Buying Property To Let

Most expats live in accommodation provided, or paid for, by their employer. While it does take away the worries about the mortgage, many expats dream about owning their own home somewhere else, either in their home country, in some favourite holiday destination, or where they intend to retire to.

Some expats have the resources to pay a mortgage from their personal income and others can buy a place outright. But for those who can not afford to buy a house another option becoming more widely accessible.

Buying To Rent

Buying to rent can seem like the ideal opportunity to own a house and have someone else pay for it.

Unfortunatley, stories abound among expats who own property of non-paying tenants, tenants disappearing without the agent noticing, agents taking their fees and not putting any effort into managing the property and property damaged by carelessness or recklessness.

Buying to rent should be as much a business decision as one based on a desire to buy your dream home when you can’t really afford it.

It’s all very well assuming that you will find a tenant to move in the day after you’ve signed the deeds and the mortgage. And further assuming you’ll have a model tenant who stays for years, whose rent covers the mortgage, maintenance, taxes, insurance etc. and leaves just before you want to return and live in your own home.

What’s more likely to happen is that you’ll have to do some maintenance work on the house, then furnish it and then find a tenant. And within a year or two have to do the same again. Depending on where you buy the house and what sort of house you buy, finding a satisfactory tenant might not be so easy.

When considering buying to rent, you need to look beyond your own personal taste and needs and consider the needs of potential tenants.

What Sort of Tenant?

Deciding on the type of people you want living in your property is a major first consideration. If you buy a big five or six bedroom townhouse you’re prospective tenants are likely to include families with children, or groups of students looking to share accommodation. Whereas a studio flat is likely to attract a young single tenant.

What District?

The more affluent the area you buy, the higher the rent you can charge. On the other hand, if you buy in a cheaper area, especially in the UK, you are going to be able to attract a continuous stream of tenants on social security payments, whose rent will be paid directly to you by the Social Services. The proximity of schools, colleges, universities, military bases, shops, restaurants, bars, clubs and other services will also affect the type of tenant you can attract.

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