Buy to let deal of the day - Whitton stunner!

This is a really smart property. German built so not surprising really! ;o)

    

Finished to a high spec so no immediate opportunity to add value unfortunately. However, the figures stack up enough to make it more than work in my opinion. On the market at £290k so lets say, for the sake of argument, you get it for £280k. It should rent for a premium, given the spec, of £1400pcm which would give you a gross yield of 6%. Boom!

http://www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/35200805

If you're thinking of getting into buy to let them please do feel free to drop me an email or give me a call - love hearing from potential investors being brave enough to take the plunge!

Oooo and I've got a new website - hope you like it!

http://www.rebeccasmithpropertyservices.co.uk/

Rebecca Smith

Buy to let deal of the day - great starter investment property in Strawberry Hill

You can't go wrong with this one in my opinion. Strawberry Hill is a lovely enclave between Teddington and Twickenham with the transport links and amenities that are in high demand from tenants.

It's a studio flat but a good size one - I would never recommend buying a tiny studio flat as it is far more likely to have a higher than average number of void periods and very short term tenants. This one is being sold at auction so, if the concept doesn't scare you. then it's definitely worth a go. With the guide price set at £185k I actually think you'll be lucky to get it for this. If you do though, it's currently tenanted at £750pcm which gives you a gross yield of 4.9%. Given the spec and the location and particularly the proximity to St Mary's University, you'll rent this every day of the week.

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-34033701.html

You'll have to click on the link to see the pictures I'm afraid as I can only import pictures from Zoopla and this is only advertised on Rightmove - sorry!

Can't not have a picture on my blog though as that's just boring so here's one that amused me! :o)

Rebecca Smith
http://www.rebeccasmithpropertyservices.co.uk/

Buy to let deal of the day - up and coming Whitton!

As most of you probably know by now if you read my blog regularly, there are areas that have 'up and come' and there are those that are 'up and coming'. Now, I'm not going to say that those that have 'up and come' are not going to keep on 'up and coming' (thinking of Teddington here!) as the demand to live in these places will always be there. However, as they get more and more 'up and come', more and more people get priced out of buying there. They therefore look to places just outside that are still affordable and buy there instead. This pushes up the demand for property in those areas and makes them 'up and coming' which for you, Mr or Mrs Landlord, means that if you can get in early, you will benefit from the most capital appreciation in the shortest amount of time.

In my opinion, one of those 'up and coming' areas is Whitton. Just outside Twickenham with good transport links and a 'getting more decent' high street. This 2 bed flat has just come on to the market at £299,950 which I think is a bit ambitious. I'd offer £280k and cross your fingers! At that price, with a rent of £1350pcm you'll get a decent gross yield of 5.8%. No work needed either so just get it straight on the market and tenanted to bring in an income from day one. Simples.

http://www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/36245244

    

If you want any advice on what investment property to buy or are a current landlord looking for a better letting agent then please do give me a call or drop me an email. I'd love to hear from you.

Rebecca Smith
http://www.rebeccasmithpropertyservices.co.uk/

Buy to let deal of the day - Teddington conversion

An agent friend of mine sent this to me last week as a great opportunity for a buy to let investor and I agree. Although it's a studio flat it has the potential (subject to the relevant permissions) to be converted into a one bed flat. The location couldn't be better as its slap bang between the High Street and Broad Street so a short 5 minutes to the train station.

As a studio it would fetch around £850 per month in rent but as a one bed you could get as much as £950-£1000. Its on the market at £210k so say you get it for £205k you'll probably only need to spend £2-3k putting in a new stud wall and doing a bit of redecoration. So with a total investment of £208k and a rental income of £975pcm that gives you an average yield of 5.6%. Cracking for Teddington!

One thing - I'd try and get an overhead shower in if I could as although the bathroom is lovely it would put most tenants off to just have a bath and hand held shower. Not ideal for grabbing a quick morning shower! :o)

http://www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/35997146

 
  

If you're looking for your next buy to let or thinking about putting your toe in the water of property investing for the first time then I can help. Happy to give advice free of charge, no catch I promise! Just drop me an email to rebecca@rebeccasmithpropertyservices.co.uk. I'd love to hear from you.

Rebecca Smith
http://www.rebeccasmithpropertyservices.co.uk/

FLIP deal of the day - you could make yourself £200k in Surbiton!

So, I normally do buy to let deals of the day for one obvious reason - I'm first and foremost a letting agent and so I hope that all of you go out there, buy investment properties and ask me to lovingly look after them for you! ;o)

I came across this one today though which has just come onto the market and would make a great flip (buy, refurb, sell) and I couldn't resist telling you about it....

Its a classic 3 bed semi in Surbiton (well, Berrylands to be more exact). Set on a lovely wide tree-lined road half a mile from the station and near to schools. Location, tick! The best thing is that it's in an absolutely shocking state and so will immediately put off the faint-hearted - but that's not you is it?!! Not, I hope, when you realise how much money you can make on it! 

Its on the market at a 'guide price' of £450k. You could therefore get lucky and get it for more like £425k - that's what I'd be pushing for. Now normally, for the rental market, I'd say to just do a quick and easy refurb but I actually think if you did you'd be missing a trick here and an opportunity to really add value. I'd do the full works - loft extension and a big back extension to create the huge open plan living space that families now crave. You need to have plenty of cash as the works will probably cost you in the region of £150k done to a top spec - that'll include all the building work, new kitchen and 2 new bathrooms as you should be able to add one in the loft with a new bedroom. 

