Cheap Fees in Burton - You must be Crackers!

I went out to a rental valuation a few days ago in Winshill and, as I always do, did my preparation on the property, the area and suitable tenants. I introduced myself but, before I could begin speaking, he said “How much then? What are your fees?”. Now don’t get me wrong, the subject comes up pretty much most of the time but not usually that quickly!

It got me thinking about landlord fees and how landlords perceive agents. Lots of agents advertise ‘Free fee deals’ – we have in the past! Do they work? No! But why don’t they?

Well, at my local Sainsburys at Burton town centre, they often give out free crackers as you shop. Does it sell more crackers? I doubt it!

‘Free’ is a fine way to grab attention, but more often, it's the wrong sort of attention. How many times have you tasted the free crackers from the supermarket and gone on and bought that product …?
When I discuss our fee packages with potential landlords, they always ask "What do I get for that and is it worth it?" The shoppers at Sainsbury’s who munch a few crackers as they do their weekly shop aren't asking that question. When focusing on free, the 'worth it' question never comes up, because when seduced by the zero price alone, we fail to answer the question about worth or value.

We had a new lettings negotiator start last week and he asked me “How can some agents in Burton charge such a small fee for a fully managed service?”. “It depends on your definition of a fully managed service” I replied with a wry smile!

So, is a cheap or non-existent fee at the forefront of a landlords mind? No, it’s not! I can put my hands on lots of independent reports from lots of property experts, where thousands of landlords are surveyed each year, and each year, only 3% to 5% landlords want the cheapest fee.. most want the best value fees.. and value is measured when someone says, “What do I get for my money?”

So Mr and Mrs Landlord, if you have a rental valuation always ask the question; “What do I get for my money?” Even ask your existing agent the same question when your current tenant leaves because, let’s face it, that’s the ideal time to switch!

If you are a landlord, new or existing, feel free to pop through the door of our offices on The High Street, call me on 07973 666229 or send me an email to the email address below.

If you are a landlord, new or existing, feel free to pop through the door of our offices on the High Street, call me on 07973 666229 or send me an email to davidm@professionalproperties.co.uk.

If you would like to arrange a FREE RENTAL VALUATION then click HERE.
If you would like to see our selection of Investment Properties for Sale, then click HERE

Take a trip down the A38 and see the price difference!

A few weeks ago I said that property values in Burton had risen by 4% over year, or to be more precise £6,600. The interesting thing is that this rise hasn't been a smooth rise. 12 months ago, prices in Burton were around £162,700, 6 months ago they reached the heady heights of £172,000; around 3 months ago, average prices had actually dropped to £167,300 but have since recovered in the last 3 months to today’s £169,300. This is great news for anyone who owns their own home in the town.

Looking at our neighbouring City of Derby, North along the A38, the average value of a  property rose by £11,900 in the last 12 months. My experience in both markets shows that what happens in Derby one year happens in Burton the next, which on the face of it, makes Burton properties a possible bargain.
However, take a road trip along the A38 to Lichfield and a completely different story has been seen. An average property in Lichfield has seen a huge increase in average property values by around £15,750 over the last 12 months. However, don’t all start going South down the A38, as the average house price is £335,900, so in fact prices have risen by a more modest 4.9%, not too dissimilar to the figure achieved in Burton.

I find it amazing that three places along the A38 of Burton, Derby and Lichfield, all within a few miles of each other, can experience such variations in property prices. With average rents steadily rising by 1 to 2% a year and with continuing troubles for first time buyers raising the £10,000+ for the deposit and fees, I can only see greater demand for rental properties in Burton, which will mean more people will continue to buy property for buy to let, and where there is greater demand, the price tends to go up.

This however, is only my opinion. If you would like to have a chat about any matter relating to property in Burton, pop in and see me, or my team, in our offices on the High Street.

If you would like to arrange a FREE RENTAL VALUATION then click HERE.
If you would like to see our selection of Investment Properties for Sale, then click HERE

The Burton lettings expert hits a decade. It’s only tin for ten years!

Burton’s usual lettings expert, David, has been given a week off from research and article writing to allow me, Susan Cope - Managing Director, to sing his praises!

David has been with Professional Properties for 10 years this month and has been our lettings expert in Burton for around 9 years 11 months of the 10!

Traditionally in this country, tin is the celebratory metal associated with a 10 year anniversary so the Burton team have kindly got him a four pack of baked beans as gift!

