New Additional 3% Tax on Landlords, thaks Mr Osbourne, luckily it's not as bad as it seems, claims Paul Ainsworth Lord, Darwen's Local Property Expert and Estate and Lettings Agent

Osbourne's Impact on the Darwen Property Market

Has Osborne killed buy to let in Darwen? Don't be silly!

Well George Osborne, in his Autumn statement the other week, caused Darwen landlords to ask whether buy to let is a viable investment option, when he announced that landlords, when buying another buy to let property from April 2016 will have to pay an additional 3% stamp duty on top of the standard rate.

So for example, if you were to buy a for say £75k today you wouldn’t pay one penny in stamp duty but next April it will be £2,150. For more upmarket landlords, it means that the stamp duty bill for a £120k buy to let home will rise from £0 to £3,600 from April next year. 
 

Some say property in Darwen will be worth less because potential landlords will not be willing to pay as much for them, and if house builders or existing home-owners don't feel they are going to get as much for them, then there is less motivation to build / sell them?... and the person we can blame for this is George himself.

Back in 2012, he choose to utilise the British housing market to kick start the UK economy, with  subsidies, Funding for Lending and Help to Buy. However, whilst that helped the Tory’s get back into power in 2015, some say this impressive growth in the UK property market has been at the expense of pricing out youngsters wanting to buy their first home.
 

Others say this is the straw that breaks the camel’s back as over the next four years Landlords will slowly lose the ability to offset all their mortgage interest against tax on rental income, after changes announced in the Summer Budget.

At the moment, landlords can claim tax relief on buy to let mortgage monthly interest repayments at the top level of tax they pay (ie 40% or 45%). However, over the next four years this will be reduced slowly to the basic rate of tax – currently 20%.

Surely this is the end of Buy to Let in Darwen? I don't think so personally, but there's no doubt a lot of people are worried... but before we all run to hills panicking .. let me give you another thought.

Stamp Duty rules were changed in December 2014. Before then, landlords were eagerly buying up properties under the ‘old slab style Stamp Duty’ system. For example, the stamp duty bill on a £285,000 property was lower on the old slab style duty (pre Dec 2014), at £8,550, yet it isn’t a million miles away from a new £12,800 stamp duty bill.

Interestingly though, George has left a legal loophole in the new rules, because when it comes to selling up, they can offset purchase costs against any eventual capital gains tax, including stamp duty.

I believe that total returns from buy to let will continue to outpace other investments, such as the stock market, gilts, bonds and even pensions. Also, the best part about investing in property is that it is bricks and mortar. You can touch it, you can feel it, and it isn’t controlled by some City whiz kid in Canary Wharf .. the British understand property and that goes a long way!

Buy to let has enough impetus behind it that prospective landlords will continue to buy even with a larger stamp duty bill. Us Darwen landlords will need to be savvy with what property they buy to ensure the extra stamp duty costs are mitigated.

Buying buy to let property is a long term venture. In the past, it didn’t matter what property you bought in Darwen or at what price – you would always make money. Now with these extra taxes, the adage of ‘any old Darwen house will make money’ has gone out the window (well not quite - and I'll cover this in another blog post soon).  

You wouldn’t dream of investing in the stock market without at least looking in the newspapers or taking advice and opinion from others, so why wouldn't you take the same advice and opinion about buying a buy to let property in Darwen?

One source of information, opinion and advice is this DarwenPropertyBlog



 HOWEVER If you want to know about some of the new strategies I have been working on to circumnavigate this additional tax on us Landlords then make sure you register for updates.

Once I have seen the specific details of the planned changes I will be happy to discuss them openly with you guys.



PLUS If you want to know what the real threat is to us here in Darwen is then watch out for another article I'l be putting out early in the new year.

And as always.... the other source of advice is directly from myself, so if you've seen any interesting deals and want a second opinion here's my details:

My office is in Darwen Town Centre opposite Boots the Chemist..

