Haart.. the perfect investment... 6.5% Yield!

This one bedroom property has come to market with Haart with a guide price of £85,000. The property benefits from a spacious double bedroom, a recently fitted kitchen and an allocated parking space. The property is located in Highwoods which provides easy access to the A12 and isn't far from Colchester main line train station. 

Th property would let for £460pcm and if purchased at £85,000 would achieve an impressive return of 6.5%. This makes for an ideal investment and an opportunity not to be missed. 

For more information please follow the link below.

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-36031956.html

Three bedroom House... 6% Return!

This three bedroom property has come to market with Purple Brick, situated North East of Colchester on Goring Road it benefits from easy access to the A12 and has direct links to the Town Centre. |The property has been very well maintained and includes plenty of off road parking and a large Garden making it the perfect family home. 

In the current market this house would let for £800pcm and if purchased at the asking price of £160000 would achieve a return of 6%. 

This would make an ideal investment, appealing to all tenants looking for that long term let. For more information please follow the link below. 

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-54222974.html

Enville way one bed ... 5.9% Yield!!

This one bedroom maisonette on the market with Both East Links and William H Brown has been reduced to £112,000. The property is finished to an exceptionally high standard making it a ready made investment suitable for a tenant to move straight in to. The property benefits from no service charge or ground rent reducing the costs to a minimum. 

The location of the property is particularly attractive situated on Enville Way with direct access to the A12 and just a short distance to Colchetser Town Centre. The property would let for £550pcm and if purchased at the asking price would achieve a return of 5.9%. This is a fantastic yield and offers potential for a long term investment. 

Have a look at the internal photos on Rightmove by following the link below. 

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-51705323.html

Harper Brooks...7.43% Yield!!

This one bedroom apartment has come to market with Harper Brooks, situated in the popular area of Highwoods north Colchester providing easy access to the A12 also benefiting from 2 parking spaces. The property could be let as it is for a rental of £495pcm achieving a return of  7.43%, this is an investment opportunity not to be missed. 

The porperty also has the potential for a higher rent if some modernization was carried out, however would still have no touble letting quickly in its current state. 

Have a look at the internal pictures by following the link below. 

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-53667071.html

Colchester Landlord’s mortgages top £615 million!

The Brits can’t stop talking about property. The hot topic of discussion at the posh dinner parties of West Bergholt, Braiswick and Lexden’s movers and shakers is the subject of the Colchester Property market, but in particular, buy to let. These people are buying up buy to let properties quicker than an ace Monopoly player .. or so it would seem if you read the Sunday papers. So is the buy to let market a sure fire way to make money?  Is it something everyone should be jumping into? Is it a sure fire way to make money? The answer is Yes and No to all those questions!

Firstly, the government gives tax breaks to landlords, as it allows the mortgage interest payments on a buy to let property to be tax deductible. Also, a landlord only has to flick through Rightmove or Zoopla, pick any property at random and agree a price. Then, find a modest deposit of 25% (often by remortgaging their own home) which for an average Colchester terraced house, would mean finding £48,349 for the deposit (as the average Colchester terraced house is currently worth £193,398) and borrow the rest with a low interest rate buy to let mortgage.  Finally, the landlord would rent out the property in a matter of hours for top dollar and live happily ever after, with the rent then covering the mortgage payments, with loads of money to spare and come retirement have a portfolio of property that would have quadrupled in value in fifteen years. Sounds wonderful – doesn’t it? Or does it???

Let us not forgot that the half of one per cent Bank of England base rate is artificially low. The international money markets can be fickle and if interest rates do rise quicker and higher than expected because of some unforeseen global economic situation, that monthly profit will soon turn into a loss as the mortgage will be more than the rent. Even though tenants are staying longer in their rental property, tenants still come and go and my guidance to landlords is they should allow for void periods, plus the maintenance costs of a rental property and of course, agents fees. .. all things that eat into that profit.

Interestingly, by my calculations, there are approximately 3,286 Colchester landlords owing in excess of £615 million in mortgages on those Colchester buy to let properties.  An impressive amount when you consider Colchester only has 0.308% of all the rental properties in the Country. It really does come down to a number of important factors going forward to ensure you are water tight for the future. A lot of my existing landlords are fixing their mortgage rates. One told me that the Metro Bank are currently offering a 5 year fixed BTL remortgage rate at 3.79% for 5 years (based on a 75% loan). I don’t give financial advice, so you must speak with a qualified mortgage advisor.. but that sounds very fair!

