social engagements – then preparing for work Kids still at school – everyone busy working, shopping or partying Buyers are desperately trying to get an offer before Christmas – to allow them to have a stress free Christmas Not much City bonus money this year The death of the Buy to Let market. January isn't a bad month either although the market tends normally to hot up a bit after Christmas and New Year – there is normally a feel good (or at least a feel better) factor. However, you need to avoid competition from motivated buyers and search for the most motivated sellers – to achieve lowest prices. Currently, these are pretty exceptional circumstances that lead to less competition: Very few first time buyers – albeit they started appearing in Dec 2008 Not many normal buyers Only a few bottom feeding investors around Lack of mortgage funds available – no let up in sight yet (though expected to improve by March) Added to these, some fear factors: Fear of falling prices due to stock market crash and unemployment Fear of major recession and worsening economic outlook Increase in repossessions – very quiet auctions and empty properties Fire sales from developers of new build flats and houses Stock market crash of October and November 2008 Added to these positive factors: Drastically reduced interest rates – with more likely to come Big fiscal stimuli planned for 2009 Oil price crashing from $147/bbl to $40/bbl Some very early and tentative signs of a recovery Correlation with maximum fear = best time to buy Inflation falling fast allowing further interest rate cuts Mortgage companies beginning to drop rates and unfreeze lending Price to earnings rates have dropped from 5.8 to 4.5 – with long term average of 4 You might then form the view that the winter of 2008/2009 could be the best time in 25 years for investors to buy property - at bargain basement prices. The Doubting Thomas's will say – don't buy prices are forecast to drop another 10 to 15% or more. To which we answer – When was a forecast ever correct? Who forecast a recession in the UK in April 2008? Who forecast interest rates dropping from 5.75% in 2008 to 2% or lower by year end? Who forecast oil prices crashing from $147/bbl to $40/bbl within the last five months?Okay – if you buy property now, it might be that property prices slide a further 10% by end 2009 or more. But if you buy property now, you may be able to pick up a distressed sale that could knock up to 25% off the sale price – particularly if you buy at auction or you buy cash and can close within a few weeks using Joint Equity Pre-Buy. Are buyers buying now? No – not quite yet – because they haven't got enough liquid cash to take advantage. However, Joint Equity reduces the need for liquid cash and this is the reason we are seeing increased activity through all our Estate Agents. Many buyers wouldrather reduce perceived risks by waiting a bit longer – seeing a clear bottom then jumping in again. This means the non Joint Equity buyers will probably start mid 2009 – but they will probably strike a little too late – if the bottom of the market is seen and is real – it could be too late and they will have missed an extra 10% on asset prices – this is the downside of waiting. And don't be surprised if the market hots up quickly – prices can start rising within a month if the market turns – and it could do with rates at 1%! My mates at Propertyinvesting.net end by saying. "We have this feeling that with interest rates at 2%, as soon as banks start lending again, there could be a lot of pent up demand after about 1½ years of the market being in the doldrums – there is definitely a scenario that a very fast recovery could occur. No – this is not mainstream thinking. But, since when did mainstream make money anyway?" I trust the guys at www.propertyinvesting.net will forgive me lifting chunks (OK plagiarising) from their latest report but I can never reference them properly as they do not list their editors and writers. Anyway thanks for your insights, and your quirky look at the financial world. Not least what they say about electric cars and how municipal car parks should have 15% of bays converted to charging bays for electric cars. Endless entertainment, well for me anyway. Regards Brad Joint Equity CEO www.jointequity.co.uk Property Focus Location: Winsford Property type: Four bed detached Joint Equity price: £169,500 About this property: A deceptively spacious four bedroom detached family home, the well presented accommodation is spread over three floor and in brief comprises double glazed entrance vestibule, entrance hall, lounge open to dining room, conservatory, good sized fitted kitchen and utility area plus down stairs cloakroom. To the first floor the master bedroom has dressing area and en-suite shower, there are two further bedrooms and family bathroom, to the second floor there is a good size double bedroom. The property benefits from gas fired central heating and Upvc double glazing. Externally the property is set back from the road behind extensive parking leading to single garage. At the rear there is a delightful garden offering a high degree of privacy Joint Equity Estate Agent: Marshall's www.frankmarshall.co.uk How to find out more: Go to http://investors.jointequity.com to view full details and more pictures for this property, or to make an Investor Reservation. Not what you're looking for: Login to the Investors Area to browse all currently available Joint Equity properties. You are welcome to send this newsletter to a friend, please click here. Click here to visit us online: www.jointequity.co.uk If you would like to stop receiving our newsletters, please click here to unsubscribe: Unsubscribe me from this mailing list The Joint Equity Scheme is for first-time buyers, home owners and property investors. Joint Equity Ltd works with Mortgage Beaters to provide case studies and Illustrations to prospective Owner-Partners & Investor-Partners. Joint Equity Ltd does not carry out any regulated activities and so is not regulated by the FSA (Financial Services Authority). Joint Equity Ltd are introducer appointed representatives of Mortgage Beaters Ltd, who are authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. The content of this newsletter is accurate to the best of our knowledge and for information only. We do not provide financial advice. Joint Equity Ltd., a UK company Reg No: 4915890 Registered office: 17 Hanbury Close, Cheshunt, Herts, EN8 9BZ ©Joint Equity Ltd (2008) unless where otherwise stated

The bright New Year is here, but what of the green shoots of recovery? Joint Equity Investor News

jointequity — Tuesday 06th of January 2009 04:40:02 PM

Click here to view this Newsletter online Click here for our Newsletter archive Click here to unsubscribe 06 January 2009 Dear %%First Name%%, you are subscribed to this newsletter using the following email address: %%emailaddress%%. Are you ready to make your first Joint Equity Investment? Register here to activate your portfolio and receive Joint Equity investment alerts direct to your inbox. There is currently NO FEE to register, so join us now. Already registered? Click here to login and view the latest Joint Equity Properties and Investment Opportunities. Not sure what to expect? Here's how it works: Registered Investor-Partners login here: http://investors.jointequity.com/ to see our properties and make reservations it's simple and quick. If you are not yet registered then click and complete the very simple form. You can then download the info pack. Clicking in the list on left hand side brings up a searchable list of all properties uploaded by our Estate Agent Partners. From this page you can get more details of the property by clicking and there is a link to the Estate Agents web site. You can also see if there is a reservation on the property, the reservation button turns red as here, and you can make your own reservations. Click <1st> <2nd> or <3rd> There is also the opportunity to put properties on your Watch List so that you can get back to them quickly. Click to add a property. Our Joint Equity Agents are adding properties every day so keep logging on to secure the best investments.Click here to see for yourself In this issue: 1. Brad's column News and views from Brad Bamfield, Joint Equity Chief Executive. The New Year is here and things are as dismal as ever in the press. However, the green shoots are still visible if you look hard enough. 2. Property Focus Joint Equity Investment Opportunities available now. Preview some of the latest properties available through Joint Equity Estate Agent Partners. For more news and information: News updates on our website Latest articles from Joint Equity Brad's column As with all good newsletters I start with season’s greetings and a wish for a more settled New Year than 2008. I survived the plague that seems to have hit just about everyone in the last month and was a good dutiful employee by having it during the holiday. Fortunately I did not seem to infect my wife who basically said that I was in severe trouble if she got it. Therefore, I can only assume, it was acute “man flu” and so I escaped wifley retribution, if not the 2 weeks of lurgy. Now to more mundane things; the economy and especially property. We continue to see an increase in activity across all our Estate Agent Partners, with new Agents looking to join our network faster than we can induct them. Buyers are showing more interest in buying and mortgage companies are beginning to send their business development people out again with promises of better deals than the competition. Whether they can deliver the promises remains to be seen but it is a good sign of a thaw in the freeze. However, HSBC on 8th December said it planned to increase its UK mortgage market share from its present 4% with an additional 20% capital injection in 2009. And you know my considered opinion of banks, where one goes - they all go. Activity on our Online Illustrator for Joint Equity shared home ownership has jumped by 25% in November and a further 109% in December. This was particularly noticeable in the period between Christmas and New Year. This means that potential Owner-Partners are at least considering their options. The interesting statistic is that accounts that have been inactive for more than 3 months have been active as our registered Owner-Partners look again at the costs and benefits of owning rather than renting. 3 month LIBOR is now just 70 basis points above base, which indicates that there is improving liquidity in the inter-bank lending market, if not appetite. Although all the headlines in the press are still about price declines net building society lending for November was up 2% on October. However, not all is good news, even from my perspective. The indications are that the Bank of England will drop rates again on Thursday and I am not sure that this is now the right move. Already the weakness of sterling has led to a £48bn reduction of foreign investment in UK banks by overseas institutions since September and a further cut will undermine sterling value further. (Unless it is matched by the Euro zone). Simon Ward of New Star (hmm maybe not the best source of predictions) says that the current level of "the withdrawal of foreign funding may have contributed to the further tightening of banks lending standards over the last three months.” He also implied that the current £156bn level of investment will allow "significant further outflows.” Combine this with the drive by banks that took advantage of the BoE loans last year to repay them due to the high interest charges then I can see this easing of liquidity drying up, but it will be temporary. So what could be about to change the outlook for the better? The Government is being stung by the Opposition and is looking for alternatives to the capital support system just as the US and Japan are doing. I would not go so far as to say that the world’s central banks have decided that the UK way was wrong but they have at last discovered there are better alternatives. Where now the saviour of the world’s financial systems? I think we will see a form of central bank guarantee of loans, mortgages and business loans, of the top 25% of exposure, the equivalent of a Government MIG. We might also see a UK equivalent of Freddie Mac where the more “toxic” loans are removed from Banks balance sheets and moved to a tax payer guaranteed not for profit company. This is a “good” option and will free up Banks to start lending at more sensible levels. Although what the repossession policy would be of this company is anyone’s guess, especially when Northern Rock is the most aggressive repossessor at the moment. It would seem obvious that a debt for equity swap through the Joint Equity Repossession Avoidance model would ensure the toxic mortgages are not all domed and the tax payer can get their money back with a reasonable profit. And here is the nub, and the Achilles heel of the Conservatives, investment by the Government (as distinct from subsidy or increasing public employment) is appropriate at this time even if it does increase public borrowing. The loans made last year to Banks will be paid back, with a good dollop of interest, and soon. Bringing forward future public infrastructure investment is beneficial. And investing ethically in protecting the majority of the population from the effects of massive repossessions over the next 2 years is also beneficial. I say this as the size of the repossession at 85,000 seems high but is actually 1.4% of the mortgage market but has a disproportionate affect on the other 98%. If the Government invests in the support of the problem mortgages, rather than offering payment holiday, with debt for equity swaps through Joint Equity, then we can all benefit. Of course I wrote to the Prime Minster and the Chancellor with my views. The Prime Minister’s email address bounced as undeliverable and I have yet to receive a response or acknowledgement from the Chancellor. In fairness I must report I also wrote to the Leader of the Opposition and the Shadow Chancellor. Although I received a response from the Office of the Shadow Chancellor that they found the idea “interesting” there has been no further activity. Par for the course then. And what about the private sector? The jury is still out but we do have some interesting options. Until next week - stay healthy. Regards Brad Joint Equity CEO www.jointequity.co.uk Property Focus Location: Long Acre, Northwich Property type: End Terrace Joint Equity price: £124,975 for 50% Ownership About this property: A well presented four bedroom family home, located in a quiet cul-de-sac within the desirable, prestigious area of Delamere Park, offering swimming pool, tennis courts, squash courts, community centre with bar. Close to Delamere Forest. Viewing is essential to appreciate the flexibility the property offers as a family home. In brief the accommodation comprises entrance vestibule, cloakroom, dining room, kitchen, good sized lounge that opens on to the rear garden. To the first floor there are three double bedrooms and family bathroom, with the master bedroom being on the second floor with en-suite shower facilities. Externally there are gardens to the front and rear, the rear garden offering a good degree of privacy and giving access to the detached single garage. Joint Equity Estate Agent: www.frankmarshall.co.uk How to find out more: Go to http://investors.jointequity.com to view full details and more pictures for this property, or to make an Investor Reservation. Not what you're looking for: Login to the Investors Area to browse all currently available Joint Equity properties. You are welcome to send this newsletter to a friend, please click here. Click here to visit us online: www.jointequity.co.uk If you would like to stop receiving our newsletters, please click here to unsubscribe: Unsubscribe me from this mailing list The Joint Equity Scheme is for first-time buyers, home owners and property investors. Joint Equity Ltd works with Mortgage Beaters to provide case studies and Illustrations to prospective Owner-Partners & Investor-Partners. Joint Equity Ltd does not carry out any regulated activities and so is not regulated by the FSA (Financial Services Authority). Joint Equity Ltd are introducer appointed representatives of Mortgage Beaters Ltd, who are authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. The content of this newsletter is accurate to the best of our knowledge and for information only. We do not provide financial advice. Joint Equity Ltd., a UK company Reg No: 4915890 Registered office: 17 Hanbury Close, Cheshunt, Herts, EN8 9BZ ©Joint Equity Ltd (2008) unless where otherwise stated

