Hi Blue Sky,

My advice to steer well clear of Manchester city centre, it is full of overpriced and empty apartments. There is too much supply and not enough demand. This is having a negative effect on prices of apartments, which in some cases are priced above houses with the same number of bedrooms - a sure sign that something is not right. There are some very good value red brick terraced houses not far from the city centre, but my advice to look at areas where the tram is being extended such as Chortlon-cum-Hardy, which as a large rental market for young professionals and students and where you could get two good quality flats for your £400K. But why not buy one property in Manchester and diversify your risk by buying another abroad such as Germany, France or Sweden. West Germany in particular is very undervalued in major cities such as Frankfurt or Hamburg.

Good luck.

Simon

Blue Sky - the trick is to invest in an area with a local hospital, government building etc,

You then get a constant flow of Renters looking to rent in that area, I have two houses in Sheffield, near the local Hallamshire hospital, which I have never had problems renting out to Junior Doctors etc

Eton,
you may be correct in other areas, and indeed Manchester has alot of large hospitals, but it is seriously swamped with most sorts of accomodation. Admitidly City centre flats are the worst.

SunnyShores - I'm not an expert on Manchester, so I bow to your greater knowledge on the area.

but there are free property websites like Free-House-Agent that have some links to hospitals, and without fail I always rent my houses to doctors (or similar) with them.

Not sure if they cover Mancherster, but they may do.

If you are getting a genuine discount, yes I would buy in the city centre

As an investor with Manchester stock, I too would caution against buying into Manchester city centre. Prices are dropping and have a ripple effect on the suburbs. Rental voids are common and, as other Members have wisely suggested, there is too much competition for the pool of tenants.

My advice as a property journalist is to split your £400,000 in half and buy two properties in York, which has a healthy pool of tenants and a healthy capital appreciation. The University of York is about to double in size and the city is enduringly popular. If you like the sound of this I can suggest some stock to you as I know the city well and have investments in York too. They far out-perform grey and drizzly Manchester!

Good luck with whatever you decide.
Kind regards
Michele Andrew

I too would steer clear of city centre Manchester, unless you can find a repossesion. My personal preference is for commercial property or mixed use.

Hmm.. but what about the magnificant team of man u..? I'd stay there just for THAT!

Manchester is due to re-invent itself in 2011. The BBC is moving about 10,000 jobs in from London, if this goes ahead many people who already have families in London (and dont want to move to Manchester straightaway or at all) will be scrambling for one bed flats that they can use during the week.

İf you was from London,would you really want to live permantly in Manchester ..??

I also heard that a certian London football team are moving to Russia.

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