This blog follows the buy-to-let market in Stanstead Abbotts, Hoddesdon, Hertford, Ware and the surrounding Villages. You'll find tips, guidance, and analysis that relates specifically to these areas and you'll also find properties from many other estate agents in these towns that may make decent investments. If you're thinking of buying a property to let in any of these areas, I'm happy to offer an unbiased second opinion so please feel free to get in touch.
www.propertyfile.co This one bedroom apartment has just come onto the market and has already proven itself as a great "Buy to Let" investment. We have been letting this property on behalf of the Landlord for 9 years and it has consistently performed well for both rental income achieved and very low void periods with the tenants wanting to move in almost as soon as the previous tenants move out.
Currently let at £650 per calendar month this property could easily achieve more with just some slight changes such as decor and Bath suite but it already has great charm and the all important top location. The lease on this property is around 75 years so there is still plenty of time left on it but you could always look to extend the lease once you have taken ownership although you may have to wait 2 years to do so.
The management fees are about £120 per month which is higher than the average for the area but the important thing to remember here is the desirability of Tenants to want to live here and therefore limiting the void periods. The reason so many want to move to this part of River Meads is not just its location for commuting but also because of the appearance of the development and that it is constantly maintained to a very high standard, these attributes will always come at a cost but with a regular flow of tenants you will be taking the rough with the smooth.
Click on the link below and take a look at the property and if you want any further information please get in touch or just pop into our High Street office for a chat.
"Your local lettings experts, our advice is free but our knowledge is priceless"
I have been in
and around the Hertfordshire property market for over 25 years, starting
as an estate agent in the county town of Hertford and now running a
successful lettings and property management company based in Stanstead
Abbotts. I have let and managed property all over Hertfordshire from the
area that I currently work to Wheathampstead where I owned and managed a
lettings & estate agents to Watford and surrounding areas where my
company acted as a marketing agent for one of the largest property
management companies in the country” Adrian Fallart - Director - Property File
An existing client of ours was looking at purchasing another investment property for the purpose of "Buy to Let" and asked us to point him in the right direction, we were given the budget he wanted to spend and the type of property he wanted, most important of all on his wish list was a property that would provide the least Void periods (when the property is vacant) as possible. This leads to the question of how to reduce the void!
Two of the most important issues to reduce void periods are desirability and price, after all if the property is very desirable and the price is right then it stands to reason that this will encourage the property to be let quickly and therefore reduce the amount of time that it is vacant.
One such area that continually performs well for both rental income achieved and the all important desirability is River Meads in Stanstead Abbotts, although some may argue that the properties are higher in price than the average and that the running costs can be quite a bit above the norm, the fact is that it is a very sought after location and tenants want to live there. This means that when the properties become available, if they are priced and presented correctly, they get rented quickly and the tenants generally stay for a good length of time.
A decent size One bedroom apartment that is well presented will currently achieve £700 to £750 per calendar month in River Meads with a Two bedroom apartment renting for around £850 per calendar month. Choose one that has direct views of the River and you will almost certainly get the top end of those figures. If you are looking to purchase a Buy To Let property locally and would like some tips and advice come in to our High street office and we will be pleased to help or if you already have a property to let that requires a tenant we will be happy to help with that too.
"Your local lettings experts, our advice is free but our knowledge is priceless"
I have been in
and around the Hertfordshire property market for over 25 years, starting
as an estate agent in the county town of Hertford and now running a
successful lettings and property management company based in Stanstead
Abbotts. I have let and managed property all over Hertfordshire from the
area that I currently work to Wheathampstead where I owned and managed a
lettings & estate agents to Watford and surrounding areas where my
company acted as a marketing agent for one of the largest property
management companies in the country” Adrian Fallart - Director - Property File
On Tuesday the 13th of May Mr Miliband, the leader of the labour party,
is putting forward a bill in the houses of parliament to shake up the
"Private Rented Sector" and to my mind and many others within the
market, put us back at least 30 years.
Apparently Mr Miliband and
his followers believe the Private rented sector is all part of the "Rip
Off Britain" that we hear so much about with letting agents charging
enormous and unjustified fees and Landlords capitalising on the
circumstances of others! Mr Miliband allegedly believes that it is
unfair for a Letting agent to charge a fee to tenant applicants looking
to privately rent a property and that the current legislation of an
"Assured Shorthold Tenancy" with a minimum term of Six months is unfair
and that it should be made mandatory that the minimum term is 3 years to
give more security of tenure to the tenants!
Let's start with
the letting agents fees. I have been running my own agency for 10 years
and we charge a fee to the tenants looking to rent a property from us.
These fees are to cover the costs for credit checking and referencing of
the applicants for which we pay fees to an outsourced company to do on
our behalf as they are firstly very time consuming and secondly it
reduces the chance of any errors within the process. The fees also cover
the costs of administrating the Assured Shorthold tenancy agreement
which is individually tailored to each tenancy, a legal document which
must be correct for obvious reasons. The fees also go toward the
preparation of an Inventory, advising all utilty companies and council
tax of the change of tenant and registering the tenants security deposit
with the relevant authority. All this takes effort and time and as the
old saying goes "time is money".
