Navigating Specialist Finance for Serviced Accommodation

You. It does concern me a little bit that there's a new arena that pops up and at the moment it's serviced accommodation and then people go hammering tongs into that arena. I just sometimes think not everybody, but a lot of people need a more considered approach, just considering the pros and the cons a bit more and maybe I should just buy a couple. And I'll also invest in this area as well, or that area as well. You never know when one area is just going to fall over or get regulated heavily taxed or whatever. That's just my approach.I prefer to just spread things about a little bit.You're listening to Expat Property Story, a podcast in which I share my story to smooth the way for you to.Have your own expat Property story.Hello there. Top of the shop, 90. Yes, it's our final opportunity to open the show bingo style. And Steve Hand, who has been involved in the world of mortgages for 23 years,is on hand, if you'll excuse the pun, to help us out. And he'll be with us before you can say your property may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage. Please keep sending in your reviews as they help us to spread the word, which helps us get more great guests, which helps us all get better at investing in UK property, which is why we're all here. This review is from Matthew, who lives in Singapore. This podcast definitely made me go from just thinking about property investment to taking action.It's full of answers to the exact questions I had been asking myself,but couldn't quite find a satisfying answer elsewhere.I have listened to other podcasts and although they are useful,Expat Property Story is definitely the best for people living abroad. Thanks, Matthew. And if you want to leave an honest review,you can either follow the link in the show notes or go to the podcast website,www.expatpropertystory.com.And if you're on a mobile phone, click on the menu in the top right hand corner, click Reviews and then scroll down to tell us what you think. Steve Hand has been arranging mortgages since September2000, initially for someone else. But after just four years, he set up Express Mortgages, which has grown from a small brokerage in Wigan to become a leading nationwide mortgage and property finance service, with partners across the UK and worldwide employing around 25 people, covering most,if not all, aspects of the property finance market.And we started, as we usually do, with Steve's property song of choice. Well, I say of choice, but had to ask him to choose again as his first choice. Tub Thumping by Chumbawumba the one that. Goes I get knocked down but I. Get back up again had already been taken by Singapore property investor Peter Sell back in episode 72, so Steve had to think again.There's a Thailand property disc, one of the bands going back, really, that are quite liked is Foo Fighters. That sort of rocky type vibe sort of brings out the fighter in me, if you like.Yeah, anything like that. So ever long is a song by the Foo Fighters. It's pretty good. That I like. So that kind of gets you in fighting mood. Ready for property? Ready for property,yeah. Ready for or if I have to go to the gym and I don't feel like it or anything like that, where it helps me step up, if you like. It's easy to just coast, isn't it, and play it small, but if you need to step up to another level, then, yeah,anything like that. Sometimes techno music, actually some quite hard house dance music or rock music. Something with a decent bit of punch to it. That helps.Steve came to my attention through my essay contact in the Northwest,who told me that he had heard him speaking at an event he had organized and Steve had told him that SA Mortgage applications were going through the roof at Express Mortgages. Now, as serviced accommodation is the business model we're moving towards at present, I knew I had to get him on the show. On the serviced accommodation side, we've seen a big increase in the last couple of years since COVID for those sorts of inquiries. And it's a bit of a gray area because you've got lenders that say we're okay with holiday let and airbnb.So sometimes a scenario can actually fit through on that type of criteria. Other times we're looking at a more commercial type lender. Like. To give you an example,there's a couple of units that somebody we work closely with brought us that are in Morcom near Blackpill. They were two ex guest houses and what he's done is he's bought them, he's took development finance out to reconfigure them. One of them is eight units, self contained units.One of them is nine self contained units. And then the plan is to rent them out on a nightly basis, not just to holiday makers, but to contract workers. And doing it that way.So because of the tenant type and the property structure, that is a commercial type lender that you need.It's not going to fit through with a typical holiday let by to let lender.So we went with a lender for that one called Cambridge and Counties.It suited the project, it suited the clients situation.There's pros and cons with these. So the base rate is running at 4.5% at the moment. Their interest rate will be between 8%and 8.5%, typically