If you are a regular visitor to the site then you may wish to tick the Save Details box - this will store your Email address/Password in cookies on your PC and automatically log you in each time you visit. If you are using a public PC or one that is used by other people we recommend you don't use this feature.
In this section you will see a button allowing you to run the WHAT IF? Analysis Tool - clicking this will run the analysis against your entire portfolio. Below this is a list of your properties. Initially this list will be empty and those creating their portfolio should click the ADD PROPERTY button.
For those who have already entered properties, a summary of each is shown in the list. Next to each one is an EDIT button which allows you to edit the details of the selected property.
Next to each property is also an OPTIONS button. Clicking this will reveal a small tool-bar with buttons allowing you to enter further information pertaining to the specified property i.e. Mortgage, Lettings & Expenses. It also allows you to run the WHAT IF? Analysis Tool showing just figures for the selected property.
Add/Edit a Property
This screen can look a little intimidating at first but don't let that put you off - just take it one section at a time!
The first section is simply the Address of the property - you can also assign it a picture if you have a photo handy - this helps as a visual way of identifying the property when looking at it later.
The next section is where you give a little more detail about the property - this allows you to record all the information about all your properties in one central place for easy reference.
The third and fourth sections gathers some financial information about the property and is required to calculate how well your investment is performing. Some of the values in the fourth section are only required if the property was purchased some time ago - these fields ensure the system includes any expenses/income incurred to date.
Finally, you can add some Notes about the property if you wish.
Once you have finished entering your property details, click SAVE you will automatically be taken to the Add/Edit Mortgages screen so you can enter the mortgage details relating to this property. The Loan Amount and Start Date will be pre-filled based on the information provided in the Property Details screen.
Selling a Property
When you come to sell one of your investment properties, simply edit the relevant property in the list and fill in the Sold Price and Sold Date.
Once you have sold a property it will be moved to the lower list on the Portfolio Summary screen so you can still look at details of properties you have sold.
Add/Edit a Mortgage
You can store the history of any mortgages you may have had and the details of any current mortgage against each property.
To help you identify each mortgage you can enter the Mortgage Account Number (usually provided by your lender), the Lenders Name and if the mortgage has a certain name you can store that too.
The Loan Amount should equal the Purchase Price less any Deposit/Down Payment you made, however, it is common practice to add many Lenders charges into your mortgage so the Loan Amount may actually be slightly higher.
If you have a special rate from your lender e.g. a 2 year discounted rate then by entering the date this ends into this screen will allow us to send you a reminder when this is due to expire. This allows you to look for an alternative mortgage with a new special rate, thus keeping your costs to a minimum and maximising the return on your investment.
Add/Edit a Letting
The Lettings screen allows you to capture details of any tenants you may have at the selected property and also store details of the agreement you have in place with them.
The first few fields are used to store the tenants contact details - thus giving you a central place to keep all your useful information.
You can also specify for your own records how the tenants pay - this can be a mixture of more than one method e.g. DSS and some Cash.
By providing the Agreement Start Date and Length the system can calculate when this tenancy agreement is due to end, this is clearly shown when you first enter the Lettings section and also the system will send you a reminder shortly beforehand to give you time to arrange a new letting - thus helping to increase your occupancy factor.
If the same tenants decide to stay on after the initial agreement period simply click the RENEW button next to the Letting entry and this will create a new Lettings entry for you with the same details as before - the Start Date will be automatically advanced and the previous agreement will be closed off for you.
When a tenant leaves and some/all of their deposit is returned you can enter this into the system on any of that tenants lettings - some prefer to enter it on the first agreement where the deposit was taken, others prefer to enter it on the last agreement i.e. when they left. It's up to you which you prefer but remember to only enter it once!
Add/Edit an Expense
Unfortunately, all properties require some maintenance and this leads to expenses. This section allows you to record and track how much you are spending on each house.
Any expenses entered into the system will effect the Profit/Loss figures shown for your portfolio.
Remember if you have an expense that effects the value of your house (e.g. you add an extra bedroom), don't forget to edit the property and change the number of bedrooms and enter a new valuation - this will ensure your portfolio value is calculated correctly.
The WHAT IF? Analysis Tool
The WHAT IF? Analysis Tool is a unique feature of this site and helps you track how well each of your investments is performing. However, it also allows you to see what difference it would make if certain factors were to change!
For example, you may see that over 5 years your investment will rise in value and bring in a certain amount of rent - it will also cost you the mortgage payments and maintenance expenses - all this is calculated for you in the WHAT IF? tool. You may now want to see what happens if you increase your rent by £20 a month. Simply enter this into the relevant WHAT IF? box and click REFRESH - the graph now shows your current projected earnings and also shows how much difference raising the rent would make.
You can also see what effect getting a new mortgage on a lower interest rate would have, or even plan ahead for harder-times and see what happens in mortgage rate rise etc.
Running the WHAT IF? tool from the main Portfolio Summary section takes all your properties into account (i.e. your entire portfolio), using the button in the OPTIONS toolbar next to an individual property runs the analysis just for that particular property.