“The Government has been open about wanting to clamp down on holiday lets for a while, particularly in the South. The abolishment of the furnished holiday lets regime is set to add yet more pressure to holiday let owners who are already feeling the effects of high mortgage rates and energy prices, with little impact on the key issue in the private rental sector: lack of supply.

“The tax breaks made short term holiday letting a viable alternative to renting to long term tenants and scrapping these benefits is unlikely to make any noticeable difference to the supply of long-term rental properties in the UK. Whilst we understand concerns from locals looking to rent properties in coastal holiday let hotspots such as Cornwall, 5.7% of properties in the South West alone are classed as vacant (meaning there are no usual residents living there with no indication of it being used for short term lets) and a crackdown on these properties would have had more of an impact on available supply for locals in these areas.

“Likewise, the government’s failure to address the estimated 1.4 million vacant properties across the UK and build enough housing to meet demand has meant that holiday let owners are left feeling the pinch and this may encourage more landlords to leave the market altogether. Ultimately holiday lets help drive a big portion of local economies through tourism and their value has been somewhat overlooked.”

The post Short Let Owners Feel the Pinch – But Where’s the Plan for 1.4m Vacant Properties? first appeared on Property Insider.

Why buy to let is here to stay

Buy to let has come under a lot of pressure in recent years, with changes to tax allowances, the stamp duty premium, interest rate rises and more regulation of the sector.

However, at the end of the day buy to let investment continues to be underpinned by strong fundamentals. So there are lots of good reasons to suggest that renting will be more popular than buying for a long time yet – and that there’ll always be a good demand for rented property – and for buy to let investors to provide it.

Consider some of the buy to let facts:

* Renting is now the only option for millions of people who simply can’t afford a deposit – let alone a mortgage.

With household budgets set to be tight for the foreseeable future and much economic uncertainty it’s difficult to see things changing anytime soon.

* Prices in some areas are now so high that renting is the only realistic way to find accommodation.

For decades, big cities like Paris, Tokyo and New York have been largely rental-only locations. Many areas of London are now unaffordable to the majority of owner-occupiers with the likelihood that many more, plus other popular parts of the UK, will also become completely off limits to those wishing to buy.

* It can actually be cheaper than buying. Some reports suggest buying is slightly cheaper, others suggest renting is slightly cheaper. Whatever the truth, there’s not much of a financial advantage in buying a home right now.

* The days of free-and-easy, write-your-own-cheque mortgages have gone for good. Stress testing means that lenders are being much more choosy about whom they lend to and how much they’ll lend.

* Renting a home can be much less hassle than buying. Often overlooked, this can be a significant attraction for many tenants. Those like busy working people, families and singles. There’s no dealing with breakdowns and no regular maintenance like painting and decorating to bother about.

* Renting offers flexibility that buying can never match. Those who need to move for work, to study or for personal reasons, who want to upsize or downsize, can move quickly and easily when they rent a home.

As a tenant, you never get stuck in a protracted chain waiting for your house to sell, your buyer’s house to sell and so on. You can move into a new home with just a few week’s or even day’s notice. Almost total freedom!

Even if everybody who wants to buy a house then this market alone would still be an absolutely huge market to serve for buy to let landlords.

In my opinion it’s no exaggeration to say that renting is much more than just a passing trend. Renting is and will continue to be a good choice for tenants for years to come – and continue to be a wise investment for well informed, well organised buy to let investors.

Property Insider have opportunities for property businesses to sponsor posts just like this one, helping to raise your profile and generate traffic for your own website. If your business is interested in sponsored posting, find more details here.

The post Fundamentals Suggest There Will ALWAYS Be A Demand For Buy To Let first appeared on Property Insider.

Investing in property without having an exit strategy can be a very risky business indeed – it poses the risk of investing your money and getting no return, or even getting less back than your original investment.

Here are some types of exit strategy you might like to consider:

Time based exit strategy. With this type of exit strategy you sell your property after a given number of years. This type of strategy is ideal if you are buying property as a pension. In this case, you might deploy your exit strategy either when you retire, or at a pre-determined period after retirement. If you have several properties you might decide to sell one or more at different intervals.

Another issue when using this type of exit strategy is to consider your capital gains tax and other tax allowances and liabilities and aim to make tax efficient disposals – take advice from experts on this well in advance.

Bear in mind that property is best regarded as a long term investment – typically for ten years minimum. So, if you want to invest for less than this it might not be the right kind of exit strategy for you.

