February 3, 2011
I Want To Get Into Property Investment But…
Getting into the property investment market can be a daunting prospect if you have little or no experience, so here are the basics facts regarding commercial mortgages.
Why Should I Take Out a Commercial Mortgage? The advantages of taking on a commercial mortgage far outweigh the negatives, owning your own business premises, office, warehouse or factory will mean any increase in value your business will gain from it. Plus, when the day to sell the property finally comes, you might profit from a capital gain.
Not having to rely on rental contracts that only last for a year to a few years in most cases means it’s easier to predict and calculate long term business costs, as with a commercial mortgage, the payments will remain relatively stable. There will be no large increases in rent to contend with, a commercial mortgage will give you a monthly repayment plan at a set rate, meaning it could be cheaper overall than renting a premise.
Owning your own building also gives you the scope to play the role of landlord yourself. It should be looked at if your current workspace is too large or you have enough room, sublet it to another company or partition the space into several spaces and gain several tenants. This could be a very effective way of covering your own commercial mortgage payments.
What Are The Main Advantages Of A Commercial Mortgage? The benefits you could have just don’t stop there; did you know any commercial payments are tax deductable? That’s right, in the majority of cases, not all sadly so you need to double check, payments can be classed as a tax expense and deducted from your gross profits.
Another of the indirect goodies a commercial mortgage delivers is the option to avoid having to sell a stake in your company for capital injection. Using the equity in your commercial mortgage is a self generating way to get the cash you need to expand or pay debt off without chipping away at the control of your company.
As was already mentioned once or twice, commercial mortgages lead a more stable foundation to place your company on, without having to put up with sharp rent increases that could severely damage overheads and profit margins.
Who Is Responsible For The Commercial Mortgage Payments? The responsibility for the payments to your commercial mortgage depends on how your company is structured. If you are a sole trader, you will bear complete responsibility and liability for the commercial mortgage. If, however, you are a partnership, each partner involved will be jointly and individually responsible.
If you have a company structure, it is most likely that the directors of your company will be liable if the commercial mortgage is not repaid. Director’s guarantees – assurances that the individual directors will take personal responsibility for the loan – are normally required.
What Amount Can I Borrow and Over What Term? The time period for commercial mortgages has a ceiling of 20 years, reduced to 15 years for older premises. Interest only commercial mortgages are available, but most will convert to capital mortgages after a certain number of years, so discuss all potential options with lenders.
Lenders will be more willing to approve a commercial mortgage with a low LTV rate, so the more you can bring to the table as a deposit, the better your chances of being accepted. Minimum deposits are much higher for commercial mortgages than residential mortgages, the threshold beginning at 20% at least, though the some lenders could ask for as much as 30% up front. The other advantage of a larger deposit is the rates offered for the borrowing will be lower as well, reducing the interest to be repaid.
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