Warrington Investment properties come in all shapes and sizes

I recently attended a local property meet in Warrington at the event I got recognised on the Warrington property blog and my monthly newsletters. A question I was being asked repeatedly is ''what is the ideal property to invest in, in Warrington?'' So I thought I would share my thoughts with you below.

When considering a buy-to-let purchase what is believed to be a good deal will vary from client to client. Everyone will have a different budget, but also preference on location, style of property, condition, etc. That isn’t unusual, no different to everyone has a different taste in music.

It has been well documented recently that the additional 3% stamp duty rise for buy-to-let purchases coming into place on the 1st April 2016 will affect the market, and opinions on that also vary, but I am already seeing a change in requirements of some investors in that they are lowering their budgets and considering smaller properties to avoid paying out more than needed on tax.

I have always been of the opinion personally that “spreading the risk” is wise if you have a large portfolio. A few flats, a few houses, a couple in Bewsey, a few in Orford,  maybe one in Great Sankey or Latchford, makes sense. All your eggs in one basket is a risk if something unpredicted were to occur.

I am also of the opinion that buying two houses for £75,000 is better than one house at £150,000. Whilst many try to avoid the 2 up 2 downs due to the capital not being as high. If you choose wisely two houses at £75,000 might rent for £450-495 a month each, but you’d struggle to find a £150,000 house that would rent for anywhere near £1000.

Then there is the view that these small 2 up 2 downs change hands more regularly than the larger houses, so for longevity of tenancy buying a larger 2 bedroom house might be wiser. But then these houses are rented by families with children, and children might lead to more wear and tear on the property, the “what if’s” are endless.

One thing is for certain, demand for both in the rental sector are high which means theres room to trial many different stratagies.

In short, don’t assume. Speak with a local expert, the local agent, and ask them what they think about your plans. Ask them to cast an eye over the property you are considering buying. What are the pro’s, and the con’s.

If you are a landlord or thinking of becoming one for the first time, and you want to read more articles like this about the Warrington Property Market together with regular postings on what I consider the best buy to let deals in Warrington, out of the many of properties on the market, irrespective of which agent is selling it, then feel free to get in touch!  email me on manoj@hamletwarrington.co.uk  

if you are in the area feel free to pop into the office we are based on6 Bankside, Crosfield St, WA1 1UP plenty of free parking and the kettle is always on.

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

Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/hamlethomeswarrington

Twitter, https://twitter.com/HHWarrington

Website, http://www.hamlethomeswarrington.co.uk/

#warrington #investments #property #warrington #landlords #buytolet #property-buy #capital-growth #investments #property #property-capital-growth #warrington  #letting-agent #lettings-agent #letting-agents #lettings-agents #Investors

What does the Warrington tenant look like?

“What does the Warrington tenant look like?” asked one of my landlords from
Appleton yesterday. He carried on before I could reply, “Let me guess, a
professional couple, both in their 30s, flawlessly tidy, pay their rent early, don’t
complain or fuss, no plans to move and cheerfully accept annual rent rises?!”.

Before I answer the question, let me share some thoughts…

I’ve always believed all a landlord wants (and expects) of their tenants is that
they pay their rent on time and look after the property as if it were their own. In
return, the tenant expects the landlord to provide a property that’s warm, clean,
modern and damp free and to resolve any issues (such as repairs) quickly and
without fuss.

So, let’s go back to our original question and look at the actual profile of a
Warrington tenant in more detail. In my experience they tend to fall into one of
the following categories, each one with very different wants and needs:

• twenty something professionals
• young and middle aged families
• corporate tenants (their employer finds them a house to live in)
• students
• older singles/couples
• housing benefit claimants

Choosing who best suits your Warrington property – and steering clear of
tenants that do not match your criteria – is a big factor in making your property
investment a success.

Housing benefit

One question I’m often asked is should a landlord accept tenants on housing
benefit?

If this is high on your list of questions, it might interest you to know that of the
47,906 privately rented properties in the Warrington area, 33% of the tenants
are in receipt of some form of housing benefit (compared to 39% at a national
level).