Capital value based exit strategy. With this type of strategy you move on your investment once it has achieved a particular capital value. (Or even once it has dropped below a stop-loss.) For example, once your property is worth £150,000, £250,000, £500,000 – or whatever level is appropriate to you. (And of course relevant to your original investment.)

Some investors use this kind of exit strategy in order to exit one property investment and re-enter the market with another. For example, selling a £500,000 investment to re-invest in two or more others in a cheaper area.

With this strategy you don’t have to be so concerned with time. Instead you need to become pre-occupied with price rises (and falls) and monitor expert forecasts regularly to try and judge when your an appropriate time to exit the market might be.

Yield based exit strategy. With this exit strategy you decide the minimum level of yield you’re happy with. You sell if and when your yield falls below this level (in other words, also a kind of stop loss.)

This kind of approach involves no time-based element. The time frame you’re working in could be 20 years …. or it could be two years. To use this technique effectively it’s important to monitor your yield performance regularly.

Bear in mind that, right now – even given recent tax changes – it’s still pretty much a given that property will produce a better yield than any kind of savings account. However this won’t necessarily always be the case …. historically it hasn’t always been either.

At the end of the day there’s nothing to say you have to use these exit strategies. If you prefer, create one of your own. But whatever you do you must have a well-thought-through exit strategy whenever you invest in buy to let property.

The post Buy To Let Investment: What’s Your Exit Strategy? first appeared on Property Insider.

After years when everything in the property investor’s garden seemed rosy, issues like tax changes, and more rules and regulations – and now Covid-19 – are prompting some investors to consider selling their buy to let property.

But if that’s you …. Wait …. Stop! Here are 8 very important things you must check before putting your buy to let up for sale:

* What’s your motivation for selling?

Is your buy to let actually causing you practical difficulties? Is it actually losing you money? Or is it just a general feeling of despondency at being a landlord that is prompting you to sell?

Whatever it is, know your reason for considering selling up.

* What yield are you getting on your buy to let?

Knowing what your yield is can help put things in context …. you may well find it makes your buy to let more attractive than you thought. Yield percentage can be calculated by dividing the annual rent by the property cost x 100.

The fact is, even pretty low yields are multiple times better than the return even on the best paying savings accounts right now.

* What can you do to improve the situation, or turn things around?

Selling may not be the best answer, and in fact could be the worst. Could you raise the rent to help make things pay better? Could a new tenant be the answer? Could you rent out the property in a different way, eg. as a house share. Are there any ways you could cut costs? Could some professional advice on tax or ownership improve the outlook for your investment?

* Are you guilty of thinking too short term?

Remember, property is a medium-long term investment. By selling now you can miss out on a future, potentially attractive, capital gain.

Governments never last as long as the ideal lifetime of a property investment (15-25 years) so there’s every chance landlord/investor policy could become more favourable again in future.

* Will you be able to sell your buy to let easily, quickly, and an attractive/viable price?

Prices and buyer interest are holding up right now, but there’s no telling how long that might last.

It’s never a good idea to guess or saleability – take advice from a surveyor or estate agent.

* What will you do with the money?

Assuming there’ll be money left over from the sale of course. Is there any other way it could earn you a better return?

You might find this Property Insider report useful: Property over and out? So how else can you make a good return on your money?

* What other plan do you have for securing your financial future?

That’s assuming, of course, that you invested in buy to let – as many investors have – as a pension pot.

Again, explore all the options.

* What will your tax situation be? Is there a risk that an increased tax liability could make you worse off by selling your buy to let, not better? Always find out before you sell … not after!

Whatever you do it’s important not to make a knee jerk decision. Think everything through, do the numbers, and take professional advice if you need it. Think how your decision will play out in both the long and the short term.

Mark Hempshell is Editor-in-Chief of Property Insider.

The post 8 Questions To Ask Before Selling Your Buy To Let first appeared on Property Insider.

The property market is an ever changing market however. It’s true to say that as one door closes another door opens. So now could be a very good time to consider if it is time to get back into buy to let.

No

Interest rates are on the way up. (It’s still pretty cheap to borrow money though.)

Government policy isn’t very landlord-friendly anymore. (Signs are that a watershed might have been reached though.)

The Renters Reform Bill is creating a lot of uncertainty for landlords. (But who knows, it might offer some benefits to landlords.)

Changes to the rules on EPCs could create problems and expense for landlords. (Again there could be opportunities for investors here.)

The rising cost of living is likely to mean that more tenants will have difficulty in paying the rent.

