Tidy 2 Bed Investment - Brendan Grove, Bingham, 5.2% return

This tidy 2 bedroom property is on the market for sale with Richard Watkinson & Partners and would make a great investment for any landlord.  With a new bathroom and neutrally decorated throughout it would appeal to many tenants and let easily. 

With an asking price of £124,950 it would see a healthy return of 5.2% based on a £550 pcm rental income.  If the kitchen was spruced up a little then this figure could increase.

Have a look at the details below, put your offer in today and then come to see my at my office in the Market Place to let it for you!

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-54337628.html

Where will Bingham Property Prices be by 2021?

Before I can predict what will happen over the next five years to Bingham house prices, firstly I need to look at what has happened over the last five years.  One of the key drivers of the housing market and property values is unemployment (or lack of it), as that drives confidence and wage growth – key factors to whether people buy their first house, existing home owners move up the property ladder and even buy to let landlords have an appetite to continue purchasing buy to let property.

When the Conservatives came to power in May 2010, the total number of people who were unemployed in town stood at 1,389 (or 2.8% of the working age population in Bingham parliamentary constituency). Last month, this had dropped to 704 people (or 1.4% of the working age population).

As the Bingham job market has improved with better job prospects, salaries are rising too, growing at their highest level since 2009, at 3.4% per year in the private sector (as recently reported by the ONS).  That is why, even with the turbulence of the last few years, property values in the Bingham area are 6.66% higher today than they were five years ago.

Many home occupiers have held back moving house over the past seven to eight years following the Credit Crunch, but with the outlook more optimistic, I expect at least some to seize the opportunity to move home, releasing pent up demand and putting more stock onto the market. With a more stable economy in the town, this will, I believe, drive a slow but clearly defined five year wave of activity in home sales and continued house price growth in Bingham.

I forecast that the value of the average home in Bingham will increase by 18.2% by 2021.

18.2% might sound optimistic to some, but according to Land Registry, values are currently rising in Bingham at 4.3% year on year, I believe my forecast to be fair, reasonable and a reflection of both positive (and negative) aspects of the local property market and wider UK economy as whole.

It wouldn't be correct not to mention those potential negative issues as I do have some slight concerns about the future of Bingham housing market.  The number of properties for sale in Bingham is lower than it was five years ago, restricting choice for buyers (yet the other side of the coin is that that keeps prices higher). Interest rates were being predicted to rise around Easter 2016, but now I think it will be nearer Christmas 2016 and finally the new buy to let taxation rules which are being introduced between 2017 and 2021 (although choosing the right sort of property / portfolio mix in Bingham will, I believe, mitigate those issues with the next taxation rules).

I am telling the landlords I speak to, that with interest rates at their current level 0.5%, the cash in your Building Society Passbook is going to grow so slowly that it might as well be kept under their bed. Property prices, by contrast, have rocketed over the years, even after the property crashes, far outstripping bank accounts and inflation.

So my final thought ...  property is a long term investment, it has its’ up and downs, but it has always outperformed, in the long term, most investments. Those in their 40’s and 50’s in Bingham would be mad not to include property in their long term financial calculations. Just make sure you buy the right property, at the price in the right location. 

Barn Conversion - Professional tenants dream property!

We are not in the habit of recommending this type of property as a buy to let as the purchase price usually reflects a lifestyle choice. However this property in the popular village of Muston is only on the market for £235,000 with Hammond Property Services. 

It is a 2 bedroom barn conversion with a garage and has been beautifully finished.  I would imagine the limited outside space has kept the asking price lower than you might expect. 

This would not impact the rental market in the same way however, as there is still an area to relax in and entertain. The finish is fantastic and this will really appeal to the professional market. The great location for commuters, coupled with the high spec finish and large bedrooms would really appeal to a professional couple relocating to the area. 

Have a look at the layout and all the pictures...

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-57438830.html

      

Excellent BTL opportunity - over 5% yield - Calverton

This 3 bedroom family home is well priced meaning a decent return on your investment as a landlord.

Calverton is a popular location for tenants, offering a friendly village atmosphere with great amenities and easy access to Nottingham and the A46.

The property should easily achieve £695 pcm and so if bought at the asking price it will see a return of 5.5%.

View the details here, I don't think this house will be around for long!

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-39161502.html

Will the young people of Bingham ever own their own home?