Christmas newsletter from Joint Equity

jointequity — Tuesday 23rd of December 2008 05:00:05 PM

Click here to view this Newsletter online Click here for our Newsletter archive Click here to unsubscribe 23 December 2008 Dear %%First Name%%, you are subscribed to this newsletter using the following email address: %%emailaddress%%. Are you ready to make your first Joint Equity Investment? Register here to activate your portfolio and receive Joint Equity investment alerts direct to your inbox. There is currently NO FEE to register, so join us now. Already registered? Click here to login and view the latest Joint Equity Properties and Investment Opportunities. Not sure what to expect? Here's how it works: Registered Investor-Partners login here: http://investors.jointequity.com/ to see our properties and make reservations it's simple and quick. If you are not yet registered then click and complete the very simple form. You can then download the info pack. Clicking in the list on left hand side brings up a searchable list of all properties uploaded by our Estate Agent Partners. From this page you can get more details of the property by clicking and there is a link to the Estate Agents web site. You can also see if there is a reservation on the property, the reservation button turns red as here, and you can make your own reservations. Click <1st> <2nd> or <3rd> There is also the opportunity to put properties on your Watch List so that you can get back to them quickly. Click to add a property. Our Joint Equity Agents are adding properties every day so keep logging on to secure the best investments.Click here to see for yourself In this issue: 1. Brad's column News and views from Brad Bamfield, Joint Equity Chief Executive. The 50th edition of the newsletter and Christams greetings. 2. Property Focus Joint Equity Investment Opportunities available now. Preview some of the latest properties available through Joint Equity Estate Agent Partners. For more news and information: News updates on our website Latest articles from Joint Equity Brad's column Although this is the 50th edition and I was lining up a bumper edition I am afraid the winter lurgy has laid me low. Therefore, I will just throw out one item I was going to discuss and that is MIGs. Remember them? MIGs, mortgage indemnity guarantees, came about after the last recession but fell into disuse after lenders decided it was more profitable to insure themselves. The one time they needed to hedge they did not. Just another poor decision. Re-introducing the MIG would lower the risk element for the lender and move the high end risk out to where, in theory, it should lie, with experts. It would also help rebuild the securitisation market. However, I wonder if insurance companies would take on the risk now they have seen just how poor a job our mortgage lenders do? It may need some support from the Government, but the benefits seem obvious and the cost (to the borrower) will just have to be borne. More later. So I wish you a Merry Christmas from myself and all the team here including Sophie, our office dog. The next Investor-Partner newsletter will be on Tuesday 6th January 2009, which will be the start of a new cycle in property investment. Regards Brad Joint Equity CEO www.jointequity.co.uk How to find out more: Go to http://investors.jointequity.com to view full details and more pictures for this property, or to make an Investor Reservation. Not what you're looking for: Login to the Investors Area to browse all currently available Joint Equity properties. You are welcome to send this newsletter to a friend, please click here. Click here to visit us online: www.jointequity.co.uk If you would like to stop receiving our newsletters, please click here to unsubscribe: Unsubscribe me from this mailing list The Joint Equity Scheme is for first-time buyers, home owners and property investors. Joint Equity Ltd works with Mortgage Beaters to provide case studies and Illustrations to prospective Owner-Partners & Investor-Partners. Joint Equity Ltd does not carry out any regulated activities and so is not regulated by the FSA (Financial Services Authority). Joint Equity Ltd are introducer appointed representatives of Mortgage Beaters Ltd, who are authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. The content of this newsletter is accurate to the best of our knowledge and for information only. We do not provide financial advice. Joint Equity Ltd., a UK company Reg No: 4915890 Registered office: 17 Hanbury Close, Cheshunt, Herts, EN8 9BZ ©Joint Equity Ltd (2008) unless where otherwise stated

The death of Hedge funds improves the prospects for residential property investment.

jointequity — Tuesday 16th of December 2008 11:00:03 AM

Click here to view this Newsletter online Click here for our Newsletter archive Click here to unsubscribe 16 December 2008 Dear %%First Name%%, you are subscribed to this newsletter using the following email address: %%emailaddress%%. Are you ready to make your first Joint Equity Investment? Register here to activate your portfolio and receive Joint Equity investment alerts direct to your inbox. There is currently NO FEE to register, so join us now. Already registered? Click here to login and view the latest Joint Equity Properties and Investment Opportunities. Not sure what to expect? Here's how it works: Registered Investor-Partners login here: http://investors.jointequity.com/ to see our properties and make reservations it's simple and quick. If you are not yet registered then click and complete the very simple form. You can then download the info pack. Clicking in the list on left hand side brings up a searchable list of all properties uploaded by our Estate Agent Partners. From this page you can get more details of the property by clicking and there is a link to the Estate Agents web site. You can also see if there is a reservation on the property, the reservation button turns red as here, and you can make your own reservations. Click <1st> <2nd> or <3rd> There is also the opportunity to put properties on your Watch List so that you can get back to them quickly. Click to add a property. Our Joint Equity Agents are adding properties every day so keep logging on to secure the best investments.Click here to see for yourself In this issue: 1. Brad's column News and views from Brad Bamfield, Joint Equity Chief Executive. How many more feet does the banking industry have to shoot themselves in? But this time it has roped in the banks, the investment advisors, the investment funds, the central banks and the regulators. Yes it's the demise of the hedge fund and it benefits property investment. 2. Property Focus Joint Equity Investment Opportunities available now. Preview some of the latest properties available through Joint Equity Estate Agent Partners. For more news and information: News updates on our website Latest articles from Joint Equity Brad's column Another week and another crisis. This time one the most prestigious and well respected hedge funds, led by the ex chairman of the NASDAQ, collapses as it turns out to be effectively a pyramid selling scheme. For many years now there has been a sector of the finance industry that did not quite like what hedge funds had become. They had metamorphosed from financial insurance providers into an industry in and of themselves and along the way the industry lost a little more probity and a lot of credibility. Finally succumbing to a Ponsy Scam, that seems to have gone on for years under the very noses of the US regulators and using money from professional investment funds whose managers should have been more aware. (Although I now see many are now saying they have suspected something for "some time"; ha) While many investors have seen Hedge funds as fundamentally unethical, for every winner there is an equal loser, and declaring profits that were, frankly, surprising the greed of the industry leaders meant that the profits were too valuable to reject. Once again the old rule applies, if it seems too good to be true then it usually is. But once again in the industry, blind eyes are turned in the name of profit, and it's the customers that suffer. Maybe this is the one problem that banks have caused that will led investors to really question just what is the point of banks and the advice they give. Recently an investor of my acquaintance was advised by his bank to invest in its fund that invested in hedge funds. He declined as he distrusted both hedge funds and the advice provided by the bank. Seems he was very wise. Today Groucho Marks may have changed his famous quote to; a banker is someone who takes all your money and invests it until it's all gone Just how long can we, as customers, allow them to go on doing it? Just how long will the banks go on ignoring or, much worse, treating their customers, their life blood, with this level of contempt? As I have said, in past newsletters, any other business, in any other industry would have to embark on serious damage limitation if they did even 10% of what the banks have done to us - repeatedly. But not our banks, they seem not to care what either the customers or the politicians think of them. They seem to be oblivious of the effect of public perception of their inability to do their jobs properly. Very sad. However, the demise of the hedge funds, and let's not beat about the bush, they are now dead, is good news for property investment and the mortgage industry. They may flop about a bit, like a dying fish, and they may revert to their original structure but they are dead in this manifestation. They will go as investors will consider the risk too high and will want their cash back. Staved of cash they will fold, and I fear that many investors will not get all their money back either. As options for investment dry up (how many Government bonds can they buy?) and spread betting joins derivatives as unacceptable investment routes, the banks will revert to the tried and tested, asset based investment. And that means stocks and property. The consequence will be a bull market for stocks and vicious competition to increase mortgage market share leading to price increases. Despite John Varley'sill considered words yesterday I expect Barclays will be there trying just as hard as the other lenders to increase their market share. Joint Equity offers a low cost, lower risk, ethical way to invest in residential property. Our Joint Equity Estate Agent partners continue to add properties to the Property Register here. Next week will be the 50th edition of the Investor Newsletter and what new surprises will we be discussing then? Regards Brad Joint Equity CEO www.jointequity.co.uk Property Focus Location: Knutsford, Cheshire Property type: End-Terrace Joint Equity price: £77,500 for 50% ownership share About this property: Located a short distance from Knutsford town centre this well presented and well maintained two bedroom end terraced house benefits from a recently re-fitted kitchen and bathroom. The property is warmed by gas central heating and double glazing and briefly comprises entrance hall, lounge, kitchen/diner, two bedrooms and bathroom. Externally there are gardens to the front and rear. Joint Equity Estate Agent: www.frankmarshall.co.uk How to find out more: Go to http://investors.jointequity.com to view full details and more pictures for this property, or to make an Investor Reservation. Not what you're looking for: Login to the Investors Area to browse all currently available Joint Equity properties. You are welcome to send this newsletter to a friend, please click here. Click here to visit us online: www.jointequity.co.uk If you would like to stop receiving our newsletters, please click here to unsubscribe: Unsubscribe me from this mailing list The Joint Equity Scheme is for first-time buyers, home owners and property investors. Joint Equity Ltd works with Mortgage Beaters to provide case studies and Illustrations to prospective Owner-Partners & Investor-Partners. Joint Equity Ltd does not carry out any regulated activities and so is not regulated by the FSA (Financial Services Authority). Joint Equity Ltd are introducer appointed representatives of Mortgage Beaters Ltd, who are authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. The content of this newsletter is accurate to the best of our knowledge and for information only. We do not provide financial advice. Joint Equity Ltd., a UK company Reg No: 4915890 Registered office: 17 Hanbury Close, Cheshunt, Herts, EN8 9BZ ©Joint Equity Ltd (2008) unless where otherwise stated

Changes in sentiment follow market movements, or is it the other way round?

