One of Britain’s leading property figures, who is president-elect of the RICS, is to advise the company which aims to revolutionise the housing market by a co-investment model which will allow purchasers to buy mortgage-free.
The appointment, one of two announced by Mill Group, suggests that the project is getting close to launch.
The group aims to link investors with funds which will add to home-buyers’ deposits by as much as 95%. The Mill Group investors will then take almost all the profits when the property is sold.
The scheme expects the home-buyer to buy the investment fund out in five or seven years’ time – the biggest drawback being that the lion’s share of any rise in the property’s value will go to the investment fund, with the home-buyer only benefiting from an uplift in equity relating to their original stake.
Alan Collett will be one of two advisers. As well as his RICS work, he is chairman of Allsop Residential Investment Management, which specialises in the residential investment market and private rented sectors.
Mill Group, whose timetable appears to have slipped slightly, as earlier this year it said it hoped to launch in the third quarter, says it is still actively raising funds for the launch of its residential fund, called Investors in Housing.
As well as Collett, it has appointed a second adviser, Stephen Barter, former CEO of Quatari Diar, the property development arm of the Government of Qatar. Barter is also former group projects director of Grosvenor.
Mill Group CEO David Toplas said: “Creating an attractive format to promote wider institutional investment into the residential sector has been seen as a major challenge, despite its obvious potential.
“Mill Group believes that Investors in Housing not only fills a critical shortcoming in the market for first-time buyers and families, it also offers investors an attractive and flexible way to access a sector which has consistently offered superior returns.
“These two appointments underscore Mill Group’s ability to innovate to meet an urgent market need and, once again, to offer a compelling product to investors.”
At first, the scheme will only be available to buyers in London.
See EAT, February 4:
Comments
@Unhappy Chappy.
This is just an alternative and may suit some people.
By the way, judging from your post, you DO think that property prices WILL rise? ;>)
I cant think of anyone who is thinking of moving in the future agreeing to this rip-off scheme
"the biggest drawback being that the lion’s share of any rise in the property’s value will go to the investment fund, with the home-buyer only benefiting from an uplift in equity relating to their original stake."
"At first, the scheme will only be available to buyers in London"
So that London buyers can compete with foreign buyers artificially fuelling the flames of a London Centric Property Market.......................sorry I'm out ;)
As if the market needed anything else to make the rental sector look even more attractive...
Well that sounds like a really good idea