In this second title written by Platinum Property Partners Founder, Steve Bolton, Steve shares the secrets of his success and, just as importantly, the big mistakes that he made along the way.

This book gives the reader a detailed insight into the tried, tested and proven investing strategy that has enabled Steve and Platinum Property Partners Franchise Partners to purchase over £50 million of property. It is a strategy that consistently delivers market-leading profits from rental income allowing people to achieve financial freedom, earning between £50,000 to £150,000 annual net profits from rental income alone. This book applies to both novice and experienced investors alike.

Based around the winning theories shared in his best-selling book, The Seven Biggest Mistakes which released in 2009, Steve helps readers understand why property can be the best vehicle to create and maintain wealth today.

“This book is about much more than just Successful Property Investing. I hope that in addition to learning from some of my best successes and biggest mistakes, you will also take away a new approach to your business and personal life. My goal is that by acting on the ideas in this book, you will be able to BE more, DO more, HAVE more and GIVE more in life,”
Steve Bolton

By reading this book you will learn:

• The most profitable buy to let investment strategy today and how to earn £50,000 to £150,000 per annum in two to five years

• How to avoid the seven most common mistakes made by property investors

• Why you should run a mile if anyone mentions ‘no-money-down’ property investing

• Why integrity is fundamental to your success and the power of the win-win-win mentality

• When and how to use the power and benefit of leverage to your advantage

• How to cure ‘analysis paralysis’

For more details please visit:

ww.platinumpropertypartners.co.uk

Here you can purchase the book for £4.99, alternatively complimentary copies are given away to those that qualify to attend a Discovery Day.

For further information please contact Suzanne Gillatt on 01202 652100 or s.gillatt@platinumpropertypartners.co.uk

Notes to Editors:

Corporate Background

Platinum Property Partners help individuals successfully build UK residential property portfolios, where they own the assets, as profitably as possible. Franchise Partners earn £50k-£150K net profit in 2 – 5 years from a property portfolio worth £1 to £5 million. The company has also just announced their official 100th Franchise Partner to join the franchise network.

Since 2007 Platinum Property Partners continue to be the leading business franchise that enables its clients to buy, refurbish and rent out residential UK investment property in the most profitable manner possible. The PPP business model is unique in franchising because it combines a proven and highly profitable business model, with safe, secure and appreciating property assets, that also provide for future capital growth.

About Steve Bolton

Steve Bolton is an inspirational and highly successful property and business entrepreneur who has become one of the UK’s leading property investment experts. Steve is passionate about showing people how to set higher standards for themselves, in order to make money, have a better quality of life and, importantly, share their wealth with those less fortunate.

Full Members of the bfa are established franchised businesses with a proven trading and franchising record. Members have to be prepared to have their reputation and activities thoroughly examined by the bfa, and have an established network of franchisees.

Platinum Property Partners worked hard providing bi-monthly updates of all their Franchise Partners (franchisees). This enabled the bfa to perform spot checks at their discretion to prove that PPP are doing all that they claim.

The information submitted by PPP had to demonstrate that the company has reached what the bfa call ‘critical mass’, meaning a Franchisor no longer needs to sell any more franchises in order to be able to remain in business, trade profitably, and be able to provide the support to the franchise network.

Following a meeting between Pip Wilkins (Operations Manager, bfa) and Steve Bolton, Founder of PPP various lengthy application processes had to be completed by the company.  In addition, the following information had to be provided:

• Two years’ accounts for both Platinum Franchise Services Ltd and Platinum Property Partners LLP;
• A year’s account for two existing franchisees
• The contents page of the operations manual;
• A copy of the Franchise Agreement;
• A full list of the franchisees with their names, postal and email addresses;
• A copy of the Franchise Prospectus including the template projections with assumptions;
• A copy of the Franchise Information Memorandum.

Summary of the average or typical costs to the company (or charged by a third party provider) that they incur prior to and during the setting up and opening of a franchised outlet:

Cost (to you) of putting on training course (per attendee):

• Cost of providing the operations manuals:
• Cost of the initial marketing launch:
• Total cost to you of each new franchisee (including the average recruitment cost)

Founder Steve Bolton says of this accolade; “I am delighted that PPP has achieved full member status with the bfa. It is something we have aspired to and feel honoured and privileged to have been recognised. We look forward to our continued close working relationship with everyone at the bfa.”

Brian Smart, Director General of the British Franchise Association (bfa) concludes: “All franchisors that carry the bfa membership logo have had their business tested against the bfa’s strict set of criteria and have passed the accreditation. The highest level of this membership is Full Membership. Platinum Property Partners have held bfa membership for the last five years and their newly attained Full Membership is a testament to their unwavering commitment to best practice and their long term investment in ethical franchising.”