jointequity — Tuesday 09th of December 2008 01:15:03 PM

Click here to view this Newsletter online Click here for our Newsletter archive Click here to unsubscribe 09 December 2008 Dear %%First Name%%, you are subscribed to this newsletter using the following email address: %%emailaddress%%. Are you ready to make your first Joint Equity Investment? Register here to activate your portfolio and receive Joint Equity investment alerts direct to your inbox. There is currently NO FEE to register, so join us now. Already registered? Click here to login and view the latest Joint Equity Properties and Investment Opportunities. Not sure what to expect? Here's how it works: Registered Investor-Partners login here: http://investors.jointequity.com/ to see our properties and make reservations it's simple and quick. If you are not yet registered then click and complete the very simple form. You can then download the info pack. Clicking in the list on left hand side brings up a searchable list of all properties uploaded by our Estate Agent Partners. From this page you can get more details of the property by clicking and there is a link to the Estate Agents web site. You can also see if there is a reservation on the property, the reservation button turns red as here, and you can make your own reservations. Click <1st> <2nd> or <3rd> There is also the opportunity to put properties on your Watch List so that you can get back to them quickly. Click to add a property. Our Joint Equity Agents are adding properties every day so keep logging on to secure the best investments.Click here to see for yourself In this issue: 1. Brad's column News and views from Brad Bamfield, Joint Equity Chief Executive. The news this week is patchy but there are now more “good” elements than “bad”. This week I focus on a few key snippets that supports my contention that we are at the turning point. If it has not already turned. 2. Property Focus Joint Equity Investment Opportunities available now. Preview some of the latest properties available through Joint Equity Estate Agent Partners. For more news and information: News updates on our website Latest articles from Joint Equity Brad's column This week we have reports that support the contention the market is at a change point, if not on the way up, at least bouncing. HSBC proposes to double its 2007 mortgage levels. OK so HSBC has never been a "big" UK player and its rates are frankly poor but itdoes illustrate the stirrings of competition that I have been suggesting will herald the change in the market. When one big player makes a move they all will. I expect a big announcement from Halifax once it gets its attention off the merger and back onto core business. It better do so quickly otherwise it will lose significant market share. However, no one has ever said Lloyds is a dynamic organisation and is often several years behind the 8 ball. < Stop Press 10:00 > Halifax has announced today that has cut its rate collar and will pass on full 1% cut. So maybe Phil Jenks does read my newsletters after all !!! On Friday in the US, Schroders global property securities fund manager, Jim Rehlaender said: "There is a good arbitrage opportunity between how the stock market values real estate and how it is valued on a fundamental basis. We're looking at another year to year and a half of depreciation in the US market but the stocks have discounted a lot of that already and are typically ahead of the turning point in the underlying economy by about 9-12 months." Where the US goes the UK is sure to follow. Three month LIBOR is down to 3.31% and oil is down yet again. But oil is the one big problem, and unknown, we have still to face. The slump has been exacerbated by the oil price hike and many commentators are predicting a rise again in 2009. However, much of the froth in early 2008 came from speculation by investors (banks and institutions) and they are now if not out of play they are so handcuffed that their effect will be minimal. So my prediction is yes oil could rise but it will not be the problem it was in 2007/08. So let's look at the where the problem for the UK and the US will be, and it might surprise you. One of my sources, yes my secret sources, said at a conference last week "So in summary, the UK will get a massive economy stimulus and economic boost from: Lower inflation,Lower oil prices, Lower interest rates, Lower pound Sterling – making exports more competitive, Lower import costs (he explained previously from lower transportation costs), Lower wage demands, Slight rise in unemployment leading to efficiency improvements Property prices will then be supported by the lack of building and mopping up of unsold stock. The massive lack of investment in residential building in the 2008 to 2009 period should sow the seeds for a housing supply crunch in 2010 to 2012 period, as the population continues to grow, no building takes place, more homes are needed and then the economy comes out of recession. " A property supply crunch means? Higher prices, as demand out paces supply, and the inability of house builders to gear up to increase supply. We may be seeing the start already as the Sunday Times this week says that estate agents in many areas are reporting sales numbers are up and prices firmer. (now where have we heard that recently?). And today the CML revealed that there were 39,900 house purchase loans in October, worth £5.5 billion. Which was actually an increase of 14 per cent from September. But if we are to avoid the boom and bust of the past, even with a longer cycle, we need to do exactly as some politicians are saying, we need to change the housing model in the UK. But this is where I now leave the politicians as I think we need the free market to develop the new model not an interventionist Government. My position is strengthened by the demise of the Buy to Let market which is effectively now dead, just most people won't admit it yet, but the investors, who are still demanding residential property investments require a new way to invest. That way is, of course, Joint Equity. With higher returns than Buy to Let, but still providing the occupier with a stake in the property and the growth it is the logical and ethical successor to Buy to Let and the excesses of the 06/08 bubble. That institutions and investment funds can not yet see it is just a cross we have to bear, but as Joint Equity continues to innovate we are about to launch Property Syndicates that will allow investors to invest in residential property through Joint Equity but in a way that requires little input from themselves. I can say no more at present but I thought I would whet your appetite, in the best traditions of marketing. However, we have some advance information available now if you are interested. Email me here Until next week.Regards Brad Joint Equity CEO www.jointequity.co.uk Property Focus Location: Knutsford, Cheshire Property type: End-Terrace Joint Equity price: £77,500 for 50% ownership share About this property: Located a short distance from Knutsford town centre this well presented and well maintained two bedroom end terraced house benefits from a recently re-fitted kitchen and bathroom. The property is warmed by gas central heating and double glazing and briefly comprises entrance hall, lounge, kitchen/diner, two bedrooms and bathroom. Externally there are gardens to the front and rear. Joint Equity Estate Agent: www.frankmarshall.co.uk How to find out more: Go to http://investors.jointequity.com to view full details and more pictures for this property, or to make an Investor Reservation. Not what you're looking for: Login to the Investors Area to browse all currently available Joint Equity properties. You are welcome to send this newsletter to a friend, please click here. Click here to visit us online: www.jointequity.co.uk If you would like to stop receiving our newsletters, please click here to unsubscribe: Unsubscribe me from this mailing list The Joint Equity Scheme is for first-time buyers, home owners and property investors. Joint Equity Ltd works with Mortgage Beaters to provide case studies and Illustrations to prospective Owner-Partners & Investor-Partners. Joint Equity Ltd does not carry out any regulated activities and so is not regulated by the FSA (Financial Services Authority). Joint Equity Ltd are introducer appointed representatives of Mortgage Beaters Ltd, who are authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. The content of this newsletter is accurate to the best of our knowledge and for information only. We do not provide financial advice. Joint Equity Ltd., a UK company Reg No: 4915890 Registered office: 17 Hanbury Close, Cheshunt, Herts, EN8 9BZ ©Joint Equity Ltd (2008) unless where otherwise stated

Is there a credit famine? I am not sure there is.

jointequity — Tuesday 02nd of December 2008 11:50:05 AM

Click here to view this Newsletter online Click here for our Newsletter archive Click here to unsubscribe 02 December 2008 Dear %%First Name%%, you are subscribed to this newsletter using the following email address: %%emailaddress%%. Are you ready to make your first Joint Equity Investment? Register here to activate your portfolio and receive Joint Equity investment alerts direct to your inbox. There is currently NO FEE to register, so join us now. Already registered? Click here to login and view the latest Joint Equity Properties and Investment Opportunities. Not sure what to expect? Here's how it works: Registered Investor-Partners login here: http://investors.jointequity.com/ to see our properties and make reservations it's simple and quick. If you are not yet registered then click and complete the very simple form. You can then download the info pack. Clicking in the list on left hand side brings up a searchable list of all properties uploaded by our Estate Agent Partners. From this page you can get more details of the property by clicking and there is a link to the Estate Agents web site. You can also see if there is a reservation on the property, the reservation button turns red as here, and you can make your own reservations. Click <1st> <2nd> or <3rd> There is also the opportunity to put properties on your Watch List so that you can get back to them quickly. Click to add a property. Our Joint Equity Agents are adding properties every day so keep logging on to secure the best investments.Click here to see for yourself In this issue: 1. Brad's column News and views from Brad Bamfield, Joint Equity Chief Executive. We read in the media that the Banks are not lending and it seems it’s their fault. But is this true? This week I look at what is happening in the residential property and try to work out why the amount borrowed is still dropping. 2. Property Focus Joint Equity Investment Opportunities available now. Preview some of the latest properties available through Joint Equity Estate Agent Partners. For more news and information: News updates on our website Latest articles from Joint Equity Brad's column This week we have conflicting information in the market which, for our simple minded journalists and, dare I say it, politicians, means that they have to think a bit more about what is going on. But of course they do not, nor do they bother to ask those that can think. Firstly LIBOR overnight is stable at 3% and the important 3 month rate dropped from 6.25% on 15th October, a massive 175 basis points over Bank base rate, to 3.88%, just +88bps. Now I accept for most of the decade LIBOR spread has been lower than 88bps but it is very competitive today. The setting of LIBOR is complex and can drop because there is too much money in the interbank market or there is less demand for it, which if you think about it is almost the same reason but there is a difference. More money comes into interbank market as the lender bank has confidence that the borrower bank will still be around to pay back the loan. Until the daft US authorities let Lehmans go bust there was confidence in the market that banks would be there to repay the debt. After all central banks were there as lender of last resort and would support troubled banks, were they not? History, when it is written, will probably tell us that central bankers became fed up with the CEOs of big banks taking them for granted and believing that they were untouchable, still paying big bonuses based on artificial profits from unregulated activities and ignoreing the growing bubble. This has happened so many times in the past with banks, the sovereign debt crisis, the vertical integration "cods up" buying estate agents and of course the dot com fiasco, that it is getting monotonous. It does really seem that greed does drive bankers and that they do act like lemmings. I have written in the past that I think personalities affected the judgement of the Fed when it looked at saving Lehman, it may yet turn out to be a turning point for the finance industry but sadly my experience says "they will never learn" and are just waiting for the next "big thing". OK now back to LIBOR, at 11am every day 16 banks get together and set LIBOR for that day after deciding how much is available to lend and at what rate. Money does not do any good in a bank's vault, it earns nothing just sitting there, so banks make it work by lending it to other banks. So at any point all banks are lenders and borrowers with money moving round the market. Clearly if they just lend it overnight the risk that they will get it back tomorrow is good, but the longer term periods, 3, 6 and 12 months, are more difficult to call. Since the central banks started guaranteeing bank debts and showing support the "worry" factor has reduced. The other factor was that central banks required all banks to build their capital base up to higher levels which sucked great wadges of cash out of the system. If they had to keep it then they could not lend it. I suspect, but I admit that I cannot find clear evidence at the moment, that banks have pulled their usual trick after they lose money, they squeeze every source of income to rebuild their assets as quickly as possible. It was this approach that I built my prediction that the mortgage market would be back in growth in Q4 2008. Once the banks had rebuilt the assets then the surplus cash would have to be lent to make money. I think I was right but I was also a tiny, weenie bit slightly, wrong. What I did not foresee is the appalling ability of the banks to shoot themselves in the foot and completely alienate their customers to the extent they have. Now that money has started to flow into the market just about all the sectors that have to borrow, house purchase, small businesses for example, don't want to. Now this could be the next banking crisis. They have the money but no one wants it. And that I think is where we are at present. I do not think there has been a mortgage famine, as there has always been mortgages available throughout this period, ok at higher rates and only to clean borrowers, but the fact is no one wants to borrow. Why? Our straw poll of our Owner-Partners tells us that they are all convinced that all prices will be 10% lower in the future. When we asked when in the future they were uncommitted, but did not want to spend now if the price of the house would be 10% lower "next year". But worse they said the same thing for buying household goods such as TVs. Instead they said they were paying off debt or saving. And we see that now as a problem; credit cards being paid off, mortgages being paid off, limited numbers of new mortgages taken out and purchases of goods collapsing. All this means no income for banks and they still have to pay investors their interest for their savings. Look at how National Savings Bank rates have suffered with an influx of deposits. So what will change buyers sentiment and confidence? It will be a number of factors primarily the first report in the press of rising house prices. Other things will happen behind the scenes such as another interest rate cut and the additional action the US is taking to stimulate consumer demand. So what can banks do to help? They can treat customers as a valuable resource, as every other UK business does, and not treat us as a cash cow to be abused when it suits their internal requirements. Is it time for a new mortgage provider that changes the paradigm? Is it time for a new way to own property through joint equity with institutional investors? Well yes I think it is and I will return to these options next week Regards Brad Joint Equity CEO www.jointequity.co.uk Property Focus Currently under offer from a Joint Equity Owner Partner who is looking for an Investor Partner Location: Adlington Drive, Northwich, Cheshire CW9 Property type: End Terrace Joint Equity price: £67,250 for 50% ownership About this property: A delightful end terraced property, viewing is essential to appreciate the tastefully decorated and well presented accommodation, which in brief comprises entrance vestibule, entrance hall, lounge, modern fitted kitchen diner, two double bedrooms and modern ivory bathroom. Externally there is a lovely garden to the rear, with patio area, brick built barbeque and summer house. To the front there is off road parking. The property benefits from gas fired central heating and Upvc double glazing. Joint Equity Estate Agent: www.frankmarshall.co.uk How to find out more: Go to http://investors.jointequity.com to view full details and more pictures for this property, or to make an Investor Reservation. Not what you're looking for: Login to the Investors Area to browse all currently available Joint Equity properties. You are welcome to send this newsletter to a friend, please click here. Click here to visit us online: www.jointequity.co.uk If you would like to stop receiving our newsletters, please click here to unsubscribe: Unsubscribe me from this mailing list The Joint Equity Scheme is for first-time buyers, home owners and property investors. Joint Equity Ltd works with Mortgage Beaters to provide case studies and Illustrations to prospective Owner-Partners & Investor-Partners. Joint Equity Ltd does not carry out any regulated activities and so is not regulated by the FSA (Financial Services Authority). Joint Equity Ltd are introducer appointed representatives of Mortgage Beaters Ltd, who are authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. The content of this newsletter is accurate to the best of our knowledge and for information only. We do not provide financial advice. Joint Equity Ltd., a UK company Reg No: 4915890 Registered office: 17 Hanbury Close, Cheshunt, Herts, EN8 9BZ ©Joint Equity Ltd (2008) unless where otherwise stated

We have been in Bust for a year are we about to enter Boom?

