Buy To Let Landlord Case Study

Date Published:

06/06/2008

We quiz landlord Carmen DaSilva, based on Tyneside about her landlord experiences...

Q: Why did you decide to become a landlord?

A: I've been merrily putting away a bit of cash every month in PEP's and ISA's for a number of years only to find that in many cases they are worth less than I've actually paid into them. I really don't want to work till I'm 65 (and by the time I get to 65 it'll probably be 70+) and pensions aren't doing so well at the moment. So I decided it was time to take hold of my future and try to do something about it. Working in the housing industry gave me a certain amount of comfort about investing in property, so armed with this and the resounding thought of "what's the worse that can happen...I cover my losses and sell it" I decided to take the plunge.

Q: What type of property did you buy?

A: I did a bit of research on rental values and spoke to agents about which kind of properties were needed and settled on a new two bedroom, two en suite property aimed at the young professional market.

Q: Did you do much research into the area before buying?

A: Well sort of. Working in the industry I knew that North Tyneside was a property hot spot showing no signs of slowing down. It's adjacent to a very desirable area and people who want to be in the area but couldn't afford the price tag were buying property here like hot cakes. In addition, it's very close to all public transport routes and has a couple of hospitals and a very large DSS agency on the doorstep.

Q: What kind of tenant are you hoping to attract?

A: Young professionals who would look after the property. I've just spent a bit of cash kitting it out. While it's just Ikea stuff it looks very smart and contemporary and I wanted someone who would appreciate this.