What does jargon do for the house buying process? Not a lot in my view

There haven't been many properties come to market recently. Rightmove new listing show nothing for the last week.

And very little for the last fortnight. It's the time of year when new properties will start to turn from a trickle into a flood. The Christmas and New Year period ends up with people breaking up, looking to move upwards and wanting a change.

This means new properties to market for the seasoned investor to look through and decide upon. There is a little more urgency than before this time because of the changes to stamp duty rules.

This property is something to consider while you are waiting for other options-

RUSHMOOR, SPENNYMOOR, Spennymoor District, DL16 6NX

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-56863415.html

It's marked by the estate agent as-

• IDEAL FOR FTB

This got me thinking about how much information an estate agent gives and how much they should give. For a potential owner occupier, the phrase ideal for FTB (First Time Buyers) is about as useful as putting any other three initials in the description.

As a property investor reading this and looking to see whether there is potential in the property above, the phrase ideal for FTB means absolutely nothing.

So we've established that it's of no use to anyone - mini-rant over.

Let's get to the figures.I think that this property would command a rent of somewhere between £375 and £425 per month. This equates to a gross annual rent of between 5.6% and 7.3%, which is a good annual return to start looking at for investment in property.

Keep an eye on this one.

See a real bargain in Front Street, Tudhoe in an unusual property sale

This property below has really caught my eye this week, as it's price looks unbelievable and the way in which it's being sold is interesting-

Front Street, Spennymoor, County Durham, DL16 http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-36747867.html

The agency selling the property is Livin Housing Ltd (resale) which is the selling arm of the local housing association. They describe the property and condition as-

Offered for sale by informal tender, a 2 bedroom end terrace house in need of structural repair and renovation so ideally suited for a Builder or Property Developer.

The only photograph of the property is the one of the front included, so you'll definitely need up visit the property with a builder to see what work needs to be carried out. The budding process is described as-

Offers are to be made in writing on form to be provided and returned to Livin Housing Ltd no later than NOON on FRIDAY 27 NOVEMBER 2015.

I'd suggest from this description and the low price that the property is being advertised at that there will be some interest in the property. And as such, the final sale price won't be as low as £25,000 but there's sjestsca chance!

In terms of rental return, I'd expect a monthly rental figure of between £375 and £425 per month for this property. That's a gross annual rental return of between 18% and 20%, based on the figure of £25,00 - an amazing rental return.

You'll have to see the property and have a think about how much you'll need to spend in it before making a bid, but this looks like one that definitely needs to be considered. And unlike many properties at a great price, you may not have many owner occupier as competition.

You'll find owner occupier interest in Parkside, Spennymoor

There's only one property showing on Rightmove as new so far this week-

PARKSIDE, SPENNYMOOR, Spennymoor District, DL16 6SA

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-53096759.html

It's not actually new to the market, but when a property is reduced in price by a certain amount (I think it's 10%) then it appears as new on the website. It's a useful tool for estate agents to get an existing property some more exposure.

This one is being marketed by Dowen and is available for Offers In Excess Of £145,000. It's a 3 bedroom detached house on Parkside, which is always a popular location as long as the price is right.

The agent describes the property as-

"An EXTREMELY MODERN and SPACIOUS three bedroom detached property which has a "WOW FACTOR" kitchen as well as EN SUITE FACILITIES, ENCLOSED REAR GARDEN and a GARAGE."

From the photographs and description it looks like there's no real areas to renovate, repair or decorate to have the place ready for tenants, but you'll obviously have to view the property at least once to confirm this.

There are 6 house sales showing on the nethouseprices website for Parkside-

http://nethouseprices.com/house-prices/streets-details/county%20durham/spennymoor/parkside/dl16/6sa/parkside,%20spennymoor,%20county%20durham

None are for detached houses but none are in excess of £125,000. The most recent sale on the website is 

20 Parkside, Spennymoor, DL16 6RX Semi Detached, Leasehold, Non‑Newbuild

£87,500

27th March 2015

I would think that this property would rent out for somewhere between £475 and £550 per month. This would give an annual rental return of somewhere between 3.9% and 4.5%, based in the asking price.