jointequity — Tuesday 25th of November 2008 05:15:02 PM

Click here to view this Newsletter online Click here for our Newsletter archive Click here to unsubscribe 25 November 2008 Dear %%First Name%%, you are subscribed to this newsletter using the following email address: %%emailaddress%%. Are you ready to make your first Joint Equity Investment? Register here to activate your portfolio and receive Joint Equity investment alerts direct to your inbox. There is currently NO FEE to register, so join us now. Already registered? Click here to login and view the latest Joint Equity Properties and Investment Opportunities. Not sure what to expect? Here's how it works: Registered Investor-Partners login here: http://investors.jointequity.com/ to see our properties and make reservations it's simple and quick. If you are not yet registered then click and complete the very simple form. You can then download the info pack. Clicking in the list on left hand side brings up a searchable list of all properties uploaded by our Estate Agent Partners. From this page you can get more details of the property by clicking and there is a link to the Estate Agents web site. You can also see if there is a reservation on the property, the reservation button turns red as here, and you can make your own reservations. Click <1st> <2nd> or <3rd> There is also the opportunity to put properties on your Watch List so that you can get back to them quickly. Click to add a property. Our Joint Equity Agents are adding properties every day so keep logging on to secure the best investments.Click here to see for yourself In this issue: 1. Brad's column News and views from Brad Bamfield, Joint Equity Chief Executive. This week I am not going to review the Pre Budget Report as there is more than enough, from both sides, in the press today and last night. Instead I want to look at the implications for the UK property market and what is happening "out in the field" right now. Finally we can discuss whether my bet with you, that the market will recover by Q4 08, is still on. 2. Property Focus Joint Equity Investment Opportunities available now. Preview some of the latest properties available through Joint Equity Estate Agent Partners. For more news and information: News updates on our website Latest articles from Joint Equity Brad's column I was at the conference of the National Homes Network (more), which I consider to be some of the best estate agents in the UK, in Stratford upon Avon on Friday speaking about Joint Equity and there were several interesting factoids that surfaced. 1. There is no shortage of properties to sell. 2. Vendors are being far more sensible in asking prices. 3. There are a lot of First Time Buyers about and interested but next to none are making the final step, instead they are waiting until next year in the expectation that prices will be lower still. 4. The message that it is a good time to trade up for owner occupiers, is taking hold fast as the price differentials are at a level not seen for 10 years. 5. All agents reported they were seeing more enquiries and selling more. I accept from a low base but still, it has now risen for 3 consecutive months. 6. There is a surplus of rented accommodation in some areas. 7. Second homes are being rented out. 8. Rents are softening but mortgage costs are dropping faster. 9. Renters are also enquiring about buying when renewing leases. 10. Developers are dumping property. 11. Repossessions of owner occupiers is still low but repossessions of Buy to Let has rocketed My view of these reports is The middle and top end of the market is moving. First time buyers are around but reluctant to commit to buy There is a swing from renting to buying as it is seen to be cheaper and offers more in the long term. Developers are in real trouble and cannot sell their properties at any price to owner occupiers. (this is due to poor construction and space standards as the perception was that the BTL market would buy any old rubbish) The Buy to Let landlord is being squeezed by low rents and rising mortgage costs. (BTL mortgages continue to get more expensive and require ever higher deposits) My conclusion is I expect to see reports of house price rises in January or February at the latest. This is supported the cost of many mortgages dropping this month due to the last Bank Rate cut and by a further cut before Christmas. Now I would like to talk about the Prime Minister's comments about a new home occupation model. He is referring to an institutional rental market where he is trying to divert BtL investors from owning a property to investing in a fund that owns the property. A unit trust of residential property almost. The problem is that the Short Hold Tenancy structure does not fit with an intuitional time horizon and the costs of renting are just too high under the present regime. Mr Brown has said he will consider longer leases but that would incur the occupier in more occupation costs. The institutions want investment with little work or running cost and so they would want the residential equivalent of the commercial market 10 year repairing and insuring lease. I cannot see our rented sector readily adapting to this model when ownership brings the same responsibility and cost and potential asset growth. However, Joint Equity solves the problem for Mr Brown and does in fact satisfy both the desire of the institutions, to invest in residential property for longer terms with no hassle and low annual costs, and the desire of the occupier not to "throw good money after bad" and make money from their home. We have had some success with interesting the institutions in the Joint Equity model and I am sure they will come in sooner or later however, the costs of setting up a collective investment scheme is high and to date they are hedging their bets. The lack of FTB activity is not helping. So as you know we are the most innovative organisation in property at present, and we have come up with our own form of special investment vehicle that will be seriously attractive to many investors and institutions alike. At present we are ensuring the legal and regulatory elements are covered and then I can give you more details. Its good and its big. In the mean time there are new properties being added to the Investor Register every week and they are all reservable. Click here to log on and reserve before they are snapped up. Finally then I am now confident that the New Year will show the market picked up in October and November. The only question is will we bump along the bottom for a while? I do not think so as the US is stimulating the mortgage market in a way that dwarfs our capital support. I leave you with the thought that the year after the last 3 recessions house prices jumped by at least 11% and as much as 16%. STOP PRESS US pumps $800bn into mortgage marke LIBOR continues to close on BBR. 3 month is now 3.96% Yep green shoots are about to become Triffids. Until next week.Regards Brad Joint Equity CEO www.jointequity.co.uk Property Focus Location: Knutsford, Cheshire Property type: End-Terrace Joint Equity price: £77,500 for 50% ownership share About this property: Located a short distance from Knutsford town centre this well presented and well maintained two bedroom end terraced house benefits from a recently re-fitted kitchen and bathroom. The property is warmed by gas central heating and double glazing and briefly comprises entrance hall, lounge, kitchen/diner, two bedrooms and bathroom. Externally there are gardens to the front and rear. Joint Equity Estate Agent: www.frankmarshall.co.uk How to find out more: Go to http://investors.jointequity.com to view full details and more pictures for this property, or to make an Investor Reservation. Not what you're looking for: Login to the Investors Area to browse all currently available Joint Equity properties. You are welcome to send this newsletter to a friend, please click here. Click here to visit us online: www.jointequity.co.uk If you would like to stop receiving our newsletters, please click here to unsubscribe: Unsubscribe me from this mailing list The Joint Equity Scheme is for first-time buyers, home owners and property investors. Joint Equity Ltd works with Mortgage Beaters to provide case studies and Illustrations to prospective Owner-Partners & Investor-Partners. Joint Equity Ltd does not carry out any regulated activities and so is not regulated by the FSA (Financial Services Authority). Joint Equity Ltd are introducer appointed representatives of Mortgage Beaters Ltd, who are authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. The content of this newsletter is accurate to the best of our knowledge and for information only. We do not provide financial advice. Joint Equity Ltd., a UK company Reg No: 4915890 Registered office: 17 Hanbury Close, Cheshunt, Herts, EN8 9BZ ©Joint Equity Ltd (2008) unless where otherwise stated

How long until lower interest rates benefit the market?

jointequity — Tuesday 18th of November 2008 11:00:07 AM

Click here to view this Newsletter online Click here for our Newsletter archive Click here to unsubscribe 18 November 2008 Dear %%First Name%%, you are subscribed to this newsletter using the following email address: %%emailaddress%%. Are you ready to make your first Joint Equity Investment? Register here to activate your portfolio and receive Joint Equity investment alerts direct to your inbox. There is currently NO FEE to register, so join us now. Already registered? Click here to login and view the latest Joint Equity Properties and Investment Opportunities. Not sure what to expect? Here's how it works: Registered Investor-Partners login here: http://investors.jointequity.com/ to see our properties and make reservations it's simple and quick. If you are not yet registered then click and complete the very simple form. You can then download the info pack. Clicking in the list on left hand side brings up a searchable list of all properties uploaded by our Estate Agent Partners. From this page you can get more details of the property by clicking and there is a link to the Estate Agents web site. You can also see if there is a reservation on the property, the reservation button turns red as here, and you can make your own reservations. Click <1st> <2nd> or <3rd> There is also the opportunity to put properties on your Watch List so that you can get back to them quickly. Click to add a property. Our Joint Equity Agents are adding properties every day so keep logging on to secure the best investments.Click here to see for yourself In this issue: 1. Brad's column News and views from Brad Bamfield, Joint Equity Chief Executive. There was good news on the mortgage market this week but that has been offset by bad news on job losses and their effect on consumer confidence. New house sales at lowest ever but there are serious bargains to be had. Best quote of the week "you need real guts to buy in this market but the rewards are high" 2. Property Focus Joint Equity Investment Opportunities available now. Preview some of the latest properties available through Joint Equity Estate Agent Partners. For more news and information: News updates on our website Latest articles from Joint Equity Brad's column Northern Rock and Abbey are now offering 3.99% and 4.39% respectively for a 2 year fixed mortgage and the signs are that lenders are beginning to compete for the few sales there are. I accept that these are for 60% and 65% LTVs but once the competition bug bites, and rates are as low as they can go, they have to start flexing LTVs. It's worth remembering the Nationwide has a 90% LTV at 6.4% which works out at £128 pm difference (£593 vs. £722 for a £120k home) and also 6.4% was a fairly low rate 6 months ago. However, job losses are rocketing at the moment which is causing consumers not to consume but to save or lower outstanding debt. Do you see the conundrum here for banks? They are getting more savings in and unsecured debt is reducing (meaning more cash to invest to make the interest rate returns) but less people want to borrow. So what is the inevitable consequence? Banking used to be simple, borrow from investors and lend to borrowers at a 2% margin. This margin disappeared in the late 90's and 0.75% was often a reasonable return for low risk borrowers, but now its back up to around the 1.5% mark but on very low volume. Banks can only make so much from Gilts and that does not cover their interest rate payments they make to investors, so they need higher rates with the low volumes or higher volumes at low rates. That is why those that can, cut; those that can't wallow in self pity and run to the Bank of England. The problem is compounded by mortgage lending is still profitable while the other suicide elements of banks investments are still dragging profits down. The overall repossession levels are still low and mortgages in default are also not rising very fast but, with the number of jobs lost rising by 300,000 that must change. Recently politicians from all parties have been saying that lenders must do more to protect borrowers from repossession. Good sound bites there then. So I wrote to the Prime Minister, the Chancellor, the Leader of the Opposition, the Shadow Chancellor, and the Leader of the SNP drawing their attention to the use of Joint Equity by lenders to avoid repossession and how all the lenders we had approached had decided repossession was the only route. Interestingly, 6 days on, only David Cameron's office has replied, in fact the Gordon Brown's email bounced as undeliverable and the No 10 web site has pulled his email contact details. Why would the saviour of the world's financial system pull his email address? I am now off to the Bank of England for their quarterl inflation report which should be interesting I wonder if the "R" word will feature? Regards Brad Joint Equity CEO www.jointequity.co.uk Property Focus Location: Adlington Drive, Northwich, Cheshire CW9 Property type: End Terrace Joint Equity price: £67,250 for 50% ownership About this property: A delightful end terraced property, viewing is essential to appreciate the tastefully decorated and well presented accommodation, which in brief comprises entrance vestibule, entrance hall, lounge, modern fitted kitchen diner, two double bedrooms and modern ivory bathroom. Externally there is a lovely garden to the rear, with patio area, brick built barbeque and summer house. To the front there is off road parking. The property benefits from gas fired central heating and Upvc double glazing. Joint Equity Estate Agent: www.frankmarshall.co.uk How to find out more: Go to http://investors.jointequity.com to view full details and more pictures for this property, or to make an Investor Reservation. Not what you're looking for: Login to the Investors Area to browse all currently available Joint Equity properties. You are welcome to send this newsletter to a friend, please click here. Click here to visit us online: www.jointequity.co.uk If you would like to stop receiving our newsletters, please click here to unsubscribe: Unsubscribe me from this mailing list The Joint Equity Scheme is for first-time buyers, home owners and property investors. Joint Equity Ltd works with Mortgage Beaters to provide case studies and Illustrations to prospective Owner-Partners & Investor-Partners. Joint Equity Ltd does not carry out any regulated activities and so is not regulated by the FSA (Financial Services Authority). Joint Equity Ltd are introducer appointed representatives of Mortgage Beaters Ltd, who are authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. The content of this newsletter is accurate to the best of our knowledge and for information only. We do not provide financial advice. Joint Equity Ltd., a UK company Reg No: 4915890 Registered office: 17 Hanbury Close, Cheshunt, Herts, EN8 9BZ ©Joint Equity Ltd (2008) unless where otherwise stated

Are we at the bottom of the market? We could be.

