They have found a new home but do not want to sell their existing property which they plan to rent. They need to release capital for their deposit through a buy-to-let remortgage. This has become a common trend among buyers who either want to keep their home as an investment or who simply cannot sell in the current climate.
Tuesday
It is a busy morning. Working from home has its advantages, I love it. On the down side, my two-year-old daughter loves it more and has a habit of appearing beside me for a chat at every opportunity. It is a good job she is cute.
I have an afternoon meeting with a long-standing retired client who has a large investment to make after downsizing. She is keen to generate an income from her savings and needs to reduce the value of her estate for inheritance tax purposes. These cases are challenging and rewarding at the same time, they give a real sense of worth that we are providing vital independent advice to clients.
The meeting goes well and my client is delighted with the solution; after maximising her annual Isa allowance we decide to place half of her savings into a Discounted Gift Trust, allowing her to address the IHT problem, generate a tax-free income and provide an investment that will pass to her children after her death.
Wednesday
My passion is tennis and I have a friendly game of doubles this morning. I win and tweet the result (a bad habit). I have centre court tickets for Wimbledon later this month and am looking forward to a couple of days in London where I will also take the opportunity to meet with a couple of clients.
The afternoon is taken up submitting two simple remortgage cases online for existing clients.
This is followed by a second meeting with a new client to set up a pension plan.
Like many IT consultants he has recently set up his limited company as an IT contractor. I am finished for 5pm. My son has a cricket match tonight.
Thursday
All of our firm’s business comes from personal recommendation or through a number of local solicitors, one of whom has referred their clients to me who live on the south coast and are in urgent need of mortgage advice. This is a tough one: Mr is a discharged bankrupt; Mrs is on maternity leave.
Fortunately I know from experience that Nationwide will consider this case and it is competitive.
I am pleased to email an agreement after our morning chat. They are happy and confirm that evening that their offer on a property has been accepted and will forward information to me over the weekend in order to submit their mortgage application.
The rest of the day is spent in the office planning next week’s diary and taking care of all the administration.
Friday
I try to do as little as possible on a Friday. All emails and admin are dealt with in the morning and the afternoon is clear for a singles tennis match at my local club, followed by an early dinner with the family (a Chinese takeaway) and making plans for the weekend.
Bhavesh Chande is director at Manchester-based Chande Independent Financial Advisers
