Tag: Pound Hill-Crawley

1st June 2016 (already !)

Studio Flat, Pound Hill, Crawley

Here’s a very pleasant looking studio flat in the Maunsell Park development, situated on the Pound Hill / Three Bridges border in Crawley. The property is marketed by Estate Agents Move Revolution at a guide price of £160000.

One of the features of Maunsell Park is its proximity to Three Bridges mainline station. As I’m sure everyone knows, Three Bridges station is ideal for commuting to Gatwick, London, the South coast etc….. In other words, in our opinion the location of this flat is absolutely brilliant. Here’s the Rightmove link if you want to take a closer look. http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-42169128.html

1-6-16 Maunsell PkStudio apartments at Maunsell Park command rents in the region of £725pcm to £795pcm. As with all rental property, however, the better the condition, the higher the rent that can be charged & the quicker it will let – no mystery there !

With a For Sale guide price of £160000, rents of £725pcm to £795pcm would give impressive gross yields of between 5.4%  & nearly 6.0%. As a second property of course you might wish to factor in the Stamp Duty surcharge of 3%, which would add an additional £4800 on to your purchase costs. Nonetheless, the gross rental yields calculated are pretty high when you consider that the average in the UK as a whole are only about 5%.

If you’re looking for buy-to-let property in or around the Crawley area, why not give us a call on 01293 515588 for a chat. We have many years of experience in the lettings business and, what’s more, our advice is free ! Alternatively, you can also drop us an e-mail to crawley@northwooduk.com.

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author only and not of Northwood. If you are considering investing in property, please make sure that you seek appropriate professional advice.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3rd February 2016

1 Bedroom Maisonette, Pound Hill, Crawley

Two properties for you today !

Both are 1 bedroom maisonettes in Wakeham Greens Drive, Pound Hill. The properties are being marketed by estate agents Mansell McTaggert and Park & Bailey. Coincidently,  both are priced at £150000.

It is quite possible, of course, that these properties are one and the same but being marketed by different agents – we had thought of that ! However, from a close inspection of the fixtures & fittings in the kitchen, it would appear that they are actually two different properties. If you’re not convinced, here are the Rightmove links for a closer look  http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-52875145.html  &  http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-39646083.html .

Wakeham Greens Dr #3

From the internal pictures the properties look in pretty good decorative order. In the current rental market you would expect to achieve £700pcm  to £750pcm in rent.  Based on an asking price of £150000, this would give you a potential gross yield of 5.6% to 6%. So, not too bad at all. We actually featured a similar property back in October 2015 – this time a 2 bedroom maisonette. The yield calculations gave virtually identical results. If you’re interested, here’s the link https://wordpress.com/post/thecrawleypropertyblog.com/222

Pound Hill is one of the more favoured locations in Crawley. In addition, from our experience, your potential tenant(s) should not have any issues finding places to park their car. These properties are further from Three Bridges mainline station than the likes of flats at Trafalgar Gardens, Maunsell Park, Jacobs Court etc…. However, the distance is definitely “walkable” in our opinion and should not put people off.

Both properties are being offered with no onward chain, so if you want to beat the April stamp duty deadline, you’d better give the agents a call !

If you’ve seen an investment property that catches your eye and would like an independent opinion on its merits for the rental market, give us call before you part with any cash on surveys etc… We’ll give you an honest opinion on what we think the property will let for. We’ll also be able to advise on whether you need to do any improvements, such as decorating, to achieve the maximum from your investment. Don’t hesitate to give us a call on 01293 515588 or send an e-mail to crawley@northwooduk.com.

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author only and not of 
Northwood. If you are considering investing in property you should seek 
appropriate professional advice.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

23rd January 2016

2 Bedroom Flat, Milton Mount, Pound Hill, Crawley

Presumably this is the view from this 2 bedroom flat, marketed by King & Chasemore at offers over £190000. The property is offered chain free, which will be all important if you are an investor looking to beat the April hike in stamp duty. Here’s the Rightmove link for further details http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-39010425.html

18-1-16 Milton Mount

The flats at Milton Mount are built in picturesque grounds of a former country house estate. The flats themselves are fairly spacious compared with their more modern counterparts.

