Why? because both require exceptional communication skills, the ability to manage your resources and the willingness to adapt to change … where they differ is Property Investing is a business not a hobby.  I hope you enjoy my blogs, find them inspiring or thought provoking, and forgive my occassional rants, please leave comments – they are most welcome.  My name is Vicki and I am The Property Mermaid. I aim to live every moment as if it were an epic adventure, hungry for knowledge and eager to encounter new and exciting people and experiences ….  …………………. Please read on   …

Life is all about choices – some large, some smaller, some we don’t realise the significance of until much later. Something simple like the difference between a pair of sun glasses or an umberella for example. Well it was sunny as we parked the car …. and very windy, an umberella would have been the height of madness unless we wanted to fly  around Kew Gardens like Mary Poppins. Read the rest of this entry

Can you believe it – almost 7 and half months a go, I had the idea to create a small ebook on property investing. Something to share the tips and predictions of a few fellow property investors. Something to help me practise outsourcing …… little could I have known …… actually thats a lie – I should have guessed that it would become something phenomenal.

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I am very much a glass more than half full type of girl – having said that the economic outlook is grim and as property investors we need to make sure that we are prepared for any eventually, falling house prices, interest rate changes and shifting government policies.

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Low interest rates set to stay as economy hangs onto hopes of a recovery, property investors let out a sigh of relief

Mervyn King, Governor of the Bank of England in a report to the House of Commons Treasury Select Committee, today said that he is more interested in supporting the UK economy recovery than using interest rates to slow down the rate of inflation.

Wow – now what does that say to you as a property investor? Read the rest of this entry

I first met Steve Green in late 2008 I think – he has a superb dry wit and given his day job a great deal of insider understanding into the minds of our tenants and the general population. We all know that we should avoid ‘red lighters’ and the philosophers of the Sun

Steve’s article was posted on one of the forums I belong to and I thought so insightful that I asked if I could repost it on my blog. Both hysterical and obvious – I hope you enjoy – please leave some comments so I can persuade Steve to write more frequently

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I thought I would just share with you my new plan to buy property at discounted rates and remortgage at full market value within a week, with the banks full agreement ….. Read the rest of this entry

When you use it to patch up a property deal …. I have been working with a mentee for the last 3 months or so, on a complex but potentially very lucrative property deal. He is planning to buy a large property already converted into three flats. You may recognise this a the ‘freehold-leasehold strategy’. Briefly the deal is as follows … Read the rest of this entry

This is a long running debate for people who live in London…. where should I invest? Rob and Mark from Progressive Properties recommend staying close to home – and in some ways I agree and certainly wish I heard this idea before I started The point being if you live in London, depending on your strategy, it can be challenging to find an area that works. Obviously you can use Lease Options etc but if you are looking to buy traditional buy to lets, then where can you get cashflow? Read the rest of this entry

I received an email recently that really shocked me. We all know that relying on the government to fund our retirement is very dodgy logic, well I hope we all know that. Certainly if you have been reading any of Robert Kiyosaki’s books you will know that.  Anyway I received some figures in an email recently about the return we are getting on our compulsory pension contributions.

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