Liverpool - Buy to let

tintin007

Hello All,

I am a FTB , as i am about to move abroad thought of investing in BTL property in north. Had a chat with few new off plan development sales people , they are trying to sell me few in liverpool . I can see more development projects in liverpool , will it be a good investment? The only reason is i dont want to keep my money in bank and i dont want to convert my GBP to USD ( i am moving there for work 8months -18 months)

I am interested in 1 bed apartment near liverpool water front ,( water street , 82k) ,closer to james street station , i can put 50% deposit , it is expected to complete in 2017 and seller will pay 7% rental yield for 2 years .

I like to keep this for long term , rent it to professional or mature student , dont want to sell it in 5-10 years. Is it a better investment , any suggestions welcome.

x

Pixie5740

I suppose the first thing to find out would be if you can get a BTL mortgage for the other 50% otherwise it will be a total non-starter.

Although if I was going to buy a BTL in that area I wouldn't be buying an off-plan new build and I certainly wouldn't be buying it based on the figures given to me by the person trying to sell me the place. If something sounds to good to be true then it usually is. How will they guarantee a 7% rental yield. Will they have some kind of commercial tenancy agreement with you whilst they let the property out to anyone they can get to fill it?

If you must buy a BTL in that area buy somewhere that's already built assuming the figures stack up. Also read G_M's Tenancies in England/Wales: Guide for Landlords and Tenants.

tintin007

Thanks Pixie5740 , I will check the link you sent .

this is the link for advt

rightmove.co.uk/new-homes-for-sale/property-61175099.html

eddddy

tintin007 wrote: »

I am interested in 1 bed apartment near liverpool water front ,( water street , 82k) ,closer to james street station , i can put 50% deposit , it is expected to complete in 2017 and seller will pay 7% rental yield for 2 years .

Presumably, you understand all the risks involved in putting your money into an unregulated investment scheme like this?

I guess one of the bigger risks is:

You (and others) are essentially 'lending' a developer £40k each in order to finance a development project.

How thoroughly have you checked out the individuals or company you are 'lending' £40k? Are they financially secure? Have they got a track record in property development?

If they go bust you could lose your £40k - as happened here: http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/business/business-news/dylan-harvey-residential-in-administration-926233

Pixie5740

£2,500 Reservation Fee
35% payable on exchange
15% payable after six months along with furniture pack payment
Transfer balance on completion

Investors only. No Help to Buy. Hmmm. Sounds risky to me and i wonder if you'll even be able to get a mortgage on it. Your situation is made more complicated because if you do manage to get a mortgage offer now and it expires before you are able to complete you'll then be living overseas and could have trouble securing an extension or applying for another mortgage.

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/new-homes-for-sale/property-61175099.html

Having had a look at companies trying to sell these flats it looks as though the 1-bedroom flats started at £92,500 and that was presumable for the smallest (35 m2) ones. Now there are 1-bedroom flats for £10k less on Rightmove.

http://brookhouseinvestments.com/property/residence-8-water-street/

AnotherJoe

Sounds very risky to me if you want the money back in 18 months time because it could easily be worth less than you paid. You have to take into account the new build premium, the money you are paying for furniture that will essentially be worthless when you come to sell, the costs of buying and selling, and the chance that there will be little house price increase and possibly a decrease anyway.

Given all that I think you'd be lucky to get back even the same and odds are it will be less.

Can you explain why you don't want to leave your money in a bank ? You could always leave it with the government, in National Savings.

Mr.Generous

talk to a property expert / letting agent about flats / management fees / management companies. I wouldn't buy flats ever. 80k flats in a couple of years with some bad tenants can be 50k flats, then the management company goes bump and you cannot sell. But the seller is bound to tell you all this, he won't just make vague promises about 7% yield (which is pretty average for property).

Cakeguts

Where do you live now? If you don't live in the North and know the local area and buying fashions do not buy in the North. What you don't want is a BTL flat in a block of other BTL flats. A one bed flat could be extremely difficult to sell.

£82K is too cheap. It won't be in the kind of area that young professionals want to rent. Good properties in good areas in the north are not cheap now. I would expect to pay at least £200k for a property in a fashionable area in a northern city.

tintin007

Thanks for your replies. At the moment many new development projects going on in liverpool city centre and HS2 aswell , Hence checking BTL option there.

liverpoolwaters.co.uk/

regenerationliverpool.co.uk/

liverpool.ac.uk/ersa2008/John_Flamson.pdf

Cakeguts

tintin007 wrote: »

Thanks for your replies. At the moment many new development projects going on in liverpool city centre and HS2 aswell , Hence checking BTL option there.

liverpoolwaters.co.uk/

regenerationliverpool.co.uk/

liverpool.ac.uk/ersa2008/John_Flamson.pdf

I have just had a quick look at Rightmove and there are lots of flats to rent in Liverpool and all of them are in a better area than the one you are thinking of buying. To get a nice flat in a fashionable area of Liverpool you have to pay roughly £200K for a one bed. If you are looking at something costing only 82K it will not be in a good/safe area. If it was in a good/safe area it would cost around £200K. You haven't done enough research. Do you live in the Liverpool area? Have you been to the area where you are thinking of buying this flat?

DoctorDooLittle

Being a landlord can be difficult if you live around the corner.
Being busy with work overseas wouldn't put you in a great position, if problems started with the flat and / or tenants.
I'd look into other investment options if I was you. Ones that require less time and presence.