The Clapham Property Blog

Another day, another brilliant investment. It’s been a good week and I’ve answered over a dozen emails from excited investors picking my brain about the latest thoughts on the “Emerging Outer Prime” market I’ve identified. I had a few people say I don't talk about adding value enough. Stand back. Here’s one however with a bit of a twist, and for a change it’s on with XanderMatthew! Naturally that leads one to believe I’d be biased and inflate figures to make it sound better than it is, but truthfully it’s such a brilliant buy as a do-er up-er I don’t need to. Here it is: http://www.xandermatthew.com/SW2/Brixton/Branksome-Road/beds-3/property.vtx?p=D819B318-5B33-418B-B27E-75DD6DEA78B9#&tab-details=images Branksome Road SW2. A 3bed for 600k? meh. But what if I told you that it had planning permission for… wait for it… conversion into two units! Yes. This could be an ideal opportunity for someone looking for a project they can do in their own time, or even a s

It’s not often that two flats of the same good yielding nature catch my eye at once. Truth be told my radar hasn’t been picking up many good buys recently as you may have noticed as less blog alerts come through on your email. Time to revisit older instructions. As a seasoned buyer you will know that generally Joe Public will want to “test the market” at a higher price to “see what happens.” I can tell you straight away with my dozen years of experience that this seldom results in the desired effect. Generally the property becomes old and stale and remains unsold as buyers look elsewhere for value. Buyers do it in the supermarket when comparing baked beans, they do it for cars, well surely they do it for property too! Message to Joe Public: If your property is overpriced it won’t sell. But that’s good news for us investors. The time is right to get in there with an offer they can’t refuse… Property 1: 3 bedroom flat in Tulse Hill SW2. Priced at £299,950 and available on Ri

I've been absolutely inundated with requests for larger properties in readiness for the summer market. The summer market always brings out the students and hopeful graduates in search of accommodation to share with their friends. As my colleagues and I have said in the past, the properties with the lowest voids are generally the “better value” ones as opposed to top or bottom of the range. Nobody wants a Lada, few can afford a Rolls... I have found something in exceedingly average condition that you could buy and do nothing to. In its current condition it would probably let for £380-400ish per week, which means a 6% yield at asking price. Or perhaps in the order of £425pw when you've spent money. Same yield, so why bother really? It is very similar to the recent one I posted on Saxby Road, and with a little bit of work could fetch a lot more. To you Mr/Mrs Investor the choice to refurbish or not. New bathroom, mew kitchen and redecoration throughout would set you back

As you may have read in my past articles the outer edges of SW2 represent excellent value for money and have shown a strong historic growth. As the popularity of alternative modes of transport increase (cycling to work, buses, trains as opposed to tubes) we will no doubt continue to see good growth on the outer edges of postcodes which have, in the past, been overlooked as good areas for rental properties. Look no longer. Marketed today by Morgan Randall is this beauty: http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-34087464.html A 3 double bedroom property situated near the top end of Brixton Hill. Easy access to Clapham South and Brixton by bus. Estimated rent for the property would be £450pw, so a yield of 6.1% at asking price. A 3bed in the same development completed at £330k in Dec 14 so perhaps the pricing is optimistic, or perhaps a sign that people are catching on to the fast rising demand/prices that outer areas have to offer. Only time will tell. In summary,

This 3 bed property in Tulse Hill offers a buyer a chance to acquire a flat that is poised to benefit from high yields. At an asking rental price of £380 per week the yield will be 6.58% which is not so readily available nowadays. Jereon Hoppe (director of Xandermatthew) has discussed the advantages of capitalising on the more competitively priced properties available which are slightly further away (emerging outer prime) from Tube stations such as Tulse Hill. There’s plenty to do in the area with Brockwell Park moments away, locals enjoy swimming in the lido as well as all that the trendy and authentic village of West Dulwich which is close by has to offer. http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-34179831.html?utm_content=v2-ealertspropertyimage&utm_medium=email&utm_source=emailupdates&utm_campaign=emailupdatesinstant&utm_term=buying&sc_id=15889878&onetime_FromEmail=true Given its location of being within an emerging outer prime area

