ell77:


Britain needs foreign students. I would argue this is a major pillar of our economy. I wish Leadsom had won. Even though she was a Brexiter she understood economics more. She may eventually have realised more immigration is needed when given the facts.

She doesn't have the gravitas to be a PM judging by her cash-crashed and short lived campaign.

She is supported by Britain First organization which is a cross between BNP and UKIP. The group made a public video support her and slagged off Theresa May and she never come out to distant herself from the group

claremont:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/07/23/theresa-may-plans-new-immigration-crackdown-on-student-visas/?WTmcid=tmgoff_soc_spf_fb&WT.mc_id=sf31634953
''Theresa May’s new government is preparing the ground for a fresh crackdown on immigration amid concerns that universities have become an easy route into Britain for migrants who want to work.

The Prime Minister has backed calls to restrict student visas so that only the brightest and best can come to study at reputable universities in Britain.

As Home Secretary she took action to close down “bogus” colleges and to limit visas for students coming to study some further education courses.

But Mrs May’s team believe further restrictions on international students could significantly help to reduce net migration.''

This sounds scary...

justwise:


She doesn't have the gravitas to be a PM judging by her cash-crashed and short lived campaign.

She is supported by Britain First organization which is a cross between BNP and UKIP. The group made a public video support her and slagged off Theresa May and she never come out to distant herself from the group

Sorry Mr Justwise but I think that you are wrong.
For good or bad I think she will turn out to be one of the strongest Prime Ministers that the UK has had.
Stronger that Thatcher, perhaps up there with Churchill.

justwise:

She doesn't have the gravitas to be a PM judging by her cash-crashed and short lived campaign.
She is supported by Britain First organization which is a cross between BNP and UKIP. The group made a public video support her and slagged off Theresa May and she never come out to distant herself from the group

Thought that was a rumour/smear campaign set up to sideline her. Well if that's the case, immigrants never had a chance once Brexit was voted for. I wonder if labour will stop fighting themselves in time for next general election? Or if another party like UKIP will end up succeeding Tories (God forbid)?

worry359:


Sorry Mr Justwise but I think that you are wrong.
For good or bad I think she will turn out to be one of the strongest Prime Ministers that the UK has had.
Stronger that Thatcher, perhaps up there with Churchill.

I don't think we r talking about the same person

ell77:


Thought that was a rumour/smear campaign set up to sideline her. Well if that's the case, immigrants never had a chance once Brexit was voted for. I wonder if labour will stop fighting themselves in time for next general election? Or if another party like UKIP will end up succeeding Tories (God forbid)?

She never came out to distance herself from them. Her comment about Theresa may as well did not do her any good.

I really don't know what she stands for.

claremont:


The bank that would give you the best deal is the bank you already have a good history with i.e. the bank where your cash inflow and outflow goes to. They can see your history, so they would already know how you manage money. I registered with RBS as a post-graduate student in 2009, it took me till 2013 to get an overdraft with them, I got my first credit card with them in 2014 and a second one in 2015. If you are working with a good credit history, your bank will keep on shoving credit facilities into your face. You have to be very careful in the way you use credit, you can ruin your life if you misuse it to the point when you struggle to pay it back.

Credit, when used properly can open up a lot of doors, especially for those interested in investing in the UK property market. You can get a mortgage for a property, rent that property out. Use the equity from the first property as deposit for a second mortgage. Just keep on rolling it over like that.

Funny how I was literally thinking about this when I logged in and read this. Are you doing this right now? Can we talk offline?

spacyzuma:
For the people who've been in UK for years and are now working or doing business here, how do you deal with credit?

From personal experiences, which bank gives the best credit card deals? I've googled and have a list, but I wanna hear experiences from fellow Nigerians.

If you are new to credit, I think your choices might be limited anyway. But it shouldn't really matter in terms of the interest rate and all, if you stay well below the limit. After some months your credit score will improve and then you can get even better deals.

ocheejemb:


Funny how I was literally thinking about this when I logged in and read this. Are you doing this right now? Can we talk offline?

Sorry, no offline messages mate. Ask everything on here so others can benefit.

claremont:


Sorry, no offline messages mate. Ask everything on here so others can benefit.

