Buy to Let Property

FirstTimeSolo

Miranda25 said:

FirstTimeSolo said:

Miranda25 said:

FirstTimeSolo said:

Have you done a search in south croydon? There are some HTB properties there that are not over priced and in line with other similar older flats on sale in the area. 

Do you think Croydon is safe? Do you live there?

No I don’t live there but I have friends who do and I have considered it for buying a property myself. I have never felt unsafe when I visit. South Croydon is Residential but has lots of restaurants and close to high street shops. 

East Croydon is also close to shops, Boxpark right by the station and lots of fast trains.
If you are serious about buying then you should go visit the streets/ areas where suitable properties are located. 

The cheapest house in Croydon -£240k, out of my budget. 
Until now I cannot make my mind- to go for flat in Greater London or house outside of London and travel for work :-)

Decent houses start around £425k in Croydon. There are HTB flats in Croydon, some of which are not over priced. 

Just search new builds near east and south croydon stations. Some around £310 mark with HTB

FirstTimeSolo

Should clarify, that price is for houses walking distance from the two stations. 

Miranda25

jumperabv3 said:

Miranda25 said:

hazyjo said:

How can I protect myself being a landlord to avoid such situations?

You can't.

Sorry for jumping in so late into this thread.
I'm a BTL investor and I've exchanged/completed on the 25th of June on a lovely 1 bed house in Reading.
The reasons why I like Reading is the Elizabeth Line and also you have plenty of places with budget suitable for your needs (up to £200k) - and you can get nice yields there in Reading such as 5%-6% net (after service charges etc. or after expenses) excluding letting agent fees.
I get over 4.1% with my investment excluding all possible and potential and agent fees incl. rent insurance etc.

What hazyjo said is not 100% correct, you can pay a bit extra for "rent guarantee" or "rent insurance" scheme (that would also apply during this COVID19 climate) - and this way you can "protect" yourself from tenants who cause you troubles - if they decide to maliciously destroy your property you would be covered, you would be covered for legal fees and more.

Treat it as business basically, there are lots of ways to ensure you would get a steady income from your investment.

Thank you.
Are you going to rent 1-bed house? As I had impression that nobody is interested 1-bed houses even for renting and everyone wants larger houses. Would you recommend to buy somewhere close to university (to target students) or near the Elizabeth line or it doesn't matter?
There is also Bracknell near by which is expected to grow by 15% over the next few years. Would you recommend Reading or Bracknell?

p00hsticks

Reading has much better transport links than Bracknell

Miranda25

jumperabv3 said:

Miranda25 said:

hazyjo said:

How can I protect myself being a landlord to avoid such situations?

You can't.

Sorry for jumping in so late into this thread.
I'm a BTL investor and I've exchanged/completed on the 25th of June on a lovely 1 bed house in Reading.
The reasons why I like Reading is the Elizabeth Line and also you have plenty of places with budget suitable for your needs (up to £200k) - and you can get nice yields there in Reading such as 5%-6% net (after service charges etc. or after expenses) excluding letting agent fees.
I get over 4.1% with my investment excluding all possible and potential and agent fees incl. rent insurance etc.

What hazyjo said is not 100% correct, you can pay a bit extra for "rent guarantee" or "rent insurance" scheme (that would also apply during this COVID19 climate) - and this way you can "protect" yourself from tenants who cause you troubles - if they decide to maliciously destroy your property you would be covered, you would be covered for legal fees and more.

Treat it as business basically, there are lots of ways to ensure you would get a steady income from your investment.

What postcodes in Reading will be close to the Elizabeth line station please? Thanks :-)

jumperabv3

Miranda25 said:

Thank you.
Are you going to rent 1-bed house? As I had impression that nobody is interested 1-bed houses even for renting and everyone wants larger houses. Would you recommend to buy somewhere close to university (to target students) or near the Elizabeth line or it doesn't matter?
There is also Bracknell near by which is expected to grow by 15% over the next few years. Would you recommend Reading or Bracknell?

I bought it with tenants in situ, already got July's rent paid (they started renting on the 1st of June), and it's definitely not a problem finding tenants as the demand in most places in Reading is quite  and many indicators (e.g. propertydata.co.uk) show that rent demand is only going to increase which creates potential rent increases (reasonable ones though!) - 
You have the 300 Kings Road project which is consisted of brand new flats (well, not so new now as it has been on the market for quite a while) - I personally think they overpriced what they're asking for but you can take a look if you wish:
http://www.300kingsroad.com
I personally wouldn't aim only for student flats, and I aimed for West Reading, near Tilehurst - as the Elizabeth Line should have a wide affect on all the surrounding areas and history showed many times surrounding areas benefit more (as they have more space, more parking available, Reading town centre is terrible for parking and it's quite crowded - although some people like it).

