192: Bernie Wales is the Leasehold Expert, helping investors (and himself) create value through splitting freehold buildings into individual units.

Listen to this episode below:

I was delighted to be joined by Bernie Wales on this week’s podcast. Bernie is well-known on the UK property circuit as the leasehold expert, and he’s no doubt helped many of you to create value through title-splitting freehold properties.

But how much do you actually know about how he became an expert?

Bernie’s been involved in property management since the 1970s, ultimately growing a property management business with 10,000 units, before selling that business to 4 of his employees.

He’s also been growing his own portfolio for much of that time, predominantly by following his own advice, and buying freehold blocks of flats and splitting them into individual units.

During this podcast, Bernie told us what he looks out for when buying a freehold, and why being persistent has served him well.

Show Sponsors

My LNPG membership is one of the best decisions I’ve made as a property investor. Through my membership I’ve been able to get huge cost savings and contract pricing on everything from conveyancing to kitchens, and flooring to furniture.

As a podcast listener you can take advantage of the same great prices, and get 5% off your membership fee when you sign up at LNPG.co.uk and use code IPI5 when asked who referred you.

Do you want to spend your time building furniture, or building your property portfolio? Fusion Furniture Solutions offer a complete nationwide service for landlords, investors and developers. Leave the furniture building to the experts at FusionFurnitureSolutions.co.uk

Turning Freeholds into Leaseholds

Bernie’s ongoing success is down to being involved at every level of his business. Although many developers purchase large buildings and convert them into flats, Bernie’s area of expertise is in lease creation, which has set him apart from the crowd.

The lease can make a substantial difference to the value of a freehold, and even though there’s profit to be made from each flat sale, there’s also a substantial return to be had from selling the freehold at the end of the process, too.

Determining the Value of a Freehold

Thanks to his early background with leasehold property, Bernie understands the importance of the wording of a lease, and the ways in which that wording can generate income in the long-term. Although solicitors will have their own preferred leases, they’re often not the best ones from an investment point of view.

Bernie has made his mark in the industry by determining a freehold’s value based on the ground rent, and the ways in which it’s reviewed over the term of the lease. If, as an investor, you’re able to enhance the wording of the lease so that the ground rent continues to add value over the years, then you could have a strong investment on your hands.

Mistakes to Avoid

Bernie’s keen eye for the details means he’s hyper-aware of the importance of getting the numbers right, but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t had any slip-ups himself. Early on in his career, he attended an auction in the hope of to buying a shop with 3 flats above it. Unfortunately, thanks to a miscommunication during bidding, he bought lot 65 instead of 66, and ended up with a nightmare leaseholder as a result.

It just goes to show, that even experts aren’t immune from mistakes! But having a clear set of goals and being persistent have been the guiding principles of Bernie’s career to date, which is why, today, his knowledge of leaseholds in the UK is second-to-none.

What’s Your Favourite Book?

[button icon=”hb-moon-book” special_style=”no” color=”carrot” size=”” three_d=”yes” title=”Click Here for Your Free Audiobook” link=”http://www.kqzyfj.com/click-7742959-10449428″ new_tab=”yes” animation=”” animation_delay=”” class=””]

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People – Stephen R. Covey

Bernie Wales’ Links & Resources

To contact Bernie for help and advice, you can visit his website at BernieWales.co.uk, where there are a number of informative videos.

If you would like to ask specific questions, you can also book a 15 minute slot with him to review your project, or go directly to the advice section of his website here: BernieWales.co.uk/leasehold-advice