Ainsworth Lord Estates
49 Market St
Darwen BB3 1PS

Or ring me on 01254 760660

or ping me an email..  Paul@AinsworthLordEstates.com

Darwen Buy To let – Freehold House or Leasehold Flat? an 116% Increase in Value offers food for thought, but beware of high service charges, says Paul Ainsworth-Lord. Local Property Expert. Sales and Letting Agents in Darwen

Beware of excessive service charges

Darwen Buy To let  – Freehold House or Leasehold Flat?

 Well my Darwen Property Blog reading friends, as seems to be all the rage with Jeremy Corben asking the PM questions emailed in to him at Prime Minster Question Times, I to wish to answer a question emailed into me from a potential Darwen landlord last week. 

Nice chap, lives in Tockholes, and it turns out, after having a coffee with him, he works in IT, has a spare bit of cash (now the kids have flown the nest) and wanted to buy his first buy to let property. 

His main question was ... 
"Do I buy a freehold house or a leasehold flat in Darwen?"

Well, most people will say freehold every time, especially the southerners, because you own the land and there are less issues with financing (but only when there are less than say 80 years left on the lease).

However, it’s not as simple as that (it never would be would it!). 

The definitive answer though is to research what tenants are looking for in Darwen and in which areas. The tenant is ultimately your customer, and, if they don't want to rent what you decide is best to buy, then you are not going to have a successful BTL investment. 

So starting with the tenant in mind and working backwards from there, you won’t go far wrong. In a nutshell, find the demand before you think about creating the supply.

Leasehold flats and apartments in Darwen are excellent in many respects as they offer the landlord certain advantages, including the following:

• Flats can be initially cheaper to buy. 
• Yields can be quite good, offering better cash flow. 
• The building will already be insured and yes there is a service charge, but it’s still for a service at the end of the day and that cost is spread between many others (i.e. when your freehold house roof goes, its falls 100% on your shoulders) 
• There is often no garden to maintain or blown down fences to replace! 

However on the flip side we have to conside these points too:

• Whilst in the past Darwen leasehold flats can have seen some fabulous capital growth, I do expect they will struggle to compete with the more traditional types of housing stock going forward, but hey that's only my opinion..  
• Service Charges - Now this is the thing to watch for as some leasehold properties have no cap on the level of the service charge and it may get out of control - service charges on the apartments up off Anyon St and on Clearwater Village up Marsh House are as high as £100 per month! which seriously impacts on the yields. 
• The length of the lease will significantly affect value if not renewed before it gets too short (not really an issue here in Darwen). 
• Thankfully there’s not many, but some Darwen apartments/flats have burdensome clauses. 
• Finally, with leases, there can be sub-letting issues – which means you can’t let them out.

So what do the numbers look like? 

Well since 2003, the average freehold property in Darwen (detached, semis and terraced) has risen from £80,527 to £137,837, a rise of  71% 

whilst the average Darwen leasehold property (flats and apartments) has gone up in value from £43,238 to £93,813, a rise of 116.97%. 

I was really interested to note that of the 8,113 rental properties in the Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council area that the Office of National Statistics believe are either let privately or through a letting agency, 1,482 of them (or 18.3%) are apartments. 

However, there are only 6,852 apartments in the whole council area (be they owned, council rented or privately rented), which represents 11.9% of the whole housing stock in the area. 

This really intrigued me that, quite obviously, there is a high proportion of Darwen’s leasehold apartments/flats rented to tenants compared to detached, semi’s or terraced. Fascinating don’t you think? - But do remember, every Darwen apartment block, every terraced house or semi is different. 

Like I said at the start, the definitive answer though is to research what Darwen tenants want in the area of Darwen they want. Demand for apartments, within easy reach of the town centre and near good transport links can be popular and can offer the Darwen landlord very good yields with minimal voids. 

However, Darwen terraced houses and semis, whilst not always offering the best yields (although sometimes they can when chosen correctly), they do offer the Darwen landlord decent capital growth. 

