A new want-to-be investor in the Croydon area emailed me this morning with the following question:
‘Are there any tips and tricks on how to let my 2 bed flat in Croydon quickly?’
In case you didn’t know, I have rented over 200 flats and houses in the last 3 years. So I have the experience and knowledge on how to get your property in Croydon let, successfully, to professional tenants quickly.
I typically do not rent to DSS or Local Housing applicants, becuase for the sole reason, they rarely take good care of the property, and money issues can be a problem and chasing Croydon Council is not the easiest thing in the world.
There is no doubt that the property market is in its recovery stage at the moment. See my other blog about the current market conditions. THIS IS A GOOD TIME TO BUY PROPERTY. In Croydon, it is an amazing time to buy property.
I have stated this in one of my previous blogs too, but before you buy your property, you should know who the property is for.
Before you buy the property (or even if you have bought it already), you should know who the end-user is going to be. Is it for working professionals who have a high income salary? Is it for the average Croydon employee who earns £22k per year? Is it for LHA / DSS applicants? Is it for people coming in from London, or abroad?
The ideal answer is: it is for all of them.
Who is the property for?
Croydon is a highly diverse area. We have professionals from the heart of London coming out to Croydon, becuase they know that you will get a 2 bed flat for the same price as a shed in Central London. We have people who actually work in Croydon, and need local accomodation. We have Croydon Council who try their best to pay (on time) for their LHA tenants. We even have people coming from abroad, moving over to go to university in London, or work in London, and have realised that they can save ALOT of money by just travelling 20 minutes out from Victoria or London Bridge to Croydon.
So really, you have no excuse to rent to only one type of tenant. You will be limiting yourself too much. Remember:
An investment property is just a BOX that makes you money. Nothing more. Let it make YOU money! Think Robert Kiyosaki (richdad.com).
Now, the property you buy should allow these types of tenants to be available. You won’t get people from London coming out to West Croydon or Thornton Heath, and you more than likely will not find the average Croydon worker living in the high class East Croydon towers such as The Island or Saffron Square.
Is the property near East Croydon / South Croydon / Purley / West Croydon / Thornton Heath Station? How far is it from local amenities.
So, as you can see, the success of your property is in-fact made prior to you actually buying it!
Which brings me on to me next point:
Rental Price:
Again, you should work this out before you buy the property (obviously!!!).
Well maybe it is not so obvious. You can use tools like Zoopla & OnTheMarket to do a basic search of property rental prices in the area, take maybe 4 or 5 of them, within 1/4 mile, and find the average. This is roughly what your rental should be. Estate agents can use back-end specialist tools (eg. Rightmove Plus+) etc to do more in depth market research and give you an accurate figure and build reports on your exact property type.
Now, it is so important that you get your property at the average price of the market. Put it too high, your going to be hanging around with an empty property. Too low, and your losing money and will attract the wrong type of tenant.
I hope this blog has helped you out. If you want further advice on how to rent your property quickly and correctly, feel free to give me a call or email on hav@CroydonPropertyNews.co.uk