jointequity — Tuesday 11th of November 2008 03:55:03 PM

Click here to view this Newsletter online Click here for our Newsletter archive Click here to unsubscribe 11 November 2008 Dear %%First Name%%, you are subscribed to this newsletter using the following email address: %%emailaddress%%. Are you ready to make your first Joint Equity Investment? Register here to activate your portfolio and receive Joint Equity investment alerts direct to your inbox. There is currently NO FEE to register, so join us now. Already registered? Click here to login and view the latest Joint Equity Properties and Investment Opportunities. Not sure what to expect? Here's how it works: Registered Investor-Partners login here: http://investors.jointequity.com/ to see our properties and make reservations it's simple and quick. If you are not yet registered then click and complete the very simple form. You can then download the info pack. Clicking in the list on left hand side brings up a searchable list of all properties uploaded by our Estate Agent Partners. From this page you can get more details of the property by clicking and there is a link to the Estate Agents web site. You can also see if there is a reservation on the property, the reservation button turns red as here, and you can make your own reservations. Click <1st> <2nd> or <3rd> There is also the opportunity to put properties on your Watch List so that you can get back to them quickly. Click to add a property. Our Joint Equity Agents are adding properties every day so keep logging on to secure the best investments.Click here to see for yourself In this issue: 1. Brad's column News and views from Brad Bamfield, Joint Equity Chief Executive. A lot this week. My favourite indicator for what will happen next, (good) news from RICS, banks inability to manage their business, limited influence of politicians and Bank of England Governer gets it in the neck. 2. Property Focus Joint Equity Investment Opportunities available now. Preview some of the latest properties available through Joint Equity Estate Agent Partners. For more news and information: News updates on our website Latest articles from Joint Equity Brad's column I started this week's newsletter unsure I had anything to write about but actually there are a number of small things that interested me this week. People have been pulling their money out of the stock markets, an estimated $12 Trillion globally in the last four months, and some (a lot) of this money will end up in property – considered by most still as a safe haven – despite the scare stories. Remember at the end of 2001 – the stock market crashed, New York thought it might suffer a recession and interest rates in the US dropped to 1% - this was the precursor to a house price boom - and New York was one of the main beneficiaries. So don't be surprised if UK rates drop further to say 2% - then borrowing becomes so cheap, house prices start moving higher again and London and southern England rapidly recover with the north following. The one classic indicator I use is that mortgage approvals lead house price moves by 4 to 6 months. Currently the September numbers tell us there were 35,000 loans for house purchase worth £5 billion in September, down 15% in volume and 15% in value from August, and less than half September 2007 levels. However, September and August are always bad months for sales and a 15% drop is not excessive. The question is, and we won't know for a month or so, are there more applications going through indicating rises will be reported in 3 to 4 months time (March 2010). Since volumes and quality available stock are so low by the time the indicators report the upswing the rock bottom bargains will be gone. In other news this week; RICS reports the average first-time buyer income multiple, based on single or joint salary, is down to 3.18, its lowest level since March 2006. But first-time buyers have been forced to put down larger deposits (16% in September) and fewer of them are entering the market – only 13,400 in September, down from 28,200 in September 2007. However, other surveys have found no diminution in the desire to own our own home therefore; the raw numbers tell us that approximately 15,000 people a month are not buying when they could be. Why? Risk and lower prices in the future. OK let's look at risk first. The perception is that all Banks are b*****ds just waiting to repossess the borrower. Let's be honest the reputation of all Banks is lower than I ever thought possible and since they continue to ignore every opportunity to rebuild the reputation this could be a long haul back for them. One example of "shooting yourself in the foot" is reported today (11th November 08) Now mortgage lenders can take over a borrower's home if they fall just two payments behind, the High Court has ruled. They can then sell the property without even needing to apply for a court order. The new powers came to light after the High Court supported a decision by the lender GMAC-RFC to take control and sell a home after a borrower fell into arrears. Following the hearing last month, Mr Justice Briggs reinforced a law dating from 1925, which allowed lenders to sell the homes of people who were two months in arrears, without going to court. The ruling means mortgage lenders can now, in effect, bypass Gordon Brown's demand that banks only seize homes as a last resort. Politicians and lawmakers yesterday called for an urgent change to the law. Remember Brown and Darling telling us that lenders were going to do everything they could to avoid repossessions? Well they have risen by 71% in the three months to June after more than 11,050 people lost their homes and the biggest of them all being Rock. We wait and see what will happen in this 3 months, due out this month. With such bad press and draconian powers, lenders continue to ignore sound business practices with their usual arrogance. Any other business in trouble (but without the taxpayer to bail them out) looks to build customer confidence and loyalty. Have you seen this from banks? One aspect of Joint Equity that we were unaware of, until we did our first customer survey and focus groups, (OK you know me too well we got a bunch of 20 something's together in a pub, plied them with booze, and showed them how Joint Equity worked) was that they all felt that having an Investor-Partner was a form of insurance against the nasty activities of lenders. So now, let's look at the attitude prices will be lower next year I will wait. Now I am not sure that any of my readers are as old as I am but when I bought my first house for £8,000 everything I earned went on mortgage and rates and we lived on my wife's wages. The numbers are bigger now but the problems are they same; house prices will always stay just out of reach unless you stretch. That is what the free market will do prices rise when people want to buy and fall when they do not. But as interest rates and cost of ownership falls and renting continues to rise then buying becomes more advantageous. An example; I did an assessment for a developer who could not sell 6 houses in a new development and was considering options, renting or Joint Equity, and he asked why someone would only buy 50%. The answer was simple. The rent was £450 pm and Joint Equity 50% ownership only £425. So not only was Joint Equity cheaper but the Owner-Partner would benefit from 50% of any uplift. So Joint Equity addresses these problems by being the ethical alternative to buy to let as a way to invest in property and helping people with the always difficult first steps. That brings me to another point. The historic growth in property and the average annual % increase. I have discussed this in previous newsletters but tio recap the CML average is 6.2%pa and the Nationwide slightly higher at 7.8%pa (mainly due to their statistics starting 10 years later). At Joint Equity we use 6.2% as the average annual growth in our projections of what an investment could be worth in 5 years and we remind our investors they need to hold the investment for around 10 years. It is worth remebering at 6.2%pa compound growth returns an 83% increase in value in 10 years and doubles the value of the house in 11.6 years. That is value not Return on Investment. If we allow for gearing at say 80% LTV then the ROI is 412% in year 10. The final aspect is that the bottom of the cycle is un-identifiable as all indicators lag events by 3 to 6 months just as the effect of interest rate rise or falls take 6 to 12 months to filter through. So if the cost of buying is lower than renting and you have enough deposit the benefit of living in your own home is clear and mortage applications will rise. In addition, once it is clear the fall in prices is slowing, banks are expected to lend a larger proportion of the value again because their security will be safer. Further stimulating the market. There is also hope that the stamp-duty holiday on purchases of under £175,000 announced recently by the Chancellor, Alistair Darling, will bring on a buying spurt by encouraging people to buy before it expires next September. The effective "last offer" date is probably April 2009 to ensure completion before the expiry. If it is not already underway now. The threshold was chosen because it was the average UK property price, but by next summer, the average will be about £20,000 lower, making a large majority of sales exempt from the 1 per cent tax. "The Chancellor damaged the market by talking about introducing the holiday," complains one Midlands estate agent suffering slow sales. "What he must not do now is talk about extending it, or buyers will put off their purchase plans. Estate agents know that all slumps eventually bottom, but there are signs prices are falling so steeply that this one will reach its nadir quickly. If property has collapsed so far it is about to be cheaper than its long-term average, it will be very cheap by the end of 2009 and opportunistic buyers, including the hundreds of thousands of people who have postponed purchases in recent years, should be tempted back into the market." But be wary, if this happens for another cycle, it may be setting itself up for another collapse a few years later! Another factor is that the baby-boomers start retiring around now, and this will reach a maximum around 2013 to 2017. The good news, for prices, is the UK population will continue to grow and building levels are at an all time low - sowing the seeds for another housing shortage in a few years time. One last quote this week this time from Money Marketing just an hour ago. Speaking at an evidence session this morning on accounting standards and the banking crisis, Labour MP Jim Cousins questioned how a member of the public investing via an institution could be expected to understand how secure it was when even the Bank of England's own Governor was not able to predict Lehmans collapse. Cousins said: “On September the 11th the Governor of the bank of England came here … and made a long statement to us. Four days later Lehman Brothers collapsed in a puff of smoke. What the Governor of the Bank of England had said to us didn't stand up anymore.” He added: “If the Governor of the Bank of England cannot read the rumbles how can some poor woman who is relying on the proper investment of her divorce settlement to see her through the rest of her life?” A good question but maybe the question is not "could not see" but "would not see". Regards Brad Joint Equity CEO www.jointequity.co.uk Property Focus Location: New Mills, SK22 Property type: 4 bedrooms. Semi-detached Joint Equity price: £125,000 for 50% Ownership Share About this property: A deceptively spacious split level semi-detached house offering versatile living accommodation and presented to a high standard by the present owners. Built to a high specification the property benefits from gas fired central heating and uPVC double glazing. 4 Bedroom Balcony En-Suite Shower room Single Garage Joint Equity Estate Agent: www.frankmarshall.co.uk How to find out more: Go to http://investors.jointequity.com to view full details and more pictures for this property, or to make an Investor Reservation. Not what you're looking for: Login to the Investors Area to browse all currently available Joint Equity properties. You are welcome to send this newsletter to a friend, please click here. Click here to visit us online: www.jointequity.co.uk If you would like to stop receiving our newsletters, please click here to unsubscribe: Unsubscribe me from this mailing list The Joint Equity Scheme is for first-time buyers, home owners and property investors. Joint Equity Ltd works with Mortgage Beaters to provide case studies and Illustrations to prospective Owner-Partners & Investor-Partners. Joint Equity Ltd does not carry out any regulated activities and so is not regulated by the FSA (Financial Services Authority). Joint Equity Ltd are introducer appointed representatives of Mortgage Beaters Ltd, who are authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. The content of this newsletter is accurate to the best of our knowledge and for information only. We do not provide financial advice. Joint Equity Ltd., a UK company Reg No: 4915890 Registered office: 17 Hanbury Close, Cheshunt, Herts, EN8 9BZ ©Joint Equity Ltd (2008) unless where otherwise stated

Keynes is back but free market solutions can make money, a paradox?