My advice to the prospective landlord as it is to you is do your homework.  

One such website, which only talks about the Darwen buy to let Property Market, is this one.... www.DarwenPropertyBlog.com

Another source of info many Darwen landlords use is me! 

What many Darwen landlords do, irrespective of whether you are a landlord of ours, a landlord with another agent or a DIY landlord, if you see any property in Darwen, that catches your eye as a potential buy to let property, be it a terraced house, semi or flat ... email me and I will email you back with my thoughts (although I will tell you what you need to hear .. which might not be what you want to hear!)

So if you want a second opinion why not get in touch (or register for my blog updates by filling in the simple registration form on here). 

Why not call in for a coffee (we only do nice coffee)..

My office is right in the Darwen Town Centre, opposite the Darwen YourMove office:

Ainsworth Lord Estates
49 Market Street
Darwen BB3 1PS

there's plenty of parking.

or you can:

ring me for a chat on 01254 760660

ping me an email: Paul@AinsworthLordEstates.com

Looking forward to it.

Paul Ainsworth Lord
Darwen Property Expert
Sales and Letting Agents in Darwen and Blackburn 

Anchor Estate Darwen, Unsold Opportunity... Reduced! 8.8% Yield - "This should have sold by now," says Paul Ainsworth Lord on Investing in Buy to let opportunities from Estate and Letting Agents in Darwen

This is still available and I don't understand why?

It's been a busy week this week and I was just checking the Darwen property market activity on Rightmove and Zoopla to see if there was anything I had missed.

I came across a few surprises, but one that stands out in particular...

Reduced!

I wrote about one particular property about 3 weeks ago, tipping it as a good buy. It's up with our friends at the YourMove office across from us here in Darwen.

http://darwenproperty.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/anchor-avenue-darwen-8-yield-and-safe.html

I'm surprised to see it's not flagged as sold. In fact it was subsequently reduced by £5k from £80k to £75k..


The crazy thing is it has a nice and bonny yield of 8.8% with potential to increase this further. It's a no-brainer!

Here' it is:

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-36846924.html

Have you all spent up?

I think you guys need to check this out, and if you have concerns as to why it hasn't sold give the agents a ring see what they say? Are there problems we can't see in the pictures etc?

Pretty much every property I write about gets snapped up, usually by Landlords and Investors i have spoken to.

Bottom Drawer Secret Property Deals... 
 
If you spot any other properties you're interested in drop me a line or call in for a coffee (we only do nice coffee!) I can discuss some off market investment properties I've got in my bottom drawer.
These are properties that the owners (mostly retiring Landlords) are looking to sell discreetly, that won't go on the market. I have a steady supply of these and they're all producing nice yields.

You know where I am..

Paul Ainsworth-Lord
Darwen's Local Property Expert

Ainsworth Lord Estates 
49 Market Street
Darwen
BB3 1PS

(There's plenty of parking)

Ring me on 01254 760660 or ping me an email to:

Paul@AinsworthLordEstates.com

Beware of the fees on Auction Deals - Wood Street in Darwen, It's in the auction for a reason!

Auctions - Buyer Beware!

We're seeing more and more Estate Agents partnering up with Auction Houses across the UK and Darwen is getting it's fair share of stock too for the auction rooms.

I get Landlords and Investors calling me all the time to ask about various properties they've seen listed for auction and I'm always happy to offer my opinion. Given I know every street in Darwen I can usually offer some good advice on what I think.

I got a call last Friday about this one on Wood Street, here....

Auction Property - Wood Street Darwen

Click here for details of property

It wasn't a lengthy chat but here's a few of the points we discussed...

Now with this one there's a few things to keep in mind.

Firstly alarm bells should ring - simply because it's in the auction. It's in the auction for a reason! (Not that I'm cynical or anything!)

Local Knowledge is Key.

Now luckily, I'm very familiar with this short row of properties here on Wood St, including the one next door to this.

