Getting started in renovating BTL properties

Getting started in renovating BTL properties

8:43 AM, 29th October 2015, About 9 years ago 15

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I have been a member for a few months and just read the articles, but now I’d like to ask peoples opinions on how I should start my property career please.cash

I have about £20k ready to invest in BTL property and I want to get started ASAP. Ideally I’d like to buy below market value and then be able to renovate and then remortgage to get my funds out to reinvest into the next project. My father-in-law is a builder so the renovation should be fairly cheap. I want to keep the properties and rent them to generate cash flow.

I live in Essex where property isn’t cheap, for example a 1 bed flat in Westcliff near to where I live will set you back around £100k+ and could rent for between 500-650 pcm, depending on location and condition. However I have been told by a mortgage advisor that as a first time landlord I would need 25% deposit minimum and that the 20% deals are only for professional landlords. This means I really need £25k+ to even consider this (plus all he legal fees and building work). So I would need to save for longer.

The alternative would be to purchase further north where I would have ample deposit. I have been looking in Sheffield as this seems to be the closest place to me that’s reasonably priced. It is roughly a 3 to 3.5 hour drive away. To the east of Sheffield city centre it looks like you can pick up a 3 bed terraced property for around £60k with a rental income of around £450 to £500 pcm. Does anyone have any experience of Sheffield to be able to tell me if my logic is correct and if my research stacks up? Is there enough rental demand?

My preference would be to buy closer to home so I can keep a close eye on things but it’s just too expensive.

Does any one have any experience of managing BTL’s from a long distance? Does Sheffield have the rental demand I need? Would I be able to easily get my money out by remortgaging for the next project or would I need to leave it in for 2 years as mortgages with no initial period are hard to get for first timers?

Apologies for all the questions but I’d really appreciate some wisdom from those that have done this before.

Thanks very much in advance

Regards
Ian


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Comments

caroline walton

19:30 PM, 29th October 2015, About 9 years ago

Reply to the comment left by "Ian Taylor" at "29/10/2015 - 18:40":

The area had enough properties where the figures would work. I interviewed a lot of agents, preparing a list of questions beforehand. I find independents tend to be better and they should be run by people who have rental properties themselves. After a while I got a feel for people who knew what they were talking about. True there is a certain amount of trust involved but they are working for you - it's not in their interests to rip you off. You might find it helpful to go to property investor meetings in your area with these questions too.

Alison King

20:49 PM, 29th October 2015, About 9 years ago

Reply to the comment left by "Ian Taylor" at "29/10/2015 - 18:31":

Hello Ian.

Having chosen the broad general area, I asked people who had lived there a long time which were the places to avoid and which were not. I especially wanted to know which areas had improved in recent years, to try and anticipate where would be next. For price history and rent trends Rightmove and Zoopla are great. I also used the internet to research the area generally to get a feel for what people were saying about it,
I visited the area and and got to know it. I chatted to people in the street to find out whether they liked living there, and looked for signs of investment, like pubs and substandard buildings being demolished and replaced by quality housing, gyms, supermarkets, hotels etc. I was put off by signs of vandalism, crime and decay. It was two years before I bought my first property, but when I saw it I knew it was the one. It ticked all the boxes and was below market value.
I don't use an agent. I do a better job myself and I dislike the way they charge tenants for things that should be part of the service. I do belong to the NLA and they have all the forms, information and advice I need.

Ian Taylor

8:23 AM, 30th October 2015, About 9 years ago

Reply to the comment left by "Richard Roberts" at "29/10/2015 - 16:21":

Thanks for your very detailed reply Rich.

I definitely don't want to rush into a mistake that I can't easily rectify. With this 20k it's my one shot to do this and I don't want to get it wrong.

If I go local then I have my father in law the builder to help and my dad has 5 BTLs close to where we live so I have his experience and contacts. The difficulty comes in when I look further a field where it's cheaper and ROI is higher.

Thanks for the info on Liverpool. I think to start with I want to do a BTL before I try and pull off anything like the 2 larger deals you mention, as nice as they sound I don't have the experience.

That's very kind of you to offer to talk Rich, that would be great If you don't mind as I have lots of questions.

Thanks
Ian

Richard Roberts

11:02 AM, 30th October 2015, About 9 years ago

just two questions and then I keep quiet ... do you have enough knowledge of property and do you have lots of money?

Property118 is a great forum and there are some fantastic people who use it ... but there are other property network groups around to help (google them) and then have face to face conversations with people doing property, my personal values are to help others ... the business is not about property ... its about people with property. help the people and you might just get the property.

I still recommend more education and building a team around you - solicitor, accountant, builder, other property people to talk to (you never know you might find a JV partner with money to help you out?) ... and then emulate their methods.

that's me finished

Ian Taylor

21:53 PM, 5th July 2016, About 8 years ago

Hi All,

I thought I'd write a quick update on my progress since I last posted.

I managed to buy a 1 bed flat in Southend, Essex for £90k, and I just beat the SDLT cut off at the end of March to save £2.7k. I have since refurbished the whole flat including new kitchen, bathroom, plaster (where needed), new fuse board, boiler serviced and certificated, paint and carpets, all for just over £6k.

With my purchase price, refurb and fees i'm all in for £100k. I recently had the property valued by 2 different agents with one valuing at £120k and one at £130k.

I am going to refinance as much as possible to give me between £20-30k depending on the surveyors valuation. Do I need to wait 6 months to do this from my purchase date?

I am also in the middle of moving house and will release around £20k of equity from the move so I will have between £40-50k for my next venture.

I am thinking to either do the same again and find a 1 or 2 bed flat BMV and repeat the cycle or potentially a multi let to increase cash flow, but this will be more risky and I assume I would need more liquid cash for a rainy day so to speak.

I have inquired about the tax advisors Mark uses in Norwich and I am looking forward to getting all my finances in order to give myself the best possible base from which to grow my portfolio.

I'm interested to hear if people think I should continue with BTL's or try a multi let?

With regards to solicitors are there special solicitors that work for property investors? All the ones I have ever used seem to take months to do anything.

Thanks in advance.

Regards
Ian

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