because you're normally looking at around 4% above base rate for for a commercial type product. But what they will do is they'll lend against the commercial valuation, not just the bricks and mortar valuation. Doesn't there have to be a history of two years trading before you can get a commercial valuation?A very good point. And, yes, in most cases, you look at the historic books and because there were guest houses, the income doesn't demonstrate really what was taken in, because there might have been a mixture of cash, of course, and backs transactions. And it's not got a history of the nightly rate in the way that we're looking to set it up now. So Cambridge actually said to us that they would consider 70% of the commercial valuation because the valuation was done by a firm called Barnesdale's, and they had stated the commercial figure, they'd listed it in black and white as to what the nightly rate was. And because of the yield that you were getting from that, they were quite comfy putting down the higher valuation figure.But Cambridge, in this case, they said we can't lend off70%, because when we do a search in that particular area, there's plenty of supply, it seems,and the demand is a bit questionable at the moment because it's relatively new. All this serviced accommodation type business, predominantly since COVID So they said, we're willing to go to 50% at the moment. So what they've advised is,if you can get a development exit product, which we're looking at, we've got a few options. Move the client onto that for twelve months, show us twelve months worth of income, and then we will lend up to 70%of the commercial valuation. So how does a development exit plan work? Could you give us, like, a concrete example? Yeah, so they were bought for, we'll call it 300. I think it was two nine five. But each property bought for 300,000, and then roughly 300,000was spent on each property, so that the clients in it for 600 plus fees and any taxes. The bricks and mortar valuation was about 640per property. So there's not much in it when you look at it that way.But the commercial valuation was nine five.So the combined assets are worth, what,1.8 million as the commercial valuation.So a lender has lent on it, lender called assets,and they have lent, think, 1.2 million.But they were going to do the exit as well. And their criteria changed. They're no longer willing to exit the client off their development products. So it was ideal for him, because he could develop them out, take the loan to value up to 60 odd percent,and then exit onto a product that does allow for up to about 70%loan to value. So, because they're no longer doing this, it's left us with very few options. So a development exit will allow the client, now that they're done up and they've got this higher valuation,will allow him to move on to another facility with a lender. Again, it's still a short term product, so twelve months is fairly standard, and then we can move him on to the term product,the service accommodation term product. But the problem that we've got is assets were particularly flexible,so nobody else will lend to the same amount that we're aware of. So the client has a shortfall there.Fortunately, there's a few of them in on the development, so they can either cover the shortfall with equity they've got in their portfolios and if they need to access it quick, we can arrange a collateral charge and put short term facility on it.Or what they can do, they've got businesses, they can take out a business loan against one of their businesses for that shortfall.The challenge that we had was that the lenders we were trying to go with didn't accommodate projection led lending,like projection led income, like looking at the income for the future.And they didn't like the C one use class, some of them.So we had to look at more commercial type lenders. But that was no great shape. We found the right lenders, the right home for it. But, yeah, the biggest challenge really was considering lenders that will look at future income. But because of the area and the demand supply factor in the area,in the end they said, sorry, we can only go to 50% of the commercial value right now, but after a year, get a year's worth of income, then we'll look at 70% of the commercial valuation.Right, so a year rather than two years. Most lenders, most lenders will be two years, but with this particular one, they don't suit everybody.But part of what we do is we'll assess the client, match them up with the right lender, and the project with the right lender take into account experience as well, because some lenders are more picky over what you've done previous than others. But, yes, they would go off just one year's worth of income. And in fact, you gave me an example of a site they just lent on in Dundee. So they don't just consider England and Wales,they'll go into Scotland as well. Dundee, where they had 13 months income. And it was at that point they signed it off, so it was good. It sounds a bit messy, this. And for anyone relatively new in this game, they'll be like, what did he just say?That was a bit complicated. The bit that I don't understand about that is how they got that 905,000 valuation. What