I had the most interesting chat with a mature couple (in their early/mid 50’s) from The Banks the other day, whilst viewing one of our rental properties. The property wasn’t for them, but their son. We got chatting about the Bingham property market and how they had bought their first property in the town just after they got married in the late 1980’s when they were in their early/mid 20’s.

Their son, like many 20 to 30 year olds in Bingham, desperately wants to own his own property. His parents said he had read in the Telegraph recently - when you compare house prices to earnings, the current 20 to 30 something’s generation have to spend more of their salary in mortgage payments than any previous generation. The demand for private rental sector accommodation in Bingham is huge. There are in fact 414 private rental properties in Bingham at the last count, impressive when you consider there are 119 council houses in the town. However, let us not forget 2,969 properties are owner occupied (1,612 with a mortgage).

Private renting doesn’t have the stigma it had a few decades ago and it might surprise people that even though us Brit’s class ourselves as a nation of homeowners, roll the clock back 100 years and over 75% of people rented their home. It might also surprise you to learn that at the time of the 1971 census, still more people rented than owned their own home.

Looking at the affordability issue, I have proved time and time again, it is in fact cheaper to buy a property than rent, when one looks at starter homes for first time buyers. 95% mortgages have been available to first time buyers for over four years and whilst you could certainly find better properties in better condition in better areas, terraced houses can be bought for as little as early £140,000’s off Kirkhill near the rail line in Bingham (meaning a modest deposit of £7,000 would be required).

When it came to affordability, I was able to tell them that when they bought their first house in Bingham in 1988, the ratio of house prices to salary was 5.08 to 1 in Bingham ... and here was the surprise for both of us, today’s ratio is only 4.96 to 1!

I said I believed there had been a cultural attitude change towards renting property in Britain and that this quiet revolution was likely to be permanent. During the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s, buying a house was everything. Young people today have far much more disposal income than people had in the Callaghan and Thatcher years, but choose to spend it on the newest tablet or PC, newest 50” plasma LCD TV and two holidays a year, than go without and save for a deposit.

So with mortgage affordability being well within the bounds of most first time buyers, the level of deposit required for a 95% being surprisingly modest (starting off at c.£7,000 in Bingham as mentioned above) until we change our attitudes, the UK housing market is slowly but surely turning into a more European model, where people rent for long periods of their life, then eventually inherit their parents properties and subsequently become homeowners themselves, albeit later in life.

I cannot see the demand for decent, high quality rental properties ever dropping in the next 10 to 20 years, but only ever increasing as the population continues to soar. Just make sure you buy the right property, at the right price, in the right location. One source of information on such matters would be the Bingham Property Blog or please pop into see me in out office on the Market Place.

No work needed! 3 bed in Bingham

This detached family house is on the market for sale with Hammonds for £220,000 in Bingham. We have a lot of tenants registered looking for a property like this so it would let very quickly and easily achieve £750 pcm.

It looks, from the pictures, like it requires no work so could be a great long term property investment.

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-57263588.html

       

Bingham Landlords could be fined £75,000 per year

One evening recently I met a landlord who had been self-managing the property over the last few years, but was worried with all the new legislation that had been introduced recently. He was particularly concerned about the up and coming ‘Right to Rent’ legislation, so as his tenant had handed in their notice recently, on this new tenancy he called us for our opinion.

For those Bingham landlords that don’t know, landlords will need to check the immigration status of any new tenants moving into properties from February 2016 or face a £3,000 fine. It is called the 'Right to Rent'. However, tenants should also be aware that as well as traditional landlords, tenants who sub let rooms and homeowners who take in lodgers, must also check the right of prospective tenants to reside in the UK.

Our landlord wanted to know how much of a real issue was ‘Right to Rent’ in Bingham. I was able to tell him, the last available figures (from a couple of years ago) show that 25 people (whom were registered as Non-UK Born Short-term Residents) moved into private rented accommodation in the Ruscliffe Borough area in one year alone. If none of those people were supposed to be in the UK, that would be a fine of £75,000 to the landlords of the town.

It must also be recognised that landlords, by checking up on tenants, could potentially be accused of discrimination under the Equality Act. This is a real minefield for landlords, especially when you consider that not all of the 169 Europeans in the area necessarily have the right to live in the UK either.

In a nutshell, Bingham landlords will need to check and retain copies of certain documents that show a potential tenant has the right to live in the UK. These include ....

·         UK Passport

·         EEA Passport/Identity card

·         Travel document or Permanent Residence Card showing indefinite leave to remain

·         Paperwork from Home Office stating their Immigration status

·         Certificate of registration or naturalisation as a British citizen.