Non Refundable Fees

If you're thinking of putting a bid on this bear in mind you will have to pay a buyers premium of upto £6k (some or all of which is non-refundable). So don't forget to add this to your purchase price.

Issues....
No doubt you'll have studied the pictures? Yep, it has a list of issues... which need sorting before any responsible Landlord or Agent would rent this baby out. If housing standards made a visit they'll be leaving you a list of jobs for sure.

So on top of your bid we have to add the buyers premium and the cost of remedial works...

Do I think it's work looking at? Well, given the numbers - errr No! 

That was pretty much my take on this one.

The other thing to note about properties in auctions - read the Legal Pack thoroughly.  

If you like gambling then auction properties are probably up your street, but for most people I advise they avoid them alone. Ive seen too many people buy at auction and get their fingers burnt.  Auctions are for the seriously experienced investor.

If you have got your sights on an auction property in Darwen or this area, get in touch. You never know it could save you making a big mistake!

You know where I am...

Paul Ainsworth Lord
Darwen Property Expert 

Ainsworth Lord Estates
49 Market Street 
Darwen
Lancs BB3 1PS

or call me on 01254 760660

or ping me an email...

Paul@AinsworthLordEstates.com  
 

£40k Bargain Investment Deal on Argyle Street in Darwen, up with YourMove - Estate and Letting Agents in Darwen, spotted by Paul Ainsworth Lord

Calling all Bargain Hunters! 

33% Discount on Argyle Street in Darwen

Well, I was just checking looking to see what bargains I could find on Rightmove this morning and guess what I stumbled across? Don't know why I hadn't spotted this beauty sooner.

It's up for sale with our friends at the YourMove Letting and Estate Agents office here in Darwen, across the road from me.

Reduced from £60k to £40k
Then again it might have been the original price tag of £60k that put me off. But since it's now up for grabs at a whopping 33% discount - only £40k it's certainly on my radar now!

What's the catch? 
Before you all start scrambling for your phones... what has gone wrong here? Should we not be smelling a rat, given the big discount?

I can only assume given the length of time it's been on the market (quite a while) and the number of price reductions there's clearly more to this than meets the eye, or is there?

Can't be much wrong with it?
Given I've been in the property business most of my life, and professionally for the last 15 years or so, even at £40k - there can't be that much wrong
with it, surely?

Can't be this bad?

At worst.... if it needs a 'full job' on it to restore it to a good standard, I've never spent more than £30k on a major refurb on this type of property. So at worst, after works etc it's only going to stand the buyer at say... £65k - which means its still a cracking deal. The asking prices on this street tells me this is a bargain waiting to be snapped up!

Here it is:

 http://www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/36504396?search_identifier=0b041af1fa1d072aa13f7ab2700178ba#GdBrGMTJFQsrq3pD.97

Bargain on Argyle Street, Darwen

Numbers.... I like the numbers..

Well, lets suppose you bag it for £40k and spend £30k on the refurb. It's going to stand you at £70k.

Given we have budgeted a for a top end refurb here I think we should get £500pcm for it quite easily (probably more).

That means you'd be getting a nice healthy 8.6% Yield. And if we got £525pcm it wood be a nice juicy 9%.

And on top of this you have Capital appreciation - the cream!


If you see any other potential bargains and would like a second opinion, you know where I am, call in for a coffee and a chat.

Paul Ainsworth Lord
Darwen's Local Property Expert

Ainsworth Lord Estates
49 Market Street
Darwen
Lancs
BB3 1PS

Tel 01254 760660

or ping me an email:

Paul@AinsworthLordEstates.com

£85k for 3 bed semi on Snape St (Top End) not bad? Refurb Renter opportunity here with Proctors - Estate and Letting Agents in Darwen, spotted by Local Property Expert - Paul Ainsworth Lord

Should I. Shouldn't I?

Finding decent refurb deals is getting harder and harder. Its famine or feast with these.

Now, this isn't a brilliant deal, but it's got potential..... as they say.

