2-Step Process

The 2-Step Process allows you to buy ANY house in our range in 2-STEPS over 3 years with NO Interest.

In Step 1, you buy a 1-bed house (interim property) for just £39,999, which gives you a benefit of £10,200 in the 3 years (works out as 8.5% net return per year), and acts as security for your payment. Then, in Step 2, after 3 years, you upgrade it to your desired final house and the final payment is £10,200 less due to the discount.

By making a £3,000 reservation payment for the 2-step deal (this £3,000 comes off your final payment and is not lost), your property prices are fixed, and do not increase over time for the next 4 years. As property prices normally increase by around £10,000 over such a period, this is a huge benefit as your price is fixed at the lower level for the whole range.

The offer is limited to one per client. The table below show the final Step 2 price for each property type after 3 years.

STEP 1

• Make Reservation & Select Type of Final Property. This is your desired final house. E.g. H1 small 2-bed house at £69,999  (This can be changed later to any type in Step 2 if you wish). The £3,000 reservation payment fixes price, so it does not increase. The £3,000 comes off the final payment.
• Pay £39,999. We transfer an Interim Property (a 1-Bed house) to you. £39,999 plus £999 step 1 transfer costs paid at completion of this interim property. No stamp duty. You become registered legal owner of this house.
• Build Discount – £10,200 over 3 years.  Instead of rent at 6% on Interim Property, you build discount at 8.5% of £39,999 for each full year. This is £3,400 per each full year = £10,200 for 3 years, which comes off your final step 2 payment. You do not get rent until you upgrade to your final property. (You build this discount instead at a higher rate).

STEP 2

• Pay £16,800 Step 2 Upgrade Payment (for H1 small 2-bed house, this is worked out as £69,999 minus £3,000 reservation, minus £39,999 property buy back, minus £10,200 built up discount =£16,800 ). If H3 large 2-bed house selected as final property, then final payment would be £79,999 – £3,000 – £39,999 – £10,200  = £26,800. You will also have £999 transfer costs and stamp duty if payable. Due to the discount, your overall cost is much less than property price.
• Final Desired Property Transferred to you and Interim is transferred back to us.
• You own the final desired property fully – No loan, no interest. Get net rental income and long-term capital growth.

Flexibility, Security and Great Value

Flexibility

• Step 2 can be done at Any Time within 4 years (default is at 3 years). If saving well, you can do Step 2 sooner. If completed at any time between 1 and 2 years after completion, the discount is £3,400. Between 2 and 3 years, it is £6,800. After 3 years it is £10,200 and does not rise further. If completed within 1 year then there is no discount built up.
• The final property can be Any Type (H1 to H8, Unfurnished or H1FF to H8FF Flexi-furnished – total 16 types). All prices will be fixed to the original prices at time of Step 1 – so you benefit greatly. The final step 2 payment is adjusted according to final property selected. If you save well, then you can get a larger property or vice versa.
• Take up to 4 years for final payment. The Step 2 payment can be delayed beyond the default 3 years (up to 4 years) if needed to give you more time to save in order to make the final payment). The price does not increase, but your maximum discount remains fixed at £10,200.
• 2 Ways to get Flexi-Furnished.  You can either pay the higher upgrade payment (E.g., £25,800 for H1 FF Flexi-furnished) or you buy the unfurnished property for the lower cost and then upgrade using your future rent. This way you pay a lower price (E.g., £19,800 for H1 unfurnished, and use your future rent to upgrade it to flexi-furnished). You can decide this in 3 years when you complete Step 2.

Security

• The Interim Property is worth more than £39,999. (Actually, worth around £60,000). So you have NO property risk. You contractually agree to switch this to your desired house at Step 2 (or sell this back to us for the price paid if you cannot upgrade for any reason). In the unlikely event the company is no longer around to buy it back – you keep the interim property and take possession of it, as you are the legal owner at Land Registry – so you have no property risk.

Great Value

• The prices are fixed for all properties under this deal. So, you benefit greatly as property prices may increase by over £10,000 over such a period due to capital growth. So, you pay a lower price and your final step 2 payment does not change.
• You build discount at a higher rate than rent – 8.5% of £39,999 = £3,400 for each completed year. This is better than getting rent on the Interim Property.
• Tax efficient, because you build discount rather than get rental income on interim property during step 1. So you pay no income tax in Step 1.
• Top Investment Return: If property prices grow only by 3% each year, then H1 may be selling for £76,490 in 3 years, yet your total cost for property including the discount is just £59,800. This gives a total return of £16,690 on investment of just £39,999 over 3 years. This is an amazing 42% investment return over 3 years or about 14% return per year.

