Walsall Landlords & Investors – does your letting agent go THIS far?

Walsall Landlords & Investors – does your letting agent go THIS far?
Walsall Landlords & Investors – does your letting agent go THIS far?
A local Walsall landlord recently contacted me after he found my blog (the Walsall Property Blog) and thought to take me up on my offer of advice.  He lives in Parkhall and was thinking of purchasing a property he had seen.  As I’ve always maintained, opinion costs nothing and I am always happy to pass my opinion on any property in the open market.

After he sent me the link to the advertised property I started my research and found some interesting facts.  The property in Walsall was a 3 bed mid-terrace advertised for £129,950.  Just four weeks ago, when it was first advertised, it was priced at £134,950.  So a drop of £5,000 in a month! I smelt a potentially motivated seller. Here’s what makes it more interesting…when I dug deeper…I found the property had been on the market two years ago but for some reason, didn’t sell so was taken off market at that time!!

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2 Bed Terraced House, Dalkeith Street, Walsall, WS2. With Yields Of 7.71%.

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A two bedroom terraced house in the Birchills area of Walsall, WS2. Another recent property added within the last 3 days and also another property lacking photos. Coincidence or the current trend for agents? Anyway, we have double glazing and central heating “Where specified”, That’s secret code for partial central heating. Best thing to do is arrange a viewing, put your mind at rest.

The selling price is an absolute bargain with offers at over £70000.

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2 Bed Terraced House, Park Road, Walsall, WS3. With Yields Of 6.00%.

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A two bedroom terraced house in the Bloxwich area of Walsall, WS3. It has literally just been added (within the last 24 hours) and I’ll forgive the lack of internal photos, for now, because of that. However, the description does not give that much information e.g. we do not know if there is either central heating or double glazing. It is billed as “well presented”, but without a viewing we do not know. So, as I always say, that is what viewings are for.

However, the positives are that the selling price is good for the type and area being £89950 and it is located in an area popular for rented accommodation.

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Walsall Landlords…Avoid the Fire Sale!!

Walsall Landlords…Avoid the Fire Sale!!
Walsall Landlords…Avoid the Fire Sale!!

Apologies in advance… another article that refers to the EU vote… but this time, its better news for Walsall property owners!

Let’s face it; even the sanest person in Britain has to admit that the Brexit vote will, in one shape or another, affect UK property. We must exclude central London, however, which is another world! Most commentators are saying prices will be affected by around 5%. So looking at their thoughts in more detail, property values in Walsall will be 5% lower than they would have been if we hadn’t voted to leave the EU.

As the average value of a property in the Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council area is £159,900, this means property values are set to drop for the average Walsall property by £7,995… batten down the hatches… stock up with soup and milk… mega recession here we come… it’s going to get rough!

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3 Bedroom Semi, Walsall, WS5. With Yields Of 6.95%.

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A 3 bedroom semi detached house in the Delves area of Walsall, currently marketed by Bairstoweves (01922 312 791). Yet another listing with a lack of photos, only three photos here with two of them external. I don’t know how you are supposed to “Show off” a property without a good selection of photos? If it was my property, I know I wouldn’t be too happy. The details state that the property has been extended, but doesn’t give any details as to how it has been extended.

Without a internal viewing it is impossible to assess if any improvements need to be made. So let’s say for the sake of argument the property has a satisfactory spec and based on that you could expect a rental of £550.00 pcm.   Therefore, if the property sells at the current asking price of £95k will result in a yield of 6.95%.

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*UPDATE* 3 Bed End Terraced House, Lord Street, Walsall, WS1. With Yields Of 6.30%.

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I originally wrote about this property way back in April of this year and am still surprised to see it being advertised for sale. Originally listed in April 2015, so it has been on the market now for 18 months and has had 5 price changes in that time. Starting at 100k, rising to 120k and then back down to its original starting point of 100k, so it’s had a bit of an identity crisis for the first 6 months.

So, why hasn’t it sold? To be honest, I don’t know. The price is reasonable and below average for a property of this size and area and the price has been stable for the last 12 months, despite its roller coaster ride for the first 6 months.

It has a very nice spec with a refitted modern kitchen and bathroom. Some decor changes may be in order, but are not essential. There is double glazing and gas central heating. There are two reception rooms, one of which can be utilised as a dining room.

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The Side-Effects of the 0.25% interest rate on Walsall Property.

The Side-Effects of the 0.25% interest rate on Walsall Property.
The Side-Effects of the 0.25% interest rate on Walsall Property.

I had an interesting chat with a Sutton Coldfield landlord who owns a few properties in Walsall. He said he was in town shopping with his wife.  Whilst she was shopping for clothes he thought he would call me whilst taking a break over a coffee.  In his words he went on to say; “Talking about the Walsall property market is a lot more interesting than clothes shopping”!

We had never spoken before as he uses another agent in the town to manage his Walsall properties,  yet after reading my blog on the Walsall market for a while, the landlord wanted to know my thoughts on how the recent interest rate cut would affect him and the property market in general.

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3 Bed House, Moor Street, Walsall, WS10. With Yields Of 7.00%.

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A three bedroom semi detached house in the Wednesbury area Walsall, WS10. The posting clearly states that the property is in need of modernisation. To what extent, one can only guess since there are no internal photos?

The description states that there is some form of UPVC glazing and to some extent gas central heating too. The asking price is for offers of £89950, but that of course will very much depend on what internal upgrade are required.

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Walsall Letting Agent..Corporate or Independent?

Walsall Letting Agent..Corporate or Independent? Walsall Letting Agent..Corporate or Independent?

Recently I read a really interesting article by Christopher Watkin, renowned property guru, which really made me think about whether landlords and vendors actually know who they are instructing when putting their property for let or for sale and the implications of being unaware of whether one of the large corporate owns your local agency!

I have noted my opinions and thoughts at the bottom of the article..

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*UPDATE* 2 Bed Semi, Hydes Road, West Bromwich, B71. Now With Yields Of 5.12%.

I originally posted this one on 22/04/2016 and even though it has only reduced by £1000 since then, it’s worth mentioning because of it’s top-notch spec.

You can read the original article here.

Technically, this is a two bed, but the loft is currently being used as a third bedroom and is large enough for a single bed or used as as extra storage space. It is ideal for the working professionals or a small family and located about two miles from M6 junction 9 and within easy reach of West Bromwich, Wednesbury and Walsall town centres. Less than half a mile away there are a good selection of education centres such as Wodensborough Community Technology College and Moorlands Primary School.

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