Commercial property landlord

[KTF]

My parents have a few BTL and are in the process of buying another but it’s dragging on and they are losing patience.

There is a new industrial estate being built close buy instead where you can buy a unit then rent it out so they are now considering this as well. The ones built so far all have tenants.

A friend they know who has bought a few say you have to set yourself up as a limited company but the yield is higher than a flat, if they don’t pay they can be out in 30 days, there is no ground rent, increased stamp duty, etc so on face value it seems a better investment than another flat. It probably won’t increase in value as much as a flat I guess?

Assuming a tenant can be found, is it as straightforward as this or is there a catch? If not why are people still buying flats rather than units?

[anonymous-user]

What are the business rates? They would be liable even during voids. That and the slower process of finding tenants puts me off but am sure it can work well.

[Croutons]

No, it's not that straightforward. Where is the queue of renters? Why rent your unit not the one adjacent with no gearing at half the price? Or buy themselves? What happens if they go pop? How long until another tenant arrives, or they all look at the other brand spanking dev next door?

Read this thread

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

[KTF]

Thanks. I will look through that thread.

[KTF]

Badda said:

What are the business rates? They would be liable even during voids. That and the slower process of finding tenants puts me off but am sure it can work well.

Yes, rates would have to be paid when empty. Tenants would take longer to find as well compared to residential.

[alpertonian]

Look into opt to tax to ensure you get your VAT right. It's a very complex area. I rent out two small commercial units, to local people. No problems to date. Much better returns than residential is my experience.I can't believe more people don't do it, but it's probably the fear of the unknown.