DIARY OF A PROPERTY INVESTOR – DAY 19

9 months ago, we saw a very interesting block of 5 flats in the heart of Cumbria. In a nice little town opposite to a well-known local school it offered a good opportunity to buy 5 flats at just over £25,000 each which should have an average rental value of £400 per flat or £24,000 per annum.

The property was actually owned by a well-known supermarket chain who had acquired it as part of the purchase of land to build a new store. This property would be critical for the entrance to the main site.

Now they had decided not to proceed with the site. There was however an issue for them in selling it. They were concerned to ensure no other supermarket chain acquired the site (or so we were told).  We put in our offer and hoped it would be accepted.

Then a further complication emerged. We were dealing with a local agent and not getting the feedback on our offer that we would normally expect. We found out the main agent who was acting for the Supermarket and who had instructed the local agent. We made contact with them and were told that the local agent wanted to make an offer for the property. So, they could no longer act as the Agent. Complicated.

After some tooing and froing we were told that actually the whole sale had been put on hold so they could consider how best to proceed. It was made clear to us that selling was not a priority and it was unclear when or indeed if they would come back to us. No problem. We moved on to other purchases and forgot about this.

Now out of the blue we have had an email saying all problems have been resolved and if we still want to buy they are ready to proceed. We say yes and agree with them we can proceed at the price previously proposed.  It is turning into a good few weeks as this is another cracking deal.

Again, let me stress (see previous blogs) it is not always like this but when it is then grab the opportunity with both hands.