PropertywithKen

Personal Use (Owner-Occupied Property) When buying your main residence, it is almost always simpler and more advantageous to hold title in your own name.  Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) for a first home is zero on the first £425,000 (as of 2025) with no 3% surcharge – whereas a company always pays the higher corporate…

Understanding the latest data is crucial for landlords and investors. Recent reports paint a mixed picture: UK rental growth has slowed significantly. As of summer 2025, rents on new lets rose only 2.4% year-over-year[16] – the weakest pace in four years. Demand is cooling: tenant enquiries are about 24% lower than a year ago[28] as…

“Deal sourcing” in the UK means actively finding investment properties and often packaging them for investors. Professional property sourcers use multiple channels to uncover bargains. Below are key methods UK investors should consider: In all these approaches, follow a data-driven process: analyze yield, local market trends and comparables before committing. Smart investors combine multiple strategies…

Off-market deals are properties sold privately, not advertised on public portals or estate agent windows. Savvy investors use this “secret market” to avoid bidding wars. In the UK, roughly 7.4% of home sales are off-market (and over a third of £1M+ sales)[26]. Sellers go off-market for confidentiality or speed, and buyers hope to pay below-market…

Short-term lets (like Airbnb or holiday rentals) can generate much higher income than long-term rentals – often 2–3× the equivalent monthly rent – but at the cost of significantly more management. The UK currently has around 396,000 active Airbnb listings[24]. Top-demand cities include London, Edinburgh and Manchester, especially in summer. However, competition is growing. VisitBritain…

Rent-to-Rent and HMO investing both aim to maximise rental income, but they work differently. Rent-to-Rent (R2R) means leasing an entire property (often on a long-term tenancy) and then subletting it by the room. You don’t own the building; instead, you earn the spread between the total rents you collect and the lease payments to the…

House flipping means buying a property below market value, renovating it, and selling it quickly for profit[21]. This short-term investment strategy has gained momentum in 2024 as many undervalued homes (often left under-maintained post-pandemic) become ripe for renovation[22]. In essence, flipping is all about the turnaround: purchase a “fixer-upper,” invest in cost-effective improvements, then sell…

Buy-to-Let remains a cornerstone for UK property investors seeking steady income. Recent data shows the average gross UK buy-to-let yield is ~6.9%[17], meaning rents of roughly 7% of property value before costs. Regional differences are notable – e.g. some North-East locations offer yields above 8%, while London is nearer 5–6%. Even so, many landlords benefit…

BRRRR stands for Buy, Refurbish, Rent, Refinance, Repeat. It’s a powerful UK property tactic to grow your portfolio faster. First, you buy a house at or below market value – often a distressed or overlooked property. Next, you refurbish it smartly (modernize kitchens/bathrooms, fix essential issues) to add significant value. Then you rent it out…

Off-plan investing means buying new-build homes before completion. UK government plans to build 1.5 million new homes by 2030[10] have flooded the market with new off-plan projects nationwide. This creates unique opportunities: off-plan units are often priced below the market value of completed homes[11]. Early-stage buyers may pay less (developers commonly offer early-bird discounts during…