As interest in the UK property investment market continues to grow, Nicholas Wallwork (owner of propertyforum.com and successful property entrepreneur) was recently invited to appear on Sky TV’s Property Channel to share his knowledge and expertise on property investment strategies. With four property businesses and a personal portfolio worth over £20million already under his belt, Nicholas is well placed to offer valuable guidance to anyone looking to start or expand their property portfolio.
There is a link to the full interview below although we thought you might find it interesting to read the highlights of the main points covered.
Investment strategies
As Nicholas said, your property investment strategy should be your main focus when looking to invest in property markets. A common mistake new investors make is to find a property and then build an investment strategy around that property. The correct approach is to maintain your property investment strategy as the core element of your decision-making process and find properties that fit the criteria you need (location, size and layout, close to your target tenant demographic, etc.).
A perfect example of this would be purchasing a property suitable for high quality HMO student accommodation, but in the countryside. This could be the best property in the world, have the best facilities but it is pretty much useless outside of major towns and city centres.
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Sourcing strategies
There are many different ways in which you can source properties although good old-fashioned networking should never be underestimated. Building links with local estate agents and local property developers may take some time to come to fruition but these are vital going forward. Talking with people who’ve been there, done it and lived through different market cycles gives incredible value.
There were many different points made in the interview with Nicholas, one of which related to so-called property hotspots. A property hotspot can indicate higher purchase prices (due to it’s popularity with investors). However, looking towards the fringes of more sought-after property areas can bring about lower priced properties, with potential for capital appreciation, still with attractive yields.
Property finance
There is no doubt that the worldwide property finance market effectively dried up in light of the 2008/9 US mortgage crash. Finance options from banks became more restricted (especially for inexperienced investors). But ironically, reluctant lending from banks opened doors to new types of finance options that have made finding cash investment easier for experienced developers like Nicholas.
Nicholas made some excellent points with regards to finding it “easier” to attract property finance when you have a track record in the sector. There are a number of financing options such as buy to let mortgages, bridging loans, joint ventures and many more. New investors with a limited track record should educate themselves on the options available before committing to any form of funding.
More to come
In the weeks and months ahead, the Property Forum will be launching it’s own educational chat show on Sky TV featuring experts in property law, HMOs, evictions, development who will be answering your questions from the forum. Keep active in the forum to ensure you don’t miss the date each episode will be aired and to find out how you can get your questions answered on the next series.