Should I Buy to Let at these prices????

juliesutcliffe

Listen to your instinct and if you want to buy to rent then do it. Really believe in what your doing and don't ever, ever doubt yourself. Never put yourself in a negative equity situation and spend little, save alot.
If you do everything with integrity and honesty you cannot fail. That is what the only millionaire i've ever met told me. Good luck

dougk_2

 Would you pay a bank to hold your savings?  .

Although we don't in the UK I am informed by a work colleague in some countries you do (he comes from Russia, where on most occassions you have to pay the bank!)

Also it wasn't that long ago when you had to pay an annual fee for holding a credit card - I have heard that this may return in the future.

Anyhow I do agree if you are intending to BTL, do so only if the rental income covers your basic monthly costs.
Don't forget if keeping for long term you will need maintenance, central heating upgrades/replacements, decorating between lets on occassions and general property updating etc.

GDB2222

Anyhow I do agree if you are intending to BTL,  do so only if the rental income covers your basic monthly costs.
Don't forget if keeping for long term you will need maintenance, central heating upgrades/replacements, decorating between lets on occassions and general property updating etc.

Agreed. Don't forget that the average property is void (untenanted) for 1 to 2 months per year. If you don't believe me, check the ARLA survey. Also, you need to allow for agent's fees of 10% + VAT, or more if they do the management.

Furniture and carpets need replacing every 3 to 5 years in my experience.

I would suggest as a rule of thumb that your mortgage costs need to be less than 8 to 9 times the monthly rent. In practice, that is hard to achieve at the moment, with rental yields of around 5%.

deemy2004

The bubbles popping

And interest rates ain't going to fall to cushion the blow, not when their on the rise all around the world. Not when inflations on the rise.

dougk_2

Deemy, think you should rename to Doomy! ;D

The interest rates in US and Europe are muc lower anyway.

I don't share your view but I don't disagree with you entirely.

There is plenty of money moving about in the UK and plenty of people with excess cash - its really only the FTB's who are losing out.

deemy2004

The end is neigh  :o

Meteorites, global warming, ice ages..........

Another 4 years of New labour  .........:o

;D

Here's hoping our european cousins don't pull Britain in line with their 10% unemployment and drifting economies.

The way I see it, people in the UK are way too optimistic, have gotten too cosy, for it is some 13-14 years since the last recession and all is forgotton. Thus the shock to the system is likely to be pretty HARD.

Still could be worse, we could have invaded iraq  :o

dougk_2

Realistically , unemployment is 10% if you take off all the people the government exclude from being officially unemployed!

Unemployed to me is people not working or in full time education...... but other think different!

deemy2004

The standardised OECD unemployment rates are -

United States 5.5%
UK 4.7%
France 9.6%
Germany 9.9%
Poland 18.7%
Austrailia 5.6%
Canada 7.1%
Italy 8.5%
Finland 8.9%
Spain 10.7%

Remember these are standardised rates generated by the OECD. Britains unemployment is less than half those of fellow European countries.

Also explains why so many poles are arriving in the UK.

VickyA_2

Look at the rental market in your area. You can say that you could get £500 a month. Is that a similar property in a similar area? Or just a same sized property in a different area with different facilities?

I'm renting at the moment (can't afford a deposit at the mo) and rental prices have been falling for similar properties to ours. It may also be something to do with the time of year. Who would you market the property to? Students? Professionals? Families?

Pal

If you do everything with integrity and honesty you cannot fail. That is what the only millionaire i've ever met told me. Good luck

I know lots of people who act with honesty and integrity and, alas, it is no guarantee of future riches.

Mike Black - Whatever you do, ignore the people who tell you that BTL is a "long term investment" and you should buy whatever the prices as long as you make a monthly profit. Circumstances change, and the last thing you want to do is find yourself declared bankrupt because interest rates rose faster than rents and you couldn't sell because of negative equity. BTL is a business, and you should always be looking to manage all of your risks, and the risk of falling asset values is a major one at the moment.