Warrington Property Blog: February 2018

Thursday 22 February 2018

Warrington Landlord's The Do’s and Don’ts with Carbon Monoxide

Landlords are being urged to step up and ensure that all rented properties and accommodation meet recent laws relating to carbon monoxide alarms.The legislation, which came into effect in Autumn 2015, states that smoke alarms must be installed on every floor of a property and be tested ahead of any new tenancy, with carbon monoxide alarms placed in every room containing a solid-fuel burning appliance, including wood burners and open fires.

However, a survey we carried out identified that only 6% of students are aware that their digs is likely to need a CO alarm whilst only a third (32%) of student accommodation is believed to have a working CO alarm.To stop students being at risk from the ‘silent killer’, landlords and letting agents are being reminded of their obligations to install lifesaving detectors.Servicing of appliances and alarms should also be high on the agenda as new tenants move in, as well as the installation of alarms.Our survey discovered that just one in eight people in rented accommodation were aware of a landlord’s duty to provide a carbon monoxide alarm in rooms with a solid-fuel burning appliance in their properties. This contrasts with the overwhelming four in five people who are aware that a smoke alarm must be provided.

Renters were also shown in the poll to be unaware of a landlord’s responsibility to provide an up to date gas safety certificate. Only four in 10 had asked for this when moving into rented accommodation.

Our research also reveals a worrying lack of knowledge among the public of how to detect CO, the so-called ‘silent killer’.

When asked how you would know the gas is present, 28% of people believe you can smell it, 8% think you can taste it, 6% answered see it, 2% insist you can hear it, while 1% of those asked reckon you are able to touch it.

Key indicators that carbon monoxide is present in your property and things to warn your tenants to look out for are: if the cooker flames are yellow or orange, sooty marks on walls around boilers, stoves or gas fire covers, pilot lights that frequently go out or there is increased condensation inside windows.

Carbon monoxide myth-busters

True or False: It is possible to smell carbon monoxide being emitted in the home.

Answer: False. Carbon monoxide is both colourless and odourless so is almost impossible to detect without an alarm.

True or False: Carbon monoxide poisoning is extremely difficult to diagnose.

Answer: True. The symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning are similar to that of flu so it makes diagnosis very difficult. They include; headaches, nausea, dizziness, tiredness, confusion and eventually loss of consciousness.

Currently, GPs don’t all have access to equipment to check carbon monoxide levels and the only way to the presence of carbon monoxide is with a blood test. Some 46% of GPs have seen patients with carbon monoxide poisoning symptoms but only 18% say that they wouldn’t consider CO poisoning as a diagnosis. Find out more about the symptoms of CO here.

True or False: Carbon monoxide won’t leak if I have new gas appliances or if I have my appliances serviced regularly.

Answer: False. Although having brand new gas appliances, such as a new hob or boiler, will significantly reduce the chances of them leaking carbon monoxide it doesn’t rule them out.

CO can be emitted from appliances new or old and if you’re worried you should see your GP. Regular servicing of your gas appliances is the best way to reduce the risk of your property being subject to a CO leak and having an alarm fitted is the best way of detecting if and when something has gone wrong.

True or False: Carbon Monoxide can only leak from my boiler.

Answer: False. Carbon Monoxide can leak from any gas appliance in your property. This could include an oven, gas fire, or a boiler.

CO is produced when there is not enough oxygen to form carbon dioxide. For example, when a flame is burnt in a poorly ventilated space. This is why it is extremely dangerous to barbecue in a tent as there is often too little oxygen for carbon dioxide to be produced and so carbon monoxide is released instead.

One of the main things to look out for in your property are if flames on gas appliances burn a yellow or orange colour rather than blue as this could mean that they are not burning properly.

For a more information on how you can keep your tenants safe from the dangers of Carbon Monoxide, visit this webpage.

Email me on manoj@hamletwarrington.co.uk or call on 01925 235338. If you are in the area, feel free to pop into the office – we are based on G5, Warrington Business Park, Long Lane, WA2 8TX. There is plenty of free parking and the kettle is always on.

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Thursday 15 February 2018

Warrington’s £181,394,640 “Rentirement” Property Market Time Bomb

Yes, I said ‘rentirement’, not retirement ... rentirement and it relates to the 1,161 (and growing) Warrington people, who don’t own their own Warrington home but rent their home, privately from a buy to let landlord and who are currently in their 50’s and early to mid-60’s.

The truth is that these Warrington people are prospectively soon to retire with little more than their state pension of £155.95 per week, probably with a small private pension of a couple of hundred pounds a month, meaning the average Warrington retiree can expect to retire on about £200 a week once they retire at 67.

The average rent in Warrington is £651 a month, so a lot of the retirement “income” will be taken up in rent, meaning the remainder will have to be paid for out their savings or the taxpayer will have to stump up the bill (and with life expectancy currently in the mid to late 80’s, that is quite a big bill … a total of £181,394,640 over the next 20 years to be paid from the tenant’s savings or the taxpayers coffers to be precise!