For more details please visit:

ww.platinumpropertypartners.co.uk

www.bfa.org

Ends

For further information please contact Suzanne Gillatt on 01202 652100 or s.gillatt@platinumpropertypartners.co.uk

Notes to Editors:

Corporate Background

Platinum Property Partners help individuals successfully build UK residential property portfolios, where they own the assets, as profitably as possible. Franchise Partners earn £50k-£150K net profit in 2 – 5 years from a property portfolio worth £1 to £5 million. The company has also just announced their official 100^th Franchise Partner to join the franchise network.

Since 2007 Platinum Property Partners continue to be the leading business franchise that enables its clients to buy, refurbish and rent out residential UK investment property in the most profitable manner possible. The PPP business model is unique in franchising because it combines a proven and highly profitable business model, with safe, secure and appreciating property assets, that also provide for future capital growth. 

About Steve Bolton

Steve Bolton is an inspirational and highly successful property and business entrepreneur who has become one of the UK’s leading property investment experts. Steve is passionate about showing people how to set higher standards for themselves, in order to make money, have a better quality of life and, importantly, share their wealth with those less fortunate. 

In general the NPPF is pro-growth and clearly sets out the expectation that the planning process should not be a barrier to investment and should encourage sustainable growth.

At the heart of the document if a presumption in favour of sustainable development. This is not specifically defined in the document, rather the NPPF itself is taken to be the government’s definition of sustainable development. However, the Bruntland definition of sustainable development has now been included (‘sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs’). In a change from the draft document, the default ‘yes’ to development has been removed except where this would compromise key sustainable development principles.

This means that if a local plan is absent or not up-to-date permission for sustainable development should be approved unless adverse impacts outweigh the benefits or if specific NPPF policies indicate otherwise. However, the government have provided some transitional arrangements. Local authorities which have a post-2004 local plan which is broadly in line with the NPPF will be able to use these policies for 12 months. If there is no up-to-date local plan then the NPPF comes into force today.

There were previously concerns that the document would result in over-development in the countryside and on green belt land. Planning Minister Greg Clark told MPs today that the revised NPPF “makes clear what was always implicit: that councils’ policies must encourage brownfield sites to be brought back into use”. The NPPF states:

planning policies and decisions should encourage the effective use of land by re-using land that has been previously developed (brownfield land), provided that it is not of high environmental value

The ‘intrinsic value of the countryside’ is also recognised as a core planning principle which was omitted in the first draft.

Housing development also features prominently in the NPPF. Local authorities are required to identify and update annually a 5 year land supply to meet their assessed needs for market and affordable housing. If an authority does not do this the NPPF (and the presumption in favour of sustainable development) comes into effect. Local authorities are also required to identify a 5% buffer of identified available land to “ensure choice and competition in the market for land”. If an authority persistently under delivers on housing they will be required to identify an additional 20%.

The NPPF has also strengthened the ‘town centre first’ policy of the government, a change from the draft document which was perceived to weaken this.

Developers wanting to build out of town will have to demonstrate there are no suitable alternative sites in the centre (the so-called sequential test).

Neighbourhood planning guidance is also set out in the NPPF and this states that neighbourhood plans should not promote less development than set out in the adopted local plan to ensure development is not impeded.

Questions remain over aspects of the NPPF not fully defined by Greg Clarke, for example how local authorities should determine how many houses and jobs they need, how local authorities are defined as under-delivering on housing and how the transitional arrangements will function. There are also concerns that the changes are not specific enough and applications will have to be decided in the courts.

In regards to PPP developments, the NPPF makes no specific mention of houses in multiple occupation. However, the requirement on local authorities to meet all their assessed needs for market housing is positive as it will likely result in the need for more single-person accommodation in line with demographic trends. The NPPF also states the local authorities need to ‘deliver a wide choice of high quality homes’ and ‘create sustainable, inclusive and mixed communities’ and the nature of PPP HMOs will help local authorities meet this need.

The NPPF also requires the planning process to encourage effective use of land by reusing land that has previously been developed (brownfield land). The majority of PPP HMOs result from conversion of existing properties in line with this policy.

Also of note for PPP Franchise Partners is the statement that local authorities should approve applications from Class B (business use) to residential, an option many Franchise Partners have found attractive. Local authorities are also recommended to set out policies which resist development of residential gardens where it could be seen to cause harm to the area. This follows a previous announcement that garden land is no longer classed as brownfield and therefore is no longer considered appropriate for extensive development. Although it does not recommend refusing this type of application it does indicate that planning permission will be harder to obtain for smaller self-build developments new developers often undertake.

