"The Downswings of Property and Poker"

[Eso Kral]

Thoughts with you, Rich.

All the best today.

Thanks Mark.  Hope you are having a great time abroad mate.

[Marky147]

Thoughts with you, Rich.

All the best today.

Thanks Mark.  Hope you are having a great time abroad mate.

Betting, booze, and BBQs... How could I not

[Eso Kral]

Lost my old fella suddenly two months ago, still struggling to come to terms but watching u on live stream makes me smile 88 gl mate.

Sorry to hear about your sad loss Mike <3

That was a nice and timely double up as you say as I chipped down solidly in the first 2 levels of today so we're back in it a bit.....

Sadly GPS Southend was not meant to be for me although I do have a 10% swap out who is a top 3 stack with 14 left so got a chance of some £££.  I went back with 71k and was sat to the left of Watto who had chunks and just opened every spot and having lost 30k pretty quickly I sat on 15-20bbs for about 4 hours and just grinded it through, picking up pots here and there and apart from being AI on the live stream with 88 v AJ I was never called so at dinner break with 75k and 12 off the money going back to 4k bb I knew I would need a double up.

Unfortunately having found KK after a Ben Winsor open we 3b leaving a pot sized bet back which went in on J88 but Ben had peeled the 3b with JJ so I was drawing thin and exited in 29th 5 off the money.

I realized that I love live poker with the banter and catching up with people who you only see from time to time and it was great to see some faces this week but I wont be playing again now for god knows how long as it's back to the project.....

GL to anyone playing today or punters in general.

[4KSuited]

Buy-to-Let Property investment advice required.

I purchased a BTL in Willesden Green 6 years ago for c.£160k through an agent who has relationships with all the London Housing Associations. I put up 25% equity plus costs, and for a fee he finds the property and oversees the process of the refurb so that it meets requirements. I then get a 3 year contract with the for GTD rental income with no voids. We know what the rent will be in advance, so we can calculate the yield accurately.

Fast forward 6 years; at the end of the 2nd lease the found permanent accommodation for my tenant, so they decided to execute a hand-back of the property. It's now vacant and my agent has made the following proposal - and this is what I'd like your advice on (and anyone else who has knowledge in this area):

The property needs to be cleaned, re-painted, re-carpeted, re-Lino-ed etc so that it will be in satisfactory condition for a new tenant on a new 3-year lease of £1325.00 per month. The agent has quoted a price of £6350 to do this work.

However, he has also made an alternative suggestion: since there is sufficient floor space to create a 3rd bedroom by re-jigging the rooms upstairs, at a cost of £15k (net of a £3k grant) the monthly rent would increase to £1755 over a 5 year lease rather than the 3 year duration if the bigger refurb isn't done. However, because the planning application & approval process can take quite awhile, and mean a lengthy rental void, he has suggested doing the work anyway and then apply for planning permission retrospectively when the time comes - I.e if/when I sell it. If unapproved, he says it can simply be converted back at approx £6k.

So, there will be roughly £25k extra rental income over 5 years if the 3-bed refurb is done, but approx £20k will be eaten by the cost & possible back-conversion. In addition, the conversion will be in place without planning permission, and if we need to sell, the permission will need to be applied for anyway or the conversion reversed.

Do you know what the likelihood of a retrospective planning approval would be?
Do you think this 3-bed proposition sounds a sensible option?

My gut says no - but I'm risk averse, and I don't like the idea of doing work without permissions.

[EvilPie]

What a beautiful dilemma to have

Don't forget that your £6350 will be a deductible expense whereas the £15k would be an improvement so won't be.

Looks like almost a no-brainer to just leave it given the numbers never mind the risk of any issues with planning.

[Eso Kral]

As Matt says a nice dilemma to have!

Ok I have sold many properties over the years that have had major work done but didnt have the correct permissions or building regs in place at the point of sale many years down the line and as long as it is handled correctly then it should not be a problem for a buyer.

I would ask an architect to have a look first (most will give you an initial consultation FOC) where they will tell you whether you need planning permission or whether building regs only are required and then I would take a free consultation with a solicitor and ask them about the implications as whilst not a lawyer it's not normally the thing a council randomly check unless they are made aware and after x years (4 years) http://www.gardandco.com/conveyancing/planning-permission.html then they cannot ask you to take the property back to it's initial form however you will still need to sort things out for your buyer which should be done at the outset.