On this basis you may want to negotiate hard on the asking price, but bear in mind that it's advertised as 'Offers In Excess Of.'

Wansbeck Close is unusual for Spennymoor and ideal for investors

I've decided to look in today's blog at this property in Wansbeck Close, Spennymoor as we don'r get many apartments for sale in the town and this represents a nice change-

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-34979172.html

I've lived in certain parts of the country where there are as many flats or apartments as there are houses. In certain areas, there are many, many large houses converted into two or more flats as developers found they could generate more money this way and 1960's to 1990's planning departments did nothing to stand in their way. With land and space being more plentiful in the North East, this isn't a phenomenon that has ever cropped up, aside from the major cities.

This property is a 2 bedroom first-floor apartment and looks to have been designed and built as a flat rather than converted into one after being built. From the photographs and description, there doesn't look like there is an major renovation needed to get this into a position to let out again. The bathroom looks newly redecorated and does look to be in good condition, as far as can be told from the photographs. The walls look to have quite dated wallpaper on, but a lick of paint in these areas will help to improve the overall presentation and rental potential of this property. The only area that the photos highlights as a potential concern is the kitchen. Although it looks to be in a perfectly lettable condition, to enable the property to gain top rental value a new kitchen may have to be installed. But that decision is about maximising potential - I repeat that the property looks ready to let out with the kitchen in it's current condition.

The estate agent is the town's newest major estate agency - Harringtons - and they describe the property as extremely spacious. The estate agent is another that doesn't seem to grasp the basic estate agency concept of portal pricing and they offer the property at a strange combination of "offers over" and "£69,950." Portal pricing isn't just an excuse for me to have a moan - it's an important factor in marketing a property. Set, whole prices such as £70,000 (which, let's be clear is ONLY £50 more than the asking price here) means that anyone searching from £70,000 to £80,000 will find the property - whereas with the current price they just won't.

The property will attract attention from fellow investors, so you may have to move quite quickly with this one. I'd expect it to gain somewhere between £375 and £425 per month, with the top end of that estimate being more likely if the kitchen is renovated. This equates to something in between 6.4% and 7.3%, based on the asking price. It's a fair return on an investment but you may wish to try a negotiation on the price in order to get the return that you are looking for, especially with any renovation costs to be factored in.

Commercial property for investors on Spennymoor High Street

Looking on Rightmove today I've noticed something a little different out there for the investor-

31 High Street, County Durham

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/commercial-property-for-sale/property-50598655.html

It's a commercial property with a current, national and long-standing tenant and a guide price in auction of £80,000. There is potential here and we can look directly at actual returns because we already know what the tenant is paying per month in rent.

Commercial property is a different beast to residential property so you need to do your research and ensure that you instruct a solicitor that really understands the ins and outs of commercial property transactions. And the mortgage market is also wildly different for commercial transactions so you'll need to ensure that all of your research is carried out before you commit to buy at auction.

The agent shows the following description-

Retail

Full Description

Tenure: Freehold

This lot is for sale by auction as lot 70 on 6th July 2015.

Freehold Shop Investment

- Let to Shoe Zone Ltd on a new 5 year lease expiring in 2020 
- Tenant in occupation for many years 
- Town centre location 
- No VAT applicable 
- Current Rent Reserved

£9,000 pa
SIX WEEK COMPLETION AVAILABLE

So we know it's freehold, we know the rent and that's there's a six week completion available.

Now it's time for the figures. The gross annual rental return, based on the guide price is 11.25%, which can always be seen as a good return - especially with the guarantee of a five year tenancy from the current tenants.

A property with the potential to rent out immediately in Spennymoor

New to the market this week is a recently built property near to Green Lane. It's on Watson Park and is being marketed by Robinsons-

Watson Park, Spennymoor

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-51877109.html

It's a two-bedroom terraced house and has an asking price of a very strange £90,500. Why the estate agent has picked a price of just £500 over a property portal threshold is completely beyond me, but that's their decision.

