Selling on quickly without 'flipping'

[joseydix]

I have been buying rennovating and renting out properties for a few years. I wanted to start buying and rennovating to sell, perhaps doing 3 per year. I bought 2 flats and was ready to sell them a month after buying them. My solicitor informed me that this was now not possible as new money lanudering regualtions which came in last year sometime mean they cannot be sold for 6 months. He said that although there is nothing to stop me putting them up for sale anybody trying to buy would not be able to get lending on a property that had been sold within the last 6 months. Lenders have apparently very recently responded to the new money laundering regualtions with a blanket ban on lending on anything that has been sold within the previous 6 months to protect themselves. My mortgage broker did not even know this but when he checked with lenders he found that this was the case. I am therefore having to rent them out for 6 months until I can sell.

I can't help thinking there must be a way around this or people couldn't develop enough property to be full time or afford to make payments for 6 months on mortgages whilst waiting to sell.

Obviously any advice or further information would be much appreciated as this has scuppered my plans somewhat!

[googler]

You could sell them to cash buyers.....

[Kaz]

I was alarmed to read your post I'm a full-time developer who buys, renovates and sells on straight away but was not aware of the new ML regs.

I bought a house last year and, once refurbished, sold it to FTBs who had a mortgage 5 months later in October 2009. During the course of the sale, because I had owned the house less than 6 months, I was asked to fill in a form detailing how much I paid for the house, what work I had done to it and how much that work cost which satisfied the ML conditions. I'm hoping against hope that this hasn't changed as I really don't want to go down the route of renting out the properties.

I always use the same solicitor so he is totally aware of who I am and what I'm doing.

Has anyone else heard about this? I think a phone call to my solicitor first thing Monday morning is on the cards