You’d think from press articles in recent months that landlords are cashing in and quitting the private rental market. There’s been a raft of changes in recent years - the tax treatment of mortgage interest on buy to lets, minimum standards for energy efficiency, caps on tenant deposits, the list is seemingly never ending and all of them have the potential to affect a landlord’s bottom line. It’s true that some have decided it’s no longer for them and have cashed in, but that’s not quite the full picture that we’re seeing in Pontefract.
We’re regularly speaking to investors keen to expand their portfolio and at the same time we’re showing properties to first time landlords tempted to dip their toe in the buy to let market. We’re regularly taking enquiries from landlords looking to buy and new landlords are being added to our client list month on month.
One particular investor has been a landlord for a number of years but wasn’t familiar with the Pontefract and Castleford rental markets and asked for our help checking out the returns on buy to let properties in our area. Estimates on likely rents, guidance as to what areas are popular with tenants, and what type of tenant a particular property might attract have all been discussed. He’s gone ahead with 5 new acquisitions in recent months and is still looking for more.
He has a set formula to help him gauge whether a property is worthwhile – it’s a numbers game, and he doesn’t just want project properties where he can add value, he also buys houses from other developers that are ready to let right from completion day. So long as the numbers work, he’ll give it further consideration. The whole team at Martin & Co have been involved, we’ve helped with sourcing new buy to lets, with contractors to get the properties ready, as well as finding new tenants and getting them moved in.
He’s a businessman, with a busy life aside from his ever expanding portfolio and factors the cost of our fully managed service into his calculations and lets us deal with the day to day details of the letting while he gets updates as much as he wants to. We tailor our premium management service to suit his needs and is one, I hope, that is working well for our landlord and all his new tenants.
If you’re thinking of starting your buy to let journey in Pontefract, Castleford or the surrounding villages or looking to add properties in this area to your rental portfolio you really should get in touch to see if we can help you too.
