Hello……..............First of all two words, BE CAREFUL………..I am 24 and been in property since the age of 19! I worked as an estate agent, bought and sold property myself and most recently worked as a buyer sourcing property for a residential property investment company so have been lucky enough to view the industry from all angles………….

All though I reside in the Northeast and culturally there are differences, ultimately the fundamentals remain the same. Research, “Buy to let” personally I would be speaking to letting agents, they know what and where lets effectively and what is yielding the greatest rents……Be very wary of estate agents, It’s a highly competitive industry and they will say pretty much anything to get a sale (more so in today’s climate), with primarily letting agents you will be more likely to get an impartial opinion as they want property that lets quick……………………

”Developing” developing again is hugely competitive and margins are becoming smaller so buying as low as possible is a must. Don’t be afraid of being cheeky with an offer either, the worst that can happen is someone says no but the agent is been paid to negotiate so try and gain the upper hand. ALWAYS ask how long a property has been on the market, find out the vendors circumstances, how many viewings has there been and how many offers, all valuable information………………….If you do decide to develop to sell remember this, Low selling fees and high valuations are a bad combination!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Property investment companies…………………Like estate agents want your business, be careful who you deal with and try and speak to people that have used particular companies before. More commonly investment companies employ what’s known as “back to backing” strategy in the industry. Although they are the face of the purchase and contact with the agent, generally they never own the property they are “buying” and tend to act as a middle man in the process making substantial margins. These companies often act for investors outside of the region the operate and offer a complete package with a range of services including, sourcing property, refurbishing and property management. Some of these companies are great however like in any business there are some unscrupulous operators so again be careful…………….Quite a rant but hope some of the info helps