We've done loads this year for various clients, and helped many others with their own... just keeping them straight with a few tips here and there....

Could this be one for you?


Take a look, here it is, just click the link:

Potential Refurber to keep and rent out

3 Bed Semi Refurb & Keep?

It's not been on very long, and I doubt they'll be queuing round the block to snap this one up.

No Money in this? Or is there?

Most of the refurb investors/buyers like to get in do the work and get out again, take their profit and move on to the next one.But for these guys thee is no money on it when you look at what they bring when done up.

Here's Another Angle...

UNLESS however, you're one of those that is happy to buy, refurb and keep it and rent it out. If you are then this is probably one for you.


Purchase Price is £85k
Needs a healthy spend.. so lets say £15k
Stand you at £100k .

Rental income from his probably £600pcm depending on finish.

Yield: 7.2% 

That's not bad, given you shouldn't have (hardly) any maintenance going forward.

If you were down south you could get caught up in a fight for this sort of yield. Have I got you thinkng?

Second Opinion?
If you want to have a chat about this in more detail or hear a second opinion, why not give me a call or bob in for a coffee? I'm always happy to have a chat.... no obligation whatsoever..

Paul Ainsworth Lord
Local Property Expert

Ainsworth Lord Estates 
49 Market Street
Darwen
Lancashire
BB3 1PS

Tel: 01254 760660

or ping me an email:

Paul@AinsworthLordEstates.com

Anchor Avenue, Darwen. 8% Yield and safe long term investment from YourMove in Darwen. Spotted by Paul Ainsworth Lord, Local Property Expert, Sales and letting agents in Darwen

Cracking Yileds

I was talking to one of my landlords the other day who is on a buying spree at the moment.

We speak regularly, and the things properties he likes are houses in 'really good areas' and he wants them cheap. A pretty tall order!

Ive mentioned to him before that in this job the focus needs to be purely on the numbers... ie yield and capital growth. But some folks get stuck in their own mindset, and that's fine if it works.

It's all bout the numbers

But the frustrating down side to this mindset is losing out on so many other opportunities, which is so unnecessary.


Council Houses make Great Investments
I'm a great supporter of buying former council houses, for many reasons.

They're cracking family homes, built well, built for families, are usually nice and spacious, and invariable come with good sized gardens. They tick all the boxes (on paper) that families are looking for, and when we have them come up for rent there's always a scramble for viewings! Great!

It's a Pseudo Stigma
The only down side to these houses though is the stigma of them being on a (former) council estate. The tenants are happy to put this aside if it means they can get a great house that ticks their boxes at a suitable rent.

This is where investors really need to tune in. Rental demand is really strong for these properties which is why I always promote buying them up, providing the price is ok that is.

So when this one bobbed up on my alerts at £80k it got my attention.

Click link Here:

Ex-Council House on Anchor Avenue in Darwen

Ex-Council Houses are Great Rental Investments

Lipstick and Makeup Required

No Brainer...

£80k for Anchor Avenue? It's sensible. Having had a quick look through the pictures. it's fair to say it needs a bit of TLC in places, but on the face of it I can't see anything major. Nothing a bit of lipstick and make up won't sort out.

Now we all know, us investor types are a cheecky bunch - and there's nowt wrong with a bit of cheek! so let's assume we managed to get it for £75k which is a sensible offer so we we'd tell the agents, (despite knowing the price on this one is pretty bang on.. hee hee) we'd have bagged a bargain!

Let's do the sums...

PP £75k
Rental income: £550pcm = £6,600pa
that equates to an 8.8% gross yield.

But lets say the agents and vendor play hard ball and you have to pay £80k, would you be happy with an 8.3% yield? Course you would!

Bear in mind, Ive not taken account of any decorating costs and bit of jobs etc that you might need to do with these figures, but even so, but you see the point I'm making?

And the Brucey Bonus is that the capital value on these houses appreciates nicely.

Suffice to say... Ex-Council houses are a great rental investment on our patch.

