Choosing a Location

Location, Location, Location

As we know from that infamous saying, choosing your location is key to success in property investment.

And the first thing you are going to have to decide is whether or not you want your new property to be local to you or elsewhere in the country. 

There are pros and cons to each approach. 

1) Staying Local

Some investors are most comfortable, investing in a property, close to where they live.

The yield might not be as good as it could be, the capital growth might not be as promising, the tenant profile might not exactly be what they are after.

Yet, some will be willing to take that hit, simply because they prefer the idea of being close by to their investments.  

There’s nothing wrong with this.

If a landlord is planning on self-managing any aspect of the property themselves then it’s a good idea to keep things local.

But even when a landlord isn’t going to self-manage there is a certain peace of mind that comes with knowing that if they have any concerns they are able just to drive past and have a quick look.

Because some investors just find the idea of investing in a property, 100s of miles away, stressful.

And no one should ever make a commitment, as big as buying a house unless they are completely comfortable with the project ahead of them.

2) Going National?

Going national, however, opens up a great deal more opportunity.

By expanding their horizons, figuratively and literally, investors can choose areas of growth, higher yields and tenant types, more freely.

However, when a property is too far away, self-management becomes impossible.

And when there is a portfolio involved, with different properties in wildly different locations, that means an investor will have to be doing business with a variety of different management companies and agents.

This isn’t necessarily a problem but if you have five houses with five different management companies then this will likely be a very different and potentially more time-consuming experience, for an investor, than dealing with one local company that is able to manage everything.