Walsall Property Market

Comment on the Walsall property market

Walsall landlords and ex-council properties. Would you buy one?

Head of Juicing @Ashmore Lettings & Sales Ltd Walsall Property Market , , , , , ,
Walsall landlords and ex-council properties. Would you buy one?
Walsall landlords and ex-council properties. Would you buy one?

Do you remember the ‘Right to Buy’ scheme my Walsall Property Blog readers? The ‘Right to Buy’ (RTB) scheme was a policy introduced by Maggie Thatcher in October 1980 which gave secure council tenants the legal right to buy the Council home they were living in with huge discounts.  The heyday of Council ‘Right To Buys’ was in the 80’s and 90’s, when 1,719,368 homes in the country were sold in this manner between October 1980 and April 1998.  However, in 1997, Tony Blair’s New Labour reduced the discount available to tenants of council houses and the numbers of properties being bought under the RTB declined.

So what does this mean for Walsall homeowners and landlords?  Well quite a lot in fact!

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EU vote!! Which way should Walsall landlords vote?

Head of Juicing @Ashmore Lettings & Sales Ltd Walsall Property Market , , , , , , , ,
EU vote!! Which way should Walsall landlords vote?
EU vote!! Which way should Walsall landlords vote?

In recent weeks concerned Walsall landlords have been asking my opinion on the looming EU vote.  “As a landlord which way should we vote”?  “IN or OUT”?  So, this week I thought I would share my thoughts on this subject.

If you read all the tabloids, the ‘Brexit’ debate seems to be focused solely on central London.  Many commentators have said Brexit would mean central London would have a lower standing in the world, meaning less people would be employed in central London, with the implication of lower wages, fewer jobs etc… but we are in Walsall, not Marylebone, Mayfair or any part of Zone 1 London!

For years – no, decades – the anti-EU camp has suggested that Britain’s natural habitat is not among its continental neighbours but in ‘the Anglosphere’, that solar system of English-speaking planets which revolves around the United States.  Break free from Brussels and we could embrace our kindred spirits in Sydney, Toronto and especially New York, Washington and Los Angeles.  The Brexit camp has long been like the man who dreams of leaving his wife for another woman, one who really understands him.

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Where are the Walsall youngsters going to live?

Head of Juicing @Ashmore Lettings & Sales Ltd Walsall Property Market , , , , , , ,
Where are the Walsall youngsters going to live?
Where are the Walsall youngsters going to live?

When my parents bought their first house in Walsall in the late 1960’s, they were in their early 20’s. Interestingly, looking at some research by the Post Office from a few years ago, in the 1960’s the average age people bought their first house was 23.  By the early 1970s, it had reached 27, rising to 28 in the early 1980’s.

This year alone, 3,538 people in Walsall will turn 28 and 3,560 in 2017.. and dare I say 3,740 in 2018 .. year in year out the conveyor belt carries on .. where are the Walsall youngsters going to live?

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Walsall’s housing shortage – Are we in a Crisis situation?

Head of Juicing @Ashmore Lettings & Sales Ltd Walsall Property Market , , , , , ,
Walsall’s housing shortage – Are we in a Crisis situation?
Walsall’s housing shortage – Are we in a Crisis situation?

Walsall’s continuing housing shortage is putting the Borough (and the Country’s) repute as a nation of home owners ‘under threat’, as the number of houses being built continues to be woefully inadequate in meeting the ever demanding needs of the growing population in the Town.  In fact, I was talking to my sister the other day at a family get together; the subject of the Walsall Property market came up in the conversation (as I am sure it does at many family parties in Walsall, after the weather and politics).  My sister said it used to be that if you went out to work and did the right thing, you would expect that relatively quickly over the course of your career you would be buying a house, you would go on holiday every year and you would save for a pension.   But now things seem to have changed?

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Walsall man inherits £110,000. The Bank or Property?

Head of Juicing @Ashmore Lettings & Sales Ltd Walsall Property Market , , , , , , , ,
Walsall man inherits £110,000. The Bank or Property?
Walsall man inherits £110,000. The Bank or Property?

I  had an interesting email from someone in Walsall a few weeks ago that I want to share with you – don’t worry I asked his permission to share this with you all.  In a nutshell, the gentleman lives in Streetly, he is in his mid 60’s and still working.  He has a decent pension, so that when he does retire in a couple of years’ time, it will give him a comfortable life.  He had recently inherited £110,000 from an elderly family member.  One option he was considering was to put it into a savings account.  The best he could find was a 2 year bond with the Post Office which paid 1.9%; meaning he would get £2,090 in interest a year.

