Property: A good home for your money?
Is your money as safe as houses?
It’s never an easy task, but the problem has been thrown into even sharper perspective by the prolonged economic downturn.
The performance of the stock markets continues to be erratic and uncertain. Pension and insurance alternatives have taken some horrific knocks in recent years. In some instances savers who’ve loyally paid into ‘secure’ funds for decades have seen their returns shrink below the level of the sums they’ve contributed.
Even property, the oldest ‘safe’ investment of them all has failed to deliver decent returns…with one important exception……buying-to-let.
In tough economic times the residential rental market tends to do very well.
• People need mobility to seek out fresh employment options.
• Home ownership loses its cache when prices are dropping instead of soaring and rental seems an attractive option.
• Young people setting up home who can’t get on the ‘property ladder’ look to rental accommodation as an alternative.
Rental values have been holding up well, so why aren’t more people with disposable cash or surplus income becoming landlords?
Very often it’s because they lack experience. They don’t ‘know the ropes’ and worry about bad tenants, poor payers, the necessity to evict unsuitable occupants, complex legalities, lean periods between lettings and damage to their property.
Most of these worries are unfounded. These days, with careful tenant checks, credit checks, proper contracts and a bit of professional help, being a landlord can be a trouble free and profitable investment.
Legal 4 Landlords can offer buy-to-let newcomers all the help and reassurance they need to take the first step into this rewarding investment territory.
With a bit of thought and careful planning a buy-to-let investment can provide income, appreciation and security and the prospect of a substantial gain in the longer term, as the economy gradually improves.