was that based on the commercial. Valuation in that area for the market, he was going after typically contract workers rather than holidaymakers. Two guys are willing to share in a room,two construction workers, let's say, so twin beds in a room,and he stated down the nightly rate based on the two people across those self contained units. So when you do the maths on it, I've not got the figures in front of me, but it was something like 240,000pounds as an annual gross revenue that was coming in at, what. 70% occupancy or something? No, that's the ideal world. That's the optimum, if you like, 240. And then what the value has done is they've based it on it was either 60 or70%. Can't quite remember on that one. And then they'll whittle it down, they'll deduct an amount off for running costs,and then it leaves you with a net figure, and then they'll apply a yield to it based on that location. That then determines what they will go up to as the commercial valuation. So in this case, I think the yield applied, it was either ten or 12%, which then created this figure of 905. But the challenge is getting a lender to buy into this commercial valuation, because most of them will apply caution and either go off the bricks and mortar at 640,or what they might do is they might go off a sort of mid value figure. And that's what we're finding with these development exits.Now, we can't get anyone to work off the same figure as assets did at nine five, but we are finding like a compromise, if you like, at eight two five or 750 or that kind of number. So they go halfway between a commercial valuation and a bricks and mortar. And a bricks and mortar, yeah. I think the phrase of use for one of them was a 180 day vacant possession figure.If they had to sell it in 180 days, that's what they think they would need to yes. So they're recognizing that, yes, there is a commercial value for something.And we understand the maths, we understand the nightly rates, et cetera. It's just that we're not prepared to lend against that figure. So what we're prepared to lend against is exactly, as you say, sometimes it's 90 days, sometimes 180.And if it's vacant, there's no tenants in there. What could we realistically get for it in that time? So they are kind of protecting themselves just in case, for example, service accommodation falls off the cliff. There is no service accommodation anymore for that building. So they need to kind of think about what they could get for it if there's no service accommodation. That's right, yeah. If some other sort of space had to rent it, retail space or whatever it may be realistically,what could we expect against that? And then they'll lend, maybe. I think the the figures that were coming back were between 60 and70% of that slightly lower valuation. And something I don't really understand is when people talk about the yield, I think you said something about 10% and 12% that is determined by, I guess, an aggregate of everything that's going on in that particular area. Is that right? That's right. They'll net things down,as I mentioned before, the Occupancy rate netting it down,and then an aggregate of what's the typical yield in that area?When you've got a building rented out and you've got, say, I don't know, Lloyd's TSB or somebody like that, a large corporate renting the building, and they've got historic evidence. And then they've also got a lease to work off for the next so many years. They can be more favorable,can't they, with the terms? But when it's vacant like this and you've got a plan in place for serviced accommodation,again, they'll apply caution and just look at an average of what's going on. So when people are looking to buy. These kinds of properties,how can they find out when they're doing their own analysis of a deal, how would they be able to determine what that yield is for that particular area, if they're looking in different areas all over the country?Good question. There are places that you can determine.Actually, I've not got them to hand, but there's certain sites that you can go on which will give you for that postcode. It'll give you, like,an average or a range of yields. Do they call it the cap rate? I think so, yeah. But also you can contact the local authority through different channels and then they will give you a rate, if you like, or an average. I think it's something that you can search for online. A common misconception is that you can get a commercial valuation with any property run as serviced accommodation. What if I buy a two bed apartment or I buy a three bed terraced house and I want to do exactly the same? Can I get the commercial valuation? No. I say to people,what you've got to do is put yourself in the shoes of the lender,the credit risk team, because are they really going to give you a commercial valuation? If the crap it's the found, they've got to sell that asset, who are they going to sell it to? Well, it's a residential property, so they're just going to offload it to Joe Public or whoever. But if it's set up as something that's more complex and it's clearly a commercial entity, then,yes, you can apply commercial valuation to it. In a lot of cases,some of. Those commercial valuations, that