Investing near a railway station; is Johnson Road the ideal investment location?

Amenities, transport links are all vital to making a wise investment purchase. The question is to what extent is this true? One of my clients is looking at purchasing street local to our office in Erdington, Johnson road (0.2miles from Erdington Railway Station) and comparing it against another investment on Turfpits Lane, Erdington (1.4miles from Erdington Railway Station). Johnson Road and Turfpits lane are both streets I know well as we have let and managed a significant number of homes on both streets. Having spent many years renting them out my gut feeling was that houses on Johnson Road were quicker to rent and achieved higher rents due to the demand generated from its proximity to the Railway station. I took it upon myself to investigate to help my client make the best decision. It is notable that the Johnson road has properties come available on a more regular basis than Turfpits lane. The houses on both are a mix of mid terrace and semi-detached. They are similar in length of road with similar number of houses. Focusing solely on 2 and 3 bedroom houses that have been for let since 2013 I have found a significant difference in the speed that properties let on the two roads. Using the historical data available since 2013 the average house on Turfpits lane takes 42.25 days to go from being on the market to Let Agreed. In direct comparison Johnson Road takes 32.1 days. That 9 day difference is significant (roughly a £200 loss to the client) My client and I took it upon ourselves to compare some other roads and found that this was echoed all around Erdington and in other locations close to our office. Naturally there are many other factors at play when renting out a house, but the old saying “Location Location Location” remains true to this day! If you want to know more about investing in and around Erdington and Sutton Coldfield give me a call on 0121 321 6090.

Winter is coming? Are You Prepared?

We are writing to all tenants/landlords to remind you that winter is coming! Extra precautions need to be taken to protect your home. We want to avoid any costly damage for instance, in a recent case where adequate precautions were not taken; there was a resultant damage in excess of £20,000 in a property where pipes had frozen and then burst causing extensive flooding.

Over winter and especially Christmas, tenants will wish to go away and visit friends and family, we ask that you take the following precautions if you’re away for more than 24 hours: 1) Keep the central heating on a low or normal setting to maintain a temperature of between 12 to 15 degrees Celsius. 2) Turn off the water supply, and shut down and drain any central heating boiler and associated pipe work. To do this, you will need to turn off the water supply at the main stopcock and open all taps, hot and cold, to drain water from roof storage tank and pipes. Circulating water central heating systems will also need to be drained (and refilled on return before re-starting). 3) Ventilate the property to ensure that moisture does not build up inside the home Whilst this is general advice, the characteristics of each individual property may be slightly different. If you are unsure how to take appropriate measures to protect the property whilst you are away please do not hesitate to contact us. Landlords, if you are not at present on a Fully Managed Service it maybe a time to consider upgrading to this contract. Call 0121 321 6090 to discuss.

We also recommend you review your insurance suppliers to make sure that you are covered for your Landlord and Tenant Liability. We need tenants insurance on file, please email a copy to suttoncoldfield@martinco.com

Great investment property in Dunslade Road which could yield close to 7%

Here's an interesting property that's on the market in Dunslade Road in Erdington. It's on the market at £95K (offers in excess of) with Bairstow Eves. At this sort of price, this looks a good investment property. From experience of letting out property of this type and condition it could easily obtain £550pcm. Now based upon these figures, this will yield circa 6.9%, which is not too bad. Delve a bit deeper and let's say that the property was given a 'lick of paint', I would reckon that the rental figure would be closer to the market rate of £575pcm, which in turn makes it now closer to 7.2% yield, which is getting even better! In addition, the agent has disclosed that it's Chain Free! It just gets better! Give them a call and check it out further. Further details at http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-43663237.html

Should you wish to discuss any other specific properties or just a general chat regarding the current market, please feel free to contact me on 0121 321 6090 or call in and see me at 24 Birmingham Road, Sutton Coldfield.

Around Sutton Coldfield, Good place to invest?

