These are the questions about buy-to-let that we are most commonly asked by our clients, along with our answers. If you have a question that is not answered here or elsewhere on this website, please contact us and we will be happy to provide you with the information you need.
Interest rates will go up as well as down over the course of the mortgage. If you're a first time investor and you're nervous about fluctuating interest rates, then the best option is to get a fixed rate mortgage.
In our experience, this is unlikely to occur with a terraced property. So far, we have not sold a terraced property which has not been tenanted within 3 months. Most properties have a tenant within one month.
The initial tenancy agreement is for 6 months. After that, the tenant must give you 1 month's notice before vacating the property. If you want the tenant to leave the premises for any reason, you must give them 2 months' notice.
In our experience, tenants normally stay in a house for at least 1-2 years. The time people stay in a flat tends to be shorter.
Our tenants include families, young couples, professionals, in fact people of all ages and types. All tenants are vetted and credit-checked prior to taking up a tenancy.
We advertise exclusively through local letting agents with whom we have a well-established professional relationship.
Our experience has shown us that, over a 7 year period, the price of property goes up. It may go up and down over this period, and there may even be a price crash, but it is almost a certainty that, at the end of 7 years, your property will be worth more than you paid for it.
As long as you've selected the right property and are receiving rental payments, then whatever happens to the value of the property, your mortgage payments will be covered.
A crash in property prices needn't cause you any problems if you are not selling. In fact, it presents an opportunity for you to acquire more property at bargain prices and increase your portfolio.
It is not possible to give you an exact figure, but we can present a typical example. Let's say you buy a property for £100,000. If property prices rise by 10% over the next year, then you have made a profit of £10,000. You can remortgage the property, using this profit as a deposit on a second property.
We make money purely on a commission agreed prior to sale with the developer / vendor. We do not charge a fee to the purchaser.
The minimum amount we would advise you to invest is £10,000 - £12,000.
Once a tenant is living in the property, bills for Council Tax and utilities such as electricity and gas are their responsibility.
It is unlikely that a property would stay vacant for a period of longer than 3 months. In fact, we would expect it to be vacant for less than a month. Providing the property is not furnished, an empty property is entitled to a 6 month exemption from council tax. Make sure you advise the local council when the property is vacant.
We can find any type of property, but the majority of the property we deal with is terraced housing.
Although we specialise in residential property, we do have a regular selection of commercial investments to offer.