They describe the property as -

"We offer to the market this recently constructed TWO BEDROOM MID-LINK property which is offered to the market in immaculate decorative order throughout. An ideal purchase for the FIRST TIME BUYER."

As a quite new property, and judging from the photographs, the chances that there is work to do in the property in minimal.

I think that the fact that the property is so new, you could be looking at an average rental return of between £400 and possibly pushing up to £500 per month. This equates to an gross annual rental return of between 5.3% and 6.6%, based in the asking price. This is a good solid return for an investor, with the property more than likely to still be covered by a new build guarantee.

St. Andrews Road in Spennymoor could be an investors delight

I've been taking a look at what has become a growing Spring property market in Spennymoor. There are several auction entries this week, but it's this property below that's caught my eye as an investor-

St. Andrews Road, Spennymoor

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-34358373.html

It's a 3 bed terraced house on St. Andrews Road Spennymoor with an asking price of Offers In the Region Of £69,950. It's on the market with Harringtons and they've got into this habit recently of listing property on Rightmove and using a photo of the interior as their lead photo. I would say that approximately 99% of properties on the property portals have a photo of the exterior as their lead photo - and for good reason. Being able to see the outside of a property gives the potential buyer a good idea of the size of the property, the parking and garden space and whether they perceive it to have kerb appeal. Photos really do paint 1000 words and I think that Harringtons have really missed a trick here. Especially with this property, as the interior is in need of some work and the room they have chosen is small, devoid of furniture and badly presented.

The agent describes it as-

"An ideal first time buyer purchase offering spacious living accommodation and in need of some cosmetic modernisation."

I see it as a property with much potential. From reading the description and looking at photos, the work needed here looks like redecoration rather than structural. It looks to have a big enough kitchen to fit a dining table in, which is a big bonus in today's market. People are seeing the kitchen as becoming more and more the most important room in the house. The house builders have tapped into this and now pretty much provide it as standard in new builds.

So, there's potential if you can spend a little money on it to bring it up to scratch. I see a monthly rental of somewhere between £395 and £475 for this property, after looking at what else is on the market. This equates to a gross annual rental of between 6.7% and 8.1%, based on the asking price of £69,959.

Even this level of refurbishment may put off some residential buyers, so there can be potential in this for the investor.

Parkside in Spennymoor is always popular

Just added to Rightmove is this property in the ever-popular Parkside-

Parkside, Spennymoor, County Durham

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-51230369.html

It's a 3 bedroom semi-detached property with an asking price of £114,950. It's brought to the market by Robinsons and this agent seems to be popular in this part of town. According to their blurb-

" In our opinion this spacious home would provide an ideal purchase for the growing family"

When you cut through the vast amounts of agent speak in the description of this property (and there's a lot to cut through) it's a decent 3 bedroom semi-detached house. It's close to the town, the good primary schools and the third bedroom isn't a box room. From the photographs, it looks vacant, so if that is the case then a sale and completion could possibly be agreed quite quickly on this. Again from looking at the photographs and reading the actual facts in the description, there doesn't look to be a lot of work involved and it has a kitchen/diner which is a massive selling point and a bit of a rarity in properties of this age. Many of the really new build properties have this feature and it is a popular feature, as the family room.

From the point of view of an investor, I would expect a monthly rental return of £450 to £525 per month. This equates to an annual rental return of between 4.7% and 5.5%, based on the asking price. This is a reasonable return, and the property should hold value over the years, as the location will always be popular for investors and owner occupiers alike.

There will be initial interest in this property from people looking to buy and live in it, and from landlord-investors. It's worth getting an early look so you can make your mind up.

Expanding my Spennymoor property blog

I'm looking at ways of expanding and varying my Spennymoor property blog. Although the blog highlights opportunities for landlords and has got some positive feedback, I'm looking we was of giving the blog a wider audience and a slightly broader appeal. There are a few ideas that I've been mulling over in my mind and I think that one or more of these will give the blog some new life. For those that like the current format, I will continue to look at available properties in the Spennymoor area and looking at any work that needs doing and the investment and rental potential of these properties. The blog hasn't run for a couple of weeks now, as I've been formulating the ideas to expand and diversify.

