Will you invest in more property in 2011?

Here’s some views of what may happen this year to the property market that may just help you with that decision.

The majority of property commentators predict;

1. Residential property prices will go down in 2011, yet they offer us hope – believing that this year will see the market bottoming out and property prices growing, albeit slowly in 2012

2. Borrowing money will be as difficult in 2011 as it was in 2010

3. Inflation will stay above The Bank of England’s target putting them under pressure to raise interest rates by the middle of 2011

4. Demand for rental properties will continue to increase as will the rent being charged.

5.The number of new homes being built will not be able to meet demand for housing

Is now the optimum time to buy property?

Our view is that it is always worth investing in property (no shock there!) as long as you invest for the long term you are very likely to make a profit. The profit is even better if you buy and sell at the optimum times, a little luck is normally needed to get this timing right, but every now and again it becomes easy to recognise one of those times and now is one of those times – it is time to buy?

If you are in a position to gear up from your present portfolio or you have cash available it looks very likely you will find some excellent properties at excellent prices.

If it’s time to buy, where should you buy.

Whether you like to chase the best areas in the country or even the world or you prefer to stay close to home and find the best local market, the local Letting Agent is the most likely to have the answers you are looking for.

We think finding the right area is more important than timing and that you deserve valuable information that will help you make a successful decision. Naturally, we believe at Martin & Co that we are the Letting Agent who can supply you with this valuable information.

We’d love to help, so if you are looking to expand your buy-to-let property portfolio or buy your first rental property contact us by phone, email or pop in to see us at 173 Victoria Road, Aldershot . We are more than happy to give unbiased advice and guidance on current rental values.Visit our homepage here for our office location.

We wish you all the very best for 2011.

Warm regards from Richard, James & all the team at Martin & Co Aldershot

The release of the latest unemployment figures indicate that difficult times continue to loom for the UK economy, potentially affecting thousands of private landlords. 

Economists now fear that the UK’s labour market will be unable to sustain the government cuts, and with previously safe jobs in the public sector at risk even those in what were once considered stable jobs could find themselves out of work in the coming months.

This is where Martin & Co (Wokingham & Bracknell) can help. In partnership with HomeLet, the UK’s leading insurance provider for the lettings industry, Martin & Co can provide landlords with fast and accurate tenant referencing and guarantee their rental income should the tenant fail to pay.

Commenting on the lettings market Peter Harris, Principal said: “Finding the right tenants can be a time consuming process but by working in partnership with HomeLet for our tenant referencing we already have a head start. Our tenant references provide landlords with detailed information about prospective tenants including their credit history, employer’s references and previous landlord references.

“Sadly, in the current economic climate there’s no longer any certainty that any tenant, no matter how good their references are, will be able to make their rental payments for the entire tenancy term. That’s why we offer the exclusive Martin & Co Promise, which protects the landlord’s rental income even if one of their tenants goes in to arrears.”

The Martin & Co Promise provides cover for the whole property, no matter how many tenants a landlord has. Martin & Co pay the monthly rent for up to a maximum of 5 months from the first date of arrears and even provide 75% of the rent for 2 months whilst they’re re-marketing the property to find suitable tenants.

Peter continued “I’d strongly urge any landlord to consider protecting their rental income. If a tenant does fail to pay the rent, for what ever reason, landlords may be sympathetic but it could cost them thousands in missed rent and legal fees.

“The Martin & Co Promise also includes access to a specialist legal team who take care of everything on the landlord’s behalf if the worse happens. This really helps to take the stress out of what can be an extremely difficult situation.”

The Martin & Co Promise also provides cover for legal expenses up to £75,000 to cover eviction costs if a tenant fails to pay the rent.