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The UK housing markets has served canny investors well over the years.
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For about two thirds of the last 40 years, investing in housing using a mortgage facility has given excellent returns generally higher than putting cash into a building society, let alone National Savings or a bank.
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Property investment – like any form of investment – is a skill, which can be learned by either:
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Learning it the hard way (through your own mistakes) or |
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Learning from someone else’s experience |
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That’s because the success of your investment depends on:
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Buying the right property |
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Buying in the right location |
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Finding and managing your tenants |
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Managing and maintaining your property |
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Dealing effectively with voids, refurbishments, agents and any tenant problems. |
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If you buy your property in the wrong area you could lose your money, be unable to resell the property or possibly, you might not be able to find suitable tenant.
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| Right now, many ‘quick-fix’ investors are choosing the wrong properties and the wrong finance, buying too many properties and managing them badly. |
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However, there is money to be made by those with common sense and a practical game plan for the long term – which is where he professional helps out. But in case you think you might have missed the property investment cycle, let me give three forecasts from 2002
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The average house price is predicted to almost triple in value from £101,161 to £300,643 by 2015(Extract from Housing Futures). Imagine how well you would do if you beat the average.
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New House-building can’t possibly keep up with demand UK Population is predicted to rise 10% in the next 25 years (that’s 6 million people!) |
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RENTAL DEMAND will nearly double inside ten years (Extract from the Centre for Economic Business research) |
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It’s not hard to see that the long term Buy To Let investor will call the shots over the next decade and beyond – cashing in on escalating price and a growing pool of renters.
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The question you should be asking today isn’t “Should I invest in what will become the most lucrative market of the 21st century.”
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......but rather, “How can I do it safely and profitably?.
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| When deciding where to buy in the UK (if you are buying to Let), you should consider the following; |
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a property located close to public transportation will be a good choice.
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Knowledge of future train lines, road widening schemes etc. |
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High maintenance properties such as those with large gardens or a lot of woodwork should also be avoided in most cases. |
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