The additional ideas have been plentiful, with some discarded quickly and others have developed into kernels of ideas to take forward. Here are some of the potentials-

Interviews and features with local estate agents

I've looked at this as an opportunity for both the estate agents and their customers and potential customers. Estate agents will have a chance for people to read about what they stand for, what they are doing and what they could do for you as a user of estate agency services. Customers can read what makes an agent tick, what marketing they are currently running and what properties they currently have available. I have no idea about what response the Spennymoor estate agents would give this idea, but I think that it's a great outlet for publicity, especially as customers are looking in different places to the traditional marketing methods such as local newspapers.

Property awards

I'm thinking that as a large part of my blog surrounds the availability of potential investment property for landlords in Spennymoor, and the fact that I use the blog to look a how these are marketed, that I might look at running some property awards. I'd look at one of two options - either investment property of the week/month or a weekly/monthly award based on the quality of the marketing. I think that either or both would be quite interesting and would involve the readership of consumers and property professionals alike.

The investment property would go further than just looking at a few properties a week, it would look at real potential and the opportunity for an investor to get a look at something that might be a great investment.

The marketing side of estate agency really interests me, and in think that a well-marketed property gets more interest, more chance of a sale and a higher price achieved when the sale actually comes through. If I could recognise the marketing efforts if the local estate agents then I believe that it will lead to improvements in marketing and a better deal for Spennymoor customers.

There are several big moves in the estate agency industry to allow consumers to bring their property directly to market without an estate agent as an intermediary. If I could build up my Spennymoor readership to a string level then maybe in the future I could give potential sellers access to potential buyers but we're a long way from that at the moment.

Semi-detached property in Deneside has investment potential

There seems to have been a small exodus of Spennymoor estate agents from Rightmove. There's nothing showing uploaded for the last three days. I've gone to the new estate agency property portal called On The Market, and found this property-

https://www.onthemarket.com/details/1198345/

It's a 3 bedroom semi-detached house on Deneside with an asking price of £69,000. The estate agent in question is a Spennymoor Property Blog regular, Dowen. As an agent with a presence in Spennymoor town centre, Dowen get their fair share of properties.

They describe this on as spacious, in a quiet location with pleasant views to the rear. And they're right! The property itself looks lived-in and well-looked-after but is obviously quite dated. To buy and let this out to potential tenants, you will probably want to update the kitchen and possibly the bathroom. From the photos and description alone, everything else seems a lick of paint away from going to the rental market.

According to the nethouseprices website, the average selling price for a property in Deneside is £57,984 -

http://m.nethouseprices.com/soldprices/property_results?street=DENESIDE&town=SPENNYMOOR&outcode=DL16

The most recent, and possibly the most relevant sale is that of number 65 in March 2014 for £70,000.

Regular readers of my blog will know that this is the point at which we loom at the numbers. I would expect this property to achieve somewhere between £395 and £450 per month. This equates to an annual return of between 6.9% and 7.8% based on the asking price. Taking into account the fact that you may have to update the kitchen and bathroom, this is a reasonably healthy rental return for an investor.

It's probably well worth a look and an offer, based on the information you can gather from the estate agent on the On The Market website.

Detached property on a large plot in Spennymoor

With property starting to be diluted over the property portals with the advent of On The Market and their rules regarding signing up with them and the competition, the Spennymoor Property Blog will continue, but with feeds from more than one portal. On The Market is a new property portal that set out on the first of January 2015 and their proposition centred around three main areas, as far as I can see-

1- As an estate agent, you can only set yourself up with On The Market and one other property portal (large or small.)

2 - They charge less than Rightmove for what they provide for estate agents.

3 - They haven't got the saturation of the market that Rightmove have achieved - the majority if the general public haven't heard of the website and as such don't use it.

