Landlords look for ‘doer-uppers’ when investing in property

Landlords look for “doer-uppers” when investing property and typically spend £8,500 a year on improvements across their portfolios, research from Paragon Bank has revealed.

The research, which surveyed 500 landlords, found that when investing in property, 44 per cent of respondents said they target homes that require some form of improvement, while a quarter are more likely to purchase properties that are ready to rent.

Meanwhile, just under a third (32 per cent) said they had no preference between the two investment strategies.

Louisa Sedgwick, managing director of mortgages at Paragon Bank, said: “The findings of our research align with official government data showing how the last 15 years has seen the proportion of PRS properties classed as ‘non decent’ fall from 41 per cent to 21 per cent.

“Of course, there’s still work to do to ensure that all tenants live in safe, comfortable homes, so it’s great to see many landlords are already actively improving their portfolios, especially as this a key facet of the Renter’s Rights Bill.”