Hi oZinvestor,

Is there such a thing as a "good investment company"?

I bought some stock properties last year from "finders", and my experience is pretty much the same as the majority of investors in new build property.

1 You can borrow over 100% of the money required to control the property
2 Rents are always inflated, and you end up cash flow negative (I'm not saying this is a surprise, but mine are more cash flow negative than I had predicted)
3 Initial voids adds to the cash outflow
4 There are many new builds in the same area, so rents are kept down by investors keen to get SOME return instead of no return
5 There will be a period of adjustment in the prices, and the first few years the resale price will be less than you had paid, even getting your 15% to 23% discount to list price

Bottom line:
Newbuilds are not for everybody. In time, they may turn out to be decent long term holds, but they eat your cash after buying them, so make sure you have deep pockets to continue holding them.

If it's cash flow that's important (and it should be), you can't beat a good, old fashioned 2 bed terraced house in the UK.