A landlord came in to see me the other day to talk property. Naturally I obliged. They had always invested in freehold houses. “I don’t like leasehold properties.” He said. “The freeholder is always asking for service charges and ground rents.” Naturally I agreed, as being a leaseholder does mean that you bow to a superior landlord ultimately. However, emotions aside, I urged him to look at the pound notes rather than the feelings. I was confident his feelings would turn gleeful when I drew his attention to the return as opposed to focusing on what he was paying in costs. A leasehold is not a bad thing. Naturally some freeholders will be better than others, but to some extent it allows for more hands-off investing. A management company will be looking after the block, so all you would need to worry about is the confines of what’s behind the front door. Easy. And more lucrative it would seem in most cases. We compared two properties up for sale at the moment: Rathmell

Clapham - high yield investment opportunity Most London investors consider properties close(r) to train stations as they can then capitalise on their return, we all know that renting a property closer to the station will generate more rent opposed to a property that is located further from a train station regardless of bus options. Take this 3 bed for example, in a prime location and I estimate it would let for approximately £460pw, resulting in a yield of 6% which is certainly worth considering. Roy Ridley House, Clapham Road Estate – Guide £400,000 http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-51658040.html I am finding that there are still lots of renters are on the lookout for a property close to a train station, and as this particular property is located right next to Clapham North (northern line/zone 2) train station it will certainly appeal. With Clapham High Street just around the corner this 3bed will attract young professional sharers due to the

I received a brilliant response to last week's mailshot. Reason being it included the Quarter 1 property update. In case you had missed it   please download it here. I had a few landlords pop in over the last week and sit down with me for some advice, but one particularly stood out. He asked me for a moment of my time, which I happily gave him in order to discuss his property investment goals. He was looking to re-invest some money after the sale of his other BTL property and was keen to hear more about the areas I had recommended previously in the Clapham Property Blog. Great news of course. He was after a relatively “safe” investment as the properties should remain fairly liquid due to the imminent need to sell them to help fund his children’s ambition to become homeowners also. A great move. We compared properties close to the station (in this case a lot of Victorian properties near Brixton and Clapham Tube) and properties a little bit further out near Tulse Hill, Streat

Many buy-to-let investors would consider a 5% return exceptionally good, so what would you say to a property offering over 6%?  Such properties are exceptionally hard to find, especially in zone 2, but if you venture a little further away from the train and tube stations you’ll find your options start to open up. Take this 1 bedroom ex-local flat just off Tulse Hill.   http://www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/35671136?tmad=c&tmcampid=35&utm_campaign=buy-alert&utm_content=contact-type-listing&utm_medium=email&utm_source=alert#dQ1tRzY3Df87YkwD.97 Bus links up to Brixton are excellent meaning that commuting into central London is still a perfectly viable option and you get a lot more for your money than you would in the more traditional locations.  Admittedly this property needs a visit from the builders, but once renovated would fetch around £1050pcm giving a return of 6.3% at the asking price of just £200,000. It’s well documented that parts of Lambe

This is a good deal for investors as it is a flat somebody can come along and transform to make it into a rental machine. Buy to let investors can expect to enjoy a cool 6.3% yield if it rents in the region of £320 per week which is great for a London property. http://www.xandermatthew.com/printable.dtx?propertyid=28EC562E-9821-4505-A191-70C3EE15376B&fromwebdadi=true Resale will be strong due to the growing interest in the area with the multibillion regeneration on Elephant and Castle nearby which of course will have a ripple effect on neighbouring areas. Southwark is an exciting borough to be involved in with good projected growth in coming years and already been confirmed as the number one borough that has built  the most new homes since 2012. Central London is a very short bus ride away too and ideal for the many that are opting to jump on their bikes to work. You will find the likes of famous landmarks such as the Shard and Shakespeare Globe in Southwark so Amer