Search the Community

Hello All, Just a quick intro - I'm EJ, I still feel like a property newbie, I'm originally from London but recently located to Nottingham. After purchasing my first property in January and working with an upcoming investor to do the same thing within Nottingham, I've decided to embark on exploring more and starting my property sourcing journey in HMO's and Buy-to-lets. The last couple of weeks have all been a little crazy as I've been working with a property coach and things have been moving fast but all in the right direction so far. I'm still new to the Midlands so would be lovely to connect with some of you and maybe even work with some people in the future. Feel free to follow my journey on Instagram too and say 'Hi' - @ej.demontagueproperty That's me for now, have a lovely evening.

Hi everyone, I’m about to begin my property investing journey after saving like a madman for the past seven years. I have about 35k to invest. My focus in on capital growth as I enjoy my job and don’t have immediate plans to stop. As result I’ve been looking at flats in city centres as the podcast seems to suggest that city centre properties general outperform neighbourhoods further out in terms of capital growth. I began searching in Nottingham, but am really battling to find anything suitable. As a result, I am now turning my attention to Derby. I’d be interested to hear anyone’s thoughts/comments on this. Rob and Rob seem to rate the city highly and it’s not too far from where I live. With this in mind, I was hoping some lovely soul could offer some advice on the following: 1) streets/areas/developments in the city centre to focus on/avoid 2) agents worth using in my search 3) If I’m being silly by only considering the city centre Any advice would be hugely beneficial!

Hi, does anyone invest in the Carlton are of Nottingham? If so which letting agents would you recommend for a fully managed solution? Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

Hi everyone! Just to introduce myself I am 26 and work full time with a busy job in the NHS! I bought my home almost one year ago and am now looking to buy my first buy to let and really hope that this will be the start of a portfolio. My main focus is capital growth - a good yield would be great, but I am happy to compromise on this. I am focusing on Nottingham as it is near to where I live so I think that this would be a great starting point. At the moment I am looking at houses only because I understand them more- as I build on my portfolio I would be keen to look at flats at a later stage. My main questions are location specific. I am mainly focusing on Arnold as it seems to have great fundamentals so I have seen some 2 bed terraced houses well within my budget of 150k. I have also seen some semi-detatched but these seem to go very quickly. Another area of interest is NG4/Netherfield region but I have been a bit put off by this due to the selective licensing scheme, which seems like a big hassle and a big cost. I would absolutely love to hear other ideas, particularly anyone who knows the Nottingham area and might be able to suggest good locations or comment on my plan - would be keen to hear any ideas! Thanks

Hi All, Interested in purchasing a buy to let in Nottingham. We live fairly close but do not know the area at all. We have done some research of areas to avoid but also appreciate some of these properties will produce higher yields. Does anyone have any advice or recommendations of best areas to invest in Nottingham? Looking at a single let for this investment so professionals, couples, families but looking at keeping the property price around the 120k mark with any refurb and additional costs on top of this. Thank you in advance Cass

I have been researching and looking for my first buy to let property and have focused on Nottingham! I have seen a couple of ex-council properties and have been advised by local lettings agents that they would rent out well to families, which is exactly what I am looking for! In terms of numbers, they work well too! The only concern I have is simply just the fact that they are ex council. I know that in terms of renting this isn’t so much of a problem these days, but I am looking for a mix of yield and capital growth- I do not rely on the income, but as it is my first some good cash flow could help me achieve my goals faster! So with this in mind, does anyone have any opinions on ex-council properties and the capital growth, or whether potentially the stigma attached may affect these properties growing in value the same way that a non ex-council house would