Yes

Property prices seem to be softening in some places. (Softer as in not rising at meteoric rates.) So there could be good buying opportunities ahead.

Rents are rising …. and very sharply in some areas. Most expert forecasts suggest they are very firmly on an upswing too.

Rents increased by 11% for newly agreed lets during the past year according to Zoopla.

Yields are strong and rising in many places. They potentially offer a very good rate of return compared to other types of investment.

The prospects for longer term capital appreciation are still pretty good. Many forecasters are suggesting 10+% or so over the next five years.

Savills forecast 12.9% growth nationally over the coming five year period.

There is a huge demand (and a huge shortage) of rented accommodation in many places. New lets let almost immediately and sometimes at ‘offers above’ the asking rent.

Tips for getting back into buy to let

Consider the type of let you want to get into carefully. Target types of lets which offer the highest yields. For example student, HMO or holiday lets as well as just vanilla buy to let.

Flexilets are the new name in the buy to let game. A flexilet could be, for example, a holiday let during the summer and then a short term let for the rest of the year.

Choose properties and areas carefully. Target places with the best yields and the best demand. Select properties and areas where demand is not just good but high.

How to Find Great Buy to Let Opportunities in 2022

Don’t just guess. Analyse the numbers behind the deal in detail to make sure the numbers add up. Use a deal analysis tool like PaTMa Property Prospector for example.

Take good financial and legal advice. Get advice on the best mortgages. Get advice on whether a limited company would make your business more tax efficient.

Think big. By having several or many properties – if not now then eventually – you benefit from economies of scale in buying and running that single-property landlords don’t benefit from.

To sponsor this post, or place your own sponsored post on Property Insider, please contact us at hello@propertyinsider.info  We also offer a service producing posts and other high quality property content for your own website.

The post Is It Time To Get Back Into Buy to Let? first appeared on Property Insider.

One way, in fact the very best way, to do this is to look at how you can increase your letting yields. Or in other words, how to make more money from the same property.

Fortunately there is not just one way to increase your buy to let letting yields, but a whole raft of measures that you can deploy. In this report we will look at some property investment strategies that will help improve your letting yields.

1. Simple but often overlooked – just raise the rent. Rent rises in the private sector have been low or static in many cases in recent years but now they are on the rise in most places. While no tenant welcomes a rent rise most accept that alongside everything else rents will rise. Landlords exiting the market means that some areas now have a shortage of rental property which is pushing rents up.

Check local rental levels and demand to see if this is practical. If you are looking to let a new or vacant property it could be worth a lot more than you think.

2. Buy property in cheaper areas. As a very general rule, where prices are lower rents are usually also lower but not proportionately so. So simple maths says that yields will be higher.

3. Buy in places where demand for property is high and supply is low. Chances are you’ll be able to let your property at a premium, raising yields.

Local agents are well placed to advise you where these areas are, and what types of property are sought after.

4. Invest in shared properties – houses of multiple occupation or HMOs. It pretty much goes without saying that the yield will be higher, usually substantially higher, than single occupancy properties.

5. Invest in property that can be let to students. Student property almost always returns a higher yield …. in normal times. Property let to overseas students may be capable of returning an even higher yield.

Here’s an Insider report on investing in student property.

6. If investing in apartments choose properties that are suitable for letting to two sharers, ie. two friends/colleagues (not a couple) because they have two adequately sized bedrooms.

When there are two people to pay the rent you can usually charge a premium.

This Insider report offers some more advice on increasing returns and lettability from apartments: Insider Tips, Strategies When Buying Buy To Let Apartments

7. Consider entering the Housing Benefit market. Apart from the fact suitable properties are usually in cheaper areas/lower priced yields are generally higher.

Also, consider letting to a local authority/housing association via a private sector leasing scheme. Although the rent may actually be discounted from market rent the reduction in management time and elimination of voids for the period of the contract may effectively serve to improve your return.

8. Consider accepting unusual or ‘difficult’ tenants, eg. those with inadequate/no/bad references – or even just those who have pets. As most landlords won’t accept these tenants and so these tenants have limited choices those landlords who do can often charge a premium.

9. Invest in property of non standard construction. Purchase prices are lower, often much lower, but the rents are the same – tenants aren’t really bothered what the property is actually built of.

This Insider report looks at this type of niche investment opportunity: Investing in property of non standard construction

10. Look at investing in property suitable for corporate lettings, ie. property let to companies to accommodate employees or visitors. Companies will often pay a premium for suitable accommodation. (Take advice from agents on suitable locations, suitable properties and levels of demand in that area.)

