landlords

Walsall Landlords…Avoid the Fire Sale!!

Head of Juicing @Ashmore Lettings & Sales Ltd Walsall Property Market , , , , , , , ,
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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Walsall Letting Agent..Corporate or Independent?

Head of Juicing @Ashmore Lettings & Sales Ltd Walsall Property Market , , , , , , , , , ,
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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The Walsall Bedroom Problem….Opportunity or Hindrance?

Head of Juicing @Ashmore Lettings & Sales Ltd Walsall Property Market , , , , , , , , ,
The Walsall Bedroom Problem….Opportunity or Hindrance?
The Walsall Bedroom Problem….Opportunity or Hindrance?

When my research showed me this statistic, the first question that popped into my mind was; “Is this a problem or an opportunity?”

The orthodox way of classifying property in the UK is to look at the number of bedrooms rather than its size in square metres – although now we are leaving the EU, I wonder if we can go back to feet and inches!

It seems that homeowners and tenants are happy to pay for more space. It’s quite obvious, the more bedrooms a house or apartment has, the bigger it is likely to be. The reason being, not only the actual additional bedroom space, but the properties with more bedrooms tend to have larger or more reception/ living rooms. However, if you think about it, this isn’t so astonishing given that properties with more bedrooms would typically accommodate more people.

In today’s Walsall property market, Continue reading →

Walsall’s Generation Gap & Brexit – Did the Older Generation Let Down the Young?

Head of Juicing @Ashmore Lettings & Sales Ltd Walsall Property Market , , , , , , , , ,
Walsall’s Generation Gap & Brexit – Did the Older Generation Let Down the Young? Walsall’s Generation Gap & Brexit – Did the Older Generation Let Down the Young?

As we approach nearly 3 months since the Referendum vote and in Walsall, we have all had a chance to reflect on the momentous decision that the British public took. Many of you read the article I wrote on the morning of the results. I had gone to bed the night before with a draft of my ‘Remain’ article nicely all but finished, to be presented, at just after 5:00 a.m, with the declaration by the BBC saying we were leaving the EU. I don’t think any of us were expecting that.

For those who missed it, here is a link to that post Brexit article: https://walsallpropertyblog.com/2016/06/24/eu-referendum-67-9-of-walsall-voters-vote-with-their-feet/. In this piece, I would like to take my thoughts on from that initial article and now start to see the clearer picture as the dust settles on the UK, but more importantly, the Walsall Property Market.

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Walsall Properties – Not Selling?!

Head of Juicing @Ashmore Lettings & Sales Ltd Walsall Property Market , , , , , , ,
Walsall Properties – Not Selling?!
Walsall Properties – Not Selling?!

Knowing how saleable a property is, is half the battle when deciding what (or not) to buy for your next property investment. Why? Well because one day, you may need to sell that property. If you go into the purchase with open eyes, you know most of the risks and can barter the price accordingly if you have to.

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Walsall’s Love Affair with the 24,044 Terraced Homes!

Head of Juicing @Ashmore Lettings & Sales Ltd Walsall Property Market , , , , , , ,

terraced-homes-walsall2-e1472339490937

Call me old fashioned, but I do like the terraced house. In fact, I have done some research that I hope you will find of interest!

In architectural terms, a terraced or townhouse is a style of housing in use since the late 1600’s in the UK, where a row of symmetrical/identical houses share their side walls. The first terraced houses were actually built by a French man, Monsieur Barbon around St. Paul’s Cathedral within the rebuilding process after the Great Fire of London in 1666.

Interestingly, it was the French that invented the terraced house around 1610 in the Le Marais district of Paris with its planned squares and properties with identical facades. However, it was the 1730’s in the UK, that the terraced/townhouse came into its own in London and of course in Bath, with the impressive Royal Crescent.

However, we are in Walsall, not Bath, so.. Continue reading →

Walsall’s Poor Estate Agents!

Head of Juicing @Ashmore Lettings & Sales Ltd Walsall Property Market , , , , , , ,
Walsall’s Poor Estate Agents!
Walsall’s Poor Estate Agents!

