Landlords look to invest in family homes

Landlords look to invest in family homes

Landlords who have traditionally chosen to let out flats are now looking to family homes.

The oversupply of flats means family homes should be considered as a good investment option as opposed to flats.

There are more than 3.4 million households in rental accommodation in England alone, up 40 per cent in the last five years, a large proportion of which are families. The National Housing Federation has predicted the number of people owning a home will slump to just 63.8 per cent over the next decade.

Families choose to rent for many reasons but much of the time due to constraints on their personal finance. As a nation, we are seeing more and more families who can’t sell who are letting and moving on to rent.

In testing times, families are adopting new strategies to secure property near the best schools, renting can be a way to do this making family properties a wise choice.

Families are finding they can get a better house to rent than they can afford to buy, close to the nursery schools which feed their desired schools.
Renting also gives families flexibility for future moves, and reduced hassle when the gutters need painting or the cooker needs fixing; they can just pick up the phone to the landlord.

Many families are offering above the asking price to get the homes they want, and longer 24 month contracts are now commonplace so rent can be guaranteed for a considerable length of time.

All this means family homes can offer a safer long term investment for landlords and can appeal to a wider range of tenants.

However, landlords must protect their income with a good landlord’s insurance policy. Too many landlords have more trust in families and fail to carry out full tenant checks, before letting their properties. In these situations, never go on instinct, always check out the tenants references in full. If you need advice call Legal 4 Landlords on 0844 567 4001 or visit www.legal4landlords.com.