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Property Investment Company in the UK

A property company deals in land and property – usually in property investment. Sometimes a property investment company in the UK will deal with buying and selling property. Sometimes a property investment company will also service and manage property for other people, usually for a client who has invested in buy to rent property. Some property investment companies deal with either residential property or commercial property and some of them deal in both. Investing in property with the aid of a property investment company in the UK can bring some tax breaks as well as capital growth or a profit made in a quick resale. A property investment company will explain all the legalities involved in investing in property, whether that is residential or whether it is commercial property such as a shop or offices.

Property investment companies should have a knowledge of the area in which a client wants to buy a property; location is a key factor when buying a property and will influence the success or failure of that investment. A good property investment company in the UK will know that the popularity of certain areas is subject to change and this can have a corresponding effect on the investment. If an area is gaining in popularity then the prices of both residential and commercial property in that area will also rise and experience capital growth. At the same time, if a once popular area is seen to be deteriorating then this also can have an effect on costs and services – it will also affect the success or failure of any investment. A good property investment company will know which areas are worth investing in and which aren’t.

If a property investment company finds you a property for investment in the UK then they will be entitled to a finder’s fee. Such a company may also help you in developing a business loan and also an investment or property portfolio. Often a property investment company in the UK provides discounted properties for its investors whether these properties are completed or off plan (still in the planning stage) properties. A property investment company in the UK can also help investors who are new to investing access specialist funding. Some companies will provide training sessions or seminars about property management or managing other people’s investments.

Some property investment companies in the UK will not only service and manage properties for their investors, they will often deal directly with tenants for an investor who is just starting out on investment and buy to let property. When a property investment company manages property then they may have the responsibility for collecting rents and attending to any maintenance that is necessary. In many cases it will be a representative from the property investment company who deals directly with the tenants rather than the new landlord.

Knowing how to deal with people is an essential asset for a successful property company. A property investment company, in the UK and in most other places will be in touch with the needs of their clients as these people are their bread and butter. A successful property investment company should be able to deal with the investor’s portfolio while at the same time be ready to assume the more active role of property management. In order to flourish a property investment company needs to ensure that company staff can function as well with a property and its tenants as they can in their advisory role towards investors. Sometimes the reputation of a property investment company in the UK rests not just on their capacity to help clients choose the right kind of property, but on how far they are prepared to go to accommodate client needs in other areas.

Real versus Personal Property!

Property designates those things that are commonly recognized as being the possessions of a person or group. The most important type of property includes real property, private property, personal property and intellectual property. Here, real or private property stands for land, personal property stands for other physical possessions and intellectual property stands for artistic creations, inventions etc.

In modern society, the concept of personal property is of more importance and known in the economic market. To take you more deep into it, in the common law systems personal property may also be called chattels. It is distinguished from real property, or real estate. In the civil law systems personal property is often called movable property.

Personal property may be classified in a variety of ways, such as money, negotiable instruments, securities, goods, and intangible assets including chose in action.

The distinction between these types of property is significant for a variety of reasons. Usually one's rights on movables are more attenuated than one's rights on immovable (or real property). The statutes of limitations or prescriptive periods are usually shorter when dealing with personal or movable property. Real property rights are usually enforceable for a much longer period of time and in most jurisdictions real estate and immovable- are registered in government-sanctioned land registers. In some jurisdictions, rights (such as a lien or other security interest) can be registered against personal or movable property.

In the common law it is possible to place a mortgage upon real property. Such mortgage requires payment or the owner of the mortgage can seek foreclosure. Personal property can often be secured with similar kind of device, variously called a chattel mortgage, trust receipt, or security interest. In the United States, Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code governs the creation and enforcement of security interests in most (but not all) types of personal property.

There is no similar institution to the mortgage in the civil law, however a hypothec is a device to secure real rights against property. These real rights follow the property along with the ownership. In the common law a lien also remains on the property and it is not extinguished by alienation of the property; liens may be real or equitable.

Many jurisdictions levy a personal property tax, an annual tax on the privilege of owning or possessing personal property within the boundaries of the jurisdiction. Automobile and boat registration fees are a subset of this tax. Most household goods are exempt as long as they are kept or used within the household; the tax usually becomes a problem when the taxing authority discovers that expensive personal property like art is being regularly stored outside of the household.

