Top Ten Things to Assess Before Buying a Property in Cambridge

Posted at 13:47h in by megi in Blog

Investing in real estate represents a big decision, but the main step is to buy your first property in Cambridge. Read our post on the top ten things to assess before buying a property in Cambridge (or anywhere else for that matter).

It is essential to evaluate many things when you are looking to invest in property.

At Peymans, we offer the perfect services and solutions for investors seeking to purchase buy-to-let investments in Cambridge.

Below, are ten points that you will want to take into account before selecting a property to purchase in Cambridge.

Top Ten things to evaluate before buying a property in Cambridge

Property Taxes: As an investor is going to make money from rent, you should be aware that property taxes are not standard everywhere. Thus, you should evaluate how much you will be losing in taxes. You could ask for tax information from the local council. A tax which varies from town to town and is different for any given property, is council tax. Council tax can vary greatly depending on what band the flat has been assigned. If you think that the flat could be in a lower tax band, you may wish to appeal the decision. We can help you with this.

Local area: It is absolutely important to evaluate the quality of the neighborhood because the services provided in the local area will attract your tenants.

Public safety: To ensure that the neighbourhood you are purchasing in has good public safety, you could go to the police or the public library. This would allow you to obtain crime statistics for various neighborhoods. In addition to this, you could ask about the frequency of police patrols in that area.

Schools and social activities: It is necessary to assess schools presence and their quality because your tenants may need a place near a good school.

Job opportunities: Obviously, places with rising employment opportunities will attract more tenants. To discover how a particular area rates, you can go directly to the Office for National Statistics. They will be able to provide you with information about Labour Market and Job Statistics.

Services: You should check the potential neighborhood for current or projected parks, malls, gyms, movie theaters, public transport hubs and all the other perks that attract renters. Many tenants want to find a location which offers easily accessible public services.

Building Permits and Future Development: You could find out more information about building regulations at the Department for Communities and the Local Government or at local councils. They have the freedom to make decisions in the best interests of their area. In this way, you can find out more about planned new developments – new apartments, business parks and shopping centres – in such area.

Listings and Vacancies: You should evaluate if there is a strangely high amount of listings for one particular place. This could either signal a seasonal cycle or a neighborhood that has “gone bad”. You should also control whether you can cover for any seasonal fluctuations in vacancies.

Rents: It is essential to find out what the average rent in the area is. If charging the average rent is not going to be enough to cover your loan payment, taxes and other expenses, then you should keep looking. You should be sure to research the area very well to estimate where the area will be headed in the next five years.

Natural Calamities: Insurance represents another expense that you will have to detract from your returns, so it is good to know just how much you will need to carry. You should consider that if an area is prone to earthquakes or flooding, the extra insurance can remove your profit margin on the cash flow resulting from the rental return.

Therefore, you should evaluate carefully these ten aspects and after that, you can start your business adventure.

Are you ready? If you are still not sure about “property find”, don’t hesitate to contact us!