Time for an annual portfolio review?
With the new portfolio lending criteria that came into effect last October, it’s more important than ever to make sure you carry out a review of your property investments at least once a year, to check how they’re performing and whether your capital is still in the best place, working as you want and need it to.
1. Do your LTVs stack up?
· Purchase price in Jan 2008 £150,000
· 90% LTV mortgage (int. only) £135,000
· Value in 2018 £176,805
· (average UK house price increased by 17.87% between Q1 2008 and Q4 2017)**
· 75% max LTV mortgage (int. only) £132,604
Then speak to your local agent to secure an idea of how much the property is worth or secure a formal valuation from a RICS surveyor at https://www.ricsfirms.com/
2. Are you on the right mortgage deals?
3. Are your properties keeping up with averages?
4. Are your costs as low as possible?
The cost of the utilities, products and services you use in your property business are constantly changing, as a result of competition, availability or the wider economy. That means your expenditure can go up and down – but usually up! - so it’s well worth checking whether there are better deals available. At the same time, remember that you rarely get value for money from the cheapest option, so do balance the spend versus the quality of the product or service.
5. Review your rent