Did you know who will be living in your investment property before you purchased it?
Businesses all over the world spend millions of pounds to find out as much information as possible about their customers. The more you know the easier it is to supply a quality product which is more likely to be purchased. So ask yourself this question, do you know who is going to be living in your rental property before they move in and does my property meet their needs?
If you can’t be sure of this then how do you know what type of property you should invest in, what work should be done to it, and how it should be managed. Below I have outlined some of the key features that you should consider when looking into an investment property.
Employment - How do people in the area your looking at earn money? What are the key areas of employment, professional services, leisure, tourism, creative arts, technology, pharmaceuticals etc. This will tell you a lot about the type of accommodation that people will be looking for, how secure their income will be and what their interests might be.
Local Development Framework - What do your local council have planned for the area? Go to your local council website and obtain their Local Development Framework (LDF) this document sets out the planning policies that provide a framework to guide new developments in the district. From this, you’ll be able to find out their plans for homes, jobs, community facilities and transport infrastructure.
Transport - How easy is it to get around the area? From a local point, you want to consider if you’re close to bus stops, train stations, parking, cycle routes etc. People will want to be able to get around the local area with ease, so you will want to ensure that your property is in an area which enable this. You will also want to think how easy it is to travel to other areas and locations. How are the road links to motorways, train links to other cities and how accessible is the nearest airport?
Education - A big appeal for many is the access to quality education. If the area you’re looking at has a large young family population, being close to good primary and secondary schools will be high on the agenda. Does the city or area you’re looking at have a University? If so, you may want to look at the development trends of the university to see if housing students could be a good option for you.
Amenities - You might think you have found the ideal investment property, however, have you considered what is in the area for people to do? Are their museums, art galleries, festivals, sporting facilities, play areas, national parks, green spaces open gardens, a good high street offering a range of shops, supermarkets, restaurants and bars? Doing your research into this will not only tell you how desirable the area is, but also to what type of person it appeals to.
Health - Making sure there’s access to doctors, hospitals, dentists and opticians close by, and also the option for public or private health care.
Lifestyle - With all this information you should be able to build up a good idea of what is important and prominent to the people who move to the area are looking for. Know what their lifestyle might look like and understand it. Remember you’re not investing in a house for you to live in, but a house to give you a good return on your money.
What does your avatar look like? By going through this research you should know who your tenant is likely to be and form an investment strategy around it. For example, it probably isn’t favourable to purchase a bungalow if you’re in a high student population area and you're close to pubs and clubs. Equally a house of multiple occupancy might not be the best option for a small village with poor transport links and no restaurants or bars.