At the age
of 39, I hasten to add, back in 1999! – my thoughts turned to future pension
provision and reviewing my pension contributions to date I discovered a huge
gap in my expectations of life after work in retirement and the bleak prospect
of an under-performing pension plan!
At that
time, having sold my estate agency business, I decided to invest in something
tangible which led me to my decision to purchase a portfolio of property to
rent out.
Fast forward
to 2014 and comparing my traditional
pension plan performance (yes, I have kept up the payments) and my
property portfolio performance it is very clear to me which of the pension
provisions has performed to my expectations – yes, you’ve guessed it – my
rentals portfolio.
Looking forward again it seems obvious to me the time is now right to add to my property portfolio for three main reasons. To explain:
Being a bit
of a ‘stats nerd’ back in 1999, having reviewed house price trends since 1960,
it was clear at that time that an exaggerated house price increase trend was
overdue. The housing market record between
2000 and 2007 is well-documented. Looking back at this graph and bringing this
up to date we may be back to a similar starting point as in 2000.
On the
income front I believe there is still an overdue rebalance of the property
market despite the Help to Buy schemes, low interest rates etc. The volume of rental occupation versus home
ownership is set to grow for the foreseeable future.
My third
point is that having come through a disruptive finance based recession where
big question marks have been placed on the financial services industries, I
feel I am better served with an investment I can touch and feel such as bricks
and mortar, rather than a paper based investment that can be traded around the
world and be at the mercy of middle men each taking their cut at each
turn.
Hindsight is
a wonderful thing, and no doubt in ten years’ time I will be either proved
right or wrong! However it feels right
to be in this market place at this time.
On a final
point, being part of Bradleys Complete Property Service I will be using
Bradleys Conveyance team for a purchase, insuring through Bradleys Insurance
Services and letting through Bradleys Lettings.
If I decide to arrange a Buy to let Mortgage I will arrange this through
Bradleys Financial Services.
If like me
you are thinking of purchasing a property to rent please give our local office
a call to start your investment journey.
Chris Baxter
Bradleys Land & New Homes Director
Buy-to-let property is now a common feature of most tax payers’ self-assessment tax returns and the UK Housing market. There are a number of tax liabilities you will be faced with when investing in and renting out a Buy-to-Let property (BTL). VP Associates are first and foremost taxation specialists.
ReplyDelete