Hello, I'm Richard and new to this! For the past 5 years I've been living in South Korea. My family and I have relocated to Sheffield (for my wife's work) and we've just bout a family home! I was hoping for some advice, as I steam through previous podcast episodes, read the backdated magazines I've subscribed to and educate myself, I thought I may as well go the whole hog and post on a forum! I'm please to say, I'm now in a pace where I have crystallised my goal and strategy. It is long term, secure my future, hopefully enjoy a bit of extra cash in my pocket each month along the way - I hope to do this by purchasing properties, flip them and then rent them. I'm looking at more desirable areas in the midlands and the north. The present conundrum and to get me off the mark. I own, outright a 2 bed flat in a desirable Manchester suburb, the flat below has 'come up for sale' (I've asked the owner and he's willing to sell), the asking price is £170k, I'm not sure how good a deal this is, but it seems in line with the current market. I'm a little concerned of the strength of Manchester's market and think I'm a little behind the curve and late to the party. This flat currently rents for £695 gross per month. I think, with an investment of £10k it could be renovated and re-let at £850 gross per month, at least. I would be able to finance this with my own savings and a buy to let interest only mortgage. This would bring, after flipping, a yield of around 6% and a ROI of just under 9%. So, apologises in advance for this outpouring of questions: Does this sound like a good move? Is it wise to buy in the same block (this would be 2/4 flats)? What are the pros and cons of this? Anything I need to consider, like seeking permission of the other owners? Am I too late for Manchester? With it being a desirable, how should this affect my decision? Would I be better off looking elsewhere (in an area less well known to me than this suburb?) It is worth noting, I'll be looking to remortgaged my current flat later this year (hopefully) to buy two more properties - should I start with this 'safe bet' (is it a safe bet, is there such a thing?) in Manchester and then go further a field - Sheffield when I know the area better or Nottingham? Or should I go for those areas now as they may see good growth in 6 months / they'll be cheaper now? Many thanks in advance, I really appreciate any and all comments!

We are running a one off event this week to allow some of our more seasoned investors to share their journey and learnings from early beginnings through to seasoned observations of what they would do differently. Of of course it will also provide an opportunity to network and discuss the investing scene here in the vibrant and busy Nottingham. Further details from: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/nottingham-property-circle-investor-experience-tickets-59026406571

My first post on here.... I'm looking for High Yield BTL's 8%+ I live in Leicester, which has low Yields, even in the cheaper area's of the city (Narborough Road etc) Nottingham has been my next step after listening to the Podcasts but I cannot seem to find any High Yield Property Has anyone got any suggestions? I would like to self-manage, but I am open to having my property managed if the numbers stack up. Also I am open to buying property in other locations but would like them within 1-2 hours of Leicester Appreciate your feedback PS. I do have experience over the years of managing property... upto 30 properties at a time including HMO's before a licence was needed

Hi All, Sorry for the long post. I'm totally new to this and was hoping to gain advice from you all, so any wisdom imparted would be sincerely appreciated. I'm interested in beginning my property investment journey after gaining much confidence from the contents on this wonderful site. I'm from Birmingham but live and work in London. Initially, I was looking for a high yielding B2L property in somewhere like Sheffield or Nottingham, to potentially net between £500 - £1,000 per month cashflow to generate some passive income. As a newbie, I want a hands off approach, interested in modern properties that are immediately ready to rent out; but have recently learned my cousin works on upgrading properties so thats a bonus for some flexibility in regards to potential house flipping. My strategy has now potentially changed as my Mom (currently living in a 3 bed council house in Bham) needs to be rehoused, due to her current area and neighbours being far from the best to say the very least! So in saying this, I now intend to purchase a mortgage for a place for her to stay in Bham (2-3 bed house or 2 bed apartment in city centre) that will see good capital growth in the long run as the plan is for her to live there for the next 10, 20, 30 years plus. So this would be a long term investment. I have around 30K to invest at the moment, and ideally would like for the monthly repayments to be low because she'll be living there alone (would H2B be pertinent here?). I don't intent to make profit off Mom or for her to have to share, but at the same time, I don't want to have to go into my own pocket to top up what she cannot afford as I am already renting in London. I did a mortgage in principle with my bank the other day and they said I could borrow in the region of 280K. My credit is pants at the moment so I'm using the next 9-12 months to increase my chances of getting a 5% mortgage next year although I would really want to buy something in 2019. So I suppose my questions are: Is what I'm pondering ambitious or outside the realm of success with the 30K capital and poor credit rating I have? Outside of transport links, being close to city centre, good schools, shops/supermarkets/parks/having a drive and garden etc, what other key criteria do successful property investors look for, that bring confidence that capital growth is very likely to come down the line? After looking at Rightmove and speaking to local estate agents and viewing properties that fit your criteria for example - what are the differentiators or main drivers that prompt an investor to push the green button and buy? Should I maintain my original plan, and find a 1-2 bed B2L property in a high yielding/high growth area like, Leeds, Liverpool, Nottingham, Manchester, Sheffield and essentially keep saving while banking the £500 - £1,000 per month cashflow - because in a couple of years I'd soon generate another 30K to get her the property in Brum - and in that time I would have gained some equity/growth in the B2L property. I do plan to build a property portfolio so when you have a strategy for acquiring multiple properties; for tax reasons, is it better to purchase them under a limited company rather than as an individual? When people say, test your numbers thoroughly, what exactly does this mean? How can you test that your strategy for a B2L monthly cashflow goal is truly feasible? Would the H2B scheme benefit me in for my circumstances? Many thanks