Once you are under offer you should through the agent make them aware and offer to cover the cost of an indemnity insurance policy (We have done these for clients with similar problems) and the policy covers the buyers against the council coming back after them once they have completed but you shouldnt contact the council to ask for retrospective planning permission as then an indemnity policy wouldnt cover you as you have made the council aware of the problem so if you dont want to wait for retrospective permission (could be you or your buyers are in a rush) then offering a insurance policy at the cost of around £300 inc vat should suffice.

I would also consider the capital growth in terms of the risk involved as adding an extra room in London or surrounding should add anything from £20-30k (maybe more but thats a question for your agent in that area) I would imagine.

The indemnity insurance question is probably a good one to ask the solicitor as well imo but they are ten a penny as are used for people who knocked through a wall from lounge to dining room to have a through lounge but needed building regs through to if you could replace your own windows but are not fensa registered and people who did extensions, added conservatories etc.

[typhoon13]

Hows your new venture going Rich?

[4KSuited]

As Matt says a nice dilemma to have!

Ok I have sold many properties over the years that have had major work done but didnt have the correct permissions or building regs in place at the point of sale many years down the line and as long as it is handled correctly then it should not be a problem for a buyer.

I would ask an architect to have a look first (most will give you an initial consultation FOC) where they will tell you whether you need planning permission or whether building regs only are required and then I would take a free consultation with a solicitor and ask them about the implications as whilst not a lawyer it's not normally the thing a council randomly check unless they are made aware and after x years (4 years) http://www.gardandco.com/conveyancing/planning-permission.html then they cannot ask you to take the property back to it's initial form however you will still need to sort things out for your buyer which should be done at the outset.

Once you are under offer you should through the agent make them aware and offer to cover the cost of an indemnity insurance policy (We have done these for clients with similar problems) and the policy covers the buyers against the council coming back after them once they have completed but you shouldnt contact the council to ask for retrospective planning permission as then an indemnity policy wouldnt cover you as you have made the council aware of the problem so if you dont want to wait for retrospective permission (could be you or your buyers are in a rush) then offering a insurance policy at the cost of around £300 inc vat should suffice.

I would also consider the capital growth in terms of the risk involved as adding an extra room in London or surrounding should add anything from £20-30k (maybe more but thats a question for your agent in that area) I would imagine.

The indemnity insurance question is probably a good one to ask the solicitor as well imo but they are ten a penny as are used for people who knocked through a wall from lounge to dining room to have a through lounge but needed building regs through to if you could replace your own windows but are not fensa registered and people who did extensions, added conservatories etc.

Thanks Rich. I've read the info on the gardandco page, and there's a couple of points that arise:

1. The 4 year "limitation clause" suggests that as long as the council are unaware of the conversion, and that permission is not actually applied for, the works can stand. However what's the process for getting the deeds to match the property particulars? There's also a suggestion that the council still has the right to demand restoration even after 4 years have passed and they knew nothing of the changes. Or have I misunderstood?

2. Interestingly, the grant application is through the local council "Grants Team, Private Housing Services" (Brent). There are loads of forms to complete, so I haven't yet looked at the detail, but I'm supposing that somewhere in there they'll be asking about the number of rooms in the property. Thus, by default, the Council will at least be indirectly aware of the proposed change in configuration. Critically, this means that the Planning Indemnity Insurance policy becomes invalidated. On top of this, my agent charges a 10% fee for 'handling' the grant application (though I believe it's me who has to fill in all the forms), so I'll be getting a net £2,700 (his estimate) at the end of the process.

Is this now sounding too complicated & risky a process?

The Building Regs vs Planning Permission sounds like the best possible route, so I will endeavour to consult a local architect on the matter in the coming days.

[Eso Kral]

Hows your new venture going Rich?

Hi Trevor,
Hope all is good with you.

I will come back with an update tomorrow when I can put some photos up.

[typhoon13]

Are you at DTD this weekend sir

[celtic]

Are you at DTD this weekend sir

Lol, he would be even more of a hero if he could pull that off.

[typhoon13]

Are you at DTD this weekend sir

Lol, he would be even more of a hero if he could pull that off.

Behind the curve obviously

[Eso Kral]

Are you at DTD this weekend sir

Lol, he would be even more of a hero if he could pull that off.

You should check out the staking board son

[Eso Kral]

Hows your new venture going Rich?

