Property Investing in Folkestone - Location, Supply & Demand

As an experienced agent who's been around for a few years, I've become quite used to giving investment landlords my virtual tour of Folkestone when they pop into the office for the first time.

Usually they've come in to talk about one of our sales properties and the conversation switches to whether we think it would stack up financially as an investment property.  This is the point where I reach for my giant laminated map of Folkestone and the virtual tour begins….

Like any town, Folkestone has its good areas, not so good areas and lots more in-between.  Folkestone West is perhaps the most desirable part of Folkestone and the harbour area has the most potential.  The Morehall district of Cheriton benefits from a combination of:

1. Proximity to Folkestone West railway station (and the fast train to London Kings Cross which takes just under and hour) and 

2. A generous supply three and four bedroom houses which are frankly a bit short on supply in Folkestone West.

But whilst "Location, Location, Location" is the mantra for buying your own residential property, there's a little more to think about when you're buying a property investment.  

As a landlord myself I know that yield, or to be more specific return on investment, is important.  But in addition to this I say:

 "Location, Supply & Demand"

Getting these three factors right is, in my humble opinion, the secret of successful property investment.

Location

Purchase an investment property in a desirable area and the tenants who apply to rent your property will be of a higher calibre.

Supply & Demand

Ensure that the supply of the type of property that you're purchasing is outstripped by the demand - in other words - there's plenty of tenants out there looking for properties just like yours.

Get this right, and of course employ the right agent, and you'll get many more good tenants than bad and your void periods will be minimal.  

Good tenants + Shorter Voids      =      Higher Return on Investment + Happy Landlord

This is the essence of my virtual tour of Folkestone when a landlord visits our offices for the first time.  But I can't give them that giant laminated map, so I created a report which outlines:

• Current supply and demand for properties in Folkestone

• Data broken down by property type and number of bedrooms

• Local area map highlighting high or low rental demand locations

I've created a downloadable version of the report and made it available on our website for everyone… and since this information is priceless… it is of course completely free with my compliments.  Here's the link:

Folkestone Rental Market & Property Analysis for Landlords