buy to let in Scotland?

kez1000

Fife is a very good option especially for cummuters travelling to Edinburgh .House prices or rent is very high forcing many to fife for cheaper housing Plenty flats for sale in the Dunfermline area I have 1 BTL and have had no trouble renting .

Good Luck

irishno1

Thanks everyone,

Have drawn up a final shortlist and am going to view some properties. Areas I am thinking of, and wouldk appreciate any thoughts good or bad on these, are Alloa in Clackmannanshire, Galkashiels, Kilmarnock or Fife?

alba37

I don't know any of the areas very well, but I think your best bet could be Alloa. Especially now after reading Prudent's post. Galashields is nice, but not sure about the rental there.

Leaving Kilmarnock, Fife or Alloa, Alloa seems like the best opertunity. I am from Glasgow and it would be almost impossible to get anything for £80,000 in any good part of the city.

shaz77_2

Why are house prices in certain areas of Scotland so low.

In addition to this while buying a house to rent in Scotland what expenses need to be taken into account?

alyth

Sorry, I had to laugh at the recommendation of BTL in Alloa - I grew up in the Hillfoots and Alloa 20 years ago was an absolute dump!!!!!! I'm assuming the area has improved since then, I know my mother is always raving on about the supermarkets there (God knows what, she needs to get out more!).

I assume Shaz house prices in certain areas are so low are because of things like high unemployment, and Alloa certainly had very high unemployment when I worked there 20 years ago.

You could take a look at https://www.alloadvertiser.com and https://www.county-news.co.uk to get an idea of what the area is like, I must look at them myself now to remind me of my youth!

shaz77_2

But areas such as Dundee have high employment and low house prices.

alba37

alyth wrote:

Sorry, I had to laugh at the recommendation of BTL in Alloa - I grew up in the Hillfoots and Alloa 20 years ago was an absolute dump!!!!!! I'm assuming the area has improved since then, I know my mother is always raving on about the supermarkets there (God knows what, she needs to get out more!).

I assume Shaz house prices in certain areas are so low are because of things like high unemployment, and Alloa certainly had very high unemployment when I worked there 20 years ago.

You could take a look at https://www.alloadvertiser.com and https://www.county-news.co.uk to get an idea of what the area is like, I must look at them myself now to remind me of my youth!

It was only my opinion, I don't know any of the areas well enough to know all about any one of them. I have visited them all and have friends in Alloa, Kilmarnock & Fife. Prudent mentioned that Alloa is up & coming and therefore IMO seems like a good bet for a long term investment. The location is good, and my friends have been very happy there for years... but like most areas, there are bound to be better or worse parts. I don't think the OP will buy without researching well themself first.

Finding a house for under £80,000 does not mean they can buy anywhere. They will be limited in options.

Some general stats here.

havekidsamskint

there is a large new hospital being built in Larbert, Central Region, so lots of staff will be looking to move into the area in the next year or so. If you search FK5 you should be able to find some decent properties for your budget on the house sales websites. youe rentals would be £350-£600 pcm.

if it didnt work you would still be able to sell at a profit due to the expected influx of staff that would want to buy, along with that their is very good links to edinburgh, glasgow & stirling

good luck

Dumyat

alloa and places like alva etc have had a lot of new builds recently and a lot of investment by big supermarkets etc. the new trainline is being built. house prices in stirling have forced a lot to have to look to areas like alloa. personally I wouldnt discount it. my cousin has a rental property in sauchie (I'm sure the poster will know what area that is ) and has no problems renting.

one of my relatives has just bought in Dundee for his son, but will probably be keeping it once he finishes uni. big student population and hospital etc and prices not too extreme.

alyth

Sorry, I honestly hope I didn't offend anyone, it's just weird to hear people looking for BTL in an area I know so well! I think the area would be okay, if only because of how easy it is to get to major cities. I come from Alva originally and worked in Alloa and frequented many of the pubs in the area in my youth (!) and 20 years ago it wasn't a particularly prosperous area. I am sure the rail link will bring in new business, I'm always horrified when I see the house prices in the area as I can remember what they used to be like, but I know that's true of everywhere.

And Shaz I lived and worked in dundee for many years and had property in Dundee, and it's like a city of two sides - one side is high unemployment, council estates and other associated problems, and the other side is fantastic new houses, new jobs from the medical and biotech industries, good universities. Dundee is a strong and versatile city now, despite massive recent redundancies, and I really do hope the Hillfoots area can turn itself around as Dundee has.