Grant's Investment Property Solutions

For potential property investors there is a huge amount to take on board before making their first or even subsequent property investments. This is why it is critical that they take on board all the factors needed to completing their property investment in order to ensure that they avoid the potential property investment pitfalls. I have prepared a property investor checklist for landlords and property investors to work through.

1. Firstly a property investor needs to understand the risks that they are taking in investment property. Property investment has always been a great long-term investment but there are risks.

2. Landlords should generally avoid investment clubs and certainly paying large membership fees

3. A landlord should remember that buying an investment property is not like buying a home. Property investors should focus on the likely returns from the investment when deciding on which one to buy.

4. A property investor should carry out a full investment appraisal before deciding and committing to a development.

5. Landlords and property investors need to be clear about what type of tenants that they want to attract before even attempting to start their investment property search.

6. To find an investment property, investors need to consider all the potential avenues to tracking down investments. Landlords should be pro-active and use the latest internet sites to obtain information and details about potential properties.

7. Landlords looking for a potential investment bargain should consider buying a Below Market Value (BMV) property. BMV properties can be found at property auctions. Landlords need to be careful that they are not caught out by the provisions of the 1986 Insolvency Act when buying a Below Market Value (BMV) property from a distressed seller.

8. Landlords buying off-plan should ensure that they are really getting a discount if they have been promised one by the developer. The best way to do this is to check out the local property information to find out if the investment property bargain that they have been made to believe.

9. Property investors need to have decided on what type of property to buy. This is going to be one that appeals to the needs of the type of tenant they are targeting and also be able to achieve a landlords long-term investment returns.

10. Once a landlord has found a potential investment property they need to negotiate hard to secure a good deal. Remember the adage that a property investor makes their profit when they buy not when they sell. Always view as many potential investment properties as possible and put in low offers for any that might meet a landlord's investment criteria. That way one or two might be accepted and a landlord can then make their ultimate investment decisions based on these offers.

11. A landlord should ensure that they obtain the best buy-to-let mortgage advice and products to ensure that they cut financing costs to the minimum for the duration of the investment. This generally means avoiding expensive one off charges and fees and ensuring that landlords source buy-to-let mortgages with the lowest APR (Average Percentage Rate).

12. A landlord should ensure that they understand fully what they need to do to let out their investment property and also the responsibilities they have in letting out their property and the regulations that govern the letting of residential property.

13. Landlords employ all the ways that they can to cut their costs in order to maximise their returns. These include managing their investment property themselves and also ensuring where possible that the investment property remains let thereby avoiding the curse of the void!

14. One of the key ways a landlord can maximise their returns is to find techniques that minimise the amount of tax a landlord pays on their investment property.