Is a buy to let flat a good idea or a nightmare?

[tricerotopsrule]

I am wondering the pros and cons of investing in a buy to let flat. It would hopefully be for one of my kids to live in (with a student pal if it's big enough) when he goes to uni. I'm not sure if he will go to the uni in the area I'm thinking of though, but even if he doesn't, the rent from a BTL could then cover his rent wherever he goes.

I rented out a flat about 20 years ago and it was fine, I did it all myself but I think there's now loads of rules and regulations for landlords and tenants? If anyone has a BTL is it worth the hassle and what sort of things are involved that I may not have thought of?

I would hopefully be buying it outright with some inheritance money so I don't need to think about mortgages etc.

Thanks for any advice.

I'd invest the money in a high interest savings account for now, and then think about it again when you have more of an idea where your dc is likely to go.

I’m looking at flats and apparently a lot of landlords are selling up because they got rid of tax breaks or something

still I think property is generally a decent long term bet

@citrinetrilogy thanks but I am thinking about a certain geographical area as it's fairly nearby so I could pop down if needed to see to anything. Whereas if he went to uni 100 miles away I couldn't do that. He also won't go for another 1.5 years so was thinking if I bought something this year then at least it may start giving me returns

It depends on so many things. What income you think you'll make, tax rate you are in, level of time you can give to managing a property, risk on house prices falling, what tenants it would appeal to and likelihood of problems etc etc

I found it stressful and a lot of work and I had good tenants for the most part. The CGT on selling was brutal though !

I bought one for my three to go to Uni as luck would have it they all got places and it's served us well for 6 years.
I'm about to sell it, as long as I get my money back its fine, if it doesn't sell I will rent it out again. Students are low maintenance as long as it's cheap and safe for them.