This property listing came from Rightmove and is a 2 bedroom detached house. There is potential to develop this property -

Barnfield Road, Spennymoor, Co Durham, DL16

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-48446104.html

It's on Barnfield Road and is in the market for offers in the region of £89,950. I am blue in the face with talking about portal pricing, so I won't go any further than to say that the agent isn't doing the property it's best by pricing it to the principles of portal pricing.

Its a 2 bedroom detached house that, in the words if the agent that has it for sale, is "in need of some internal modernisation and updating." This is generally agent speak for something that need a lot of work but in this instance, I fem that were looking at much more than a wreck. It's detached, has a detached double garage and what looks like, and is described by the agent as "a good sized plot." I know all of you developers out there like to add value and there is potential in this property. Potential to extend and possibly potential for more if the size is right and you can get the necessary planning permissions.

According to nethouseprices Barnfield Road is quite popular with 32 sales on their records, including 3 in 2014 and an average sale price of £78,021.

http://m.nethouseprices.com/soldprices/property_results?street=BARNFIELD+ROAD&town=SPENNYMOOR&outcode=DL16

I'd expect a rental return of between £375 and £400 per month for this property as a two-bedroom house. Based on the asking price, this would equate to an annual rental return of between 5.0% and 5.3%, which may be a little on the low side for an investor, but the potential to develop this property and make it into a large 3 bedroom house. This will change the rental potential into something more like £600 per month and the return starts to look like something more serious.

Why invest in Spennymoor?

After several blogs on different properties in Spennymoor, I thought it was about time to let investors know why to buy property in Spennymoor. The town has a lot of potential and through this edition of my blog I'll give you some reasons to look at Spennymoor as a potential investment town.

Firstly, and most importantly, there is a strong rental demand in the town. As an investor, this is the most important factor. The demand is a mix of housing benefit and non-housing benefit tenants but a good property well-priced will always attract the right attention and you will be able to let in a short period of time. As with most of the North East, there are plenty of families looking to rent and if you can pitch it right then you'll find a good match.

This leads on to the estate agents. There are a few lettings agencies in the town, and these are all quite active in the lettings market. As with many UK estate agents, lettings has become a larger part of their business since the crash in the housing market that started with the credit crunch in 2008. The main agents all conduct sales and lettings, so if you buy through them, you can sample their services before you choose a lettings agent.

Spennymoor itself has lost a lot of their big employers as the main factories have closed. The retail area in the town centre is a little disjointed but provides employment. In terms of employment, one of Spennymoor's great advantages is it's proximity to Durham and it's links to the A1. This means that large parts of the population live here but work elsewhere in the North East. By travelling up and down the A1, it means that places such as Newcastle, Leeds and York can be reached in a commute. Although train services are relatively poor in comparison with other parts of the country, the East Coast Main Line connects durham quickly and regularly to Edinburgh, Newcastle and routes down to London. Again, this provides a potential commute for your tenants.

For me, as a Spennymoor resident, one of the main "selling points" of living here is access to the wonderful  North East and the leisure activities it offers. We are on the doorstep of such natural beauty and being able to reach and experience this quickly is a major selling point for any landlord looking to attract people from around the country.

Whether you're from Spennymoor or not, I hope this sheds some light on why you should consider an investment property in our town.

Grange Estate will generate strong rental demand

In amongst the new build properties that have been brought to market this week, this one on Witton Drive stands out as investment potential-

WITTON DRIVE, SPENNYMOOR, SPENNYMOOR DISTRICT

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-50205161.html

It's a 3 bedroom terraced property, although the estate agent (Dowen) describes it alternately as a mid link property and a town house. The asking price is £99,950.

Witton Drive is on the Grange Estate and property here usually sells quickly and demand for rental is strong. The property has 2 reception rooms, double glazing and a garage.

The average sold price for a property on Witton Drive is £64,392, according to the nethouseprices website, and there has been only one sale there in the last three years - at a price of £100,000-

http://m.nethouseprices.com/soldprices/property_results?street=WITTON+DRIVE&town=SPENNYMOOR&outcode=DL16

I would expect this property to achieve a monthly rental of between £525 and £575 per month. Based on the asking price, this equates to a gross annual return of between 6.3% and 6.9%. This is a strong return on an investment.

