Flats in Falkirk – worth a look at 7% yields with limited capital needed

I was talking to one of my landlords from Larbert the other week about the buy to let property market in Falkirk, when the subject of flats (properties not shoes – see picture!), and in particular whether they would make a good investment, came up.

He said that he was not keen on flats because he had heard people lose money on them in the past and, anyway, he wouldn’t want to climb stairs to a flat or suffer getting no peace in a flat as a result of noisy neighbours.  This is a reaction I have heard a few times so I thought that I would look into the buy to let flat market in Falkirk a bit further.

First of all, let’s take the personal stuff.  As with all buy to let investments, it’s about the returns you can make on the property rather than whether you would want to live in a property.  A flat wouldn’t be my first choice to live now but I was very happy living in flats when I was younger and, anyway, I am no longer renting. 

Secondly, let’s have a look at the financial stuff. 

There is a strong argument that buying a flat these days is not an issue as they are sensibly priced, the error people made in the past was buying them at the start of this century for more than the price of a house.

If you are a landlord with a limited budget, you can still find a decent property to let in Falkirk. Typically, a reasonably priced one bedroomed flat can be bought for around £61,000 in Falkirk – the average rent for this sort of property is likely to be around £350 per month so that’s a yield of around 7%.  A similar two bedroomed flat in Falkrik can be bought for around £84,000 and will also give you a yield of around 6.5% based on the average rent for these properties of around £450.  In either case, £61,000 to £84,000 is not that much for a buy to let property – assuming a 75% mortgage, that’s only £15,000 to £21,000 capital down to get a property.

We hope you find our posts useful.  If you want some advice on this property, another property you have in mind or anything else property related, come and see us in our office (6 Vicar Street, Falkirk), phone us (01324 469840) or email us (falkirk@thekeyplace.co.uk).