In good condition these flats will rent for £950pcm upwards. For example, we recently let a two bedroom flat here for £995pcm. The rental yield, based on an asking price of £190000, should therefore be between between 6.0% and 6.3%. So not too bad at all !

If you’re looking to invest in Crawley and have your eye on a potential property, why not give us a call on 01293 515588. We’d be more than happy to take a look at the property for you and advise on how you could potentially maximise your investment. Alternatively, drop us an e-mail to crawley@northwooduk.com.

 

21st December 2015

2 bedroom apartment, Pound Hill, Crawley

I spy with my little eye…..a 2 bedroom apartment that has just come on with estate agents Greenaway. The Guide price is £210000, although they also give a price range of up to £230000. A major bonus for a property like this is its proximity to Three Bridges mainline station with fast trains to and from London.  Here’s the Rightmove link for further details http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-36504540.html

Trafalgard Gdns 21-12-15

As we saw in our last blog post, the agent has used rather summery looking pictures of the outside of the development, which may be indicative of  some prior marketing activity. In fact, checking back at the marketing history it appears that this flat was up for sale with the same agents back in September.

According to the agents’ description, the apartment is currently tenanted with the tenants contract due to expire in February 2016. As the property is not being specifically marketed for “Investors Only”, we can only assume that the vendor will sell to a fellow investor or someone looking to make the property their home.

Looking at the description, there are a couple of key features to consider from an investment point of view. Firstly, the flat is on the ground floor, which can be considered by some as more of a security risk. Personally, I wouldn’t let this put you off. To its advantage the apartment has its own (small) patio area and of course, no stairs to climb with bags of heavy shopping after a trip to the supermarket.

For the second feature, take a look at the bathroom in the property details. What do you see, or should I say, what do you not see ? If you’re unsure, think about the property and how it should appeal to the widest possible range of potential tenants. This will ensure minimum void periods and maximum rent. By way of a clue, check out one of our previous blogs e.g. 14th September 2015 at https://wordpress.com/post/thecrawleypropertyblog.com/13   If you’re still unsure, I’ll provide the answer for you tomorrow.

What about the potential yield ?

Properties like this one currently let for between £975pcm and £1000pcm. So in terms of yield you are looking at a range from 5.1% to 5.7%. We’ve calculated this range based on the “worst case” scenario in which the flat is purchased for £230000 and lets for £975pcm. The upper range or “best case” occurs where you buy the flat at £210000, but manage to let it for £1000pcm. Yields for both “worst” and “best” cases are certainly very respectable, but you should of course try to secure a property like this for as low a price as you can.

If you’re looking to invest in Crawley or surrounding towns why not give us a call to discuss what options are open to you. Our advice is free and, due to our years of lettings experience, we can provide you with many valuable insights. Call us on 01293 515588 or alternatively drop us an e-mail on crawley@northwooduk.com.

NB Don’t forget, we’ll give you the answer to our question tomorrow.

 

 

1st October 2015

2 bedroom apartment, Pound Hill, Crawley

Another month bites the dust ! This 2 bed apartment in Pound Hill, Crawley has just been listed on Rightmove today. Marketed by Moore & Partners it has a Guide Price of £190000. However, the Rightmove details give a price ranging up to £220000, so it’s fairly clear that the vendors are looking for a bit more than £190k. Here’s the link for further details: http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-54481715.html

Wakehams Green DrProperty in this area of Crawley usually rents for around the £900pcm to £950pcm mark. So based on these rental figures your maximum gross yield would be a healthy looking 5.7% to 6%. Putting the property on the market at this time of year might also indicate that the vendors would like the deal done before Christmas. So, if you’re an investor and can move quickly, an offer at the lower end of the price range might be just what they’re looking for.

