Are You Ready For a Property Investment? Things to Consider in 2022
While we think making a property investment is a top choice in 2022, it’s only good if you’re ready for it.
With that in mind, here are some tips and things to keep in mind when deciding to make an investment this year.
Landlord Responsibilities
By buying a rental property, you’re likely going to become a landlord.
But landlords aren’t just there to provide a home and earn rent, with many UK regulations dictating the responsibilities of landlords.
This can include maintenance work, ensuring all gas and electrical items are safely installed, providing an Energy Performance Certificate, and more.
If you lack the skills needed to do repairs, you could end up spending thousands. This is important to keep in mind.
You can check out the full details of your landlord responsibilities on the government website.
The Cost of Property
Property can get expensive, with mortgage deposits, stamp duty fees, and legal fees making property expensive to buy.
In fact, in our blog post, how much money do you need to invest in property, we found that you’ll require around £30k as a minimum to buy a property worth £100k.
And that’s not even factoring in the maintenance and running costs involved with property investment, which can include ground rent, monthly mortgage payments, and more.
Remember, too, that you may not always have rent to cover this, as your property could be vacant for months if you’re unable to find a tenant.
While you can avoid this as much as possible by buying new build properties attractive to tenants, you need to ensure you have a rainy-day fund to cover your expenses if the worst happens.
You Don’t Need to Invest Near to Your Home
Most investors opt to buy investment properties near their homes to manage them themselves.
This can be a mistake, though, if the area you live in has a poor performing housing market.
As such, don’t be afraid to invest in other cities that have better-performing markets. While you won’t be a hands-on landlord, you can hire a property management company to handle all of your landlord duties.
This will allow you to have a completely hands-0ff investment – key for those with a full-time job.