Newbie to PRS?

All the above advice is useful. However, I'd say take a step back and ask yourself why you want to invest in property - if it's for income or capital growth, there are easier ways of making money.

Then understand that being a landlord comes with responsibilities, about which you need to educate yourself: ignorance isn't acceptable in this business. And there are too many haters out there (government, institutions, lobbyists, etc) waiting for you to trip up.

My third bit of advice would be to do your own research in terms of areas - will you be managing it yourself (in which case you'd want somewhere within striking distance of your home) or using an agent; what type of tenant you'd want (students, professionals, etc)

I'm not trying to put you off; rather to encourage you to go into this with your eyes wide open: 390K is a lot of money and before I'd put down a penny, I'd want to make sure I understand what I'm getting into.

Best of luck with your decision.

Reply to the comment left by yl2006 at 17/01/2024 - 19:57
Don't buy a residential BTL at the moment, there is a significant risk to your investment from abolition of Section 21.
Put 200K as a 50% deposit to buy a holiday let.
The rest should be invested in equities etc.
If you are convinced UK property is a sound bet, do it through a quoted Real Estate Investment Trust.
Review in 3 years time.
Good luck.

You would get a better return investing it elsewhere, as a landlord if I had that sort of money coming available I wouldn’t be getting more property. You can get 5% for two years gross, just putting it in the bank. if you look around at Green investments, yes, you need to consider these carefully and may take advice, you can get considerably more.

Again, being careful, there are some really good foreign holiday home investments, fully managed which give way more return than this. So you could spend the money across the number of investments. And have somewhere to go in the summer.

You could also put some money into one of the finance houses who lends money out to other people and gain much higher returns. Then as Iris only takes a smaller amount but is protected from tax.

So you can see of opportunities to get a better return for a hell of a lot has hassle.

Not only is the market volatile pending legislation is horrendous, I’ve just had a tenant I’ve been with me for 10 years you’re bad on me six months rent had to take her to court, the court awarded the property back, we will see, but still gave her yet another month to find another property, is those six months wasn’t enough. Wreck, it’s gonna take a fortune to do it up. To think of the time the hassle the stress I could’ve saved if that money had been invested, just bring money in. Hopefully this came out okay as I’ve been dictating it and who knows what series typed

Reply to the comment left by Crouchender at 16/01/2024 - 09:41
Hi one off the best ways to save is with pension salary sacrifice. You get up to 62 percent tax relief on it , then you transfer funds out off it into your company sass pension ( set up ltd company) you then buy commercial property with your sass and loan yourself funds

Welcome, as others have said, definitely no new build (like buying a new car you'll lose a huge amount of value the second you complete), previously I would have said no to leasehold but these days it's not a problem if you choose very carefully (a good long lease, minimal ground rent and well managed block) , Isle of dogs, canning town are great but more availability in N1 closer to city of london, go as upmarket as you can for the money, first floor is best for security and damp, minimum EPC "B" (or easy potential), walking distance to tube, etc. Probably the best time to be investing in 30 years, as general investing wisdom says "buy when everyone else is selling" and rents are going only one way .

Research and find a well regarded letting agent not an estate agent.
They must have been trading at least 10 years so you can check their performance.
Read the contract carefully or even have it checked by your solicitor before you sign.
A good letting agent (not estate agent) will guide you as to where to buy to achieve the best rental income. An estate agent will not, its that simple.

I'm another landlord that can't wait to get out and I used to love it. If you have the creativity and the trades contacts or build them up 'flipping' would be much more fun. London would be challenging even for your substantial spend, but there are plenty of bargains round the country and abroad. Holiday let also a good idea, but if all us ex landlords head that way the market might get saturated. Take care

Sorry I missed part of the question but ideally minimum 2 bed, even a small 2nd bedroom is very useful for home office or nursery. Be wary where council is freeholder , service charge shocks can be crippling. Finn House in Shoreditch has been most profitable properties in my portfolio with minimal voids.
Only accept very best tenants that you have met and vetted personally, never ever trust an agent !

Of course, if you do buy you then have to consider whether you buy it in your own name or a company name. If a company name is it going to be added to existing portfolios, or a new company just for that particular property so it’s easier to pass on.

Don't invest in BTL. After 22 years we are selling up. The toxic anti landlord political environment, tax, and regulation has done for me. Invest your money elsewhere that doesn't ring you at 3am to ask you to fix a dripping tap.