10 Reasons Why Houses Beat Flats Every Time As A Buy To Let Investment

1. Houses are freehold, flats are leasehold.
2. Cash flow is almost always better with a house than a flat, as flats/apartments have service charges and ground rents that eat into cash flow.
3.  You can extend a house, put on a conservatory, do a loft conversion, convert a garage into an extra room etc. All these ADD VALUE. You cannot do any of those things with a flat!
4. Houses have gardens/useable outside space and storage. Flats are restricted on both fronts.
5. In most areas there is an over-supply of flats with thousands more are being built and an undersupply of houses , meaning rents are falling on apartments but rising on houses in almost all areas.
6. With more and more people working from home (a growing and long lasting trend), space is going to be an important consideration and houses can offer a home office in the garden or over a detached garage.
7. Flats are supported by the amateur/overseas investor market and first time buyers – meaning that they are very volatile in terms of both rental levels and selling prices. Houses are generally supported by more sophisticated professional investors and family buyers, meaning that they are far more stable in terms of rents and values
8. Houses can be let as single occupancy or multi-let formats, giving you more flexibility and less chance of voids.
9. Houses open up your market to families & sharers and therefore have wider appeal Family tenants also generally want to put down roots and stay longer – especially if they have children in local schools. Families do not tend to rent flats!
10. Mortgage products are more favourable for houses than flats on the LTV front, meaning lenders
    see houses as lower risk. That should tell you something!!!

Want more advice on buy to let investments? Speak to Easthams & Co – Call us on 01772 654 624 or Enquire Online