This particular Landlord hadn’t actually thought about the end game but had some spare cash and he wanted to invest it in Bromley property.
Now for the record I believe there is never a good time to sell your property and you should hold onto it forever ( I may write a blog about this theory in the coming weeks) however my philosophy doesn’t suit everyone and there may be times when selling is the only option available to you.
So quite simply I told him if he is looking to invest in a property he must find one that he can sell quickly. This wasn’t an answer he was expecting as he hadn’t even bought it yet and I’m already talking about selling it, but I explained to him he has to take into account one day he may have to sell whether he likes it or not and if he does he needs a property that he can sell quickly compared to other properties. With this I said I would start looking at the data and would call him back.
After looking at some facts I noticed that the lower the price the property is the quicker it sold, I always suspected this to be the case from my own experience but it’s always good when the data backs up your thoughts.
Bromley properties in the £100,000 – £200,000 bracket took on average 45 days to sell whilst those in the £200,000 – £300,000 took a shade longer at 49 days. Properties in the £500,000-£1,000,000 range took 85 days on average.
We then looked at the size of the property which sold quickest. The figures correlate with those above, a one bedroom property in Bromley takes an average of 50 days to sell, it then rises by the amount of rooms you have, 2 bedroom properties take 67 days whilst those with 5 plus take 93 days.
Onto types of properties, surprisingly terraced houses sold the quickest in an average of 61 days but only just as flats took 4 days longer with an average of 65 days.
I called him back with my findings and whilst we discussed various options he has decided as he wants a lower risk investment he is going to buy a 1 bedroom flat in Bromley as this is within his comfort zone and I think is quite a wise choice. Not only will he be able to sell it quickly compared to other properties when/if the time comes but the running cost in between tenancies (few that there are) should be cheaper for him to absorb.
If you ever wish for a second opinion on a property you are looking to purchase please feel free to contact me.