Tag: West Green-Crawley

27th March 2016

Happy Easter – Buying Off-Plan !

One of our landlords called the office last week to ask what we thought about buying property off-plan. He’d seen some flats being advertised on the site of the former nurses’ home at Fairfield House in West Green, Crawley. The site is being developed by Fabrica and they’ve been asking prospective purchasers to register their interest for the off-plan launch on 16th April. 1 bedroom flats are being marketed from £190000 & 2 beds from £240000. Fabrica can be contacted on 01293263083. Here’s the Rightmove link for a further details http://www.rightmove.co.uk/new-homes-for-sale/property-58469585.html?premiumA=true

28-3-16 Buying off plan

The question posed by our landlord, like most in the world of property, is difficult to answer as there are so many variables to consider. For example, are property prices going to tumble due to recent tax hikes imposed on buy-to-let landlords ? What rental prices will the properties achieve when they’re built ?  Are the properties going to be completed to a high standard ? Etc…..

One thing we would say about buying off-plan is not to be taken-in by hype. In every property transaction boring old “due diligence” is always the order of the day. If you ever hear of people queuing around the block to “snap up” property that is being sold off-plan as they did in 2007, my advice is to walk the other way as quicly as possible ! Although the long term trend in UK property prices has been upwards for a very long time, price corrections do occur from time to time, as we saw after the credit crunch of 2008.

That’s the warning out of way, so now let’s consider some of the details of the advertised off-plan development !

The site in West Green for this development is fairly central for Crawley town centre; close to the Asda supermarket; Crawley hospital and only a short walk to Crawley train station. One thing to look out for if you’re considering investing is the amount of parking available for each flat. Ideally you would need allocated parking (rather than first come first served). Our advice would be to try and secure as many parking spaces as possible.  This may sound a bit greedy, but allocated parking spaces can really help to let your property quickly and possibly at a higher rent. As an investor who may be investing at an early stage of the development, you can often negotiate additional “perks” to be included with your purchase, such as parking – if you don’t ask you don’t get !

If you consider buying one of the two bedroom apartments at the development, there are a few keys areas to look out for. For the advertised marketing prices we would expect to see ensuite facilities to the main bedroom. If this is the case, make sure that the family (communal) bathroom has a shower over the bath and that the walls are tiled up to the ceiling in the “bath” area.

Also remember that for one reason or another developers often have different sized properties, with different facilities. For example, some may have balconies, while others do not. Make sure that you scrutinise the plans and secure the best sized properties with the most facilities for your money. Last but not least, don’t forget to ask when the site is scheduled for occupation. This will normally be phased over a period of time as different stages of the build project are completed.

So how do the properties stack-up as potential investments ?

Current rental prices for modern 1- & 2-bed flats in the area are in the region of £895-£975pcm & £1000-£1175pcm, respectively. These rents, together with the advertised marketing prices, give yields ranging from 5.7%-6.2% and 5%-5.9% for the 1- & 2-bed flats, respectively. Rental yields such as these are very good for the Crawley property market. However, please do bear in mind that these properties haven’t been built yet and actual rents achieved, as well as future capital growth, will very much depend on future market conditions.

However, in answering our landlords’ enquiry, we hope that we’ve also given you a pointer towards the pros & cons of buying property off-plan. If you’d like to discuss any of the issues detailed above or have any more general questions about property investment in and around Crawley, don’t hesitate to contact us. Our advice is free…. just give us a call on 01293 515588 or e-mail 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.

30th November 2015

Bargain or not ?

Take a look at this 1 bedroom flat at Connaught Gardens, West Green, Crawley, on the market with Astons at £167950. The property is marked for “Investors Only”, which probably means that there’s a tenant in-situ. However, no rent is quoted and there are no internal photographs.

Connaught 30-11-15

For further details, here’s the Rightmove link http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-52224760.html

One thing to notice straight away is that the picture looks quite “summery”, rather than indicative of the end of November!  A little further digging and we found an identical photograph, advertising (presumably) the same property, from July 2015 at a lower price of £164950. Here’s the Rightmove link https://www.rightmove.co.uk/rmplus/property/showPropertyMcr.action?propertyId=35578086 You’ll also notice that there is a “Sold STC” flash on this picture. So presumably, an offer was accepted by the vendor, but for one reason or another the sale did not go through to completion.

If the property didn’t sell at £164950, why market it now for £3000 more?

Well, perhaps the agent could argue that the market has now “moved-on” a bit since July and the vendor, fed up with waiting for another sale, has also decided to let the property out. Hence it is now being marketed for “Investors Only”.

Of course, the above is just speculation on our part you understand, but these things do happen.

One bedroom flats like the one we’re considering rent for between £775pcm & £795pcm. So based on a marketing price of £167950, the rental yield would be in the region of 5.5% to 5.7%. Regular readers of our blog will know that a rental yield at this level is pretty good.

However, let’s take a closer look at the asking price.

Land Registry price paid information for properties can easily be found from sites such as Rightmove or Zoopla. Looking at the price paid information for Connaught Gardens, Crawley, on Rightmove, you’ll see that a similar one bedroom flat sold for £155000 (June 2015) and a 2 bedroom flat completed in April 2015 for £167500.

So the question remains, is the 1 bedroom flat we’re considering a bargain at £167950 or not?

Well, from the marketing price history of the flat, together with recent sold price information for other properties in the same development, £167950 does seem to be a bit on the high side. This is inspite of the fact that the   rental yield appears to stack up. So armed with the results of our investigation, you could sensibly approach the agent with a below asking price offer and argue quite a convincing case for it to be accepted.

Of course, it remains to be seen whether the vendor would be persuaded! However, your most powerful weapon in any negotiation is that you can make a “sensible” offer and then walk away. This will leave any decisions to be taken, firmly in the vendors hands. And remember, don’t get “hooked” up on any one particular property, there are others around to consider.

If you currently have your eye on a buy-to-let property in and around the Crawley area, but are not sure whether you’re paying too much for it, why not give us a call on 01283 515588. We would be more than happy to offer you our advice. Alternatively, you can also e-mail us on crawley@northwooduk.com.

 

15th September 2015

2 bedroom flat, St Georges Court, West Green, Crawley

If you’re looking for annual gross rental yield above 5%, then take a look at this flat at St Georges Court. On the market at £195000 with ConnectUK, the flat, according to the description, has been refurbished throughout. The pictures look great and it has been newly double glazed. For more information on the property visit the Rightmove link here: http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-54672362.html

St Georges Ct

Flats at St Georges Court are older than those at Pembroke Park, for example, and tend to only have a family bathroom i.e. no  en-suite. As such, they are a bit cheaper to buy and do not command as much in rent.

However, the development is ideally located for Crawley town centre, Manor Royal, Gatwick etc…., so location is good for reducing potential void periods between tenants.

Properties like this are fetching £875 to £895pcm at present which gives a gross annual yield of between 5.4% & 5.5%.

If you’re looking for investment property and want some impartial free advice, why not e-mail us at: crawley@northwooduk.com or call us on 01293 515588. Alternatively, if you’re buying an investment property through another agent and want an independent opinion, we’re more than happy to help.