Investment Enables Offices to Homes Conversion

A Bristol community group set up to convert empty office buildings into affordable housing has secured a £425,000 mortgage to fund its first scheme. Abolish Empty Office Buildings (AEOB), a community benefit society launched in 2013, has already raised around £300,000 from a community share offer to purchase a property in East Bristol. It is now able to start building work after being given a mortgage from Triodos Bank this week. The property will be refitted and extended to create six flats capable of housing up to 10 residents. The first tenants are expected to move into secure rented accommodation before the end of 2016. AEOB wants to raise a total £400,000 through community shares to “expedite repayment of the loan”, before looking to develop further sites. Read more on the AEOB website.

Buy-To-Let Hotspots Revealed

Landlords looking to invest in buy-to-let properties are still flocking to the capital, as London sits at the top of a list of UK hotspots. It's closely followed by Birmingham and Bristol in the top 20 areas where buy-to-let properties have been bought in the last year, according to data from Barclays Mortgages. Nottingham, Manchester and Leeds also saw a big jump in demand. London landlords also unsurprisingly get the biggest monthly rental revenues, with an average income of £1,900 per month. However, while Barclays highlighted rental amounts, it failed to drill down into the yields on offer - rental return as a percentage of purchase price.  Read more on the Daily Mail website.