However, one thing I do know is that buy to let is a long term investment, it’s a ten, fifteen, twenty year plan and property prices will go down as well as up. You wouldn’t dream of investing in the stock market without advice, so why invest in the Colchester Property Market without advice? We give bespoke detailed advice to our landlords to enable them to spot trends in the Colchester Property Market before others, enabling them to buy better properties at better prices. For example, did you know that flats are selling for around 4% lower than 12 months ago in Colchester yet detached properties are selling for 28% more (with every other type in between). This means we can advise on which properties will go up in value better (or lose less if property prices drop), we can also advise which have lower voids and which properties have higher maintenance issues.  

Information on the local property market and ability to process it is the strongest asset we can give you. As Lois Horowitz, the famous author says, ”Not having the information you need when you need it leaves you wanting. Not knowing where to look for that information leaves you powerless. In a society where information is king, none of us can afford that”.

Bairstoweves buy to let...5.8%

This two bedroom property has come t market with Bairstow Eves. The property has undergone recent refurbishment including a new boiler making it a ready to go investment. IThe property is situated on Harwich Road which is within close proximity to local shops and provides easy access to the A12. 

The property would let for £725pcm and if purchased at the asking price of £!50,000 it would achieve a return of 5.8%. 

Have a look at the internal photos by following the link below. 

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-35159616.html

Abbotts buy to let ... 6.25% yield

This two bedroom property has come to market with Abbotts situated in central Colchester on Brook Street. The property benefits from a rear garden and is being sold with no chain, due to its location it is also within close proximity to town centre and local amenities. 

This property would let for £600pcm in the current market, if purchased at the asking price of  £115,000 it would still achieve a return of 6.26%. This is a great return and would offer an ideal long term investment. 

For more information on this property and to look at the internal photos please follow the link below. 

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-51268843.html

The ‘Liquorice Allsorts’ Colchester Property market

Despite the UK economy heading in the right direction with record low mortgage rates and unemployment  figures dropping,  the rate of property prices rising in Colchester have tempered since the start of the year. This slow but sure downward trend in the rate of growth has been in evidence since mid-2014.  Property value increases continue to outpace the growth in salaries, however the gap is closing, helped by a lift in salaries over the last 6 months.  Property values in the East region as a whole are 8.8% higher than a year ago.  Compare this to the neighbouring regions of the South East at 9.1% higher and the East Midlands at 2.9%, the majority of the country continue to see annual house price gains - the exception being Wales which recorded a slight  decline of -0.6%.

Even with the tempering in house price inflation, it does not necessarily change my outlook that property prices are likely to be firmer over the second half of 2015 amid heightening activity in the Colchester property market. As stated in a previous article, there is a current shortage of properties on the market, restricting supply, which in turn will provide stability and support to Colchester property prices. Therefore, my overall opinion is that Colchester property prices will rise by 6% over 2015 and roughly the same in 2016.

Property investment is a long term business. Buying the right sort of property is vital. I have recently been speaking with a number of Colchester landlords about the importance of a balanced portfolio, when buying and renting out property. The balance between buying properties that offer good monthly returns (high yields) but quite often offer poor capital growth (i.e. they don't increase in value that much over the years compared with the average) verses properties that do go up in value quicker but often offer a lower yield.  So, what type of properties have performed best over the last few years in Colchester, especially in terms of their capital growth?

When comparing what the average price of detached, semi detached, terraced and flats were selling for back at the start of the Millennium to the present. The results are quite remarkably different, almost like a bag of Liquorice Allsorts, as the different types of property have performed poles apart over the last 15 years:

•          Detached Houses in 2000 were selling on average for £133,087 and so far in 2015, they have been selling on average in Colchester for £342,627 a rise of 157%
•         Semi -Detached Houses in 2000 were selling on average for £79,992 and so far in 2015, they have been selling on average in Colchester for £223,689 a rise of 180%
•         Terraced Houses in 2000 were selling on average for £63,025 and so far in 2015, they have been selling on average in Colchester for £193,398 a rise of 207%
•         Flats and Apartments in 2000 were selling on average for £54,292 and so far in 2015, they have been selling on average in Colchester for £129,212 a rise of 138%

Moving forward, what should new and existing buy to let landlords do with this information?  Well, the questions I seem to be asked on an almost daily basis by landlords are:

• “Should I sell my property in Colchester?”
• “Is the time right to buy another buy to let property in Colchester and if not   Colchester, where?”
•  “Are there any property bargains out there in Colchester to be had?”

Many other Colchester landlords, who are with both us and other  Colchester letting agents, like to pop in for a coffee,  pick up the phone or email us to  discuss the Colchester property market, how Colchester compares with its closest rivals (Braintree, Ipswich and Chelmsford), and hopefully answer the three questions above.  I don’t bite, I don’t do hard sell, I will just give you my honest and straight talking opinion and look forward to hearing from you.

More Estate Agents ... 6.25% Yield!

