This month we talk to Melinda who uses Buy To Let Hunter to manage her flat in Richmond as short-term serviced accommodation – it really is the best of both worlds.
So, what were you hoping to achieve?
Melinda has a fabulous central Richmond flat in which she lives from time to time.
She keeps one bedroom in the flat locked - filled with her personal belongings - but otherwise, the flat is set up as a luxurious home-from-home experience for guests.
With a great location overlooking rugby fields and the golf club just a short walk away, the flat has a fully equipped kitchen and has some fabulous art and decorative flourishes which make it a truly spectacular place to stay.
Melinda explains that asking Buy To Let Hunter to manage her flat makes sense whilst she is spending time abroad.
“I wanted to keep my flat, to maintain a toe-hold in London, but it is a purely commercial decision to ‘sweat my assets’ whilst I choose to live somewhere else.”
The rental income allows Melinda to keep up her active lifestyle as she skis or sails (depending on the season) in Europe, but equally offers her a pied-a-terre for visiting her family and local chums back in Blighty.
She explains that she is of a vintage for whom the traditional working pension didn’t suit – instead she and many of her contemporaries invested in properties in the 80s and 90s, and now depend on that rental income as they reach and start to enjoy their retirement.
Why did you choose BTLH?
Melinda explained “The onset of the pandemic caused a serious shortage of options in the lettings market. The world quickly changed in rental terms.”
She spoke to the agents who used to handle her property and found their model to no longer fit her purpose as she needed shorter lets to enable her to come and go from time to time.
The BTLH model is flexible, inclusive and more cost-effective for her needs:
“The old agents were proposing a 25% charge on any rental income and then a range of obligatory expenses that added up to £500-£600 for every letting! That just wasn’t sustainable.”
The agent was billing her for inventory and administrative costs with every new guest which seemed to be in addition to the fees she was already paying. “It’s one thing if you are planning lets for a year or more, but it really didn’t make sense for the shorter-term serviced accommodation model that I needed,” she explained.
Melinda was also unsure about the due diligence as references for her potential tenants always seemed to be outsourced – “BTLH have a much more personal and less algorithmic approach!” she laughed.
It’s one of the many advantages of having a very small office – we do get to know most of our guests…!
So Melinda, how has your experience been working with BTLH?
“It’s been very good!” she explained from a lovely spot in her chalet in the mountains of Switzerland where she is looking forward to the ski season ahead.
She explained she has a lot of girlfriends in “buy to let” who are local to their own properties so don’t need to rely as heavily on management.
“I can trust BTLH to make the right decisions on my behalf when I’m away and it helps finance my lifestyle whilst still retaining the ultimate flexibility. I’m not able to afford to just leave the flat standing but I have the security of knowing I have a bolt-hole I can visit as and when.”
Do you fancy a bit of a nomad retirement with a little added security like Melinda?
If you would like to chat to BTLH about sourcing an investment apartment for you, or if it would make sense to convert an existing rental property into serviced accommodation why not give us a call? We are growing like topsy and would be very happy to have a chat about your options.
Get in touch and have a chat
- 020 7550 9396
- hello@buytolethunter.com
- For more info buytolethunter.com
