INVESTING IN STUDENT LETTINGS. ADVICE FROM LETTINGFOCUS.COM

INVESTING IN STUDENT LETTINGS - ADVICE FROM LETTINGFOCUS.COM

LettingFocus.com expert David Lawrenson explains why buying property to let to students makes sense. Ask us for advice with your property investment plans.

Property expert David Lawrenson of www.lettingfocus.com says, "If your child is going to university you might be considering buying some accommodation for them to live in and let out."

There are some plus points. For a start you will save on accommodation costs. For example, in London, it costs a minimum of £110 per week for a room in a decent house share and the rental income you can get from other students can be good with yields over 5% in some towns.

Capital growth can be good too. Figures from the Halifax show that property prices in the main university towns have outperformed the market in the last few years, driven by the huge increase in student numbers in recent years.

Consider Local Student Tenant Demand and Supply Carefully

Whilst the government’s target of having 50% of children going through college by 2010 will lead to a 2.5% increase in student numbers each year, in the student market, the supply of student accommodation can still change quickly.

A few new halls of residence and swanky self catering blocks and the university losing its attractiveness can quickly change the demand-supply balance and make rents fall and properties hard to let.

So ask the Accommodation Office and at the Town Hall Planning Office to find out about future growth in student numbers and to see what new developments are planned.

And don’t think a “Rigsbyesque” house will do. It won’t. Other landlords have all raised the bar and now provide good quality accommodation with broadband connections as standard.

Unite and Bournston are just two new companies that now build and rent out a high quality of accommodation for students as well as a secure and safe environment. They hope to take up the slack caused by the lack of student accommodation – Savills research has shown that the proportion of students in university provided halls has fallen from 33% to 25% over the last 10 years.

Watch out for HMO Licensing Rules

Be aware of the rules on houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) which say that all shared houses in England and Wales which have 3 or more storeys AND five or more tenants now need a license.

In some areas of England and Wales and throughout Scotland and Northern Ireland, licensing has been extended by local authorities to smaller shared houses.

The rules on this lay down minimum amenity standards like the number of loos and wash basins a property must have, which is why even some professional landlords are leaving the market.

Fees for licenses go up to £1,500 in some areas and there are fines of up to £20,000 for not applying for one.

Have a Thorough Property Inventory Check

Students are a messy bunch and can be hard on furnishings so get a thorough inventory check done, preferably one from the Association of Independent Inventory Clerks.

Put all the students on a single assured shorthold tenancy in which they are individually and jointly responsible for the whole rent and get parents to be guarantors for the whole rent – which will allow you to chase either of them (or their parents) for part of or the whole rent in the event of any one of them defaulting.

Plan Property Ownership to Minimise Tax

Think about what to do with the house or flat after the kids graduate and how to structure the ownership of the property to minimise tax. At LettingFocus.com we can give you a brief outline of the main issues involved here.

About David Lawrenson and Lettingfocus.com

If you need more advice on letting to students or houses in multiple occupation please send me an email.

I’m David Lawrenson from property consultants and mentors lettingfocus.com. I’m the author of the buy to let book “Successful Property Letting - How to Make Money in Buy to Let” which is the UK’s top selling property title. Click here to buy the book: property book.

The new edition is fully up to date with all the recent changes to tenancy deposit schemes, HMOs, licensing, capital gains taxes and it has new sections on buying below market value.

What’s unique about lettingfocus.com is that we offer unbiased property coaching because unlike most people in the buy to let and property “advice” business we are not linked to a property company, developer, estate agent or bridging loan financier and do not receive commissions from any of these sources either.

We offer advice both at our property seminars and also on a one to one basis.

Lawrenson and Lettingfocus.com – Freelance Property Journalist, Speaker and Consultant

I am an independent expert on the UK property market and a well known property investment blogger. I also contribute to newspapers and a host of property websites in the media as a buy to let commentator.

My work as a property consultant and property speaker also stretches to helping companies such as banks, building societies, housing associations and web portals with their buy to let and property products and services.

You can read more about my buy to let networking programme by sending me an email. My next London property investors seminar meeting is coming soon.