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Property Investment Company in the UK

If a property investment company finds you a property for investment in the UK then they will be entitled to a finder’s fee. Such a company may also help you in developing a business loan and also an investment or property portfolio. Often a property investment company in the UK provides discounted properties for its investors whether these properties are completed or off plan (still in the planning stage) properties. A property investment company in the UK can also help investors who are new to investing access specialist funding. Some companies will provide training sessions or seminars about property management or managing other people’s investments.

Some property investment companies in the UK will not only service and manage properties for their investors, they will often deal directly with tenants for an investor who is just starting out on investment and buy to let property. When a property investment company manages property then they may have the responsibility for collecting rents and attending to any maintenance that is necessary. In many cases it will be arepresentative from the property investment company who deals directly with the tenants rather than the new landlord.

Knowing how to deal with people is an essential asset for a successful property company. A property investment company, in the UK and in most other places will be in touch with the needs of their clients as these people are their bread and butter. A successful property investment company should be able to deal with the investor’s portfolio while at the same time be ready to assume the more active role of property management. In order to flourish a property investment company needs to ensure that company staff can function as well with a property and its tenants as they can in their advisory role towards investors. Sometimes the reputation of a property investment company in the UK rests not just on their capacity to help clients choose the right kind of property, but on how far they are prepared to go to accommodate client needs in other areas.

Marital Property in Divorces

o Separate Property

o Commingled Property

o Tracing

o Property Acquired Outside of Texas

o Marital Property Management

o Specific Examples

o Marital Debt

o Claims of the Federal Government

Community Property: ``Community property' is all property, other than separate property, acquired during marriage.

Separate Property: ``Separate property' is property owned before marriage, acquired during marriage by gift, devise, descent, or received as recovery for personal injuries sustained during marriage, except for any recovery for loss of earning capacity during marriage.

Commingled Property: “Commingled Property” is marital Property that is a mixture of both separate property and community property.

Example A. Farmer Husband owns a farm prior to his marriage – separate property. After marriage, he raises crops – community property. He takes the proceeds from the sale of the crops and buys more land. This land is community property. His father dies while he is married, and leaves his farm to his son – separate property. Thus, Farmer’s land is both separate and community property. In this case, the farmland is “commingled” but it is easily identifiable because we have county records, which are easily located and specifically identify the property.

Example B. Husband opens a bank account with funds which are clearly separate – inherited monies. He then deposits his paychecks into the account – community monies. The account is commingled. Wife withdraws funds to pay expenses. What money did she withdraw – community or separate? Under the community out first presumption, she has withdrawn community funds. If she withdraws all of the money out of the account, she has withdrawn both community and separate property. The separate property is gone.

Example C. Husband takes both separate and community funds to buy Microsoft stock. He then sells Microsoft in order to buy AT&T. He holds AT&T for two years and then decides to invest in local real property. Where is the separate property? If we are unable to trace the separate funds, then no one knows. We know it is there, but we do not know where it is. It may have been hopelessly commingled. Therefore, the community property presumption prevails and husband looses. If husband can “trace” the separate property funds, then husband may be able to recover.

Tracing: “Tracing” is about finding the separate property. It is about proof. Property purchased or exchanged for separate property is and remains separate property. Mutations and changes in the form of the property do not affect its character as separate or community. However, the spouse must clearly trace and identify the property.

Example: If husband owns separate property land which he then sells in order to buy AT&T stock, then that stock is separate property. The difficulty arises, however, because the burden of proof is placed upon that person claiming the separate property. This person must build a chain by documents and/or other extrinsic evidence establishing the separate property characteristic. He or she must clearly identify the separate property. Otherwise, the community property presumption will prevail.

Property Acquired Outside of Texas: Property which is acquired outside of Texas is characterized as either separate or community under the same conditions as if it were in Texas. This property is also known as “Quasi-Community Property.” Property which would be classified as community property if the spouses had resided in Texas at the time of its acquisition is classified as community property. If property acquired while the spouses were domiciled in another state would be classified as separate property if they had resided in Texas then that property is classified as separate property.