Not only is all the above time
consuming but most importantly it has to be done correctly, we are
talking legal documents, dealing with local government for tax and
registering deposits with government organisations. This is a job for
professionals with expertise and experience, it is not something that
should be taken lightly and as such how can it be seen to be
unreasonable by Mr Miliband, his labour party and charitable
organisations such as "Shelter" that these services should levy a fee.
As
a small business owner I spend my life paying out fees for various
services that we require to run our business, fees for admin charges,
fees to solicitors to carry out legal work and fees to operate my
computer systems. I have to pay rent for my office, phone, heating and
electric bills and probably most important of all I have to pay to
constantly be up to date with the legal aspects of the lettings industry
to ensure I am doing the job correctly for the very tenants Mr Miliband
claims to be standing up for.
When Mr Miliband and his cohorts
go to the houses of Parliament on Tuesday the 13th of May they will
claim a fee for their precious time, over and above thier already high
salary, for just being there and representing their party faithful, if
they can claim a fee for that purpose is it not reasonable for small
business owners like myself to charge a fee for our time and effort
which ultimately is ensuring the legal compliance of our work and the
security of all parties concerned.
Now let's look at Mr
Milibands desire to extend the minimum term to 3 years instead of 6
months as has been the case since the "Assured Shorthold Tenancy"
agreement was instigated in 1988 under the housing act.
The
benefit of a 6 month agreement is that it creates flexibility for all
parties both Landlord and Tenant. Circumstances continually change for
everyone, as the say "Life is what happens when your making plans",
what if the landlord needs the property back to live in or has financial
restraints which means the property needs to be sold, if the term is
confined to three years this could create major problems with claiming
back possession of the property.
What if the tenant, that moved
into the property with all good intentions, can now no longer pay the
rent? without the flexibility of an assured shorthold agreement as it
stands today the very issues that Mr Miliband believes he will be
alleviating will actually get worse.
With the "assured shorthold
tenancy" as it is at the moment we already have major issues when it
comes to reclaiming possession for the landlord, the eviction process is
lengthy, costly and difficult enough as it is without further issues
created by making the fixed term longer than necessary. Just as
importantly as all the above is the Tenants situation, their
circumstances may change too and need to move out before 3 years.
I
Feel Mr Milibands ideas are poorly conceived and appear to be just
electioneering, he may believe that this is the way forward to secure
many votes from the 9 million people in this country that privately
rent, a figure which is surely to increase considerably over the next
few years, but if he really wants to help people with their housing
needs he should be looking at ways to create more homes in general for the private renters, housing association tenants and home owners alike.
"Your local lettings expert, our advice is free but our knowledge is priceless"
I have been in
and around the Hertfordshire property market for over 25 years, starting
as an estate agent in the county town of Hertford and now running a
successful lettings and property management company based in Stanstead
Abbotts. I have let and managed property all over Hertfordshire from the
area that I currently work to Wheathampstead where I owned and managed a
lettings & estate agents to Watford and surrounding areas where my
company acted as a marketing agent for one of the largest property
management companies in the country” Adrian Fallart - Director - Property File
We have recently been having many conversations with landlords about the importance of having a balanced portfolio when buying and renting out property. The balance between buying properties that offer good
monthly returns, in other words High Yield, but quite often offer a lower capital growth verses properties that do increase in value quicker but often offer a
lower yield. A question that we are often asked is where should I buy to let.
One town that regularly performs well in yield and is improving on capital growth is Hoddesdon and equally as important is the high demand to live in the area by tenants, particularly those working in the town, therefore reducing the chances of vacant or void periods which is a large contributing factor in lowering yield.
Rental prices range from £550 pcm for a small studio apartment to £850 for a two bedroom although there are some lovely two and three bedroom houses that have recently been on the market for between £900 to £1200 pcm. However the opportunity to buy these properties and provide yourself with a strong yield is very good especially when you consider a three bedroom terraced house can be brought for less than £250,000 and provide a rental income of £1200 per calendar month.
If your are looking to buy a property to let with the intention of it covering itself whilst you enjoy the largest possible capital growth you may be better off looking at other market towns close by such as Ware and in particular the county town of Hertford but these will probably not provide such good yields as Hoddesdon in the short to medium term.
"Your local lettings experts, our advice is free but our knowledge is priceless"
I have been in
and around the Hertfordshire property market for over 25 years, starting
as an estate agent in the county town of Hertford and now running a
successful lettings and property management company based in Stanstead
Abbotts. I have let and managed property all over Hertfordshire from the
area that I currently work to Wheathampstead where I owned and managed a
lettings & estate agents to Watford and surrounding areas where my
company acted as a marketing agent for one of the largest property
management companies in the country” Adrian Fallart - Director - Property File
Last week an existing client of ours approached
us with regard to increasing their current Buy to Let portfolio as the
recent changes in the pension's overhaul announced by the Chancellor in
last month's budget enables them to withdraw a cash lump sum from their private pension.
