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Wednesday 27 May 2015

How can you find a good property deal in Weymouth , Portland or Dorchester?

How can you find a good property deal in Weymouth , Portland or Dorchester?

I was talking to a one of our landlords the other day, when he explained that there were no property bargains for him to buy in Weymouth or Dorchester. 
 
Now, none of us can look at a property and say ‘thats a bargain’ without doing some research so  I looked at some properties that have actually ‘been’ bargains for their new owners and conversely cost their original owners quite a bit of cash.

A flat in Oakbury Drive sold for £157k in December 2008.  In Jan 2015 it sold for £132k , a nearly 16% drop in price over 7 years!  Another at Nautica in St Albans Street, Weymouth has just sold for £115k and originally cost the owner £130k in March 2010 nearly 12 % higher.
Similarly, a three bed house in Chickerell Road has just sold for £159k, £10k less than it was bought for in 2011.

The price of property varies on whether you have a motivated seller or canny buyer and it is still possible to pick up a bargain wherever you are.  Only research can tell you how much of a bargain it is.


Whether you are a Landlord of ours or not, drop by our offices at the top of St Thomas Street if you would like any advice or help finding out this kind of information.

Tuesday 19 May 2015

Weymouth Property –Do you know the facts and Figures?


Here at Martin and co, we can guide you to the right place to identify property values and yields in Weymouth and other useful property related information so you can make sure you get all the information you need about your future investments.  Here are a few property facts about our town of Weymouth……

There are 880 streets in the DT3 and DT4 postcodes with 30084 households.  Just 15% of those have changed hands since 2005

Compared to the national average the DT3 and DT4 areas of Weymouth have 19% more detached houses, 34% fewer Semi detached houses, 5% more terraced houses and 10% more flats. 

In our area Detached Houses make up the most significant portion of the housing stock,representing 38% of the total. This is 19 % more than the national average

In the DT3 area flats account for the lowest percentage of the housing stock in this district, at only 9.42% This more than doubles in the DT4 area

Some 15% of property in the DT3 area is privately rented and 25% in the DT4


These are all good indicators that Weymouth is a good place to buy property in and show it to be an area with a high proportion of property suitable for families with children.  If you would like more useful facts and figures or advise on where to buy pop in to see us at our Office or call 01305 775504 and speak to Phil

Wednesday 13 May 2015

Continued growth in Buy to Let? Now the election is out of the way the path is set for new and existing Landlords ......................

Now the election is out of the way the path is set for new and existing Landlords to invest in property to rent.  With the tinkering of the private rental sector as promised by Labour no longer a threat  Landlords will continue to invest and potential tenants will be secure in the knowledge that good quality lets will continue to be available.
In addition a lot of people aged 20-45 (57%) are forgoing making savings for a house, and are instead looking at renting. This is also reflected in the fact that homeownership is at its lowest level in 29 years, especially among young people, and this number may continue to decrease in the coming years.
This isn’t necessarily a bad thing – but a positive reflection of the trend of wanting to rent. It is seen as a secure option, but still allows ‘serious’ renters to live in a house they can essentially call their own. There is no reason to see this trend changing any time soon.  If government does what it has promised and builds much needed housing some of these will become available to new tenants.  More and more people will be looking to rent, which means that landlords will face no shortage of tenants to choose between when it comes to letting their property.

Martin & Co is a lettings specialist operating from 282 offices around the UK. If you would like any information on how we find you the best tenants for your property, please contact your local office in Weymouth and ask to speak to Angela, Laura or Phil

Tuesday 5 May 2015

Work out your BTL returns using my FREE spreadsheet



Following on from my article about where to invest pension cash a couple of weeks ago I had a couple come into the office on Friday with just such a question!  They were in the fortunate position to have cash to invest for income and we discussed the options about types of property that would be best. 
I have put together a spreadsheet that works out your return on investment on any property when rented out.  You can import your mortgage costs, maintenance, agents fees etc together with the cost of the property and the cash available and it will show you your actual return together with percentage figures for your returns.
If anybody would like a free copy of this please call me with an email address or email me on philip.wakefield@martinco.com and I will send a copy with my compliments.
What type of property did we discuss?  Two and three bedroom family houses are in high demand and we are getting between 10 and 20 requests for viewings on these and letting them almost instantly so a bit of a no brainer.  We put together some examples (from other agents as well!) and they went off viewing. 
I am happy to spend time with any potential or experienced landlord to investigate what you would like to achieve and work out a business plan to achieve it -  with no obligation!   Please call me.