The reason that this 10 year anniversary is so important for us, as an agent, and you, as a landlord, is the local area knowledge that David has developed over this time. Knowledge of a particular area is based on experience, it is adapted to the local culture and environment and it is dynamic and constantly changing.
In the world of lettings and property investment, it is so important to get the right information before making decisions on what to buy and where to buy it.

The boys who herd the cattle may know, better than their fathers, where the best grazing sites are. If you ask the fathers to show you the good pastures, you might  only get partial or inaccurate information. Asking the wrong people the right questions may result in poor decisions being made.

Anyway, back to David. He is definitely the right person to ask the right questions because he will give you the right answers!

Regular readers will have seen the articles he has written providing Burton landlords and investors with essential information and statistics on the local area. Which areas are best for investment, which properties sell the best, what is the future of the rental market in Burton and many more. In one great article, he even compares two neighbouring streets with very interesting results!

Well done David, here’s to the next 10 years…

If you would like to arrange a FREE RENTAL VALUATION then click HERE.
If you would like to see our selection of Investment Properties for Sale, then click HERE

Postcodes and the effect on Burton property prices.

I was asked last week if postcodes make a difference to property values. Well, in swanky West London, the difference between SW3 and SW10 can make values drop or rise by hundreds of thousands of pounds. However, in our little town of Burton, we don’t have many Russian Oligarchs and Saudi Prince’s buying our property! However, after doing some detailed investigating, I did find out some interesting information.

I would like to start with the two main postcode areas that neighbour the town centre. I found an amazing trend that I think will interest the people of Burton. Over the last decade, property values have always risen in DE15 first (Stapenhill, either side of Ashby Road after the River Trent, Newton Solney and Bretby), then they plateau allowing DE13 (Horninglow, Stretton and the Western Burton villages) to catch up a 18 months later. Then DE15 has another spurt, again plateauing and now DE13 is catching up again. I have no idea why this happens, but I just know it does.

Let me explain. In 2008, property values in both areas were roughly 11.1% lower than they were today, therefore they had plateaued. By the time we had got to 2010;  DE15 had risen by 5.5%, compared to 1.5% in DE13 (doesn’t sound much but its over three times the growth of the other).
Get to 2012, and DE13 had caught up, increasing by 6.14% compared to DE15 growth of 1.95%. Since 2012; DE15 and DE13’s have levelled out at an equal growth of 3.5%. I believe over the coming few years, DE15 will have another spurt and DE13 will catch up around 18/24 months later. I could be wrong, but the figures going back suggest that this will happen.

Therefore, if you are considering buying a property for investment in the near future, I am always happy to give you my considered opinion on which property to buy (or not as the case may be) to give you what you want from your investment.

If you are a landlord, new or existing, feel free to pop through the door of our offices on the High Street, call me on 07973 666229 or send me an email to davidm@professionalproperties.co.uk.

If you would like to arrange a FREE RENTAL VALUATION then click HERE.
If you would like to see our selection of Investment Properties for Sale, then click HERE

What type of property in Burton sells the best?

Knowing how saleable a property is half the battle when deciding what (or not) to buy for your next property investment. Why? Well because one day, you may need to sell that property. If you go into the purchase with open eyes, you know most of the risks and can barter the price accordingly if you have to.

Bearing this in mind, last week, a couple from Repton popped into our offices to ask about investing in property. Their concern was if we have another property slump (and we will because that is what has happened to the British property market ever since the 1950’s), if they did need to sell, what type of property would be easier to sell?

Now everything sells, even during a slump, but I did some research and followed up their query – I was actually quite surprised with the results. A good guide to the saleability of property is the number of properties for sale, compared to the number that are sold, subject to contract. Now I carried this comparison out a last week, so the numbers will be marginally different today, but in Burton, there are 853 properties on the market for sale. Of those, 577 are fully available on the open market waiting for a buyer and 315 have buyers and are sold subject to contract. That means 36.9% of property on the market has a buyer in Burton.

However, delve deeper, and in Burton today, 33% of terraced houses on the market have a buyer and, great news for semi owners, as 40% of them have buyers too. Bungalows are doing nearly as well, with 28 of the 72 on the market having buyers (making a 39%). The properties that appear to be sticking though are the detached houses – only 81 of 264 on the  market have buyers, a very low 31%. Leaving the best to the end though, its apartments that surprise me, with 35 of the 83 on the market (42%) having a buyer (interestingly in Derby only 30% of the apartments have buyers!).

