Alwyn Road, Maidenhead, - 2 bed - Great rental Property!

Afternoon property fans! Just seen this 2 bedder on the market with Andrew Milsom for £380K. I like this place because 2 bedroom rentals are in demand and therefore should not be ignored if you are looking for an investment property that needs no work. 

In order to maximise your yield you probably need to do a bid of haggling on the price. This place sold for a year ago for £320k....its had some sprucing up here and there but I would be trying out my negotiating skills too get the maximum return! 

All in all this will rent quickly...so take a look at the link below for more details!

http://www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/37319044

Maidenhead Buy To Let – Demand and Supply

Following on from my recent article about the state of the Maidenhead property market and in particular what had happened to the rents Maidenhead tenants have had to pay since the Credit Crunch, if you recall, I said rents in Maidenhead are 7.4% higher than they were in 2008. A Maidenhead landlord has since rung me after reading the Maidenhead Property Blog, wanting to know more of the story of what was happening to current rents in the town. The reason he asked was that his current agent hadn’t increased his rent for a number of years and was concerned if he was getting the best return from his buy to let investment.

The Maidenhead rental market is all about supply and demand (isn’t it so in all parts of the economy?). On the supply side, 278 rental properties have come up for let in the last 31 days in Maidenhead. It does sounds a lot when you consider there are 3,652 rental properties in Maidenhead, which means 7.61% of the rental stock of properties in Maidenhead are coming onto the market each month (it is normally around 5% in the UK).

One reason for this excess of new rental properties coming on the market is the fact that Maidenhead tenants seem to be staying in properties for shorter periods (interestingly Maidenhead is currently bucking the national trend, as the average across the UK is nearer 3.5% to 4% of rental properties coming on to the market each month).

Although there is no lack of supply, newer tenants have to pay more to secure the property they want. And this is the crux of the matter ...properties they want. Older properties in Maidenhead, that haven’t been maintained, still retain their wood chip wallpaper from the 1970’s and thread bare carpets have seen their rents drop. Tenants want either modern properties with all the mod cons or older style properties that have been presented to an exceptional standard – and they are prepared to pay for the privilege. Rents for top quality properties in Maidenhead have risen by 0.5% in the last month. Any properties, old or modern, put on the market in good or excellent condition will rent in a matter of days.   

Interestingly, looking at Maidenhead property values, the Land Registry have just released their latest set of data on property values. Throughout April 2015 (the latest set of data), property values rose in Maidenhead, with 1.2% growth, meaning they are now 11.5% higher than they were a year ago.  When one looks at the regional picture, the South East average property values rose by 0.8% in the last month. The difference doesn’t concern me, as the regional and local property values always even themselves out over the months. 

Looking forward, after considering all the statistics and talking to other property professionals, I expect property values in Maidenhead to rise by 3% to 5% over the coming 12 months, following the Conservative victory.  In a forthcoming article, I will discuss how the number of properties changing hands each month has dropped considerably in the last 10 to 15 years in the town. 

...And so back to our landlord. Each property is unique and so as his tenancy agreement allows him to inspect the property with notice to the tenant, he should be visiting the property next week.  For more in depth thoughts and opinions like this on the Maidenhead Property market ...visit the Maidenhead Property Blog

Shergold Way, Cookham - 2 bed detached bungalow - Some updating required!

Afternoon All! Off to Cookham today bringing your attention to a 2 bed bungalow. You don't get too many places come on the market in this price bracket, its on with Andrew Milsom for £329,950 - and even with the some updating throughout that looks like a fair price....hence I don't think will be seeing this on the market for too long. 

Have a look at the link below if bungalows are your thing....!


http://www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/37221168

Courthouse Road, Maidenhead - 3 bed semi - Great location!

Hello everyone! At first I scanned over this place....but taking a second glance I think this place has a lot to offer! For anyone who's looking to walk through the front door without having to lift a finger this could be the place for you....the same goes for any investors out there - you could turn this around in no time at all and expect healthy yields approaching the 5% mark...not too shabby! Add the great location within walking distance of Furze Platt plus and abundance of local schools....this will definitely gain interest!

Its on the market with Carson and Co and at a shade under £400K its not a bad deal!

Have a look at the link below for more details...

http://www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/35634628

Property Values rise by 1.5% in Maidenhead

Property values in Maidenhead rose by 1.5% in March. This follows several months of sluggish activity in the Maidenhead property market in the run up to the Election, putting the average price of a property in Maidenhead at £496,500, 11.3% higher than in March 2014.

Interestingly, the Council of Mortgage Lenders and Estate Agent trade bodies over the last few months have reported seeing a fall in mortgage lending and enquiries from prospective homebuyers. This is important because it comes amid an overall fall in housing market activity in Maidenhead. Data from the Land Registry said completed house sales in Maidenhead in the three months to January 2015, (the most up-to-date figures available) fell by 15.96% compared to the same three month period up to January 2014.

However, I believe that the slowdown in property sales in Maidenhead is supporting Maidenhead property values, as there is a shortage of houses coming onto the market. Even though in the whole of the first Quarter of 2015, Maidenhead property value increases may seem subdued when compared to 2014, let us remember, property values are still rising well above the level of inflation. 

