To buy a flat or not to buy a flat? That is the question.

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.