I know many landlords have experienced late rent payments with tenants on
benefits, especially since 2008, when local authorities started paying housing
benefit to tenants rather than directly to the landlord. But you cannot ignore the
fact that housing benefit tenants make up a significant proportion of the
Warrington rental population. You could just as easily come across a nonbenefit
tenant who doesn’t pay their rent on time.


Occupation


Of the 47,906 privately rented properties in the

Warrington area, 89% of head tenants (the head of the
household) are in employment. The other 11% are
either retired, long term sick, students or job seekers.
Surprising?

It might surprise you further when we break down
those head tenants by profession.

As a landlord you need to decide what sector of the market you want to let to.
Most landlords have a preferred tenant type and will buy property to suit them.
For example, many landlords have come to me over the years looking to buy a
property in the area surrounding Warrington Hospital, so they can let to medical
professionals. At the end of the day, the final decision on whether to accept any
tenant rests with you, the landlord.

To discuss your investment needs, what property you should be buying and your ideal tenant please give me a call or pop in to the office when you are passing. We are based on 6 Bankside, Crosfield St, WA11UP or drop me an email on manoj@hamletwarrington.co.uk

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

Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/hamlethomeswarrington

Twitter, https://twitter.com/HHWarrington

Website, http://www.hamlethomeswarrington.co.uk/

#warrington #investments #property #warrington #landlords #buytolet #property-buy #capital-growth #investments #property #property-capital-growth #warrington  #letting-agent #lettings-agent #letting-agents #lettings-agents #Investors

Buy to Let tax changes, what they mean to Warrington Landlords.

I ran into one of our landlords last week, who owns quite a few properties in Warrington and we got to talking about the recent changes in taxation for landlords and how this was going to affect him. There has been a lot of reports about this and a lot of landlords are worrying about how this is going to impact their investment, so I thought I would have a look into it and outline some of the facts.

So, let us start by looking at what is going to be changing. The first change is stamp duty. Currently, you pay no stamp duty on the first £125,000. You then pay 2% between £125,000 - £250,000, 5% between £250,000 - £925,000, 10% above £925,000 up to £1.5m and then 12% above £1.5m. The proposed changes mean that as of April 2016, if a landlord buys a property for buy to let, their stamp duty bill will face a 3% surcharge.

In 2017, Landlords’ tax relief is going to be affected as they will no longer be able to deduct mortgage interest from their rental income before it is assessed for tax, but will instead get a flat rate of 20% tax credit. This means that those paying a higher tax rate will lose half of their relief, while some others will be moved into this bracket and will likely see their tax bill soar.

Landlords are also facing a change to the way they pay tax when they sell their buy to let properties. At present, capital gains isn’t due until the end of the tax year, but from April 2019 landlords will have to pay their capital gains bill within 30 days of selling the property.

A lot have landlords have asked, why have these changes been made? The reports say that it is a way of trying to slow down buy to let landlords snapping up property, freeing them up for first time buyers. The council of mortgage lenders revealed in November 2015 that the number of buy to let mortgages granted had increased by 36% in the previous 12 months, whereas mortgages granted to first time buyers was up by just 10%.

So what does this mean for the future of buy to let? I believe that we will see a few landlords initially sell up that can’t be bothered with the hassle of it all, but after the initial huffing and puffing, it will all settle down. With the stamp duty changes, landlords will end up factoring this in to their initial investment and end up hanging on to the property for a little bit longer to re-coop some more rental income and in turn maximize their capital growth when it comes to selling.

Some banks have accounts whereby they are giving cashback on their direct debits and or on balances between which may help with the finances, might be worth investigating this with your bank to see if it is an option.

