Mark My Words Podcast

‘Brought to you by Progressive Media’: https://progressivemedia.uk/

Why You Should NEVER Pay off Your Mortgage Early

Mark My Words Podcast

04/20/22 • 11 min

Mark has been investing in property for 15-20 years, approaching the 100 mark in terms of deals made and has a 70 million equity stake in various portfolios. One of the questions he repeatedly gets asked, is whether it is worth using additional cash to pay off your mortgage or if it is better to invest it elsewhere. Listen in to this episode to hear his thoughts and answers to this common question.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

If you are even slightly disciplined you should not pay your mortgage off. If you are worried about interest rates then look at fixed rate mortgages.
If you can invest your cash somewhere else, you will earn more back on that lump sum than you will be paying in interest on your mortgage.
Property is still by far the best investment opportunity particularly in terms of lending from banks; they will always give you a great interest rate on anything you borrow.

BEST MOMENTS

“Why would you want to pay of your mortgage if you can get consistently good returns by investing in your isa and getting much much higher investment returns”

“You’ve got to make your money work for you, no one else will look after your money like you do”

VALUABLE RESOURCES

https://www.youtube.com/user/progressiveproperty https://www.progressiveproperty.co.uk/the-progressive-co-founders/

ABOUT THE HOST

CONTACT METHOD

‘Brought to you by Progressive Media’: https://progressivemedia.uk/

Inside UK's Planning Crisis with Jonathan Collins

Mark My Words Podcast

02/06/25 • 55 min

Mark and Jonathan Collins continue their conversation into the intricacies of UK infrastructure, planning systems, and local government challenges. They discuss the complexities of planning permission, energy and local council operations. Collins shares expertise from his experience in local government and his current role as a planning consultant, making this episode essential listening for developers, property investors, and anyone interested in UK infrastructure development and local politics.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

The planning system is too complex, projects that should be simple often get bogged down with unnecessary requirements and delays.
Most council money goes to social care, leaving little for other important services like planning and development.
Extra rules and taxes on landlords have led to fewer rental properties and higher rents for tenants.
The UK's energy pricing makes no sense, we pay the highest possible price even when cheaper energy is available.
Getting planning permission takes too long because councils don't have enough staff and the process is overly complicated.
Infrastructure projects in the UK often cost far more than in other countries because we try to make everything perfect rather than practical.
Local politics has become less cooperative over time, making it harder to get things done that everyone actually agrees need doing.

BEST MOMENTS

"The whole thing is bonkers and if the market means anything, surely it should mean that me as an electricity purchaser can go to a solar person and say, I'll have your electricity."

"When you sit down and you talk to people, most people will agree what the challenges are and some of the ways forward by way of solutions."

"Infrastructure projects suffer because they're over-engineered and gold-plated, which means they run out of money before completion.”

"Local democracy is great, but we've all voted in a national election and if the government is saying it's infrastructure and growth, sorry guys, but we're going to have to constrain your local ability to say no."

"The nature of our politics has got worse... there's an inability to actually listen and to debate and to understand and to compromise."

VALUABLE RESOURCES

https://www.youtube.com/user/progressiveproperty https://www.progressiveproperty.co.uk/the-progressive-co-founders/

ABOUT THE HOST

CONTACT METHOD

‘Brought to you by Progressive Media’: https://progressivemedia.uk/

Will Interest Rates Crash The Housing Market

Mark My Words Podcast

09/29/22 • 17 min

With the news of interest rates rapidly increasing and mortgage products being removed across lenders, it’s understandable to question whether interest rates will cause a crash in the housing market. In this episode, Mark explores why this may or may not happen and the other issues the current turmoil in the market could cause.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

UK base rate is said to hit 6% by May 2023 but this is a market expectation, it may not happen.
There is still demand in the housing market currently but there has been a significant slowdown in the past 6 months.
One way the government could speed up growth in the economy and increase productivity is to remove a lot of unnecessary EU regulations.
The media loves bad news and anything they can sensationalise, hence them talking about housing market crashes and a sterling crisis.
If you do have debt, inflation does have an upside, inflation means your debt is lowered.
In a residential mortgage market, Mark prefers to use fixed-term mortgages, especially long-term ones if you know you aren’t going to move, you can still get good rates now.

