A guide to North East England for a visitor from Outer Space

If you are looking at areas for oproperty investment and don't know a lot about Spennymoor or the North East of England then my blog is a great place to start.

It is full of things about life in the North East of England and also looks at the area in general.

Check it out!

A Guide to North East England for a visitor from Outer Space

Can a 4 bedroom home on Glastonbury Close be a Spennymoor investors dream?

In recent weeks I have seen more of a trend in the Spennymoor rental market for 2 bedroom homes to be available. This means that there is quite some competition for landlords looking to rent out a 2 bedroom home and there is some downward pressure on price starting to appear. With this in mind, I'm starting to look away from 2 bedroom properties at something a little larger for the family.

I have come across the following property from an estate agent outside of the town-

4 bedroom detached house for sale on Glastonbury Close, County Durham , Durham, DL16 6XP

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It is for sale by a company called Springbok Properties, who are based in Manchester. Their marketing blurb says -

"Springbok Properties offers a market-beating alternative to the traditional way of selling property. 

We have grown from selling 4 properties a month in March 2012 to selling 200 properties a month in March 2015. How have we grown so quickly? Simple: our entire organisation is aligned to one mission, and only one –providing the best customer service humanly possible."

There probably is long overdue a real shake up in the estate agency industry with better customer service and lower costs starting to come through, especially from online-only estate agents.

On to the property in question. It is available at an asking price of Offers In Excess of £140,000 and is a 4 bedroom detached house. It lies on the Yuill Estate so is very popular and has great transport links, being close to a bus route and close to the town centre.

The description and photographs are of a generally well maintained property that wouldn't need much work to turn around and start renting out. Whoever decided that it was a good idea to include those photographs of the bathroom need to start thinking about their future in estate agency though.

I think that there is a demand for four bedroom properties in the Spennymoor area and, as I said before, there is a glut of 2 bedroom property at the moment. In terms of rental potential, I can see this one going for somewhere between £575 and £650 per month. This equates to a gross annual return of between 4.9% and 5.6% based on the asking price.

It really has become decision time for many landlords with the changes in buy to let rules occurring in April 2016 so if you want to make a move before then this may be the time


.

Can this Tudhoe Moor property be one to add to your portfolio?

There always seems to be the better potential of higher rental returns on property at the lower end of the property market. To explore this, I'll take a look at a house that has come to market this week with an asking price of £52,000.

Tudhoe Moor, Spennymoor, County Durham, DL16

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-57429539.html

It's is up for sale with Robinsons and can be found on Tudhoe Moor. As I've already said, it's available with an asking price of £52,000. The property is a 2 bedroom semi-detached house.

Aside from the standard comments, the estate agent states -

"Corner plot with extra large Gardens to rear and side. Patio area, Off street parking to the front 

Brick outhouse in rear garden"

It's interesting to know some detail about a property, especially if you are intending on letting it out in the future. A selling point for a sales estate agent will be a selling point for a landlord looking for tenants.

From the description and photographs it looks like it would be ready to rent out straight away, so the expenditure would only be linked to the purchase of the property. You may want to add a lick of paint and put a few plants in the garden but nothing of great cost by the look if it from here. Of course you'll want to go and check it out yourself before making an offer.

It's time for the financials, so let's take a look at what it will bring in rent. There looks to be quite a bit of competition for 2 bedroom properties to rent, so I think that you would get somewhere between £325 and £375 per month. This equates to a gross annual return of between 7.5% and 8.7% based in the asking price. This is a good solid rental return for any investor but beware the competition - there are a lot of 2 bedroom houses available for rent at the moment.

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.

Can this auction property in Spennymoor attract an investor?

This property jumped out of Rightmove this week and into my attention-

HAZELMERE, SPENNYMOOR, Spennymoor District, DL16 6UL

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-37396203.html

It's a 2 bedroom semi-detached house on the Greenways estate, which always draws a lot of attention from investors and owner-occupiers.

It's being advertised at offered over £65,000 because it's being sold in auction by Dowen. They describe it as-

"A two bedroomed semi detached property situated in a quiet spot on the popular Greenways Estate in Spennymoor and having the benefit of GARDENS TO FRONT AND REAR, a GARAGE and TWO DOUBLE BEDROOMS."

Auction properties can be a little volatile in terms of what you will actually pay, just because of the nature of the auction itself. You could pay as little as the £55,000 advertised or much more if there are many people interested. And it all comes down to the day.

For someone who will buy at auction, it is important to know what you are doing. You must have a grip on the following-

• The auction rules
• Your finances
• The legal side of things
• Your deposit

I think that to assess this property, I'll have to select a price to base my calculations on. The price I have selected is £60,000. I think that this property will attract good attention on the rental market and I'd expect the monthly rental to be somewhere between £450 and £475. This equates to a gross annual return of between 9% and 9.5%, which is a good return.

This is one to keep an eye on.

