Your Step-by-Step Guide To Start Investing in Buy-To-Let

So why invest in Property in the first place?

According to the Times Rich list, 40% created their wealth through property. The other 60% invested in property as a means of growing and protecting the wealth that they created in other industries. In fact, more millionaires attain their wealth through property than any other type of investment.

We believe in expanding property portfolios and what best than a sterling GBP property investment with a solid government backed housing market and foreign exchange hitting as high as N500+ to £1, rental index on the rise with yields as high as 8% in some parts of UK, making returns on investment more attractive, secure and a great retirement plan.

We Provide Low Cost Investment Property with Full Management and Guaranteed Rent for Overseas Buyers

The UK is one of the world’s best areas for secure property investment. Prices on UK property are now low due to Brexit weakening the pound against euro and rental returns are good with up to 8% rent on low cost properties. Now prices are expected to rise in line with economic recovery in the UK and prices on lower cost properties could double within 5 years.

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Our Best Buy Investment Properties

Our Best Buy investment properties listed below are already rented out and managed by us. They are low cost, give high rental yields, come with 2 -6 years guaranteed rent, these are expected to grow well in value over the next few years and are easy to resell. We continually acquire, rent out, sell and subsequently manage such property. These are the most popular purchases made by overseas buyers.

Locations

Traditionally there have always been TWO popular investment hotspots – London and the North West of England (Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham, Leeds region). Recently London continues to be on the rise and very expensive and rental yields are much lower compared to other cities as per index below shows.

UK Buy-To-Let

Hence our visit to the 2017 Nigeria 11th Home Exhibition Abuja to promote UK Buy to let ptoperties and introduce you to the easy access you have to acquiring a UK property from the comfort of your armchair, while we take care of the buying, renting , management of the property and remittance of the income into your designated account!.

Looking at the top 25 buy-to-let hotspots across the UK, Liverpool came out on top. The first top four spots on the list went to Liverpool postcodes, including L7, which was named the number one place in the country for rental yields. And Liverpool topped a total of seven in the list as a whole.

Available UK Buy-To-Let for sale now!

BTL – MercyHomeUK properties 2017 – BTL 2017

UK buying process – Here are the steps involved:-

1. We Discuss your requirements
Give us a call to discuss your requirement. Is investment property in the UK right for you or not? We aim to provide you with good honest advice and will tell you if such a property will not meet your needs

2. Select a Property
This will depend on your budget.
Within each type of property there are many almost identical units available within a narrow price range depending on rental yield. The slightly more expensive properties have slightly more rental.
If your budget is much larger, you may wish to purchase multiple properties. In such a case it is best to purchase one property first, and go through the purchase process to completion and then purchase additional units. You should be able to provisionally select an investment property on the basis of information on this site and then fine tune and finalize your selection after discussions.

3. Provide Ownership and ID information
First you need to decide if property to be purchased is by a single owner or multiple owners. If multiple owners (e.g. husband and wife) you will also need to consider the type of joint ownership. Most investors go for single person ownership as this keeps things simple.
Your ID information will be required this is regulatory requirement in the UK

You can scan and email this information to us. We are required by Law to keep all such information confidential. The ID information required will be:-
Passport copy (photo page)
Address ID e.g. Driving Licence, ID Card or Utility Bill

We will also need to know the source of funding – normally this is from ‘savings’ or ‘business profits’. Prior to exchange of contracts your solicitor will also need to see these documents or if you are not present in UK, we will need attested copies prior to the exchange of contracts.

4. Get Information Pack
Once we have your ID information, we can provide more specific details and a draft Reservation Agreement and clearly layout how the purchase process will proceed in your particular case.

5. Visit to UK
Most investors will visit the UK – either prior to purchase or after purchase. This will allow us to meet you at our offices and you can view the properties. We can also get your documents attested by a UK solicitor as identification is required for exchange of contract, purchase completion and registration under your name at UK Land Registry. We also get documents done to represent you for other steps in the purchase process and property management. If you are not yet visiting the UK, you can still buy but we will need to get your documents (passport, address ID & ID-1 Form) attested by a lawyer in your country to the satisfaction of the UK Land Registry. This can be done easily and we will provide full details.

6. Agree to proceed with a purchase
Once you agree to purchase, you will need to sign the Reservation Agreement and then make a payment of 10% plus purchase costs into the Client Account. This is an important step as the Reservation Agreement outlines the steps we will take in conjunction with your solicitor to ensure Exchange of Contracts, Completion of purchase and Registration of the property under your name at the UK Land Registry. This agreement will also fix the price, specify the agreed guaranteed rent and payment terms.

7. Exchange of Contracts & Completion
We normally act on your behalf to ensure all the steps are taken to legal exchange of contracts and complete the property purchase after your full payment. Your rental starts to be credited to you 1 month after your final (90%) payment even if completion is delayed.

8. Registration at Land Registry
Following completion, the property is registered under your name at the UK Land Registry by your solicitor and your solicitor will provide evidence for this after registration.

9. Management of Property
We and our partner companies will ensure your property remains rented and we will provide updates and statements to you every 3 months. Your net rent will be paid into an account specified by you. The Guaranteed Rent option means that you get the rent even if your property should become vacant or even if your tenant does not pay rent. You can select to choose either the Standard Management option (rent at around 8% of property price) OR the Guaranteed Rent option (rent at 7% of property price) at the beginning of each year and can fix the Guaranteed Rent for 2 years on property purchase if you wish. Guaranteed Rent provides additional re-assurance to investors and is popular amongst overseas investors as it gives them certainty of income. You can continue with the Guaranteed Rent option even after the first 2 years if you wish.

10. Resale in the Future
If required, we can help you resell your property or you can use another agent to resell if you wish. We normally advise clients not to purchase if they intend to resell soon e.g. within 2 years, as they will not make much profit due to buying and selling costs. Most of our clients are buying for long term investment but circumstances can change, and they can resell sooner if needed.

The costs you’ll incur

You’ll probably have to spend in the region of £1,500 to £2,500 in fees for lawyers and mortgage lenders when you purchase the property
You’ll have to pay Stamp Duty if the property is worth over £125,000 (the tax rate varies from 1%-7% of the property’s value. For full rates, see the HMRC table)
You should also set aside some funds for decorating the property, and generally getting it ready for tenants. (Naturally, the amount you’ll spend here depends on the size of the property and the amount of work which needs doing)
You’ll also have to spend a couple of hundred pounds on fulfilling your legal obligations.

Payments and Steps

Reservation of property.
Discuss and Provide ID Information
Review and Sign Agreement
Make 10% payment plus the purchase. There can be a gap of up to 6 months between Reservation and Final payment if requested by Buyer. Normally 1 to 2 months.
Payment 90% plus any stamp duty this can be made in instalments if needed.
Rent starts 30 days after payment is complete.
Purchase Completion & Registration at Land Registry
Rent is paid at end of each calendar quarter into any nominated bank account (overseas or in UK) belonging to owner.

A – Z Guide to Investing in UK Buy To Let for Nigerians