While looking for a property, find out its location, size and the number of rooms. Depending on whether you want the property for yourself or for renting out, there are various factors that you need to take under consideration – find out what to focus on.

Buying a flat or a house is a decision with long-term consequences. What should you choose to enjoy a comfortable life…or an additional and regular profit? When you enter the property market, consider consulting with friends who already have some experience in this field or property market professionals.

Buying a small flat

All flats smaller than 50 sq m are considered small. Studios and one bedroom flats can give you plenty options for arrangement. They can be quite spacious if you arrange them well (i.e. an open kitchen format instead of a traditional kitchen space). The rent for a small flat is considerably lower –  usually no more than 8 PLN per sq m in the new housing estates. Small flats are suitable for people who are not very demanding or are at the beginning of their path (single people and couples). After some time, once the family gets bigger, a small flat can become less comfortable. A studio or a one bedroom flat can be a good investment to start with. Thanks to the fact that they are relatively cheap, they are also easy to sell and buy. They make a perfect option for students or couples who cannot afford their own flat. Such apartments are popular particularly in big cities, full of universities, shopping malls and other opportunities – in such cities a studio or a one bedroom flat can guarantee a stable profit.

To maximize this profit, consider adjusting your small flat to the market standards – if the flat is big enough and has windows in the right places, it can be enlarged by adding an additional wall to divide the space. Sometimes this trick attracts potential tenants and generates even 40% more profit.

3 rooms and more

More rooms mean more space for arrangement, which automatically makes your flat more comfortable but also more expensive to maintain (higher utility bills). Additional rooms can be turned into guest rooms, home offices or leisure rooms – in the bigger flats you can also find walk-in wardrobes, separate toilettes or extra bathrooms. When you buy this type of flat from a secondary market, you might want to immediately rent it out. How could you generate more profit? The first thing is to consider renting it out to as many tenants as possible – however this means more lease agreements to be signed. It can actually be more profitable in a long run. While looking for a suitable property for renting out, try to focus on decay flats, that can help you diversify the source of your passive income. What does this actually mean for an investor?

Terrace houses

Terrace houses with separate entrace give you a sense of privacy comparable to undetached houses, while giving you a lot more freedom and itimacy than blocks of flats. Terrace houses estates are usually located in the suburbs (we are talking properly designed and functional estates) and well connected with the city centre. A garden that comes with a terrace house answers the needs for being close to nature and gives an extra space for leisure and social life in the summer. The con is a limited possibility of arranging a terrace house. You cannot arrange it the way you could with a house that you build from scratch. The set of houses is already pre-designed in a certain way, that can be adjusted just a little bit. The day room is usually located on the ground floor and the bedroom is usually located on the 1st floor, which makes you use the stairs all the time. Terrace houses can be rented out similarly to flats with multiple rooms, that means renting out each room separately. Such houses are often chosen by groups of workers, who are looking for a big and cheap space for rent. If you want a stable income, sign a lease with one person acting only.Terrace houses are also popular with large families, who can, however, be motivated to buy their own house after some time.

Pros and cons of semi-detached houses

The properties sharing one wall in common do not need to look exactly the same but very often they do. There are a middle of the way solution between terrace houses and undetached houses. There are smaller and cheaper than traditional undetached houses. They can be built on a smaller plot but with the same functionality. In addition, the wall in common helps lower the costs of building and heating up the house. One of the cons is a limited possibility of enlarging the house and planning the rooms. The potential renovation of the outside elavation engages both families from both parts of the house. A semi-detached house is comfortable from economical point of view as thanks to its potential it can be easily sold away.

Who is an undetached house for?

An undetached house is not detached to anything else. It gives its tenants a lot of freedom and independence as – following the construction law – it needs to be built at certain distance from the building nearby. This comfort has its price. An undetached house is more expensive than a semi-detached house when it comes to building, buying and using it. The building plots for undetached houses are usually bigger and the lack of neighbours across the wall will result in higher heating bills and other utility bills. Undetached houses are usually built far away from the city centres, which makes  commuting more difficult. Some people consider this distance beneficial and enjoy being far away from work, school or shops. What about the investment possibilities?

Buying an undetached house is not a very popular way of making profit, but this trend can change as more and more people want to live in house outside of the city but do not want to face the difficulties connected with buying or building their own house – so they are interested in renting one, which for them is a perfect option. To sum up, when you choose a property, follow your needs and the needs of your potential tenants and consider your financial capacity. If you buy a property for renting out or selling away, examine carefully the needs of your potential customers. If you do not have much money or needs, choose a smaller flat. If you want comfort or have more money, buy a bigger property. Houses are usually more expensive than flats because of their size and the necessity of buying a building plot. Choose wisely, as your profit depends on your decision. Remember that you loose the most when your property is empty!

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