anyone do property development/BTL as a career?

[RanToTheHills]

v interested in this, already had one successful BTL which we have had to sell, unfortunately. Love houses and would like to make this a sideline. Anyone making a reasonable living from it? I'd need it to be on a v small-scale, buy 1 small property, do it up and sell on/rent out and so on.

[PippiLangstrump]

I'll bump it for you. i am interested in it too.

We had a BTL and it was fine. selling it though.

[RanToTheHills]

thanks, sound like us. We needed to release the equity in ours, hence the sale but now looking for somewhere else, but a bit cheaper

[RanToTheHills]

just us then?

[PippiLangstrump]

seems so! or they all want to keep it a secret!

[MissTea4Me]

Me three! Have a BTL which I'm selling soon as I've moved quite a ways away; have been wondering whether to BTL again locally or BTFUASO (that's my brand new acronym for buy to fix up and sell on).

[nappyaddict]

i want to BTFUASO. this will have to be in a few years to come yet though as i am guessing as a single 18 year old i won't be getting a mortgage any time soon.

[hana]

would love to do this, but it's not the right time for dh and I at the moment, do like property ladder and wonder if those idiots on the show can do it, of course we could!

[BettySpaghetti]

We recently did some tentative "research" into BTFUASO but it seems that sellers and estate agents have taken the growing trend to do this into account and are now pricing properties in such a way that once you've paid renovation costs theres no longer a decent profit to be made.

In our area (might be different elsewhere) the only money to be made seems to be in buying up big, old, detatched properties and converting them into flats.

However the sheer costs involved mean only established property developers can afford to do it.

[PippiLangstrump]

I wish they could do more programmes re this but where things go wrong and you do not make anymoney or lose them! there was one (don't remember the name). As I feel it seems to easy to be true.

[MissGolightly]

I don't get btl. Round our way rents only cover about quarter of what a mortgage on the same property would cost. Are we unusual?

[PippiLangstrump]

bettyspaghetty you are probably right and I do not think I could seriously become a property developer as I HATE to convert old houses into flat!!! I think it is a shame! but do not mind me as this is one of my pet-hates.

[BettySpaghetti]

I know what you mean Pippi -I've seen some beautiful houses butchered when they've been converted.

However in some areas first time buyers don't stand a chance of buying if the majority of properties are big 6 bedroomed places.

This is where developers in our area are making money as theres so little aimed at those setting out on the property ladder that they snap up flats in conversions.

[BettySpaghetti]

that is "the first time buyers snap up the flats in conversions"

[PippiLangstrump]

... I live in one...

[Skribble]

I am interested in this too, I want to eventualy rent holiday cottages but I will have to start with a cheap BTL. Where we are rents cover the mortgage repayments.

BIL is interested in this too so we might combine forces for the first couple until we get going.

The thing holding me up is the 15% deposit required for a BTL mortgage, but if I go in with BIL I will only have to get half, same if we have a delay getting a tennant I will only have to cover half the repayments.

[RanToTheHills]

hah, everyone's coming out of the woodwork now!
IKWYM about gutting a house to convert into flats, a real shame. I suppose the market often demands this though, esp in London.

I agree you have to choose local area and property carefully as mortgage won't always cover it, some areas are really buoyant though. Just need to research.

[LadyMacbeth]

My DH does it.

No point in BTL at the moment unless you have a sizeable cash lump sum to put down to:

a) Persuade mortgage lenders that they want to lend you money 0 they are becoming increasingly twitchy about lending BTL mortgages now.

b) Help cover the now sizable mortgage required as rental yields rarely cover 100% mortgages anymore.

Selling it on is by far and away the better option. It is hard to fnd profitable properties, especially if you have to completely outsource labour and especially if the property in mind is a small one as they are always in demand by small scale developers and often go for more than they should. They are out there though, but don;t come up as often as they used to.

Anything else you need to know?

[nappyaddict]

ladymacbeth does your dh do it as his sole career?

[thunderhoovesthewonderhorse]

Nappyaddict - DH does one large or a couple of small projects for himself per year, whatever comes up. In between he does building work and conversion projects for other people.

LadyMacbeth's on temporary retirement BTW, she's bored of her name and has sent in ThunderHooves to represent her instead

[RanToTheHills]

well, we're one of those many accidental BTLers, we simply kept on our old home and turned out it rented out for a good amount, covering our mortage and appreciating nicely at the same time. Only shame is that we had to sell it to release some equity. We're therefore now looking for a much smaller place- 2 bed flat or v small terrace in the same area we invested in previously. Slightly more cautious now, with recent house price increases/interest rate rise/predicitons of market crash but still a good move in the long-term IMO.
Does yr dh make a good return on it?

[thunderhoovesthewonderhorse]

Yes, very

But it's all being ploughed into renovating our house and paying off our large mortgage!

[RanToTheHills]

So how does he do it? Does he choose very carefully (well, obviously, I guess but if so how/any tips?!)
We'd have a small deposit to put down, wd intend ot do up the house a bit to add value etc.