My opinion on this one...

BUY BUY BUY.

If you see any other council houses (or anything for that matter) and want to run it past me then give me a bell or call in for a coffee (we only do nice coffee).

If I'm not available, leave your details and I'll get back to you.



You now where I am..

Paul Ainsworth Lord
Ainsworth Lord Estates
49 Market Street (opposite Boots the Chemist)
Darwen
BB3 1PS

Tel 01254 760660

or ping me an email...

Paul@AinsworthLordEstates.com

Buy to Let investment on Percival Street Darwen 8%+ Yield Full Refurbed, offered by one of the Estate and Letting Agents in Darwen, highlighted by Paul Ainsworth Lord

This looks interesting, neatly refurbed garden fronted terraced property in a pretty decent spot on Percival Street in Darwen.

It's up with two agents at the moment, one of which is our friends down at Proctors.

It's been up for a while, listed initially in July with one of those online agents, at £75k. Needless to say...... they didn't cut it and had to recruit a local agent (we see it all the time).


FULLY REFURBED - READY TO RENT

Anyway, Ive been in this one, I had a nosy whilst the contractors were in there doing the refurb. Which seems to be a nice neat job too.

Here's the link to it..

Percival St. Darwen - 3 Bed Terraced REDUCED in PRICE

REFURBISHED 3 Bed Terraced

New Kitchen etc

THREE BED TERRACED - IN SHORT SUPPLY

It's a pleasant 3 bed, garden fronted terraced property and finished pretty well. Its in a good spot.

If we were going to offer this for rent I'd be happy if I got £495 for this 3 bedder, and still... 3 bedders are in short supply... everyone's after them!

Having been reduced by a nice fat 5k bringing it down to a tender £69,950 I think it's a decent buy.

So let's look at the numbers....

PP - £70k
Rent- £495pcm x 12 = £5940
Gives a healthy gross yield of 8.5%

Pretty Good eh?

Other things to consider.... how will it appreciate in value going forward? And what are the pitfalls to this street?


Happy to have a chat with you and offer a second opinion should you be thinking of purchasing this one...

You should know where I am by now....

Paul Ainsworth Lord
Local Property Expert


There's plenty of parking near our office

Ainsworth Lord Estates
49 Market Street (In Town Centre)
Darwen
BB3 1PS

Call me on 01254 760660

or ping me an email...

Paul@AinsworthLordEstates.com

I'm always happy to break off things to have a brew and a good chat about the Darwen Rental market.
Need to remind me to shut up when you've had enough though... I can talk about it for ages.....

I'll supply the coffee (we only do nice coffee) and you bring the biscuits. Deal?

Snape Street Darwen offering 8% return, offered by YourMove estate agents in Darwen. But beware! says Paul Ainsworth Lord, Darwen's Local Property Expert.

Snape Street is a popular rental street in Darwen.

I've never had any problems renting out on Snape St. and we have over a dozen on here. Demand is good because its a pleasant street in a decent location.

The rents I get on here vary from £395 to £445 and as you'd expect depend on the standard and finish being offered. These houses are generally good-sized 2 bedders.

Pseudo 3 Bedder....
 
I noticed this one that's a '3 bedder' and being offered for sale by our friends across the road at the Your Move office here in Darwen. They are claiming it has: '3 good sized bedrooms upstairs'. Now, I'm not one to diss other agents in my town, but in my world bedrooms that are only 6' wide do not count as 'good-sized' bedrooms.

Here it is:

Click Here for So called 3 bedder on Snape St Darwen

 http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-35303076.html?premiumA=true


Now you'd spot this straight away if you were to view it, but more importantly.... if you were to refurb this one and leave these bedrooms as they are you will struggle to find a tenant. I promise!

Beware...

Two - Bed Properties that have been poorly being marketed as '3 bedroomed properties' for sale or rent and priced as such are tough cookies to move. And this is more common than you think. Often innocently marketed by mistake by some of the estate agents in Darwen, Blackburn and other areas.

