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.

Spring turns For Sale boards into Sold By boards

The Spring weather has started to turn For Sale boards into Sold By boards in Spennymoor seemingly as quickly as bulbs into daffodils.

The change in weather brings about an interest in moving and viewing property again. One thing I've noticed during my time in Spennymoor is that people generally time time and pride in their gardens. This will ensure that the property is ready for viewings and that it looks better on the property portals such as Rightmove and On The Market. This in turn brings about more interest in the property, more viewings and potentially a better sale price, usually all in a quicker time. This blog shows advice to estate agents as the weather gets better-

http://eaboost.blogspot.com/2015/03/the-weather-turns-now-crank-up-your.html

So what can Spennymoor house vendors do differently to make their property stand out from the crowd?

Well firstly you need to ensure that the outside is up with the crowd, in terms of how the gardens look. And you need to make sure that your estate agent knows this and is prepared to market your property using this. If the flowers have bloomed since your home went in to the market, then get the estate agent back round to take their marketing photos again, otherwise they'll look dated. Get them to take the photos when the sky is looking good and when you're ready.

At the same time, you want them to take photos of the inside of your house. It's time for Spring cleaning (otherwise known as decluttering) and for any little jobs that need doing around the house. A viewer that sees several small jobs that need doing will also wonder what large jobs are hiding behind them, and this isn't the impression you want to leave on someone who you want to buy your home.

Some more ideas can be found in my Kindle book, How To Sell Your House-

How to sell your house: What estate agents don't tell you by Steven Thompson http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00I5HOJAM/ref=cm_sw_r_udp_awd_Zf.jvb00X4HX2

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00I5HOJAM/ref=cm_sw_r_udp_awd_Zf.jvb00X4HX2

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.

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.