Best way to buy and sell investment property?

Best way to buy and sell investment property?

18:39 PM, 22nd April 2015, About 10 years ago 10

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What is the best way to sell (or buy) a buy to let property these days?

My thoughts on this have evolved in recent years, mainly due to the the speed at which the buy-to-let market has become more and more established.

So here’s a question for you to ponder ….

Does buying a tenanted property make sense for Buy-to-Let purchasers?

Mark Alexander

My answer would be that rental voids are inevitable following a purchase with vacant possession, not so with a property that is already tenanted.

With so many BTL properties now in the market, why not buy or sell property with tenants in situ?

What investment property buyer would choose a vacant property over an identical one with tenants who have been in-situ for some time, have an unblemished track record of making their rental payments on time, and are taking good care of the property and respecting their neighbours?

Have you ever come across a tenant who was happy to be served notice because their landlord wanted to sell? What if they didn’t have to leave?

Just consider how much money buyers and sellers of tenanted property could save in terms of rental voids and agents fees!

The new Property118 portal allows buyers to set up email alerts so they are immediately notified when a property matching their purchasing criteria is listed. Furthermore, buyers can search by area or simply scroll through all Premium listings until they find something of interest.

Click here if you have a BTL property that you would like to sellClick here if you would like to be notified when BTL properties are listed for sale in your town

It’s FREE for landlords and agents to advertise buy to let property for sale via the Property118 portal; No commission, No Memberships!

So why not take a look for yourself at some of the properties already listed?

When purchasers enquire about properties advertised on our portal we also share our tried and tested due diligence tips.

Click here to see properties currently advertised on the Property118 portal

Why Property118 makes sense for selling tenanted property

When landlords consider selling a buy to let property via conventional means they are immediately faced with a list of dilemmas:

1. Will my tenant cooperate with viewings?

2. Will my tenant move out and leave me with a rental void and negative cashflow?

3. If the property is unoccupied what will happen to my insurance cover?

When you list your Buy-to-Let property for sale on our portal we will share tried and tested tips with you to make certain that the process of selling runs as smoothly and profitably as possible.

Property118 is the ideal website for landlords and their agents to sell buy to let properties because it is already so popular with landlords and associated property professionals. In other words, potential buyers are already here.

Click here if you want to create a free advertisement for a BTL property that you would like to sell Click here if you would like to be notified when BTL properties are listed for sale in your town

 


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Comments

Mick Roberts

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8:14 AM, 23rd April 2015, About 10 years ago

I agree with 'selling with tenants in to Landlord who wants to KEEP them there.'

I've done a few AND it's much bigger difference or less loss of income that u think.

When giving 'em notice so u can sell & maybe spend 10k doing up.
£500 pm rent gone.
£3000 Estate Agent fee.
Maybe paying out £400pm mortgage waiting to complete.

Selling almost immediately for discount, u may not lose as much as u think.
No agent, no spending, rent in till the very last minute, your £10,000 discount, may be recouped by not laying out the above.

Laura Howard

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11:07 AM, 23rd April 2015, About 10 years ago

People commit many mistakes while buying or selling the property and end up bearing losses. Here I found a link which tells about Do's And Don'ts When Selling A House.http://cloudrealestate.com/blog/post/Dos-And-Donts-When-Selling-A-House-In-Killeen-TX.aspx

Mark Alexander - Founder of Property118

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11:23 AM, 23rd April 2015, About 10 years ago

Reply to the comment left by "Laura Howard" at "23/04/2015 - 11:07":

Hi Laura

The article you have linked to is not particularly relevant to buying and selling tenanted UK property because it comes from a website geared towards the owner occupied market market in Texas, USA.

Whilst some of the points may be transferable to the UK many will not.

We have our own set of tips for UK BTL property buyers here >>> http://www.property118.com/questions-ask-buying-tenanted-property/73290/
.

Martin Gardner

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11:25 AM, 23rd April 2015, About 10 years ago

We just bought two properties before Christmas of which both were tenanted, this actually attracted me knowing that they had been tenants for just over two years, with no issues, although one was slightly under market rate for rental value, to have a secure and good tenant was worth it.

Naturally my first step was to assure the tenant/s that I was looking long term and they are secure and they can carry on making it their home, the smile on their faces acknowledge the right course of action and have a good relationship with them both.

