2 Bed Flat in Town centre offers Good Yield

Here's a good property that's just come onto the market. It is marketed as an ideal investment and I would say the selling agent is right.



Below is the link to right move:

http://tinyurl.com/dypvq43

York Rd is prime "renting" location in Guildford as it is next to the London Rd station and only a few minutes walk to the main Guildford station and the Town centre. Now, I don't normally recommend 2 bed flats as they are slightly harder to let than the 1 beds or 2-3 bed houses with more space and garden etc.
However, this has come to market at a good price of £185k and should comfortably achieve £1000pcm, so around 6.5% Yield. We have just let a 1 bed on the road for £800 which is probably not presented as well as this 2 bed seems to be.

Due Diligence on this one would be:

• Leasehold - what is the length left and the ground rent / maintenance charges and who manages the block. Sometime these flats in York Rd have poorly maintained communal areas which will deter the higher quality tenants.
• Get the electrics and boiler checked out!
• Meet the neighbours - are they renting or do they own their flats.
• There is no EPC attached to the details at the moment, again it might not be double glazed.
• Consider the fact there is only a shower - this will affect re-sale value and prevent families with kids renting it. So be prepared for professional sharers - possible even a couple witha friend - then it becomes an HMO. Your tenants are unlikely to stay above the average 19months of a tenancy here, but voids are unlikely due to location.

If you want any other advice please call me on 01483 537200, we continue to offer free Buy to Let advice for potential investors in the Guildford area. We are not Estate Agents, we only do lettings so we can give impartial honest advice.

LL top tip - Why do i need an inventory?

An inventory is an essential document that provides a written and/or photographic record that details the fixtures and fittings of a property and their condition as well as the condition of the property itself. This must be updated, amended and recreated and the beginning of each new tenancy.
Since the introduction of the Tenant Deposit Scheme in April 2007 the importance for an accurate inventory has never been more important.
One of the main features of the scheme is to resolve disputes relating to the amount of deposit to be returned to the tenant, the inventory will play the main role in this process. An inventory is your evidence but also gives the tenant peace of mind when they move in.
At the end of the tenancy if there is a dispute then the independent adjudicator will look at the inventory , check in and check out to make help make his / her decision. A good inventory will speed this process up and keep costs down. Without an inventory there is no way of proving any dilapidation, this could cost £1000s in worst case scenarios.
Many experienced landlords may tell you they never take a deposit and have never had a need for an inventory, but generally these properties will be hard to rent out to quality tenants as it sends an unprofessional message to the tenant plus these landlords most likely have higher maintenance costs than those that use deposits and inventories.One day they will get a poor tenant that damages the property and they will not have any way to recoup the losses.
In summary tenants expect to pay a deposit, they want an inventory for their peace of mind and it helps landlords gain a better return on their property in the long term.

LL hint

When your letting agent deducts money from your monthly statement, make sure you ask to see the actual invoice from the contractor. If you are already paying for fully-managed service and they are adding 10% you need to think about swapping agents.

Landlord hints and tips

Today my advice to any landlords or prospective landlord is quite simply shop around for an agent even if you are totally happy with your current one or prefer to do it yourself. Not all agents offer the same service, sure we all use the same websites, newspapers etc to get your property let and charge similar fees (although I bet our TT find only service beats most people locally) but some agents will give the reassurance of service more than others. Ask them in depth questions regarding your responsibilities and see if they appear knowledgeable. Ask them what is the penalty for failing to register a tenant’s deposit? How long have they got to do this? Is this for all tenancies?
The deposit needs to be registered within 14days of receipt for all AST agreements or a fine of 3 times the deposit plus the deposit could be payable!
Ask them when would you not use an AST agreement? If the rent was over £25k pa (or £100k pa after Oct 1st 2010) or if it was let to a company and not an individual, or not their main home or if they enjoy diplomatic immunity, if it is a holiday let, is the landlord resident....these are just some of the factors affecting the type of tenancy.
The bottom line is, if you get the agreement wrong you may struggle to get repossession of your property!!

A sad story

I met a lovely couple last week that have 2 flats they rent out, they need the income to pay the mortgage. They had been using an agent that was not a memeber of any regulated body such as the government backed scheme NALS (National Approved Letting Scheme). The agent started to face financial difficulty and failed to pass on 2 months rent to the landlords. Alarm bells were ringing, as was the agent's phone, but no one answered. On visiting the agent's office they found the company had gone into administration, the owner disappeared and the deposits spent! The agent did not have Client Money Protection Insurance in place.
This couple now have to cough up their own money to pay the deposits back to the tenant when they move out, plus the loss of 2 month's rent on 2 flats! £4000 loss!!
So what's the story and learning points.
1 Always use an agent that has Client Money Protection Insurance in place
2 Make sure they are members of a regulated body - the best one is NALS but ARLA are good too.
3 If an agent uses the tenant deposit scheme and actually sends the money away you are in even safer hands
4 Franchise agents have to stick to rigorous standards to keep their franchise licence and are independently audited twice a year
5 Only use agents that are members of The Property Ombudsman as this gives extra security and the avenue of complaint if dissatisfied with any part of the service
6 Beware agents that aren't VAT registered,a small saving, as it implies they are a 1 man band and perhaps not a serious long term business
7 If the rent is late, ask for evidence from the tenant (bank statements) to get to the truth quicker.

Hope this is of some help, call me if you need any further reassurance or have an ongoing issue at the moment. Belvoir Lettings Guildford 01483 537200

Pro-actively finding a tenant

I am currently seeking a tenant for 1 bed flat in Guildford,so what I am actually doing for my client the Landlord?
Firstly I am keeping her up to date each week with feedback on my actions and before and after each viewing. Like any agent we will load it up onto the main websites plus our own, plus the local property webpages, plus the newspaper, plus the shop window. This will probably be enough to get a tenant, but a good agent will work on other methods too.

Business networking, twitter, facebook, social events, chasing down "wanted" ads, using advanced software to match the database of previous TT enquiries to the current property and a new one :-bluetooth marketing. Imagine having the property details sent to every bluetooth active mobile phone within 1km!! It is this energy that sets aside a good agent and an OK one.