One of his other options was to buy a property in Walsall to rent out….

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Walsall’s Private Rental sector explodes by a whopping 1,093.7% in 20 years!

Head of Juicing @Ashmore Lettings & Sales Ltd Walsall Property Market , , , , , , ,
Walsall’s Private Rental sector explodes by a whopping 1,093.7% in 20 years!
Walsall’s Private Rental sector explodes by a whopping 1,093.7% in 20 years!

I find myself in a reflective mood today as I want to talk about the future of investing in property in Walsall.  Especially since my last article (which was a little gloomy) and the fast changing dynamics in recent times of the Private Rented Sector (PRS).

The truth is that we have got lethargic, with many property investment people having mistaken the ever-rising Walsall property market since the 1960’s as the eternal gift that kept giving as property prices constantly rose and doubled every five to seven years.

The days of making easy money from any old property investment in Walsall are over.

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Has Mr Osborne finally delivered the sucker punch to Walsall landlords?!

Head of Juicing @Ashmore Lettings & Sales Ltd Walsall Property Market , , , , , ,
Has Mr Osborne finally delivered the sucker punch to Walsall landlords?!
Has Mr Osborne finally delivered the sucker punch to Walsall landlords?!

Ding, Ding!!  Seconds out – Round 8!  George Osborne today delivered his 8th Budget Statement as Chancellor of the Exchequer.  Many consider the number 8 the luckiest of all numbers, and in Chinese culture it is favoured by business due to its association with prosperity, wealth and success.  Although, in boxing terms, not many fighters predict a knock out in round 8.  So, has Mr Osborne finally delivered the sucker punch to Walsall landlords?!

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Walsall rental market sees returns of 11.9% in 2015!

Head of Juicing @Ashmore Lettings & Sales Ltd Walsall Property Market , , , , , , ,
Walsall rental market sees returns of 11.9% in 2015!
Walsall rental market sees returns of 11.9% in 2015!

One of my out of Town property landlords called me as he was coming to visit his family and friends towards the end of the month during the Easter break.  He was born and brought up in Walsall and went to the Alumwell Business and Enterprise College which, as he recalls, used to be called the Alumwell Secondary School (way before my time of course!!).

To enhance his retirement, he has a small portfolio of four properties in the Walsall and surrounding area and wanted my advice on where to purchase his next buy to let property.  As a University lecturer he lives in a college-owned flat and would never dream of buying where he lives in Kensington where the average value of a flat is £1.62m and a house averages out at £4.1m.

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Walsall landlords heading for financial disaster?

Head of Juicing @Ashmore Lettings & Sales Ltd Walsall Property Market , , , , ,
Walsall landlords heading for financial disaster?
Walsall landlords heading for financial disaster?

One of my Walsall Wood landlords rang me last week after he had been speaking to a friend of his over a Costa (as you do!!).  They were discussing the Walsall property market and neither of them could make their mind up if it was time to either sell or buy property.  If you read the newspapers and the landlord forums on the internet, there is a good helping of ‘doom and gloom’, especially with changes in the taxation towards landlords, new legislation on checking tenants and the general uncertainty in the world economic situation (see last week’s article at https://walsallpropertyblog.com/2016/03/01/walsall-landlords-could-be-fined-1188000/) .

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Walsall landlords could be fined £1,188,000!!

Head of Juicing @Ashmore Lettings & Sales Ltd Walsall Property Market , , , , , ,
Walsall landlords could be fined £1,188,000!!
Walsall landlords could be fined £1,188,000!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

OMG (Oh My Gosh/ God for the old school peeps), said one of our tenants signing up last Saturday!!  This is when they saw the load of paperwork they had to sign.  Gone are the days when you could just ask for a word of mouth referral, collect a copy of a Tenancy Agreement from the local WH Smith and Bob’s your tenant (or is it??).

Amongst the hoard of documents I had were the Right to Rent Guide, copy of the Energy Performance Certificate, a current Gas Cert, an Electric Report, a Schedule of Conditions and Inventory, Prescribed Information and Terms & Conditions of the deposit scheme where the deposit was registered/ kept plus a few other bits…so the sharp intake of breath was understandable.

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