Monday, 20 March 2023

BUY-TO-LET DEAL OF THE WEEK: 2 bed house in Westhampnett, £300,000 (guide), 4.8% yield


Summary
2 bed house in Westhampnett
Listed for sale on 25/10/22 @ £320,000
Now = £300,000
Rent = £1,200pcm
Yield = 4.8%


The property is on the market with Sims Williams and full details can be found on Rightmove via the following link: www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/128398430






Thursday, 16 March 2023

Why you should let tenants turn your house into their home

I often get asked by prospective tenants whether they’d be allowed to put pictures up on walls should they rent a property of mine. I’m amazed some landlords charge thousands in rent but won’t allow their tenants to put a few pictures up, especially when you consider it from a business perspective. 

Having such stringent rules about how a tenant can live won’t make them want to stay for long. This will naturally create a higher churn of tenants, leading to more void periods (and less rent in the landlord’s pocket). Furthermore, the coming and going of tenants will lead to greater wear and tear; which presumably is what the landlord was trying to avoid in the first place!

In my view it’s quite simple; yes, the tenant should respect the property they are renting, but for the time they are there they should see it as their home and treat it accordingly. 

If tenants want to put pictures up, they would simply be instructed to return the wall in the same condition as when they started the tenancy. That would mean filling any holes and touching them up. If the touch up doesn’t match the rest of the wall, they should paint the wall. Alternatively, I’d probably give them the advice to buy special hanging strips, which can be used to hang pictures on walls securely without making any holes!

To further protect the landlord, an inventory is created before the tenancy begins, which includes a thorough description and photos of the property’s condition (including the walls). The tenants get the opportunity to check through it, so all parties understand how things need to be returned at the end of the tenancy (less fair wear and tear).

Inspections will soon show if tenants are abusing the tolerances afforded to them, whilst a visit before their move-out with a few pointers as to what is needed to be done to get the property back to the required standard is a good idea. This will help tenants know what is needed to get their security deposit back and it should reduce any required maintenance come the end of the tenancy (again reducing the dreaded void periods).

As ever, choosing the right tenants is important in allowing them the flexibility to live in the property as if it were their own. Whilst the best tenants will ask before making any changes and implement them in a reasonable manner, bear in mind that the worst tenants will just go ahead and do it anyway. Having a more collaborative approach should see happy and content tenants wanting to stay longer in the landlord’s house, having turned it into their home.


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If you are looking for an agent that is well establishedprofessional and communicative in Chichester, then contact us to find out how we can get the best out of your investment property.

E-mail me on clive@crjlettings.co.uk or call 01243 624 599.

Don't forget to visit the links below to view my previous buy-to-let deals and Chichester Property News articles:

c/o CRJ Lettings, 30B Southgate, Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 1DP



Chichester rental valuation

Monday, 6 March 2023

BUY-TO-LET DEAL OF THE WEEK: 1 bed flat in Chichester, £110,000 (guide), 8.1% yield



Summary
1 bed flat in Chichester
Listed for sale on 01/03/23 @ £110,000 guide price (sale via auction)
Rent = £750pcm
Yield = 8.1%
Last sold for £118,000 in 2006 (-7% in 17 years)


The property is on the market with First for Auctions and full details can be found on Rightmove via the following link: www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/132099473






Thursday, 2 March 2023

What’s for rent in Chichester?


Not much!!! 

Since the onset of Covid nearly three years ago, the supply of rental properties in Chichester has been at record lows, whilst demand remains stubbornly strong. This has led to a hugely competitive market for wannabe renters, whereby you can expect dozens of enquiries within 24 hours of listing any property to rent. That is despite rents increasing across the board as a result of this supply and demand imbalance.

The supply of rental properties has, however, ‘improved’ since a year ago (when just 21 properties were available to rent in Chichester). But having just 43 homes currently available to rent in a city the size of Chichester is still wildly low. Bear in mind that three years ago (just before Covid hit hardest) there were 148 properties available to rent in Chichester.

Clearly there’s not much choice for those seeking a property to rent, which explains why so many people are enquiring as soon as something comes to the market. Furthermore, it explains why people are willing to pay more as and when something suitable does become available. This has led to an increase in asking rents across the board, such that the current average asking rents in Chichester are:


…The average rent for a property in Chichester is currently £1,295pcm, up from £1,150pcm a year ago (an increase of 12.6%!).

The cheapest property available to rent in Chichester is a studio apartment on South Bank, just alongside the canal, costing £625pcm. On the other end of the scale is a four-bedroom detached house in Rew Lane in Summersdale, which is marketed for £2,950pcm.


Why then has there been such a drastic decrease in the number of properties available to rent? Put simply, landlords are continuing to sell up. The stick of taxation and legislation has proven too much for some, with interest rate rises wiping out profits for those with buy-to-let mortgages. 