You might say it’s not fair for Warrington tax payers to pick up the bill and that these mature Warrington renters should start saving thousands of pounds a year now to be able to afford their rent in retirement. However, in many circumstances, the reason these people are privately renting in the first place is that they were never able to find the money for a mortgage deposit on their home in the first place, or didn’t earn enough to qualify for a mortgage …and now as they approach retirement with hope of a nice council bungalow, that hope is diminishing because of the council house sell off in the 1980’s!

For a change, the Warrington 30 to 40 somethings will be better off, as their parents are more likely to be homeowners and cascade their equity down the line when their parents pass away. For example, that is what is happening in Europe where renting is common, the majority of people rent in their 20’s, 30’s and 40’s, but by the time they hit 50’s and 60’s (and retirement), they will invest the money they have inherited from their parents passing away and buy their own home.

So, what does this all mean for buy to let landlords in Warrington?

Have you noticed how the new homes builders don’t build bungalows anymore ... in fact some would said the ‘bungalow storey’ is over. The waning in the number of bungalows being built has more to do with supply than demand. The fact is that for new homes builders there is more money in constructing houses than there is in constructing bungalows. Bungalows are voracious when it comes to land they need as because bungalow has a larger footprint for the same amount of square meterage as a two/three storey house due to the fact they are on one level instead of two or three.

That means, as demand will continue to rise for bungalows supply will remain the same. We all know what happens when demand outs strips supply … prices (i.e. rents) for bungalows will inevitably go up.

Don't forget to visit the links below to view back dated deals and Warrington Property News.

Thursday 8 February 2018

Warrington Private Rents Hit £9.58 per sq. foot

As I am sure you are aware, one the best things about my job as an agent is helping Warrington landlords with their strategic portfolio management. Gone are the days of making money by buying any old Warrington property to rent out or sell on. Nowadays, property investment is both an art and science. The art is your gut reaction to a property, but with the power of the internet and the way the Warrington property market has gone in the last 11 years, science must also play its part on a property’s future viability for investment.

Many metrics most property professionals (including myself) use when deciding the viability of a rental property is what properties are selling for, the average rent, the yield and an average value per square foot.

However, another metric I like to use is the average rent per square foot. The reason being is that is a great way to judge a property from the point of view of the tenant ... what space they get for their money. Now of course, location (location, location in a Phil and Kirstie style) has a huge influencing factor when it comes to rents (and hence rent per square foot). Like people buying a property, tenants also have that balancing act between better/worse location, more vs. less money and size of accommodation (bigger and more rooms equalling more money) and where they live (location) verses making ends meet.

Interestingly, I know there are a lot of you in Warrington who like to see my statistics on the Warrington property market, so before I talk about the rental figures per square foot, I wanted to share the £ per square foot on the values. In Warrington, the current AVERAGE figures are being achieved (and I must stress, these are average figures, so there will an enormous range in these figures), but on average, properties in Warrington, split down by type are achieving …

· Warrington Detached Property - £239 / sq ft

· Warrington Semi Detached Property - £207 / sq ft

· Warrington Terraced Property - £169 / sq ft

· Warrington Apartments - £204 / sq ft

So, the rental figures:

The extent of space you get for your rent is replicated in the space you get for your money when buying a property. The average size of rental property in the Warrington area is 807.3 sq ft (interesting when compared to the national average of 792.1 sq ft)

This means the average rent per square foot currently being

achieved on a Warrington rental property is £9.58 per sq ft per annum

So, what we can deduce from this? Well the devil is always in detail!

Whilst I was able to quote the average overall figure and the fact my research showed it was quite clear from data that there is relationship between the average £ per sq ft figures on property values and average £ per sq ft on rental figures as a property grows in size. However, something quite intriguing happens to those figures, in terms of what the property will sell for and what it will rent for, when we change and increase the size of the property.

My research showed that doubling the size of any Warrington property doesn’t mean you will double the value of it … in either value or rent. This is because the marginal value increases diminish as the size of the property increases. In layman’s terms … Subject to a few assumptions, double the size of the house doesn’t mean double the value … what really happens is a doubling of the size gives only an approximately 40% to 65% uplift in value, but here comes the even more fascinating part … when it came to the rental figures, double the size of the house meant only 20% to 45% in increase in rent.

In a future article, I will be discussing the actual added value an extension can bring ... but in the meantime, in an overall and sweeping statement, most of the time it makes sense to extend if you are going to live in the property as long as the extension is proportionate to the property, but if you are going to rent it out ... possibly not.

Don't forget to visit the links below to view back dated deals and Warrington Property News.

About Me

I have been in the Warrington property market since 2004, owning and running, the Hamlet Homes office in Warrington with my excellent team.

I have always shared my thoughts on the local property market in Warrington with my landlords, but now I want to share with everyone with an interest in property in Warrington.

In my blog, I will talk about what is happening in the Warrington property market itself, even looking at specific streets or housing estates. At other times, I will post what I consider decent buy to let deals. I like to look at the whole of market and give you, what I consider to be, the best buy opportunities.

If you see a potential deal, and want a second opinion, email the link to manoj@hamletwarrington.co.uk and I will always give you my honest opinion on the property and its investment potential – good or bad.