See the rental potential of this flat in Dundas Street, Spennymoor

I'm going back to the basics of the blog this week and looking at a lower-priced property that has the potential for a good rental return. This property is a converted flat in Dundas Street-

Dundas Street, Spennymoor

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-37229916.html

It's a 2 bedroom flat on the market at Offers In the Region of £89,950. It looks like quite a stylish conversion and the estate agent described it as-

"CITY LIVING AVAILABLE IN SPENNYMOOR

A fantastic opportunity to purchase this unique ground floor apartment in a characterful building."

The estate agent is called Venture Properties and is based in Durham City, not based in Spennymoor. As with some of the properties I feature on here, the photographs and the description show a property that needs little or no work to have it ready to rent out. I think that rental demand for it would be strong as I agree with the estate agents - the apartment is akin to one you would normally find in a bigger city. I'm not sure why there have been two photographs included of the front door (one of it open and one of it closed) but generally the photographs show a well-maintained flat.

I'd expect a rental return of between £450 and £500 per month. This equates to a gross annual rental return of somewhere between 6.0% and 6.7%, based on the asking price.

This is a good, solid return on a residential property investment and I think that you could make a good long-term return on this property. There may also be a little play in the price. Nethouseprices show 2 properties sold in the street, but both freehold houses-

http://nethouseprices.com/house-prices/streets-details/county%20durham/spennymoor/dundas%20street/dl16/6ar/dundas%20street%20spennymoor

Comparing purpose-built 2 bedroom flats in Spennymoor, we have asking prices from around £60,000 to just under £100,000 so this one is towards the top end of that.

It's well worth a look.

Can an investor make a good return from this Spennymoor new build home?

I've been keeping an eye in the Spennymoor housing market this week and this property started me thinking.

Whitworth Road, Spennymoor, DL16 7QF

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/new-homes-for-sale/property-55510805.html

And what it got me thinking was can a new build be an investable property? The reason I ask this is because there's often a premium to be paid for new build. The developers have prices higher than a resale property but offer incentives such as legal fees paid, stamp duty paid, white goods and carpets. So for the investor, a new build property is usually avoided.

This property is on Whitworth Road and has an asking price of £169,995, which is a lot of money for a 3 bedroom property in Spennymoor. The selling agent describes it as-

A flexible THREE BEDROOM DETACHED HOME featuring a beautiful OPEN-PLAN KITCHEN and DINING AREA with a GLAZED BAY leading to the REAR GARDEN.

With a new build there's a guarantee and the place should be totally ready to move in to for your tenants. The photographs look great, but the show homes always do.

In terms of rental potential, tenants will probably be queued up for the prospect of renting this property, as long as the price is right. I think that this property would command a monthly rental figure of between £475 and £575 per month. Based in the asking price, this equates to a gross rental return of between 3.3% and 4%. It's an okay return but may not be what the seasoned investor is looking for.

Can a new build provide a good rental return? Maybe, but probably this one will go to a owner occupier.

See this potential investment property in Spennymoor before anyone else does

Another property that has come to market this week is this 2 bedroom house in Harewood Close, Spennymoor.

Harewood Close, Spennymoor, County Durham http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-35928357.html

It's on for the strange combination of "Offers over" and "£99,950." I write on a regular basis in this blog about the need for estate agents to think about their pricing strategies. Round figures work extremely well with internet property portals - it's called portal pricing.

If a customer puts in a search that they are looking for property from £100,000 to £125,000, for instance then they won't find this property, even though it's only fifty quid less than their search terms. The old "price it just under a hundred grand to make it seem cheaper" strategy doesn't work with the internet.

The estate agent is Robinsons, who are serial offenders with this portal pricing mistake, but market the property with the following description-

"This lovely TWO BEDROOM, TWO BATHROOM END LINK HOUSE is offered to the market in superb decorative order throughout and is situated on the popular Whitworth Park development."

And the property does look in good condition, from the photographs and the overall description. Any potential buyer, especially as an investment, will want to view the property at least once and ensure that it is in good working order and ready to rent out.

I'd say that this property would command somewhere between £400 and £475 per month as a rental figure. This equates to a gross annual return of between 4.8% and 5.7%, based in the advertised price of £99,950. It's an average rental return and the fact that the estate agent has stated offers over may stop you from getting it at a better price than this. I think that it being a relatively new property will attract interest from owner occupiers so it may be time to assess and see what the rest of the market thinks.

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.

Clyde Terrace available for rental purposes

A new property came on to the market yesterday, and it gives us a chance to look at the auction process again-

CLYDE TERRACE, SPENNYMOOR, Spennymoor District, DL16 7SG http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-36262626.html

It's a 3 bedroom terraced house on Clyde Terrace in Spennymoor. The price showing on Rightmove is Offers Over £44,950 plus a buyers premium. This property is offered via auction and the estate agent marketing it is Dowen.

The auction site is here- http://www.greatnorthpropertyauction.co.uk/

And it states that once the auction is finished, you are expected to exchange contracts within 28 days and pay a buyer's premium.

