Welcome to Skyward Property Services!
Most People Who Want a Property Portfolio Never Build One
It isn’t usually money that stops them. It’s that the work sits outside the day job and never quite becomes urgent.
To buy well, you need to know a market you don’t live in. You need to know whether £95,000 for a terrace in Hendon is a fair price or a bad one. You need a builder who turns up, a letting agent who answers the phone, and a solicitor who doesn’t take five months. Then you need to do the whole thing again for the second property.
Most people get as far as browsing Rightmove on a Sunday evening and stop there.
We do that work instead. You provide the capital and the goals. We find the deal, buy it, refurbish it, let it, and hand you a property that pays you every month.
What We Actually Do
We source buy-to-let property in the North East of England, mainly Sunderland, Darlington, Middlesbrough, and Stockton-on-Tees, and manage the whole process through to a paying tenant or social housing provider.
That means off-market sourcing, due diligence on price and planning status, negotiation, legal coordination, refurbishment (if required) through local trusted contractors, and handover to a letting agent (we’ve worked with before) or social housing provider. One point of contact throughout.
The property is in your name or your company’s. Everything done for you from start to finish!
A Real Deal, In Full
Three-bed semi-detached, Bishop Auckland, DL14. Tenant-ready on completion, so no refurbishment and no void.
What It Cost to Get In
|
Purchase price |
£75,000 |
|
Deposit at 25% |
£18,750 |
|
Stamp duty (additional property rate) |
£3,750 |
|
Legal fees |
£1,500 |
|
Survey |
£250 |
|
Mortgage broker fee |
£500 |
|
Sourcing fee (£4,000 + VAT) |
£4,800 |
|
Refurbishment |
£0 |
|
Total cash in |
£29,550 |
What It Earns Each Month
|
Rent |
£700.00 |
|
Mortgage (75% LTV, 5.25% interest only) |
-£246.09 |
|
Letting agent management at 12% |
-£84.00 |
|
Insurance |
-£40.00 |
|
Maintenance and void allowance |
-£30.00 |
|
Net monthly cashflow |
£299.91 |
The Return
|
Gross yield |
11.2% |
|
Net annual income |
£3,599 |
|
Return on capital employed |
12.2% |
|
Capital growth at 4% a year * |
£3,000 |
|
Total annual return |
£6,599 |
|
Combined return on capital employed * |
22.3% |
* Capital growth is modelled at 4% a year. This is an assumption, not a guarantee. It sits below Savills’ five-year forecast for the North East, and growth is unrealised until the property is sold or refinanced.
So 12.2% per year in cash you can spend, and 22.3% once asset growth is accounted for. On £29,550 of your own money, in a property you never have to visit.
Every figure above is from a property we sourced. Nothing is modelled optimistically — management is costed at 12%, and there’s a monthly allowance for maintenance and voids built in before we quote a return.
What It Costs to Use Us
£4,000 plus VAT for a property that’s ready to let. £5,000 plus VAT where we manage a refurbishment.
That’s the whole fee. No percentage of purchase price, no ongoing charge, and no markup on building work — contractors are paid directly, and you see the schedule of works before anything starts.
Most sourcers won’t put their fees on a website. We’d rather you knew before the call than found out at the end of one.
Why the North East
The gap between northern rents and northern prices is the widest it has been in years. Sunderland currently shows the highest average gross yield of any UK city at around 9.3%, on an average buy-to-let price near £85,000. Across the North East, rents rose 6.3% in the year to June 2026 against 3.4% for England.
Middlesbrough shows the same pattern more sharply. Average prices were flat year on year at around £136,000 while rents rose 8.4%. When rents climb, and prices don’t, yields expand.
Compare that to a London flat at 3% gross, and the arithmetic answers itself.
What’s Changed in the Rules
Two things every investor should understand before buying now.
The Renters’ Rights Act came into force on 1 May 2026. Section 21 is gone, and existing tenancies have converted to assured periodic tenancies. Possession now runs through Section 8 with defined grounds. It makes tenant selection and agent quality matter far more than they used to.
From 1 October 2030, every private rented property needs an EPC of C or better, with a £10,000 cost cap per property before an exemption can be registered. Much of the older terraced stock in the North East currently sits at D or E. We price that work into every deal we assess rather than leaving you to discover it in 2029.
Who This Isn’t For
If you have less than £50,000 to deploy, the numbers don’t work well enough to justify the fee. Speak to us again when you do.
If you want to approve every decision, choose the kitchen units and speak to the builder yourself; you’ll be frustrated by how we work. Some people enjoy that side of property. If that’s you, do it yourself and keep the fee.
If you’re expecting 15% yields and no voids, we’re not going to be the ones telling you that exists.
How It Works
- A conversation
We talk through what you’re trying to achieve, what capital you have, and your timescale. If we’re not a fit, we say so on that call.
- Sourcing
We find properties matching your criteria and send you the numbers laid out exactly as above — cash in, monthly position, yield, return, and the planning and licensing status.
- Acquisition
We negotiate, coordinate solicitors and manage the purchase to completion.
- Refurbishment
Where needed. Managed through local contractors on a fixed schedule of works you see before anything starts.
- Letting and management
Tenant found, property handed to a letting agent, income starts.
Landlords Selling
We also buy from landlords directly. If you’re exiting because of the new tenancy rules, the EPC deadline, or you’ve simply had enough, we can move quickly without estate agents or chains.
Start Here
Tell us what you’re trying to achieve. We’ll tell you honestly whether we can help and what’s realistic.
Book a call → https://calendly.com/info-46c/30min
Why Clients Work With Us
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One point of contact from acquisition to management
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Clear numbers, no hype – every deal is analysed properly
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Off-market access you won’t find on property portals
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Hands-off investing designed for busy professionals