jointequity — Tuesday 04th of November 2008 03:20:02 PM

Click here to view this Newsletter online Click here for our Newsletter archive Click here to unsubscribe 04 November 2008 Dear %%First Name%%, you are subscribed to this newsletter using the following email address: %%emailaddress%%. Are you ready to make your first Joint Equity Investment? Register here to activate your portfolio and receive Joint Equity investment alerts direct to your inbox. There is currently NO FEE to register, so join us now. Already registered? Click here to login and view the latest Joint Equity Properties and Investment Opportunities. Not sure what to expect? Here's how it works: Registered Investor-Partners login here: http://investors.jointequity.com/ to see our properties and make reservations it's simple and quick. If you are not yet registered then click and complete the very simple form. You can then download the info pack. Clicking in the list on left hand side brings up a searchable list of all properties uploaded by our Estate Agent Partners. From this page you can get more details of the property by clicking and there is a link to the Estate Agents web site. You can also see if there is a reservation on the property, the reservation button turns red as here, and you can make your own reservations. Click <1st> <2nd> or <3rd> There is also the opportunity to put properties on your Watch List so that you can get back to them quickly. Click to add a property. Our Joint Equity Agents are adding properties every day so keep logging on to secure the best investments.Click here to see for yourself In this issue: 1. Brad's column News and views from Brad Bamfield, Joint Equity Chief Executive. No big issues this week (no I will not discuss Jonathon Ross) just some interesting snippets, some random thoughts they elicit and a request for your help 2. Property Focus Joint Equity Investment Opportunities available now. Preview some of the latest properties available through Joint Equity Estate Agent Partners. For more news and information: News updates on our website Latest articles from Joint Equity Brad's column This week I have been interested to see a lot of small stories that have been passed over by the general media. It is also obvious that the press is getting bored with the global financial crisis as demonstrated by the acres of newsprint used to pillory Ross and Bland, for their poor taste in jokes. It is also obvious that, following the good press over the previous couple of weeks, politicians, of all colours, now feel more able to interfere in more areas of our lives, demonstrated by their attitude to Ross and Bland and their instructions to the BBC. Just another example of unexpected (and unwanted) result of Government intervention into free market affairs. I also see that Adair Turner, Chairman of the FSA said "Regulators at the FSA have carried out "pretty good work" this year and will be paid bonuses for their efforts…. They deserve it". Blimey I would hate to have to work in the business environment when Turner thinks that their work was not good enough, how bad would that be? It seems a bit rich when the Government tells Banks not to pay bonuses because of the mess they got themselves in, but approves the Regulators, who were responsible for overseeing the Banks and stopping the mess developing, being paid bonuses. However, that is the hubris of Government. I also struggle to understand the Socialist assertion that no one should be able to pay for their own specialist drugs that the health service will not provide for cost reasons. The reason they give is they want to avoid a two tier health service but by denying everyone the opportunity they penalise a whole sector of the population. A typical "if I cannot have it, then you cannot have it either". A really dumb attitude and it spreads throughout Government thinking. But clearly not for its own mates where it is "you cannot have it (bonuses), but we can". I am also not in the least surprised to see Keynes and Keynsian Economics banded about again when discussing the economy, I do concede mostly by the Chancellor and the Prime Ministert. See the article by Roger Bootle in the Telegraph, 27th October, here for a different view of what Keynes got right and wrong and how his advocates corrupted his theory to suit their ideology. Far from being the champion of the left and state intervention, as many have portrayed him, Keynes saw "light" assistance from the state, with its vast borrowing ability, as a support for capitalism and the free market . Now I maybe a bit older than many of my readers and having been in business through 3 recessions and about 5 mini recessions, am I the only one who sees the similarities with this Government's activities and the Wilson-Callahan regimes in the early 1970's? They were also guilty of invoking Keynes to cover ideological moves to throttle many aspects of the free market. This leads me to wonder if we are facing another era of "Thatcheresque" policies in the future to bring the economy back into growth? If we are, and I think we are, then history tells us that investments will rebound strongly. So once the Government investment in Banks is repaid and their influence disappears how will the Keynsians be reigned in? No it's a rhetorical question as I am straying too near to party politics, which you appreciate I and Joint Equity could never do. The other question is what impact the next US president will have on the world economy. Mr Obama does seem to lean the Brown/Darling way and greater intervention seems to be indicated if he does win. Whichever way we look at it, it seems that anyone with cash to invest, and the courage to do so, will make a substantial gain in the coming medium term. Of course looking at history again, the best way to invest is in bricks and mortar and Joint Equity is the only ethical way to do that. Log on to the Investor-Partner area to see the ever increasing investments available and the attractive prices for many properties . Also in the news this week, 3 month LIBOR drops to 3 month lows but stubbornly above base rates, the UK it is +130 basis points, but it is lower than the spread just 3 months ago. And HSBC says that it is unlikely to drop rates if base rates are reduced this week. This rebuilding of profits is to be expected and the spread will be eroded as competition kicks back in. I have discussed these points in depth in previous Newsletters so look at the archive for the full story. . Finally I know this Newsletter is widely read and I need help to access your network of contacts who might be able to help us with a new product based on the Joint Equity model. For the last 3 months we have been talking to the CML and the leading mortgage lenders about using the Joint Equity model to avoid repossessions. While there has been support for the idea and the benefits of the option, not one lender has wanted to even trial it as they would rather take 50% losses than "risk" doing something no other lender is doing. Now debt for equity swaps is not a new concept and is very common in commercial lending but too far off beam for residential mortgage companies. They do not even see the increased leverage it would give them with the Government or the benefits of a bit of good publicity will do them. Although it is clear that if they do not do something themselves the Government will impose their own ideas they seem incapable of seeing the risk of business as usual in today's world. I do despair sometimes However, the mortgage lenders inability to save themselves gives us the opportunity of a generation to capitalise on their failings. The lenders I have been talking to would like to offer Joint Equity to their mortgagees in default but want to take the easy route without further involvement. The debt for equity swap business case is very sound, the ethical investment opportunities are obvious but I know my limits and we need a heavy weight financial partner who can help close the deal. And that is where I would like your help, know anyone or any company, that has an appetite to help themselves, while helping a large number of people? And it is potentially a big opportunity to invest profitably and ethically in up to approximately 30,000 of the 75,000 repossessions a year. It could be an investment company working through a CIS, an individual looking for opportunities or someone I have not thought of (more than likely). We have a number of very exciting exit strategies that will also enhance the investment opportunity. Please contact me in strictest confidence for more details. Regards Brad Joint Equity CEO www.jointequity.co.uk Property Focus Location: Adlington Drive, Northwich, Cheshire CW9 Property type: End Terrace Joint Equity price: £67,250 for 50% ownership About this property: A delightful end terraced property, viewing is essential to appreciate the tastefully decorated and well presented accommodation, which in brief comprises entrance vestibule, entrance hall, lounge, modern fitted kitchen diner, two double bedrooms and modern ivory bathroom. Externally there is a lovely garden to the rear, with patio area, brick built barbeque and summer house. To the front there is off road parking. The property benefits from gas fired central heating and Upvc double glazing. Joint Equity Estate Agent: www.frankmarshall.co.uk How to find out more: Go to http://investors.jointequity.com to view full details and more pictures for this property, or to make an Investor Reservation. Not what you're looking for: Login to the Investors Area to browse all currently available Joint Equity properties. You are welcome to send this newsletter to a friend, please click here. Click here to visit us online: www.jointequity.co.uk If you would like to stop receiving our newsletters, please click here to unsubscribe: Unsubscribe me from this mailing list The Joint Equity Scheme is for first-time buyers, home owners and property investors. Joint Equity Ltd works with Mortgage Beaters to provide case studies and Illustrations to prospective Owner-Partners & Investor-Partners. Joint Equity Ltd does not carry out any regulated activities and so is not regulated by the FSA (Financial Services Authority). Joint Equity Ltd are introducer appointed representatives of Mortgage Beaters Ltd, who are authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. The content of this newsletter is accurate to the best of our knowledge and for information only. We do not provide financial advice. Joint Equity Ltd., a UK company Reg No: 4915890 Registered office: 17 Hanbury Close, Cheshunt, Herts, EN8 9BZ ©Joint Equity Ltd (2008) unless where otherwise stated

The market is moving and the Abbey makes money

jointequity — Tuesday 28th of October 2008 03:25:03 PM

Click here to view this Newsletter online Click here for our Newsletter archive Click here to unsubscribe 28 October 2008 Dear %%First Name%%, you are subscribed to this newsletter using the following email address: %%emailaddress%%. Are you ready to make your first Joint Equity Investment? Register here to activate your portfolio and receive Joint Equity investment alerts direct to your inbox. There is currently NO FEE to register, so join us now. Already registered? Click here to login and view the latest Joint Equity Properties and Investment Opportunities. Not sure what to expect? Here's how it works: Registered Investor-Partners login here: http://investors.jointequity.com/ to see our properties and make reservations it's simple and quick. If you are not yet registered then click and complete the very simple form. You can then download the info pack. Clicking in the list on left hand side brings up a searchable list of all properties uploaded by our Estate Agent Partners. From this page you can get more details of the property by clicking and there is a link to the Estate Agents web site. You can also see if there is a reservation on the property, the reservation button turns red as here, and you can make your own reservations. Click <1st> <2nd> or <3rd> There is also the opportunity to put properties on your Watch List so that you can get back to them quickly. Click to add a property. Our Joint Equity Agents are adding properties every day so keep logging on to secure the best investments.Click here to see for yourself In this issue: 1. Brad's column News and views from Brad Bamfield, Joint Equity Chief Executive. This week I turn my mind to how the banks are rebuilding their profits and the lessons they should learn from BP. 2. Property Focus Joint Equity Investment Opportunities available now. Preview some of the latest properties available through Joint Equity Estate Agent Partners. For more news and information: News updates on our website Latest articles from Joint Equity Brad's column I am working from home today as I am having my boiler replaced and, as it is very cold with no heating, the newsletter will probably be quite short this week. You may be interested to know that I am replacing a worn out 12 year old oil boiler with an electric boiler and the reasons why I made that decision. As you know here at Joint Equity we are very proud of the ethical aspects of our products. Even though the Investor-Partner makes more from a Joint Equity investment than from Buy to Let, the Owner-Partner also makes money from capital growth compared to no income at all from renting. The reason why we call it win/win. We are also proud of our achievements through our sustainability policy which can be found here. Sustainability does not begin or end at home or work it should form part of your thinking in all aspects of your life. So the elements that are particularly relevant to my boiler decisions are economic and environmental. Economic. The capital cost of the new oil boiler was £1,650 and the electric boiler £580. I used a net present value (NPV) calculation and found even with the higher cost of electricity the electric boiler was a better investment over 13 years. Considering capital cost with running costs to decide between options is a critical technique that most businesses ignore and therefore fail to maximise profits year on year. For more on NPV click here. Environmental. Centrally generated electricity can offer a lower carbon footprint than any other source of energy. This benefit will increase over the next 5 years. So the NPV calculation told me it was better financially to buy electric and this was supported by the carbon savings I could make. It occurs to me that if financial institutions had considered sustainability in the way they worked, treated their staff and customers they may not be in quite the mess they are now, or at least some of them. OK now on to larger matters this week there is a huge amount of news about the global financial market and I want to pick up on a couple of relevant items. Yesterday the Independent reported house sales up 5.4%, the first rise since April 08. The rate of house price decline also continues to slow with variations month by month (remember the slight rise in July?). The real costs of renting continue to rise, according to AXA Insurance (September 08). Less houses are now on the market as sellers withdraw property. These four indicators are doing what they should at the bottom of the cycle with supply of properties reducing and demand rising. Now we do need to be a bit careful, as some locations will lag behind others (52% of properties for sale in Rochdale have been on the market for more than 6 weeks), but I am now quietly confident that we are at or very near the bottom of the cycle. Let us now turn to mortgage supply and banks rebuilding their profits. In all previous banking cock ups, (sovereign loan and their defaults, buying estate agents, the dot com boom ect.), the banks have taken large hits to annual profits. The traditional response is to restrict lending and force up costs and fees from all sectors. We see that happening now with large arrangement fees for mortgages and for small business loans. I was at a business last week where the arrangement fee for their overdraft has doubled this year. The irony is that they do not use the overdraft facility at all. The other element of the profit shambles I alluded to last week. That is the structure of provisions for bad debt that legislators have imposed in the last few years. Now I am not an expert on derivatives (I wonder if there are actually any, certainly none work for banks, the FSA or the BoE) but it seems unlikely they will all fail and so the level of provision is overstated. What happens as the consequence of the crash unwinds and level of overstatement of the provisions becomes obvious? The banks will write them back to the profit and loss account, but this will be just at the same time the higher fees hit the P&L as well. Showing yet again that they banks are run by people who do not understand either good business practice or how to manage the financial health of their business. Not only that but they do not seem to have any perception of the wider economic climate or public sentiment. I see today that the usual crop of critics are out gunning for BP because of its (excessive) profits and demanding a windfall tax. As soon as the public acceptance rises to where this Government can do it, they will. And having done it once they will do it again, when banks report record profits while we are still in recession. Finally I see also that the Abbey has reported a 25% rise in profits from mortgage lending, good for them, they stuck to their knitting and are taking an ever increasing market share. The market may be weak but it is still there and the fundamental way to make money for a lender has not changed, so those banks that are promoting products based in the real world are making money. The rest are relying on the Lender of Last Resort to save them again in 6 months time. Will they learn I doubt it, they have not from past mistakes, and small businesses will suffer through no fault of their own. Will greater regulation work, equally no. But I do think the Government can engender a change towards longer term thinking in banks, which is the sustainable way to do business, and improve the management at the top. Will it work? I am not sure. As once again this Government is not acting and doing in concert. Despite the rhetoric from the Prime Minister and the Chancellor, the way they are operating Northern Rock is a case of do what we say not what we do. Hmmm. And really finally, here at Joint Equity we are seeing a continuing rise in activity on all fronts, with more properties listed than ever before. Reserve your investment through the registered Investor-Partner area here now. Regards Brad Joint Equity CEO www.jointequity.co.uk Property Focus Location: Knutsford, Cheshire Property type: End-Terrace Joint Equity price: £77,500 for 50% ownership share About this property: Located a short distance from Knutsford town centre this well presented and well maintained two bedroom end terraced house benefits from a recently re-fitted kitchen and bathroom. The property is warmed by gas central heating and double glazing and briefly comprises entrance hall, lounge, kitchen/diner, two bedrooms and bathroom. Externally there are gardens to the front and rear. Joint Equity Estate Agent: www.frankmarshall.co.uk How to find out more: Go to http://investors.jointequity.com to view full details and more pictures for this property, or to make an Investor Reservation. Not what you're looking for: Login to the Investors Area to browse all currently available Joint Equity properties. You are welcome to send this newsletter to a friend, please click here. Click here to visit us online: www.jointequity.co.uk If you would like to stop receiving our newsletters, please click here to unsubscribe: Unsubscribe me from this mailing list The Joint Equity Scheme is for first-time buyers, home owners and property investors. Joint Equity Ltd works with Mortgage Beaters to provide case studies and Illustrations to prospective Owner-Partners & Investor-Partners. Joint Equity Ltd does not carry out any regulated activities and so is not regulated by the FSA (Financial Services Authority). Joint Equity Ltd are introducer appointed representatives of Mortgage Beaters Ltd, who are authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. The content of this newsletter is accurate to the best of our knowledge and for information only. We do not provide financial advice. Joint Equity Ltd., a UK company Reg No: 4915890 Registered office: 17 Hanbury Close, Cheshunt, Herts, EN8 9BZ ©Joint Equity Ltd (2008) unless where otherwise stated