With any potential house purchase, it's best to go and view the property several times and ask lots of questions. Investors may have to move quickly and fend off owner-occupiers for this one though.

Parkside in Spennymoor will attract families and investors

A new property to the market is this 3 bedroom family home that's just come to the market via Dowen-

PARKSIDE, SPENNYMOOR, SPENNYMOOR DISTRICT

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-50169509.html

It's in the ever-popular Parkside and has gone on the market at £118,500. Although it's another example of an estate agent not getting to grips with portal pricing, there's definitely potential here. It may appeal more to a family than an investor, but there's probably value here for either.

It's got three bedrooms and a kitchen/diner, which is popular for current buyers. Personally I'd get the estate agent back round to re-take some of the photos - a car on the drive is never a good start, for example.

For an investor, this property would attract a monthly rental return of between  £525 and £600. This equates to an annual rental return of between 5.3% and 6.1%, based on the asking price.

For a family home, there is always a demand for homes on Parkside. There have been 8 sales on Parkside in the last 5 years, with sold prices ranging from £86,000 to £130,000 but recent sold prices have been towards the lower end of this range-

http://m.nethouseprices.com/soldprices/property_results?street=PARKSIDE&town=SPENNYMOOR&outcode=DL16

It's definitely worth viewing for investors and owner-occupiers, so call the agent and make an appointment!

Only one photo but a promising location

A new property to market in Spennymoor is this one on Kentmere-

Kentmere, Spennymoor, Durham

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-50025410.html

It's quite intriguing, because these these properties on the Yuill estate are always popular, but the estate agent has only given us one photo. Robinsons use of o lay one photo obviously leads to questions of why only one, but nonetheless there should be potential in this property.

As I've said, this estate is popular and the average price of a property in Kentmere is £83,696, according to the net house prices website, but recent sakes have been in excess of £105,000-

http://m.nethouseprices.com/soldprices/property_results?street=KENTMERE&town=SPENNYMOOR&outcode=DL16

The latest sold was number 11, and this sold for £109,950 in September 2013, according to the site.

These are all reasonably-sized properties and Yuill seem to have built them better than more modern new homes.even the smallest bedroom is 7'8 x 9'1, which is reasonable. Obviously you'll have to go and view it to get an idea of condition and value but there may he investment potential for a landlord.

Monthly rental return would be in the region of between £550 and £625 per month, depending on the condition of the property. This would mean a gross annual rental return of between 5.7% and 6.5%, based on the asking price. This is a good rental return and is worth a look for all investors.

Burn Terrace catches the investors eye

There's a property that caught my eye this week, although it's not on with a Spennymoor estate agent is this-

Burn Terrace, Spennymoor, County Durham, DL16

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-47774389.html

It's a 3 bedroom end of terrace house on Burn Terrace on the market for £99,500. I've stated until I'm blue in face about portal pricing and this is one of the worst price points I've seen. A more detailed description of portal pricing and what it means is featured in my blog below-

http://eaboost.blogspot.com/2014/05/why-portal-pricing-really-matters.html

The agent has chosen to lead with the living room photograph, and this does show off the property in a better light than the front photo. I'd have tried to do something with the front of the house, such as a fresh coat of paint or some plants. It would set it off differently and promote the property to potential buyers, for a relatively small cost.

I believe that the property would get a monthly rental returning between £375 and £425. Based on the asking price, this would give a potential gross rental return of between 4.5% and 5.1%, which is an average rental return, if not quite up to the standard accepted measurement if 6%.

Have a look.

Property season starts with a potential 14%+ rental return

The property season will start in earnest soon, so here's one to start of the new year. It's a possible investment on Salvin Street in Spennymoor-

SALVIN STREET, SPENNYMOOR, SPENNYMOOR DISTRICT

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-49743683.html

 It's a 2 bedroom terraced house on the market for offers in the region of £29,950, and is being marketed by Dowen.

