From Twitter: @ThePureGroup
For about 2 years I would only ever look at flats, lease hold flats, one bed and two beds and nothing more.
My philosophy was simple, flats would always increase as the market increased, they were the first to move.
Flats were always easy to tenant too.
My ideal tenant would be the young, professional tenants who were moving out/in for the first time and in together as their relationships hopefully blossomed. I’d paint the walls white, I’d put a lovely new kitchen in and a MFI Barcelona bathroom suite and the flat would wonderful, my tenants would be happy and my yield would be a lovely 10%. As my portfolio grew, I would often be asked to find property for friends and colleagues and my advice would always be the same, historically smaller property would be the first to increase in value, they would require a smaller amount in as a deposit and consequently you could buy more, however does ‘more’ always equate to better?
There are in my opinion, two types of landlord; The professional and The part timer.
The professional would invest full time and have the means to not only purchase but to also manage their portfolio.
The part timer would either have a full time job or a full time family so their time would be stretched so purchasing lots of little un’s would be time consuming making this particular strategy a nonstarter.
As my client list grew, I had to look at the strategy I had stuck to for so long and start evaluating different types of deals. I began to look at houses, again local, but a lot more expensive to purchase and consequently they needed a lot more money put in as a deposit. When I ran a few of these types of deals, the software I used would often show a much higher yield and consequently the return on investment would be that much better.
With regards to the property itself, my strategy would remain the same. I’d paint the walls white, the only difference is that there would be more of them. I’d put in the Howden’s kitchen, all be it a slightly bigger one and I would pop in the same Barcelona bathroom suite.
It became clear that everything was relative, if you put a little more in, you would get a little more out so if you had the cash, you may as well purchase a more expensive property which would increase your return on investment. If you were a little light, you could look for something a little smaller.
Now of course, there are exceptions to the rule.
You can find a small one which is incredibly juicy and you may also find a lot of large ones which are not quite so attractive so you could end up looking for longer.
I learnt a lot of lessons over the years and one of the most important things to take on board is that property investment, like most investments is a very personal thing. What works for some may not work for others and therefore there is no ‘blue print’ for successful property investing. It all comes down to whether a deal works or doesn’t work, it’s that simple, it’s that black and white.
Author: Julian Sonnessa
Well it’s not long now till will start to rush round like headless chickens buying up presents to give to loved ones and work colleagues alike. So has it arrived to early.
Every year we complain that the season of good will is been thrown at us earlier and earlier or is it that we are getting old and time is moving quicker for us now.
To give you an example if you tell a 4 year old Christmas is 2 months away this seems like an eternity as they have only experienced life for a short time. Now if you tell someone in their 40s Christmas is 2 months away this is comparatively a short time to what they have lived so far so it feels as if Christmas is arriving earlier.
This is the same in property investment if you look at the figures when you were 18 to wait 25 years for your investment to realise seems like a long time so what do we learn from this. Well we should take stock and look to our future arriving faster than we think.
Now is the time to invest in the property market with interest rates at an all-time low and prices are competitive to what they were. Belive me 10 -15 years investment will go by quickly and before you know it you will be retiring and enjoying the fruits of your labour.
Author: Chris Lunson
Over the past 15 years I’ve probably carried out over 1000 refurbishments on investment property.
From a quick coat of paint to a full electrical rewiring, I’ve pretty much tackled every job and along the way learnt many expensive lessons.
So, for this week’s blog, I thought I would give you a few tips which may help save you a few pounds if you’re looking to refurbish a property.
Top tip Number one – Keep it neutral.
When a potential tenant first visits your property, you want them to see a blank canvas, somewhere where they can put their own mark. So, its neutral carpets and magnolia walls throughout. The kitchen should be functional and easily maintainable, same with the bathroom. Look for companies who supply to trade and then find a friend/local builder who has a trade account who will be able to secure you extra discounts. Gloss white, dark laminated work surfaces and fresh white tiles will give any kitchen, no matter how small and pokey, a warm and welcoming feel.
Top tip number two – Keep it simple.
Remember, everything that I write about in my blogs are personal opinions based on personal experiences. You may agree, you might completely disagree but remember, I have experienced the pain first hand. When it comes to a kitchen for example, I keep it as basic as I possibly can. No integrated items, no fridge freezers, nothing other than the bare essentials. As a landlord you are responsible for any items in the kitchen such as the cooker, fridge and so on and when something breaks, you’ll be responsible for replacing it so the less there is, the better it is for you. If you your potential tenant wants a cooker and you are prepared to supply one, I would suggest you make a gift of it, so therefore you are not responsible for its replacement when it breaks.
Top tip number three – Gifts over cash.
Whenever I rent a property, I’ll always look to try and price It as competitively as possible. I will always look to push the rental figure as high as possible but make sure my property represents good value to the tenant. One way by which I do this is that I offer incentives to tenants. I found that a reduction in rent will only go so far so what I look to do is add a little more intrigue by offering a flat screen TV or Freeview box as an incentive. What I want the potential tenant to do is imagine living in my property, imagine sitting down and watching a film on their new TV or cooking in the brand new kitchen, I want them to imagine making my investment their home. You could offer M&S vouchers, you could offer other vouchers but my tip would be this, make it interesting and make it a little different than everyone else.
You want your tenant to make a home, you want your tenants to make your investment their home.
Why?
Author: Julian Sonnessa
