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BTL - £400k budget - where to buy?

bluedrop
bluedrop Posts: 662 Forumite
edited 5 December 2014 at 10:30PM in House buying, renting & selling
I'd like to buy a BTL property in London or London suburbs. We prefer safe family areas than btl hotspot shitholes. I can comfortably cover voids etc.

I'm doing my research about areas to consider - some inputs will be of great help - either in suggesting new areas that I didn't consider or ruling out areas I listed (for various reasons)

1. Milton Keynes - up coming areA, I get a lot of house for the money. Cons: Too far from London. Tooooo far from where I live

2. Bexley /welling : Good commute to London, can get a decent 3bed semi for my money

3. Denmark hill : decent area with a big hospital. I get a 2-3 bed flat for my money.

4. Reading : 20mins to london, I get a nice 3 bed house for my money.

5. East london : buy 2 flats in upton park area?

I don't live near any of these areas. I am in Beckenham - SE London.
There is more to life than increasing its speed.
«1

Comments

  • Managing it yourself or paying an Agent? I prefer 2,3 & 5 to 1&4.
    Mornië utulië
  • bluedrop
    bluedrop Posts: 662 Forumite
    Paying an agent to manage
    There is more to life than increasing its speed.
  • AdrianC
    AdrianC Posts: 42,189 Forumite
    Eighth Anniversary 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    What kind of yield %ages do you think each of the options will give you, after management, predictable maintenance & overheads?
  • ethank
    ethank Posts: 2,197 Forumite
    Holiday Haggler I've been Money Tipped!
    I live in MK and property prices are rising just as fast here as they are in London.

    If you bought in MK, you could buy two apartments in good locations for that money. Which potentially could give you a higher rate of capital growth because the you have two assets - not one.
  • Have you looked at the west sussex areas? Horley / Crawley / Redhill etc. All good rental prospects due to proximity to London / Gatwick airport and strong transport links?
  • Lily-Rose_3
    Lily-Rose_3 Posts: 2,732 Forumite
    ethank wrote: »
    I live in MK and property prices are rising just as fast here as they are in London.

    If you bought in MK, you could buy two apartments in good locations for that money. Which potentially could give you a higher rate of capital growth because the you have two assets - not one.

    I agree. I would definitely buy in Milton Keynes out of choices you give. I like London to visit, but wouldn't actually live there if you paid me. Milton Keynes is close enough. It takes less than an hour to get there by train.
    Proud to have lost over 3 stone (45 pounds,) in the past year! :j Now a size 14!


    You're not singing anymore........ You're not singing any-more! :D
  • socrates
    socrates Posts: 2,889 Forumite
    I am in BTL Business and with £400k I would struggle to know what to do in the current market

    I do know one thing if you do not intend to have use of a house you buy in the future for your own kids etc then forget buying a house - too many redundant rooms

    Another option for proper returns is to buy a property near you and rent it out as rooms

    These days I fill up ISA's and SIPPs - as well as the kids
  • Lily-Rose_3
    Lily-Rose_3 Posts: 2,732 Forumite
    I seriously believe that there will be a massive crash in London sooner or later, and people paying £700K-£990K for a tiny bedsit (for example,) will find themselves in a huge amount of negative equity eventually.
    Proud to have lost over 3 stone (45 pounds,) in the past year! :j Now a size 14!


    You're not singing anymore........ You're not singing any-more! :D
  • Pixie5740
    Pixie5740 Posts: 14,515 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Eighth Anniversary Name Dropper Photogenic
    It's difficult to say without knowing what the rental yields on the properties in each of the areas would be or are you purely going for capital gains?
  • AdrianC
    AdrianC Posts: 42,189 Forumite
    Eighth Anniversary 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Lily-Rose wrote: »
    I seriously believe that there will be a massive crash in London sooner or later, and people paying £700K-£990K for a tiny bedsit (for example,) will find themselves in a huge amount of negative equity eventually.
    Pixie5740 wrote: »
    ... or are you purely going for capital gains?
    Without subscribing to Lily-Rose's PoV necessarily, I don't think I'd be looking for capital gains, unless I was looking to hold for quite a while.
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