An ongoing debate you’ll often see on social media is whether one should opt only for houses when buying a buy to let, or whether flats are ok as well.
In my experience, those who say “houses only” are usually very evangelical and dogmatic about it.
But I’m no so sure that they should be.
As someone who does have flats in the portfolio, the test for me is “what do the numbers say?”
For me it’s not about ideology, it’s about maths (there are other things we need to think about which we’ll look at in future videos).
Having said that, I understand why the “houses only” side of the debate are as vocal as they are. If you buy the wrong property, and the numbers don’t work, you’ll get your fingers burnt.
And, again , looking at the numbers, maybe they conclude that the chances are that there are more flats where the figures don’t work, than houses. And so there’s more chance of getting your fingers burnt by flats.
By the way, notice I said ‘maybe they conclude’; I’m not saying this is a fact, or true, or a rule to invest by. I’m just musing whether that’s what they think, or what their experience shows.
However, for me, to say “never buy flats” makes no sense if, by carefully doing due diligence, you can find flats that do work, and which open new possibilities to expand your portfolio.
So ultimately it comes down what I do consider to be a rule: Always know what you are buying and why you are buying it (In other words, you must fully understand the numbers, and the implications of ownership).
Having said all of that, there are things that will influence your choice between houses and flats, or whether you buy an individual flat, which we’ll look at in the next few videos.
And I’m going to start in this video by telling you about something I experienced last year which I have never experienced in over 25 years of investing in property for myself.
I explain it all in the video.
Here’s to Successful Property Investing.
Peter
Peter Jones
(ex) Chartered Surveyor, author and property investor
https://www.ThePropertyTeacher.co.uk
PS. By the way, I’ve rewritten and updated my best-selling e-book, The Successful Property Investor’s Strategy Workshop, which is an account of how I put together my multi-property portfolio, starting from scratch and with no money of my own, and how you can do the same.
For more details please go to:
https://www.ThePropertyTeacher.co.uk/the-successful-property-investors-strategy-workshop