Updating post from Reddit.
I am looking to buy first BTL in an area which good school catchment
I am trying to work out which one will be better idea
1: one bedroom flat 135 K Low cost to enter, asking rent around 780 for similar property
2: 2 bedroom flat 180 K Two bedroom so may be family will prefer it and is near good school catchment Asking rate for similar property 1050 1400 maintenance charge annually
3: 1 bedroom house 210k No maintenance charge May have higher appreciation as it is house
How will a seasoned landlord look at these properties
BW
So you’re concerned it’s a good school catchment area, and then looking at one bedrooms? How many families do you know that all squeeze in a 1 bed flat? I know it happens but you certainly don’t need to be encouraging it. Even a 2 bedroom flat is not a preferred choice as a family home (altho budget often dictates it will suffice). 2 bedroom house with garden minimum to take advantage of the school catchment. 3 bedroom house ideally. If your budget only really stands a one bed, then look at city centres etc and target a different demographic
My thoughts exactly if OP can only afford a 1 or 2 bedroom property why bother with the catchment area.
You would be outbid by a owner occupier
Sorry I did not understand ?
An owner occupier would pay more for a property in a good school catchment area than you, because it more valuable to them. They would outbid you to an extent that your rate of return would be so low you would be irrational to buy.
So many questions if you are going for a mortgage then just don't bother the returns will be crap on anything.
Please run your figures
Rent - tax - student loans if any Remaining amount - gas/elec/EPC cert costs New remaining amount - mortgage - service charge Then you need to minus insurance, maintenance Then you need to minus agents fees for finding a tenant Then you might not want the hassle of managing tenants so you look at agent fees which are about 10% monthly. You soon realise there is little to no meat on your investment.
None of those properties would attract tenants who care about good school catchment area and none of those properties would particularly benefit from the value appreciation that comes from being near a good school.
For 1/2 bed properties you are looking at professional tenants so you need to consider features that make it appealing to them - access to parking, public transportation, services, recent refurbishment.
Then you need to look at the rental income and expected maintenance cost to see which one is likely to be most profitable.