Is Government investment working? Yes it seems to be but at what cost?

jointequity — Tuesday 21st of October 2008 03:50:04 PM

Click here to view this Newsletter online Click here for our Newsletter archive Click here to unsubscribe 21 October 2008 Dear %%First Name%%, you are subscribed to this newsletter using the following email address: %%emailaddress%%. Are you ready to make your first Joint Equity Investment? Register here to activate your portfolio and receive Joint Equity investment alerts direct to your inbox. There is currently NO FEE to register, so join us now. Already registered? Click here to login and view the latest Joint Equity Properties and Investment Opportunities. Not sure what to expect? Here's how it works: Registered Investor-Partners login here: http://investors.jointequity.com/ to see our properties and make reservations it's simple and quick. If you are not yet registered then click and complete the very simple form. You can then download the info pack. Clicking in the list on left hand side brings up a searchable list of all properties uploaded by our Estate Agent Partners. From this page you can get more details of the property by clicking and there is a link to the Estate Agents web site. You can also see if there is a reservation on the property, the reservation button turns red as here, and you can make your own reservations. Click <1st> <2nd> or <3rd> There is also the opportunity to put properties on your Watch List so that you can get back to them quickly. Click to add a property. Our Joint Equity Agents are adding properties every day so keep logging on to secure the best investments.Click here to see for yourself In this issue: 1. Brad's column News and views from Brad Bamfield, Joint Equity Chief Executive. This week I return to the theme of Government intervention and how it always has unexpected consequences. As usual there are also some other random thoughts from the murky depths of my mind. Or I might discuss my garden! 2. Property Focus Joint Equity Investment Opportunities available now. Preview some of the latest properties available through Joint Equity Estate Agent Partners. For more news and information: News updates on our website Latest articles from Joint Equity Brad's column Last week I floated the option of discussing Sarbanes-Oxley and it's unexpected effect on us all or what I did in the garden at the weekend. I have been inundated with an email and as requested, by Mrs Trellis of mid Wales (her web site click here), I will now review my weekend in the garden. Hummm right. We can use the Sarbanes-Oxley act as an example of intervention for the right reason inflicting untold damage on industry which I am sure was not the intention of the legislators. The idea was to tighten up corporate governance after the Enron collapse "Congress's intent in passing Sarbanes-Oxley was to restore confidence in financial markets by increasing corporate accountability, enhancing public disclosures of financial information, and strengthening corporate governance. More severe criminal penalties for securities fraud were also enacted. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has adopted more than a dozen final rules to implement the Act's provisions. These rules raise standards of accountability for corporate executives, boards of directors, independent auditors, and corporate attorneys." The Congressional Research Service. However, I am reminded of two quotes, one I know where it came from and the other I am unsure of, that illustrate the problem we face. The problem with electing MPs and giving them the job of lawmaking, is that they make laws. Unknown. Out of intense complexities, intense simplicities emerge. Winston Churchill. Our MP's solution to everything has to be simple and has to be based around laws, or in our industry, regulation. Faced with financial businesses not running themselves properly, and by that I mean the Directors looking after themselves before the interests of their shareholders, their staff and their creditors, the representatives of the people revert to type. They enact laws that do not address the cause of the problem but include draconian penalties for a whole range of people, some not even employed by the business. The Government can then say we have prosecuted 15 people it must be working. That the business did not have the right corporate governance in place and the fact that the Directors are too weak to stand up to the CEO is not a reason to threaten the auditor with prison if he fails to find the problem. We really need to address the problem of our business leaders not being good enough to run the businesses they do. We need to increase the effectiveness of the shareholders who need to move from inert owners of the business to active managers of their investments. For many years the shareholders have been satisfied to accept the good returns from the companies that are now facing collapse. They never questioned methods or appropriateness but as long as returns were good they acquiesce and accept the cash. The effect of Sarbanes Oxley is to make the business risk adverse when it comes to reporting, for everyone in the food chain. How much of the current problems have stemmed from the high level of provisions required by the Sarbanes Oxley regime? Much of it I believe. The highest level of default in the mortgage market would not account for even a tiny proportion of the £bns the banks have written off. OK I hear you shout "derivatives" , now I don't profess to understand this in detail but it seems obvious to me that just about all of them will have to fail for the provisions to be required. So why are the provisions so high? Fear of the penalties of non-disclosure and because no one knows how to assess the liabilities in a reasonable or, worse, an acceptable way. Imagine what the nut cases in US enforcement would do if a bank had a problem, assessed the impact and declared it, but the results were twice as bad as declared. They do not mess about its 30 years in jail no test of reasonableness there at all. This is not to mention the connection of two unrelated pieces of legislation being used by government departments. I am thinking here of combining Sarbanes Oxley and anti-terrorism acts making easier extradition from here to the US. Ask the Nat West 3 how they feel about using laws designed for a good reason in other, non related, areas. So what happens to the giant write offs when we realise they are not needed? Well they are eventually written back to profits, haven't the then management done well? So the root causes are Bad, or in some cases criminal, management in the influential positions in a business. Short-termism, don't worry about it it will be someone else's problem. Shareholders who have no "ownership" of what they own. Regulators who are not good enough to understand the business and what they do. Legislators who think they can correct all ills with a new law. If this was the case no one would be shot. Winston was right saying "out of intense complexities, intense simplicities emerge" and we might now add with unforeseen impacts. My supposition, I will admit completely unfounded in any supporting documents, that when drafting the Sarbanes Oxley act the legislators thought it would catch the odd company every couple of years, they did not anticipate it bringing every bank in the world to its knees. If they did not, then it proves my point that intervention always having unwarranted effects, if they did they need shooting. So why are Governments around the world so quick to jump in with taxpayers cash? Is it altruism and a desire to protect the savers? Or is it a way of exerting control? For years most banks have seen themselves as untouchable and some have been frankly arrogant when dealing with regulators and their customers. They forget that governments have long memories. Do you think Lehmans was beyond saving or was there another agenda at work? No I am not a conspiracy theory nut but it does seem to me that the calls around the world for tighter regulation is what the politicians have wanted for years and the collapse of Lehmans has given it to them. But fear not governments will once again go for the simple solution and develop some key performance indicators that unqualified and underpaid regulators can apply blindly. Tick the boxes you must be OK. For 3 years I worked in the airport business and had day to day contact with regulators. I have no fear that the bright kids in the banking industry will pull just as much wool over their regulators eyes as I did. Once you understand the way they are required to work it's easy to manipulate them into seeing it your way. Enough deep meaningful stuff, my lunch calls, now on to the good news this week We have increasing numbers of registered Owner-Partners, We have increasing use of our online Illustrator, Our Estate Agent Partners report increased activity with more enquiries about Joint Equity. LIBOR dropped last night for the first time in weeks, We have new interest from lenders who want to grow market share. Look through the online property listing and reserve your property now to avoid being beaten when the log jam breaks. Click here. Finally a quote from this morning's City AM newspaper. Allister Heath, the Editor, wrote in his leader about rising public borrowingand how the Government under Gordon "Prudence" Brown is reverting to the very tricks they are trying to regulate out of the city. The Government wants us, when looking at public borrowing, to do it excluding Northern Rock by shifting the liability off balance sheet. As Heath puts it "the very same dubious accounting practices it rightly slammed in the City". He concludes "So yet again with this government it is the case do as we say not as we do. Truly shameful." I need say no more. Until next week and if our IT people sort it out we will have a new Newsletter format. Regards Brad Joint Equity CEO www.jointequity.co.uk Property Focus Location: Buxton, Derbyshire Property type: End Terrace Joint Equity price: £85,000 for 50% Ownership About this property: - 2 Bedrooms - Conservatory - Garden - Lovely interior Joint Equity Estate Agent: www.frankmarshall.co.uk How to find out more: Go to http://investors.jointequity.com to view full details and more pictures for this property, or to make an Investor Reservation. Not what you're looking for: Login to the Investors Area to browse all currently available Joint Equity properties. You are welcome to send this newsletter to a friend, please click here. Click here to visit us online: www.jointequity.co.uk If you would like to stop receiving our newsletters, please click here to unsubscribe: Unsubscribe me from this mailing list The Joint Equity Scheme is for first-time buyers, home owners and property investors. Joint Equity Ltd works with Mortgage Beaters to provide case studies and Illustrations to prospective Owner-Partners & Investor-Partners. Joint Equity Ltd does not carry out any regulated activities and so is not regulated by the FSA (Financial Services Authority). Joint Equity Ltd are introducer appointed representatives of Mortgage Beaters Ltd, who are authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. The content of this newsletter is accurate to the best of our knowledge and for information only. We do not provide financial advice. Joint Equity Ltd., a UK company Reg No: 4915890 Registered office: 17 Hanbury Close, Cheshunt, Herts, EN8 9BZ ©Joint Equity Ltd (2008) unless where otherwise stated

