Even in the world of buy to let familiarity really can lead to ‘contempt’, especially when it comes to property management and arranging property repairs. Because the bulk of my buy to let properties are around 150 miles from home I have a number of different managing agents who look after them. Delegating the management…
If you’ve read much of my material you know that I often have a lot to say about the media in their reporting of buy to let in particular, and the property market in general. This is certainly not because I think the media is a useful source of unbiased, objective information which I can…
In my last post I talked about how the media can influence market confidence and how media coverage of the property market seems more positive now than it has been for a long time. As example I quoted the Daily Express of 1st April which reported that the Centre for Economics and Business Research is…
In this short series of posts we are thinking about whether the property market is poised for recovery and whether there is any evidence that the recovery has started. One thing I have noticed is a much larger number of estate agents ‘Sold’ signs, and far fewer ‘For Sale’ signs, in my local area. The…
In the last post we looked at some of the evidence which may suggest that the property market is poised for recovery. There certainly seems to be grounds for optimism although we’re a long way from being able to suggest that a property boom is imminent, more likely a gradual increase in confidence, leading to…
What would you consider to be a good yield when you go looking to buy your next buy to let property? According to research undertaken by Paragon Mortgages, released in February 2013, during 2012 the average yield achieved by landlords was 6.3%. This is the return purely from the rent, and doesn’t include any return…
According to research released by Paragon Mortgages in February, 76% of landlords surveyed are optimistic about the prospects for the Private Rented Sector in 2013, with 41% expecting tenant demand to increase. Perhaps not surprisingly then 15% of landlords expect to buy more buy to let properties in 2013. Of those responding to the survey…
Following on from my post about how to keep a lid on your repair costs I’m now kicking myself even more because I’ve realised that I could have done even better than Patrick’s much more reasonable price of £1585 for a new boiler in one of my buy to let properties. I could have got…
If you’re wondering if now is a good time to get into buy to let, here’s some interesting anecdotal evidence for you. I’ve just got back from my local property auction where, once again, it was standing room only. In his introductory remarks the auctioneer said what I’ve been thinking for a while. He said,…
In an earlier post (House Price April Fool) I was saying that the property market runs on confidence and credit, both of which go hand in hand. The latest Halifax Housing Market Confidence Tracker shows respondents are more optimistic about property prices since the tracker began back in April 2011. More than 4 in 10…