whole model is a little bit dangerous anyway, isn't it? Because you could kind of pull a whole load of money out of a property and then when it comes to refinancing it, a few years down the line, you're not going to get that commercial valuation. And then suddenly you owe them a lot of money.Right. I'm not a big fan of it. If somebody's asking my opinion, it's too rich for me. Especially if you're taking on investors money and you've agreed a return to them and then you're up against it, you're praying that they're going to come back with this higher commercial figure.And there's no guarantees in a lot. Of cases,when you say you're against it, you're against it for just the sort of small HMOs, for example, or would you be against it in terms of that kind of buying a guest house and turning it into an apart hotel? Do you still think that's risky? It's not that I wouldn't do it, it's just that I would do my numbers on a more cautious approach. I think that's how I would do it. I wouldn't over leverage. That's just me. Some people will challenge that. They will do that and I'm sure they'll come good. It's down to your attitude to risk, isn't it? But usually with HMOs,if it's above six, I think you can include six with some lenders.But when it's above six, then it falls into this other category, doesn't it? Suey generous. Suey generous.That's it. And so some lenders will apply. I'm just trying to think of some examples. I think Shorebrook and Octane are two good examples where they will consider at least a commercial valuation.There's no guarantee with them, but the business development managers tell us that we will certainly consider it because it's set up there as more of a commercial asset. It's not a three or four bed family home.You've got en suites and whatever with the room. So we quite like that.During the auction season of the podcast, which ran from episodes35 to 49, I analyzed hundreds of deals looking for properties to let on a short term basis, only to find a clause in the title documents that prevented their use as serviced accommodation, restrictive covenants. There's this clause that's in so many. Properties, especially in the Northwest, only to be used as a single private dwelling house.Yes. Yeah. Well, something that our guys do in the specialist finance side,because they're looking at development type projects. Is that part of our due diligence in here? We were just talking about it then,actually, because one of the guys does a lot of due diligence for clients before they move forward. The other one does a reasonable amount but doesn't go overboard. So we've met in the middle and decided that's our process now as a company. But that's one of the things they'll do. They'll check the land registry for things like that. It's not really to check who owns the property,it's more to check to see if there's any restricted covenants or any restrictions that's going to stop the buyer doing what they plan to do with that property.Because quite often you only find this way down the line when you get to the legal stage, don't you? And then time and money and stress has been had in the meantime. So have you come across lenders?They do pull that up, that particular restrictive covenant, only to be used as a single private dwelling? Definitely, yeah. It's the lawyer's responsibility to inform the lender at that stage. And I'm not saying things don't slip through the net. I'm sure some do and have, but you're just taking a chance there. So I would do that. I would check that out.We know from Scotland now, of course, it's becoming more regulated,isn't it, with the service to accommodation field. And like most things in life, if enough people move into that space, it's going to appear on the radar and regulation will come about. That was what I was going to ask you was if that legislation moves into England in the same way that it's looking likely to be operated in Scotland,say, for example, you've got a serviced accommodation mortgage on a two three bed terrace house operating a serviced accommodation, what's going to happen if that legislation suddenly comes in? Do you think the lenders will just allow you to switch onto a buy to let product? It depends on the lender's policy. I think if somebody's taking a mortgage out, for example,with Birmingham Midshires, and they don't normally lend in that space, and then you find themselves in that space,legislation comes in. The lender can either decide to give you consent to let on that basis for a period of time, or normally they'll give you some breathing space and they'll either allow you to do that subject to rates and fees normally, or they'll say, no, sorry,it's not part of our remit. We need you to move away from us.But we'll give you a reasonable amount of time to do that, and then we just shift them onto a more suitable product. And there must be a lot of people, a lot of people who are running service accommodation on buy to let mortgages. Yeah, there's bound to be. Just like I'm sure there's lots of people that had a main residence and then they moved through Job, all plausible reasons and relocated and whatever, and then they just rented it out,maybe got consent to let first time, maybe