A Chelmsford man’s home ..is his semi... or terraced... or his bungalow…

Ok, a slight turn of phrase there on the classic, ‘An Englishman’s home is his castle’, but when it comes to the UK,  the Brit’s are still a nation of homeowners.

It is interesting to note that up until the mid to late 1960’s, more people rented their home, albeit mostly from the local council, than owned their own property. In fact, I was surprised to read that in 1921, over 75% of homes in England and Wales were privately rented with the remaining 25% being owner occupied.

 It was only after the Second World War, when the Beatles were rocking, that people started to buy instead of rent, but instead of owning our property outright, we borrowed money from banks and building society’s to buy them and the roots of the growth of the private rental sector can be drawn back to the late 1970’s early 1980’s, when the council houses began to be sold off under the right to buy scheme.

Even though 64,564 households in Chelmsford were owner occupied in 2001 and that number had increased to 69,667 households by 2011, the percentage of homeowner properties in Chelmsford dropped drastically from 78.6% to 73.1%. Why, because whilst an additional 5,103 properties were built in Chelmsford between 2001 and 2011, a lot of them were bought as buy to let investments, nearly doubling the number of private rental properties in Chelmsford. In fact, the number of properties in Chelmsford that were privately rented jumped from 4,350 in 2001 to 8,349 in 2011!

With stagnation in the number of people who own their home in Chelmsford, this is increasing the number of people looking to renting, as everyone needs a roof over their head.

However, it’s not all doom and gloom in Chelmsford, as we have noticed more and more of the younger generation are renting, largely because they can‘t afford to buy - raising a deposit being the sticking point for most. Also, a high percentage of the expansion in private renting is due to those who need and want temporary accommodation. There are even a few landlords who rent their own Chelmsford property out for the short term, for ease, and not necessarily purely for profit.

Therefore, with every report stating the rental market will continue to grow throughout the rest of this decade, with high demand and limited supply in the Chelmsford, if you are considering buying a property for investment in the near future in Chelmsford, I am always happy to give you my considered opinion on which property to buy (or not as the case may be) to give you what you want from your investment. If you are a landlord, new or old, I am certainly more than happy for you to pick up the phone or visit me at our office on Duke Street!

Ready made investment no. 2 in Chelmsford!...

 http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-49203409.html

I can't believe it, two properties being sold with tenants in situ, in the space of a few days, what are the chances. This just highlights how many landlords are looking to benefit from Chelmsford's improving property market. This also means that new landlords can benefit from these situations, reducing the initial costs of having to find a new tenant once the purchase has completed.

This apartment in The Village, on Crompton Street is priced at £160,000, which is probably about right for this development. The tenants in the property are currently paying £750 pcm, which again isn't too far off the mark. Basing our yield calculations on these figures, means you are looking at a potential return of 5.6% pa. 

As with any leasehold property, make sure you look into what the service charges, ground rent etc. are, the agent that is advertising it, should be able to advise what these costs would be.

If you would like any advice on buying to let, feel free to give me a call on 01245 330500

Ready made investment in Chelmer Village, Chelmsford...

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-34206252.html

Good morning property hunters. Had my eyes and ears to the ground to see what tasty little property treats are about and have got a few that I will be posting out this week. This one particularly caught my eye as it is being sold with a tenant in situ. Now, the only thing missing from the agents details, is the rent that the tenants are currently paying, so a call would need to be made to them to check that out. However, this property has the potential to gross you a 6% annual return. 

The asking price is £135,000 and similar properties are renting in the area for £675 - £695 pcm, even basing it on the lower figure, it's still 6%. If the current tenants are paying less than that at the moment, then of course the yield will reflect, however I would expect it to be fairly close to my estimates. When the renewal comes up, you can agree a renewal at a market rent or re-advertise for new tenants, and then bang, hello 6% returns! Much better than any bank.

It's fairly straight forward when buying a property with a tenant in situ, the tenancy that they have running, will continue until it's expiry regardless of the owner and if you have a good agent managing it for you, they will be able to advise the best course of action at that point.

I'm always available for a chat if you fancy it, so come on down for a cuppa.

Cracking house in Chelmsford with great potential for buy to let...

 http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-49291819.html

Have you got that Friday feeling yet? Sorry I'm a bit later with todays' post, still catching up from after the bank holiday mayhem! I hadn't forgotten about you though.

Just spotted this property come on to the market in the last couple of days and having crunched some numbers, looks as though you could potentially get a 5.1% annual return on this house in Springfield, Chelmsford. It's on the market for £230,000, which seems a fair-ish price. I would suggest that if you did purchase this property for buy to let, then to give it a bit of a freshen up decor wise, a good coat of magnolia and a couple of new carpets should see you right. If you could negotiate a couple of grand off the asking price, that will help towards this cost. 

