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.

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.

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.

Looking at a higher price bracket can still bring solid returns

It's my first blog post for a little while, and I'm taking a look at a property in a higher price bracket than my usual. It can be easier to look at property in the lower-end price ranges and state that they will make a good rental income. However, this will often lead the landlord to be looking at housing benefit tenants, which isn't a problem in itself. But some landlords and some letting agents don't want to deal with housing benefit.

So it's this property on Abbey Green that I'll be taking a closer look at today-

Abbey Green, Spennymoor, County Durham

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-50660093.html

It's a 3 bedroom semi-detached house by the home builders Yuill. It's showing with Robinsons as new to the market, but appears that they are the second agent instructed. The asking price is another that ignores the portal pricing conventions and is on the market for £118,950. For those that don't know what portal pricing means or the difference it can make then see here-

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

This agent describes the property as "In our opinion the property would suit a variety of purchasers including the smaller family" of which I'm not sure of the translation into English. From the recent build of the house, the description (including the NHBC guarantee) and the photographs we can see that the house needs little or no work to have it ready for occupation. Judging on how quickly these were snapped up when sold by the developers, I can't see that this one will be on the market for long if the price is right.

Looking at the data on sold prices for this road is a bit of a lottery because the houses were built so recently. The prices will not show incentives such as part exchange or free carpets, etc so it's difficult to draw any comparisons. The figures from nethouseprices are as follows-

http://nethouseprices.com/house-prices/streets-details/county%20durham/spennymoor/abbey%20green/dl16/6pd/abbey%20green,%20spennymoor,%20county%20durham?sale_date=last_ten_years

I think that a monthly rental return would fall somewhere between £600 and £675 for this property. This equates to a gross annual rental return of between 6.0% and 6.8%, based on the asking price advertised.

Again, we are looking at a solid rental return for a residential lettings investment and, as I've already said, there could be some competition from owner-occupiers for the purchase of this property.

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.

Durham Road in Spennymoor always has strong demand from tenants

Although it's for sale by auction, so it's a little difficult to determine the actual selling price, this property on Durham Road definitely has investment potential-

DURHAM ROAD, SPENNYMOOR, SPENNYMOOR DISTRICT

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-51785729.html

It's showing on Rightmove as offers over £49,950 and is being marketed by Dowen. The actual price will be determined by how the auction goes plus there's a buyers premium when you've bought the property - although the amount of this wasn't stated on the Rightmove listing. And the confusion continues a little further as, although the property on showed as uploaded in the last 3 days, the listing also states that the auction took place in 4th June. I'll attempt to clear up the confusion and post my findings on here.

In any case, the benefits of buying in Durham Road are evident, no matter what the property, as long as the price is right.  Durham Road always has a good demand for rental as it's good for transport links and close enough to the town centre. The only downside is the recent rise in attendances for Spennymoor Town football club and the parking issues this sometimes causes. But once a fortnight for a couple of hours through the football season isn't a major hardship.

The agent describes it as-

"A spacious THREE BEDROOMED end terrace property which has the benefit of TWO RECEPTION ROOMS and OFF STREET PARKING."

Although it appears to need some work to bring it up to modern rental demands, it is an end-terrace and it has the off street parking, so I'd suggest that when it has been modernised, it could a he ive a rental return in the region of between £425 and £500 per month.

This is where is usually give a rental return figure, but this one is a little more difficult than usual given the fact that the property is at auction and there is this unspecified buyers premium to consider.

I'll base the figures in £60,000 to cover these factors and the renovation costs. It works out as a possible gross rental return of between 8.2% and 10% per annum. A quite healthy return for your money.

As I've said before, I'll try to find out some more facts about the sale, the auction and the buyers premium and when I do I'll put a short post on here to confirm the details.

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!

This property stands out from the crowd this week

There is a plethora of properties come to the market this week as the first property season of the year starts to really tak hold. There have been 24 properties uploaded into Rightmove in the last 3 days alone. One that caught my eye is this on Jackson Street-

JACKSON STREET, Spennymoor, DL16

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-48072358.html

It is a 4 bedroom terraced house that has gone in the market for Offer In The Region Of £84,950. That's a lotoif bedrooms for the money!

The property is marketed by Harringtons and they have put a full description and a full set of photographs on their listing. The property is double fronted and the agent states that it is double glazed with central heating. Of course, you will have to view yourself to establish what refurbishment is needed, if any, but from the description and photographs it looks like it is in a good state of repair and could probably be let out pretty quickly.

Now with so many properties coming to the market at the moment, there is a lot of competition for every property in terms of finding a buyer but this property definitely has investment potential.

I wpd expect a monty rental return of between £575 and £650 per month. This is a gross annual rental return of between 8.1% and 9.2%, based on the asking price. A standard expected rental return is quoted as 6%, so this looks like a much better bet than that.

It's probably worth a look and a potential 9% rental return is always worth consideration.

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.