Useful stuff. A lot does of course depend on location. For apartments in many cities in the north though, there is a clear over supply of blocks of apartments (flats)resulting in landlords having to heavily discount rents and leaving them with a shortfall on current account (and sluggish capital growth.) Most pro landlords I know who live and buy in the north, have in the last 3 years avoided flats and gone for terraced houses with gardens, esp if they are investing anywhere near town centres (though flats in some outer suburbs in some under pockets have admittedly done OK) I think if you can buy a flats that really stands out from the crowd you can still do OK -trouble is so many apartments are just "me too" and boring in design. David Lawrenson

David, You are spot on about apartments. There are so many cities that have just gone crazy building apartments. I live Nottingham and this is no exception. On the contrary, it is far oversupplied in the city centre. There are some nice developments in the suburbs that still sell and rent well but again, we need to watch out as building continues. Small two bed terraces, fairly modern or townhouses are my strategy in these areas, especially if they are near transport routes and amenities. Peter

In many Northern city and town centres there is currently complete oversupply of apartments . Anyone following the strategy outlined in the article by buying apartments here would be throwing money away. There are so many mill conversions as well as new build that prices and rentals are actually falling. In my home town in West Yorkshire, a friend paid £195k for a converted mill apartment 2 or 3 years ago and after trying for over a year to sell is now prepared to take a big loss on the apartment (no, it's not worth buying even at £175k!). I have decided to buy new-build link houses in excellent areas (good schools, transport links, nice shops, etc) and knock the developers down on price as I'm buying-to-let and am not in a chain. I'm currently buying a 3-bed house with garage and garden and have secured a 7% discount from the developers. Does anyone else have any thoughts on this? By the way, The sapartment block on the same newe development has been mothballed. Linda W

Linda – you obviously know the northern market far better than I do. I very much agree with your points about location too. Local knowledge combined with a strong strategy are key to b-t-l – and I wish you very well with your new-build link house investments. Chris B

Thanks, Chris. I'm not expecting these new link houses to boom, but a nice steady 4 or 5% increase per year would return 16 - 20% per annum on my capital invested. My aim is to double my money (i.e. capital invested) in 4 or 5 years. The discount gives me a cushion for the short term. I know that there are huge regional variations. We also have an apartment in London - Islington - and that has shot up in value over the last year and the forecasts look good for next year. In terms of what type of dwelling to buy, I think it's horses for courses and, as you say, local knowledge - or thorough research - count for a lot. Regards, Linda

Linda, I find your comments very interesting and agree completely. I recently started out looking for a property in Romford. There are a number of new apartment developments there, as well as a lot of flats that are 2/5 years old. After speaking to a number of estate agents, letting agents and mortgage brokers I quickly discovered that a) most flats in the area are overpriced - and take some five years to reach their true market level for re-sale(I saw a five-year old two bed flat on the market for GBP213K originally purchased for GBP207K - reduced several times by the vendor); b) 2/3 bed terraced or semi-detached houses offer much better value c) there is a shortage of houses as opposed to flats for rental; d)most new developments consist of small 1/2 bed apartments - very few new houses are being built. I eventually found a 2-bed semi for under GBP190K which made me happy. All of this indicates that, in Romford, houses represent a much better opportunity for buy-to-let than flats, both in terms of potential capital growth (shortage of houses will continue while there may be a glut of flats) and for rental. On the other hand, I own a conversion flat in Central London that has done incredibly well and no doubt will continue to do so!! Horses for courses, as you say Best Wishes, Tim

Tim, I was very interested to read about your experiences in Romford. After the PS articles on the area, I too am thinking of investing here. Did you invest as a result of reading the these articles, or was it an area you were already considering? Your research was obviously time well spent and I will certainly bear it in mind if we do purchase here. £190k for a 2-bed semi sounds like a very good investment. Can I ask you, did you put in a low offer or was that the full asking price? Best wishes for success in the New Year, Linda