Published by: DR
With demand continuing to outstrip supply and the rental market buoyant, now is a good time for landlords to grow their portfolio, but it’s equally important that landlords don’t buy too hastily.
Comparison website QuoteZone’s personal finance experts say that buyers should remain cautious and undertake due diligence to ensure their purchase is a secure investment.
Here, we set out what landlords need to consider before investing in their next property.
The Best ROI
When it comes to investing in a home, return on investment is a crucial factor – perhaps the crucial factor. A number of things determine this, some of which are hard to control, but there are certain golden rules you can follow to improve your chances of good ROI.
Choosing the right location – one with good local schools, amenities, restaurants, pubs, bars and green space – should make your home appealing to future tenants and improve your home’s sell-on value should you ever come to sell it. If you are looking to purchase in Leeds Horsforth and Chapel Allerton are both areas which tick all these boxes.
Homes close to universities are also always in hot demand if you want to consider investing in the student market, but of course letting to students can come with greater risks. Headingley is a key student hotspot and a prime investment area for Leeds landlords.
A local area with a strong sense of community or major regeneration projects taking place, bringing new investment and people in, are also likely to increase your chance of charging higher rents, generating a better ROI and boosting the capital gains on your property.
Get To Know The Local Market
To ensure you get the most from your rental properties, it’s important that you get to grips with the local market before investing there. What is the average local market rent? Where does most of the rental demand come from? Is it young professionals, students, older renters?
Working closely with an experienced, local letting agent – one with boots on the ground knowledge – will help to make sure you invest wisely.
It’s never good to target one specific demographic for your rental properties, but equally if an area has an over-concentration of a certain type of tenant, it’s good to try and tailor your home towards them. This might be the provision of work from home space for work from home tenants or garden space/parking for family tenants.
Assess The Area
Chat to locals in the neighbourhood about the area and see if they have any insights that might be helpful about the property and the area itself. Spend some time in the surrounding area, separate from the viewing, so you can familiarise yourself with the locality. Taking a look at guides on the local area can also make a big difference, if you are looking at Leeds these 17 best places to Live in Leeds is a must read for future Leeds Landlords.
When it comes to the day of the viewing, the excitement of the viewing often results in key elements not being discussed, therefore it's advised that you write down a list of questions beforehand and take them with you.
Lastly, invest in the best homebuyers report you can afford since this is a survey suitable for conventional properties in reasonable condition and will help you find out if there are any structural problems, such as subsidence or dampness, as well as any other unwelcome hidden issues inside and outside.
Final Words
Growing your portfolio isn’t something you should do lightly, but the current environment is working in favour of landlords, and now could be a great time to act to get tenants into your new properties just as the summer arrives.
Here at Dwell Leeds, we are an award-winning agency based in Leeds who aim to make the lettings process simple by providing the highest levels of customer care in our industry.
For more information on our extensive services for landlords, ranging from basic to a ‘hands off’ fully managed approach, please contact us today.
