The buy to let market is booming and savvy investors everywhere are snapping up suitable properties to add to their buy to let portfolios, but not all properties are equal, so given the choice, should you invest in a flat or a house?
Ploughing your savings into property has always been considered a safe investment, and when you take into account the income generated by property rentals, anyone who can afford to step into the buy to let market can easily expect to see a comfortable return on their investment. But although knowing your market is vital as the demand for rental properties varies from area to area, first time landlords do not always consider the differences between flats and houses.
I have a mix of flats and houses in my property portfolio and I have found that each appeals to a different sector of the market, but current research is indicating that family sized homes are fast becoming the most sought after properties in the rental sector, particularly in the prosperous south-east areas of the UK.
Flats might be cheaper to buy, but houses can offer a number of advantages: they give you a better return on your initial investment, they tend to be occupied for longer periods of time, they are freehold, and unlike flats, houses do not come with covenants restricting the types of tenant you can have.
However, your choice of property will ultimately depend on the type of tenants you are hoping to target. If it is students, flats are more appealing, but if you hope to attract the family market, houses are the way forward.
