Top tips for property investors

 

As you may already know, making money in property can be one of the safest investments you’ll make. But like any investment, there can be pitfalls if you don’t know what you are doing.

Today were going to give you our top tips for investing in property, it’s what we do, you should too. There are a number of things you need to consider when investing in property such as your return on your money in, any tax implications, what the area is like, etc.

Lets get stuck in with our top tips…

 

Tip #1 – Growth

 

Has the area you are looking to invest in got any future growth plans in place? Regeneration schedule maybe? This will ensure capital appreciation in the long run for your investment property. If transport links are improved then property prices also improve. If there’s a new shopping mall going up then there’s more employment to the area, therefore your property price will increase and you will also have tenants waiting to take your property.

This will also help towards your exit strategy if you have one.

 

 

Tip #2 – Finances

 

Get your finances ready, mortgage in principle if needed. This will allow you to be ready to snap up any great property deals as well as put you in a better position around the negotiation table.

 

 

Tip #3 – Figures

 

Know your figures. What are you buying the property for, how much will it take to bring the property up to scratch, don’t forget the legal costs and stamp duty and how much will the property be worth after you have completed your refurb. We advise you look at what has sold in the last 3, 6 or 12 months in your target area and you can get an idea of how much to expect yours to sell once finished. This is pretty simple to do, just head over to Rightmove or Zoopla sold prices, there are many other portals/software that will help you pull this data.

 

 

Tip #4 – ROI

 

How much money are you putting into the deal and how much are you getting back after refinancing (if you are refinancing) in year one. This will give you your return on investment. Remember the higher the ROI the harder your money is working for you.

EXAMPLE:

Purchase Price: £65,000

Refurb cost: £10,000

Legals and stamp duty: £2,500

TOTAL MONEY IN: £77,500 

New value of property: £100,000

Refinance at 75% loan to value which means you’ll be able to pull out: £75,000 which means you only have £2,500 left in the deal – After renting the property for £550pcm and paying your mortgage of £225pcm and management fee of £55pcm (10%) you will have a cash flow of £275pcm so potentially you can make your money back in year one which means your ROI will be 100%+

Now that’s a deal!

 

 

Tip #5 – Know your renters!

 

Know what type of tenant you will be attracting. This is important as if it’s a more professional tenant then they would potentially want a better specification finish on the property. They do look after the property and tend to pay rent on time. If the tenant type is a non professional, DSS maybe, then the finish may not have to be to the same standard, this will impact your refurb cost.

 

 

Tip #6 – Explore different strategies

 

To get the most from your property investment you need to know different strategies. HMOs are becoming more and more popular these days where you rent one property as individual rooms to several tenants. This will increase your rental income and therefore your cash flow and ROI, but you need to know if the area has a demand for HMOs.

Another strategy is serviced accommodation, maybe you buy a BMV apartment, you can potentially let it out on a holiday let basis or short let basis to maximise your rental income.

We won’t go over all the strategies, that’s another post in itself but consider your options to maximise your ROI.

 

 

Tip #7 – OPM (Other People Money)

 

A smart investor knows to use OPM or the banks money to make money. This will give you leverage and allow you to grow your investment portfolio much faster.

Example:

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CASH PURCHASE:

Property Price: £100,000

Legals and Stamp Duty: £4,000

Total: £104,000 – CASH

Rent: £600pcm

Management fee (10%): £60pcm

Cash flow per year: £6,480

ROI: 6.2%

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MORTGAGED PURCHASE:

PROPERTY PRICE: £100,000

Legals & Stamp Duty: £4,000 X 3 = £12,000

Deposit of 25% on 3 houses: £75,000

Total cash needed: £87,000 for 3 properties (£17,000 less than one property bought for cash)

Rent £600 x 3 – £1,800pcm

Management fee (10%) – £180pcm

Mortgage at 3% is £225 x 3 – £675pcm

Cash flow per year: £11,340

ROI: 13%

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You can put a lesser deposit down (20%) and get 4 properties, you could even get a better rate than 3% on your mortgage, so your ROI can be much higher, it just makes sense to leverage!