Property Development / BTL
Discussion
It seems a few of you on here are in the game.
Ive been toying with the idea of getting into this. Ive had a eye on the local market for a long time now and it seems to be slowly starting to move. So if im going to to it nows the time.
How do you chaps with experience in the game find it ? What are the pros and cons of developing and btl ?
Ive been toying with the idea of getting into this. Ive had a eye on the local market for a long time now and it seems to be slowly starting to move. So if im going to to it nows the time.
How do you chaps with experience in the game find it ? What are the pros and cons of developing and btl ?
Have you got a decent chunk of capital that you can lay down? If not, forget about it.
Do you have skills e.g. plumbing, electrician? Useful to have (I don't). Do you have someone who can do the work for you and is trustworthy (I do, very useful).
Do you want to be passive and simply buy somewhere and live off the income, or try and add value?
Study your market very carefully. Be prepared to lose money, keep an eye out for interest rate rises. Remember tax
I'm different from a lot of people, I'm not interested in a portfolio worth £Xm, I'm interested in BTL for income e.g. it gives me £X'000 per month. Value is important of course, but I like the money in my pocket.
Do you have skills e.g. plumbing, electrician? Useful to have (I don't). Do you have someone who can do the work for you and is trustworthy (I do, very useful).
Do you want to be passive and simply buy somewhere and live off the income, or try and add value?
Study your market very carefully. Be prepared to lose money, keep an eye out for interest rate rises. Remember tax
I'm different from a lot of people, I'm not interested in a portfolio worth £Xm, I'm interested in BTL for income e.g. it gives me £X'000 per month. Value is important of course, but I like the money in my pocket.
Kudos said:
Have you got a decent chunk of capital that you can lay down? If not, forget about it.
Do you have skills e.g. plumbing, electrician? Useful to have (I don't). Do you have someone who can do the work for you and is trustworthy (I do, very useful).
Do you want to be passive and simply buy somewhere and live off the income, or try and add value?
Study your market very carefully. Be prepared to lose money, keep an eye out for interest rate rises. Remember tax
I'm different from a lot of people, I'm not interested in a portfolio worth £Xm, I'm interested in BTL for income e.g. it gives me £X'000 per month. Value is important of course, but I like the money in my pocket.
I have some money set aside that im willing to use not a huge load though tbh. Do you have skills e.g. plumbing, electrician? Useful to have (I don't). Do you have someone who can do the work for you and is trustworthy (I do, very useful).
Do you want to be passive and simply buy somewhere and live off the income, or try and add value?
Study your market very carefully. Be prepared to lose money, keep an eye out for interest rate rises. Remember tax
I'm different from a lot of people, I'm not interested in a portfolio worth £Xm, I'm interested in BTL for income e.g. it gives me £X'000 per month. Value is important of course, but I like the money in my pocket.
Idealy i want something that i can hopefully turn into my full time job at some point down the line ( fed up making money for others )
I have the skills to do a lot of work myself and have contacts in the trade.
My origonal plan was to add value to houses without something turning into a long project. Id still quite like to do that.
Since then lots of new houses are being built. Im thinking this might be a good chance to btl + im sure they will go up in value as more houses pop up etc.
theshrew said:
It seems a few of you on here are in the game.
Ive been toying with the idea of getting into this. Ive had a eye on the local market for a long time now and it seems to be slowly starting to move. So if im going to to it nows the time.
How do you chaps with experience in the game find it ? What are the pros and cons of developing and btl ?
Honestly? Both development and rental are hard work and it takes years to become good enough / well connected enough to make decent money at it.Ive been toying with the idea of getting into this. Ive had a eye on the local market for a long time now and it seems to be slowly starting to move. So if im going to to it nows the time.
How do you chaps with experience in the game find it ? What are the pros and cons of developing and btl ?
I have been a landlord and developer (of our own stock) for 20 years, a dealer in property for 10. We own a lot of properties. I have relatively significant sums of capital to invest and good relationships with banks who will lend to me. I am typing this from my office, not a sunny beach, so that should be a good indicator as to whether it's a recipe to become rich in short order.
So, you wanted the pros and cons. To my mind they are these:
Development pros:
1. It's fun sometimes
2. It can be satisfying
3. Get it right and there's big money in it
Development cons:
1. Finding deals is hard: every man and his dog is competing with you.
2. The cost of work is sky-rocketing and 95% of tradesmen are complete retards. Fact.
3. It's high risk unless you know exactly what you're doing and you can lose your shirt.
BTL pros:
1. Can be an OK pension
2. HPI can create big gains (taxable ones mind)
3. I'm struggling with a third one.
BTL cons
1. If you own a handful of 2-bed terraces with mortgages you'll earn little unless house prices rise quite a lot.
2. If it's not your main job, getting calls at 8pm on Saturday about a blocked toilet is irksome.
3. BTL properties are illiquid assets.
4. Local authorities are greedy and increasingly trying to take some of your profit.
5. The law in this country is heavily weighted in the tenant's favour.
6. It can be very stressful.
7. There's less profit than you think. Most people over estimate how much they make.
8. BTL loans are expensive. Commercial loans are risky and when the banks want out they will screw you without a thought.
9. The "dinner party investor" is back which has driven up prices and yields down.
10. Everything else (and I could probably list 100 cons).
Kudos said:
Have you got a decent chunk of capital that you can lay down? If not, forget about it.
Do you have skills e.g. plumbing, electrician? Useful to have (I don't). Do you have someone who can do the work for you and is trustworthy (I do, very useful).
Do you want to be passive and simply buy somewhere and live off the income, or try and add value?
Study your market very carefully. Be prepared to lose money, keep an eye out for interest rate rises. Remember tax
I'm different from a lot of people, I'm not interested in a portfolio worth £Xm, I'm interested in BTL for income e.g. it gives me £X'000 per month. Value is important of course, but I like the money in my pocket.
I agree on the whole - you can learn skills, but you do need some real capital. I doubt most people entering this realise the sort of hours and struggle it is early on too. For the first 3 years it took over my life completely. Every one wants to get into it these days - what do you have that's different and will set you apart?Do you have skills e.g. plumbing, electrician? Useful to have (I don't). Do you have someone who can do the work for you and is trustworthy (I do, very useful).
Do you want to be passive and simply buy somewhere and live off the income, or try and add value?
Study your market very carefully. Be prepared to lose money, keep an eye out for interest rate rises. Remember tax
I'm different from a lot of people, I'm not interested in a portfolio worth £Xm, I'm interested in BTL for income e.g. it gives me £X'000 per month. Value is important of course, but I like the money in my pocket.
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