What people think is that by splitting one of the big bedrooms in two and creating 3 beds will not only increase rental returns, but also add capital values and in theory this should work, but when you create 2 box rooms that are neither use nor ornament you create a problem for yourself. Tenants aren't daft.

Often the result then is that you have a house that 'doesn't work' and struggles to rent, has high voids and doesn't deliver on returns.


Opportunity.....

Fortunately for us investors these come to the market - often because the landlord loses interest and decides to sell. This is where we can usually snap up a decent buy.


So how do we make good this little baby and deliver an 8+% yield? Well, I'd be happy to have a chat with you about this. Why not give me a call and we'll go through it.

My opinion?

I reckon this house is a good buy.. better at 35k!

This would make a good investment for either a new 'wannabe' landlord or someone

looking to add another renter to their portfolio.

But don't hang about, I know this has been on the market for a good while now (originally on at £45k) and was reduced to £40k about a month ago. Now I have written about it it will go, I'm certain!

You know where I am...








My office is...

Ainsworth Lord Estates
49 Market Street
Darwen BB3 1PS
(There's plenty of parking)

If you can't get down, give me a ring or ping me an email...

01254 760660
paul@ainsworthlordestates.com

Legionella Legislation - the importance of adhering to it.

 How would a £20k Fine affect your property investment model? 

£20k Fine? No thanks!

For us Landlords there doesn't seem to be a month goes by without us having to take on board and make adjustments to our business to accommodate yet another piece of legislation.

Bonkers or what?

Some of this legislation, I know is bonkers, but the tightening up things to minimise the risk of our tenants becoming exposed and potentially very ill (sometimes fatally) is certainly one thing we must not ignore.

It's serious, very serious.

What if I don’t comply with the new rules?

• If you fail to carry out the basics listed above, basically causing your tenant to contract the disease you can receive a criminal prosecution and a fine of up to £20,000 per breach; per property. 

If you are using a good agent, they should be upto speed on this matter. But might just be worth putting a call into them to make sure.


Read the full article on our Ainsworth Lord Estates Blog.

Click here to see.

Ainsworth Lord Estates is one of the few Estate and Letting Agents in Darwen that has already implemented Legionella Assessments. Why not give me - Paul Ainsworth Lord, a call if you want to chat more about this.

Paul Ainsworth Lord
Tel 01254 760660
Paul@AinsworthLordEstates.com

49 Market St
Darwen
BB3 1PS

Double Wammy Tip Off - Shop with Flat above coming to market soon. (I believe it's being sold for the bank). Chances are it will be a bargain, with 15%+ Yield potentially. from Paul Ainsworth Lord, Darwen's Local Property Expert

Get in there first.

'Double Wammy' Tip-Off

I've just heard about a property that's being sold for one of the banks and will be coming to the market very soon, and it's a cracker! (in more ways than one)

Double Wammy - New official straight talking term!

A 'Double Wammy' property (in my speak) is a property that offers a potential 'Double Wammy Return'. Put simply it means there's an opportunity to get (at least) two lots of rents from the one unit.

Given that this little baby is a shop with a flat above means you can rent the shop out to one tenant and the flat to someone else. Of course, there's nothing stopping you renting both parts to the same tenant. Either way, you'll get more rent by renting them separately than as one unit.

Super Yields & More Equity- we all want some of this.

It's all about the money!

These types of properties can deliver what's know as 'Super Yields'.

But not only that, it also reduces your income risk (and cash flow) as an investor. Which put simply means if one of the units is empty at least you'll have the rent from the other one.

And there is a second 'Double Wammy' with these properties too... once you have done the refurb work, the banks will value them much higher than you expect, especially if you have good tenants lined up or in place. Trust me the valuations will surprise you. The double wammy here being the equity you can create.

Silly Asking Price?

You'd think that properties like this would sell for silly money - a high price that is? Well, the reality is that they don't tend to fetch good money (usually).