In summary, whilst these changes will impact how buy to let works for landlords and for those with properties currently let out, there is an element of recalculating and re-jigging finances. But for new landlords it will become ‘the norm’ and will be something that potential landlords will factor in to their investment when doing their calculations. The best bet is to have a chat your accountant as they will be able to point you in the right direction when it comes to Tax!

or more information about other potential issues we could help you with, or to ask about our thoughts on your own ideas, call us now on 01925 235338 or email me on manoj @hamletwarrington.co.uk If you are ever in the area then pop into our office 6 Bankside, Crosfield St WA11UP the kettle is always on.

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

Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/hamlethomeswarrington

Twitter, https://twitter.com/HHWarrington

Website, http://www.hamlethomeswarrington.co.uk/

#warrington #investments #property #warrington #landlords #buytolet #property-buy #capital-growth #investments #property #property-capital-growth #warrington  #letting-agent #lettings-agent #letting-agents #lettings-agents #Investors

 

Warrington Landlords could be fined £1,884,000 per year

“Who would want to move to Warrington in weather like this?”, was what one landlord said to me as we shook hands outside his property, the other afternoon. It was windy, cold, it had been raining most of the day and it was the last appointment of the day at 4.45pm. I will admit, as I had been out of the office all day, I was looking forward to getting home, putting the fire on, and watching telly with a big mug of tea.. but this landlord lived in neighbouring Runcorn and this was the earliest he could do. 

It turned out he had been self-managing the property himself over the last few years, but was worried with all the new legislation that had been introduced recently. He was particularly concerned about the up and coming ‘Right to Rent’ legislation, so as his tenant had handed in their notice recently, on this new tenancy he called us for our opinion.

For those Warrington landlords that don’t know, landlords will need to check the immigration status of any new tenants moving into properties from February 2016 or face a £3,000 fine. It is called the 'Right to Rent' rules. However, tenants should also be aware that as well as traditional landlords, tenants who sub let rooms and homeowners who take in lodgers, must also check the right of prospective tenants to reside in the UK.

Our landlord from Runcorn wanted to know how much of a real issue was ‘Right to Rent’ in Warrington. I was able to tell him, the last available figures (from a couple of years ago) show that 628 people (whom were registered as Non-UK Born Short-term Residents) moved into private rented accommodation in the Warrington Borough Council area in one year alone. If all of those people weren’t supposed to be in the UK, that would be a fine of £1,884,000 to the landlords of the town.

It doesn’t sound a lot when you think there are 206,400 residents in Warrington Borough Council area, and of those, 193,261 people (or 87.30%) were born in the UK.

However, it must also be recognised that landlords, by checking up on tenants, could potentially be accused of discrimination under the Equality Act. This is a real minefield for landlords, especially when you consider that not all of the 13,139 Europeans in the area necessarily have the right to live in the UK either.

In a nutshell, Warrington landlords will need to check and retain copies of certain documents that show a potential tenant has the right to live in the UK. These include:

·        UK Passport

·        EEA Passport/Identity card

·        Travel document or Permanent Residence Card showing indefinite leave to          remain

·        Paperwork from Home Office stating their Immigration status

·        Certificate of registration or naturalisation as a British citizen.

I hope the new law will target dishonest landlords who repeatedly fail to carry out Right to Rent checks by making it a criminal offence. This means they could face imprisonment for failing to check on their tenants. That is why more and more landlords are asking agents to manage their properties, so they can stay the right side of the law.

So what did our landlord do?

Well after our chat, he asked us to find a tenant and manage the property for him - he had been reading the Warrington Property Blog for a while and because of the knowledge we impart to the landlords of Warrington, we obviously know what we are talking about.  Even better news for him, even though this would cost him agency fees, I was able to get him an additional £50 per month for his property (when we found him a tenant one week later). Now, together with the peace of mind we will keep him the right side of the law and put a stop to midnight phone calls complaining about dripping taps, it was a win-win situation for everyone.If you are having difficulty renting you property, speak to us for impartial advice and guidance to get the best possible tenants to match your individual situation. For more information about other potential issues we could help you with, or to ask about our thoughts on your own ideas, call us now on 01925 235338 or email me on manoj @hamletwarrington.co.uk If you are ever in the area then pop into our office 

6 Bankside, Crosfield St WA11UP the kettle is always on.

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

Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/hamlethomeswarrington

Twitter, https://twitter.com/HHWarrington

Website, http://www.hamlethomeswarrington.co.uk/

#warrington #investments #property #warrington #landlords #buytolet #property-buy #capital-growth #investments #property #property-capital-growth #warrington  #letting-agent #lettings-agent #letting-agents #lettings-agents #Investors

Will the young generation of Warrington people ever own their own home?