This 2 bedroom ground floor flat has come to market with More Estate Agents. Situated on St Andrews gardens a short walk from town centre and a reasonable commute to the A12 and Colchester mainline station this would make an ideal investment. The property offers spacious living area and bedroom and also 2 allocated parking spaces. 

This property would let for £625pcm and if purchased at the asking price of £120,000 this would achieve a return of 6.25% 

For more information please follow the link below. 

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-51121429.html

Emoov buy to let ... 5.78%

This spacious 2 bedroom apartments has come to market with Emoov. Situated south of Colchester the property is within walking distance to local shops, schools and transport links to the town centre. The property has been very well maintained with 2 double bedrooms, a separate kitchen and an allocated parking space. 

The property would let for £650pcm, it is on the markets for overs over £130,000. If the property was purchased for £135,000 then this would still achieve a great return of 5.78%. 

Have a  look at the internal photos and for more information follow the link below. 

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-35484903.html?premiumA=true 

Colchester Property Market – Bricks and Mortar!

The Land Registry have just released their latest set of figures for the Colchester Property market. It makes interesting reading, as average property values in Colchester rose by 0.6% in May. This leaves average property values 9.2% higher than 12 months ago, meaning the annual rate of growth in the town fell to its lowest level since August 2014. When we compare Colchester against the regional picture, East of England property values rose by 1.6%, leaving them 8.8% higher than a year ago.

Obviously this is a far cry from the price rises we were experiencing in Colchester throughout 2014. At one point (December 2014 to be exact) property values were rising by 9.8% a year. All the same, even with the tempering of the Colchester property values in 2015, property values are still higher. This is good news for local homeowners who had been affected by the downturn after 2007 and still find themselves in negative equity.

However, the thing that concerns me is that the average number of properties changing hands (ie selling) has dropped substantially over the last 12 months in the town. In April 2014, 225 properties sold in Colchester but in April 2015, that figure dropped to 171.  I have been in the Colchester property market for quite a while now and the one thing I have noticed over the last few years has been the subtle change in the traditional seasonality of the Colchester property market. It has been particularly noticeable this year in that the normal post Easter flood of properties coming onto the market was not seen. This has made an imbalance between supply and demand, with less houses coming onto the market there is simply not as much choice of properties to buy in Colchester and with the population of Colchester ever increasing, this will generally strengthen house price growth for the foreseeable future.

So what does all this mean for Colchester landlords or those considering dipping their toe into the buy to let market for the first time? For many people, buy to let looks a good investment, providing landlords with a decent income at a time of low interest rates and stock market unpredictability.

However, if you are thinking of investing in bricks and mortar in Colchester, it is important to do things correctly. As an investment to provide you with income, for those with enough savings to raise a big deposit, buy to let looks particularly good, especially compared to low savings rates and stock market yo-yo’s. I must also remind readers, landlords have two opportunities to make money from property, not only is there the rent (income), but with the property market bouncing back over the last few years, property value increases has spurred on more investors to buy property in the hope of its value continuing to rise.

Savvy landlords with decent deposits can fix their mortgages at just over 3% for five years, making many deals stack up. Nevertheless, low rates cannot stay low forever, because one day they must rise and you need to know your property can stand that test. I saw some Colchester landlords struggling in the mid noughties, when interest rates rose from 3.5% in July 2003 to 5.75% in July 2007. That might not sound a lot, but that was the difference of making a £100 a month profit in 2003 to having to make up a shortfall in the mortgage payments of £100 per month in 2007.

Its true many landlords were thrown a life raft when the base rate dropped to 0.5% in March 2009. Whilst interest rates have remained there since, mark my words, they will rise again in the future. However, even with the potential for costs to rise, demand for decent rental properties remains high as there are ever more tenants in the market, driving up demand and thus rents. The British love of bricks and mortar plus improving mortgage deals also add up to fuel the buoyant Colchester property market.

Ilex Close.. perfect buy to let with David Martin

This three bedroom terrace house has come to market with David Martin for £165,000. The property is beautifully presented and would provide a perfect ready to go investment. It would appeal to families especially due to the spacious rooms and a good sized garden, it also benefits from allocated parking. 

Located south of Colchester on Ilex Close the property would let for £850pcm, this would achieve a fantastic yield of 6.18%. I think this is a brilliant investment opportunity not to be missed. 

For more information please follow the link below

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-51050422.html

Michael's buy to let ... 5.8%

This 2 bedroom semi detached property is on the market with Michael's. This property is well presented throughout and benefits from 2 double bedrooms, a modern fitted kitchen and a first floor bathroom. It also has a private rear garden and allocated parking. Located in Highwoods it is within easy reach to local schools, shops and the A12. 

The property is on the market for offers in excess of £150,000, if purchased at this price and let for £725pcm it would achieve a return of 5.8%.  

For more information please follow the link below.

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-53818451.html