Friday 28 November 2014

First Time Landlord Deal With Good Returns



This property would make a great investment, especially if you are a first time landlord as they rent out so easily. This particular one is a great example as it has been well maintained by the current owners. 

On the market for £79,950, it's a great price and you could get a gross return of 7.13% per year if you get the current rental figures in the region of £475 pcm. As you can see form the images no work needs to be done on this property it is ready to go, there is also room to negotiate the price so if you can reduce the price then the yield will be greater.

An easy property for a landlord that may not be that experienced!


If you would like any advice on buying to let, please do not hesitate to get in touch tpatel@hamlethomesproperty.co.uk

Wednesday 26 November 2014

Warrington 2 bed 8.14% yield



I saw this house and I thought what a great property this would be for an investment.it needs some work to bring it upto date but these houses are always really popular with the rental market, due to their location and size.

It has just come on to the market for £62,000 which feels like the right sort of money, considering the prices of some other similar properties on the market at the moment, it seems to me that the Vendor is looking to achieve a quick sale. This property would probably rent for £475 pcm, however the property needs about £8k spending on it so taking that into consideration, the property would generate you an annual yield of 8.14%.

Another interesting factor which I wanted to point out is the actual increase in capital growth. As we have spoken about many times, it is not always down to the biggest 'yield', the rise in value should also be taken into account. Some houses may not generate a high yield, but their capital growth potential is far greater. Property on the street sold for £90K - £93K going back 7 years ago.

This particular property boasts a good yield and potential capital growth

If you would like any advice on where to buy (or where not for that matter), feel free to drop me a line at tpatel@hamlethomesproperty.co.uk


Tuesday 25 November 2014

4 Bedroom Detached With Huge Capital Growth Opportunity



Good Morning, Heaters on full blast today, winter is definitely on its way and you already know that property sales go quieter during this period as people are less reluctant to get involved in big moves during the festive period, which is great for buyers as there is always a bigger room for negotiation with sellers.

Iv wrote a lot of articles regarding property yield in Warrington, but today i have come across a 4 bedroom detached house in the lovely area of Great Sankey. This property is on the market for offers in the region of £175k which tells me you could potentially get the price on this reduced. Now this property originally sold for £227.5K in 2006, so what i'm looking at here is potential capital growth. 

Similar Spec houses on the same estate are currently selling for around £190k this indicates the seller wants to do a quick deal and has gone below the market value. Looking at the area of the property and the developments around there and the go ahead of closing down the tip which is in the area I believe in time the house will pull back its value from that of 2006, in its current state this house would rent out at £900 pcm, no money needs to be put into the house it would probably just require a clean. 

If you have any questions at all, please give me a call, or pop me an e-mail over to tpatel@hamlethomesproperty.co.uk

Friday 21 November 2014

Which home improvements yield best return on investment ?





I was doing some research the other day to see if home improvements adds value and which improvements add the most value, what I found is that the average home improvement in the UK actually increases the value of a home by 10%, not to bad I don’t think! Now this works out as just shy of £30k whilst the average return on investment was estimated to be 80% this is based on the total amount spend by home owners, the data to get these figures was provided by the new home improvement index from peer to peer lending firm Zopa.

So this new research basically asks home owners who have taken out a home improvement loan across the UK how much value the actual renovation added to their property, this in turn showed that the top improvement is a conservatory which on average cost is shy of £5500 and giving a 108% ROI.

Following the conservatory with a ROI of 88% is garden improvements which on average cost around £4,500. Exterior work costs come in on average of about £6000 which is a ROI of 75%.

Now an extension cost averages in at around £19,750 which is much more costly and gives a return of around 71% while a new roof would cost just over £4K and give a return of 63%. A loft conversion comes at a large average price of £24,600 only giving you 50% return on investment.

The rooms homeowners tend to want to change the most are the kitchens and bathrooms yet they offer the least in terms of return. Surprisingly improving the kitchen which on average costs £9,600 comes in with a slightly higher return at 49% than a bathroom which is at the bottom of the returns averages at £4,900 and brings in a return of 48%.

82% of home owners said that regardless of improving their homes, they were not planning on selling any time soon. The firm says this suggests that the current housing market where price growth is slowing could be putting home owners off moving, hence why they are adapting their homes to their situations.

If you have any questions at all, please give me a call, or pop me an e-mail over to tpatel@hamlethomesproperty.co.uk

Thursday 20 November 2014

Are Warrington Properties Affordable To Invest in?



A landlord came in to our office earlier this week to discuss the affordability of property in Warrington, with the current national market property market being in recovery with increasing house prices. The best advice I can give to those looking to invest in property is our secret trick of the trade. You can judge the affordability of a town by simply finding the ratio of the average property price to the average salary. The lower the ratio, the more affordable property is.

