I hope you all enjoyed the long weekend. I had a great weekend with family and spent some time planning for the next 3 months.

I also managed to catch up on some local news over the weekend and Rightmove have provided some interesting stats on the Medway rental market; Gillingham has one of the highest growth in rents outside of our capital city.

They state that Gillingham’s average rent price for a two bedroom property is now £842, which represents a 39% increase in the last decade, giving it the third highest growth outside of London. And Chatham was not far behind with a 38% rise. That area can now attract rents of around £830 per month.

Dartford topped the list with a 41% increase with the average monthly cost for a two-bedroom home now £1,063. I highlight this area because it is an area I can personally cite reference too. Home-Share (my HMO management company) is managing properties in the Bexley Borough with Benjamin Campbell, our local representative.  This increase in price shows it could be a great opportunity for cashflow and capital growth.

Benjamin says, “People’s circumstances change throughout life and HMOs offer affordable homes, whether it be for a 6 month stop gap or 5 years whilst an individual lives close to their workplace. A lot of investors in Bexley have realised the high profit you can make from letting rooms in your property to individual tenants on separate tenancy agreements.”

If you wish to discuss this further you can call him on 07958 713914, or email him at benjamin@home-share.co.uk.

Perhaps the French government have it right. I heard that they offer an interest free loan of nearly £20k for people buying old houses to renovate. I’m not sure how accurate that is but it sounds like a great idea to make use of empty properties in the UK and try and address some of the housing shortage issues.

If you are looking to invest in Medway or are a landlord considering HMO letting, I’m happy to provide some free advice. Connect with me via LinkedIn, join our discussion group over on Facebook or email me at hasan@home-share.co.uk .