Invest & Management Service

The 1988 Housing Act
dramatically improved the landlord's position and enabled the rented sector
to recover strongly.

Demand for rented property
has increased by 50% throughout the UK since 1988, and by more in the Greater London area. Private rented property now represents 11% of the housing stock, and is likely to grow to 15% or 20% in the next 20 years. In 1997 the DTI forecast 4.4 million more homes would be required by the year 2016. At 11% this would amount to half a million more rental properties being required, or almost one million more, given a 20% market share. This would still be well below other industrialised countries - Germany has 41%, and France 33%

Demographic and economic changes
such as shorter employment contracts, a need for greater mobility, and division of the traditional family unit are all encouraging more people, especially in the 20 to 35 age range, to rent rather than buy a property of their own.

Supply
of good quality 1 and 2 bedroom rented property, in particular, is unable to meet the current demand. This is pushing rent levels up, providing a healthy rate of return on carefully selected and well-prepared investment properties (about 8% gross rental yield in both central London and selected Outer London suburbs).

Property values
throughout Greater London have on average risen by 14.8% per annum over the last five years. The long-term trend in UK house prices has been positive with increases averaging 8.4% per annum since 1974. (Source: FPD Savills)

Nest Egg

Diversifying
away from higher-risk equity markets into residential property appeals to many investors nowadays. For most, the modest returns from deposit and savings accounts are inadequate. A residential property is a tangible asset - "an investment you can walk past" - in a market which most investors know and understand. This gives a greater sense of control than leaving the responsibility for future financial provision to an anonymous fund manager in the City.

Gearing up
(borrowing to buy) enables the investor to spread his/her own capital over more properties and to multiply any capital appreciation by two (@ 50% LTV) or four times (@ 75% LTV) achieving a more dramatic return on his/her own funds see Investment Appraisal.

Mortgages
are now available from certain Buy-to-Let lenders at very competitive rates of interest (from 5.99%*), making investment in UK residential property viable for the first time in living memory. Furthermore, most financial commentators expect UK interest rates to remain low, in the medium term, as a result of a more stable macro-economic outlook. (*3 yr. fixed rate via our mortgage advisor)

Future retirement pensions
can be augmented by the purchase of one or more investment properties. If funded correctly these can be self-financing over the period of the loan, and thereafter provide a useful supplement to retirement income.

A Specialist company such as ourselves can provide a comprehensive service in the acquisition, preparation, letting and on-going management of the property. This enables the investor to take advantage of our in-depth knowledge, as well as delegate every stage of the process. Having instructed us, and allocated the necessary funds, the client is effectively free to adopt the role of the 'armchair investor'.

Acquisition Costs | Services & Fees | Letting & Management | Other Expenses |