Investment Property 50k

[walthamcross]

So thinking on buying a small investment property. Was going to start out small - read that some Northern towns can provide (not amazing) housing for 50-60k, particularly in the North East.

Any advice other than not to bother?

[NewLife4Me]

I bothered but not in NE.

If you don't need a mortgage it can work fine, but otherwise you'll only just cover it and with new legislation it's harder to make much profit on these types of houses.
A good investment for the future and a needed bonus for pension if you eventually get a few.
I am NW but similar properties and areas.

[NewLife4Me]

There are lots of Leaseholds, you can buy a few streets and collect annually/ get one of the kids to do it and it can be an extra month or two wages if you buy the right ones.
My ds1 has done this and it pays for his holiday.
Not much work just collecting once a year.

[Fireflysingstheblues]

In my area North east England , you can get a two bed terrace for that price .
From that you could probably get a rental income of £350 to £400 depending on the area . its important to do your research , each street could have a different reputation .
If a property seems to cheap to be true , there are probably a reasons why .
I think there is still money to be made if you are very careful .

[NewLife4Me]

That's the price of a 2 bed semi here in some places. It wouldn't be one of the best they are around 80ish on the really nice streets.
If you can afford to modernise or a bit of decorating you may get one on a good street from around 60/70 round here.
I'm looking at one for 45k atm and can't see what's wrong with it, but there must be something as it's on an ok street.

[NewLife4Me]

sorry, not semi. I mean terrace on a cobble street, small back yard, with locked gates and rough access road at the back, that's bigger than a ginnel
I love The North.

[walthamcross]

Can anyone recommend any towns or streets I might want to look at?

Where would I find leaseholds for sale?

[walthamcross]

Can anyone recommend any towns or streets I might want to look at?

Where would I find leaseholds for sale?

[walthamcross]

Can anyone recommend any towns or streets I might want to look at?

Where would I find leaseholds for sale?

[BurningTheToast]

Buying an investment property, whether for 50k or 500k is a lot of work and hassle and increasing amounts of compliance paperwork. I like to know the areas where mine are and to be able to get there in no more than hour - important when a tenant calls in the evening to tell you that the shower pump has failed and is leaking boiling water and you have to get in the car to go over and sort it out until your plumber can get there the next day. (Can you guess what I spent last Wednesday night doing?). You might be better using that 50k as a deposit on a property nearer to you and taking out a buy to let mortgage.

But investing in property can be a good idea - we're self-employed so it's our pension. I don't know of the etiquette of recommending other websites but there's one called Property Tribes that you should spend some time on doing research. There's usually a few threads about buying sub-50k properties so especially useful.

Good luck.

[Fireflysingstheblues]

I would simply pick a northern town at random and check out the house prices on Rightmove . If there appears to have nothing on your price range , move to the next . You will soon get a feel to what areas are like price wise . If you see a house at the the right price range , check the area on Google Earth .
But you would have to visit areas too , because it's not easy to get a feeling for the area other wise .
There are areas near Durham / bishop Auckland where house prices start at £5000 , but that's mostly because people don't want to live there and the areas are run down .

[NewLife4Me]

If you aren't from the north you really need to visit the places and have an insider to help you.
There are streets where I wouldn't even view a house because it is one of a number owned by a notorious family who have all sorts of shady going ons.

There are others that you know are the ones where drug users live and no family would rent. You can't always tell by the house/street as back street terraces are pretty much all the same.

I think you would need to spend some time here/ there to get a real sense of what you are investing in.

You can buy leases by finding an area with cheap ground rents, contacting the solicitors of the person who owns them, and purchasing them. The property owners will know who owns the leases.
Once you have them the bigger profit comes from selling them to the property owners. little profits from collecting ground rent until you sell the leases.
Sometimes you can make a higher profit by selling a portfolio on to somebody else and the whole system starts all over again.

[TwinkleCrinkle]

I wouldn't buy anything that you aren't fairly close to. Maybe if you have family in the NE then they might be able to help. We have been managing our rental from overseas and now from about 1.5hrs away and we are selling it as its a pita. Ours was not bought as a rental but was a first house. Personally I would buy in a market you know well (particularly if you believe the prices will rise). Eg. Our current area doesn't have very good rental yields as the house prices have sky rocketed but the rents have not increased in line, but we will probably buy a rental here because the area is getting more fast trains into London and is already very popular with Londoners due to commute and good schools. The rent will not be profit but just help to cover the mortgage and then we will hopefully sell to help our dc with a deposit for their own home (or give to live in)