Discussion Title: How to build a successful property portfolio in East London

When carried out in the right way, buy-to-let can bring great rewards. Building a property portfolio will take time, effort and money, but if you follow some of the advice below there is no reason why you can’t make a great success of it. Treat it as a business Think of your property portfolio as a business rather than an investment or hobby. In business, your main aim is to turn a profit – if you do everything in a professional manner, adhering to all the necessary rules and regulations, your chances of achieving good rental yields will naturally increase. Before you even set out to build up your portfolio, you need to make absolutely sure the life of a landlord is right for you. It’s not for everyone, and is a huge commitment, so do your research to ensure you know what you’re getting into. It isn’t simply a case of purchasing a rental property and then letting it out. Regular maintenance, upkeep and repairs will need to be carried out over time, all of which cost money. This will be offset by the capital you make from rental income, but it’s important to be aware that a landlord has a long-term financial obligation to a property. Like anything, it will need some TLC as time goes by. Choose locations carefully Location counts for a lot when it comes to buy-to-let property. There is no point buying somewhere and then trying to rent it in an area where there is no pool of prospective tenants. Big cities like London, Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol, Liverpool and Leeds will all have a significant population of tenants, as will areas close to the UK’s many universities. In these prime locations, the rental property will probably cost a bit more to secure in the first place, but you won’t struggle to get tenants in place. There will always be high demand so buying to let in these areas is a pretty safe bet. It might be helpful to concentrate solely on one demographic as you attempt to build up your portfolio. Students will want to live in a property that is close to their university campus, has excellent broadband connectivity and is within a reasonable distance of the town or city centre. Families, on the other hand, will be keener on garden space and good local schools, while young professionals generally prefer to live in a flat that is close to reliable transport links. As a lettings and property management company working in East London, we’ve witnessed first-hand the rental boom in this part of the capital. As people are priced out of more central areas, they are looking eastwards – which has helped areas like Shoreditch, Walthamstow and Canary Wharf to thrive in recent years. Recent research has revealed that Newham in East London is the capital’s top buy-to-let destination, showing how much this area has grown in recent years. Doing your research, to work out the most desirable location for tenants in a certain area, will help you in the long-term. Utilise a letting agent There is a lot work involved in being a landlord – a lot of nitty-gritty tasks. As a result, you may want to outsource some or all of this work to a letting agent or property management company like Amilli Property. That will leave you to get on with building your property portfolio without having to answer enquiries about a broken toilet or a malfunctioning fridge. We know that some landlords don’t want to relinquish full control of the management of their property to outside parties – that’s fine, we can tailor packages to suit your needs. See the Services part of our website for more information on this. Keep your tenants happy This is arguably the most important thing. Building a portfolio of rental properties is all well and good, but if you are unable to occupy them – or keep them occupied – then you’ll be losing more money than you make. Good tenants aren’t always easy to come by, so when you do get reliable, responsible ones in place, do all you can to keep them there. Treat them well and in return they will pay you their rent on time, keep the property in tip-top condition and cause you no headaches. For more advice about how to build a successful property portfolio, please get in touch with us on 0203 189 1925. As we’re run by a team of landlords, we know how to grow your portfolio quickly and we know how to increase your rental income slowly but surely. https://blog.amilliproperty.com/build-successful-property-portfolio-east-london/