I had the most interesting chat with a mature couple (in their early/mid 50’s) from Penketh the other day, whilst viewing one of our rental properties. The property wasn’t for them, but their son, who wanted a second viewing with his parents to get the parental blessing. Now I know that isn’t the norm, but in this case the parents were going to act as guarantor. We got chatting about the Warrington property market and how they had bought their first property in the town just after they got married in the late 1980’s when they were in their early/mid 20’s. Anyway, we got chatting about how the youngsters of the UK seem to rent more than buy nowadays and from that the conversation covered a number of similar topics. I want to share the highlights of that conversation with you today.

Their son, like many 20 to 30 year olds in Warrington, desperately wants to own his own property and the parents said he had read in the Telegraph recently, when you compare house prices to earnings, the current 20 to 30 something’s generation have to spend more of their salary in mortgage payments than any previous generation. The demand for private rental sector accommodation in Warrington is huge. There are in fact over 50,000 private rental properties in Warrington at the last count, impressive when you consider there are 47,906 council houses in the town. However, let us not forget 180,300 properties are owner occupied.

Let us all be honest, private renting doesn’t have the stigma it had a few decades ago and it might surprise people that even though us Brit’s class ourselves as a nation of homeowners, roll the clock back 100 years and over 75% of people rented their own home (and it was all from private landlords as council housing only started to come in with the ‘homes for hero’s’ after the first World War). It might also surprise you to learn that at the time of the 1971 census, still more people rented than owned their own home.

Looking at the affordability issue, I have proved time and time again, it is in fact cheaper to buy a property than rent, when one looks at starter homes for first time buyers. 95% mortgages have been available to first time buyers for over four years and whilst you could certainly find better properties in better condition in better areas, terraced houses can be bought for as little as the mid £80,000’s in wa1, wa2, wa4, wa5 areas of Warrington (meaning a modest deposit of £4,000 would be required).

When it came to affordability, I was able to tell them that when they bought their first house in Warrington in 1988, the ratio of house prices to salary was 8.64 to 1 in Warrington ... and here was the surprise for both of us, today’s ratio is only 7.33 to 1!

I said I believed there had been a cultural attitude change towards renting property in Britain and that this quiet revolution was likely to be permanent. In the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s, saving for the deposit was everything and buying a house was everything. Youngsters today have far much more disposal income today than people had in the Callaghan and Thatcher years, but choose to spend it upgrading their mobile phones every 12 months, the newest tablet or PC, a newest 50” plasma LCD TV and two sun drenched holidays a year, than go without and save for a deposit.

Yes, there are horror stories of tenants living in rat infested properties with landlords who charge massive rents and don’t repair their properties. But that is very much the exception as most tenants rent homes of a quality they couldn’t ever to afford to buy. Twenty years ago, if you said you rented a property, you were considered the lowest of the low ... but now it’s the norm.

So with mortgage affordability being well within the bounds of most first time buyers, the level of deposit required for a 95% being surprisingly modest (starting off at £4,000 in Warrington as mentioned above) until we change our attitudes, the UK housing market is slowly but surely turning into a more European model, where people rent for long periods of their life, then eventually inherit their parents properties and subsequently become homeowners themselves, albeit later in life.

Hence, I cannot see the demand for decent, high quality rental properties ever dropping in the next 10 to 20 years, but only ever increasing as the population continues to soar. Just make sure you buy the right property, at the price, in the right location.


