SOLD ABINGTON : £165,000 for £800 and 5.8%

A bit of pre-Christmas cheer here – with a 3 bed, downstairs bathroom, Victorian Terrace in the middle of Abington – one of the most popular Victorian areas. It’s a little rough round the edges and would benefit from some general improvement which we could easily deal with. Nothing drastic though.

Most importantly it’s very rentable – we’ll get £800 for this fairly easily which means a return of about 5.8% on a freehold property – pretty good these days for one of the better areas.

This property isn’t on the market yet, but will be soon and will sell quickly at that price – there’s no movement on £165,000 – so an opportunity to get in quick if you’re interested. richard.baker@belvoir.co.uk 

COMING SOON : Town Centre Apartments

I’m expecting to be able have a couple of town centre apartments later this week which, according to form, will fly out of the door like hot cakes! Both are tenanted already. Final details are being confirmed with the owner so it is possible prices may change slightly.

Henry Bird Way, NN4

·        2 bed apartment, already tenanted at £650PCM.

·        £127,500

·        200 metres from the new university campus.

·        Lease of about 110 years and annual charges of about £1000.

The Nurseries, NN1

·        2 bed apartment, already tenanted at £725PCM.

·        £150,000

·        Premium development close to hospitals.

·        Lease of about 110 years and annual charges of about £1100.

St Andrew's Street, NN1 – 6.5% return before charges.

·        2 bed apartment, which will tenant for £625

·        £117,000

.     5 mins walk from Northampton Railway Station

·        Lease of about 110 years and annual charges of under £1100 (we think).

These are on my blog prior to advertising, so if you want to see either you need to be around this week – I expect to be in a position to do viewings by Friday. richard.baker@belvoir.co.uk if any queries.

Tax Update for Landlords : Important for Most

You will be aware from national media about more changes to the way landlords are taxed in 2017, and it will be interesting to see if this months ‘Autumn Statement’ adds or reduces our (landlords) liability.

Anyone thinking of RE-MORTGAGING any time soon should have a sense of urgency about them. From January 2017, and maybe before, it looks like it’s going to get harder to re-mortgage if your yield isn’t that great on your portfolio as lenders have to assess you in more detail. See http://bit.ly/2eqP0Md.

Without a change in policy, the situation will get worse from September 2017 for ANYONE WITH MORE THAN 4 PROPERTIES – at that point if you re-mortgage any one, the lender will want to know the inside leg measurement of ALL your properties in your portfolio. See http://ow.ly/mV5W3065LLm

Many landlords will be affected by the changes to TAX RELIEF in April 2017. This has received extensive coverage in the national media but despite this it has clearly not appeared on some people’s radars. Information from the horse’s mouth is here - http://bit.ly/29Y25ds. As a result of this incoming change there has been a growth in landlords setting up limited companies to purchase property. There has also been a growth in people looking to pay down mortgages over a period of time.

SOLD £110,000 - FREEHOLD - VIlLLAGE LOCATION - £550 RENT.

This is a FREEHOLD property in a village (Little Billing) location for £110k. It’s a fairly rare commodity and will be very attractive to a tenant. I viewed it myself a short while ago as a potential purchase but ended up going for another property.

It’s a decent buy for someone though, but the purchaser needs to be aware of the following:

·       It’s quirky. Laid out over 3 floors with a very steep staircase. Perhaps not that practical, but will definitely appeal to tenants due to it's uniqueness.

·       It probably needs some money spending – I suspected the current owner had let it go a bit and there were a few jobs required, but nothing that couldn’t quickly be resolved by us. I’d have chipped the asking price down and spent the saving on getting the property as I wanted it. Maybe £112k all in.

·       The freehold situation is unorthodox. As well as the freehold of the house there were freeholds for three other patches of land in the vicinity – all pretty worthless. I suspect this was putting people off, but I don’t see why it should – the house itself is worth £110k so either these bits have no value and can sit there, or (more likely) I’d have tried selling them on to neighbours!

·       Most importantly I can rent this for £550 once it’s been tidied a little – maybe more. And no service charges because it’s freehold. Nearly 6% return?

If you’re insistent on freehold, but also on a budget, I challenge you to find better!