Right. So I was wondering if you have actually taken out two mortgages, where in the UK, and how, specifically, does the equity on the first helps towardsthe second? It often seems to me a mortgage is more of a liability than an asset. Especially if you are buying to let, then the actual margins between what you can collect as rent and what you have to pay back as mortgage, is in the region of tens to hundreds of pounds. Then there will be all sorts of tax and hidden costs and insurance eating into your tiny margins. Indeed the value of the house itself could rise astronomically, if it is in that sort of area. But even accessing that latent value would be prohibitively expensive.

Of course I might be wrong as Ive only done secondary research from quite a distance.

ocheejemb:
how, specifically, does the equity on the first helps towards the second?

Let's assume you buy a residential home with a 30% deposit, you then need a mortgage of 70%. You get the mortgage, and keep up monthly payments for a year and even make some lump sum payments to offset the mortgage. At the end of a year, your equity in the property is about 40%. You apply for a second buy-to-let mortgage using some savings and some equity from the first property. Bear in mind that most Buy-to-let mortgages require a minimum of 25% equity, so basically, the property you aim for would be properties in the lower end of the market. This would rule out the south, and hence, the focus on the north of England.

ocheejemb:
It often seems to me a mortgage is more of a liability than an asset. Especially if you are buying to let, then the actual margins between what you can collect as rent and what you have to pay back as mortgage, is in the region of tens to hundreds of pounds.

Haha Tell that to Landlords who make thousands splitting up a 2 -bedroom house into 5 bedrooms and renting out each room to students. Assuming each student rents the room for £200/month, and total mortgage payments and bills is £500/month, it still leaves the Landlord with a net inflow of £500/month from just one property. Plus the Landlord doesn't pay any council tax as students are exempt from paying it, electric bills are equally shared by the students.

ocheejemb:
Then there will be all sorts of tax and hidden costs and insurance eating into your tiny margins. Indeed the value of the house itself could rise astronomically, if it is in that sort of area.

Whatever taxes incurred can be offset as expenses. Insurance is a standard requirement for every home in the country, just a matter of upgrading to Landlord insurance rather than the normal home insurance.

Thanks, claremont and ocheejemb.
I'll check with my bank.
I also tested the Credit Card Eligibility Checker on MoneySavingExpert.com and got a list of recommended credit card deals.

spacyzuma:
Thanks, claremont and ocheejemb.
I'll check with my bank.
I also tested the Credit Card Eligibility Checker on MoneySavingExpert.com and got a list of recommended credit card deals.

Use checkmyfile.com to check your score and apply for suggested credit cards through it. The credit card companies will usually not do another search, instead will take the information provided by checkmyfile as they work in partnership.
You can also try experian. Remember to cancel your membership before the trial period runs out

claremont:

Let's assume you buy a residential home with a 30% deposit, you then need a mortgage of 70%. You get the mortgage, and keep up monthly payments for a year and even make some lump sum payments to offset the mortgage. At the end of a year, your equity in the property is about 40%. You apply for a second buy-to-let mortgage using some savings and some equity from the first property. Bear in mind that most Buy-to-let mortgages require a minimum of 25% equity, so basically, the property you aim for would be properties in the lower end of the market. This would rule out the south, and hence, the focus on the north of England.


Haha Tell that to Landlords who make thousands splitting up a 2 -bedroom house into 5 bedrooms and renting out each room to students. Assuming each student rents the room for £200/month, and total mortgage payments and bills is £500/month, it still leaves the Landlord with a net inflow of £500/month from just one property. Plus the Landlord doesn't pay any council tax as students are exempt from paying it, electric bills are equally shared by the students.

Whatever taxes incurred can be offset as expenses. Insurance is a standard requirement for every home in the country, just a matter of upgrading to Landlord insurance rather than the normal home insurance.

You will never get permission to convert a 2-bed to a 5-bed in the UK. In some towns, you even need a HMO licence for more than 2 unrelated people to stay together.

I guess it is feasible to own property like that outside London sha where you could get property in the region of 150k or less. In any casde, it is not as simple as you make it sound. Unless you have actually done it, then i stand corrected.

ocheejemb:

You will never get permission to convert a 2-bed to a 5-bed in the UK.