The clarion call at the top of the property description is "calling all investors" and there's probably something in that.

From the photos it looks as though it needs decoration, as a minimum. I would strongly suggest at least 2 visits to the property and a list if questions for the estate agent to help make a final decision on whether to buy as an investment. From part experience, I know that Dowen won't deal with housing benefit tenants, so it's definitely worth asking them how they feel demand for non-housing benefit tenants will be.

The agent, Dowen, states on the property particulars that they think it would achieve a rent of £325 per month, and I think it could generate a rent of between £325 and £350 per month. Based on the asking price, this would generate an annual rental return of between 13% and 14%, which is obviously a really good investment return on any measure, as long as the demand is strong.

Rowan Court in Spennymoor can bring a reasonable return for the investor

Obviously there aren't many peoperties coming to market at the present time, but this one caught the eye

ROWAN COURT, SPENNYMOOR, SPENNYMOOR DISTRICT

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-49695116.html

It's a 3 bedroom semi-detached house in Rowan Court and the asking price is Offers In The Region Of £106,995. I've spoken many times about portal pricing and ensuring that the marketing gives the property it's best chance. This would be at £100,000 or £110,000 and NOT at an odd price point such as £106,995.

Add to this, the photography could have been carried out in better light. But if you can look past this you may find a good property.

It looks well-maintained and from the photos and description of the property doesn't appear to require a lot of work. For landlords this is a plus. I'd expect a monthly rental of between £525 and £600. This relates to a gross annual return of between 5.8% and 6.7%, based on the asking price. This is a reasonable rental return and the fact that the property is 3 bedrooms will probably make it more attractive than the 2 bedroom properties currently available for rent.

It's worth a look for the investor.

Tees Crescent, Spennymoor is worth a look for investors

There are still the odd property or two appearing on Rightmove in Spennymoor this week. Such as the following-

TEES CRESCENT, Spennymoor, DL16

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-47635273.html

It's a 3 bed semi detached house on Tees Crescent with an asking price of £69,950.

The marketing photographs show a colourful decor, which makes a change from the magnolia walks we often see, especially with new houses. It's from the new Spennymoor agent called Harringtons, and it's the second of their properties I've featured in this blog.

Harringtons have featured a comprehensive, if unexciting description of the property together and there are quite a few marketing photos to help you get a feel of how the property is.

I've not visited the property, but it appears to be in a decent condition and from the marketing description and photos there doesn't appear to be a great deal of expense needed to ensure the property is ready to rent out.

There is usually a slightly stronger rental demand as we go up from 2 bedroom properties to 3 bedroom properties and I think this would attract rental demand at the right price. I would expect a rental return of between £450 and £525 per month which, based on the asking price, would give a gross annual return of between 7.7% and 9%. These are good rental return figures against the long-held norm for residential property of 6%.

It's worth a look for investors.

An unusual property will bring much attention

It's close to Christmas, but houses are still appearing on Rightmove this week. The following 2 bedroom house has come to the market via Robinsons -

Studley Drive, Spennymoor, County Durham

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-49630004.html

It's got an asking price of £87,950 (the lack of knowledge about portal pricing shows through again, unfortunately.)

It's modern, still under NHBC guarantee and looks clean, modern and well laid out in the photos. There are 8 photos, but 2 are of the bathroom and one of the hall, so quite a let down there. It's also obvious that the light conditions weren't great when the photo was taken, which is a real shame as natural light helps to sell a property.

This aside, it should attract interest from owner occupies and some landlords. I would suggest a rental return of between £450 and £475, which means a gross annual return of between 6.1% and 6.5% based on the asking price.

It's a good property that's under a guarantee and looks well-maintained from the photos. It will attract attention, if not quite at this price.

Check out my ebook on how to sell your home-

What Traditional Estate Agents don't tell you: A guide to getting the most out of selling your home by Steven Thompson http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00I5HOJAM/ref=cm_sw_r_udp_awd_L-VKub0NF763Q