So, whats the end sale price? Well, scouting around Rightmove, there are a couple of similar examples in the area that are at the top end and they're on for £775k so that looks achievable or thereabouts. Jeepers!! So thats a total of £425k purchase + £150k refurb which makes £575k costs with potentially a £200k profit minus costs! Now yes, that is best case scenario, but even if you go worst it would be at least half that and I'd still take £100k for 6 months work wouldn't you?!!!

     

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-33926292.html

Now one thing to bear in mind is that this may not be mortgagable in its current state as it doesn't seem to have a working kitchen. You therefore either need deep pockets to start with or know someone who does and do it with them. Their money, your time, split the profits. BOOM! :o)

If you have any burning questions about the local property market or are simply looking at ways to make money from it then I'm happy to lend an ear and help where I can. Just drop me an email to rebecca@rebeccasmithpropertyservices.co.uk. Love to hear from you.

Have a great weekend!

Rebecca Smith
http://www.rebeccasmithpropertyservices.co.uk/

Buy to let deal of the day - 6.4% gross yield in Isleworth!

This one has definitely been priced to sell and so won't be around for long. Take a look at the pictures and you can tell its either currently tenanted (which the advert would normally state) or the owners don't care about it anymore and so just want rid.

Its a 2 bed flat in Isleworth that's on at £254,950. A very good price! I'm guessing from the map view that it's one of the ones over the shops, not that that's an issue when it comes to renting it out. I would just steer clear of ones over food outlets as that definitely does have an affect on demand. There are currently 81 2 bed flats available on Rightmove in Isleworth with the average price being £1350pcm. If you get that for this then you'll be making a 6.4% gross yield. Unheard of for these parts and that's even before you negotiate yourself a discount off the asking price! :o)

      

The good news is that the way its being kept will put a lot of people off who can't see its potential. It virtually needs nothing spending on it - as soon as all the 'stuff' it taken away it'l be a very decent flat! Happy days!

http://www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/35783265

Rebecca Smith
http://www.rebeccasmithpropertyservices.co.uk/

Monopoly in Teddington - how would you play?

A couple of local landlords and I had a discussion about the property market in and around Teddington, when the subject of risk against returns arose.

All landlords are different in the way they play the property game. Some landlords prefer to accept a modest yield/return on their investment for an increased certainty of finding a quality tenant. Other landlords are interested in high returns, with a greater risk with regards to the quality of the tenant. Before you start playing, it is a good idea to have a game plan.

For a low risk investment, you could buy property in the areas of Teddington, Hampton, Richmond etc which are perceived as being more desirable, where you may be able to achieve an annual yield of around 3-5%. Following an article a few weeks ago, if you don’t mind a slightly higher risk of void periods or a more varied quality of tenant, you are likely to be rewarded with a higher annual yield of 6-7%. This level of risk can be typically taken with properties either in Isleworth, Feltham, Hanworth etc. If you are after annual yields of 7-8% and over, you could take more of a risk with houses of multiple occupancy in the popular student areas, however you have more of a risk of wear and tear and potential damage on the property. The choice, as they say, is yours!

If you would like any advice on choosing properties, do drop me an email to rebecca@rebeccasmithpropertyservices.co.uk. I'm more than happy to offer my opinion.

Rebecca Smith

http://www.rebeccasmithpropertyservices.co.uk/

Two interesting property facts for you Teddington Landlords!

I attend a lot of property networking events, partly because I'm sad and LOVE being in a room full of people talking about property for a couple of hours, and also because I pick up interesting facts to tell all my Teddington landlords about the current property market.

Last week, I was told about two new predictions that I thought may interest you and will very probably apply to the Teddington market...

1. 70% of new households will be one person households

Official projections suggest that the number of households in England will rise to 26m by 2026 - an increase of between 220,000 and 225,000 new households a year. Around 70 per cent of these new households will be one person households. An additional 242,000 dwellings will be required each year to accommodate the second homes market with more than half of the required homes being concentrated in four areas: London, South East, South West and the East of England. NHBC statistics show that there were just 113,340 housing completions in 2011, nearly 130,000 units shy of requirements.

2. The average age of a first time buyer is rising (now around 33 years old) and the average deposit increasing (£26,000)

Many of those new households with housing requirements are not going to be able to access the property market using the traditional mortgage market route to first-time home ownership. The size of deposit has doubled since 2007 when it averaged £13,000 or 37% of annual income, to 79 per cent of annual income. (Source: CML Regulated Mortgage Survey). This will create demand for new investment in housing, whether in social or private renting, or investors assisting people's efforts to buy their own home.

Regardless of where you look, things are very definitely on the up if you are a landlord. More people are renting and will continue to rent, very probably, their whole lives. For those of us savvy enough to take advantage of this trend, the futures bright! :o)

Do contact me if you're interested in getting into buy to let. I read all emails and comments and am happy to have a chat over the phone or email to offer my opinion and advice.

Rebecca Smith

http://www.rebeccasmithpropertyservices.co.uk/