to buy or not to buy!

fizzysweets

hi all
my husband and i are renting out a property at the moment and are seriously thinking of buying another one to do the same. We have seen a new build apartment in an up and coming area of plymouth. The thing is we are slightly unsure about how the housing market is going to do over the next few years. We do plan to keep this as a long term investment but would seriously struggle if at worst case neither of our propertys are rented at any one time which is the main worry. Basically should we hold of for another 6-12 months and see how the property market is or bite the bullet and go for it. Plymouth is going through a major regeneration phase at the moment and loads of new builds are coming shopping centre ect. My husband feels we should make a good profit within 5-10 years by buying this property but i am a bit more reluctant should the housing market make a dramatic fall. advice much appreciated.
thanks

meanmachine_2

Are these "luxury executive apartments" by any chance?

I earn an exec salary and I work in London and I couldn't afford to buy one, so if you think Plymouth could support such a market, good luck to you.

In 20 years' time they're just as likely to be the 60s high rises of their day, if you ask me.

Doozergirl

I have heard that Plymouth is the place to buy from a friend who is currently working as an agent in that part of the country.

New build apartments are not a good idea IMHO; I think these are purposely being built and aimed at the 'booming' BTL market. In Birmingham (near to me) and other cities like Liverpool, the market is absolutely saturated with these flats and the prices (and rent) have dropped significantly as their target market dries up. The ability for people to sell these flats on is going to become an issue also. Please don't let the sales people talk the rent up either - you MUST speak to a good letting agent to get the real price. I suspect the yield will not be good. I could talk about new build flats as BTLs all day.

If you really want another BTL, my advice would be to aim at a property in an established area with good links to town - where there is true demand for rental. Again, a good letting agent will help with this. It's a generalisation, but the cheaper the property, the higher the proportional rent.

I think meany is right too - 'cool and trendy' today is 'dated and tired' tomorrow.