While we have people moving into property during March, the shortage of good quality property available on the market remains. I wrote about this in February and given it is a continuation of what we saw throughout 2014 and even further back than that, I would encourage those thinking of buying an investment property to go ahead and do so.
With a growing population and a high number of professional people moving and choosing to live in London and the home counties, I don’t think you’ll ever go too far wrong if you have some loose change you wish to invest in a property to let out. Barnet and many of its surrounding area’s have excellent transport links, schools, shopping area’s and many also have the added benefit of being close to Greenbelt land, parks and open spaces. We have seen significant rises in the rents being achieved for studio apartments, one bedroom and two bedroom properties with the demand for three and four bedroom houses remaining pretty strong too. Apart from a healthy monthly income, you could be looking at a good return on your money if you are able to commit to it long-term.
There are a few basic rules to follow and probably the most important one is location. Although you won’t go far wrong with any of the area’s we cover, if people are commuting to work on public transport, they really don’t want to have to walk for half an hour to get to the nearest train station or bus stop. A fifteen minute stroll is fine.
The condition of a property is important too and although some may consider it a little boring, neutral is best – have you ever thought about why developers choose Magnolia & White? Compliment this with a nice wooden floor or a light Brown carpet if decorating a flat. Some flats have clauses in their leases in regard to wooden flooring which will prevent you from laying them as this type of floor can be noisy for the residents on lower floors.
There isn’t a great deal of difference in the rental values between furnished or unfurnished property so just be a bit flexible if you can.
Devere Letting Bureau has been established in Barnet since 1992 and we remain an Independent Lettings & Management Company. Please contact us if you require any advice or guidance. We would be delighted to help you find the right tenant. All our tenants are personally spoken to by a senior member of staff and if we are happy with them they are then invited to leave a holding deposit before undergoing a strict referencing check by one of our external referencing agencies.
