The Property Ladder

You know I think this whole renovation and flipping caper is just too hard.  I am a lady of leisure and I’d much rather trot round to open houses and property search for an undervalued bargain in a soon to boom area.  I’ll leave the tiling, plastering and living in freaking chaos for the more enthusiastic.

We’re looking at buying some family investment property in the UK.  My parents will be relocating there for a about a year and then it’s likely that my job will be moved to London for an indefinite period, so they thought they might take advantage of the currency at the moment and buy a flat on the outskirts of London.  Between bouts of us living there, we would rent it out as furnished accommodation.  Apparently it’s fairly common to rent properties furnished in the UK.  In the US, they usually rent homes including a refrigerator.  That would be ideal.  I can’t tell you how many times I’ve lugged a fridge from one place to another.  Well, the removalists did the lugging but I’m sure you get the picture.

We’ve just come across www.propertytoday.co.uk and it seems like a really good resource.  You can do a search-by-price for properties to buy, rent or share (oh and that’s a life I wouldn’t want to go back to!).  There is plenty of information about real estate agents and mortages to help you find your property and secure your loan.  To help you decide what area is right for you to buy property, there are local directories, school information and even an overseas property guide.

If you’re buying as an investment, it’s really important to do your research.  What is the job situation like, for example.  THere are pros and cons to investing in ANY area of property.  I heard one well known investor say she only buys in low income areas because low income families rent, not buy.  Also look at the work opportunities and infrastructure, both existing and planned.  Towns near a new industrial development or construction that may take several years could be a good place to invest.  Towns with universities and hospitals can also turn up good investment opportunities.

If you do your homework first, you will be much better placed to deal with the inevitable disappointments and the things you find out AFTER you buy a property.  Remember the golden rule in property investment is that you make your money when you buy, not when you sell.  So although in the short term you may have crazy neighbours, problems with the body corporate or home owners association, things you couldn’t possibly known going in, a good buy remains a good buy and property values will continue to go up.

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