Ugly Houses - Capital Gains

[MillyMollyMandy678]

Hi,

A bit of a random question but do you think much about the appearance of a property before purchasing? This is in the context of mainly aiming to buy BTL properties which increase in value.

I understand the points about picking up and coming areas, transport links etc. but I was wondering- would you still invest in an ugly 1960's ex-council flat for example (if it was in the right place), or do you think more attractive properties do better with capital gains?

My gut instinct is to aim for more attractive places, if you are hoping for an area to go up in value it makes sense to pick properties which look desirable,  but I'm not sure if that is me getting too carried away with home design rather than thinking like an investor.

What are people's experiences?

[Conrad_Paton]

46 minutes ago, millymollymandy678 said:

I understand the points about picking up and coming areas, transport links etc. but I was wondering- would you still invest in an ugly 1960's ex-council flat for example (if it was in the right place), or do you think more attractive properties do better with capital gains?

Yes ^^.....if the figures stacked up for me and the area was due/predicted to rise in value.

I would never rule our an investment based on appearance or any other single factor.

I take into account all the variables, do the sums and then work out if the property is right for me/my strategy.

50 minutes ago, millymollymandy678 said:

My gut instinct is to aim for more attractive places, if you are hoping for an area to go up in value it makes sense to pick properties which look desirable....

Nothing wrong with this ^^ as a theory. 

Desirability and price go hand in hand. Along with supply.

It depends on alot of other factors, the price difference between your 1960's 'ugly' house and a 'beautiful' victorian house, local demand in the area for renting and purchasing, availability of housing stock.

Remember you are buying an investment not a grand design house.

There is little point in buying a stunning period or compempary modern property in the hope it will increase in value, if the local population cannot afford to rent ot buy it from you.

Property investment should be about mass market appeal as well. If the market is prepared to pay more for a pretty and 'desirable' looking house then buy one if you want.

The short answer is there is no hard and fast rule.

As an investor you may be outbid on desirable housing stock because you are competing agaisnt home owners wishing to purchase something they like the look of. These people may not be so interested in making money from property as you are.

The rent vs price yield or ROI may not be sufficient as market rent may not increase as much as the property price if an area increases in capital growth.

Way to many variables to write them all out here I'm afraid.

Investing in property is fairly easy. Investing in property and doing it well takes much more effort and research.

Hope this help

Conrad Paton

[dennis hughes]

On 12/2/2019 at 2:06 PM, conrad_paton said:

Investing in property is fairly easy. Investing in property and doing it well takes much more effort and research.

Well, @conrad_paton, this should be the first thing that new visitors to this forum should be obliged to learn by rote.