Hi everyone, I would be hugely grateful for some advice about the desirability of certain Nottingham areas, as I am looking to invest max. 100k in my first buy-to-let property. There seem to be some good deals in Hyson Green, but does anyone know what the rental market is like there? Do students avoid it? Similarly, are there parts of Forest Field and Basford that you'd recommend as being more appealing than others? Huge thanks to anyone who can give advice on these. Cheers, Kat

Dear all, we are expats based in Germany and am looking for a letting agency, preferably in NG1. There are sooo many advertised online, and obviously every agency claims to be the best, so we are looking for a recommendation. We are back in the UK a few times throughout the year but not enough to manage our property ourselves. If you know someone reliable, or if you are such a reliable letting agent then please contact me! Thanks for your help! PS needless to say, I already contacted The Property Hub Letting Agent in Nottingham

Hi everyone I'm new in the property investment and would love to get some location advice from experts. I've been looking at Liverpool (L7 and L6) and made 2 offers last few months. Unfortunately didn't go well which turn down my motivation and interest a bit.. But i should keep positive and move on. Recent podcast, Rob D & B mentioned 6 locations to consider. I'd like to get a location advice which area I should look at that based on my case:- My scenario : Maximum property price : 130k 10% Deposit + 90% mortgages Looking for 3 bedrooms. Living in + rent out 2 rooms to young professionals. Aim: monthly cash flow + (a potential) capital grow by refurb to get better mortgage deal. hoping that will give me a chance to buy 2nd place for BTL. I've noticed that L7 and L6 have so many invests going on and saw 3-bedroom house become 6 or 8 bedrooms for student accommodation. I felt high competitions and sellers are asking a higher price than what agent recommended them. (of course, therefore, these kind of sellers are still on the market... ) but you can feel that the atmosphere has been changed. And start to wondering it's better find other locations?? Please take some time to share your thoughts! Thank you Jung Lee

Hello All, I am looking to make my first property investment this year and my decided location is Nottingham. I am ideally looking to buy a house (personal preference i have nothing against flats). I was just wondering are there any roads/streets that i should avoid buying. I have done some research and the post codes that stick out to me are NG1, NG3 & NG7. Would love to know what anybody thinks about these postcodes. Kind regards, Jay

Hi everyone !! I am looking to buy my first btl property. Can anyone recommend best Nottingham area to invest in..... Looking at properties up to 100k at the start so i guess options are limited... Many thanks to those who reply. Greg

Evening all Im looking to make some new contacts in the letting agents world. Ive got someone in the role but im hoping to get to know other agents who may have good contacts in the trades. Earlier this year I had some very bad work done which caused me to loose confidence in the agents recommended trades men. If anyone can share or discuss a contact id appreciate the help. Jay

Hi All. I am from Nottingham. Managed to raise 60k with my friend. We both want to start our property journey buying 1st house doing it up and sell. Ideally want to repeat flips couple times to increase our capital and buy 2 - 3 BTL to start saving towards our future. Now question. Is there any short term loan company you recommend from Nottingham? By short term I mean 4-8 months till we refurb and sell...... Any help, ideas, thoughts from Nottingham people more than welcome.... Apart of the auctions, where else to find out prospective properties for our flips? Thanks Greg

Hello My name is Jamie Parker, I've been in the property industry for 7 years and have worked my way to becoming a manager at Stone & Long Nottingham. I am in a position now where I am able to make all my clients the best returns and advise them on what property is right for them. I currently provide all my clients with lists of the best properties to invest in Nottinghamshire and I am happy to attend with them on viewings to offer further advise and support through the process. I hope to buy an investment property of my own but similar to the builder that has holes in his walls at his own home, I am yet to spend the time to sit down and look at my own situation as I put my clients first. In future I would like to because a Director at the company I am currently manager for and hopefully have two investment properties under my belt in the next five years. I'm property mad so I constantly read, listen and watch things about property so there's many areas I'd say I would be knowledgeable on. If you are in Nottingham and you would like to test my knowledge please feel free and I would be happy to see how I can help you. Have a good day, Jamie.