BEST MOMENTS

“ We’ve gone straight through the crossroads now and things are changing quite rapidly”

“Demand will probably start dropping considerably, we’re probably in recession already”

“Could house prices crash? Absolutely”

“History tells us when inflation rates start to increase they do so quite quickly”

VALUABLE RESOURCES

https://www.youtube.com/user/progressiveproperty https://www.progressiveproperty.co.uk/the-progressive-co-founders/

ABOUT THE HOST

CONTACT METHOD

‘Brought to you by Progressive Media’: https://progressivemedia.uk/

Mark Interviews The Lord Lieutenant of Northamptonshire David Laing

Mark My Words Podcast

06/22/22 • 65 min

In this episode Mark interviews The Lord Lieutenant of Northamptonshire. Mr David Laing of Laing Construction, whose illustrious career spans several decades. Mark makes this episode become a very open discussion between two entrepreneurs from very different periods.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

(5.00) David Laing’s business history intrigues Mark. He asks David about the construction dynasty which started in 1845.David Laing tells us how he was on his way up to Edinburgh recently when they stopped off at Gretna. This made David think about how his Grandfather and his Grandfathers father had been responsible for building the town. Gretna was set up as one of the main munitions factories during the 1st world war. He goes on to tell us about how they built miles of factories and accommodation for 50,000 workers.
(7.12) David Laing continues to tell Mark about the growth of Laing’, how the expertise in concrete continued and how they built the M1 he discusses all of the buildings, bridges and so on through this period which included the Millennium dome. Mark and David discuss the benefits of the Dome.
(25.52) Mark probes David’s outlook on politics by asking David to pick up on a thread from earlier in the conversation. Mark outlines concerns within the community if The Labour Party came into power. David Laing gives a considered reply by covering the various dangers of inflation, profit, tax and the probability of who would be the front man for Labour. The discussion goes on too looking at trade generally covering Brexit, Donald Trump and the world.
(37.25) Mark asks David Laing where we are in regards to Cycles/Timing. David says we are still in the fairly golden times at present, property is still rising and there is a lack of housing, he advises that it could be a couple of years time when Brexit and /or Corbyn could be the triggers for change, so try to keep within you borrowing limit, retail is definitely not an option for profitability.
(45.40) After a brief discussion on gearing, covenants and the percentages obtained, Mark moves the interview away from business and asks David “what do you do for Her Majesty?” Davis Laing is her Lord Lieutenant. David sees this post as the eyes, ears, heart and temperature control of the county. This means he needs to know what is good bad and needs fixing, although it is a non-political role, he tells us that he is there to do whatever Her Majesty is not able to do. He is involved in the military on her behalf and holds the equivalent rank of Major General. Many of his duties include visiting schools to support them, helping with the scouts and brownies.

(1.01) Mark examines David Laing’s fascination with cars and racing, and the crash at Silverstone in 2006. David talks about all the various racing cars he either has driven or admired and his more recent experience driving around the world circumference in 69 days with Mary as his navigator. He runs through the various countries they drove over, so we are able to imagine how it must have felt driving 11 hours a day in all those locations.

BEST MOMENTS

David Laing tells us that “timing is always the most important thing in the business”
David Laing’s knowledge of changes in government gives us a sound grounding for preparing how to deal with the future.
David and Mark look at the impact of homelessness on cities and how it can be approached going forward.
Mark asks David about the difficulties in obtaining finance in the past and how it compares with today’s financing
Building the M1 had an advantage for David Laing he had just started courting his wife up in Leicester and it meant they didn’t have to drive up the A5 and A6 anymore!

ABOUT THE HOST

Mark Homer is an entrepreneur investor. He has worked with investment since he was 15 years old using the laws of wealth! He is a spreadsheet analyst with an impressive following from major publications including BBC Radio, The Wall Street Journal, The Independent, as well as co-authoring the UK’s best selling property books. Mark has always looked for the best investment vehicle, and at the end of 2007 with Rob Moore the co-founder of Progressive Property his joint portfolio produced more profit than any of his other investments he’d tried in the last ten years, combined.

