HOUSE THAT
I’ve made nearly £3k by spotting homes that are empty – the red flags to look out for that can bag YOU free cash
Find out how much you can make by spotting an empty home once it's sold
A RETIRED police officer has revealed he has made almost £3,000 by reporting empty properties.
Roy Foulkes, 65, is using a little-known website to report properties he believes are empty when he’s out and about.
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At first, he reported a property to his local council but after finding out about a site called YouSpotProperty he realised his council actually made money from his discovery.
Roy, from West Hallam, Derbyshire, usually looks out for vacant homes in his area while out on walks.
Recalling the time he spotted a 1940s-era semi-detached house in the village of Chellaston, just outside of Derby, Roy told : “There were so many red flags about its state.
"The garden was heavily overgrown, the paintwork was flaking and it was clear no one was living there.”
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He said he hadn’t seen the couple who used to live there for 15 years.
YouSpotProperty initially pays either a £20 Amazon or M&S voucher to anyone who correctly identifies an empty home.
However, if the company manages to buy and sell the property, the person who identified it is given 1% of the purchase price up to £10,000.
Once Roy reported the empty property and received a £20 gift card, he thought that was the end of it.
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But 18 months later he received a call letting him know the property he had spotted had been sold and he was due 1% of the purchase price.
He said: “They broke the good news that I’d been eligible for 1% of the purchase price of the house which was £2,350 – I was delighted, to say the least!”
Roy now plans to spend the money on trips to Disneyland Paris, his grandchildren and needed household goods.
Brits make 350-450 reports to YouSpotProperty every week with the firm handing out around 110 vouchers on average each month.
To be eligible for the reward the property you spot must be privately owned, not up for sale and mustn’t have any recent planning applications.
The site says it has bought and resold properties ranging in value from £17,000 to £3million.
How much can you get from reporting empty properties?
YouSpotProperty will pay an empty property finder 1% of the purchase price if a property they find is then sold.
The most that has ever been paid out in commission is £10,000.
Meanwhile, £500 goes to a local community charity.
You will also automatically get a £20 gift voucher after reporting a property which is confirmed to be empty.
How to spot an empty property?
Empty properties are usually unkempt and some may even be in disarray.
Look for overgrown front and back gardens, any broken windows or doors, and major holes in the property or roof.
Often rubbish is dumped around the property once people realise it’s empty, which can attract vermin or pests.
A property which is boarded up is also likely to be empty.
You can check the HM Land Registry to confirm a property is empty, though you will need to pay a small fee which is around £3.
What other websites can I use to report an empty property?
There are a few other sites that will reward you for reporting an empty property.
Property Savior offers a £20 voucher for finding an empty property and will then ask you to send an invoice for a minimum of £1,000 if an offer is accepted.
Spotemptyproperties.co.uk is another site that will reward you for successfully spotting an empty property.
They pay out 0.5% of the purchase price if the property is sold.
Lots of also have empty property reporting services, though they may not reward you just for reporting.
If you spot an empty property which you wish to purchase many councils offer grants of up to £15,000 to help you buy and repair an empty property.
How to earn money for reporting store locations?
You can report more than just properties if you are looking to make some extra cash.
You can get money for reporting potential store locations of big retailers like Aldi and Lidl.
Lidl will pay finders either 1.5% of the total freehold purchase price or 10% of the first year’s rent for leaseholds, which would equate to £22,500 for a completed £1.5m site purchase.
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Anyone who successfully helps the retailer find a new Aldi location, including members of the public, will receive a finder’s fee equivalent to either 1.5% of the freehold price or 10% of the first year’s rent for leasehold sites.
It's worth checking on the Aldi and Lidl websites to see which cities they are looking to build new sites in.
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How to get the best deal on your mortgage
IF you're looking for a traditional type of mortgage, getting the best rates depends entirely on what's available at any given time.
There are several ways to land the best deal.
Usually the larger the deposit you have the lower the rate you can get.
If you're remortgaging and your loan-to-value ratio (LTV) has changed, you'll get access to better rates than before.
Your LTV will go down if your outstanding mortgage is lower and/or your home's value is higher.
A change to your credit score or a better salary could also help you access better rates.
And if you're nearing the end of a fixed deal soon it's worth looking for new deals now.
You can lock in current deals sometimes up to six months before your current deal ends.
Leaving a fixed deal early will usually come with an early exit fee, so you want to avoid this extra cost.
But depending on the cost and how much you could save by switching versus sticking, it could be worth paying to leave the deal - but compare the costs first.
To find the best deal use a to see what's available.
You can also go to a mortgage broker who can compare a much larger range of deals for you.
Some will charge an extra fee but there are plenty who give advice for free and get paid only on commission from the lender.
You'll also need to factor in fees for the mortgage, though some have no fees at all.
You can add the fee - sometimes more than £1,000 - to the cost of the mortgage, but be aware that means you'll pay interest on it and so will cost more in the long term.
You can use a mortgage calculator to see how much you could borrow.
Remember you'll have to pass the lender's strict eligibility criteria too, which will include affordability checks and looking at your credit file.
You may also need to provide documents such as utility bills, proof of benefits, your last three month's payslips, passports and bank statements.
Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing [email protected].
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