Investing in UK property: How to start and what to look for?

When it comes to investing money and making it grow, there are few options that deliver as high returns as property. Due to the huge demand for housing in the UK, as well as the trend of increasing capital growth, property is one of the safest types of investment.

However, getting started in property investment is not just a case of finding a property and buying it. There are many different factors to consider before investing in property, such as the tax obligations and legal requirements as a landlord. You also need to decide on which property investment strategy will work best for your financial plans and available time.

Here are the key steps to getting started in property investment in the UK:

Do your research

To start with, you need to understand all of the responsibilities and legal requirements involved in property investment. You should research all of the tax obligations that will affect you if you buy a property, to ensure that it is going to be worth your while.

You also need to have a firm plan of how you are going to fund the investment. You will probably need at minimum, the amount for a house deposit to get started and will also need to meet the eligibility for a buy-to-let mortgage, if that is what you are planning on doing.

Choose a property investment strategy

There are many types of different property investment strategies to choose from. The most popular one is buy-to-let, which is buying a property to rent it out to tenants, but you will also need to decide whether to manage the tenancy yourself or pay a management company to do it on your behalf.

Other property investment options include buying properties to flip, which involves buying a property that requires work, arranging for work to be completed and then selling the property for a higher price than you bought it. This type of investment is most suitable for people who work in construction or have contacts to complete the work at a lower rate.

Another popular and profitable type of property investment in the UK right now is to buy holiday accommodation to let. Again, you would need to decide whether to manage the letting yourself or get a management company to do it for you.

HMOs (Houses of Multiple Occupation) are also a type of property investment that can generate high profits, but this is more complicated than a standard buy-to-let with one tenant or a family living in the one property.

Find the right location and property

Once you have decided on the best strategy to suit your experience, financial situation and targets, the next step is to find the right property in the right location. Choosing a location can be difficult, as many landlords want to choose an area that they are familiar with. This does not always make the best financial sense though. Buying property in areas where there is both good capital growth (where house prices are increasing at a good rate) and where high rental yields are possible, is the best way to optimise your profits with buy-to-lets.

The areas of the UK that are currently delivering both good capital growth and high rental yields include northern cities such as Liverpool, Birmingham and Sheffield. All of these cities have been benefitting from investment into the regeneration of the areas. They also have very high student populations, which makes it ideal for investing in student property, while many students are also settling in the cities after graduating, contributing to a rapidly growing population.

Advantage is based in Liverpool and can provide a wealth of information on Liverpool investments. We have insider knowledge on the soon-to-be thriving areas as well as a Liverpudlian perspective. For example, St Ann's Garden is a new development area with high growth potentially high rent prices- see Liverpool Property Investment here.

The cities also offer good value in properties, with the average house prices in the north being considerably lower than most areas in the south and other parts of the UK. When you decide on the right location, you should also consider factors such as transport links, or local schools if you want to rent to families.

These are the first steps to get started with investing, but you do not have to work it all out by yourself. Advantage Investment provides a free consultation to help you to make all of the crucial decisions involved in setting up a successful property investment.

*Advantage Investment specialises in sourcing the best property investments for its clients