INVESTORS - 2 Bed Freeholds

We're giving you a sneak peek of these two properties coming on the market next week, both tenanted and managed by Belvoir:

Alcombe Road, The Mounts, NN1 : £129,995

A traditional Victorian terrace filled with period features situated in the popular residential area of The Mounts. With accommodation on the ground floor comprising through lounge/diner with stripped floorboards and feature fireplaces plus a fitted kitchen with French doors out to the rear garden. On the first floor are two double bedrooms and a generous bathroom. The property also benefits from double glazing, gas central heating and a useful cellar with power and light.

Currently tenanted at £600 PCM - managed by Belvoir since August 2014. 

Mannington Gardens, East Hunsbury, NN4 : £149,995

2 bed FURNISHED house in popular East Hunsbury. Features 2 double bedrooms (with a bed in each), a bathroom with shower over bath, modern fitted kitchen and a living room overlooking the low maintenence garden. Offered in good internal condition - clean, tidy, modern, neutral. Off road parking to the front of the property. Appliances: Fridge/ freezer, washing machine, oven/hob and extractor.

Current tenanted at £695 PCM - managed by Belvoir since April 2011.

Contact us if interested before they go on the open market!

£75k, Good Returns of 8%, 1 Bed Apartment

St Lawrence House, Town Centre

This is an inexpensive flat that will rent privately and is a great budget buy.

At a headline rate it's an 8% return - after lease charges it's 6.5% - compare that to what the banks have been paying for the last few years.

Spacious one bed leasehold - needs £1,000-2000 spending on it but will rent for around £500 PCM. It's advertised at £77,500 but I'm advised the magic figure is £73,000 so I need to get an offer at this level. Short lease but good returns. 

First floor apartment close to the hospital and town centre. The accommodation comprises communal entry, entrance hall, sitting/dining room, kitchen, bedroom and bathroom. There is allocated parking for one. Further benefits include double glazing and no upper chain.

Contact us if you're interested northampton@belvoir.co.uk or 01604 626 626.

Bathroom

Bedroom

Bedroom

Kitchen

Lounge

Lounge

Rental Prices At 9 Year High

It's almost 9 years since I opened Belvoir in Northampton, and rental prices today are as high as they have been throughout that period - good news for many landlords! 

It's hard to say why this has occurred. Demand for property from tenants has always been good - there have been brief periods where there's been an oversupply of certain types of property (mainly 2 bed flats) but there's never been an issue renting good quality places to good quality tenants, so it's interesting that prices have started to move upwards in the last 18 months or so. 
What seems to have changed is people's willingness to pay. Whilst there's always been demand, tenants would haggle and if a landlord overpriced a property it would hang around and sit there empty - people would look at it, but refuse to pay. It isn't the case that a landlord can name his price now - market forces still dictate - but there has been a general move upwards in the last 18 months with the whole market shifting between 5% and 10%. Taking 1 bed flats as an example - £500 per month used to be about the ceiling for a nice modern unfurnished one in the better areas of town - that's now £550, and the rest of the market has moved in the same way. 
Of course, property condition remains important. If the landlord hasn't kept his property in good order, returning to it between tenancies and keeping it fresh, he won't be getting a rental increase. Equally affordability is becoming more of an issue. Northampton is Northampton at the end of the day and the average salary is £x.

If rents increase and salaries don't, tenants are in danger of getting squeezed - not something that Landlords usually think about until the rent doesn't come in - but arrears are slowly rising. I was speaking to one competitor earlier in the month who is always charging absolute maximum rents, and gets these by not filtering tenants too much (his admission!). He said his arrears are causing him bother - "hard work, this lettings business, Richard!" Well it's harder if you take that approach certainly. 
But there's no doubt demand is at a record high. We don't even advertise 50% of properties these days - when they come, we've got a list of people who want to take them. And when we do advertise, we let them within a couple of days - anything that stays available for longer is either big (4 bed properties move more slowly) or there's another factor slowing to down - maybe the place isn't presented well or maybe we're not getting applications from the type of tenant the landlord wants. My lettings negotiator used to chase prospective tenants - trying to persuade them to take properties. These days she just takes orders, and spends the rest of her time helping out with property management! 
So it's good news if you're a landlord - you're getting more rent even though there's increased regulation and hoop jumping than you have been in recent years. How long it will last is another matter. What effect will an interest rate rise have? What about a change of government? Crystal ball needed!

IMMEDIATELY SOLD - 1 bed freehold house, immaculate, £97,000 (fixed price), £500 rent

Some activity at the lower end of the market this week! I've been contacted by an agent who has a 1 bed cluster house off Longford Avenue in Little Billing - fixed price of £97,000 with no offers. It will rent to a private tenant at £500 - so over 6% return.

Pictures for the actual property below. I've seen this. It's pretty much immaculate.

Please contact me if you're interested at richard.baker@belvoir.co.uk

£60,000 - £450 rent, 7.6% AFTER lease charges

BACK ON AFTER A BIT OF TIME WASTING!

TINY studio garden flat, but very nicely presented, in Hester Street, Semilong. It's rentable at £450 to a private tenant and delivers a return of 7.6% AFTER the monthly service charge has been deducted. It's in good order and requires minimal work. If you're shopping on a budget but don't want to buy on a Council Estate, what's better than this?

Email me if interested - richard.baker@belvoir.co.uk