In this area, these properties generally rent for around the £1000 mark and due to the location, will attract professional families. This type of tenant is normally 'long term' which for an investment property is ideal!

If you fancy popping in for chat, come along to our office on Duke Street

It pays to plan your property investment in Chelmsford

                                 

The buy to let sector in Chelmsford, in fact, the whole of the Essex buy to let sector is doing very well at the moment, but it can be a minefield... 

I could regale you with many stories where investors have got it wrong in Chelmsford, like some modern apartments in Marconi Plaza in the City centre, selling at the height of the market for top money around £265,000, only to be sold 8 years later at a £24k loss! It is interesting to note that at that time in 2006 for around £242,000 you could have bought a 3 bed semi in Old Moulsham or near the city centre you could have a bought a 4 bed semi for £261,000. A two bed apartment for the similar price as a decent semi, doesn’t in hindsight, quite stack up. Although these stories are few and far between, I still see mistakes being made on a day by day basis in Chelmsford. If you make even a small mistake, it could still prove to be very costly.

So what should you buy in Chelmsford? One option is Houses of Multiple Occupation (HMO’s). While they can be profitable, chiefly in the student market with Anglia Ruskin students, they can make things much more complex and costly, with the need for HMO licence, higher levels of wear and tear etc. If you look back at some of my previous articles listed on ‘The Chelmsford Property Blog’, you will see a lot of interesting facts on which types of properties let well and also, sell well!

Mortgage rates on buy to let are really low at the moment and for the right property and person you can get rates below 3.9% if you put down a decent deposit of 25%, but the best rates are for deposits of 40% deposit and, as I type this, you can get a 5 year fixed rate buy to let mortgage from the Post Office for 3.65%. Also, the deposit will ensure you have plenty of equity in the property, if the property market stagnates in the future. The important thing to remember is the amount you can borrow is driven by the rental income, so it is vital you can identify a property with a decent yield, that lets easily.

Finally though, if are investing so much time and money in building wealth for you and your family, it is equally important for you to identify ways to protect it. Do not forget, if you spend years building a successful property empire in Chelmsford, when you pop your clogs, your family could face an inheritance tax bill of 40 %, which they would have to pay within six months of the death. In a buoyant market, like now, selling in six months is not an issue, but what if the market was like it was in Chelmsford between 2008 and 2012, when things took seasons to sell, not weeks. Quite apart from losing nearly half of the assets you built for your family to the tax man, if they had to sell some of your portfolio, possibly at a discount because the taxman wanted his money so quick, it might be wise to consider some life insurance that will offer protection against inheritance tax. 

There are plenty of good advisors in Chelmsford that can help you with the mortgages and life insurance, we would be able to point you in the right direction for this. We can also help you choose the right Chelmsford property to buy. It’s in our interest to do so, because if we offer the best advice and honest opinions, you might consider, although there is no obligation, to trust us to manage your new property.

5.4% Return potential in Chelmer Village, chelmsford

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-51562250.html

I hope everyone had a lovely Easter bank holiday, it's all over too quickly though in my opinion. 

But back to the grind now and thought I would start you off this week with this corker of a property. It's a 2 bed maisonette in Chelmer Village, prime rental territory, and it's a great size. It has come to the market for £165,000. there is currently a tenant in the property paying £695, which in itself would give you a 5% gross yield per year. However, if this was to come back to the market fresh, you would be looking at a rental of £750, which could potentially boost the annual yield to 5.4%!! It has got 'Buy Me' written all over it!

This property will not be around for long though, already we have viewings booked in on it, if you are interested and would like to know more, give me a call on 01245 330500

Chelmsford House With Great Potential for Buy To Let

Another day and another 2 bed house, ripe for the picking. This lovely little number on Beehive Lane in Chelmsford, is a good size, well presented, in a great location and could generate you an annual yield of 4.8%.... where do we sign!

It's not long been on the market with Home Partnership, so I wouldn't wait for too long before getting down there to register your interest. I'm sure that this will attract a lot of people

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-33566106.html?premiumA=true

The asking price for this house is £250,000, I think that this is a bit high, compared to what other houses have sold for in the area, the vendors are probably giving it a go to see how close they can get. It is beautifully presented, so that does go some way towards it, but it's always nice if you can get a bit off the asking price. If you could purchase it for £240,000, you would achieve rent in the order of £975 for it, then bingo... there's your 4.8% return. 

I'm about most days in the office, so if you fancy popping in for a cuppa and a chat,come on down. My office is on Duke Street