11. Consider property that can be let as a holiday rental for all or part of the year. Well managed holiday property should return a substantially higher yield.

12. Rent your property out on short term rentals, eg. daily, weekly or monthly. Consider doing this using a holiday/short term rentals site such as Booking or AirBNB.

In general terms, the shorter each individual let the higher the yield. For example, an apartment let long term at £800 a month could let at £800 a week on a short term basis.

In property, investments that afford a higher yield than a simple, single family, long term buy to let are not actually that hard to find. In fact, those kinds of lets often offer the lowest yields.

However, there’s usually a price to pay for enjoying higher yields – such as more work or a greater risk. Be sure you understand all the pros and cons before investing in higher yielding property.

Mark Hempshell is Editor in Chief at Property Insider

The post 12 Ways To Improve Your Letting Yields first appeared on Property Insider.

Here are some important points you need to consider before entering the short term lets market:

Is there a demand for short term lettings in that area?

Do people want to rent a house/flat by the day or week. Not every area has demand for, for example, daily lets.

And remember – a few areas are already becoming oversupplied with short terms lets.

What sort of guest will you target, if any? For example, business travellers, contract workers or the holiday market?

What rent will your property command?

Check existing daily/weekend rental properties in that area? Check not only what they charge, but try to get a handle on what their occupancy levels are.

Also check local hotel rates as these can offer a guide to what you might be able to charge as, in many cases, you’ll be in competition with them for guests.

What permissions will you need?

Check the conditions of your mortgage. If a leasehold property, are there any restrictions which prohibit you from offering short term lettings? Do your property deeds contain any restrictive covenants.

 What extra will you need to provide?

Short term lettings usually provide more than long term lettings. For example all furniture, all appliances including a TV, kitchen equipment, towels and linens too. You will probably need to provide wi-fi and maybe even cable/satellite TV.

Fixtures and services provided will need to be appropriate to the sort of guest you are targeting and the rent you charge. For example, high end business customers will be prepared to pay more expect a high standard of accommodation.

Consider the extra running costs

Unlike with a long term rental you’ll need to pay the utility bills, Council Tax, service charges (if applicable), cleaning and gardening costs. Wear and tear also tends to be greater with short term lettings. You will probably need to replace furnishings and redecorate more often.

What about changeovers?

Who will check guests in and out? Or will you offer a self check in facility? And what about changeover cleaning?

How an where will you find guests …. and what will it cost?

Obvious options include AirBNB and Booking.com, but there are other sites which you can use too. For example, holiday accommodation sites and those which offer shared accommodation. Check what they will charge you for promoting your property, and for taking bookings.

You might also consider finding guests through other methods, such as your own website – which will save fees and commissions – but this will need time and money spent on marketing.

Who will deal with any problems, queries, breakdowns etc.?

Will you use a hosting agency, employ someone (perhaps part time) or handle it yourself?

In return for a greater yield there are bound to be more snags and pitfalls than when you let your property to a single tenant for a full year.

The post Should You Convert Your Property To Short Term Lets? Eight Critical Points To Consider first appeared on Property Insider.

Tenant demand is strong, if not at an all time high, while lets are in short supply in many places as some landlords have decided to exit the market. Rents are on the rise too, with the average UK rent now touching over £1,000 pcm.

It’s probably fair to say, however, that being successful in buy to let calls for a lot more thought than it used to do – when pretty much any property would work as a rental. Here are a few basic strategies to help find the most successful buy to let opportunities.

Know your market inside out

Local prices are of course important but local rents and rental potential are even more important. Look at what sort of rental market exists there (if any). Consider what rents are achievable. Look at what sort of tenants are looking to rent there.Ask local letting agents: If I buy a buy to let in this area what are the best streets to buy in and what type of property should I buy|?

Check local letting listings to see what lets are currently available and how quickly or slowly they let. Aim to buy the type of property that is in high demand but in short supply. It will rent more easily, you will have many potential tenants to choose from. The rents and yields should be higher.

Buy to let is really all about demand.

Find the best mortgage

While the interest rate is only going in one direction there are still some excellent buy to let mortgage deals to be had. Take professional financial advice on the best way to finance your buy to let. Rising property values could mean that there could be more equity in your own home/existing properties which you could make use of.

Look for below market value property

Aiming to buy at under market value maximises the chances of achieving good capital appreciation. It protects you to some extent against any future falls in the property market.