When we put this to the test, we found that Warrington currently has an average property value of around £187,100 with the average salary being £21,458. This is a respectable ratio of 1 to 8.7. Meanwhile in Widnes the ratio of property values to salary is 1 to 8.5, which suggests the property in the Warrington is less affordable than in Widnes.

We also had a look at St Helens and found the average salary is £20,734 and the average property value is £138,455. This means that property in St Helens is more affordable than Warrington, with a ratio of 1 to 6.6.

This could mean that now is not a brilliant time to invest in Warrington property market, while the average value of property is high compared to the average salary. If you would like to talk to us about your potential investment, please come into our offices.

For advice, call me, Tesh Patel on 01925 235 338 or email me on tpatel@hamlethomesproperty.co.uk also for more information on the Warrington property market please visit warringtonproperty.blogspot.co.uk

Wednesday 19 November 2014

Warrington Property From 5% to 12% Yield



Good Morning property hunters. As usual i'm doing my RightMove travels. Ok so i'll be showing you how to make the most of this property in the link im sharing today so from 5% yield i'll show you how to get 12.3% yield

So this house is actually located very close to the University in Warrington, it can very easily be converted to a 4 bedroom HMO, As the house stands it needs no work doing to it and can be let for around £450 pcm, its on the market for £108k so doing the sums this will give you a yield of 5% which isn't the best return.

To achieve above 12% yield on this property you will need to convert it into a 4 bedroom HMO, you will not need a license in warrington to do this. Earlier this year we completed a project on a similar street where we converted the house from  5 bedrooms to a 7 bedrooms HMO (license needed), so using estimated figures from that particular project i would suggest the refurb cost would be no more than  £5k, this would include fully furnishing the property throughout down to the salt and pepper shakers.

So total cost would be £113k including the refurb, now the four rooms will rent for £90 pw. That will include all bills, council tax and wifi. account for £100 per room a month for this so total rent a month would be £1560 minus £400 (bills,council tax, wifi), you will be left with £1160 pcm rather than £450 pcm this will achieve 12.3% yield.

Hopefully that made sense!  if you would like to chat about this particular deal or other deals you are looking at and want my honest opinion good or bad then please contact me Tesh Patel by email at tpatel@hamlethomesproperty.co.uk.

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-45711382.html




Tuesday 18 November 2014

Diamond In The Rough Warrington - 7.5% yield



This house has the potential to be a really good investment property. There is quiet a bit of work that needs to go into this property, we had a similar property on the same road in a similar condition, to get it back to a let standard you will be looking at putting about £10k into the refurb costs

This area is popular for many reasons, the main one being the local schooling and being a 3 bed house, means that you should attract a family and generally speaking, families are more likely to be a long term tenant, meaningless void periods for you as a potential landlord.

The potential annual yield on this particular property, is also pretty good at 7.5%. Being on the market for £70,000 and would rent in the region of 475 - £500. The chances are at the moment it would be at the higher end of the price guide for rent, due to lack of supply and extremely high demand!

If you have any questions about where to buy your next, or even your first property investment, drop me a line on tpatel@hamlethomesproperty.co.uk


Friday 14 November 2014

Warrington 3 Bed With Capital Growth (6.8% yield)



Good morning property hunters, so its the end of another working week for most, im just doing my usual RM trolling and iv come across this gem of a property.

This is a 3 bedroom new build, the property was built in 2006, back then they were being sold for around £150k. It is now on the market for £104,950 so in effect if you're buying equity, as this property will rent at £600 pcm and if you replace the flooring throughout with new carpet your looking at £1000 costs as other than that the property is good to go this will bring a yield of 6.8%

If you're a first time investor or you've been investing for many years, this is an opportunity that can not be missed.

It is on the market with Bridgfords Pick up the phone and start to arrange your viewings. This will get snapped up quick.

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-47089450.html

Wednesday 12 November 2014

7.4% Yield on Longshaw Street



In the last couple of days, I've spotted this modern 3 bedroom house come to Rightmove. These houses always rent really well as they offer great size accommodation and easy access to main road links. Click on the link below for more details.
This one has come on the market for £79,950 with Ashtons and you would look to achieve rent in the region of £525 pcm. The property would need netural decor throughout and possible new kitchen so £5k refurb cost have been factored in when looking at the yield, based on these figures and not taking into account a discount off the asking price, you are looking at a gross yield of 7.4%.
This type of house will not be on the market for long, so come on property pickers start picking up the phone and arranging some viewings.

