I am a landlord with my own large portfolio of properties but I also buy, refurbish and manage a very large portfolio for multiple investors. In total I have bought over 150 houses for myself and other investors over the last few years. I now manage a large number of these for investors.
For the past two years, every property that we have purchased and refurbished for our investors has been refurbished to achieve a grade 'C' EPC standard minimum in readiness for the pending Government legislation in 2025, which has now been cancelled. Whilst many landlords are quitting the PRS sector as legislation and costs are spiralling, we are seeing the opposite. In fact, our business is growing and
we are buying and managing more and more BTL properties every year.
The U-turn by the Government on EPCs will also not stop us buying and more importantly, every property that we purchase we will refurbish to a Grade C EPC standard as a minimum. There is a very simple strategy behind this and is one of the reasons we do not have a single property with voids or rent arrears, and we have a waiting list of people and organisations wanting to rent from us.
Firstly, if you complete the refurbishment to a ‘C’ Grade at the outset, this is a much more cost effective way of refurbishment than if you are forced to do this with a tenant in situ! For houses bought a while back, we have a constant plan of refurbishment with our investors over a longer period to eventually bring them up to a ‘C’ Grade standard. This will not only future proof them, but also it spreads the cost over a longer period of time which is both more financially palatable and the costs can be offset against annual tax.
However, the key that most miss is that you need to consider ALL of your stakeholders, including tenants. Our tenants are not only private renters, but also social housing providers and charities. One of the key factors for our tenants is the cost of running the properties, especially in today’s ‘cost of living crisis’. By achieving a higher grade EPC, the cost of running the property are far less. This means we have tenants that sign up for two, three, five and up to ten years. This also means less voids and arrears and no expensive retro-fits either between or during tenancies.
So, in the long run, investing in your properties and your tenants means greater long-term returns and fewer one off large costs that may mean you have to dispose of the asset, often as a distressed sale then achieving a lower return or even a loss!! This is one of the reasons we have a waiting list of renters, no voids and no arrears.
BTL is now for the long-term professional investor. There is no ‘quick gain'! You need to be compliant, strategic, tax aware and also be aware of environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors. If you do all of these things, you will make a huge success out of property not only for yourself, but for ALL stakeholders
Click on the short film at the bottom of our home page to get a better understanding of what we do and how we can build you a small or large profitable long-term property portfolio. Plus look at the case studies and the investor testimonials on our website and see for yourself the refurbishments we complete and what people say about us.
Then if you are interested in discussing this further, contact our Founder and CEO, David Edwards in any of the following ways:
· Through the website contact form
· Email – david@locate-property.co.uk
· Phone – 0333 577 1660
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