Letting in Waterford City

Thomas

Hey Guys, I'm thinking of buying a 3 bed house in Waterford City as an investment and was just wondering if anybody knew what the rental market was like there? I'm assuming it's fairly bouyant considering there's a hospital and a college there but I don't have much personal knowledge of the city. I see on DAFT that the monthly rent seems to be around €750 but does anybody know if property actually moves at this rate and how long the vacant periods are?

Thanks

Tom

Lex Luthor

Tom,

I bought a 2 bed terrace in Wexford town last year and I would guess Waterford city to be probably easier to rent.

I originally put an ad in Daft to advertise it for rent and I started getting emails from people abroad asking about it. Not really too much local interest.

Are you intending on letting it to students because now would be a bad time to try with summer coming up? Also, I have been told that doctors & nurses are not your best tenants but I could be proved wrong.

I advertised in the local papers and got a few immediate responses within a day. Best bet for you would be to pick one or 2 of them up and ring a few advertised numbers and see if the properties are being rented out quickly.

best of luck.

Thomas

Hi Lex, thanks a mill for your detailed reply. I'll certainly try your suggestions before signing on the dotted line.

Tom

ToxicPaddy

I'm from Waterford and there are a few different areas in the city that would be classed a prime rental areas.. Some may disagree here, but I'm after buying a property myself and a relative of mine has extensive rental properties around the city so ive been talking to him and others and have done my research before I bought myslf..

The first and obvious place is out around the college, Lismore Park, Lisduggan, Cork Rd areas. But the catch there is that there is a lot of new accommodation after cropping up aimed solely at students, although from what I hear, they are having problems renting all of it.

The next area is out by the hospital. Dumore Rd/Williamstown/Ballygunner area. This area is one of the better areas of town and aswell as a lot of hospital staff, a lot of professionals rent out this way too. However, a catch, there is a lot of development happening out this way and when the new developments open, they are snapped up by either major investors or smaller one off investors who then rent them out and those renting simply move to the next new development as they get a brand new house for the same money. So you then end up with a lot of older unrented property.

The next area is the city centre, kinda obvious. This is mostly apartments and small terreced town houses and some that are in bad need of repair. Down along the river at the back of the Tower hotel towards the park is probably one of the largest concentration of apartment developments in the last few years. Canada Sq, Scotch Marsh, Adelphi Quay etc.. Here you will always see 1, 2 & 3 bed apartments changing hands on a regular basis. They are popular with students and professionals. All relatively new and easy enough to pick up if looking to buy. Can be kinda expensive though.

Around the O'Connell st area of town has a lot of large town houses converted into apartments but this area of town has been attracting a lot of bad attention with drugs etc so prob not a good area to buy in at the moment, although its going through a bit of a regeneration now and there is a 4 or 5 star hotel being built at the end of O'Connell st where the old Metropole hotel used to be. So might be an area to watch for in the future.

Thats about it.. There are other areas, GraceDieu, which is at the top of the town but a bit of a walk from the city centre, still has some rental potential and a new development right in the city centre in Railway Square but these are nearly sold out and those that are left are expensive.

Any questions, drop me a pm and I'll answer any questions I can for you.

Tox

Crubeens

I have a 3 bed place in Scotch Quay and things were very slow last summer when I went to rent it, but just before Christmas I had to rent again and I was mobbed!

Put the ad in local papers and on DAFT and must have got at least 35 calls over a three week period. There are lots of people from places like Latvia and Lithuania keeping the market healthy.

I'm not guaranteeing than you'll have the same experience but I've been doing ok - Tox seems spot on with his analysis of the areas of the city and their potential.

Good luck!