Building Wealth Through Property

News

John Thornely, Director of CPPI, will be on Stand 621 at the Property Investor Show, ExCel, London from 23-25 September 2005 (supporting 4You Properties). We’ll Hope to see you there - you can get FREE tickets by going to http://www.propertyinvestor.co.uk/london/register.asp?pc=visprom1. You will have a chance to discuss the opportunities we are offering with John on Stand 621. We very much look forward to seeing you there!

Advice

Compass Point is an independent broker, not tied to any one developer or vendor but represents you, the Client. We provide a personal and reliable service and our aim is to help you locate the investment or property best answering your needs, provide all the necessary information relating to your investment and generally assist in effecting that transaction with ease.

To help you with your investment, we offer a series of guides, which can be found in the Investments and Properties pages. They are:

• Guide to Buying A Property Overseas Choosing an Investment
• Buying in Spain
• Buying in Bulgaria

We can also put you in touch with our carefully-selected team of Professional Advisers and other services – you will find some of these on the Useful Links page.

You are also welcome to e-mail or telephone us with any queries – we will be delighted to help you identify the best opportunities for you and how to make your investment.

FAQ's

Who Do I Talk To When I Have A Problem?
If you have a problem or are in any way dissatisfied with Compass-Point Property Investments, then John Thornely, the founder of Compass-Point, is always willing to listen to your issues. Our staff will pass your details on to him and he will call you to resolve the problem at hand.

What are Compass-Point’s charges?
We only want to make money when you are making money so we only make a charge when you take advantage of one of our great offers. Ready to Rent charges investors 2% (or a flat fee) for introducing investments or properties. For all transactions, these fees are transparent and are explained in the relevant brochure. We believe that for finding the property, achieving below market value prices, verifying the proposition, delivering a ready made team and for staying with you to completion, this offer excellent value for money.

When Do I Pay Compass-Point?
We work on a success basis only. While we do ask for a reservation fee (which varies from deal to deal) this is not an extra cost but a commitment fee. This is used towards your overall costs (it goes towards the first down-payment and the Compass-Point fee) and is non-refundable if you decide to pull out for whatever reason at a later stage (we do this to ensure that investors are serious, as pull-out can have a negative impact on relations with developers). The payment to Compass-Point is only payable once you have signed the first contract with the developer or vendor.

Does Compass-Point Offer A Lettings Service?
Compass-Point does not offer a lettings service. Compass-Point brings excellent investment and property deals to you but does not seek to make profits from every stage of the transaction. Whenever we recommend a development to you, we will recommend letting agents for you to use and usually we will negotiate a special deal for Compass-Point Clients.

How Do I Get A Mortgage Outside The UK?
Whenever we offer a development to you we will work with an appropriate mortgage broking firm to offer you the most competitive mortgage products available in the relevant market. They will do appropriate research and due diligence and will be in a position to advise you accordingly. Remember that the mortgage is only required for completion of purchases – as in the UK, you will only get a mortgage offer perhaps six months prior to completion. But it is worth checking out the status requirements as you would not want to put money down only to realise that cannot get a mortgage. There are a few general rules about non-UK mortgages at present:

• The market is not as sophisticated as the UK, so non-status lenders are rarer.
• Repayment mortgages are more common than interest-only mortgages. Although this increases the monthly outgoings, in time it does reduce the interest payments, as well as steadily building your equity in the property.
• Interest rates are linked to the European Central Bank’s base rate, or local equivlent, rather than the Bank of England’s.
• Some lenders stipulate a maximum age by which loans need to be repaid, so monthly repayments could become quite high to meet this requirement. In some cases investors have made arrangements to place the property in the name of a trusted younger family member.

Do I Need To Be Worried About A Developer Going Bust?
Compass-Point ensures to the best of its knowledge that the developers and the key directors of the developers are of good repute. However, there is no guarantee of the developer’s financial health during the period of construction. Compass therefore only deals with developers who either provide appropriate security for investors or who arrange bank guarantees or use bank controlled accounts. Should a developer become insolvent, we will use our best efforts to ensure that the development reachs completion and that the investor receives the best return available on his investment or the completed property, as relevant. To what extent this is possible will depend on general economic conditions at the time of the collapse as well as complexities specific to the property development.