While a rental property with a tenant already in place may be a desirable feature for many buy-to-let investors, they are likely to struggle to find this added bonus in the London market.
In the capital just 2% of the current listings have a tenant in situ, research by London agent Benham and Reeves has revealed.
In contrast the North West has the largest abundance of pre-tenanted buy-to-let investment properties, accounting for 21% of the national total.
The South East ranks second at 16%, although Yorkshire and the Humber (14%), the East Midlands (13%), East of England (11%) and West Midlands (11%) also offer a similar degree of tenanted property investment opportunities.
Buy-to-let investments with a tenant in place are fewer and further between in the South West and North East, with each region accounting for just 5% of the national total respectively.
Marc von Grundherr, director of Benham and Reeves, said: “Void periods can be a significant thorn in the side for buy-to-let investors and will seriously reduce the earning potential of their investment if they drag on for too long.
“So a tenanted property can make for a very appealing investment opportunity as it allows a rental income to be generated as soon as the deal has been done.
“While London is home to the lowest proportion of tenanted property availability for current investors, they need not worry.
“Such is the imbalance across the capital’s rental market that any available stock is letting at a phenomenal pace and so they can rest assured that if they do bring an empty property on the market, any void period is likely to be very short lived.”
Investing in a property with a tenant already in place is one way to hit the ground running, as not only are there no initial void periods, but you also save time and money during the stages with respect to tenant finding fees, as well as the referencing and deposit process.
