Does your buy-to-let investment add up?

It's one of the most common questions I get - albeit worded in a variety of ways - when it comes to buy-to-let investments: what's the best return I can get on my money?

And it's not a question I can answer fully for the individual without asking a lot more questions.

Do you ever intend to live in the property?

Does it matter where in the country it is - do you want to be within travelling distance of the property personally; do you care if it's in a less desirable neighbourhood?

Have you weighed the cost of a letting agent vs the time and money spent finding tenants and fixing and maintaining the property yourself?

There's a lot more goes into that 'money in, money out' equation than simply the price paid for the property and the rent you take in - those are just a few of the most obvious examples.

But of course, that equation is significantly impacted by what you pay for the property and how much income you can make. That's what led us to create the Yield Calculator Tool, a handy matrix dubbed by our readers as The Landlord's Friend!

Regardless of house price changes, the effects of Brexit, trends in the rental market - the mathematical facts presented in this at-a-glance cheat sheet will not change.

As it's coming up to Christmas, I'm feeling generous, so if you sign up to the newsletter within the next 5 days, I will send a free pdf copy of The Landlord's Friend to say thank you to our new and loyal subscribers alike, so look out for that next week!

Next week it's the first of our last ever Quarterly Market Reports! As I've already mentioned, I've been taking stock and studying the analytics, and while many of you do enjoy the facts and figures of the QMR articles, you're overwhelmingly voting with your virtual feet for the more investment-focused pieces.

So, in 2019 the QMRs step aside to make room for more of what you want, plus some new investment-related content that I'm confident you will enjoy too.

As always, you're the boss so get in touch to let me know what you think, and if you have any ideas for the blog and newsletter. Email info@thebelfastpropertyblog.com, pop into or phone the Lisburn Road branch, or join the conversation over on Facebook, Twitter and Linked In.