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Firstly, some frequent questions

• v2.1 and 3.1 can co-exist on the same PC
• you do NOT need to have v2.1 installed to use the import tool to pull in your old data – you need only the 2.1 data file (its usually called pi.mdb)
• v2.1 is not Vista or Windows7 compatible (it was written way before they existed). It may or may not install. It may or may not work. Or it might work, but do some really weird things. v3.x was written for Vista (and Windows 7 follows from that – I run my 3.1 installation on Windows 7 and it works extremely well)
• The import tool will make duplicate data if you run it twice (it cannot check for duplication very easily), so if you want to re-import (perhaps you didn’t like the results), then you need either to reset the system (Admin Tool->System Reset button), or simply make a backup before you do the first import (i.e. straight after the initial install) and use that to roll back if needed.
• All contractors/suppliers in your 2.1 data must have the ‘Contractor’ tickbox set.
• Rent receipts much have a category of Rent.
• Ensure there are no duplicate owner contacts (i.e. 2.1 allows 2 ‘John Doe’ contacts with the same name – 3.1 will not)

Will all my data import OK?

Mostly, yes, but it does depend on a few factors. The importer can only import data that fits the idea of what it expects to find in the 2.1 data. Missing or incomplete data will also get thrown out by the importer as v3.1 is strict on validation of data.

In practice, you will probably find that your properties come in OK, as will most of the tenancy agreements (assuming they are correctly entered in 2.1). Contacts, journal entries, tasks etc should come in fine.

Accounts can present more of a challenge due to the different ways of representing things in 2.1. Although you can import this data, I really believe the best way to handle this is simply to use 2.1 as a historic data, and set an ’opening balance’ for each tenancy in 3.1 (if the tenants are up to date, then you don’t need to do this). Then go forward from there in 3.1 – the old 2.1 data will effectively fade away in relevance over time, but is still there if you need it.

Practical Steps to Importing

When people ask me what the best way to import data is, I almost always give the following advice:

1. Install v3.1 with a blank database
2. Make a backup so that you can roll back to an empty 3.1 database if the import is not to your liking.
3. Check that the 2.1 data is sensible (see the bullet points int he FAQ bit above)
4. Run the 2.1 to 3.1 import tool. You can find this in windows Start->Programs->Property Intellect 3.1->Tools. There is also a help PDF in there as well.
5. If you already have 2.1 installed and working on the PC then the importer will automatically pick up the path to the 2.1 data file. If not, you’ll need to point it to the correct location (NOTE: if you have a .zip backup file then you will need to extract the pi.mdb file from that first)
6. Accept the defaults and let it start. Note that it can take quite a while to import (hours in some cases).
7. When it’s done, start v3.1. The importer will have placed all your tenancy agreements in a ‘pending’ state, so you will need to open each one, fill in any missing data and make it active manually.

Top Tips

1. Allow yourself time to learn v3.1. It is a very different beast from v2.1. You might want to consider running both in parallel for a while as an easier way forward.
2. Implement 3.1 before the start of the next tax year!
3. If you have a small number of properties/tenancies, then you should give consideration to just re-entering them into 3.1 – it’s probably quicker in the long run. 3.1 has tools to retrospectively fill in rent receipts from the start of the tenancy so this is not as bad as it sounds.
4. Do not try to make 3.1 an update for your 2.1 data – transactions are no longer king in 3.1 and you need to make time to get your head around how 3.1 works!

I’m impressed. Effortless install, big performance boost and zero crashes thus far. It recognised and installed all required drivers (I might just have been lucky on that front though). It’s hard to see how one can ask for more really.

Next step – upgrade my main working PC…could be much more challenging…let you know how it goes

http://www.propertyinvestor.co.uk/london/

v3.1.8 is quite a landmark for us in what has been a system that has been growing almost daily for the last six months. 3.1.8 is notable as it includes a shiny new commercial property option. You see, the system was built for this kind of things, but we just never had enough development time to make it a reality – until now. Hopefully it should make life a lot easier for those of you with a mixed bag of residential and commercial units.

When we did the research we could see that most of the other systems simply claim that you can enter commercial properties by pretending that they are residential units in disguise. Those who actually run commercial units know better of course. There are some subtle differences in the way they are managed and treating them the same as residential units just does not ‘cut it’.

So there we are. Enjoy

“The surge in so-called ‘accidental landlords’ has limited the supply of property in the sales market and  increased the stock of homes available to let. These differing supply trends have led to diverging price trends between the sales and lettings markets. Whereas house prices have risen by 4.1% year to date, the available evidence suggests that rents are currently lower than where they started the year, thus putting downward pressure on rental yields. Although the drop in yields has been offset by large declines in interest rates over the last year, one cannot expect rents and house prices to move in opposite directions indefinitely.”

They imply that the underlying upward pressure is due people changing their minds and selling their properties rather than letting them any more. My immediate thought on this is that there is a pretty finite supply of these ‘accidential’ landlords so this upward effect must be limited in duration. The same limitation that constrain the market are still in existence – namely the absence of proper financing funds (yes, I’m aware that there is still finance out there, but it can be tricky to get a deal that makes sense for most landlords at the moment).

Now, back to my main theme – has the market already bottomed out? The shift to sales does indicate confidence returning, which is a pillar of any market. Supply is still limited and there is likely to be significant pent-up demand amongst potential purchasers. Could it be that expecting things to return to the ‘old ways’ is unrealistic – is it simply that we’ve entered a new era, and the current level of funding restrictions will be the norm for the foreseeable future? If that is indeed the case, then perhaps this is as good as its going to get…

Apparently 56% of property owners have a mortgage, which makes them reliant on the state of the mortgage markets which themselves have stubbornly refused to recover at anything like the same rate. Without funding or overseas investment, it’s hard to see how the market can sustain any consistent price rises, even if the demand is there.

So why are prices increasing? Well the idea put forward is that a relatively small pool of cash buyers in conjunction with limited supply of properties for sale (we’re all waiting for prices to recover!) is pushing prices up. This may well be true, and if it is this signals trouble because it cannot last.

I don’t see much other than sideways movement for the moment.