Home or Away? Our Guide to Buying Property

Are you looking to make a property investment but don’t really know where to start? Have you considered all of your options? This article is here to help you find a better starting point towards making the right decisions for your and your circumstances.

Investing in property can act as a great savings pot for your future, we asked Cuqui Torres who runs Javea estate agents Valuvillas and inmobiliariajavea.es what things she recommends to consider when weighing up the best options.

Your Budget:

It seems like the most obvious place to start but, your budget doesn’t just determine the type or property you will be looking at, it also determines the location, the size and the quality of the property itself. For example, if you’re looking for a modern three bed property with outdoor space but you also want the appealing USP of a home near the UK coast or countryside, your budget will need to be hugely flexible. Perhaps you’re looking for a more basic rental property for first time renters in a city area. Again, you may need to be flexible with your budget, but perhaps this option is more affordable than that of a similar house in a more widely appealing area – particularly for young families looking to rent. Potentially, an even more affordable option could be to look into property abroad. House prices in Europe, particularly Spain, are currently very affordable and could potentially tick all of the boxes for your investment should you want both the value for budget as well as an appealing property for holiday-goers. Consider that in 2018, Spain was the second most visited country in the world, and it is UK holiday-makers and those investing in property to make visits more permanent that account for the highest percentage (in recent years, around 25% of total arrivals into the country have been from UK visitors). So, property abroad is worth considering. Plus, it could be an investment in your own future if you have ever thought about settling outside of the UK. Which leads us to…

Your Future Intensions:

Think long-term. If you are investing in property in order to turn a house into a rental home, it is good to have a plan for the future. Once your investment has paid off, are you going to sell the house, or are you planning to keep it on as your retirement property. If your budget allows for a number of investments, it’s likely that you are going to look closer to home in order to manage the responsibilities of a property landlord. With this sort of plan, it is also likely that you will put the properties back on the market following their purpose as a rental investment in order to make additional profit. If you are looking elsewhere, such as an investment in a European destination, you may have more options to consider other than just putting the home back on the market. Perhaps your plan is to kill tow birds, buy an appealing property abroad as a rental for holiday-goers in a popular beach destination, and then upgrade the property to your retirement home. So, whatever your plan, consider your future plans before you even begin. It could be the decider as to whether you buy in the UK or abroad.

Risk:

There are risks with any property investment option you choose. After all, you are placing a sum of money into a project that is inevitably long-term rather than a quick profit turn-around. There will be hurdles along the way. But it is important to weigh up the potential risks of all of your options before you choose which direction you wish to go.

After all, you are investing in an asset that is vulnerable to damage that could potentially come a s a cost to you. As a landlord you are responsible when it comes to fixing damage caused by anything from water leakage to fire, and even robbery and vandalism. But these risks are potentially minimal and unlikely. Do your research in the area you are looking into before you decide how likely it is that any forced or accidental damage may occur. For example, it may not be the best decision to buy a property that has a greater flood risk than one that sits at little to no risk of flood – but it could be that the property with a potential flood risk is a much more appealing and more profitable choice. How much risk are you willing to take? It will likely depend on how much capital you have to play with. It may be that an investment abroad, while still posing the above risks in the long-term, may be the more affordable choice, simply due to the comparison house prices to those in the UK.

The main thing is that you understand the risks of all of your options, that you are fully aware of how far your budget could stretch in the UK vs abroad, and what your future plans will be. These factors should offer a foundation point for your decision.