A Good Letting agent for Buy to Let Advice in Manchester?

Hi Ozzy

Have a chat with LettingSupermarket.com and ask them to arrange for you to meet their agent in the area for a coffee. They will not charge you to give you advice and they are not estate agents either so they will have no vested interests in selling you something they've got on their books. Obviously they will want you to give them the letting and management business but that's a 'no-brainer' because they are bonded ARLA agents and offer full management for an unbeatable rate of just 4%.

There's more info and a contact form on the following linked page >>> http://www.property118.com/letting-supermarket-full-management/68829/
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Why are you buying in an area you don't know and cannot visit when necessary??? Surely it would be much better to buy something local to where you live (particularly when starting out as a landlord).

Also, flats (apartments) do not tend to hold their price as well as houses, and often have higher overheads, e.g. ground rent and communal maintenance charges, and of course as they are leasehold not freehold properties, the value goes down as the leasehold term gets shorter.

Personally, I would suggest totally re-thinking your strategy, but if you have investigated everything in detail and already weighed up such matters, and still believe this to be a good option for you, then good luck with your purchases.

Hi Ozzy. I use to have a few modern flats in central Manchester but sold up a couple of years ago. My experience was finding quality tenants was always a challenge as competition was strong and capital gains were pretty ordinary so bear this in mind. Take advise from a decent local agent who has a ground level knowledge of what areas have decent yields and where quality tenants with good retention rates tend to locate. Be mindful of online agents 'local knowledge' as they tend to cover large areas and don't really know area from area. I've recently used Purple Bricks down in London - never again! Never used LettingSupermarket though so couldn't comment on them. Good luck, Paul

Hi Ozzy,

I have done research for good rental yeilds in Manchester and now in process of buying 2 houses.

I would recommend using local agents in the area where rental yields are good. Let them also manage the property for you. I am still in talks with the local agent who has offered me management on 10% which i believe is a lot. You would also need a handyman to do your property maintenance as the local agent will try to rip on any repair cost.

Good luck with your purchase.

Regards,
JD.

This is not a recommendation - would others advise if practical and safe, but for arms length investment in Manchester look at

http://www.sequre.co.uk/property-deals/uk/freehold-tenanted-houses-in-greater-manchester

Or similar agents?

Hi Ozzy
Why Manchester?
I would suggest picking an area you do know and if that is too expensive for you look elsewhere. There are great areas all over pick one and become "expert" there. Talk to local property people and do your DD!
Good luck Ozzy

Reply to the comment left by "Paul Parker" at "04/02/2016 - 11:39":

Hi Paul

LettingSupermarket.com do have local agents. They simply choose not to have local offices because they are not necessary and not having them allows them to stay so competitively priced.

So what went wrong with Purple Bricks then?
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Thank you so much for all your kind comments. Your comments are really very important for me.

@Jonathan... "Why Manchester?"; Just because the properties are still affordable for me, and as far as I read, the rental yields are higher compared to other cities. Yield is not everything, I know (I don't want to be greedy), but I am currently unemployed and a steady rental income would help very much. Besides, I live in Cambridgeshire and the prices here are unfortunately not reachable for me.

@Robert... No I haven't investigated everything in detail actually and the points you have made were very important. I just thought if I bought flats instead of houses, the maintenance would be easier and cheaper. But as you say I should rethink this.

@Paul.. As you say, finding quality tenants is more important then the rental yield. So I should focus for areas with more decent tenant potentials then.

@Chris... I got in contact with Sequre, but I think their properties are really overpriced. I have noticed that some of the modern developments they sold in Salford area, a couple of years ago have lost value today, which might show, I guess, they were overpriced.

@Mark and @CaZ... Yes, I will definitely get in contact with LettingSupermarket.com. But first I should decide on the area.

@JD M... Congratulations with your purchases. May I ask which areas/postcodes in Manchester you think are better to invest?

And finally, maybe I should better ask you all:

Which areas you would suggest in Manchester?
Or any other city suggestions closer to Cambs, with good yields and proper tenants? Peterborough, Coventry ??

I know my questions are like looking for a needle in a haystack. But I just don't want to make any mistakes with my lifelong savings and I really don't have anyone else to ask.

Thanks again, your help is very much appreciated..

Ozzy

Reply to the comment left by "Mark Alexander" at "04/02/2016 - 13:43":

I tried to arrange an appointment to view an empty property marked by
'Purple Bricks' last year.
It was a nightmare, they made several appointments via there web system and each occasion sent further messages cancelling the viewing.
The system was very confusing and attempting to telephone them only led to further appointments and then cancellations on their part on the web system,you could not arrange anything by phone.
Eventually the property was sold without me ever viewing.
The property was only 1 mile from my house and I passed it everyday in the hope I might see some one in.
I was a potential cash buyer.