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DOHA: Qatari investors buying residential properties in the United Kingdom, for investment purposes, are best advised to buy a traditional Georgian or Victorian houses in a prime location and renovate and furnish it, rather than buying new build houses, Michelle Grant, Investment Director of UK-based property firm Grant Property, said at a seminar in Doha yesterday.
By doing so, investors stood a better chance of earning higher rental income, because such properties are much sought after by young professionals, who can afford to pay high rentals for furnished accommodation in prime locations, she informed.
With a proven track record of over 20 years, Grant Property, she said, had helped investors ‘cherry pick’ and buy over 2,000 properties. For example, a traditional property in London purchased for £300,000 after renovation and furnishing it at a cost of £39,500 would fetch a rent of £1700 per week instead £750 for an unfurnished accommodation.
Firms, like Grant Property charge 1.5 percent of the value for survey, 6 percent for furnishing and 15 percent for rent management. She made a mention that UK property value had grown at an average rate of 7 per cent per year in the last 30 years, while the loan-to-value ratio would be a much higher 28 percent per year.
According to a recent report in The Peninsula, the Brexit-induced fall in the value of British pound had evoked significant response from Qatari private investors keen on buying properties in the UK. As per DTZ Qatar statistics, Qatari investors own approximately £1bn (QR4.7bn) worth of residential properties in London, with the majority in Mayfair.
Simon Green, Partner and head of UK-headquartered law firm Charles Russell Speechlys’ Doha office, said the post-Brexit uncertainty made the present time the best to buy property in the UK. Investors should, however, understand that this opportunity would be lost once the UK economy grew again. Besides, many Chinese and Far Eastern property buyers are also buying property in the country.
During the seminar, Green spoke about UK tax laws and conveyancing, while Rupert Bastick, General Manager, Qatar of AES International Financial Services, spoke about private offshore banking and UK property mortgage regulations. Potential property buyers were cautioned that buying property in the UK, though an attractive proposition, could lead to pitfalls if one did not have a qualified and well-experienced advisers.
At the beginning of the seminar, Bastick told the gathering that it was important to get the mortgage arrangements done well in advance, before making an offer on a property because on an average this could take 14 weeks and the earliest would be eight to nine weeks. The buyer stood the risk of his offer being overlooked when the stipulated time elapses, if the mortgage arrangements are not made.
© The Peninsula 2016