The reason being.... most people are put off by ignorance and fear of moving out of their comfort zone, the need to find bigger deposits if borrowing money to make the purchase, and they do often cost a few quid more to refurbish.

But don't let any of this put you off. It's not a scary as it seems, in fact it's dead easy and if you have someone (like myself) that's handled plenty of these kind of jobs it's easier than ever.

So where is it?

I could hear you asking this....

Well, all I can tell you just now is that it's in Darwen (south side) and in a good renting area and the shop has been a shop as long as I can remember.


How much will it be?

Well an obvious question and quite right too.

I don't know how much it will be at the moment, but my sources tell me it will be 'right money'.

Remember, this property is not on the market yet.

You can be the first to view it.

Interested? (You should be)

Best thing to do now would be drop me an email to paul@ainsworthlordestates.com stating your interest. Don't forget to give me your phone number etc so I can call you once I have a bit more info and can get you one of the first viewings.

However, if you want to have a chat about this and other deals I hear of before they come to the market (and some don't always come to the market) why not call in for a chat and a coffee so we can discuss what you're looking for?

Or you can ping me an email or give me a ring....

You know where I am...

Ainsworth Lord Estates
49 Market Street
Darwen BB3 1PS

(My office is opposite Boots Chemist in the town centre, there's plenty of easy parking)

my email address is:

paul@ainsworthlordestates.com

Tel: 01254 760660

Make sure you register for my regular emails with details of deals in and around the Darwen Area, and updates (top right hand corner of page).

9% Yield on Nancy St in Darwen? Is it as good as it seems? Paul Ainsworth Lord reckons it's overpriced by £10k

 Things aren't always what they seem....

There are loads of great investment properties being offered in Darwen by local Estate Agents. But are they all as good as they seem, I hear you ask?

And that's a good question, and it's an important one!

Well let me show you one that 'in theory' should give a nice 9% however the reality is likely to be somewhat different. Let me explain....

A quick look on Zoopla shows a 'nice potential deal' here on Nancy Street in Darwen at a nifty £46,500

But is it a good deal really?

check the link here:

Nancy St Deal

Nancy St Darwen

Nancy St Darwen

Now I have been modest on my rental figure at only £350pcm, and based on the sale price of £46,500 it stacks up at a 9% yield.

And in order to get the £350pcm on this street it needs to be nice inside. So on this one it will need a spend - probably £5k minimum. Which means it would stand you at £51,500 reducing your yield down to 8%. Now this still looks like a good deal.

BUT there are other things to consider too (on this street).

Firstly, you may have noticed this property is being offered sale by an out of town agent - Bridgfords in Blackburn. (Not experts on the Darwen property market). So take this into account first.

Secondly, I know this is too much for a property on this street. A quick browse on sold prices on this street will tell you this. (In my opinion this property is overpriced by at least £10k)

Thirdly.... and this is where the local knowledge comes in handy....
It's not in one of the best areas of Darwen and certainly not very popular either.

Fourth.. properties on this and neighbouring streets are very tough to fill (if you want a decent tenant), and believe me I know!

To get this house filled reasonably quickly it needs to be nice and priced right.

So whilst this looks a pretty decent deal at 9% the reality is you would probably end up with 7% or less after you take into account a rent reduction or incentive to get interest.. and don't forget to factor in void periods. It would be a stroke of luck to get this rented quickly after your tenant has moved out.

So.. factoring in voids... expect a more realistic yield of around 5%pa

Now if you're happy with a 5% return shouldn't you be looking at nicer properties in better areas? I think so.

Hope you find my opinions and comments useful, and if you see anything of interest, can I ask you call me or drop me an email to discuss it first (it doesn't matter which agent it's up with). I'm always happy to offer my twopenneth worth....

You know where I am...

Ainsworth Lord Estates 
49 Market St Darwen
Tel 01254 760660

Paul@AinsworthLordEstates.com

or call in for a coffee.... (we only do nice coffee)