I am a 26 year old student doctor with an aim of investing in buy to let property around the Midlands in 2019. Like many aspiring property investors I have been eagerly attending property investing events and reading as much information on the subject as possible. Everyone seems to have a different opinion on what is best to invest in..the best location..where to start...the list goes on. Fortunately, I met an investor at a networking event, who recommended “One and Only Pro”. I had never heard of it before and I signed up a week trial and I have since paid for a subscription.

I have found “One and Only Pro” an honest source of information and a good place to streamline information about buy to let property. Despite being initially skeptical about paying for subscription, this cost may be small when comparing to the time that “One and Only Pro” may save me in identifying a suitable property. “One and Only Pro” is a relatively new company and can be several days behind other websites in identifying suitable property. The developers have identified this issue and the times that a property is marketed has noticeable improved in a short space of time. An advantage of “One and Only Pro” is that each property is given a ranking from 0-10, with a high number suggesting a more desirable buy to let. It may be helpful for “One and Only Pro” to provide more information on how this score is calculated for each property.

I have a relatively small budget and I am open to buying flats as a buy to let. I have found it  difficult to estimate a net yield for a flat without a service charge and ground rent, particularly as these costs are not routinely advertised by the seller of a property. A useful function of “One and Only Pro” is that each property will have their service charge, ground rate and utility bills automatically estimated. This is helpful to quickly calculate your net return for each property. It would be helpful if “One and Only Pro” could include ground rent and service charge for each individual property if this was made available by the seller of the property.  The website may be improved by being able to view all of my saved properties on a map and to identify any property that has been reduced in price by the seller. The later may help me to identify value for money in property.

In conclusion, despite being initially skeptical about the subscription free, I have found “One and Only Pro” invaluable to identify and view property with a potential high yield. I look forward to using “One and Only Pro” in the future.

Property Goals for 2019

I find it helpful to track my goals and I will check back on here each month to identify how I am going with “One and Only Pro”. I aim to acquire two properties around the Midlands in 2019 and I am eager to use “One and Only Pro” to help me achieve this goal. The first property will be a residential property during my two years as a junior doctor. I aim to convert this property to a let to buy after these initial two years. The second property will be a simple buy to let. I am budgeting approximately 160 k for two properties and I am targeting high yielding 2-3 bedroom flats and houses.

Property Goals for February.

·         Arrange 10-20 property viewings. Initially around the Walsall area looking at 2-3 bedroom flats and 2-3 bedroom semi detached. All are found on “One and Only Pro” (using a rating above 8).

·         Begin to network  suitable “power team” in property. I hope to initially include a potential accountant, letting agent, mortgage broker and property mentor.

·         Meet a mortgage broker to discuss mortgage options. I will have an initial capital of approx 35-40 k from April 2019.

I will check back in a few weeks with my progress.

Sam