In general, the final version of the NPPF has been welcomed by campaigners from all sides, although there are calls for greater clarity in some issues. The pro-growth drive of the first draft has been weakened by an acknowledgement that the NPPF has to sit in a balanced, plan-led system but this means that social and environmental factors are given equal weight to economic priorities.

However, planning policy itself is not enough. Sustainable development has been a feature of the planning process for years and local authorities still under-deliver on their requirements. To achieve a fully inclusive, effective planning system more resources will have to be allocated to local planning authorities to ensure it is delivered.

The NPPF in full can be found here http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/planningandbuilding/pdf/2115939.pdf
Greg Clarke’s statement to MPs can be found here http://www.communities.gov.uk/statements/corporate/2115442

Alison Broderick
In-House Planning Consultant
Platinum Property Partners

Platinum Property Partners will be exhibiting at this year’s British and International Franchise Exhibition at the Olympia in London on Stand D01.

By attending you’ll get the chance to hear PPP Founder Steve Bolton present his hugely popular seminar at the exhibition:

‘Earn £50K – £150K net profit per year in 2 – 5 years from a property portfolio worth £1 – £5 million’

The seminars will take place on:
Friday 16^th March
12.15pm – 12.45pm – Theatre 3

Saturday 17^th March
12.45pm – 13.15pm – Theatre 3

The seminar will demonstrate why a property investment franchise makes a solid business proposition.

And how, with the right business model, Buy to Let investing can generate £1000+ pre-tax profits per month, per property. And, demonstrate how it is possible to achieve a virtually passive average annual income of £100,000 in 2-5 years.

By coming to see us at the Olympia in London, you will have the opportunity to discuss any questions you may have.

Join us on Stand D01 and discover how a property investment franchise could help you secure your financial future…

Claim your free tickets to The British & International Franchise Exhibition – Use Promo Code LEXHDM

By attending the show you’ll get the chance to hear PPP Founder Steve Bolton speak about the market beating returns that he and our Franchise Partner network are achieving.

In his seminar ‘The 3 Simple Steps to Achieving 100K per Annum from Property’ PPP founder Steve Bolton will explain why property is such a tremendous wealth creation tool and outline the high-return investment models operated by PPP Franchise Partners to maximize profitability from day one.

By coming to see us at the ExCel in London, you will have the opportunity to discuss any questions you may have.

Join us on Stand 409 and discover how a property investment franchise could help you secure your financial future…

Claim your free tickets to The Franchise Show

By attending the exhibition you’ll get the chance to hear PPP Founder Steve Bolton speak about the market beating returns that he and our Franchise Partner network are achieving.

In his seminar ‘The 3 Simple Steps to Achieving 100K per Annum from Property’ PPP founder Steve Bolton will explain why property is such a tremendous wealth creation tool and outline the high-return investment models operated by PPP Franchise Partners to maximize profitability from day one.

The National Franchise Exhibition is exclusively supported by the British Franchise Association (bfa), who work closely with VMG to ensure the event promotes ethical franchising and exhibits proven business practices only.

By coming to see us at the NEC in Birmingham, you will have the opportunity to discuss any questions you may have.

Join us on Stand C90 and discover how a property investment franchise could help you secure your financial future…

Claim your free tickets to The National Franchsie Exhibition

6:00am I usually wake up early and, after some breakfast, I will check the weather to see if it is suitable for me to cycle the short distance to my office.

8:00am I meet a crew who are working on new property and contact a Building Regulations company to arrange to inspect and certify the work they will be doing. I prefer to use a private company, rather than the local council, so we can build a relationship to help us understand what they require and provide consistency.

11:30am I work on a questionnaire and other admin for a re-mortgage we are completing. Although I am not a great admin person, getting finance in place is a key activity and I do keep on top of it. I may not be Donald Trump yet, but I do know that no funding equals no business. Despite the current economic challenges, we are in good shape and being a PPP franchise partner with access to brokers who really understand our business, is fundamental to keeping our business on the front foot.

12:30pm I catch up with emails and see a response from the Building Regulations firm, which alerts me to a couple of new requirements that will probably affect my plans. As I am not a builder and cannot assess the impact, I immediately visit our Platinum franchise intranet forum to seek clarification on the Planning and Regulations page, which will be seen by PPP’s support team and fellow Franchise Partners. People always question why we chose a franchise but it’s when you meet obstacles and opposing forces that the value really kicks in. This particular issue is not a big deal but it’s nice to have a support network to bounce ideas off and inevitably a solution emerges.

1:00pm Next I receive a phone call from a prospective tenant for a room Angie has just started to advertise. PPP teaches which questions are useful for telephone screening, so we can have a better idea whether they are suitable to view the property. Angie arranges a viewing next Monday – this is our third property, which is located in Erdington, very close to Angie’s other business, so it will be easy for her to pop out and show the prospective tenant around.