As I have said many times before, the population in Maidenhead is growing at a much higher rate than the number of properties being built. This increasing demand for a roof over people’s head, which is outpacing the supply of new houses being built in Maidenhead, is creating a severe imbalance in the Maidenhead (in fact the whole of UK’s) housing market, thus making homeownership an ever increasingly distant dream for many of Maidenhead’s potential first time buyers.

In fact, I still maintain the view that house prices are likely to rise by around 3 to 5% in Maidenhead in 2015, even after taking into account this blip at start of the year. The reason being is that the rise reflects both strong economic conditions and steady market conditions with (and this is the most important factor) very low numbers of properties on the market. 

Many Buy to Let landlords know that investing in the Maidenhead property market is a long-term strategy of 10, 20 even 30 years. Governments come and go, but unless the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead Council start to build hundreds of new properties a year to make up for the shocking lack of supply, Maidenhead people will always want a roof over their head, and irrespective of which party is in power, if there aren’t any council houses (or are unable to buy), a demand for rental properties will always remain.

Your Pension could now buy a Maidenhead Buy to Let property

In a recent article, I mentioned that pension rules are changing this April. It certainly created a few emails, with people asking questions about it. Therefore, this week, I want to look a little deeper into the subject of your pension and the Maidenhead property market. George Osbourne, in last years’ Budget, announced pension reforms that came into effect this April, which will give people with pensions unprecedented access to their pension pot and the freedom to look for alternatives. In a nutshell, after the 6th of April, anyone aged over 55 will be allowed to withdraw all or part of their pension pot and spend it as they wish. Until now, you were allowed to take out a quarter of it and were forced to buy an annuity policy with the rest.

However, my readers always know that I like to tell it ‘as it is’. There are always two sides to a story, good and bad. Let me tell you the bad news first. There are some hefty tax implications by taking money from your pension pot. As before, as per the old rules, the first 25% can still be withdrawn from the pension pot tax free but, here is the sting in the tail, if you take more than a quarter of your pot (25%), anything above that initial 25% level will be taxed as income. So if you took the whole lot out, the first 25% will be tax free but the remaining 75% will be taxed at your income tax rate of 20%, 40% (or even 45% if you earn over £150,000 a year).

.. and now the good news!

Under the old scheme, if you bought an annuity, when you died your annuity normally died as well. You would have no asset to pass on to your family. Also, the returns from pensions are awful at the moment. The best rates according to Hargreaves and Lansdown (big wigs in the City) state if you were 55 years old, the best rate you would get on your annuity pension would be 4.4% fixed for life (so it would never go up) or 2.2% but the payment would go up with inflation.  The sort of rates (also known as yields in the property investing game) being achieved in Maidenhead are in the order of 4% to 7%, and they tend to rise in line with wages.

The other aspect of property investment is how the fact property values have risen consistently over the last 50 years.  According to the Office of National Statistics, the life expectancy of a 65 years old male in Maidenhead is 19 years 5 months (its only 17 years 9 months in Slough). If we roll the clock back 19 years 5 months to December 1995, property values in Maidenhead have risen by 293.42% to today .. you wouldn’t have had that with your pension!   But this is the biggest win, even by taking a hit in income tax now,  by buying a property, you buy an asset that you can pass on to your family when you die.... (or the cats home if they aren’t nice to you!).

So where next? It totally depends which strategy you are going to look at, one strategy is to look to achieve relatively small rental returns (i.e. low yields) in an up market area which has decent capital growth or, alternatively, another strategy is to buy properties in not so good areas known to produce a high returns (i.e. high yields) but low capital growth (i.e. how much the value of the property goes up). 

Now, I am not financial advisor, so cannot offer financial advice on what the best thing for you with your pension is. However, I can share my knowledge and experience of the Maidenhead property market, what to buy, what not to buy and where to buy etc etc.  

Britwell Road, Burnham - 2 bed period cottage - something a bit different!

Good morning! Off to Burnham today for a place that will be getting the attention of the local investors! Its on the market with Roger Platt for the best part of £280K....at this asking price you can demand a monthly rental income of over £1,000....this will push the yield to the 5% mark. 

I think the biggest attraction to this place is the fact that is unique in style and stand outs out from many of the 2 bedders on the market at the moment....combine this with a great location to Burnham High Street and you can't lose with this one!

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-50284312.html

St. Lukes Road, Maidenhead - 4 bed - Office conversion on offer....rare find!

Good evening property fans! This place really stands out from the crowd doing todays search! Its not very often you get these types of places coming to the market. Its just come on with Romans for £650K and at 225 sq. mtrs  (or in old money 2422 sq. ft) you seem to be getting a fair amount of house. 

This place will have the developers licking there lips....and unless there is some hidden issues this will have the sold sign outside in no time at all!

Take a look at the link below....real opportunity this one!

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-52541012.html

North Town Road, Maidenhead - 2 Bed Terrace - Its got my interest!

Good Morning All. For some reason doing my daily search of the internet this place just keeps grabbing my attention. Its got something about it that I reckon could be a good investment....at the right price! Its about £20K above the average asking price for North Town Road...and given theres some work to be done there maybe some haggling to be done on the price.

That said....you could expect yields around the 5% mark and with capital growth of over 15% over the past 3 years it could be a sound investment. 

Its on the market with Connells for £320K so may be worth having a look at the link below for more details....

http://www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/37025012