This initiative means there could soon be a whole new influx of
landlords coming into the property rental sector as savers aged 55 and
over can access this cash and will mean probable surges in Buy-to-Let as
savvy investors look to maximise returns on their savings. Property
remains a favourite source of income as rental returns continue to
outweigh savings rates, making Buy to Let a very attractive proposition.
The new generation of landlords will focus on acquiring
property in the right locations to deliver solid rental returns and our
local market has continually proven itself as one of the top areas in
Hertfordshire for investment.
We are already seeing a large
number of new Buy to Let enquiries as well as many of our current
Landlords looking to increase their portfolios locally and this new
pensions incentive is sure to increase demand.
The increase over the last twelve months of the average rental income as previously reported will also be a factor in encouraging potential investors to put more money into "bricks and mortar" with the average rent now achieving £797 per calendar month nationally, although in this region our figures are higher with a two bedroom property realising £843pcm.
"Your local lettings experts, our advice is free but our knowledge is priceless"
I have been in
and around the Hertfordshire property market for over 25 years, starting
as an estate agent in the county town of Hertford and now running a
successful lettings and property management company based in Stanstead
Abbotts. I have let and managed property all over Hertfordshire from the
area that I currently work to Wheathampstead where I owned and managed a
lettings & estate agents to Watford and surrounding areas where my
company acted as a marketing agent for one of the largest property
management companies in the country” Adrian Fallart - Director - Property File
The
latest Buy-to-Let Index from LSL Property Services shows that annual
rent rises across England and Wales have accelerated, with the average
rent now 1.6% higher than twelve months ago, currently standing at £743
per month. This is the fastest annual increase since November 2013, and compares with a year-on-year rise of 1.4% in January this year. On
a monthly basis, rents increased by 0.1% between January and February.
This represents the first month-on-month increase in residential rents
since October 2013.
In
our local area we have seen a rise in rents over the past 6 months and
now an average rental for a two bedroom apartment on our register is £843
per calendar month. These rental rises are bringing in more interested
investors into the Buy to Let market which is good news as the need for
more rental properties in Hertfordforshire is predicted to increase
considerably over the next 5 years.
"Your local lettings experts, our advice is free but our knowledge is priceless"
I have been in
and around the Hertfordshire property market for over 25 years, starting
as an estate agent in the county town of Hertford and now running a
successful lettings and property management company based in Stanstead
Abbotts. I have let and managed property all over Hertfordshire from the
area that I currently work to Wheathampstead where I owned and managed a
lettings & estate agents to Watford and surrounding areas where my
company acted as a marketing agent for one of the largest property
management companies in the country” Adrian Fallart -Property File
Buying to let top 10 guide: Buying to let in the UK market has become a real challenge, as prices have remained high but demand for renting is also high. Our Top 10 tips will maximise your chances of making a good return on your investment into the buy-to-let market.
My 10 Steps to success: Ok I'm going to make this very easy by revealing my 10 steps. Follow this and you will succeed, ignore a step and you may struggle. Here goes... 1. Find the right area to buy into and make some appointments with local letting agents normally estate agents will be able to offer help with letting too . 2. Once you've picked their brains to assess the state of the lettings market (and discovered what type of properties are most in demand) you can begin the house hunting game. Get several viewings under your belt to get a feel of the market.
3. Talk to mortgage providers early on in the process to ensure that you find the best deal. If you have a personal financial advisor, they may do this service free of charge and so it may save you money and time along the way. 4. Once you've found a suitable property put in an offer and be patient. What you might think is a silly offer may prove to be a bargain, remember you can always increase your offer. 5. When your offer on the property is accepted you'll need to get a licensed conveyor or a solicitor to deal with the legal and financial paperwork.
6. This is the step that can seem to go on forever, the survey and searches.You will also need to get it valued. Then you'll be in a position to finalise your mortgage arrangements with your finance lender. 7. Who will property manage ? Once you've been handed the keys you'll need to decide whether you are happy to manage the property yourself or if you want to hand it over to a letting agent. My advice is use a letting agent, it may cost you but the knowledge and experience a professional letting agent can provide will save you money in the long run. 8. The chances are that the property will need some work doing on it, so it's best to get the workmen in there as soon as possible. You will find speaking to the letting agents that they have just the team for the job should you not already have someone in place. 9.When it comes to marketing the property remember that unfurnished is the modern way. It may very well be that you need to provide kitchen appliances but other that leave the property empty except for flooring and curtains or blinds.
10. Before your tenants take the property, do make sure that they are clear on the terms of your contract to avoid any later possible complications. If you want more tips on letting property go to our website www.propertyfile.co and click on the FREE STUFF icon and request a copy of SECRETS TO SUCCESSFUL LETTING.
"Your local lettings experts, our advice is free but our knowledge is priceless"
I have been in
and around the Hertfordshire property market for over 25 years, starting
as an estate agent in the county town of Hertford and now running a
successful lettings and property management company based in Stanstead
Abbotts. I have let and managed property all over Hertfordshire from the
area that I currently work to Wheathampstead where I owned and managed a
lettings & estate agents to Watford and surrounding areas where my
company acted as a marketing agent for one of the largest property
management companies in the country”
