buying invest property?

PM

Ive been able to release some capital enough to buy another property. Should I buy a property for purpose of buy to let or wait? with the current housing market im confused.

Im currently looking to buy if I do mainly near west london (heathrow) / slough or I was thinking in east london with the upcomming olympics.

any views?

ginger_nuts

buy in eastern europe

dunstonh

its about the only place to make money on property at this time (or going outside of Europe) unless you are a builder or damned handy on the DIY or are a professional landlord with experience, no/low borrowing and in it for the long term.

PM

well i am looking to buy long term. I was thinking abroad but thought its to risky. just want something which is safe for my long tem future.

ginger_nuts

if you are thinking about buying then think about your rental market .
Who will you rent to ,how easy is it to rent also after the olympics will there be a glut off property in that area .Lots of BTLers are looking at olympic land .Long term property will go up in price .
Really depends on how long term you want to be .5 ,10 ,15 years .

dunstonh

just want something which is safe for my long tem future.

Is actual property the right thing for you then?

Do you know a good property from a bad one? Is there any borrowing going to be involved (mortgaged buy to lets are much higher risk than those with no borrowing)? What are the rental yields going to be like? How much tax are you going to pay? How would you react if the property prices fell 30% over a period and would it affect you financially if they did?

As for olympics, I would have thought a lot of the "gains" would have already been built into prices in that area and as gn says, what happens after when you get a load of them selling up?

Property is not a dead cert to making money. It requires knowledge and understanding of what you are doing at this time as rental yields are low, interest rates are on the up and property prices are at a peak. If you are a higher rate taxpayer, you may find much of the gain is taken in tax.

defender_of_the_weak

It has been shown in recent reviews that up to a third of the property sold in some eastern european countries do not belong to the vendor. If you are new to BTL then try the UK first, research your market thoroughly to get the most consistent rental income and remember that any void periods must be covered by your current income. Above all else, remember that BTL is long term and you must be able to ride out any rate increases or short term falls in value.

thesaint

Property is kind of maxed out in this country,

I would find it hard to justify buying here anymore. Abroad is definitely the place to be, my brother has just sold up and moved to Brazil and brought a property over there. Previously he had absolutely no interest in property, but the returns over there are stunning.
I would not try it abroad unless it is somewhere you can get to without too much trouble or have someone who you can trust. The bigger the return= The bigger the risk.