cork city what area is offering value with good letting potential?

Hi
A family member is looking to buy a house in the city area, he will live in it and is a ftb but will have to rent out 2 rooms to be able to afford the re-payments. He is looking at spending around 330 -340. He has looked mainly in the Douglas area what other area would be considered a good rental area, I feel he might get more for his money else where. He feels that he would get good rental return in Douglas but are there other areas that would give a similar return he hope to achieve a rental income of approx 360 pm per room. He has checked and this seems to be the rent for a good property. Does anyone have other ideas where he should be looking? if he moved out a little further from the city but still on a bus route would he still get this kind of rent and possibly more house for his money. All advise welcome

Hi, not exactly Cork City but Ballincollig is another good rental area and rental income seems to be holding its own, it has everything there and within walking distance of a lot of housing developments, bus route to the City is ok'ish and the south link on the door step. Its a nice place to live. Why not do a bit of research on Daft, would give you a good idea of rental income in various areas in line with the type of property in mind, i.e type of room to rent / en suite / double / single - refuse / bills / sky / broadband included or excluded. Its a good starting point at least.

Moved from Location, Location, Location
to Property Investment

I have been letting property in Cork City for 8 years - as have friends of mine. both of mine are in the City Centre near the university and city (midway between). If he wants sub-urban living, then Douglas is def. a good bet - ameneties are excellent. However, in Cork I would be wary about over-stocking in the suburbs. A lot of units have been built (and bought by investors) in the past 5 years in Douglas, Midelton, Ballincollig etc. Great places but it does mean the over-suply can result in empty rooms / units for a while before letting. Also if he intends to sell in 5+ years time, suburb sales in these areas are slower and tighter in terms of captial appreciation (again over-supply). My bet would be to buy right in the cit centre to get a higher guarantee of rental all time, plus a better sale out the other end in years to come. The demand for city centre is limited by little development land left, particularly around the University side where the demand is high. Prices are also good at the moment around the city centre (I know as I had to drop 20k off mine recently to try and move it!) - Not bias completely to the city - just know a lot of people who have empty rooms and units in the 'burbs' right now and the city doesn't seem to have that problem?

Why doesn't he just wait - with the bubble bursting he'll most likely be in a much better position in 6/12 months time?