Why invest locally?
We started Prime Path Homes two years ago, and choosing to invest in our own backyard has been a key driver of our success. Yet, many investors choose to look further afield to chase deals. Here is why keeping it local is often the smarter move.
Strategy Dictates Location
Any property decision must be driven by your personal strategy and goals. Skipping this step leads to poor buying choices, friction, or, more commonly, analysis paralysis.
When defining a strategy, you must answer two core questions:
1. What is the goal? Are you looking to generate immediate cashflow, or build long-term capital appreciation?
2. What are your constraints? Are you time-poor and cash-rich, or vice versa? What is your risk appetite?
Risk can never be reduced to zero. Whether it is planning risk, refurbishment overruns, tenant issues, or interest rate fluctuations, different strategies carry different risk profiles.
When Local Investing Wins: The BRRR Strategy
If your strategy relies on adding value through refurbishment and holding properties for reliable, long-term rental income, a local strategy is unmatched.
To recycle capital and achieve strong yields, we use the BRRR (Buy, Refurbish, Rent, Refinance) strategy. This involves taking on properties that need modernization, floorplan optimization, or planning navigation.
To execute this successfully, you need two things:
· On-the-Ground Oversight: You cannot easily manage a heavy refurbishment from 200 miles away.
· A Trusted 'Power Team': Building a network of reliable local contractors and professionals is vital. Being able to meet on-site or grab a coffee to solve a problem keeps projects on track and builds genuine partnerships.
The Micro-Market Advantage
There is a fundamental truth in property: Location is everything.
To generate strong cashflow, you need a robust rental market with strong demographics and employment. Exeter ticks these boxes perfectly. But choosing the right property requires street-by-street analysis.
Even in a strong city like Exeter, two parallel streets can have completely different prospects.
· Which streets attract long-term professional families?
· If targeting students, which streets rent first, and which are left as a last resort?
Deep local knowledge allows you to spot "needle in a haystack" opportunities on the portals, and, just as importantly, quickly rule bad deals out.
Yield vs. Hands-Off Capital Growth
Of course, local investing isn't for everyone. A hands-off investor with spare capital and limited time might target long-term capital growth in northern employment centres, relying on local sourcing agents.
Similarly, some investors chase cheap, high-yield properties on paper. But we always ask one filtering question: "Will I still enjoy owning this property in 15 years?"
For us, the answer lies in the stronger-performing areas of Exeter. Opportunities here are scarcer, but deep local insight allows us to find them.
Our Exeter Success Story
We love living in Exeter, and we take pride in providing high-quality homes for our community.
Our tenants include local healthcare professionals working near the hospital, young couples enjoying city-centre living, and students who need comfortable, well-located study spaces.
Since starting this business in 2024, my dog Pepe and I have swapped some of our countryside walks for urban routes. Walking through St Thomas, Newtown, Heavitree, St James, and St Loyes has allowed me to study these micro-markets intimately. Getting to know Exeter as an investor—not just a resident—has been both highly rewarding and the cornerstone of our business.