OH I DO LIKE TO INVEST BY THE SEASIDE!: BUYING “BEACH-TO-LET” IS HOT YEAR-ROUND AS NUMBER OF REMOTE LANDLORDS INCREASES

Even as winter descends on the UK, with coats being pulled tighter against freezing winds and noses turning nippy with the onset of frosty mornings, seaside resorts are hot for buy-to-let investors.

Data released by international bank HSBC has shown that the top two ‘Buy-to-Let Hotspots’ in the United Kingdom are both by the sea – Southampton and Blackpool. Resort towns are hugely popular summer-destinations, especially with the recent trend for staycations and, coupled with the increased residential demand created by a desire of many to live by the sea, rental demand is high.

This was reflected in the HSBC results that showed landlords in front-runner Southampton to be raking in epic gross rental yields of 7.82% (with average property prices standing at £138,311 and average monthly rentals being £901), with second place Blackpool following closely behind, averaging a 7.81% yield from average monthly rents of £494 and average property prices of £75,943.

Proving that there is money to be made by buying beach-side, the results from the HSBC research are noteworthy given the general assumption that the most money is being made on London’s ‘streets paved with gold’, whereas, in fact, the high rental rates fail to match the giddy heights of the capital’s property prices, leading to lesser yields than elsewhere in the UK.

And it is no longer simply those who are lucky enough to live ‘beside the seaside’ who are investing in property at the beach, the growing trend of the remote landlord proves that more and more people are making their buy-to-let investment away from their local area, beachside or otherwise.

Residential letting agency, Castle Estates Residential Letting Agents in Glasgow, active for a decade in the local property area, have released statistics of where their registered landlords are coming from and the results make for interesting reading.

A staggering 67.6% of Castle Estates’ 267 current landlords are remote, i.e. not resident themselves in the area where the property is located. Of this figure, 52.3% are UK-based but not local to the area and 15.3% are from overseas.

Neil Woodhead, Founder of Castle Estates Residential Letting Agents, says,

“We have certainly seen the growth of the ‘remote landlord’ in recent years, with landlords now registered from places as far-flung as Australia, Thailand, Switzerland, South Africa, and Canada – not to mention Surrey, Berkshire, Essex, West Sussex and London – still a long way off when you’re based in the West Central Lowlands!

“And this trend is set to continue with the recently announced pension changes and the additions just given in the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement, with more people likely to invest their released pension pot in property than ever before. These people will be looking around for where best to invest and many will see that this is outside of their own region.”

From his background in the industry, stretching to over 35 years in total, Neil Woodhead has recently launched Ready Rentals, an online system that provides self-managing landlords with the support to provide a professional and legally compliant service. A service that is particularly pertinent to remote landlords, as Neil explains,“Managing property can be difficult at the best of times, but for a remote landlord, things can be even tougher. It is important that you have support services and structures in place to ensure that you keep up-to-date with changing legislation and the important paperwork that comes with being a landlord, not to mention dealing with any issues that may arise in a timely and professional manner. The Ready Rentals service can help with all these things – and more.”

Offering a wide range of support systems all in one place, from main portal marketing, automated creation of all the documentation needed to successfully manage a property, advice on all procedures, notifying utility companies of changes, notification of anniversary dates, an income and expenditure log, as well as a legal and financial helpline, Ready Rentals provides everything needed for remote landlords.

And being an online service, the system is accessible from all around the world for landlords of properties in England, Wales and Scotland. RICS regulated and available from just £20 per month including VAT, Ready Rentals is the Christmas must-have for all landlords, remote and otherwise.