18 replies to this topic

[oliver122]

My wife and I own several rental properties as part of our pensions and we've had them for over 10 years. It has worked out extremely well with excellent return on investment, increased capital values and no loss of cash value. We are not contributing towards the flash cars you see the pension and insurance company managers driving and which are parked outside their flash glass fronted air-conditioned offices.

well thats my thinking to be honest , the pension at work used to be a good pension , it was a final salary pension but they are stopping it , and while im young i thought it would be worth while as it will give me plenty of time for the rent to pay the mortgage off by the time i come retire

[Cooperman]

This is an excellent time to buy. If you can buy small houses or flats in need of some renovation and then do the renovation yourself you will do very well over the years. Make them best for rental with reliable appliances which look good, paint the place in neutral colours, lay new carpets in serviceable colours, make sure everything is clean & bright and the prospective tenants will be easy to find at good rental levels.
Research your areas for the investment well before buying and talk to local letting agents who should charge no more than 10% of gross rental for managing the properties.
As an example and a general guide, if you buy a property for around £60,000 you should be looking for a gross rental of around £360 per month unfurnished.
I hope this helps. All your expenses involved in ownership can be offset against income tax.
The other thing is that you are in control of your money & assets which you can sell whenever you wish.

[pbeardmore]

We have a flat that will become our pension, one piece of advice is to really check out your future tennants and dont trust your agent, if you use one, to approve the tennant. Our first one was Ok we thought but turns out moved her boyfriend in without telling us.(in breach of the lease), the agent had visited several times and it must have been so obvious that a guy was living there but they did not spot it. Sounds harsh but dont be afraid to be snoby. Try to imagine how the prospective tennant will be if there is any type of disagreement. And unless you are targeting the student market, dont afriad to be ageist either.

[mab01uk]

If you want to see how its done, watch the BBC tv programme 'Homes Under the Hammer' on every weekday at 10am.......you will see examples of people buying run down flats and houses at auction, refurbing them mainly as potential rental investments or money machines to maximise the 'yield' for their annual income or pension.
http://www.bbc.co.uk...rammes/b006v5kb

Do it as soon as you can.......if you are young this is the only way you are likely to end up with a decent pension or retire early! Remember the long term aim of our governments is for the average person to work until they drop or live only a short time after retirement in order to minimise state pension costs........

Edited by mab01uk, 01 December 2012 - 07:46 PM.