So since my last update things have really moved on and we have been busy working on brand and premises whilst waiting for the change of use planning permission as we needed A3 usage which we should have had the determination date from the council on my birthday the 21st April but instead of getting the result I got a phone call to say that they had cocked up and as the property was located in a conservation area should have advertised it in a newspaper for 3 consecutive weeks but had forgot but unfortunately it had to go in before they could give the decision even though in the email it was saying they would say yes.

This is obviously pretty annoying as there is then a 1 week consultation period before we get the say so but in saying that it did me a favour as 8 weeks ago my designer had said that he had been meaning to ask me since we had been working together if I would sell him 10% so we agreed a deal and then he said his personal trainer wanted to meet me and we started off a process where on my second meeting with the PT and his GF they expressed an interest in buying 35% and I put together a deal for them but they had a row which clouded what they could do as a couple and he asked whether he could have 1 week to raise the cash elsewhere as she was the one with the ££ and as he had come through my designer I agreed but said I would keep the channels of communication open with her as she said her money would come in independently and a week later he was no further forward so I had a couple of meeting with her and she had a couple of days but in the meantime he was badgering her telling her that she shouldnt invest as he would feel bad as he wouldnt be part of it and as they are a bit on off her judgement was clouded but I couldnt wait so said I was going to do my own thing.

Which means I have pretty much raised some extra ££ to fill the gap left by the others and also had to cut back some of the spend we were making as keeping the pennies back to survive the first 6-12 months is key and all in all it now means subject to signing the lease in the next 14 days it is well over a 6 figure investment for us now and adds that extra pressure that hopefully we will thrive off.

So we should get the decision on Monday 23rd and hope to get the lease completed within a week with the build starting on or around the 1st June.

A few pages back there were a few photos of how the front looked with also a couple of videos of the layout etc and the other day this is how the inside was as the landlord has started the strip out (he has to hand it to us as a brick shell) when myself, Dwight the designer and Mark the builder (who we are currently trying to agree an equity deal as well with) visited to go through the proposed specs.

This is front to back view

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Proposed kitchen area with the wall to be about 1 metre from this stud work

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The view from the back towards the front

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Then I went back to reinspect it this week so this was Tuesday with the view from front to back showing the kitchen area (my proposed head chef is in the shorts) and the walkway that will go through to the toilets.

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The view toward the front

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and today after the wall which we hope to expose the brickwork further has now had the studwork removed so we can see the quality of the bricks and whether we can have a feature wall

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In theory there are a couple of niggles to sort out on the lease and then if all is good we will get the keys and start work in the first week of June with a 3-4 week build and then a couple of weeks of staff training, stress testing the premises and kitchen, promotion in the city which will start about 2 weeks into the build and then launch 1st or 2nd week of July.

I will post more photo's up as we go and the coming weeks are filled with the nitty gritty stuff like packaging, tables, chairs, recruitment, uniforms, menus etc.

[Eso Kral]

So this week also brought the massive change as we gave birth to our 3rd child Quinn Charles Blacklock who was born Friday afternoon at 6.36pm and I thought I would write about the experience from a "blokes perspective"

So we have been through all the emotions since we have conceived with finding out that we had a vanishing twin, a redundancy, the business venture and the usual stresses of day to day life but we are a pretty good team as a unit and very relaxed as a couple.

Both Max and Ivy were born at home with Max being born in our bedroom and Ivy in the lounge as Petra was low risk both times and this time was no different so we had planned to have our baby at home again but knowing that if something went wrong we were prepared to go to hospital and Petra invested a lot of time in looking at Hynobirthing which is a spiritual way of looking at birth and that they really take control and are confident of the process and use relaxation techniques to help with the birth.

Seeing your baby move is one of the most amazing experiences and wonders of pregnancy in my opinion and if you look at the middle bit of her bump you will clearly see him move an arm or leg which is incredible


At around 8pm on Thursday evening Petra started to feel the odd contraction start so we fitted the Tens machine to her back and sat and relaxed watching tv and as we were having another home birth just got ourselves ready.  We loved having home births and I hope if anyone having a baby in future who is low risk tries this as you are so much more comfortable in your own environment which is better for mum and baby and you get dedicated care with in our area (am sure it's the same elsewhere) one midwife coming when you have called in and once they class you as being established in labour a second midwife coming and they both stay with you until a couple of hours after the baby has been born when they just shut the door behind themselves and leave you to be as a family.