Hi everyone, Delighted to have found the property hub forum! I've just been reading the dix books and very excited about entering in to an investment project in Nottingham. I'm new to this and so I'm just in the research stage... getting to grips with the areas around and the type of tenants. Rough strategy will be single let buy to rent semi detached. I have some building experience and a background in numbers (structural engineering). I'm looking forward to the next meetup at the lion. Cheers, Graham

Hi, Just starting out and trying to source my 'power team'. Any recommendations for good, reliable surverys, builder, accountants and mortgage brokers in the Nottingham/East Midlands area? Going into my first buy to let, first strategy, first time everything so would really like honest and reliable people with great recommendations so as to lift a bit of the worry when just starting out. oh and to those from the Nottm area I'll be attending my first property hub meet up in Notts soon too, Thanks.

Hello, I have been observing the Property Hub a while now and can see the potential of finally joining in. After having gained experiences with redeveloping and refurbishing properties in the London market I now have a small portfolio of my own. Now I would like to expand into other cities such as Nottingham and Manchester. My goal is to buy several 2-3 bedroom BTL and maybe even join venture on a development project in Nottingham. I have a build up a small team that can take on any building process and have some more contacts in Nottingham and London. If you have any suggestions on where to buy in Nottingham and Manchester, please don't hesitate to contact me as I would love to meet up and pick your brain. I will be visiting both cities very soon. Looking forward to hearing from anyone.

Hi All, My names Andrew and I've owned a 2 bed BTL in Stevenage for the last few years which I've really enjoyed managing myself. Spent the last few years concentrating on my career but now ready to take the portfolio to the next level. Interested in buying a 2/3 bed in Nottingham very soon. If refurb required, I'm planning to live and work from the property while I do it up. No flipping, I'm in this for the long term. Would like to aim for a new property every 18 months. Work as an Office 365 Consultant (Most things Microsoft). Would be more than happy to talk IT in exchange for property knowledge! Very interested to get know anyone who specially has some local Nottingham knowledge as well. Thanks, Andrew

Hi there, I wondered if anyone could recommend a good broker that specialises in limited company mortgages? I'm based over in Nottingham and so far have struggled to find any deals that don't come with eye-watering arrangement fees / interest rates. If anyone can point me in the right direction or can recommend a high street lender which now offers a competitive product please let me know as I'm certain there's got to be better deals out there than what I've managed to find so far... Thanks! David

Hullo! I'm hoping there are some landlords out there with experience in leasing property through Housing Aid who can give me some advice? I would like to be both a socially conscious AND profitable landlord. Whilst I appreciate my profit margins will be a lot less, I strongly feel that anyone of us could easily fall on hard times and would like to help families who have. I have meet with my local Housing Aid department, who are very keen to get landlords on board. They have a massive demand for 2 bedroom homes to house families. There are many pros and I'm sure cons: Pros: - V low risk of void periods as demand is so high - No letting costs (the council do it) - Low insurance (the council in the process of working with an insurance company to cover this) - Cheaper properties, cheaper areas - Low uptake on the security bond by landlords (6%) to pay for damages etc. - Direct rental payment - Feel good factor - Council very open to negotiation Cons: - Vulnerable, high risk tenants? - Low rent (£470 pcm for 2 beds, however, can charge more with the tenants topping this up) - High maintenance - Furnished - I'd like to hear of some! From talking to people there is a belief that your property is more likely to be trashed if you have Housing Aid tenants. I'm not convinced... in my experience wealthy private tenants, with rich Daddy's are the most problematic! Also the council vet everyone and those classed as high risk e.g. with a history of substance abuse, criminal records, no employment history etc., are not processed through the Housing Aid route. Also the low uptake of the councils security bond would suggest that the tenants look after the property. However, I don't want to be naive so would really like to hear from anyone with experience in this area. As a bit more background... I'm looking in the Nottingham area, would look at self managing and will plan to negotiate with Housing Aid regarding the selective licensing that is shortly due to be introduced in the city. I will also probably hedge my bets and look into getting one or two more profitable HMO's at some point! Muchas gratis Ginger

Hullo! Wondered if anyone could recommend a good decorator in the Nottingham/Rushcliffe area (who won't charge the West Bridgford premium!)... ideally with good plastering skills and/or contacts? Initially this will be for our own house, which desperately needs a lick of paint, but the plan is to add them to my property 'team' list if they are any good! In the set-up stage of my property journey and thought this would be a good way of testing some tradespeople out. Any recommendations (or don't touch with a barge pole) would be greatly received. Thank You! Ginge