CONTACT THE HOST

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markhomer1
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/markprogressive
Twitter: https://twitter.com/markprogressive

ABOUT THE GUEST

The Lord Lieutenant of Northamptonshire. David Laing is a man of principle who has worked hard through his life in the construction industry through architecture design and construction, and appears to have enjoyed all the good and disagreeable parts of...

2021 Budget | My Reaction | Everything You Need to Know!

Mark My Words Podcast

03/05/21 • 15 min

There have been many predictions of market crashes, recessions and a great depression looming in the next few years and many people have been anxiously awaiting Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s 2021 budget briefing. Join Mark today as he depicts the budget and explains what this means for you. Mark discusses the freeze of the nil rate allowance, the increase of cooperation tax to 25% and the end of the bounceback schemes.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

It is going to take a while for the economy to recover. The first thing the chancellor Rishi Sunak has said is that there will be no increase on income tax, national insurance or VAT, however he will freeze the nil rate allowance which typically rises every year. He will also freeze the top tax rate. These strategies are a slightly less visible way of taking the money back, and it does not happen straight away.
Many people thought that the capital gains tax rates would go up however Rishi stayed silent on this matter. Rishi also confirmed that he would not change the inheritance tax allowance and would not change the pension lifetime limit which is £1million.
Unlike reports of corporation tax going up to 23% he is going to raise the rates to 25%. This rise will not be seen until 2023. The current rate is 19% and many people will notice the 6% rise significantly. Smaller companies with less than £50,000 will still pay 19% and inbetween £50,000 and £250,000 you will pay between 19%-25% depending on how much the company makes in that tax year.
At the end of March when the bounceback loans end there is going to be a new loans scheme where the government is going to guarantee 80% of the loan. The business rates holiday will continue until the end of June with a tapered reduction and the 5% reduced rate of VAT is extended until the 30th September with a 12.5% rate until mid next year.
The big news in the property world is the stamp duty holiday extension. This and the 90% mortgage guarantee will support the lower end of the property market. With all the government support it seems less likely that the market will crash.
All the schemes have given consumers a lot of savings to spend, there is a huge amount of money in savings accounts and as the economy opens up, they are going to go and spend that money and there is likely to be some inflation. As inflation picks up, you could see inflation rise by 3%-5%.

BEST MOMENTS

“It is probably an even bigger hit since world war 2 with the amount the economy has shrunk.”

“That was quite a surprise, in many ways quite dove like, not particularly harsh.”

“Loads of people have cash in their pockets.”

VALUABLE RESOURCES

https://www.progressiveproperty.co.uk

ABOUT THE HOST

CONTACT METHOD

‘Brought to you by Progressive Media’: https://progressivemedia.uk/

Classic Car Investments 101, Interview with Daniel Gannon, Co-director of Car-Iconics Ltd.

Mark My Words Podcast

08/28/19 • 45 min

What’s the best car model to invest in right now?

Having classic cars (or vintage cars) isn’t a big liability at all, as most think. If your investments are already in placed and you’re looking for a new game plan, then look into classic cars.

In this episode of Mark My Words Podcast, Mark chats with Daniel Gannon, the Co-director of Car-Iconics Ltd. Daniel has been passionate and very knowledgeable about cars ever since. Discover everything you need to know today so you can make money and enjoy your passion about cars at the same time.

Mark and Daniel dive deep on the technical stuff--aside from giving financial advice—from learning about what to inspect when looking for cars worth investing to learning about the car market, there’s a lot to learn on this episode.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

The classic car market, since early 2000s, have slowly fell down. Cars right now have become electronic- or technology- heavy.
Putting it in in a bank is also a risk. So, if you’re in a good position with your investment portfolio, it’s okay to put those extra cash on a new car. At least, a classic car’s value grows through time and it’s something you can enjoy at the same time.
How do you make sure you’re buying a high-value car? Do visual and mechanical inspection. And, brands are all the same so it shouldn’t be your first basis.
According to him, the best car is a Mercedes-Benz AMG SL 65 MG V12 (R230). He bought his own of the same model with just £7,000, and it was worth it.
They’re looking on putting more left-handed driven cars because there is a larger demand for them.