I’ve written many times about the negative impact taxation and legislation changes are likely to have on the rental market; not only directly for landlords, but ironically for the tenants they are supposedly meant to help. This has now come to fruition as rental supply remains at such low levels that, unsurprisingly, rents are increasing as a result. That perfect storm is making it increasingly difficult for tenants to find their dream home at an affordable price.

To stay abreast of the availability and average prices of rental properties in Chichester, be sure to subscribe to my free fortnightly e-newsletter at www.bit.ly/chipropertynews.

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If you are looking for an agent that is well establishedprofessional and communicative in Chichester, then contact us to find out how we can get the best out of your investment property.

E-mail me on clive@crjlettings.co.uk or call 01243 624 599.

Don't forget to visit the links below to view my previous buy-to-let deals and Chichester Property News articles:

c/o CRJ Lettings, 30B Southgate, Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 1DP



Chichester rental valuation

Monday, 20 February 2023

BUY-TO-LET DEAL OF THE WEEK: 3 bed house in Chichester, £325,000, 4.6% yield

3 bed house, Kensington Road, Chichester

Summary
3 bed house in Chichester
Listed for sale on 07/09/22 @ £365,000
Now = £325,000
Rent = £1,250pcm
Yield = 4.6%
Last sold for £325,000 in Dec 2021 (+0% in 1.5 years)


The property is on the market with Sims Williams and full details can be found on Rightmove via the following link: www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/126799157

Editor's note:

This property is for sale at the same price it was purchased in December 2021, clearly indicating where house prices are currently. It's had a new kitchen and some other works since then too, so in theory prices are actually down in the past 12-18 months. It has been reduced in price by 11% since first being listed five months ago.






Thursday, 16 February 2023

What's for sale in Chichester?

There are 625 property listings currently online in Chichester. 409 are still available to buy, whilst the other 216 have been sold (subject to completion). However, when you start to browse through these properties, you notice there are a lot of mobile homes (that can’t be used as a permanent residence), retirement flats (that are only good for people of a certain age), shared-ownership homes (that aren’t available to everyone) and properties advertised for ‘cash buyers only’ (which won’t apply to most). When you take all of these out of the mix, you’re left with 310 properties to choose from (which may appear to be low, but is actually double the number available compared to a year ago!).

Those looking to buy a three-bedroom home have the most choice, with 112 currently for sale (mostly terraced houses). Meanwhile those at the lower-end of the market looking for a one-bedroom property have the least to choose from, with just 19 on offer (all of which are flats).

Of course, what you can buy will largely depend on your budget. The cheapest of the 310 mortgageable properties that are suitable for non-retirees, can be called your own and lived in all year round, is a two-bedroom flat in Charles Avenue, priced at £165,000. 


At the other end of the scale, the most expensive property for sale in Chichester today (and by some margin) is a five-bedroom semi-detached house in Lion Street, priced at £2,995,000. Located in the heart of the city, the Georgian property boasts three floors of beautifully-presented accommodation, as well as a landscaped walled garden.


Assuming your budget is somewhere in the middle of those two extremes, it might be useful to know that the average property marketed for sale in Chichester is priced at £400,000, which is a fraction down on the average figure from twelve months ago (£405,000). 

Breaking the average down by property type provides a good indication of what your budget is likely to be able to afford in Chichester:


Interestingly, the average price of the two, three and four-bedroom houses have all increased in the past year, whereas the price of flats (both those with one-bedroom and two-bedrooms) have fallen. The increase in the supply of properties has been fairly even across all types of properties (as opposed to a glut of one type being the culprit for the doubling in supply seen since a year ago).

It is this increased supply and additional choice for prospective buyers that is slowing down the speed of sales and the prices that properties are achieving. As the interest rate rises continue to be passed on to more mortgagees it is likely this trend will accelerate i.e. more homeowners needing to sell, with fewer able or willing to pay the previously record-high prices. Prospective buyers are seemingly entering something of a waiting game, which will, in my opinion, likely lead to a self-fulfilling prophecy in regards to an increase in supply alongside a decrease in property prices.


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If you are looking for an agent that is well establishedprofessional and communicative in Chichester, then contact us to find out how we can get the best out of your investment property.

E-mail me on clive@crjlettings.co.uk or call 01243 624 599.

Don't forget to visit the links below to view my previous buy-to-let deals and Chichester Property News articles:

c/o CRJ Lettings, 30B Southgate, Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 1DP



Chichester rental valuation

Monday, 6 February 2023

BUY-TO-LET DEAL OF THE WEEK: 2 bed house in Chichester, £259,000, 4.6% yield




Summary
2 bed house in Chichester
Listed for sale on 20/01/23 @ £259,000
Rent = £1,000pcm
Yield = 4.6%
Last sold for £154,500 in 2005 (+68% in 18 years)

The property is on the market with Henry Adams and full details can be found on Rightmove via the following link: www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/130921280