The property is described as "A spacious mid terrace property which has the benefit of THREE BEDROOMS along with TWO RECEPTION ROOMS, a first floor STUDY and a GARAGE" by the estate agent. The garage and an extra room upstairs (the study) are an advantage here as there are many terraced houses in the town without a garage.

The photographs show a property that looks structurally sound and perfectly lettable in it's current condition, although would benefit from some updating. The description doesn't suggest any works are need either but, as with all properties that you may consider to buy, you will need to visit it and have at least one viewing. This is to ensure that you can verify the condition, the location and the surroundings.

The estate agent states on the property details that they think the property would rent out for £500 per month but I think that's probably the top end if the estimate. I'd say that £450 to £500 is a realistic range, though. It's difficult to measure the income this will bring because of the fact that the property is available at auction. If we use a ronded figure of £50,00 to include the buyers premium then we are looking at a gross annual rental return of between 10.8% and 12%. These are very good returns on investment but remember that this property is available by auction and these figures can change.

Is there still value in this 2 bedroom terraced house on Durham Road?

Is there still value in this 2 bedroom terraced house on Durham Road?

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-32624286.html

It was for sale via auction earlier this year and the "guide price" was around £25,000.  Now there has obviously been a lot of work put into the house.  From the outside it looks as though there has been new windows, probably re-plastering and a lot of decoration, and that's without and unseen improvements, such as rewiring or any work on the central heating system.  The agent leaves a lot of information and images out off their Rightmove listing and have only 2 photos included in the brochure, which could be a worry for a house that they describe as "superbly refurbished." And they also make the age-old faux pas of describing the distance from the town in how many minutes it takes to walk there - surely that depends on how fast you walk?

Now, my question - is there value for any potential buyer?

Well, at the right price, there is.  As an owner-occupier, the average price paid for a property on Durham Road over the last year is £80,068 and prices have appeared static in that time -

http://www.nethouseprices.com/index.php?con=sold_prices_street_detail&street=DURHAM+ROAD&locality=SPENNYMOOR&town=SPENNYMOOR&cCode=EW&year=last_three_years&house_style=All&house_age=All&search_radius=&outcode=DL16&incode=6JU

As a 2 bedroom house, close to the Town Centre, with a recent renovation, the asking price of £67,950 is a reasonable starting point for negotiations, especially given the average figure above. Durham Road has always been reasonably desirable and will provide a good starter home for a first time buyer.

As a landlord, looking to buy this as an investment property, there is potential there too. I'd expect a rental return of £400 to £500 per month, so an annual; return of £4,800 to £6,000 - a gross rental return of between 7% and 8.8%, based on the asking price.

It's one of those properties where everyone can be a winner - the current owner who has bought and renovated and the potential new owner, who can get a recently-renovated house without paying a new-home premium.

Is this Green Lane home country living?

This property has sparked my interest since it first came onto the market-

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-44800045.html

On first look at the photo of the front elevation of the house, it looks imposing, large and looks as though it's set on it's own in perhaps a country or village location.

Now I'm sure it's a lovely house, but the initial photo can be a little deceptive, as the property is quite a bit closer to the road than it appears on the photo.  It's on Green Lane, almost opposite the Council Offices, near the new developments and on a fairly busy road, backing on to a council estate.

There's nothing wrong with any of these things, but they are probably not quite what you expect when you see the initial photo.

The house is decorated in a grand style, with high ceilings and it looks spacious.  The estate agent is Agency Express, who quote "Sell your home in days or weeks not months or years - most of our sales are around 6 weeks." However this particular property has been on the market for far in excess of that.  They also state on the particulars that "the property has the potential to be converted into two separate dwellings" but with a guide price of £330,000, I doubt that would be what any potential buyer would have in mind.

I have worked in the property market in several parts of the country, and this property brings forward a question that I have asked myself time and time again, since moving to the North East.

Are prices like this sustainable in an areas that has low economic growth, lower wages and higher deprivation than area within commutable distance to London?

I know that;'s quite a long-winded question, but it has struck me as odd that a property like the one above is commanding a similar price to a similar property in Essex, for example, where the owner could easily hop on a train to London and bring home £50,000+ with one of hundreds of employers.  It brings finance and debt into the purchase decision of a North East worker, that would be easier to obtain, and less of a worry for someone on a London salary.  I know that there are people in the North East that will earn a lot of money, but statistically there are fewer of them, so the potential market for this home on Green Lane, Spennymoor is naturally more limited.

Get In Touch

I can be contacted at -

estateagentboost@gmail.com

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@homeestates

Introduction to my blog on the Spennymoor property market.

This is a blog about the property market in Spennymoor.  I have lived in Spennymoor and operated from Spennymoor for some time now and I will be looking at the market in general, specific properties that catch my eye and offering tips, advice and analysis on property in the Spennymoor area.

I'll look at property from all the agents that sell property in Spennymoor.  Check out my Get In Touch page if you have any questions or ideas.

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