If you are a landlord or thinking of becoming one for the first time, and you want to read more articles like this about the Warrington Property Market together with regular postings on what I consider the best buy to let deals in Warrington, out of the many of properties on the market, irrespective of which agent is selling it, then feel free to get in touch!  email me on manoj@hamletwarrington.co.uk  

if you are in the area feel free to pop into the office we are based on6 Bankside, Crosfield St, WA1 1UP plenty of free parking and the kettle is always on.

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

Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/hamlethomeswarrington

Twitter, https://twitter.com/HHWarrington

Website, http://www.hamlethomeswarrington.co.uk/

#warrington #investments #property #warrington #landlords #buytolet #property-buy #capital-growth #investments #property #property-capital-growth #warrington  #letting-agent #lettings-agent #letting-agents #lettings-agents #Investors

3 Bed semi in Warrington with MASSIVE 13% yield

Click here to view property details

Good Afternoon readers - so I thought I would share this 3 bedroom semi in Warrington. It is on the market for £85k with our friends over at Edwards Grounds.

This is not the usual 2 up 2 down I tend to post - This lovely 3 bed semi on Dorothea St in Orford has a lot of potential and is an ideal invest for someone who can do a lot of work themselves such as a builder. I believe the owners will take £80k for this property. 


As you can see the property inside is dated so a new kitchen and bathroom and decorating throughout - if we round up and say works will cost £10k then the achievable rent would be around the £550pcm mark. giving you a yield of 7.3%

This property can be made more desirable by knocking the wall down between the kitchen and dining room and having a open kitchen diner area. Alternatively as it stands this property can be a 4 bedroom HMO (lounge becomes bedroom 1. dining room becomes bedroom 2 etc). Letting each room out individually for around £80pw when full would give you as an investor £1389.66 income pcm then minus the rent of one room to pay for the council tax utilities + cost to supply wifi (£350) Still over £1k from this 3 bedroom semi achieving a yield of 13%

Want to know more on how to do this and what options you have?

Come in and chat to me my office is based on 6 Bankside, Crosfield St, Warrington, WA1 1UP or drop me an email on manoj@hamletwarrington.co.uk you can always give me a call on 01925 235 338

Warrington Landlords - Widen your target market without changing your property portfolio.

The next largest group in Warrington is pet owners. It is sadly the case that many landlords choose not to accept pets, due to fears about cats scratching carpets or curtains, dogs chewing woodwork, leaving dirty marks on walls, causing the carpets to smell or even worse, cause flea infestations. What we have found recently is that people with pets will sometime offer to pay extra rent or pay an extra bond for the pet in order to secure a home that is pet friendly, or are happy to take a slightly older, more tired property which is not in its prime and is therefore unlikely to suffer terribly from having a pet, and as a landlord this could be a way of you letting out a property that may be difficult to let. We personally ensure that any pet owner would have to have the carpets professionally cleaned when they leave to eradicate any trace of smell or flea larvae, and this is not unexpected by the tenants anyway. Have a look at the letswithpets website for ideas on how you can work around this issue:

  

http://www.letswithpets.org.uk/home/welcome                                                                      
  

Another increasingly common situation that we are faced with in Warrington is that of trying to accommodate extended families, with 3 generations living under the same roof or a group of siblings plus other halves wanting to share larger properties. Without getting into the realms of HMOs (Houses of Multiple Occupation), we can still draw up safe and legal tenancies for these groups and it is a way of finding a cohesive group of people with shared responsibility for a large property without having to let it out on a room-by-room basis.

  

All of the above solutions require a landlord to spend nothing at all, just take a slightly different approach to who they would consider best fits the profile of the property, and in cases where a mortgage has to be paid, this could be the type of action that would mean the difference between covering costs and being financially burdened.

If you are having difficulty renting you property, speak to us for impartial advice and guidance to get the best possible tenants to match your individual situation. For more information about other potential issues we could help you with, or to ask about our thoughts on your own ideas, call us now on 01925 235338 or email me on manoj @hamletwarrington.co.uk If you are ever in the area then pop into our office 6 Bankside, Crosfield St WA11UP the kettle is always on.