not, but never switched it onto a buy to let mortgage. There will be and some people say to me,well, what's the problem, Steve? What will the lender not find out? As long as I'm paying the mortgage, why does it matter? And part of me wants to agree with that, I get it. But then the lender will say, that doesn't fit our risk policy or our criteria.We have to underwrite on this basis. So if we're taking on board more risk, even though it might be perception, then we have to charge accordingly. That'll be their argument. What I don't get,all these people are doing that and I know there are people doing it.How come the next time they apply for a mortgage and they ask for all the bank statements and they see you've got a property in Bolton,for example, and you're cash flowing about, I don't know, 800, 900 pounds a month, when really it should only be about 300. If it's a buy to let 500, whatever, how come questions are not getting raised then? I think because if people are just simply doing a product switch, so they've got to the end of their fixed rate and they want another fixed rate, they're staying with the same lender because can't be bothered switching, it's hassle, et cetera, and the lender is offering me something decent,then the lender doesn't flag that up. I mean, we do a lot of product transfers for people and it's the same process for us. We'll go onto the lender's website and we'll switch it, choose the new products.Underwriting is very limited because you're not borrowing any more money and that's how things get missed. But if somebody then wants to raise against that, because invariably over time our values go up and we want to take the equity out to go and reinvest elsewhere,then that's when a full underwrite kicks in. So all well and good if you're not looking to increase the borrowings, but if you are,that's when a lender would find out and they'll either say,this doesn't suit our situation, you'll have to move, and you're just back to looking around the market then for people. So I guess the answer to that is that people can and do get away with it for a period of time and they'll save on interest rates because the more complex a situation is perceived to be than lenders charge for it, don't they?So they'll save on the rates and the fees a bit, but it's when you come to want to take more equity out that the challenge happens.So a full underwrite takes place when it's not a product transfer, is that right? Yeah, if it's a like for like remortgage or like for like transfer onto a new product with the same lender,generally speaking, there's not a full underwrite. What if it's like a shop and uppers? You've got your commercial downstairs and you want to run the uppers as service accommodation. That's going to be a commercial mortgage, is it? Yeah, if it's all on one title, generally you'd have a commercial mortgage for that,but some people will split the title, of course, and depending what the values are, because the values could be below the minimum required,it might be better and easier to keep it all on the one title.If it was, say, two bedrooms, if it made sense to do this, split the title off, have the commercial mortgage on the ground floor and then the upstairs one, you could have some kind of again,depends how many properties the clients got in their portfolio and if they've got any of the holiday lets. Sometimes you can squeeze it through in a holiday let type mortgage. I came across your LinkedIn page and you've got some great blog articles on there and you were saying that if I'm not asking you about100% mortgages, then I'm in the wrong game.Yeah. Now, is this because when you say 100%,two things come on my radar. One is development finance.You can get 100%, which is really interesting for developers for certain projects, and then the other one is on main residences,you can get 100%. Is it skipton. Yeah. Skipton.Yeah. I was thinking about the first time buyers, that one. That's right. It's really interesting product, that one. It's only recently come out. There's been 100%in different guises over the last decade or so since they've removed the 100%, the official 100%, from the market when the crash happened of 2008. But this is like the first,if you like, proper 100%, whereby it doesn't require the bank of Mum and dad or money put into a savings account to offset the risk. I believe it's for people renting a property, they've got to prove a track record of renting and then the lender will go up to, let's say they're paying 1000 a month rent. The lender will go up to that same thousand a month on a mortgage,whatever the mortgage ends up being, that's what they'll lend up to.But again, it's assuming their income allows them to borrow up to that figure. So how do you think that's going to affect the investment market?Good question. Renting has gone up. What was the stat I looked at the other day, it's something like in the last decade, think 64% of people,it's now 75, it was 75, it's now 64%,something like that. So clearly, home ownership has gone down.People are forced to rent, aren't they? For a period of time.They either live with relatives or they rent.Generally. The challenge has always been,how can I save 510 percent