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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

Durham Road is popular for investors

This Durham Road property had just come to the market in the last few days-

Durham Road, Spennymoor, DL16
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-49303823.html

It's on the market with an out-of-town agent, Reed Rains of Ferryhill. The photographs are heavily under-exposed, which gives a real feeling of darkness to the property but I believe they they are just bad photos - not necessarily a bad house.

From the look of the property on Rightmove (I've not visited it myself) there's a degree of renovation work to be done, and the listing itself states "reasonable offers considered." Not the smartest move from an estate agent that I've seen!

It's on for offers in the region of £40,000, which looks a little on the heavy side seeing as a renovated property on the same road hasn't yet sold, and is on the market for £67,950 -

Durham Road, Spennymoor, Durham
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-32624286.html

Let's speculate that you can get this for £35,000 (who knows what the vendor is thinking) then this will bring in a rental return of between £100 and £110 per week, which related to an annual gross rental return of between 14.8% and 16.3%, which is a very healthy return.

Keep your eye on the market.

Does this Caldermere property have investment potential?

This 3 bedroom detached house in Caldermere has come into the market this week-

CALDERMERE, SPENNYMOOR, SPENNYMOOR DISTRICT
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-47345912.html

It's on at offers in the region of £144,000, which is still fairly competitive for a 3 bedroom detached home in Spennymoor.

I haven't seen the property myself, but it being detached, there is often an opportunity to extend when buying detached.

Looking through the estate agents poor descriptive term of "immaculately presented" (what is that supposed to mean?) it looks like a property that's been taken care of. You would need to go and see it before making any conclusions in this area, but a low or no maintenance purchase will make life easier.

I would expect a rental return of between £550 and £600 per calendar month, which is a gross annual return of between 4.6% and 5%, which is probably a little on the low side for investors, but is still a solid investment and a good buy in a popular location.