If you’d like to discuss property investments in and around Crawley, don’t hesitate to give us a call on 01293 515588. You can also e-mail us on crawley@northwooduk.com.

28th September 2015

Broadfield Outperforms Pound Hill !

One of our landlords popped into the office last week looking at another Buy-to-Let property deal. He was interested in a 3 bedroom house he had seen advertised in Broadfield with another agent. His other investment properties are in Pound Hill and he wanted our opinion as to the pros & cons of buying in Broadfield.

As a letting agent we have property all over Crawley (and many further afield), including a number in both Pound Hill & Broadfield. To compare the two areas for the landlord we firstly looked at the gross rental yields he could expect in an area near to the Broadfield property being considered.  We then compared this to a similar sized area in Pound Hill, where he has his other investment properties. For the purpose of the comparison we just looked at 3 bedroom houses.

You might be surprised to learn, but our analysis showed that the area we considered in Broadfield out performed the area in Pound Hill, regarding gross rental yield ! The difference was just over 2.5%, which is not inconsiderable. The average Broadfield rental yield turned out to be just shy of 7% with average rental prices of £1140 pcm. In contrast, the Pound Hill rental yield was about 4.5%, with average rental prices of about £1290 pcm. So, Broadfield outperforms Pound Hill !

Of course, when buying a rental property, gross rental yield is not the only aspect to consider. Another key criteria to property investment is to look at capital growth. When investing in rental property, some people are mainly looking for yield. They might, for example, be relying on the income from their property investment to supplement their pension. On the other hand, others may be more interested in maximising long-term capital growth, with the intention of unlocking it at some point in the future, by selling.

To complete the picture, we also looked at the capital growth achieved by properties in the Broadfield area and found that over the last 16 or so years, the average 3 bedroom house had increased in value by around 210%, giving an absolute increase in capital of about £130000. However, when we did the same analysis on the Pound Hill area, the comparable capital growth was even more impressive at around 230% i.e. 20% more than in Broadfield ! In absolute money terms, a property purchased in this area about 16 years ago would have increased in capital value by just shy of £250000 !

So there you go. Although Broadfield outperforms Pound Hill as far as gross rental yield is concerned, Pound Hill gives a significantly higher level of capital growth. When thinking about property investments you need to consider whether yield, capital growth or perhaps a combination of the two, suits your circumstances.

Whether you’re an experienced landlord looking to invest in more properties or just tentatively considering taking a first step into Buy-to-Let, why not give us call on 01293 515588 to discuss the various options available to you. Alternatively, just send us an e-mail to crawley@northwooduk.com.

3rd September 2015

2 bedroom flat, Trafalgar Gardens, Pound Hill, Crawley

A 2 bedroom apartment in the gated Trafalgar Gardens development, Crawley. You can almost roll out of bed onto Thee Bridges station from here ! The location will appeal to a very wide range of prospective tenants from those working locally in Crawley or Gatwick airport, to those who commute up to London, but don’t want to pay London rents. Additional plus points include lift access (which is not included in all of the Trafalgar Gardens blocks) and underground parking. The property is marked by Fox & Sons at £220 000. For more information here is the Rightmove link http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-36198504.html?premiumA=true

Properties like this apartment in Trafalgar Gardens have been achieving between about £995 & £1075 pcm. Based on the purchase price this gives a fairly healthy annual gross yield of between 5.4% to 5.7%.Trafalgar Gdn 3-9-15There is just one feature in the property we would recommend changing, however. This should not cost too much (perhaps a few hundred pounds) and would make the property appeal to a much wider selection of potential tenants. As such, this would help in reducing void periods i.e. the length of time the property was empty between tenancies. If you’re interested in this property and would like to know the “tweek” we’re proposing, just drop us an e-mail and we’ll let you know.

If you’re looking for property investments in and around Crawley and would like some advice on what to buy and what features to be aware of – like the apartment above – why not give us call on 01293 515588 or e-mail to crawley@northwooduk.com   .