If you have any questions at all, please give me a call, or pop me an e-mail over to tpatel@hamlethomesproperty.co.uk


http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-47022652.html

Tuesday 11 November 2014

5 Top Tips For Warrington Landlords

 


Whether you have a studio flat that is paying for itself or you have 10 houses that bring in a healthy yield income every month, you’ll know what it’s like to keep your investment on par and you’ll also have a good idea of the importance of those timely and regular ‘club fees’ in terms of rent from your tenant. Here are a few of our best tips for landlords to add to your property investment caddy, which we know will help make things even easier when you’re aiming for a hole-in-one with your rental.
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1. Neutral All Round

Firstly, it’s all about décor, and unless you can get away with bright colours in all the different rooms by claiming it’s a funky pad in the middle of Camden Town, then it’s definitely worth sticking with the plain and simple neutral shades. With this, we’re not talking Magnolia necessarily. It dates very quickly and can look cheap. Off white though, is brilliant. When it comes to carpets or flooring, go with something that will match everything. If there is a dated carpet with a floral design from the 1960’s on it, it’s time to go shopping. But none of this has to cost a fortune – smaller rooms can be fitted with off-cuts which you can often find at your local carpet shop at a generous discount.

Thing to remember is that an investment property should never be a statement of who you are as an individual. That’s for your own place and you’re own walls. The simpler, the better, and the more likely you are to let at the asking price and attract a higher calibre of tenant.

2. Maintenance

Something to definitely keep on top of is maintenance. Keep it up to date with yearly safety checks and get on top of things as soon as there is an issue, no matter how small it may seem. Small issues can swiftly turn into big problems if ignored, and then you really could have a very costly situation on your hands, not only with a bigger maintenance bill, but possibly external agencies such as the Council if tenants are fully aware of their rights and are given enough reason for complaint.

To avoid any hassle or huge layouts, make sure you have full landlord and buildings insurance from a reputable supplier, and ensure your agent routinely visits the property to make you aware of any areas that may require attention. Many Landlords run their investments by taking a little of the rent and storing it in a separate account to cover maintenance costs. This also helps some Landlords to see the property as a business concern and not a personal one.

3. Know The Legal Stuff

Whether you’re managing the properties in your portfolio independently or using an agent to do this for you, know your rights and legal bits as a landlord. There are a wealth of resources to help you with this from support organisations such as The National Landlords Association, The Property Ombudsman and even Tenant focused organisations such as Shelter who can assist in expanding your knowledge of the industry. Knowing the law can save you a lot of money, and if you’re short on time your best bet is to make an appointment to meet with an agent that is fully qualified and Ombudsman registered.

We suggest arming yourself with any pertinent questions prior to meeting an agent, and keep an eye on whether the front of house staff know the ropes legally as it’s often the younger and inexperienced team members in a high street office that will be handling the day-to-day negotiations with your investment assets – make sure you trust them implicitly.

4. Compliance’s

One thing that is a serious must is that all of your compliance’s are in place. This means a current and valid EPC, gas and electrical checks (carried out by Gas Safe and NICEIC/NAPIT registered engineers), fire checks and correct tenancy agreements for the type of tenancy; for example, where you are a landlord who lives in a converted building and you rent either a room which shares common areas with you such as a kitchen or bathroom, or if you let out each room as a self contained studio, a standard assured shorthold tenancy will not cover these particular situations as they are non-housing act tenancies which will not be covered by the statute provisions of the Housing Act 1988.
Using the incorrect contracts could mean that you are relying on an area of statute law that does not apply to your specific situation. Needless to say this gets expensive and messy if you get it wrong at the start or rush things just to get that essential first month’s rent in. If you’re in doubt, always ask a qualified agent for advice, and as before make sure they know their stuff – even go so far as to ask for proof of their qualifications before you commit to spending 10% of your rent on them.

5. Gear Your Investments

Many landlords will venture out and buy one property, or indeed inherit one, that delivers a solid income and a hassle free experience… If you’re lucky. The dark side of residential property investment, as many a veteran landlord will tell you, involves void periods, boiler breakdowns, water damage and plenty of other problems just waiting to happen. All of these come with a price tag, and lets just say the majority won’t be cheap. One investment method to soften the blow is to split larger investments, ie, a three bed house, into two smaller investments, such as one bedroom flats or studios. The theory is that, when one is vacant, the other will have a tenant living happily on the inside of those walls and bringing you a healthy income. This also gives you a little time to do any smaller tasks on the other property without the worry of not having an income at all.

Of course, all of this depends on marketing the property at the correct price, and with the absolute best level of presentation in terms of photographs, floor plans and descriptions. The best way of doing this is to get an expert opinion from a qualified agent. Even if you have the time to do your own research, it’s definitely worth shopping around and working with the agent who really does sound like they know their onions.

