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.

Why don't Spennymoor agents get Tudhoe Village properties?

It's long bugged me, so I decided to try to look a little deeper into it -

Why don't Spennymoor agents get Tudhoe Village properties?

As a rule, the properties in Tudhoe Village are put up with (probably expensive) Durham City estate agents that produce glossy brochures and take endless photographs of the property. This is rather than chose a more local Spennymoor agent that may have less glamorous surroundings and (generally) poorer photography standards, although the high-end properties are much more photogenic.

What drives this? Are the Spennymoor estate agents losing out? If so, where are the Spennymoor agents losing out?

I don't have first hand experience of this, but I believe that two things are happening-

Image counts

When buying or selling one of the large Tudhoe Village properties then the image of the property counts for a great deal. The vendor and buyer don't ideally want to do their business in one of the tatty estate agent offices that Spennymoor provides. Selling or buying from a plush office in the stylish city of Durham appeals more to the clientele of these transactions. So the Spennymoor estate agents could possibly gain a foothold in the market if they spent money in refurbishing their offices.

Conversation counts

I also believe that Durham City estate agents must be playing in the above. Showing potential clients the glossy brochures they produce alongside the one sheet, plain paper efforts of their Spennymoor counterparts must be a great selling point. Add to this their photography and office locations.

The biggest pulling factor into opinion must be the market, and how it can he accessed. The potential buyers are more likely to be from Durham City than from Spennymoor. So it follows that the better agent for your property would be in Durham City.

Spennymoor estate agents can have a conversation with sellers that in the world of the internet that buyers approach estate agents via the internet, rather than via their city centre offices.

From this, Spennymoor estate agents can gain a foothold in the market.

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

Fern Grove in Spennymoor would give a decent rental return

One property that has come to market in Spennymoor over the lady week is this 2 bedroom house on Fern Grove, which has gone on the market for £72,500-

Fern Grove, Spennymoor, Durham

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-49518983.html

You'll have to forgive the estate agent for going over-the-top in their description of this one. Look at the following sentence from the description-

"Conveniently located for local schools and bus routes the property in our opinion would suit a variety of purchasers including the first time buyer and this lovely home must be viewed to be appreciated."

And that's all one sentence!

Putting this aside, it's in a good location, close to South View, and the bus route. The property has been refurbished in the standard manner of low-cost fitted kitchen and magnolia walls.  This will probably bode well as the current owner will most likely have put right any potential traits as part of the refurbishment.

I know that many landlords would rather do the renovation work themselves than pay a premium for someone else to carry it out, but there's still some mileage left in this property.

I'd expect a rental return of between £425 and £450 per month for this property.  This would bring a gross annual return of between 7% and 7.4%, based on the asking price. This is reasonable, compared to the standard accepted return of 6%.

Go and have a look!