Rules

• All prices shown exclude the £999 transfer costs at each step. Total costs and fees for the whole process is thus £1,998 as there are 2 steps (buying interim, upgrading to final, whilst selling back interim). No stamp duty in Step 1. There may be some stamp duty payable in step 2 if you are not UK resident or if you already own other UK property.
• If you decide not to upgrade to final property at any time, (E.g., due to financial issues) then you must sell the Interim Property back to us and we will pay you £39,999 for it (what you paid us). So, you do not lose any money on the property itself even in the worst-case scenario. However, you do not get back the transfer fee and reservation payment.  Any built-up discount and reservation (E.g., £10,200) is not lost and is kept until you buy another property or any of your relatives or contacts buy in the future. If you have not upgraded after 4 years, you agree to sell the interim property back to us for £39,999.
• The offer is limited to ONE per client . (Limited to ONE live 2-step deal at any time – so you can get another only AFTER completing one). It is designed to help clients who do not have enough money to buy a property outright in one step. They can get on to the investment property ladder for just £39,999.
• All our final houses are also already rented out to long-term tenants. So they are NOT suitable for immediate own use. Own use is possible with 6 months notice after the initial 2.5 year period of ownership. 2-Step Process rules have been updated from 6th May 2024.

Examples of Payments

• Example 1 – Desired Property H1 2-bed house for £69,999
•   Pay £3,000 reservation. Then £39,999 plus £999 transfer costs at Step 1 for Interim property. After 3 years, pay £16,800 plus £999 transfer costs at Step 2. Your total cost is only £59,799 +£1,998 total transfer costs. Its much lower due to the £10,200 built-up discount and the fact that your prices do not rise.
• Example 2 – Desired Property H5 Large 3-bed house Flexi-Furnished for £92,999
•   Pay £3,000 reservation. Then £39,999 plus £999 transfer costs at Step 1 for Interim property. After 3 years, pay £39,800 plus £999 transfer costs at Step 2. Your total cost is only £82,799 +£1,998 total transfer costs. Its much lower due to the £10,200 built-up discount and the fact that your prices do not rise.
• Example 3 – Desired Property H3 Large 2-bed house Flexi-Furnished for £85,999
•   Pay £3,000 reservation. Then £39,999 plus £999 transfer costs at Step 1 for Interim property. After 3 years, pay £32,800 plus £999 transfer costs at Step 2. Your total cost is only £75,799 +£1,998 total transfer costs. Its much lower due to the £10,200 built-up discount and the fact that your prices do not rise.

If you are overseas or already own UK property, then stamp duty may be payable at step 2 in these above examples. No other costs.

Questions and Answers

I have over £39,999. How do I get started?
Complete enquiry form and provide ID of owner (passport copy and address). We send you a draft agreement for you to look at, and we arrange a zoom meeting to cover all of your questions. You can also visit us if you wish – although this is not required. Then you can decide if you wish to proceed.

What is the buying process?
The initial steps after getting agreement and zoom meeting are:-
-Sign agreement and make £3,000 reservation payment to client account. This fixes prices on our range for you for next 4 years.
-Have video meeting with solicitor to verify ID, provide bank statement to show funds, and get any other documents ready
-Agree the interim property – 1 bed house (within 6 weeks of reservation)
-Make step 1 payment (e.g. £39,999 plus £999 transfer costs)
-Get ownership of interim property (including Land Registry Title Documents)
-Later, let us know when you are ready to upgrade to your desired final property (Type H1 to H8 Unfurnished or Flexi-furnished) and make the upgrade (Step 2) payment. You end up owning your desired final property. We take back the interim property.

Does the £3,000 Reservation Payment come off the final price?
Yes. This is not an extra payment. This is taken into account and reduces your final payment.

What is the benefit of the prices being fixed for 4 years?
Normally prices increase each year due to capital growth. However, under this deal, in order to provide you with certainty, we fix the prices for you. This is a huge benefit for investors as properties could on average increase by over £10,000 during this period – but your prices are fixed.

At time of upgrade, can I select any property I want?
Yes. You decide when to upgrade (default is after 3 years but you can do it any time between 0 to 4 years), and which property to upgrade to from our entire range of H1 to H8 houses – unfurnished or flexi-furnished. A larger property will mean a larger upgrade payment but your future rent will also be higher.

Can I keep the Interim Property and not upgrade?
No. The interim property is like a stepping stone to your desired final property. Whilst you own it, you get security, build up to £10,200 discount over 3 years, and have more time to save. You agree to sell it back to us when you upgrade to your desired final house. (It is part of the process – we can not afford to sell it to you for £39,999 permanently as it is worth more). If you fail to upgrade you have to sell the interim property back to us for what you paid us. This is part of the agreement.

Why is 2-step process better than a buy-to-let mortgage?
-Firstly with a mortgage, the interest on the loan and mortgage fees are higher than the rent. So the rent is cancelled. In the past, with low interest rates mortgages were ok, but now, you get no income and build no discount with the mortgage due to high interest rates.
-Secondly, you pay the interest only, on the buy-to-let mortgage – so the whole loan remains outstanding in full. Even after 10 years you do not own the property fully yourself. You have to pay the full loan as a final payment to own the property, debt free or sell the property to clear the mortgage.
-Furthermore, a mortgage has risk, puts you in debt, has a complicated approval process, is not available to non-residents, is not Shariah compliant, does not provide flexibility in 3 years to chose whatever property you want, and works out more expensive.
-The 2-step process can end up being £10,000 better than a buy-to-let mortgage

I have more than £70,000 – Should I still use the 2-Step Process?
No. If you have more than £70,000 then it is best to buy a property in one step (E.g. H1 or H2 house) using our standard method, and not use the 2-step process. You benefit more.

