What are the right ingredients for the perfect Buy to Let

White building with greenery - Dedham - Beresfords Estate agents - Essex

By the Beresfords Marketing Team - 25th September 2013

“Buy-to-Let” (BTL) is fast becoming one of the most popular investment options in the UK. It can be simple if you have the right combination of ingredients and expertise to hand but there are a lot of factors to consider so here are my top tips…

Find out all you need to know about B2L before even looking for a property. Beresfords host free seminars or offer one to one consultations with interested parties, designed to explain the general principles of buying-to-let: how to start your search for a property, the various funding options available, expected yields and tax implications. The key is to ask as many questions as possible, don’t assume everyone knows the answer apart from you.

Location, location, location! Put yourself in the shoes of a tenant – what do they want? Good transport links and decent local amenities are crucial when deciding where to buy. Essex benefits from excellent connections into London and key residential locations such as Chelmsford, Brentwood, Colchester and Shenfield are particularly sought after by city workers so these are definitely the hotspots to consider.

How involved do you want to be? If you are in employment or have other commitments, it will save you time by instructing a local lettings agency to manage the property. Don’t underestimate the amount of work involved with directly managing a buy-to-let, would you like to be called at 2am by a tenant who has a burst pipe?! By choosing an agent to manage the property on your behalf means that someone else will deal with such problems. Here’s what one of our happy clients, , had to say about our service:

“Beresfords have let and managed the property for us for many years. Nothing is too much trouble. Emails and calls are followed up immediately and this makes our job of having tenants so much easier. Inspections are done as and when required and a follow up report sent over which gives us piece of mind”

Lydia Loveridge - Chelmsford

Don’t let your heart rule your head. Your decision should be based on what your target rental market requires, not your personal tastes! Decorating the property neutrally with quality white goods will make sure it meets tenants’ requirements.

As well as sourcing a variety of properties, we can provide mortgage advice, market the property for rent, find suitable tenants and manage the property so it’s a hassle-free investment from day one.