Marital Property Management: Each spouse has the sole management, control, and disposition of his or her separate property. Each spouse also has the sole management, control, and disposition of the community property he/she would have owned if single. Sole management community property includes personal earnings, revenue from separate property, and the increase, mutation of, and revenues all property subject to his/her sole management, control, and disposition. Property in which both spouses have joint control is called joint management community property.

Specific Examples

Community/Separate Property

Caveat: The following examples are subject to the characterization rules outlined above and the particular facts of your case. Each rule of law is subject to either exception or argument to either maximize or minimize its effect.

Real Property: Appreciation in value is separate property. Rents, revenues, and income derived from separate real property is community property.

Stocks: Appreciation in the value of stock and/or stock splits is separate property. Dividends are community property. The exception to this rule is when corporation is closely held and corporation is really an alter-ego of the stock holder. In this case, the stock may be impressed with the community characteristic.

Partnership Interests: Generally, profits earned by the operation of a business during marriage are community property even if the business is separate property. Even though partnership property is owned by the partnership, and not by the individual partners, each partner’s partnership interest, that is, his/her right to receive a share of the profits and surpluses of the partnership is subject to characterization rules. If the right to partnership profits accrues prior to marriage, the profits are the separate property of the partner. If the right to partnership profits accrues during marriage, but the profits are not distributed until after the marriage, the profits are nevertheless community profits. If profits have been retained in the business to meet the needs of the business, then the profits remain partnership property whether in the form of cash in the bank, increased inventory, or otherwise.

Trusts: A beneficiary’s equitable interest in a trust is characterized according to the rules of separate and community property. If the beneficial interest is acquired before marriage or through gift devise or descent, it will be separate property. If the beneficial interest in a trust was funded by the Trustor out of separate property funds then the beneficial interest is separate property.

Oil & Gas Mineral Interests: Oil and gas mineral interests are separate property. Think about it, you are removing a piece of the land every time you sell a barrel of oil.

Employee Benefits: It is well settled that a spouse has a community property interest to that portion of retirement benefits of the other spouse earned during marriage regardless of when the retirement account was opened. Generally, the community interest may be mathematically ascertained by apportioning the benefit between the months in the plan during the marriage and the total number of months necessary for accrual and maturity.

Livestock: The growth of livestock is separate property. Offspring is community property. This rule is derived from a classic case entitled Stringfellow v. Sorrells. Stringfellow was about mules. The mules grew. The mules became more valuable. Creditor tried to execute upon the increase in value. Creditor lost. Stringfellow is one of the foundation cases for the law of separate and community property.

Crops: Whether mature or growing, crops are impressed with the community presumption. Does not matter whether the crops are growing on separate property land. For example, the proceeds derived from the sale of timber growing on separate property were community property. It is only in the instance where crops are sold with separate property land without reservation that crops take on the characteristic of the property.

Marital Debt

The liabilities of different types of marital property are governed by Texas Family Code Section 3.202.

Separate Property Liability: A married person’s separate property is not subject to the liabilities of his or her spouse unless both spouses are liable by other rules of law. However, a spouse’s separate property is liable if the spouse incurs a debt for necessaries or if the spouse acts as an agent for the married person. Agency is not created simply because the parties are married.

Sole Management Community Property Liability: Each spouse's share of joint management community property is subject to liabilities incurred by him or her before and during marriage. A spouse's separate and sole management community property cannot be reached to satisfy the obligation incurred by the other spouse unless that obligation was incurred for necessaries or by the torturous conduct of the other spouse.

Joint Management Community Property: Each spouse’s share of joint management community property is subject to liabilities incurred by him/her before and during the marriage.

Character of Contractual Obligation: The character of debt is fixed by the character of the contractual obligation with the creditor. When either spouse incurs an indebtedness during marriage and the person extending credit does not specifically agree to look solely to the separate estate of one of the spouses for satisfaction, the borrowing spouse pledges community credit and whatever is acquired as a result is community property.