I hope the new law will target dishonest landlords who repeatedly fail to carry out Right to Rent checks by making it a criminal offence. This means they could face imprisonment for failing to check on their tenants. That is why more and more landlords are asking agents to manage their properties, so they can stay the right side of the law.

So what did our landlord do?

Well after our chat, he asked us to find a tenant and manage the property for him - he had been reading the Bingham Property Blog for a while and because of the knowledge we impart to the landlords of Bingham, we obviously know what we are talking about.  Even better news for him, even though this would cost him agency fees, I was able to get him an additional £50 per month for his property (when we found him a tenant one week later). Now, together with the peace of mind we will keep him the right side of the law and put a stop to midnight phone calls complaining about dripping taps, it was a win-win situation for everyone.

BTL potential with no upward chain - popular Bingham neighbourhood

This property, on the market for sale with Frank Innes Bingham, is currently empty and so could be a wise choice for any investor.

Situated in a popular residential area of Bingham, the property is neutrally decorated and has a garage, both benefits appealing to tenants.  The kitchen may need some attention, but it may be as simple as replacing the cupboard doors for something more modern.

I think this property needs to be viewed but has the potential to be a great BTL investment.

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-38812176.html

What does 2016 have in store for the Bingham Property Market?

Bingham house prices up or Bingham house prices down? ... and if so, by how much? Those of you who read the Bingham Property Blog will know I am not the sort of person who pulls punches nor someone who ever fails to give a forthright and straight talking opinion – so here are my thoughts for the 2,969 Bingham homeowners and landlords.

The average Bingham property is 4.3% higher today than it was a year ago, which doesn’t sound a lot, but when you consider inflation is currently running at -0.1% (ie consumer/retail prices are dropping) and average salary growth is only around 2.5% pa, this is bad news for first time buyers as property affordability continues to decrease. (Although I was reading in The Times the other day that wage inflation (ie salary growth) is showing signs of weakening).

Some commentators have said the higher stamp duty taxes announced a few weeks ago in the Autumn Statement for buy to let landlords, concerns over first time buyer affordability and the outlook of UK interest rate rises in 2016 will really dampen the property market. I hope you all read my previous article about what the new stamp duty rule changes would REALLY mean for Bingham landlords in my blog.

I believe the real issue in the Bingham property market is the shortage of property to buy, as people either worry there will be no suitable house to move to, or cannot afford to upgrade. However, on the supply side, Mr Osborne said in his Autumn Statement that he will change the planning laws to ensure the government meets the pledge made at the General Election (back in May) of 200,000 new homes a year.  All I can say is .. good luck George hitting those numbers!

Why? Because houses take years to build .. not months .. so George and his fabled house building aside .... where does that leave us in Bingham in 2016?

Well, talking of supply ... whilst Mr Osborne builds his properties (and let’s be honest - a week doesn’t go by without him being filmed on a building site with a high viz jacket and hard hat building a house here and there!), let us look at the shortage of properties for sale. Back in November 2011, 117 properties were for sale in Bingham .. today that figure is 43. On the face of it, this means there is less choice for Bingham buyers – but it also means with a restricted supply of properties for sale .. it keeps property prices high for Bingham house sellers.

Everything isn’t all doom and gloom though ... again back in November 2011, the average property in Bingham took 118 days to find a buyer .. latest figures state this has dropped to 73 days .. a drop of 38% in how long it takes to find a buyer. However, when you delve even deeper, the best performing type of property today in Bingham is the 3 bed, which only takes 53 days to find a buyer (on average) compared to the 1 bed, which takes 144 days. It just goes to show, even though the average has dropped since 2011, how varied that change has been!

So, back to the question everyone is asking .... What will happen to property values in Bingham in 2016?  I am going to suggest they will rise between 3% and 4% ... nothing out of the ordinary, but unless something cataclysmic happens in the world, 2016 will be like 2015! For more thoughts, opinions and views on the Bingham property market .. give me a call or pop into see me at our office in the Market Place.

Stylish ground floor flat with garden - Kirkhill, Bingham

This newly refurbished ground floor flat is every tenant's dream!  Within walking distance of the town centre and train station it offers modern, convenient living and also benefits from having parking and its own garden.

Being so easy to let, it would make a great investment opportunity; on the market with GPS Property for £134,995, it could see a return on your investment of over 5%.

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-52517059.html