I do NOT have £39,999 – Can I buy anything?
No. This is the minimum amount you need. On top of this you need £999 total purchase costs for Step 1 of the process and £3,000 reservation payment. Keep saving and get back to us when you have enough funds.  Alternatively, join with another friend and contribute 50/50 and own the property jointly. That way you only need to save £20,000 to get on the investment property ladder as joint owner.

What Security do I have whilst saving. What if your company is no longer around?
You fully own the 1-bed house (interim property) as security. If something happens to our company you still have the 1-bed house which is worth more than what you have paid us. So you do not lose out.

Can you fix the price of my final property so it does not change?
Yes, This is exactly what we do. Reservation of 2-step deal guarantees this.  The prices on the final properties does not change – no matter which you select at step 2. So, you benefit greatly as prices on property normally increase each year due to capital growth. So, you pay a lower price.

What if I do not have ANY more money to upgrade after 3 years?
The default is that you upgrade after 3 years, but we allow a further 12 months if needed (total 4 years) to help you save money to do the upgrade. The discount does not increase beyond £10,200.  Worst case scenario – even if you cancel the deal and do not upgrade to any property after 4 years, you still get your £39,999 back. Your built up discount is preserved for use later by you, your family, or your contacts – against any property in our range.

Is there any stamp duty payable if I do not own any property and am UK resident?
No. Stamp duty is NOT payable on interim or final property in this case. (There may be one-off stamp duty payable in Step 2, if you already own property (3%) or are resident overseas (2%). But Step 1 interim property is exempt from both, as it is below the £40,000 stamp duty limit.)

How much is the Step 1 payment?
This is £39,999 plus £999 transfer costs and you make this when 1-bed house (interim property) purchase is ready to be completed. Prior to this you make a reservation for the 2-step deal and pay £3,000 reservation payment which comes off the final payment.

How much is the Step 2 Payment?
This is the final upgrade payment and will depend on  the final property you select as per the table above. On top of this you will need to pay £999 transfer costs and any stamp duty (if payable).

What if I upgrade after 2 years and 6 months – Will months also be taken into account and build extra discount?
No. The discount you build up is added to the pot after each whole year. The maximum is 3 years worth. If you upgrade 3 years after completion of interim property you get 10,200 discount.

I have £80,000 – Shall I set up TWO 2-step deals?
No. The offer is limited to ONE per client .(Limited to ONE live 2-step deal at any time – so you can get another AFTER completing one). It is really to help clients who do not have enough money to buy a property outright in one step.

Can I use the 1-bed interim property for own use?
No. Whilst you are indeed the owner, you agree to this property remaining rented out to our tenants. You benefit by building discount which over 3 years is £10,200 (= 8.5% of the £39,999 invested price per year). Later, when you upgrade to your desired property you sell this interim property back to us as part of the process.

What can I do with my desired final property?
It is your property and you decide what to do with it. The property is initially rented to us (we rent to our long-term tenants) and you have all of the options available to you:-
-Keep it rented to us and get net rent as per our standard system (6% of property price per year for unfurnished and 7% of property price per year for flexi-furnished). You have no costs and we cover everything
-keep it rented to us and build deal discount at 8% of property price to save and buy another property (as per our DIY deals). This is a great tax efficient way to get another property or build a portfolio over time. Many of our clients who are not yet retired take this option and end up with multiple properties before they retire.
-Give us 6 months notice at any time after the minimum 2.5 years to take full possession of your property and then you can:-
–    Use it yourself or for your family
–    Rent it to anyone else directly
–    Use a letting agent to rent it out
–    Sell it to anyone (we can also offer to buy back at the prevailing market price at the time).

What if your property prices fall in the 3 years?
In the unlikely event our prices fall between now and step 2, you will get the new lower prices – so you benefit and your final payment will be less.  However, the opposite is almost certain – our prices are likely to rise, and you still benefit, because your prices will not rise under this deal, and your final payment will remain same as in the table above.

How can I get more confidence with your company?
There are several things you can do:-
-Watch the 5 BBC Television videos that show how our company buys, renovates and resells low cost houses at lowest prices in the UK. These have been independently produced by the BBC. Two more programs are being filmed and may appear at end of 2024 and early 2025.
-Visit our company at Time Technology Park near Burnley – just North of Manchester. Our team will show you around. Please book an appointment before visiting.
-Read the customer reviews on the testimonials page
-Get a list of all of our company accreditations and independently verify these with the authorities. Property-mark Member (National Association of Estate Agents & Association of Residential Letting Agents), The Property Ombudsman and others. Our full company name is International Property Specialists Ltd and we trade as Find UK Property. Our sister companies are Sell UK Property Ltd and Rent UK Property.
-Have a zoom video meeting with a senior director and ask all questions directly

Should I use the 2-step process?
Use the 2-step process if you do not have enough money to buy your desired property outright in one step.  So if you have more than £70,000 it is best to buy in one step using our standard process.

 

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