Claims of the Federal Government

Tax Liens: The federal government's claims for taxes is a lien in favor of the United States on all property and rights to property, whether real or personal, belonging to the person who is liable to pay the tax and who neglects or refuses to pay the tax after demand.

Taxable Estate: Under federal law, one half of all community income is taxable to each spouse, regardless of which spouse exercises control over the income at issue.

Homestead: A homestead right, though securely established and existing, is subject to a lien for federal taxes. When a homestead is subject to a federal tax lien, the federal government must compensate the nondelinquent spouse for his or her homestead interest, regardless of whether the property is community or separate.

Sole Management Community Property: The federal government's claim for taxes may subject even a spouse’s sole management community property to the other spouse's premarital income tax liability. Be that as that may, the Internal Revenue Service has ruled that a spouse's community one-half interest in a joint income tax refund may not be used to offset the separate premarital tax liability of the other spouse, unless state law permits that interest to be reached to satisfy premarital debts. Texas law does not permit that interest to be reached to satisfy premarital debts. Under Texas law, each spouse has sole management and control over his or her personal earnings. In addition, unless both spouses are liable by other rules of law, community property subject to a spouse's sole management and control is not subject to premarital liabilities of the other spouse.

Property Renovation - What May Need Doing

Property Renovation covers a wide range of activities, from structural repairs and new building work to converting a property into a house or business premises or even a set of apartments to refurbishment of the property all with the intent of renovating the property to the very highest standard. Once the property renovation has been done properly by the professionals you are likely to add considerable value to the property, which is what property developers are after of course.

Many property developers nowadays are buying a large house or warehouse and converting it in apartments. Apartments are great for first time buyers they usually cost a little less than a house and gives first time buyers the opportunity to afford to buy or rent somewhere as well as without the stress of looking after a garden. Selling or renting apartments can make a property developer a lot of money if they put the property on the market at the right time and right price. Of course with apartments you get to sell or rent each one individually usually making more money than just selling or renting one whole property for one price.

You may have a property that needs gutting before any renovation work can start, this may seem like a simple job whacking walls down, stripping walls but it can take time and a lot of energy and if you don’t have the time yourself or want a quick turn around the best idea is to get some professional renovators who can come in and gut the property before any other works starts. It’s not only gutting of the property that may be necessary but the installation of new electricity, water or gas systems may be necessary.

After the property is gutted, the areas that may need renovating and the help of professionals are:

• Electrical services • Installation of partition Walls • Installation of heating storage, radiators and or air conditioning units • Installation of cavity walls and insulation • Plastering of all walls • Painting and decorating • Window installation (double glazing)

If you have a listed building property that needs renovation you need to get permission from the English Heritage. They will give you a set of guidelines that you must follow, and they will regularly come and check the progress of the renovation and that the renovation is in keeping with the age of the property and that any original features are restored carefully.

If you’re a property developer and have bought a property that’s in need of renovation before you rent or sell the property on and you require professional help with renovating any part of the building or the whole building, there are specialist renovation and building supply companies to help you. You may feel you can do parts of the renovation yourself and also save some money, but you may also want a quick turn around and know you can’t complete the properties renovation in the time you have. If so contact a property renovation company today! Jene Pedder is the Webmaster of ARCH Building Solutions who specialise in Property Renovation.
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The Evolution of Property and Property Management

1) What is the definition of property? One definition of property is one that we might readily expect:

“ownership; right of possession, enjoyment, or disposal of anything, esp. of something tangible: to have property in land”1

This definition, as many dictionary definitions do, fails to even touch the below the surface of the defined concepts. In other words, it doesn’t help us to understand the footholds upon which the definition depends.

For example, Neil Meyer, a professor at the University of Idaho, might not entirely agree with the compendiary definition offered above. Meyers says that “what is often referred to as property is really the access right to a stream of benefits from a given set of resources.”2 Anther “property thinker” who actually included the Meyer’s quote in an article that I found online also says that “Property rights are a function of what others are willing to acknowledge. The limits on an owner’s actions result from expectations and rights of others as formally sanctioned and sustained by law. The boundary between obligation and right is variable. Patterns in rights and obligations reflect prevailing judgments on what is fair, and people’s values determine fairness. Laws and rules generally reflect the values held by a sufficient number of the people in a social group.“3

Interesting……interesting that the concept of ownership is only actually ownership when agreed upon in the minds of a particular society in general. It is also interesting that our ability to own property becomes weaker as others do not recognize our right to call it such.