plus deposit at times while I'm shelling out all this money on rent? And it's a challenge for a lot of people. And now they can get this 100%,it'll be interesting to watch. I don't think it'll kill the investment market.I think over time it might have an impact. As to what degree,I'm not sure. The likes of RBS,Santander, all the big boys will be watching it closely because why wouldn't they bring out 100% product if it does well?So, yeah, it's an interesting one that, isn't it?No, I don't think it'll kill it at all. I think it'll just create opportunities,but I was just wondering what those opportunities will probably be. Well, do you know last month, April was the first month in the last seven or eight nationwide,the Nationwide House Price Index, they had it as an increase,it had been consecutively falling, and then suddenly this increase pops up. So I think year on year they've got it at -2.7% for house prices. In the UK well, I mean, I don't know if you believe in this 18 year property cycle, but it certainly kind of seems to be panning out a little bit. It did make me think of that.If they're going towards 100% mortgages, maybe this is that final kind of push before the massive crash. So a good two, three years will.Inflate a new bubble because it's going to give a boost to the housing market.Again, 100% mortgages doesn't sound like a. Good idea if you're if you're trying to avoid bubbles. No, I was reading the other day as well, apparently the Tory governments have never won an election when there's been a decreasing housing market in terms of values. So be interesting to watch. To watch that. So the powers that be are trying to do everything they can, aren't they, to prop up the market. But, yeah, you've only got to look at multiples,haven't you? And like you say, that the 18 year housing cycle,to think sooner or later there's got to be a significant correction. We don't like to think that, do we, when we're in the game?We like to be kind of no, very optimistic that won't happen. There might be a minor reduction, but we're debted up, aren't we, as a global entity? So you can only kick the can down the road for so long. This is the big question that everyone seems to be asking. I just read today, actually,another expat was saying his mortgage is coming up for renewal and he doesn't know whether to go for a five year fix or a two year fix, because he thinks that, as a lot of people do,that 4.5% is probably the top of the bank of England base rate. So he's thinking maybe if I wait two years, rates will be lower. But my own instinct tells me that you'd still be better off going for a five year fix.Yeah, I keep reading that around four and a half,and then back to 3.5 at some point.Although that's been pushed back a bit, hasn't it? And there's talk lately of maybe it'll peak at 4.75 in quarter four this year and then drop to 3.5 again at some point next year. There's a few factors, of course, that will affect the timing of that,and if that does happen, so what did I do? I had a few bytes, let's come in up for renewal at the same time. And again, just applying a bit of caution,I have half on five year fixed and then the rest are either on two year or variables. That seemed to work for me, but as well, it was what the lenders were offering at that time,and two year money was very expensive. When mine came up for renewal,it was just after the mini budget fiasco. But the fees at the moment are. Quite high, aren't they? So if you're paying like a two2.53% fee each time you renew,even if interest rates are lower in two years time, you've got to factor in that extra 2.53% fee. Yeah,you've got to look at everything in the round. Exactly. Not just the monthly payment,because the fees are generally added in and built in, but what's the true cost?I mean, some people go so far as to put it in a spreadsheet and work out where the break even point is. And I totally understand that if you're quite an analytical type. It's just that there's a number of factors that can affect that. And you quite often know in your guts,don't you, which one's right for you. Taking into account the economic data that we've got. Again, I've tended to sort of hedge my bets a little bit,thinking that just if I do want to offload one, I've got one on a short term product or a variable with no fees, and then the others on the five year fix. But sometimes that catches you out. I've been in situations where it just made financial sense to sell one, but it's on a 5% early repayment charge and I'm like, why have I done that?But if you can gain more by selling it, then you've just got to swallow that. Yeah, but it still sounds like a good decision because you've got some diversity of products, so if you do need to release one, then you've got one available that you don't have to pay those early repayment charges on. Exactly.I think that's quite prudent move if you've got a few properties to have one either with no early payment charges or just short term, because none of us know what's around the corner and it might make sense to sell to offload one or one or two. So, yeah, I think that's a good thing to do. And on diversity, Steve has a word of caution for those going all in on the