After a little hiatus I am now back on the Blog.

My friends often call me an estate agent, but then I remind them that whilst a lot of estate agents do both property sales and lettings, I am first and foremost a landlord myself and will always be and as a result of my own success by default, I became a letting agent. I have been a letting agent for over 11 years now and plan to remain a letting agent only.

By specialising in lettings, it enables me and my team to get the job done right. In a recent article, when we spoke about the difference between neighbouring property markets and their prices, one landlord who popped his head round our door in Orchard Road to chat about the Walsall property market got talking about how he thought there were less for sale boards Continue reading →

Is the buy to let dream over for Walsall Landlords? Property Transactions in the Borough down by 23.3%!!

Head of Juicing @Ashmore Lettings & Sales Ltd Walsall Property Market , , , , , , , ,
Is the buy to let dream over for Walsall Landlords? Property Transactions in the Borough down by 23.3%!!
Is the buy to let dream over for Walsall Landlords? Property Transactions in the Borough down by 23.3%!!

In this post credit crunch world of sub terrain low interest and annuity rates, the growth of buy-to-let since 2009 has been phenomenal. The rates are so low, even a limbo dancer would struggle! So much so, there has been an evolution in purchase of property in the UK from that of just buying the roof over one’s head to that of a buy-to-let investment where it is seen as a standalone financial asset to fund current and future investment – complimenting or even replacing a pension. So recently, a couple of weeks before the release of latest Land Registry data of property transactions, quite a few market commentators were anticipating a huge increase in the number of properties sold in March as the 1st April 2016 stamp duty deadline got closer.

So what do the numbers tell us?

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Walsall First Time Buyers Should Make Hay Whilst the Sun Shines!

Head of Juicing @Ashmore Lettings & Sales Ltd Walsall Property Market , , , , , , , ,
Walsall First Time Buyers Should Make Hay Whilst the Sun Shines!
Walsall First Time Buyers Should Make Hay Whilst the Sun Shines!

I was talking to one of my portfolio landlords the other day as I was helping him to source another buy-to-let property when he mentioned something that made me think.  He was complaining about the amount of additional Stamp Duty he had to pay (due to the increase in April 2016), which I have discussed in a previous article on this blog.  This made me think about the other side of the property market who stood to benefit from the investors gripe..first-time buyers of course!!

There’s a whole legion of wannabe Walsall first-time buyers keen to get on the property ladder and they now have a 3% price advantage over the previously quicker responding army of Walsall landlords with cash at the ready. Since the start of April, buy-to-let landlords have had to pay an additional 3% stamp duty on their purchases so, whilst demand from some buy-to-let landlords has dropped away, in the interim, it offers first time buyers a chance to fill the vacuum with less competition from cash rich landlords – over two thirds of buy-to-let properties were purchased without a mortgage in the last 7 years – who could bid more and complete quicker.

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EU Referendum – 67.9% of Walsall Voters Vote With Their Feet…

Head of Juicing @Ashmore Lettings & Sales Ltd Walsall Property Market , , , , , , , , ,
EU Referendum - 67.9% of Walsall Voters Vote With Their Feet...
EU Referendum – 67.9% of Walsall Voters Vote With Their Feet…

As most of the polls suggested a Remain Vote, it came as a surprise to most people, including the City. The Sterling has dropped 6% this morning (at time of typing article), after the City Whiz kids got their predictions wrong and MP’s from the Remain camp are using words like “challenging times ahead”.

.. and now the vote has been made .. what next for the 67,280 Walsall homeowners especially the 33,748 of those Walsall homeowners with a mortgage?

The Chancellor in the campaign suggested property prices would drop by 18%. Using Treasury estimates, their method of calculating this was tenuous at best, but focused around the abrupt and hasty increase in UK interest rates, which in turn would raise the cost of mortgages, and therefore lower demand for property, causing a drop in property prices.… and I would agree and say, yes .. that will probably happen.

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