The economy over the last few years has made it increasingly hard for first-time buyers to get their foot on the property ladder in London. While house prices may have dropped significantly, mortgage providers have been also less and less likely to lend, putting in place stricter criteria and demanding higher deposits that many people couldn’t afford. You can learn about the reason behind the inexpensive real estate deals in some areas of London, on this website: www.studioroom906.com
With news that house prices are now starting to rise again, London property is becoming even further out of reach, particularly as salaries remain frozen. With the average UK home costing approximately six times the average yearly salary, home ownership is something some people in the capital can only ever dream of, particularly when you take into account that a home in the capital is more around nine times as much. As a result, the number of home owners is lower in London than anywhere else in the country. At the same time, however, more and more people are flocking to the capital in the hope of finding work, due to the instability of the jobs market.
Of course, while this may be bad news for people wanting to buy, it’s good news for landlords offering properties to rent in London as there are plenty of people seeking out affordable accommodation. As travel costs are also on the up, having the pick of the rental market also means that Londoners have more chance of finding flats to rent in London which are near to their place of work or on a more convenient Tube or bus route than if they were trying to buy.
If you aren’t currently a landlord, then you should do some research into this market to find out if it’s viable for you. There are different rules depending on whether you rent a property that you’ve been living in or one which you buy specifically to rent out, and you need to make sure that you meet the legal obligations. No matter which route you go down, it is also important to point out that being a landlord doesn’t provide instant rewards, nor is a return on profit guaranteed, as is the case with any investment.
You should also factor in whether you can afford the other costs which are associated with being a landlord. As well as purchasing the property itself and the related costs involved with that, over the time you own the property you will also need to pay for renovations and repairs as and when needed, plus annual inspections. You also need to decide whether you want to offer the property furnished or unfurnished. If you don’t have the time to deal with looking after this yourself, you may want to employ the services of a letting agent to do it for you. They can also take control of advertising and showing people around the property when it needs new tenants, but one thing you shouldn’t have to worry too much about is finding those tenants, due to the large amount of people desperately seeking somewhere affordable to live.