“No man is an island……?”4

2) How has the concept of property changed from one culture to another? In the Old Testament it is interesting to note the various rules and regulations given by the LORD to the people of Israel. Property, or ownership, had a different way of “working itself out.” In fact, the property that the people of Israel lived on could “moderately belong” to a family but only until a law of jubile, laws of Aaronic ownership, country land rules, city land rules and various other “loop holes” stipulated otherwise.5 It can also be affirmed that to the children of Israel, the LORD was the only true owner and thus He could deal with property management issues as He saw fit. However, it is also important to recognize that the children of Israel had to agree in their minds (and perhaps in their hearts) that this could be a true definition of property and property management.

3) What is Property Management? Property management can refer to the management of a great deal of property. Property can be visible to the naked eye or it can be intellectual. It can be technology or it can be an idea. Property management is the responsibility given to one or more persons to uphold certain standards of property that have supposedly been agreed to by a society or community. Property management may entail the duties now embraced by attorneys (both land and intellectual), policemen, landlords, physical property managers, etc.

4) How is the concept of property management changing today? The concept of property is changing today in small, yet dramatic ways. Take for example the theory that ideas, including writings, compositions and art, are property. Most people would say that intellectual works are indeed property to be owned by one person or a group of individuals but—putting aside references to imminent moral deterioration—it is obvious that many people (in fact, it would seem that most people in the world today) do not actively respect the idea of intellectual property. Now, there may be many reasons that people do not respect the idea of intellectual property but nevertheless it is apparent—for whatever reason--that the concept of intellectual property is slowly changing and emerging into a world where children will soon grow up to view the concept of in a new and interesting light. After all, couldn’t we argue that it was actually the work that a person did to access an idea that actually already existed that should be remunerated once and that released to free access to the world? That, my friends is what Google wants to do….at least as far as I can tell after reading another interesting article that I found online.6 Take for example the Google vs. Publishers case that I dated as far back as 20057 (not sure when the actual origins of the case were engendered). This case is interesting because Google, unlike Amazon or Yahoo is hoping (or hoped) that the court will (or would) justify an “opt out” approach. Where as Amazon or Yahoo will ask an author for the rights to his or her intellectual work and most likely remunerate him or her for that work, Google wants an approach that will require an author to contact Google in essence and “opt-out” or in other words tell a Google representative that he or she does not approve of his or her work being shown online without remuneration. A paragraph from the article stirred my interest:

“Copyright law, as traditionally applied to the publishing industry, requires affirmative permission from copyright holders before another party can use copyrighted content -- the opt-in approach. But in the Internet world, search engines generally have an implied, non-exclusive license to copy and store web pages, unless the pages' owners choose to withhold permission. That is, these rights holders must explicitly decide to opt out. Google is relying on an "opt-out" content usage model -- the accepted standard for indexing web material. In this way, computer software advances are now testing the limits of traditional copyright law.”7

What do you think will be the future of property (esp. intellectual property) and what of the future of property management? Is it really property that we need to manage or our minds?

1http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/property 2 http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/lcr/LGIEN2000-0006.html 3 http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/lcr/LGIEN2000-0006.html 4 http://polyticks.com/home/Visions/NoManIsl.htm 5 References to these laws and “cultural phenomenons” I think are mostly in the book of Leviticus although referring to the first four books of the Old Testament (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers) might reveal more insightful references and resources. 6 http://www.freelancewriting.com/content/detail-google_copyright_law-1993-125.html 7 http://globalguerrillas.typepad.com/johnrobb/2005/08/google_vs_publi.html 8 http://www.freelancewriting.com/content/detail-google_copyright_law-1993-125.html

About the Author: Marci Crane is a web content specialist for Innuity. For more information about property management software, please feel free to learn more about Buildium.

Real versus Personal Property!

Real versus Personal Property!

Property Appraisal for Investors

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