Market steadies and low new rates from Joint Equity

jointequity — Tuesday 14th of October 2008 02:35:03 PM

Click here to view this Newsletter online Click here for our Newsletter archive Click here to unsubscribe 14 October 2008 Dear %%First Name%%, you are subscribed to this newsletter using the following email address: %%emailaddress%%. Are you ready to make your first Joint Equity Investment? Register here to activate your portfolio and receive Joint Equity investment alerts direct to your inbox. There is currently NO FEE to register, so join us now. Already registered? Click here to login and view the latest Joint Equity Properties and Investment Opportunities. Not sure what to expect? Here's how it works: Registered Investor-Partners login here: http://investors.jointequity.com/ to see our properties and make reservations it's simple and quick. If you are not yet registered then click and complete the very simple form. You can then download the info pack. Clicking in the list on left hand side brings up a searchable list of all properties uploaded by our Estate Agent Partners. From this page you can get more details of the property by clicking and there is a link to the Estate Agents web site. You can also see if there is a reservation on the property, the reservation button turns red as here, and you can make your own reservations. Click <1st> <2nd> or <3rd> There is also the opportunity to put properties on your Watch List so that you can get back to them quickly. Click to add a property. Our Joint Equity Agents are adding properties every day so keep logging on to secure the best investments.Click here to see for yourself In this issue: 1. Brad's column News and views from Brad Bamfield, Joint Equity Chief Executive. I don't know about you but I am suffering from mega news overload. So this week I am not commenting on the doings in the banking industry but rather concentrating on how Joint Equity can make a small contribution with lower rates and lower deposits. 2. Property Focus Joint Equity Investment Opportunities available now. Preview some of the latest properties available through Joint Equity Estate Agent Partners. For more news and information: News updates on our website Latest articles from Joint Equity Brad's column For the last 6 months we have been working hard to demonstrate to our lenders that they need to help the market and that Joint Equity offers significantly lower risk than traditional routes to help first time buyers and, in fact, the buy to let sector, (one of my sources tells me that the bulk of repossessions today are from buy to let landlords). We have seen a slight chink in the armour and are able, at last, to let you know that our new rate is 5.5% from 8am today and better still we have a reduced deposit requirement of 10%. This effectively brings us back to the July 2007 position and is a sensible move aimed at generating activity in the lower end of the market. However, a word of caution, with current volatility this rate may be pulled at short notice but we are hopeful of at least a reasonable period of stability. All our Joint Equity Estate Agents are working to the new rates and the Illustrator is updated with the new numbers. I am sure this will stimulate our Owner-Partner into thinking again about the best time to buy and with prices on the bottom, or near the bottom of the cycle, (yes they are - really) now is a great time to buy. That and the fact that rents are rising, it is now much cheaper to own than to rent. For details of properties available now, and to reserve them for once an Owner-Partner is found, log onto the Investor area. Here I know I said that I was not going to comment on the market this week but I will make a couple of observations. 1 I know that this newsletter gets widely distributed, a bit like the Sun being read by 5x the number that buy it. But I did not realise that Gordon Brown gets it and takes my advice. Last Tuesday at midday I said "the taxpayer will take strategic stakes, up to 20%, in banks with the aim of selling later. Good move, buy cheap, demonstrate support for our banks, and when the market rises, sell at vast profit." And by Wednesday he did just that. 2 I also highlighted the cashflow problem of insecurity in the interbank lending and now the US and other European central banks are guaranteeing loans between banks. Just who else reads my newsletter? 3 I read this morning that Mr Darling has now said that he will install 2 or 3 independent directors on all boards of banks that he forces to take our money. I wonder who he will appoint and who will appoint them? I suspect it will be the job of the Business Secretary to find them and big bonuses will be back asap. Well he did get a £1M golden goodbye from the EU. Maybe next week will be the time to look at what really caused this banking crisis and why the politicians, of all countries, are so eager to follow the Labour Party's nationalisation by the back door route. A clue - Government intervention, for apparently good reasons, back fires, yes my old theme now somewhat more topical again with Government ownership of banks, and the example of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. But then I might decide to talk about what I will be doing in the garden next week - yeh right. Don't forget to send this newsletter on and recommend that your friends register as an Investor-Partner (it's easy to un-register) and get all the benefits of investing in residential property ethically. Remember after every recession residential property prices have rebounded by around 15% before dropping back slightly. If you are not in you cannot benefit. Until next week. Invest wisely. Regards Brad Joint Equity CEO www.jointequity.co.uk Property Focus Detached house in Buxton, Derbyshire. Location: Buxton, Derbyshire Property type: Detached Joint Equity price: £114.975 for 50% share About this property: Well presented, extended detached family home located in this popular residential area. The property offers well proportioned accommodation throughout, in particular the ground floor accommodation which has been considerably extended to the rear. Benefiting from gas fired central heating and uPVC double glazing throughout, the property has a garden to the front and a low maintenance, attractive decked area to the rear. The house is situated away from the roadside and overlooks a grassed area with trees to the front. Purchasers are asked to note that there is also a single garage which is situated outside the boundary of the property. Internal viewing is highly recommended to fully appreciate the deceptively spacious accommodation. Joint Equity Estate Agent: //www.frankmarshall.co.uk/ How to find out more: Go to http://investors.jointequity.com to view full details and more pictures for this property, or to make an Investor Reservation. Not what you're looking for: Login to the Investors Area to browse all currently available Joint Equity properties. You are welcome to send this newsletter to a friend, please click here. Click here to visit us online: www.jointequity.co.uk If you would like to stop receiving our newsletters, please click here to unsubscribe: Unsubscribe me from this mailing list The Joint Equity Scheme is for first-time buyers, home owners and property investors. Joint Equity Ltd works with Mortgage Beaters to provide case studies and Illustrations to prospective Owner-Partners & Investor-Partners. Joint Equity Ltd does not carry out any regulated activities and so is not regulated by the FSA (Financial Services Authority). Joint Equity Ltd are introducer appointed representatives of Mortgage Beaters Ltd, who are authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. The content of this newsletter is accurate to the best of our knowledge and for information only. We do not provide financial advice. Joint Equity Ltd., a UK company Reg No: 4915890 Registered office: 17 Hanbury Close, Cheshunt, Herts, EN8 9BZ ©Joint Equity Ltd (2008) unless where otherwise stated

Why is this Government not acting? Identify banks at risk

jointequity — Tuesday 07th of October 2008 03:10:03 PM

Click here to view this Newsletter online Click here for our Newsletter archive Click here to unsubscribe 07 October 2008 Dear %%First Name%%, you are subscribed to this newsletter using the following email address: %%emailaddress%%. Are you ready to make your first Joint Equity Investment? Register here to activate your portfolio and receive Joint Equity investment alerts direct to your inbox. There is currently NO FEE to register, so join us now. Already registered? Click here to login and view the latest Joint Equity Properties and Investment Opportunities. Not sure what to expect? Here's how it works: Registered Investor-Partners login here: http://investors.jointequity.com/ to see our properties and make reservations it's simple and quick. If you are not yet registered then click and complete the very simple form. You can then download the info pack. Clicking in the list on left hand side brings up a searchable list of all properties uploaded by our Estate Agent Partners. From this page you can get more details of the property by clicking and there is a link to the Estate Agents web site. You can also see if there is a reservation on the property, the reservation button turns red as here, and you can make your own reservations. Click <1st> <2nd> or <3rd> There is also the opportunity to put properties on your Watch List so that you can get back to them quickly. Click to add a property. Our Joint Equity Agents are adding properties every day so keep logging on to secure the best investments.Click here to see for yourself In this issue: 1. Brad's column News and views from Brad Bamfield, Joint Equity Chief Executive. A lot is happening at present so a number of topics this week; - Is my bank safe? And are my savings safe? - Why is the Government dithering? - A new Joint Equity Estate Agent, Frank Marshall, makes a big splash and hacks of its competitors. 2. Property Focus Joint Equity Investment Opportunities available now. Preview some of the latest properties available through Joint Equity Estate Agent Partners. For more news and information: News updates on our website Latest articles from Joint Equity Brad's column First let's deal with a follow up to my article on the bank guarantee system that was not what it seemed. Remember the £35,000 guarantee that only really guaranteed 100% of the first £2,000? Read the full article here. Well it seems Mr Darling has now raised that to 100% of £50,000. However, like everything this Government seems to do, it is not without the old fiddle faddle and it is not all what it seems either. The offset of borrowings is still there, if I have £30,000 mortgage and £50,000 savings then only the net difference, £20,000 is covered. Just how does your mortgage reduce the amount of money deposited? There is no suggestion that the bank administrators will write off your £30,000 mortgage, quite the opposite, they will sell it as an asset to another bank. So you will still owe £30,000 mortgage and lose £30,000 of you savings. Only a politician could come up with this and think it's fair. The other one is still the brands owned by one bank are not covered, as they share the same banking license. So for example your cash is deposited in Bank of Scotland and Birmingham Midshires then you will only have £50,000 cover for your combined investments. The secret here is to have no more than £50,000 in any one licensed bank so spread your cash around, better still buy some stunning Joint Equity investments available now through the Investor-Partner area here. OK so you still need to protect your cash, even after investing in our unbelievably priced properties, how do you know who owns who? Well once again Joint Equity is here to help and I will share one of my secrets with you. One of my best sources of up to the minute breaking news is a web site called www.thisismoney.co.uk and they also have good, factual articles. They have a good set of pages reviewing the latest position on deposit protection and which bank owns who, so where to put your money. They also rate the banks risk based on Credit Defaults Swaps, and that is interesting reading, the article also covers foreign banks and the protection you might have with them. Read the article with links here, and I recommend you do it now. Don't forget the Irish, who once again did the right thing at the right time, 100% deposit protection, despite the other Euro politicians dithering or the Germans changing their minds. Which brings me neatly to my next topic this week - why is our Government dithering? I am baffled and appalled that all this Government can say is "we will do everything necessary for the stability of the system.". Are they so blind or inept that they cannot see the delay in doing anything is causing more trouble than anything else? There have been rumours that the taxpayer will take strategic stakes, up to 20%, in banks with the aim of selling later. Good move, buy cheap, demonstrate support for our banks, and when the market rises, sell at vast profit. The Buffett method of working. There have been rumours that the taxpayer will buy the loan books of some banks. Good move, buy cheap hold the investment and when the market returns sell at a vast profit. (OK I hear you shout "what about repossessions". They are low and will remain low as a % of loans. The "toxic" debt is only "toxic" to the banks if the borrower defaults. The Government through a Joint Equity type scheme, even if it's not us, can avoid repossessions and improve the value of the assets enormously) But what is it doing? A big fat nothing. Why? The only reason I can see is that the Prime Minister and the Chancellor do not have the ability or strength of character to decide what needs to be done and get on with it. They are waiting for the rest of the world to do something and get us out of the do-do. What now the boast that the UK economy is better placed to weather the financial storm, actually I think it was but they have undermined it so much I am no longer sure. The final question is on whose watch did this happen? I think Mr Brown's words 'this is no time for novices' is right and we have two novices in the wrong place at the wrong time. It is time to remind him that just because he has been in Government over 10 years he is still a novice whenunprecedented events happen and, as he is demonstrating, length of service and past decisions are no guarantee that the right decisions will be made in the future. The only other thing to say is, that to me at least, this seems a sort of cashflow problem. Banks are making profits on their day to day activities, actually very good profits, but they cannot borrow from each other for the cash they need to service the business (how many businesses have been in that position without a Government to bail them out, and what did their bank manager say? Tough is often the case, as they appoint the receiver.) so why do we not have a plan to sort that element out? Just what is the Bank of England doing? A big fat nothing. So that is the news on the market this week, now what is happening at Joint Equity? Our latest Estate Agent Partner Frank Marshall is bowled over by the response from vendors, buyers and investors from the first week of advertising. They have gained market share from their competitors with more instructions to sell, sellers switching to them fromother agents and hugely increased footfall across all three offices. All this is great news and will inevitably lead to more sales. In any recession there is still business going on and it is the managements job to go out and get it. One of our Estate Agent Partners in the South has done nothing with Joint Equity for 3 months and when I challenged them about it they said they were doing no advertising or promotion along with all the other agents in the High Street. I was puzzled at this and questioned how many deals they were doing a monthyear ago and it was 25 a month with 4 agents in the High Street all doing about the same. Total about 100 properties sold a month. Now the market had dropped to about 5 a month and they were on their knees. I asked how many the other agents were doing and the answer was about the same. Total about 20 properties a month. I said assume that you can get 50% of the other agents business could you survive on 12 a month and they said yes. So, of course, I said well this is how we will do it. Stop they said, we can't do that they are our friends and we all have to take the heat equally. For 10 years we have had it soft. Businesses can open their doors and people would buy their services. Many of us have forgotten that business is effectively a war with your competitors, the language of business is the language of war, and in any war there are winners and losers. We have to ensure we are the winners using all the weapons we have. Being a Joint Equity Partner is the most effect weapon on the High Street today with demand from Owners and Investors rising every day. The Agent in question is no longer a Joint Equity Estate Agent Partner, in recessions the management must look after its business and we at Joint Equity will help them which is exactly what Frank Marshal and other Estate Agent Partners are doing by joining our exclusive network. If you want to take advantage of the excellent investment opportunities that Frank Marshall can offer you log in to the Investor area now here PS The Investor News archive has been offline for a couple of weeks but now I am pleased to say it is back on line. Access old issues, some 50 issues actually, by clicking the link at the top of this email or click here archive. Regards Brad Joint Equity CEO www.jointequity.co.uk Property Focus Location: Leftwich, CW8 Property type: End Terrace. 3 bedrooms. Joint Equity price: £99,975 for 50% Ownership About this property: Offering spacious accomm. this end terr. has Gas c/h, d/g, driveway with ample parking, garage/workshop, study/office, landscaped garden. Briefly: ent porch, ent hall, 2 recep rooms, kitchen/diner, utility, cloakroom. 1st floor, 3 beds one with a shower cubicle along with a family bathroom. In brief, the accommodation comprises: entrance porch, entrance hall, two reception rooms, kitchen/diner, utility & cloakroom on the ground floor. Whilst on the first floor there are three bedrooms (one with a shower cubicle) along with a separate family bathroom. Leftwich lies between the River Weaver and the River Dane, only a mile south of Northwich Town Centre and offers easy access to the A556 for commuters. The Salt Museum is nearby and other amenities include schools for all ages, an art college and shops of a local nature. Northwich provides a comprehensive range of shopping, leisure and recreational pursuits. Joint Equity Estate Agent: www.frankmarshall.co.uk How to find out more: Go to http://investors.jointequity.com to view full details and more pictures for this property, or to make an Investor Reservation. Not what you're looking for: Login to the Investors Area to browse all currently available Joint Equity properties. You are welcome to send this newsletter to a friend, please click here. Click here to visit us online: www.jointequity.co.uk If you would like to stop receiving our newsletters, please click here to unsubscribe: Unsubscribe me from this mailing list The Joint Equity Scheme is for first-time buyers, home owners and property investors. Joint Equity Ltd works with Mortgage Beaters to provide case studies and Illustrations to prospective Owner-Partners & Investor-Partners. Joint Equity Ltd does not carry out any regulated activities and so is not regulated by the FSA (Financial Services Authority). Joint Equity Ltd are introducer appointed representatives of Mortgage Beaters Ltd, who are authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. The content of this newsletter is accurate to the best of our knowledge and for information only. We do not provide financial advice. Joint Equity Ltd., a UK company Reg No: 4915890 Registered office: 17 Hanbury Close, Cheshunt, Herts, EN8 9BZ ©Joint Equity Ltd (2008) unless where otherwise stated