A new client asked me whether the property market in the towns around Sutton Coldfield is a good place to invest in so we did a little research with a focus on the villages of Water Orton, Curdworth, Wishaw and Middleton… There are some great properties available to rent for a tenant, from lovely three bedroomed detached houses at over £700 per month, to beautiful barn conversations at over £2,000 per month. Quite interestingly, nearly 4 out of 5 people own their home in these villages whilst the national average is just over 3 out of 5 people. This suggests there are not many properties that are in the privately rented market in these villages. In fact, according to the recent census figures, there is only around 10% of rented stock in the surrounding area. Certainly this would create demand for property for people looking a moving to the area.

Some people have the perception that village properties are difficult to let, however, as the tenants have to own a car and can afford the fuel and maintenance that goes with it many people look at commuting whilst enjoying the more rural lifestyle. Also, the issue of car ownership we can assume would not be a problem with average earnings being higher than the Birmingham area. Putting aside the large stone country properties with land and stables, which usually let well, as long as you have a property that is not above the £1500 per calendar month mark, and is within reasonable driving distance of transport links; there should be a strong demand for it. If you would like to talk to us about your potential investment, please come into our office on the Birmingham Road or call 0121 321 6090. For more articles visit our blog suttoncoldfieldproperty.blogspot.co.uk

Do semi-detached properties on the Pype Hayes Estate make good investments for Buy to Let?

I was talking to someone who lives in a detached house on the Pype Hayes Estate. He wants to purchase his first Buy to Let property and has noticed our rental index and previous articles, so was interested in getting to know the industry a little bit more. As he has lived in the Pype Hayes for over 8 years and he felt comfortable investing in there as he knew it well, we started to discuss the property market in this area. Firstly, we found that 19 semi-detached houses have sold within 0.25 miles of his property since the year 2000. Property values in Erdington (B24) have risen on average by over 140% over the last 19 years, but most semi-detached properties on the Pype Hayes have beaten that rise. For example, a three bedroomed semi-detached property on Tyburn Road rose by 142%, from £66,000 in 1995 to £160,000 in 2014 (current worth).

When we look back to 2003 on the newer section of the Pype Hayes estate, a three bedroomed semi-detached property in the Pype Hayes Road was bought for £175,500 and sold in 2012 for an only £180,000. An interesting contrast, to the older properties. With strong capital growth, such as those seen on the Tyburn Road you would expect yields to be comparatively lower, but most three bedroomed properties on the development can be picked up from £160,000 to £180,000 and could have achievable rents of £700 to £875 per month. This means annual yields can be around an attractive 5.5%! If you would like to talk to us about your potential investment, please come into our office on the Birmingham Road in Sutton Coldfield or call 0121 321 6090. For more articles visit our blog suttoncoldfieldproperty.blogspot.co.uk

Barracks Estate: Sutton Coldfield's Sleeping Giant?

A buyer recently missed his chance to buy a three bed semi-detached property on the Barracks Estate, off Rectory Road, near Falcon Lodge, as it sold in a few weeks. He asked me if there something special about the area, so I did a little research. I have included Blakemore Drive, Sentry Way, Langley Park Way and Barrack Close in my findings for the Barracks Estate area. Blakemore Drive in the first part, near M.O.D. (Ministry of Defence) buildings, which was built in the 1980s by Clarke and Bryant Homes followed by the area closest to the A38, which was bought off the M.O.D.by Bryant homes in the 1990s. The most recent part was bought from the M.O.D. by Morris Homes, in the early 2000, construction finishing around 2004.

