Limited companies are purchasing moree buy to let properties

Landlords fail to take costs into account for BTL

UK landlords are at risk of overestimating the profitability of their buy-to-let investment by neglecting to take into account key running costs, according to research by a property firm. Platinum Property Partners (PPP) says the total potential cost associated with the annual running and upkeep of a BTL property – including letting agent fees, maintenance, repairs, marketing fees and mortgage interest – amounts to an average of £8,359.

However, it claims almost one in eight (12%) landlords do not take any costs into consideration when calculating the financial performance of their BTL portfolio, leaving them particularly vulnerable to misjudging the returns they will make from their investment.

PPP says that based on a typical portfolio of two rental properties, the total bill associated with running a BTL portfolio could stack up to £16,718 every year, which in turn equals 52% of gross annual rental income (£32,388).

The most accurate way to measure the performance of a BTL investment is by using ‘Return on Investment’ or ‘Return on Equity’, as these methods take into account gross profit, capital gain, and the costs of running the property – including the amount spent on refurbishment.

PPP claims the majority of landlords ignore the impact of void periods on their rental income despite void periods being inevitable for landlords at some stage.

Steve Bolton, founder and chairman of Platinum Property Partners (PPP) said: “The buy-to-let market is a hot ticket investment at the moment for budding landlords looking to generate an income and good level of capital growth from rental property. This is particularly the case now that new pension freedoms have opened the gates to alternative financial plans for retirement.

“But becoming a landlord isn’t a walk in the park, and running a successful BTL portfolio takes continued investments of time and money on top of your initial lump sum investment. Many landlords appear to be burying their heads in the sands and are seriously in the dark about the ‘true’ value of the returns from their BTL investment if they don’t take into consideration regular outgoings such as letting agent fees, repairs, redecoration costs, and mortgage interest. Property investors need to keep note of all these additional expenses to make sure they are evaluating their returns rigorously, as that’s the only safeguard to check if they’re still on course to achieve their goal of retirement income or to supplement or replace their salary.

“If landlords don’t have all the information at their fingertips, they can’t properly assess market risk and opportunities to make informed decisions about the future of their portfolio, or plan effectively. It also makes it extremely difficult to compare the performance of a BTL portfolio against other forms of investment.”

Blog Post from Landlord Today

Central Housing Group’s ‘Guaranteed Rent’ Scheme protects landlords paid an agreed monthly Guaranteed Rent for the duration of the term of their contract regardless of whether their property is occupied or not. Consequently our landlords have complete peace of mind knowing they will not be impacted at all by the risk of incurring rent loss during void periods, in contrast to those landlords that let their properties in the private rented sector, with all the attendant risks and exposure of doing so, as highlighted in this article.

Landlords – please carefully consider the risks you run by choosing to let your property privately when, instead, you can let your property on our ‘Guaranteed Rent’ Scheme and protect yourself from any rental loss exposure. As a tendered supplier to many of our Council clients, our accounts are audited annually and are subject to regular scrutiny by our Council clients – landlords can therefore have complete confidence in our ability to ensure they will receive their agreed rent on a Guaranteed basis for the duration of the term of their contract with us. 

If you are interested in finding our more about our ‘Guaranteed Rent’ Scheme, currently operating in north, east & west London, please call us today on 020 8447 1222.

See details of our Guaranteed Rent Scheme here

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