I like buying flats... Here are some reasons to invest in flats in London

Could a flat give you peace of mind property investing?

By now, you may have figured I (also) like buying flats in good locations. The post below goes over some of the reasons to invest in flats in London and why they have a place in your portfolio.

This probably goes against what others who document their property journey might say who go after freehold-only, citing all the restrictions of leasehold being reasons not to buy… but hear me out on this one.

Early on in my property journey I came to realise just how important location and finding the right tenant are in holding a property long term. Also early on, starting with a smaller deposit, my money only went so far in those ‘right’ locations when rates were already above

zero and rising, my priorities were:

• A good location,

• good tenants and

• lowest (or no) costs outside of mortgage.

Freehold makes sense, right?

Well not always.

I got out of a freehold in a less desirable part of town and after dealing with tenants I didn’t want to deal with and into a leasehold maisonette into a great part of town (and near the Central line) which allowed me to attract the kind of tenant I wanted and still have. Effectively this got me into a better long term 'buy and hold' investment property, with a very long lease, zero service charge and next to no ground rent. It also gave me consistent rent which exceeded the rent I was getting before and that really opened my eyes to getting the area right.

Now in all honesty, I had no idea that such properties existed at the time, but in wanting to get this property business to work for me and for me to be able to focus on doing more deals or other business ventures, I knew needed to find a formula that made sense and this seemed to create a blueprint going forward.

Fast forward many years and the same formula still makes sense.

With the boom in developments of flats, there are now other criteria I look for when flat hunting which makes the type of property just as important (i.e. mass built development versus something above a shop versus house conversion).

It is of course possible to buy wrong for investment. There are flats in the East London – West Essex area which are in desirable locations, have well-kept grounds and additional services which come with ground rents and service charges that simply do not make sense for investors looking to rent out in high interest rate environments.

Another reason I like flats is because they are what I call the liquid end of the market. A two bed flat in a good part of town is great for both investors as well as first time buyers and provide a good exit to a wider audience when / should you consider selling.

Now, my attention has turned more to commercial and mixed use which come with flats with additional potential. This still follows the same principles above but have just evolved the package to include income from a commercial unit which may itself become a flat one day.

If investing in property in a high demand part of London with a partner who can guide you through where to invest, what to look for and what to avoid calls to you, feel free to reach out at contact@carisbrookepropertygroup.com to discuss how we can work together