latest shiny penny.Potentially you can make more money if you niche down to one thing and become absolutely brilliant at it. We know that from studying the grades, don't we?But for most of us, what we end up doing is spreading the risk of it, don't we? And putting things in different camps, which I think with property,investing isn't a bad thing. And it does concern me a little bit that there's a new arena that pops up and at the moment it's serviced accommodation and then people go hammering tongs into that arena. I just sometimes think not everybody, but a lot of people need a more considered approach and just considering the pros and the cons a bit more and maybe I should just buy a couple. And I'll also invest in this area as well, or that area as well, because you never know when one area is just going to fall over or get regulated heavily taxed or whatever. So that's just my approach. I prefer to just spread things about a little bit. I'd love that because, yeah,there are two camps. Some people say you should get that cookie cutter approach and you just niche down, like you said and just become a real expert in that one thing. But I also know that some people in 2008, they were protected because they didn't have all their properties in one area. Some areas didn't crash in 2008 and some did. So if you're in an area where everything crashes,then you're in a bit of trouble. Or if you're in one particular model,we did the same. We've got a portfolio of five student HMOs and it was at that stage, because that was in the middle of COVID and thought maybe online learning is going to come in and we just thought we were a bit exposed to everything being about students. So that's what led us to a service accommodation. Took us a couple of years to find a property. But yeah, I think it's important point.That because we sometimes go for areas because of the cash flow they've got stronger yields and positive cash flow and then other areas not so great but then the capital growth is significant and generally I'm generalizing but the more affluent areas don't tend to suffer the same in crashes. If you study sort of2008 to ten, there's parts of South Manchester near us and there's obviously a lot of the southeast where they didn't really see a crash, they just saw a stagnation for a period of time.But a lot of areas did see 20% reduction, didn't they? Or 20 odd percent.So, yeah, great. Steve, I don't want to take up any more of your time.I really appreciate it. And if anyone wants to contact you, what should they do? Well, the business that I'm part owner of is called Express Mortgages.We're based in Wigan in the northwest. We've been around for 1819 years now. I'm on social under Steve hand LinkedIn,Facebook, Instagram I'm a bit of an oldie, really, I'm 47,but I'm just young enough to keep in touch with social, so that's quite a good channel to do it.Three points to pick out from this week's show are first, the idea that you might want to add a little diversity, not just to your business model as a whole, whether that might be location or strategy or tenant type, but also to your mortgages. If, for whatever reason,you might need to sell one property to raise some cash, have you thought about having a proportion of your portfolio on a shorter term or on a variable rate or with no early repayment charges?The second point is that if you're looking to buy a property, always run it past your broker first before you do anything too hasty.If you're looking at serviced accommodation, for example, steve's company will do due diligence on a client's deal before moving forward.Which, in the case of SA, may involve checking the land registry to see if there are any restrictive covenants within the title that would prevent it being operated on a short term basis and would be flagged up as such by the lender's solicitor.The third point almost goes without saying, but I'll say it anyway. A good broker is worth their weight in gold.I understand why some expats like to go down the route of arranging their mortgages through one of the international banks which you can do up until you become a portfolio landlord, which I believe is four properties. And it's true that you might get a cheaper rate, but the time and stress and cost of lost opportunity involved are factors worth considering.And as Steve alluded to, a good broker knows how to match a product to a business model to a client. So if you've got a good broker, hang on to them.For this week's exotic listener location, we're off to the Bullseye of America's Internet, which apparently is Ashburn in Virginia,where we have a few listeners. So if you're one of them, I'd love to hear what a CDP or Census designated place is, as that's what my friend Wikipedia tells me Ashburn is. And I'd also like to know the one thing that you're struggling with in your Expat Property story.Let me know at www.expatpropertystory.com.I hope you got as much value out of my conversation with Steve Hand from Express Mortgages as I did. So thanks to Steve, and thanks to you for listening. And if you know anyone else who would benefit from this week's content, then share the show to spread the word.You've been listening to expat property story.