I don't know Bracknell well enough to tell you whether Bracknell is a better option but I personally would choose Reading over Bracknell, once Reading would start being the 1st stop in the Elizabeth Line it would get more attention, and even without the Elizabeth Line the current trains to get to Paddington in about 23 minutes but don't look at it as if the Elizabeth Line is the only choice or matter for your desirable location - it is a factor but there are many more factors to consider (which is the property itself you would be investing in).

Crashy_Time

Miranda25 said:

FirstTimeSolo said:

Have you done a search in south croydon? There are some HTB properties there that are not over priced and in line with other similar older flats on sale in the area. 

Do you think Croydon is safe? Do you live there?

 What do you mean by safe? 

Crashy_Time

Miranda25 said:

FirstTimeSolo said:

Miranda25 said:

FirstTimeSolo said:

Have you done a search in south croydon? There are some HTB properties there that are not over priced and in line with other similar older flats on sale in the area. 

Do you think Croydon is safe? Do you live there?

No I don’t live there but I have friends who do and I have considered it for buying a property myself. I have never felt unsafe when I visit. South Croydon is Residential but has lots of restaurants and close to high street shops. 

East Croydon is also close to shops, Boxpark right by the station and lots of fast trains.
If you are serious about buying then you should go visit the streets/ areas where suitable properties are located. 

The cheapest house in Croydon -£240k, out of my budget. 
Until now I cannot make my mind- to go for flat in Greater London or house outside of London and travel for work :-)

Basically you need to rent in or just outside London, travel into London and visit various areas in the day, and at night, while also asking people who live in London for their views on various areas, plus you need to draw your own conclusions because people may have distorted ideas about crime/violence in areas they do not live in or frequent. Also it is probably the worst time in a long time to be buying property IMO, especially if you just grab something in an area you have no idea about.

jumperabv3

Miranda25 said:

What postcodes in Reading will be close to the Elizabeth line station please? Thanks :-)

RG1 ones are usually near the station, but again - I wouldn't judge a property based only on its proximity to the station, Tilehurst has lovely places that would produce you really nice yields, peace of mind and your capital (your investment) will rise as well. The property I was looking at was sold in Reading in 1991 for only £60,000 - it is now worth more than 3x times that value, based on several valuations by surveyors, estate agents that I asked them to conduct before I paid for the property - was I happy to pay 3x times more than what the current (now previous) owner paid in 1991? Personally it sounds a lot but this is where life has brought us ... in London prices went up even by DDx (double digits) in some locations... it shouldn't deter you from investing - the main thing you need is location and part of a good location, in my opinion, in Reading - is one with good space, parking spot (must! in my opinion) as well as enough shops etc. within a walking distance. Also Oxford Road has some bad name so it could be a hit or a miss, so best avoid if you're unsure - I used to live near Tilehurst Road for quite a while, I loved that place and I can tell you many landlords there keep on renting their places for quite long terms, you got tons of estate agents who would be happy to take your business as well (hence you can negotiate for a good management price), many of them would offer you rent insurance/guarantee policy as well (mine offered it with a 50% discount for the 1st year).

Miranda25

jumperabv3 said:

Miranda25 said:

hazyjo said:

How can I protect myself being a landlord to avoid such situations?

You can't.

Sorry for jumping in so late into this thread.
I'm a BTL investor and I've exchanged/completed on the 25th of June on a lovely 1 bed house in Reading.
The reasons why I like Reading is the Elizabeth Line and also you have plenty of places with budget suitable for your needs (up to £200k) - and you can get nice yields there in Reading such as 5%-6% net (after service charges etc. or after expenses) excluding letting agent fees.
I get over 4.1% with my investment excluding all possible and potential and agent fees incl. rent insurance etc.

What hazyjo said is not 100% correct, you can pay a bit extra for "rent guarantee" or "rent insurance" scheme (that would also apply during this COVID19 climate) - and this way you can "protect" yourself from tenants who cause you troubles - if they decide to maliciously destroy your property you would be covered, you would be covered for legal fees and more.

Treat it as business basically, there are lots of ways to ensure you would get a steady income from your investment.

Jumperabv3,
Have you ever considered for investment Kent but not north Kent (Dartford, Gravesend)? I am talking about Sevenoaks, Turnbridge Wells, Maidstone and further? Have you ever thought about seaside towns?
Now I live in Bromley and really like it here. Thanks :-)