landlords

Has the Walsall Property Market bubble finally burst?!

Head of Juicing @Ashmore Lettings & Sales Ltd Walsall Property Market , , , , , , ,
Has the Walsall Property Market bubble finally burst?!
Has the Walsall Property Market bubble finally burst?!

A number of landlords, first time buyers and investors have approached me recently, asking about the Walsall property market.  The common thread in these conversations is the question around all these headlines of massive increases in property values in the UK.  Should we be worried we are about to have a price crash?

I’m not going to proclaim that everything is now hunky dory with our economy but it is now actually looking a lot healthier (compared to the doom and gloom of 2008), and there are signs we are seeing more green shoots confirming an actual recovery after several false starts.

I am of the opinion that over the last few years, whilst mortgages have been a little more difficult to obtain than the last decade of the 2000’s, this lack of mortgages has produced some pent up demand for property.  Now we appear to be on the other side of the financial crisis, and the banks are more willing to lend, this is why sales, prices and first-time buyer numbers have improved so rapidly.    

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Walsall Letting Agency Fees – Cheap as Chips..??

Head of Juicing @Ashmore Lettings & Sales Ltd Walsall Property Market , , , , , , , ,
Walsall Letting Agency Fees - Cheap as Chips..??
Walsall Letting Agency Fees – Cheap as Chips..??

I went out to a rental valuation a few days ago in Parkhall, Walsall and, as I always do, did my preparation on the property, the area and suitable tenants.  I introduced myself but, before I could begin speaking, he said “How much then? What are your fees?”.  Now don’t get me wrong, the subject comes up pretty much most of the time but not usually that quickly!

It got me thinking about landlord fees and how landlords perceive agents.  Lots of agents advertise ‘Free fee deals’ – we have in the past!  Do they work?  No!  But why don’t they?

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Can Empty Properties in Walsall be the Solution to our Housing Crisis?

Head of Juicing @Ashmore Lettings & Sales Ltd Walsall Property Market , , , , , , , ,
Can Empty Properties in Walsall be the Solution to our Housing Crisis?
Can Empty Properties in Walsall be the Solution to our Housing Crisis?

Easy problems should have easy solutions  – shouldn’t they?

Problems like Walsall’s housing crisis, where we have a rudimentary numerical problem of too few homes for too many people… the answer is clearly to build more property in Walsall – but that, unfortunately for those desperately seeking to purchase or let a property, takes a lot of time and huge amounts of money.  So what of other solutions?

Whilst at the first BBQ of the ‘summer’ with friends recently, the subject of property was mentioned, as it usually does when I’m around!  During this particular conversation, someone mentioned empty properties as the solution to the problem.  On the face of it, it seems so obvious.  It got me thinking so, the next day; I did some research on this topic to see if this was a plausible potential solution.  The results of which are very interesting indeed…!

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Walsall Private Renters Enjoy Better Health!!

Head of Juicing @Ashmore Lettings & Sales Ltd Walsall Property Market , , , , , , ,
Walsall Private Renters Enjoy Better Health!!
Walsall Private Renters Enjoy Better Health!!

Renting used to be a dirty word in the 60’s and 70’s.  You either lived in a ‘Rigsby Rising Damp’ style bedsit with wood chip on the wall and a coin operated electric meter that buzzed in the night, or you lived in a council house.  In the latter part of the 20th Century, the British were persuaded that rent payments were ‘wasted money’.  However, owning often makes less financial sense than renting and as the rate of home ownership is starting to drop substantially, as we roll the clock forward to today, there is no stigma at all to renting.. everyone is doing it.  In fact, of the 269,323 residents of Walsall, 96,418 of you rent your house from the local authority, housing association or private landlords – meaning 35.8% of Walsall people are tenants.

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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 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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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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The death of home ownership in Walsall…??

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

house ownership

I had the most interesting chat with a mature couple (in their early/mid 50’s) from the Aldridge area the other day, whilst viewing one of our rental properties.  The property wasn’t for them, but their son, who wanted a second viewing with his parents to get the parental blessing.  Now I know that isn’t the norm, but in this case the parents were going to act as guarantor.  We got chatting about the Walsall property market and how they had bought their first property in the town just after they got married in the late 1980’s when they were in their early/mid 20’s.

Anyway, we got chatting about how the youngsters of the UK seem to rent more than buy nowadays and from that the conversation covered a number of similar topics.  I want to share the highlights of that conversation with you today.

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