Archive for the ‘Reference’ Category

We’ve now got as far as F in our A to Z of Property Investing and F is for Freehold. As a property investor, it’s always advisable to double check what type of lease the property you have has before you buy, so that you don’t experience any unwanted surprises further down the line.

When you buy a property with a freehold lease, you gain complete ownership of the land and all of the buildings that are on it. Subject to laws and planning regulations, you have the right to do what you want with the property. Most houses in the UK tend to have freehold leases, but many flats and apartments have leaseholds.

In contrast to freehold, a leasehold property is leased to the owners for a set amount of time and usually comes with particular terms and conditions that need to be met in relation to the property, such as paying an annual maintenance fee.

When you’re researching properties to buy and looking at the particulars of certain houses or flats, then it’s essential to get into the habit of checking to make sure whether it is freehold or leasehold. Although there’s nothing wrong with owning a leasehold property and many people successfully do so, some investors prefer to stick with stick with an area they’re familiar with and always opt for freehold properties above leasehold.

As with any property purchase, as long as you do your research carefully, read the small print and are always clear about exactly what you’re buying, then you’ll put yourself in the best position for buying.

Catch up on the other instalments in our A to Z of Property Investing series:

A is for Appreciation
B is for Buy-to-Let
C is for Contracts
D is for Deals
E is for Experience

Google maps property search

It’s been talked about for a while, and already exists in Australia, but now Google Maps has finally launched its new UK property search.

The Google maps property search has hundreds of thousands of properties for sale and up for rent in the UK. It includes results from several major property portals and estate agents (although not Rightmove or Primelocation, who have opted out of getting involved) and it’s also possible for landlords or home owners to list their own properties too, as long as they have a website.

The search facility is easy to use and you can search by location name, street or postcode. The results are shown on a map, so you can easily see the location of the property, and in a column on the left hand side of the screen, where a picture of the property and a brief write-up appears. If you’re interested in learning more, you can click through for more details, or use the Streetview option to see in more detail where the property is located.  

For landlords, the new search facility offers an additional way of getting your property noticed and for free. If you have an existing listing with a property portal or estate agent, then you may well find that your property is already on there. Individuals can upload details too, although there is the prerequisite that you have to have a website with the property listed on it too, so that Google can link through to it.

In addition to listing a property, the Google property search offers a good way of sussing out how much properties in certain areas are on the market for, what rental prices other landlords are charging and for sussing out the locations of different properties. Many property investors have already been taking advantage of the benefits of Google Streetview, which gives you a bird’s eye view of streets across the UK, and this offers another way of easily identifying properties.

The search will be useful for tenants too, as they can easily look at properties on a map and pick out the ones in areas they’re particularly interested in. So getting your properties included could be well worth it.

What do you think? Have you tried out the Google maps property search yet and are you planning to get your properties listed?

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Why Property Investors Should Use Google Earth: Part 1
Why Property Investors Should Use Google Earth: Part 2

If you’re looking for new ways to make money from properties you own, then how about renting out a garage or parking space?

Both garages and parking spaces, particularly in prime positions, can attract considerable rental returns on both a weekly and monthly basis. If you have a garage that is located away from a property, such as in a garage block around the corner from the house, then it would be ideally located to rent separately, rather than included in the cost of the property rental.

Many people don’t worry so much about putting their cars into the garage each day, yet there are other people who welcome the benefits of garage space, for storing equipment, using as a workshop or for extra vehicles. Likewise, in towns and cities where parking is at a premium, many people value the chance to rent a parking space on a weekly or monthly basis, instead of having to compete for limited spaces within the town or city centre.

With parking spaces, you do need to ensure first and foremost that space is left available for your tenants to park their car, but if you have multiple spaces available, then it’s definitely worth considering renting some of them, especially if located in a desirable area.

To get an idea of the type of price you could charge for garage or parking space rental in your area, then have a look through the rentals in your local paper or search online. Alternatively, speak to a local estate agent, as they should be aware of how much garage rentals are in your area. This is something you could use a rental agent for, or you could manage the rentals yourself.

Have you had success with renting out a garage or parking space? Share your experience in the comments.

As a property investor and landlord, the chances are you’ll need to call on the services of a builder at some point in your career. When time is money, finding a reliable builder can make a considerable difference, so here are some useful tips for finding a good builder.

Business, trade directories and local directories, such as the Yellow Pages or locally produced free publications of tradespeople, are a good starting point for finding a builder in your local area. Browse through the ads, select a couple that you’re interested in, then give them a call to obtain more details. In your initial phone call, ask plenty of questions, such as the work they typically do, if they’re currently available and average costs of work. If you’re keen to see some examples of their finished work, then don’t be afraid to ask for testimonials too.