I don't want this to turn into a thread about properties, just google ''Convert 2 bedroom to HMO''. It's very possible and doable with a bit of capital. The Asians have been doing this for donkey years, and renting out the rooms to students and people on housing benefit. Do some research on it, you will be surprised what you will find.

claremont:


I don't want this to turn into a thread about properties, just google ''Convert 2 bedroom to HMO''. It's very possible and doable with a bit of capital. The Asians have been doing this for donkey years, and renting out the rooms to students and people on housing benefit. Do some research on it, you will be surprised what you will find.

I didn't want to either, but you wanted to engage in the conversation here for others to benefit. You did illuminate on some interesting points, thank you for that, However, I still think converting a 2 bed to a 5 bed is illegal. There are strict rules about this sort of thing -- http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1985/68/part/X

ocheejemb:

I didn't want to either, but you wanted to engage in the conversation here for others to benefit. You did illuminate on some interesting points, thank you for that, However, I still think converting a 2 bed to a 5 bed is illegal. There are strict rules about this sort of thing -- http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1985/68/part/X

It is not illegal. There are regulations you need to follow and in many cases permission to be sought. But it is a viable strategy many landlords have used to achieve wealth. Some crafty landlords build illegal HMOs to cut costs of following the regulations, others follow the regulations and have been doing so for years. It is a proven model. A 3 bed HMOs have less regulations and are utilised more frequently than the 5 beds which have more stringent requirements.

Just got emailed this, I don't know if it applies to other money transfer agents.

claremont:
Just got emailed this, I don't know if it applies to other money transfer agents.

In other words, all foreign exchange income from that source will be gone. Nice country

claremont:
Just got emailed this, I don't know if it applies to other money transfer agents.

A friend of mine got this email too. Had to quickly use WUMT before they do the same thing.

I exchanged Naira to Pounds at the MMA black market in Lagos 6 years ago for N250~/1GBP. These are the rates prospective students face today.

claremont:
I exchanged Naira to Pounds at the MMA black market in Lagos 6 years ago for N250~/1GBP. These are the rates prospective students face today.

Intredasting

I'm travelling home this month. I think I am going to enjoy my stay

spikesC:

Intredasting

I'm travelling home this month. I think I am going to enjoy my stay

yep, just £2000 is already 1 million Naira.

claremont:
Just got emailed this, I don't know if it applies to other money transfer agents.

Now this is hard to take..how will one send money home now?

justwise:


Now this is hard to take..how will one send money home now?

Via WesternUnion, MoneyGram and RIA.

blank:


Via WesternUnion, MoneyGram and RIA.

waste of money with those, have used both before but not willing to use them again

justwise:

waste of money with those, have used both before but not willing to use them again

blank:


Via WesternUnion, MoneyGram and RIA.

I used Rhemito yesterday at N485, WU and money gram use ridiculous rates. Apparently Azimo too works but their rates are low.

dustydee:



I used Rhemito yesterday at N485, WU and money gram use ridiculous rates. Apparently Azimo too works but their rates are low.

Azimo has stopped operating

justwise:
[/b]

Azimo has stopped operating

Chai!, when I checked a 2 days ago they seemed to be fine. I hope Rhemito stays active.

dustydee:

Chai!, when I checked a 2 days ago they seemed to be fine. I hope Rhemito stays active.

Check today

I understand that foreign students are allowed to only work for 20 hours a week, that's too small you know considering that for someone like me that wants to go for masters, it's only one year. Please my ogas, can I get a side job dat can offer me extra cash, aside from the allowed allocated 20 hrs per week. It's too hard you know. Please guy clarify me

CapitalCee:
I understand that foreign students are allowed to only work for 20 hours a week, that's too small you know considering that for someone like me that wants to go for masters, it's only one year. Please my ogas, can I get a side job dat can offer me extra cash, aside from the allowed allocated 20 hrs per week. It's too hard you know. Please guy clarify me

The law is the law. If you think you can't afford it, I suggest you look for cheaper countries like Germany.