BEST MOMENTS

" Definitely, for the last 10 years, you can say that money has never been cheaper. ”
“Look at cars that a re off the radar .”
“You got to love what you buy.”
“It’s important that you buy a car that’s been restored by the right company.”

VALUABLE RESOURCES

Progressive Property
How Many Left? - https://www.howmanyleft.co.uk

ABOUT THE GUEST

Daniel Gannon is the co-director of Car-Iconics Ltd. Daniel’s and his father Stephen’s passion about cars inspired them to start their own brand and in which, they’ve been sharing their knowledge and experience on driving, collecting, racing, and restoration of cars. Aside from these, their business also gives the best advice so you can choose the best car out there which you can not only enjoy driving and owning, but also enjoy its investment potential.

ABOUT THE HOST

Mark Homer is an entrepreneur investor. He has worked with investment since he was 15 years old using the laws of wealth! He is a spreadsheet analyst with an impressive following from major publications including BBC Radio, The Wall Street Journal, The Independent, and co-authoring the UK’s best-selling property books. Mark has always looked for the best investment vehicle, and at the end of 2007 with Rob Moore the co-founder of Progressive Property his joint portfolio produced more profit than any of the other investments he’d tried in the last ten years, combined.

Contact Method

Email: [email protected]
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markhomer1
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/markprogressive
Twitter: https://twitter.com/markprogressive

‘Brought to you by Progressive Media’: https://progressivemedia.uk/

Mark Interviews Founder Chair of the NHS Confederation & Former Leader of Peterborough City Council Marco Cereste

Mark My Words Podcast

01/05/17 • 46 min

Marco Cereste talks about his political and business career. How he contributed as Leader of Peterborough City Council and how he communicated his vision with developers and stakeholders. He also talks about his property business and gives advice on how to fund your business in the early stage, how to save money and control the costs of your enterprise.

‘Brought to you by Progressive Media’: https://progressivemedia.uk/

How To Analyse a Deal Part 1

Mark My Words Podcast

11/10/16 • 28 min

Mark talks about analysing deals. He talks about different asset classes, their special characteristics, their cash flow opportunities, behaviour of the market and how prices of these assets can be affected by other factors.

‘Brought to you by Progressive Media’: https://progressivemedia.uk/

Labour’s Budget & A Breakdown of Spending

Mark My Words Podcast

11/14/24 • 21 min

Mark talks through budget and tax rumours and gives a breakdown of current government spending. He shares why he thinks the decisions and choices will be made and also gives the real numbers and statistics around government spending.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Around $340 billion, equivalent to almost 30% of this year’s budget is spent on social protection which covers things like, housing benefit, income support and pensions.
Personal social services have increased to £43 billion
Only 60% of the country is paying in, 40% of people in the UK are economically inactive
Labour are claiming a £20 billion black hole which they are using to justify tax increases.
The conservatives would have had to either reduce spending or put up taxes if they had remained in power.
Covid cost the UK £400-£500 billion.
Labour have been leaking information around which taxes may increase to help soften the blow to the public.
There are rumours about capital gains tax increasing to 45% for high earners, but this could discourage investment.
We can’t grow the economy if we scare off investors.
From 1st January 2025 it's proposed that there will be VAT on school fees.

BEST MOMENTS

"40% of this country is economically inactive”

“Rachel Reeves used to be in the treasury, so she’ll know exactly where to look for this information”

“I suspect the conservatives would have had to reduce spending or put up taxes up anyway I think whoever got in that was about to happen”

“I think the government have been leaking like hell”

"I understand the politics of envy are at work here"

"Why would you want to tax excellence"

VALUABLE RESOURCES

https://www.youtube.com/user/progressiveproperty https://www.progressiveproperty.co.uk/the-progressive-co-founders/

ABOUT THE HOST

CONTACT METHOD