A property investor
from London called me last week looking for objective advice as he had been
offered a ‘Below Market Value’ 2 bedroom apartment in a modern development in Margate.
Even before he told
me the name of the development, I could work out where he meant and quickly
steered him away from this, pointing him in the direction of the sort of
properties in the CT9 postcode that may not be as ‘sexy’ as the one he’d been
offered but will inevitably stack up as a much better investments.
We rarely advise
investors to purchase flats or apartments in or around the Cliftonville area due
to oversupply forcing rents down and also the constant churn of young tenants
which will eat into their returns.
That said, flats
should not be discounted out of hand, as they often require less maintenance
and upkeep than houses and may be available more affordably – but we advise canny
investors to do some stringent research which should lead to picking up a
bargain and for a steadier stream of long term, working tenants.
In certain areas of Cliftonville and Margate there are developments of 2
bedroom flats that are always popular with tenants due to the proximity to transport
links, the beaches, shops etc – in fact there is a 2 bedroom 2nd floor flat in
Palm Bay that will easily achieve £600 pcm & therefore return 5.8% gross
yield if the total cost of investment was £125,000. Given 2 similar flats in an
identical block sold last year for around £145,000 this looks very realistic
and achievable.
On the other side
of Margate in Westbrook we always find it easy to rent the 2 bedroom flats that
have been converted or newly built in the Royal Sea Bathing Complex to good
working tenants. These versatile flats appeal to a wide range of tenants due to
their handy location, close to Margate Station and the beach as the rear
garden! Our newest Landlord has just let one for £695 pcm whilst she purchased
it for £142,000 giving a gross yield of 5.9%.
To summarise, Flats
and Apartments can prove to be a very astute investment. As long as you have
the right knowledge and advice. So if you are thinking of investing then give
us a call, we would be happy to help. 