Absolutely Colin. Just highlighting the difference in areas, no real regrets if I’m honest.
It worked out fine for us in the West Yorkshire region, just needed a lot more units to get there. There is a benefit to that scenario also in that a vacant property is a much smaller percentage loss of income out of a larger portfolio, plus we got away from London…!
We tended towards converting big old properties which also created a substantial forced appreciation value, kept us busy and allows us to argue the case that not all landlords are limiting first time buyer opportunities since all of our properties were created from uninhabitable buildings thereby adding to the housing stock.
Pleased to hear commercial worked for you.
I also considered commercial many moons ago, no regrets there when I see the numbers of vacant boarded up retail outlets. The big attraction was the reduced management involvement with FIRL’s but I think they are a bit more risky than residential.