On the other hand I looked at another property that was tenanted. I arrived to view it with the landlord, estate agent and letting agent and was appalled by the way the later two spoke to and about the tenant while he was there, it was as if he didn't exist. The guy looked stressed and unhappy, the condition of the property was shabby. I promptly walked away from that deal.

Pete David

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11:27 AM, 23rd April 2015, About 10 years ago

Reply to the comment left by "Mick Roberts" at "23/04/2015 - 08:14":

I have always instinctivly thought that selling a buy to let to the open market and not just investors made the most sense. Because the market value would be higher than selling to an investor, and because there would be more ordinary buyers out there than just investors. So this means vacant possession. The question now is it seems that which ever way you sell up, it is going to cost money. Either by way of discount to the investor buyer or by way of void and overhead of getting the place vacant in order to sell to a private person. And also how does one know that the property actually was financially viable to an investor anyway? And what is the ratio of private buyers to investor buyers? id like to hear from more folks who have sold buy to lets or who are doing so now. With the pension freedom stuff goi g on maybe there are more investors now, but what about in three yrs time?

Mark Alexander - Founder of Property118

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11:44 AM, 23rd April 2015, About 10 years ago

Reply to the comment left by "Peter David" at "23/04/2015 - 11:27":

Hi Peter

As I said in my article, the market is maturing. There are now 1.2 million landlords providing 4.4. million homes.

CML figures suggest there are more new BTL mortgages being granted that owner occupier mortgages. The balance is changing, and I think attitudes will follow.

I agree that landlord to landlord sales have traditionally been below the open market value with vacant possession but I also think that will change with demand.

Evidence of this can be seen by looking back at the price of diesel vs petrol. 15 years ago, when most cars were petrol, the cost of diesel was much cheaper then petrol prices. Now that so many more cars run on diesel the reverse is true, diesel costs more than petrol.

Will we see a similar reversal in terms of tenanted vs owner occupied property? Will landlords pay a premium for property with established tenants and no void periods? Personally, I think that in time they will.

Trusted projections are that the PRS will represent 50% of all homes within 20 years, which is similar to other parts of Europe including Germany and Switzerland. It is inevitable that as the market evolves, so will buying attitudes. The new Property118 portal is the forerunner in this market and with the right funding and awareness I think we are very well positioned to have significant influence on future buying trends.
.

Ian Ringrose

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18:04 PM, 23rd April 2015, About 10 years ago

How can I trust the "selling" landlord to give me a reference I can believe on the
tenant?

Also would a landlord not chose to sell the property with the worse tenant, not the best tenant.

There due to the above, I would expect a nice discount as a buyer. However a student HMO would be different, as they leave at the end of each year anyway.

Mark Alexander - Founder of Property118

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18:47 PM, 23rd April 2015, About 10 years ago

Reply to the comment left by "Ian Ringrose" at "23/04/2015 - 18:04":

Hi Ian

There is an old Soviet saying which Ronald Regen stole and passed of as his own .... it translates as "Trust BUT Verify".

As you know, my wife is Russian and also a Chartered Management Accountant so I have this drummed into on a regular basis.

It doesn't really matter who you are buying from or what you are buying, you should always apply this logic, regardless of whether it is a product such as a property or a car, or an idea/concept.

If a landlord cannot prove his claims that his tenant always pays the rent on the due date and looks after the property then you are in a far better position to negotiate. The burden of proof of any claims always falls on the person making the claims. It's no different to you making an insurance claim.

I started a discussion thread a few weeks ago entitled "Good questions to ask when buying a tenanted property", please see >>> http://www.property118.com/questions-ask-buying-tenanted-property/73290/
.

Pete David

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19:05 PM, 23rd April 2015, About 10 years ago

Reply to the comment left by "Ian Ringrose" at "23/04/2015 - 18:04":

What would constitute a nice discount?

Recardo

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9:12 AM, 24th April 2015, About 10 years ago

Always down to the buyer to qualify the tenant. Even if the tenant does not check out the buyer can still ask for vacant possession, and get their own tenant.

This is a brilliant idea and I have advertised a flat in Clacton on Sea with this new site. the tenants are retired and have been there for 4 years and have no wish to move.

An estate agent has asked £5000 to market the property. As Mark's site is free I have reduced the asking price by £3000, that should be a nice enough discount to the buyer and would also gain me £2000.

Also good to know the tenants will not have to move on.

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