Ways of buying at below market value include buying at a property auction, whether an online or offline property auction, or offering to buy property for cash.

Properties that are hard/impossible to mortgage are often available below market value and yet their rental value is not.

Look to add value

Looking to add value will, hopefully, give you an immediate capital gain. It will protect you against future price falls. And it will increase both the rentability of a property and the rent you can earn.

Ways to add value include renovating a property before letting it (also consider buy refurbish refinance rent), extending a property, subdividing a property into flats or converting a commercial property.

Check the EPC before you shortlist a property

You’ll need an Energy Performance Certificate of at least E to be able to let a property out. This could change to C in future. If a property you’re interested in has a poorer EPC than C allow for the costs of any future upgrades in your budget.

Consider buy to let niches

Rather than just plain vanilla buy to let consider niches that typically offer better yields. Student lets, short term lets, holiday lets and HMOs typically offer higher yields.

Consider limited company formation

Operating your buy to let through a limited company can change the ‘numbers’ from marginal to profitable. It’s something you need to take professional advice on however. Operating through a limited company is unlikely to be cost effective for a single property.

Analyse every potential deal in detail

Today it’s no longer good enough to use the ‘rent less mortgage and a bit of profit’ approach to decide if buy to let deals will work. You need to analyse the numbers in detail to make sure they stack up.

Use a professional deal analysis tool to make sure your investment will be profitable – try Property Prospector from PaTMa for example.

Choose tenants carefully

Choosing the best tenant has always been important, but now more than ever. The fast rising cost of living means that even tenants who enter into a tenancy in good faith could struggle to pay the rent over the next few years. It’s essential to ensure that a tenant’s monthly income will cover the rent by a good margin. Ideally it should be at least 2.5x the rent.

To sponsor this post, or place your own sponsored post on Property Insider, please contact us at hello@propertyinsider.info  We also offer a service producing posts and other high quality property content for your own website.

The post How to Find Great Buy to Let Opportunities in 2022 first appeared on Property Insider.

While the UK property market weathered the storm relatively well compared to other investment assets, the pandemic has shifted tenant demands across the country. As we’re seeing more investors question their choices, Joseph Mews Property Group compares houses and apartments for buy to let investments.

Capital Growth & Rental Yields

Choosing between houses and apartments is usually one of the first decisions you’ll need to make when buying to let, but it’s one that relies heavily on your investment goals. More specifically, are you looking for short-term returns or are you hoping for bigger price increases in the long-term?

Knowing what you want out of your investment will usually make choosing between houses and apartments much easier. Generally speaking, apartments offer more competitive rental yields than houses – especially if they’re in popular locations, such as city centres. For example, Joseph Mews research has found that in Birmingham, houses are averaging a 4.42% rental yield, whereas apartments are reaching as high as 7%.

So, for those looking to build higher capital and rental returns, apartments are usually the most popular option. That said, this property type also has a history of competitive price growth.

While Covid-19 has seen almost every property in the UK increase in value, Savills research has suggested that in the 20 years leading up to the pandemic, average apartment prices grew by 256%, whereas houses increased by 245% in the same time.

Is Size Important?

Regardless of whether you’re investing in houses or apartments, you’ll need to consider the size of the property. Compared to other decisions you’ll make along the way, this may seem like an easy decision to make, but similar to the houses vs. apartments debate, the size of the property – including the number of bedrooms – you choose will impact other areas of your investment.

For example, bigger properties with several bedrooms typically appeal more to families, whereas studios, one- and two-bedroom apartments generally attract young professionals – who are thought to be the biggest demographic of renters in the market. According to the English Private Landlord Survey, couples aged 25-49 make up the largest portion of the rental market and stay in rented property for at least three years.

This has been highlighted in Joseph Mews research, which found two-bedroom apartments typically deliver yields of around 5.26% and make up almost half of the rental market. One-bedroom apartments offer similar returns with an average rental yield of 5.41%, but only make up 31% of UK rental stock.

Property Types by Yield, Rents and Stock Distribution

Past and current market performance can tell you a lot about a property type, especially when looking at average rents, yields and market distribution:

Rents

Studio: £809

One-Bed: £891

Two-Bed: £1,214

Three-Bed: £1,576

Yields

Studio: 7.33%

One-Bed: 5.41%

Two-Bed: 5.26%

Three-Bed: 4.96%

Market Distribution

Studio: 4%

One-Bed: 31%

Two-Bed: 42%

Three-Bed: 15%

Other: 11%

What to Look for in a Buy-to-Let Investment?

