Writing about their experiences in the property market is something we like to encourage our landlords to do as it's always interesting for landlords to read about the experiences of fellow landlords operating in a similar market so this week we hear from Richard, a Buy-To-Let landlord building up a portfolio of residential properties in Leeds.
In 2013 I started looking for a buy-to-let property in North Leeds, initially looking at Roundhay and Chapel Allerton postcodes as these are the areas I know best but quickly came to the conclusion that the sums didn't add up.
I decided to look at Headingley, Burley and Hyde Park areas but felt a little out of my comfort zone. I had briefly met Matt Williams of Redbrick Properties through a friend and decided to call in to get some ideas.
This was a turning point for me as it can be quite time consuming looking for properties and arranging viewings in your working week and I soon found out that getting advice from a letting agent who knows the area well is crucial in fine tuning your search.
The smaller independent estate agents in Headingley are good to register with and have many properties available for buy to let investors. It also helps to have a mortgage agreed in principal as things can move very fast. To make an offer without a mortgage already agreed won’t instil confidence with the vender and estate agent.
There is a great demand for rental property in the area for both students and young professionals and it is advisable to have the property renovated to a high standard in order to achieve the best returns. The estate and letting agents have numerous contacts for building and maintenance work which they are more than happy to pass on. There are a lot of terraced houses in the area which simplifies estimating the cost of renovations as they are quite uniform in build.
After a lot of viewings, I managed to buy two properties through Castlehill Estate Agents. A student house in Hyde Park which had been recently renovated and was already rented for the following year and a house in Burley which needed some work to the downstairs. The work was completed quickly and the house was marketed by Redbrick Properties and rented out on the first day of viewings.
Apart from a few minor maintenance issues, both houses have been full since I bought them and it has been very easy to find suitable tenants.
If you are a landlord looking to invest in residential property then please give us a call on 0113 323 4016, drop into our office or send us a message. We'd love to talk with you!