Where possible, arrange a meeting with the builder and see if they’re willing to offer a free quotation for the work you need to have carried out. First impressions are good, but you can often get a better idea of what they’re like and how they operate by meeting up. If they promise a quotation, but it takes weeks to occur or never appears, then you can move on to finding someone else.

Personal recommendations for builders are always good, especially if it’s from someone you know who’s recently used the services of a builder. This can help give a more accurate picture about how good the work was, how personable the builder was and how quickly and efficiently they got the job done.

There are a lot of websites where you can find details of builders, but one of the more reliable options is Checkatrade. Anyone registering on the site has to be vetted first, plus they are monitored on a regular basis through customer feedback, so there’s a much better chance that you’ll get a reputable worker and not a fly-by-night rogue trader.

When you’re gearing up to prepare to let your investment property, there are a wide range of issues to consider. So far we’ve looked at the important of getting an energy performance certificate sorted out and of making sure that all the electrics are safe, but now are thoughts are turning towards fire safety.

Landlords letting out properties have certain obligations towards their tenants, especially in the case of houses with multiple occupation (HMO) where there are several tenants living under the same roof (Landlords with HMO properties are subject to additional fire safety requirements as part of their licensing requirements and need to follow the guidance carefully). Under the 2004 Housing Act, landlords in England and Wales need to ensure that all properties, whether flats or houses, have an adequate means of escape, especially from bedrooms in upper storeys, in case a fire occurs.

Landlords also need to ensure that any furniture, soft furnishings or fixtures that they supply with the property, such as beds, sofas or curtains, meet basic fire safety standards and don’t pose a risk for tenants. If you’re re-letting a property to new tenants, particularly if it’s been previously let out for a long time, then it’s a good idea to re-check all your furniture and furnishings for wear, tear and damage and ensure they meet the current fire safety standards.

If your property was built after 1992, then it has to have a mains operated smoke alarm fitted on each level, according to building regulations. This isn’t the case for older properties, but it is advisable to provide battery operated alarms and you may want to consider fire doors and basic equipment to help put out fires, such as a fire extinguisher or fire blanket, too. These would be ideally located in the kitchen.

If you do have a smoke alarm in a property, then make sure tenants are aware of its location and that you remember to check and replace the battery on a regular basis, as it will be no use in an emergency if the battery is dead. Likewise, when you check the smoke alarm, make a point of checking any fire extinguishers of fire blankets as well, to ensure they are still in tip top condition and ready to be used if an emergency fire situation occurs.

If  fire safety issues are a concern to you, then local building inspectors and fire prevention officers should be able to provide you with help and advice. Before you let a property for the first time, and even between lets, you may want to consider having a fire risk assessment carried out, to ensure all areas are sufficiently covered and that fire safety prevention is up-to-date.

In the property investing world, buy-to-let is a buzzword and concept that you can’t fail to miss. In fact, it’s the crux of the business for the majority of property investors.

The idea of buy-to-let is pretty self-explanatory – you buy a property at a good price and let it out to tenants, giving you a regular income on the property. Not only that, but the hope is that when you come to sell, the property will have risen in value, giving you a tidy profit. It might sound easy – and this has surely tempted many people to have a go at buying-to-let – but it’s not always as simple as that.

For example, there’s the small matter of finding the right property to buy and getting it at an affordable price. Any old property won’t do – you have to select the right type of property, in the right area and market it towards the right type of people in order to stand a chance of being successful. If you get any of these factors wrong, you may find yourself stuck with a property that you can’t rent out, which will be costing you money. This is the point at which many hopeful, or amateur landlords, get disheartened and give up on the idea.

Serious investors, however, are usually more aware of the importance of market factors and, in theory, should have done more research before purchasing a buy-to-let property. They’re not immune from the odd buy-to-let purchase mistake, but are usually more prepared to learn from their mistakes and move on to the next investment.

As well as describing a type of property purchase, the term buy-to-let is often used for a type of mortgage option. In the height of the property surge, buy-to-let mortgages were very widely available, with many great deals available to tempt people. Although still an option, the choices have somewhat narrowed, but this has helped weed out the ‘having a go’ investors, and given more room to the serious buy-to-let property investors.

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A to Z of Property Investing: A is for Appreciation

Finding and buying the right investment property for your needs may seem like hard work, but it doesn’t stop there. Before you’re able to start renting it out, there are various rules and regulations you need to adhere to and steps you need to take to get it fit for renting. One of these is obtaining an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC).

Energy Performance Certificates became a legal requirement for residential landlords in October 2008. They have to be obtained before you begin marketing your property for rent and, if you fail to do so, then you could end up being fined £200 by Trading Standards.

