When we as investors go for viewings we think we can just look around and take things at face value in terms of what the vendor says but it genuinely is not like that. It requires diligence and research when undertaking the viewing as well as research afterwards particularly with a Buy to Let as you are most likely viewing this to be a long term investment therefore it is equally important to ensure it will work. Today we will be looking at three mistakes very often people make when it comes to buying and viewing a buy to let property and that you might be currently making in your current property portfolio purchases at the moment.

1. Not understanding the vendors reasons for selling the property

Very few people ask the vendor or estate agents what the true reason is for selling the property. It is very important to understand whether there is an issue or problem with the local area, problem with the neighbours. You may not get the answer genuinely or correctly especially through estate agents but you can certainly get a feel for if the estate agent knows or the vendor knows and they are not telling you the right information. This one question will provide you with more certainty or a better understanding as to whether the property deal is a right investment for you and if that vendor has a legitimate reason to sale.

 

2. Do not take the estate agents word on rental potential

 

Second mistake that many people make when viewing the property and buying a buy to let property is going on the estate agents word on the potential for renting the property out. As not all estate agents are set up as letting agents and they may not have an understanding of the background on how successful a particular area may be for rentals or how easy a particular property might be to let out. So simply using the estate agents word alone would need to be taken with caution because when it comes to investing in this property and renting it out it will be for the long term so it is important that you understand if that property is going to work not just for the next 6 months but may be in the next 6 years, 10 years or 20 years if you are looking for it to be a long term investment. It is always recommended to speak with a number of letting agents as well as taking the opinion from the seller of the property or the estate agent with a pinch of salt. You want to get advice and guidance from different areas to make sure that you have an educated and rounded idea of whether the property will work as a rental investment.

 

3. Budgeting refurb so it is ready to let…Hard to tell when currently lived in.

The third mistake that many people make when it comes to buying a buy to let property is trying to budget the potential refurbishment costs and it is very easy to miss some of the potential costs of getting the property up to a lettable standard once you have purchased it as a buy to let. It may require some electrical rewiring, it may require a brand new boiler or it could be currently lived in and when the current owner or tenants move out you may realise that there may be quite a bit of paint works or decorative works to do maybe new carpets or many other things therefore it is important to budget correctly as there may be a number of costs to consider in order to get the property up to a buy to let standard. So do not just physically go and view the property and take the owners word for it make sure you go in take notes, take pictures if you are able to, and then speak to refurbishment teams and get an understanding of what the true refurbishment cost would be.

 

If you take into account the above three factors when viewing and considering purchasing a buy to let it would help you to avoid a lot of general and easy mistakes many people make when it comes to buying a buy to let property.

Best of luck!