A number of 3 bedroom houses have sold in the area for around £200,000 to 215,000 in the last two years. To prepare the properties as a rental investment would take very little and this could achieve rents of around £850 per month, which would provide a reasonable annual yield of around 4.9%. The three bedroom semi-detached properties in the Blakemore Drive area which were selling for a maximum of £203,000 last year, are now estimated to be a little higher than this. The town houses found near Langley Park Way offer the tenant and buyer larger rooms, which can be more appealing and have recently sold in the region of £215,000. As the achievable rents could be between £850 and £900 per month, the possible annual yield is slightly lower on the Town houses at around £795pcm . Don’t be discouraged, however, as the houses have seen great increases in value and are popular with buyers and tenants. With capital growth on average increasing by 23% on Langley Park Way in the last 10 years, whereas Blakemore drive growth has been in the region of 14%. If you would like to talk to us about property in our area please feel free to visit our office on the Birmingham Road, Sutton Coldfield or call 0121 321 6090, email suttoncoldfield@martinco.com

Erdington outperforms Sutton Coldfield by 46%

Erdington outperforms Sutton Coldfield by 46% A landlord with a small property portfolio came into our office on the Birmingham Road, Sutton Coldfield last week. He lives in Streetly, and has properties in both Sutton Coldfield and Erdington. He wanted to ask our opinion on where he should his next Buy to Let property. Looking at Sutton Coldfield, the average property price can be an impressive £268,723 and the average rent is equally high at £781 per month. In Erdington, an average property is £128,234 and the average rent is only £541 per month. The annual yield in Sutton Coldfield could be only 3.5% per year, compared to Erdington where he could achieve an annual yield of nearer 5.1%. It made me consider two other towns close by, Great Barr and Water Orton. In Great Barr, I was surprised to find property values are much higher than in Erdington, with an average property price of £142,207. They have an average rent of £595 per month, which could achieve a yield of 5.0%. The average price of a property in Water Orton is £201,340, with rents of around £464 per month. This could achieve a yield of 2.8% per year. This is odd in terms of averages, because the properties I have let in Water Orton have an average of £625 per month is more to what you would expect at 3.7% annual yield. It goes to show Erdington can be a good area for an investment property, but it is a decision that shouldn't be taken lightly. These are only averages, so the yields for some small to medium sized properties in popular areas of Erdington can achieve yields of 5.5% to 7.5% per year.

Priced right and decorated to a reasonable standard properties in any of the above areas are quick to rent. If you want to know our thoughts on property in Erdington, come into our office on the Birmingham Road, Sutton Coldfield or call 0121 321 6090, email suttoncoldfield@martinco.com

Coles Lane, Sutton Coldfield vs Riland Avenue, Sutton Coldfield

Coles Lane, Sutton Coldfield vs Riland Avenue, Sutton Coldfield I was talking to a couple last week, who are considering becoming landlords for the first time and they were looking for advice as to whether a property on Coles Lane, Sutton Coldfield or Riland Avenue, Sutton Coldfield would make a better Buy to Let investment. They were interested in which would offer a better return/yield, and whilst properties on both streets can let and sell well, I wanted to do a bit more research to help them with their decision.

Over the last three years, the average value of a property on Riland Avenue has been around £140,000; while on Coles Lane it was nearly 17% more, at around £164,000. To better understand the investment opportunities available, we considered the rents over the same three year period. The average rent achieved on Coles Lane was in the region of £636 pcm, giving an average yield/return of approx 4.7%. On Riland Avenue the average rent was slightly lower, at around £540 pcm, with a corresponding yield/return of 4.6%. However, one must also consider capital growth and how the value could change over time. In 2000, a semi detached house on Coles Lane would have cost approximately £83,000 and on Riland Avenue the average terrace value was £64,000. This shows that the average property value on Coleshill has risen by 97.6% since 2000, and on Riland Avenue has risen by 118.75%. Ultimately, we found both streets to be equally good investments, but as you can see Coles Lane has a slightly better yield, but Riland Avenue has higher captial growth, which we would not have identified without that extra investigation. Realistically, however, it depends on the best available property to buy on the day. If you are a landlord, new or old, feel free to visit Andrew Clinton (Branch Manager) in our office on the Birmingham Road to ask his opinion on which property investment is best for you.