letting agents
Comments Off Buying to Let – Tips For Successful Investments
Are you interested in the buy-to-let market? Well, at the moment this part of the real estate market is blooming. This being said, investing in a second property and following a long term investment plan may be really profitable. However, if you want your investment to pay off, it’s best not to overlook quite a few aspects.
1. Location. If you are to buy a property which you’re planning to let, make sure its location is money-effective. To determine that, all you have to do is check if there are potential tenants interested in that particular area. For example, if there’s a university nearby or in that particular town, or if there’s a group of local employers there, tenants will surely show up sooner or later.
2. Determine the costs and income properly. For this aspect, first you should choose the right mortgage, but know that most lenders will take into consideration the expected rental income. So, to make sure everything goes profitable for you, the rental income has to exceed your monthly mortgage rate by at least 25%. Also, take into account if you can afford to pay your monthly mortgage rare if the interest rates will spike and if the property is vacant for longer than a few months.
3. Hire a letting agent. Finding a tenant, the right tenant, willing to pay a high monthly rent, isn’t exactly easy. A letting agent is the best part to hire for finding tenants and even to manage your new property. Remember that if your new property remains unoccupied for several months, you may end up in the position of being unable to pay the mortgage. A letting agent will find you reliable tenants, and it’s in their interest to obtain a high monthly rate because they are usually paid by a percentage of that particular monthly rental payment. Anyway, you should be careful when you choose your letting agents and expect to be charged up to 15-18% of the rental income. I live in Edinburgh and here’s the website of the best letting agents Edinburgh had provided me with.
4. Don’t overlook hidden costs. And not only hidden costs, but other factors that may have a significant impact on your buy-to-let deal. When it comes to hidden costs, you should think of solicitors fees, mortgage arrangement fees, stamp duties etc. Plus, be careful, especially if you’re going to hire letting agents to take let your property, so that they won’t thicken up their bill with unwanted expenses. I’m sure you wouldn’t like a £100 bill for a building inventory that you didn’t order.