2:00pm To prepare for a meeting with our accountant next week, I visit the bookkeeper that looks after Angie’s domiciliary care business to ensure I haven’t made a complete mess of what I had done so far. When we bought the franchise, I decided it was essential for me to really understand all the financial matters and I volunteered to do the bookkeeping for the first two years. I then made the mistake of stuffing all the receipts for the renovation and refurbishment of our first three properties into a shoebox and had to spend nearly three weeks untangling them and entering them into an accounts package!

2:30pm I go home for lunch and look through the local property pages, as we are keen to get two more properties in the pipeline. Finding the right property is a key part of our business – Angie is really interested in this part and has the lead on identifying prospect properties. I flick through the pages just hoping to get lucky and see something she might have missed.

4:30pm A friend picks me up and we go to a local property auction to see what is currently on the market. Later I go back onto the PPP intranet and see that Alison, who is PPP’s Planning and Building Regulations Consultant, has responded detailing what changes may occur, alongside directing me to a website for more information and offering to get some example costs.

7:00pm A busy but productive day closes and we enjoy a family dinner. Some days we can work very long days, but others, for example, when one of the children has a play/assembly – we can take the time out to be with them.

The Annual Awards Ceremony on Tuesday 17th January was also extremely well attended with over 100 Franchise Partners and guests and was a great opportunity to catch up with old friends and meet new members of the network. Everybody made a special effort to look fabulous for the event and we would like to thank you for helping to make it a really special evening.

With so much hard work and many success stories this year, it was extremely difficult to select our award winners. We would like to take this opportunity to thank everybody who has made a special effort throughout 2011 to contribute to the success of PPP and the network.

We are pleased to announce that the following Winners were presented with their awards by Steve Bolton at the ceremony:

Franchise Partner of the Year

For representing PPP’s values and achieving business success

Platinum Winner: Simon & Anna Mackaness

Gold Winner: Tony & Angie Mott

Silver Winner: Simon & Jane Gillate

Special Recognition

For exceptional hard work and dedication in supporting PPP and Franchise Partners

Joint Platinum Winners: Neil Mansell and Mike & Carol Dixon

Gold Winners: Chris Tapp

Silver Winner: Daniel Coe

Power Team Member

For supporting Franchise Partners in specialist business areas

Platinum Winner: Alison Broderick – Planning Consultant

Gold Award: Chris Wilkins – Wilkins Southworth

Silver Award: Nick Roberts & Kevin Orchard – Bluechip Financial

Barnabas Award

For embodying the ‘Give More’ ethos

Platinum Winner: Andrew & Julie Paris

Gold Winner: Wayne & Kathy Davies

Silver Winner: Gertie & Harry Owen

PPP Ambassador of the Year

For representing and raising the profile of PPP

Platinum Winner: Kevin Lucyszyn

Gold Winner: Paul Cronin

Silver Winner: Lucy Regan

Network Contribution

For support that benefitted the Franchise Partner network

Joint Platinum Winners: Kim Thorogood and Judy Mizen

Joint Gold Winners: Daniel Coe and Mike Anderson

Silver Winner: Michele Thomas

FP Growth Award

For the greatest property portfolio growth in 2011

Platinum Winner: Jon Rose and Lindsay Ludman

Joint Gold Winners: Tim Taylor & Peter Austen and Wayne & Kathy Davies

Joint Silver Winners: Helen & Mark Neylan & John & Gill Trafford, Andrew & Julie Paris, Andrew McMullan

The programme follows six people, some of whom had shared at university that now live together as adults. This gives an outsider a good view of young adults living in a HMO (House of Multiple Occupation) – all of whom are professionals.

The occupants were all more than content with sharing as they couldn’t comfortably afford their own place and wanted to save money for a house deposit. In the meantime they are able to benefit from lower rent and living in a nicer house through sharing with friends. All of the occupants expected to continue to share until such time as they met a partner they wanted to settle down with.

Sharing is almost always cheaper than renting your own place. By sharing you’re able to live in a better standard of property or in a better area than you could afford otherwise if you wanted to live on your own. The programme explores the rise in popularity of house sharing today. A new breed of rental accommodation is now available, offering young professionals a higher standard of living, in beautiful houses in great areas.

Platinum Property Partners are a professional franchise network who specialise in providing high quality, affordable, all-inclusive, shared residential accommodation in locations all around the UK.

This new breed of high quality shared rental accommodation is currently being provided by almost 100 Platinum Property Partners Franchise Partners in over 75 towns and cities across the UK.

You can ‘listen again’ here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b018gqzt