Buying Property Number 2! How to Buy a BTL?

Well hello old friend, its been a while…….

Property number 2! A 2-bedroom apartment in central Oxford. 

Our plan and vision is coming to life, ever since starting our property business back in 2018 and buying our own property in 2019 the next goal was to start to create our own BTL portfolio. Fast forward to 2022 and it has happened! 

Where it all began; we had been on the look out for a new property for around a year and in Spring 2022 we made an offer on an apartment in Oxford. Our offer was accepted and we couldn’t believe it! We were over the moon and even went out to our favourite restaurant for dinner to celebrate. Only to find out that a day later, literally less than 24hrs we unfortunately got guzumped, someone else had made a large offer which we didn’t wish to compete with and of course their offer got accepted over ours. Now in hindsight this was the best thing that could have happened to us however it definitely didn’t feel like it at the time. Please be aware that until the property is actually sold and the keys are in your hand someone else can still offer on the property you are buying. The best thing to is to try and ask the agent to remove the property and advert off of the market as quickly as possible to stop any potential buyers finding the advert and becoming interested in the property. 

A few months down the line in July 2022 we viewed the winning one! After the previous apartment fell through we decided that we really wanted to purchase a property in a particular apartment block. We already did R2SA on one of the properties in this particular block and it was our best performing apartment yet so we were adamant that it was the right place to buy. Just a small point to note – there weren’t actually any apartments for sale which is quite a big factor but we just had a feeling and boy that feeling was right!

In July 2022 we were doing maintenance on the R2R property we already have in the block, we went past the bin store which is out of the ordinary and not something we ever usually do. Low and behold there was a ‘for sale’ sign outside, we have never rang an estate agent so fast! Flynn rang them and we booked in a viewing for the next day, we couldn’t believe it, nothing was going to stop us from getting our hands on this apartment.

The viewing came and the property was perfect, we knew it was the one straight away, no doubt about it. We made the offer there and then and a couple of days later our offer was accepted. However the property couldn’t be taken off of the market before we passed some checks, for these we needed our ID. The only small problem was that our ID’s were hundreds of miles away in Dorset so off Flynn went on a 5hr round trip just so we could upload a picture of our ID! Since this day I take my ID with me everywhere – lesson learnt. Top tip always carry your ID with you even if you don’t expect to need it.

What is the first step? 

The first step after viewing is to make an offer. To do this you will need to email the estate agent or vendor with your offer, you will need to state the amount you are happy to pay and also your financial proof. The financial proof being your deposit shown on your bank statement and you will also need to send a copy of your decision in principle from your mortgage broker or mortgage lender to confirm how much you can borrow. They will also need your solicitors contact details and your mortgage brokers details. At this point it is also a good idea to make your mortgage broker aware that you have made an offer if you are using one and also to let your chosen solicitor aware too so that everyone is in the loop and ready to act when needed. The quick you and your team act the better. 

Now for the waiting game. After making an offer all you have to do is to wait! Wait and see if your offer has been accepted, this can be nerve wracking however you need to remain positive and not get emotionally attached (a lot easier said than done). 

Your offer has been accepted! Now what? Time to notify your solicitor and mortgage broker that your offer has been accepted. Your mortgage broker will then get the ball rolling to get your mortgage offer in place to do this they will need the basic details of the property such as: sale price, address of the property, your estate agents details and your solicitors details. 

Then to contact your solicitor to make them aware of your good news. They again will need the same information as your mortgage broker. Your solicitor will also contact the estate agent to confirm all details and retrieve the vendors information. They will also ask for an initial payment before starting their work, again the quicker you pay this the better. If there is just one thing that you take away from this post it is to act FAST, the quicker the better. The more efficient you and your team are when dealing with anything relating to the property sale the better, I cannot stress this to you enough. 

Then it is back to the waiting game again and let everyone get on with what they are good at. You may be asked a few questions along the way. The quicker you action any queries the better, do you see the pattern!

What professions do you need? 

You will need a solicitor, ask for recommendations off of people who you know who have also bought BTL properties, look at reviews and highly rated people in your area. You don’t HAVE to use a local solicitor however this may be easier as you will be required to sign documentation in person and therefore won’t want to travel too far for this. The better your solicitor the easier and quicker your sale will be. For anyone local to Oxford we highly recommend Kay from Bower and Bailey! 

Next is a mortgage broker, you don’t technically need one but I believe it is best to have one. It may not even cost you anything as you can find brokers that work solely on a commission basis and receive their payment from the mortgage lender so you don’t even have to spend a single penny for their service. Chris our mortgage broker is a miracle worker and we couldn’t have done any of this without him! Chris helped us get a product that wouldn’t normally be on the market, brokers can access many more products than you will be able to which opens up the market massively and helps you find the right product for you. I couldn’t recommend Chris from Ramsay and White highly enough. 

Surveyor, lastly you can choose to get a survey done on the property in which you are purchasing. You don’t have to but this is recommended incase there are any unknown issues with the property which you, the agent or vendor are not aware of, in some cases the agent and vendor will try and cover up potential issues too so you need to be savvy and have your head screwed on. They will survey the property for you and will make you aware of anything that may potentially be an issue with the property such as damp etc. Sometimes you can use the survey findings to your advantage to grab yourself a bargain and make a cheeky offer, knocking some money off of your purchase. 

Why is getting a BTL a good idea? 

I could write a million and ones reasons why I feel so passionately about why purchasing a BTL is a good idea but I would be here all day. 

1). The main one for me is that it is one of the strongest investments you can make. On average properties double in value every 10 years, find me a better return on investment….I’ll wait. The potential opportunities are endless, you can add value to properties and release the equity meaning that although you have spent money on the property increasing the property value you can release this money to use else where, therefore in effect doubling your money. Inflation doesn’t touch property.

2). Inflation….no matter how high inflation is your house value will still rise (on average). 

3). You earn a salary from the rent that you can achieve on your rental property, you can choose this to be your main income or an additional income to your usual salary.

As I say the list is endless however I personally don’t see any negatives when investing in property. 

Why did we choose to do a holiday let? 

We chose to rent our property out as a holiday let as we already have experience within this field and enjoy this side of the business most. It is undeniably the most lucrative side to our business. Therefore for us this is where we wished to start. It also meant that I could decorate the apartment however I wished which was great fun! 

Have a nosey at our new apartment! https://www.airbnb.co.uk/rooms/716378566322908639?preview_for_ml=true&source_impression_id=p3_1681991206_r6n1ApXVEYFRgihh

Bye for now Xxx