The Energy Performance Certificate provides a rating about how energy efficient your property is. It uses a rating system from A to G, with A being the most energy efficient, and G the least efficient; the average level is about D. You’ll need to have your property looked at by an energy assessor and, as well as providing your rating and certificate, they will provide ideas for how you can make your property more energy efficient (you don’t have to take these ideas up, but it can be useful if energy efficiency is a concern).

In fact, research suggests that tenants are becoming more concerned about environmental issues, the cost of household bills and the impact a building has on the environment, so the extra advice may help you make practical steps to improve the overall efficiency of your property and make it more desirable to tenants.

Find more about how to go about getting an EPC. Once you’ve obtained your EPC, it’s valid for 10 years and you can take the next step towards advertising your property for let.

There are all sorts of issues involved in successful property investing and in this A to Z guide, we’re going to be exploring some of them. To kick things off, A is for appreciation.

In the property investing world, appreciation refers to the positive effect that occurs when you invest in a property that goes up in value over time. It should be the goal of all serious investors to try and achieve good appreciation on their properties, not least as it increases the chance of making a profit when the time comes to sell.

The appreciation factor isn’t something that can be controlled easily – if only it were – but you can increase your chance of getting a property that will appreciate by putting careful thought into your property purchases. Some of the market factors that influence appreciation include supply and demand. As our property hotpot series has been exploring, buying in certain areas can help harness the demand for your property, if it’s in an area that is particularly popular and where there’s currently an undersupply for rental homes.

Inflation can also help property prices appreciate over time and so too can making improvements to your property. These need to be weighed up carefully, to ensure that the improvement will add long-lasting value and they’re particularly beneficial if you can also add extra value for rental purposes too. Improved bathrooms, kitchens and extensions are all common improvements that can make a significant difference.

Overall, if you’re a serious property investor, then the issue of appreciation should be firmly on your radar and you should keep aware of market factors when making business decisions.

There are pros and cons involved in buying any type of property and it’s always important to weigh up all the issues before you part with your hard earned cash. Old build property, new build and off plan properties are three types of popular property choices and, in part three of our mini series, we’re turning our thoughts to the issue of maintenance and upkeep and how this relates to these three types of properties.

If the amount of maintenance and upkeep needed for properties are key concerns for you, then it’s definitely worth carefully thinking about what type of property you want to purchase. Newly built property and off plan properties may win over with their short term benefits of being low on maintenance and upkeep. If the properties have been built and finished well, then in theory they shouldn’t need too much maintenance to be done for a while.

Depending on their age and the overall state of the property, then there may be a tendency for older properties to be more likely to require regular maintenance and upkeep.

However, this isn’t to say that old build properties can’t be low maintenance too. If they’ve been well kept and cared for, in the long-term they may offer benefits for being sturdier than some new builds, with more substantial and thicker walls. 

If you’re not that keen on having to sort maintenance and upkeep problems on rental property out yourself, then it’s a good idea to use a letting or rental management agent. They’ll handle the full lettings process for you, including any problems that arise, and will have a list of reliable handymen to call on in times of need, which takes the hassle away from you and gives you more time to focus on the business side of property investing.

Old build versus new build and off plan property, part 1 – Cost

Old build versus new build and off plan property, part 2 – Renting

As we’ve been exploring in this property hotspot mini series, there are a variety of ways you can employ to try and predict potential new hotspots. Having already looked at the benefits of improved transport links, regeneration schemes, universities and schools, now it’s the turn to explore the influence of major sporting events.

Like some of the other methods of locating and identifying property hotspots, the positive influence that major sporting events can have on a location are well documented. The South African property market has spent the last few years building up to 2010, and hosting the World Cup, as did Vancouver, in Canada, which has just held the Winter Olympics.

If a major international or national event, such as World Cup events, the Winter Olympics or Olympic Games are scheduled to take place at a particular location, one of the first things people begin to think about is accommodation.

Not only does an area need to have enough accommodation to comfortably house all the sportspeople, but also their entourage of coaches. Then there’s the small matter of having suitable accommodation for all the spectators that will want to come and see the event, and all the media that will be reporting on it. During any building work, for example construction of a stadium, then accommodation nearby may also be required for people involved in the building work.

Even though the London 2012 Olympics are still two years off, reports are suggesting that tourists are already booking up accommodation in the city and property owners are beginning to think about the prospect of letting their properties for the event.

Having property in the right area and being able to cater for the rental property needs for major sporting events can be lucrative in the short term, but isn’t necessarily simply a short-lived bonus. Often areas hosting major sporting events undergo regeneration and considerable improvements to infrastructure in the lead up to the event, which leaves the area in a good position after the event is over.

Keeping an eye out for details of major sporting events, especially the locations where accommodation will be needed or players will be housed, and seeing if a property purchase in the area may work for you can lead to a good deal. If you’ve already got a rental property in the right location, then don’t forget to take action and see if you can make your bricks and mortar work in your favour!