As usual if you would like any advice with the Warrington Property Market feel free to contact me via email tpatel@hamlethomesproperty.co.uk or call on 01925 235 338

Friday 7 November 2014

How can you transform a rogue property into a hot property…



We have just got through another Halloween, where the streets have been filled with ghouls and ghosts, of different varieties. Whilst this annual fright night is based on fiction and designed to entertain the children, it is true that if a rental property is the victim of a difficult history, a letting agent could find that it is more difficult to let.


Houses that have been used by previous tenants as brothels or cannabis factories – or have been home to squatters – can cause problems when trying to find a new tenant. Even properties that have been owned by uncaring or corrupt landlords can develop a long-lasting stigma that will stay with the property long after it has been sold on to a new investor.

In the past we’ve taken on rogue properties, usually from a private landlord that have previously been used as a cannabis factory or used as a brothel.While it can be difficult to manage a property with a rogue reputation, it is possible to raise its profile within the community. Often the stigma can be very much in our own minds and will naturally pass away quickly. Even if the story of the property gets in the press, tomorrow there will be more exciting news, which over time, helps locals forget.

If a landlord is faced with a property like this, my suggestions would be to change the front door or paint it a new colour, develop the front garden to make it look and feel different, then give the house a new name and display it. It would also be helpful to keep the rental price aggressive to ensure lots of potential tenants are interested. It may also be a good idea to give new tenants a good behaviour reward (or something similar) for their first year or so to help encourage a sense of responsibility.”
But, of course, the best solution is to avoid a property gaining a bad reputation to begin with...

My first advice to landlords is to use a reputable agent, most criminals find properties using the private landlords advertising in local papers, knowing they are unlikely to conduct credit checks and inspections, agents will carry out routine property visits and report back to the landlord as well as undertaking proper references. In this climate a lot of small reference agencies are opening up offering very cheap fees, but how reliable are they? Owner-run businesses, in my opinion, will give a far superior and honest service. My personal belief is that we need to push the government to regulate lettings agencies and have fines in place for negligence or complete incompetence
Five top tips to let ‘rogue’ properties...

1) Paint the front door a different colour or change it completely

2) Give the property a new name and invest in a sign

3) Transform the front of the house by adding trellis and plants, or re-designing the front garden

4) Ensure lots of interest by keeping the price competitive

5) Inform locals that a professional lettings agent has taken over the property
and allow the agency’s good reputation eclipse the property’s bad one.


If you need advice or good contacts for tradesmen over the winter period or anytime of the year, drop me a call on 01925 235 338 or email at tpatel@hamlethomesproperty.co.uk

Tuesday 4 November 2014

Wellfield Street Is Very Investable



Its been a busy morning, iv only just got around to doing my rightmove/zoopla deal hunting! Now i mentioned on my last post that 2 bedroom houses will rent all day long in warrington which is ideal for an investor as he/she can always have the pick of tenants and chances of voids are slim.

Wellfield Street is the hotspot for investing, Location is great, close to a Primary School and High School, also has a Co-op and Spar on the door step. Sankey Valley is just around the corner to enjoy nice walks, all of this and its only a 15 minute walk into town.

This 2 bedroom house which has just come on the Market is a Steal, its on the market for £75k probably needs about £10k works going into it but thats an estimation it may not need that much work going into it. It has central heating and doors and windows are uPVC according to the advert.

Remember theres always room to negotiate the price, A house like this will rent around £475 pcm. so going off the figures iv listed you would be looking at a healthy 6.6% yield.


If you need advice or good contacts for tradesmen over the winter period or anytime of the year, drop me a call on 01925 235 338 or email at tpatel@hamlethomesproperty.co.uk

Monday 3 November 2014

Warrington 2 Bed Terraced Rent all Day Long



Good Afternoon, its not even 5pm and its already dark in warrington, i think winter is definatly on its way!

Anyway, i know its late but i have got around to my rightmove travels and look what i have come across.This type of property is getting snapped up super quick at the moment, so if you like the sound of this one, get in touch with the selling agent soon. The return on it isn't too bad wither, you are looking at about a 7.5% yield. It's on the market for £69,995k, and would be looking to rent it in the region of £450 pcm, it's a decent size house and would rent really easily. It has recently been reduced as i have had my eye on it but i think it could go for a little less so there is room to negotiate.


The works needed on this would be just a few decoration changes in the bedrooms, i would also advise replacing the wooden front door and quiet possibly the back door so probably so set a budget of around £1500 for the works.

We have people lining up for this type of property all year long! In this case, you wouldn't have to worry about prolonged void periods as there is always demand for 2 bedroom houses. Check out the details on the link below and if you have any questions at all, please get in touch.

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-44584954.html