We went to bed at about 10pm and slept till 3.45am when her contractions woke her again so we went downstairs and had a drink and chatted about the day ahead and made a few calls to first of all our birth photographer as Petra wanted to experience life the other side of the camera this time and Angie was to be with us from mid labour through to an hour or so after birth and capture the moments you never get back with her knowing the boundaries of what should/should not be shot and give us photo's that cannot be replicated.

Petra also decided that she wanted her placenta encapsulated which means its placed in a tuppaware box and picked up the next day and they make you a fruit smoothie (this wont be on the juice menu at our place btw) as its beneficial to the mum and then they make a load of capsules that are to be taken daily over the first couple of weeks that again have health benefits to a new mum but you call them when you go into labour so they know to come within 24 hours of you giving birth.

We also called the hospital to let them know that Petra was in labour and they told us that there was no midwife who could come and see us so if we wanted to be seen we would have to go to hospital which was never going to happen (they can do this if short staffed) and a woman has the right to give birth wherever she wishes and they have to react so we said we would wait till the morning shift came on at 8am and call back then unless we went into established labour early and the next couple of hours were spent lighting some candles, getting the snacks ready for Petra, midwifes etc, a warm drink and away we go.

At 5.30 am on Friday 13th Max wakes and comes downstairs and we sit him down and explain that today he is likely to become a big brother again and ask him if he wants to stay with us or go to school, we actively encourage the kids at a young age to experience life and had built them up that if they wanted to be around as we birthed it was cool so never felt they shouldnt be with us but he chose to go to school albeit they were told we may take him out early if baby came during school time as Ivy finishes pre school at 12 so we didnt want him to feel left out.  6am comes and Ivy wakes to the news her baby brother is coming today which she is ecstatic about.

6.15am and the first midwife comes to check Petra over but feels its very early stages so says she will go and someone will be back later on.

Petra had done her own birth plan based upon her knowing what she wanted out of this birth (all being well) and this was it.  It's pretty full on but as I say she wanted to be in control!

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At 8am the midwife is long gone and Petra goes for a bath whilst I get the kids ready for school and have breakfast before we go on our walk to both school and preschool being careful not to mention it to the mum's on the way as they will message Petra and she wants to relax so when I get back from the school run at 9.15 we just sit around together having a drink till 11.30 just chatting about general life and business with some relaxation music on in the background and I reply to some work emails ensuring that she gets anything she needs with the occasional massage as her contractions are now coming every 6-8 minutes lasting 45 seconds at a time.

Here she is completely chilled in our lounge

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Even Bentley played his part

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11.50 comes and its the short walk to get Ivy from her school and Petra goes for a sleep and when she wakes at 1.15 we all have lunch together and as Friday was a great day with sun and a temperature in Essex of around 20 degrees we flit between the garden and house and as the contractions are increasing in intensity all the time Petra decides to call the photographer and we do a couple of quiz's together before Ivy and me walk to get Max from his school and we go home.

At 3.50pm a midwife reappears and this time Lorraine has a student midwife in tow but again doesnt thing Petra is in established labour and just sits with us for a bit using the doppler to check on the heartbeat of the baby

We need to keep the kids in their routine as much as possible so they have dinner with me at 5.15pm but as were finishing Petra's contractions are now closer together and stronger and the only examination she had showed her to be 8cm dilated so the second midwife is called and everyone decamps to the lounge with Max and Ivy sat playing their Ipads whilst Petra goes through the decibels.

The knock at the door at 6pm brought our own midwife Terri who had finished her shift and as she lives in our road popped in and the proper 2nd midwife who again had a student midwife with her so including Petra and myself there are now 10 people in this room for the birth which came pretty quickly as only 36 minutes later at 6.36pm our beautiful baby boy Quinn is born weighing in at a rather large 9lb 3oz and a full 2lb heavier than either of the other two and Petra had him skin to skin straight away.

Here he is meeting the kids 2 minutes later (crap quality photo of mine but will post more when we have approved the photographers ones) and a few minutes after this was taken Max took the responsibility for cutting the cord to his little brother which was incredible to watch and something that will live with him and bond him to his brother forever!

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With me

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5am Saturday morning when he finally learnt how to sleep

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His first bath last night

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Today

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Petra did an amazing job and got everything she wanted out of this birth and was completely positive the whole time and made it an unbelievable experience for everyone concerned with the midwifes even writing to us thanking us for being part of it.

I will post Angie's slideshow when it is put together as although it may be graphic in part it truly captures the moments that most people will never remember.

Now I could really do with a deep deep run at this weeks WPT as I need to purchase some nappies!