I am always giving advice to my existing and new landlords in Burton on what to buy (or not as the case may be). Having this detail of information at my fingertips, allows me to spot trends in the local market, that enables to me to give the very best advice and opinion to my clients. I don't charge for that advice as I have plenty of opportunity to earn money by finding the best tenants for my landlords in the years to come on the investment that I have advised on.

If you would like to arrange a FREE RENTAL VALUATION then click HERE.
If you would like to see our selection of Investment Properties for Sale, then click HERE

Is Horninglow the place to purchase a buy to let?

You may recall my article a few weeks ago regarding the Burton census. One of the final chunks of census data has recently been released by the Government, and for those of you that like to look at such things, it is a treasure trove of information. Information is so important when making decisions on what (or not) to buy when investing in property.

Also in previous articles I discussed Horninglow, but today, I want to look at Horninglow in much greater detail. The census data allows anyone to look at the data for areas and   housing estates, but even better down to individual roads. Such information allows us to weigh up potential hotspots in the rental market and show potential landlords where there could be an opportunity.
Therefore, I looked at Horninglow as whole. There are just over 8,600 people living in 3,673 properties in the suburb.
Only 73% of the property is terraced or semi detached compared to the Burton average of 56%. However, it is the home ownership percentages that really get me interested, as it is this information, tied in with our intimate knowledge of the market, where we can match tenant demand to an under supply of rental properties.
In Horninglow, of those 3,673 households, 29.7% own their property without a mortgage and an additional 32.1% households own their property with a mortgage. Only 15.1% (or be exact 539  households) are in the private   rented sector in Horninglow (compared with the Burton average of 15.4%).          
With such excellent demand from tenants for Horninglow, but a below average percentage of available rental properties, this could be the right area to purchase your next buy to let investment.
Therefore, if you are considering buying a property for investment in the near future, I am always happy to give you my considered opinion on which property to buy (or not as the case may be) to give you what you want from your investment.

If you are a landlord, new or existing, feel free to pop through the door of our offices on the High Street, call me on 07973 666229 or send me an email to davidm@professionalproperties.co.uk.

If you would like to arrange a FREE RENTAL VALUATION then click HERE.
If you would like to see our selection of Investment Properties for Sale, then click HERE

Stafford Street or Goodman Street – which is best?

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 terraced property in the Eton Road area of Burton would be a good buy. I suggested they look South of the Eton Road Park on say, Stafford Street or Goodman Street. They were then interested in which would be the better investment and whilst properties on both streets can let and sell well, I wanted to do a little more research to help them with their decision.

Their budget only allowed me to look at in the £70,000 to £75,000 region, so looking at just 2 bed terraced houses in both streets, the average value on Stafford Street is £72,700, while 2 bed terraced houses on Goodman Street are around £70,100. To better understand the investment opportunities available, we need to consider the rents being achieved for 2 beds terraced on both streets. Looking at the last two years, the rents are almost identical to the pound at around £435 per month. However, to judge a rental investment, you must consider the capital growth as well as the yield.
In 1995, the average value of a terraced house in the Stafford Street was £28,700 and on the Goodman Street, £23,800. This shows that the average Stafford Street terraced house has risen by 152% since 2002 and an annual current yield of 7.1% a year whilst on Goodman Street, prices have risen by 194% and a yield of 7.4% a year.

Ultimately, Goodman Street property values have risen quicker to almost match Stafford’s in the last 19 years. I doubt very much that it will experience similar growth, over and above that of Stafford Street in the next 19 years. We would not have identified these difference in returns or the increase in values, without the extra investigation. In this case, it depends on the best available property to buy on the day.

Finally, one thing that struck me was the wide range of rents achieved on both streets. I would expect a 5% to 7% range of rents on a street for the same type of house. On both streets though, the gap is nearer 15%, as the average wood chipped walls terraced let for nearer £400 but a month, but the pretty ones, nicely decorated (and you don’t need to spend too much money to do that), can let for as high as £460 per month.

If you are a landlord, new or old, feel free to pop through the door of our offices on the High Street, call me on 07973 666229 or send me an email to burton@professionalproperties.co.uk .

If you would like to arrange a FREE RENTAL VALUATION then click HERE.
If you would like to see our selection of Investment Properties for Sale, then click HERE