Somebody asks me every week whether it is still worth investing in property in the UK. The honest answer isn't yes or no. It depends on three things: what return you're expecting, what budget you're starting with, and the strategy you pick.

The return you expect

Most people never name a number before they buy. They just want to invest in property. A buy-to-let where we invest, in the north of the UK, shows you five or six percent on paper. In my experience that ends up at two or three percent net, once damages and repairs have taken their share.

An HMO can be twelve or fifteen percent in some areas and six or seven in others. Why the difference? Because you are managing five, six or more tenants instead of one family, and that is work and knowledge, not luck.

On some of the advanced strategies, where you work with the government, a three-bed that would rent at about £1,200 a month can pay about £4,000. Those are not easy to get into. They need the connections and the systems most investors do not have.

The budget you start with

Your budget decides which of those is even open to you. For a decent buy-to-let where we invest you need £50,000 to £65,000 cash in your pocket to buy it, furnish it and get it running, and we are currently buying properties between £90,000 and £150,000.

A six-bed HMO, which is the sweet spot before full planning is triggered, is nearer £200,000. Social housing through a rent-to-rent might be £30,000 in and around £1,500 a month net.

The strategy you pick

Then there is the ladder. Rank one is buy-to-lets, rank two HMOs, rank three social housing, and from there conversions for capital gains and bigger projects. Every rung pays more and asks more of you.

"The more return that you achieve from investing in property, then the more intellectual capital and experience you need to have so you can manage it properly."

That is why I talk about intellectual capital before financial capital. Both are required, but the intellectual kind is usually the cheaper one to get, so if you are short of resources, start there.

One warning, because I specialise in HMOs and I know the rules, the sizes, the regulations you need for a licence. Many of the rent-to-rents running in this country are not complying with the basic ones. Learn the strategy properly, or do not run it.

So is it still worth it?

Yes. But property isn't one investment, it's three, and the return you get is a decision you make, not a market you're handed.

I put 15 of the tools I actually use into the UK Property Investor Toolkit. It is 99p, and the 99p only covers posting the physical copy to you. Get the toolkit here.