Regardless of whether you’re looking to invest in an apartment or a house, you should be researching the local area and consider:

1.Jobs Market: Half of British workers are willing to relocate for a job, so investing in an area with a strong employment base is key. In attracting more tenants to the area and boosting the demand for property, you’ll not only minimise your chances of void periods but it’s likely that rents will increase as a result of increasing demand.

2.Area Demand: What’s at the root of a successful buy-to-let? Nine times out of ten, it’s tenant demand. Without tenants renting your property you’re at risk of void periods, so investing in locations that have strong demand is crucial.

3.Amenities: There are several things tenants look for in a rental location – amenities being one of these. Aside from jobs and transport links, having easy access to shops, restaurants, bars and green spaces is usually a priority for some tenants. This means that for investors, it’s often a good idea to be familiar with the local area.

Houses vs. apartments – it’s one of the many debates investors find themselves having when buying-to-let, but it’s a decision that will be influenced by other factors. From your preferred tenant demographic to locations and financial goals, knowing exactly what you want from your investment will usually make your decision much easier. The most important thing to remember when building your property empire is diversification, which often means having both houses and apartments within a single portfolio.

The post Houses vs. Apartments: Which is Best for Buy to Let? first appeared on Property Insider.

But the fact is buy to let still has all the fundamentals of an effective way to create both an income and a future capital gain …. in the right circumstances. And indeed in some ways has added attractions. It’s just that those fundamentals need to be reconsidered in a different light.

Here we will look at what you should bear in mind when considering your buy to let options in a post-Covid property market.

Current pricing and the importance of value. The current high levels of pricing in some areas poses something of a dilemma for investors. On the one hand, it underlines property’s potential as an excellent investment in the hope of a capital gain. Yet on the other it represents a real risk of overpaying in a potentially very frothy market.

It is always important for investors to seek out value  – but now more than ever.

This report looks at Below Market Value Property: What It Is And How To Buy It

Relearn what you know about yields. Historical low interest rates have also changed what constitutes an acceptable yield – compared to typical 0.5% savings interest 3% looks quite enticing.

However, fast changing pricing alongside changing rental demand has ripped up the rule book on yields. While some areas have seen yields decline other areas – such as parts of London where values have softened – have seen them climb to levels not seen in recent memory.

Would-be investors can search for the best yields countrywide using a tool like Yield Explorer, part of PaTMa’s Property Prospector.

Consider demand …. as ever. Successful buy to let is always about demand, whatever the current market conditions. Covid, alongside resultant factors such as unemployment and business closure which are as yet still unknown, has and will change both levels and patterns of demand in many areas. Yet, whatever the future holds, buy to let will invariably always be viable in areas with strong demand and low supply.

Here’s what you really need to know about demand in buy to let: Making Money In Buy To Let. It’s Really All About …. Demand

Also bear in mind supply:

Supply, and the current supply pipeline. The UK property market has historically been undersupplied, which is part of the reason it has proved a sound investment in recent years. However, through Covid builders have continued to build and developers have continued to develop. While Covid may impact their plans in future there is still substantial new build supply in the market which was largely commenced before Covid hit.

This supply will impact the supply-demand balance for several years to come …. in a market where demand is even harder to predict.

Property types …. what ‘works’ and what no longer works. Covid has focussed tenants’ and buyers’ minds on what is really important in a place to live – and space is very much towards the tops of the list. In fact, space is very much likely to be a genie out of the bottle so far as future property trends are concerned.

In future, tenants are more likely to prioritise space for spending time at home and space for working from home. And that extends to outside space too.

While in the past smaller property types have tended to be more lettable and better yielding large could become more sought after in future – even with higher rents – while small could even be difficult to let in some cases.

Location, location, location. Location has always been important for property investing, but now it has taken on an extra dimension. Rumour has it – yet it is still to some extent a rumour – that workers won’t return to city centre offices (to say nothing of shops) in anything like the pre-Covid numbers.

This means city centre property needs to be a much more considered investment. Suburban property should hold up. Rural property, something traditionally neglected by buy to let investors, could become more sought after.

Regardless of whether city, suburbs or country however micro fundamentals like local amenities, shops and schools and local transport – if not quite so much city commuter links – will continue to be paramount when choosing the location of a buy to let.

The post What To Buy To Let In A Post-Covid World [Tips] first appeared on Property Insider.