Excellent, a high yielding 3bed maisonette in Stockwell SW8/SW9 Borders

I came across this one this morning and it is absolutely beautiful. Financially of course. A three bedroom, split-level, maisonette in Stockwell. We have had similar properties in the past, which have achieved offers in excess of the asking price simply due to high yield. To see one available at this price is excellent, and certainly deserves attention at this price. With an asking price of £279,950 and an estimated rental of £450pw it works out to 8.4% gross yield at asking price.

Interested yet?

Remember if you are looking at this investment, or others, feel free to drop me a line either here on the blog or privately via email on jeroen@xandermatthew.com or give me a ring on 020 3397 2099.

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-50225552.html

Onthemarket.com? You mean off the market, surely!

Rightmove and Zoopla and now.... onthemarket.com. Some of you may have heard about the latest brainchild of Agents' Mutual - a consortium of agents that got together with the idea of taking on the great portals - but most of you won't, and that’s my point.

So what's happening?

In essence a few agents have been disgruntled by the annual price hike that presents itself from the big 2 and decided to chance it on their own. Build their own website, do a TV campaign to attract the would-be buyers, job done, surely. Well if everyone thought like that about growing their own vegetables (much cheaper than the likes of Tesco surely) why isn't everyone doing it? For a start the investment required runs into the millions of pounds. They won't see these "savings" for some years to come to say the least. Secondly, the success of any agency big or small hangs on its ability to shift houses. With less exposure on their properties (this new portal cannot possibly get as many hits as Rightmove or Zoopla for years to come) there are less buyers/tenants looking at their properties. This results in less enquiries. Less viewings. Less offers. Less transactions. Less customers that recommend said agent due to poor results. Less income for the agent. Oh look I see a trend.

In the best interests

An agent should always handle their affairs in the best interests of their clients which they represent of course. Drastically reducing the level of exposure that their clients' properties get is arguably not.

The cold hard facts

Let's do a test for our core areas, namely SW4 and SW2.

	For Sale		To Let
Area	SW4	SW2	SW4	SW2
Rightmove	279	420	296	209
Zoopla	205	269	209	258
OntheMarket	84	115	78	35

As is plain to see there are lots more agents that are still on Rightmove and Zoopla than OntheMarket, which is obvious of course. There are never going to be as many properties on day 1. However it will be interesting to see how this changes over time. But bear in mind that if you haven't heard of this new portal, neither will your new tenants or buyers. Even with property listed... where are the buyers looking??

Costs

Rightmove and Zoopla, as any other company, make a charge for their services. These prices certainly increase from time to time. Why? Well, there is inflation, a wider range of services on offer and guess what, everything gets more expensive year on year. Remember penny sweets? Right...

Flop? 

Now believe me I'm all for value for money, but to spend millions of pounds to save a few quid is just nonsensical. What's more, it doesn't serve the best interests of clients. So will I be joining? I will be a few hundred pounds better off today, but tomorrow when the sales and lettings don't materialise because tenants and buyers are looking on Rightmove and Zoopla I will be significantly worse off with less customers and less money in the bank. So no, in summary. Has your agent dropped a well-known, established brand for onthemarket.com? With the figures above it is clear where other agents are, and where the buyers and tenants will be looking for their next home.

What do you think?

Another great investment property!

Well, Christmas out of the way and it’s back on the investment bandwagon! I hope everyone had a welcome break. It certainly looks like the December blues are gone in the London property market and there are some lovely properties to be had.

I came across this particular one with Andrews the other day and I must say it is a charming flat. We have let before in Chalmer’s House and can assure despite it’s rather typical 1930s Art-Deco looks it boasts a host of other things. Rooms are spacious and there is a gym and a roof terrace for residents to enjoy. A lovely property to live in and hence popular with tenants, despite being a little further from Clapham Junction than one would like. Appealing to a slightly more mature tenant who can appreciate better value slightly further from the station this one is sound to attract a good quality tenant. Estimated rental income £350-£375pw, making this one yield 4.9%-5.2% gross at asking price. Not the highest yield in the world, granted, but looking at the photos there is not much more to do than furnish it with some good quality furniture. Bathroom, kitchen and general décor is A*. Happy bidding fellow investors! http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-32411193.html

If you've spotted a buy-to-let opportunity or need impartial advice regarding your current property portfolio, feel free to give me a call on 020 3397 2099 or email me at jeroen@xandermatthew.com.