Profitable Only If You Know What You Are Doing in Property

Being at the right place and the right time is the key. Many told us, the only place to invest in the UK was London in 2014. We did not like the idea of low yields and high expectations of price appreciation. We decided to invest in Manchester. At that time there were high yields and low price appreciation. However this has shifted and prices for buy to lets and Professional HMOs are shifting dramatically. Properties that we were buying in the 60-70k range now are 110-120k. Yet the funny thing, is all the so called investors think they can buy a Salford property for 70-80k and make it into a Professional HMO. They have no idea that article 4 is coming shortly to parts of Salford. Even more interesting is that they think they can manage a refurb from London or Hong Kong.

There are always issues coming up. Only when you have vested interests in a property are issues resolved.

As prices in Manchester have shifted so dramatically….We are shifting to other areas in which prices have not shifted above the 2008 craziness. There is no guarantee that prices will shift in the immediate future…however we are cash flowing high in the 10-15% range & being patient for a sale to an investor or simply that we collect rents while prices might shift.

One example is that we feel…. Liverpool is under valued compared to other large UK cities. Now the council has tons of city and political interest, money, and projects flowing into it. The whole fabric of the city is changing with increased tourism & becoming a diversified and culturally rich downtown. You need to get in early. We are buying in areas that we are being told that our sales prices are too high. Ironically these investors do not take into account the cost to refurb let alone many other issues.

Clearly one could buy a property that needs work…try to find a builder or a honest sourcing agent who will do the works timely, quality and manage yourself. Unfortunately too many times this does not seem to happen. Then comes the next important level, management…

Know the risks moving forward. Know your cash flow. I highly doubt one can find 10% yields in many places of the UK. Take time to plan. Enjoy working on something that’s different from what the majority of investors get to experience.