Harold Court - Two Bedroom Apartment

Omega have added this two bedroom apartment, located less than 100 yards from Clacton seafront for £125,000.

The property itself is located to the ground floor and benefits include gas central heating, garage and partial sea views.

The agent states that the property is currently tenanted until the End of April 2016 at £580 PCM, however I would expect a property in this location to achieve £650 PCM, therefore based at £650 PCM rental, this property would return 6.24% yield.

For further information, click the following link:

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-30441060.html

Two Bedroom Apartment in Penfold Road

Sheens have added this two bedroom apartment being sold with a share of the freehold in Penfold Road for £92,500. 

The property itself is located on the fringes of Clacton town centre and seafront located within 100 yards. 

Internally the property offers lounge, kitchen, two bedroom & bathroom with further benefits including gas central heating and two off road parking spaces to the front of the property.

We have recently let similar two bedroom apartments in Penfold Road, which achieved rentals between £560 - £575 PCM, therefore would return 7.2 - 7.4% yield!

For more information, click the following link.

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-58565714.html

Page Road - Three Bedroom Semi Detached

Omega have added this three bedroom semi detached house located on Page Road, Clacton for £150,000; ideally positioned for Clacton railway station and Town Centre.

The property is being offered with no onward chain and benefits include 12'4 lounge, 12'6 dining area, 12'7 master bedroom and 35' rear garden.

Family homes in the area, generally move quickly and achieve a rental in the region of £750 PCM, therefore based at £150,000 purchase price, this property returns a 6% yield!

For further information, click the following link!

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-39649986.html

Almond Close - 6.1% Yield!

Haarts have added this three bedroom end terraced house located in Almond Close for £155,000.

This home is Spacious throughout and beautifully presented, making this property a must see. With benefits to include ground floor cloakroom, utilty room, conservatory and rear garden this property would make an ideal family home.

We have recently let a similar property in Stanley Road for £795 PCM, therefore this home would return 6.1%.

For further information, click the following link. 

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-58339433.html

Alton Road - Two Bed Apartment

This two bedroom split level apartment has come to market with Blake and Thickbroom, located on Alton Road; just a stones throw from Clacton's Seafront for £105,000.

Located within the small block of Alton Lodge on Alton Road, this apartment is located on the upper floors, offering open plan lounge/kitchen, bathroom and one bedroom to the main level and located on the top section a further double bedroom. The property itself further benefits from off road parking and Gas Central Heating. 

Due to the position and close promixity to Clacton's seafront, this apartment also offers partial seaviews!

A property of this size and located would expect to achieve a rental of £575 - £595 PCM, therefore returning 6.8% yield, before any additional charges taken into account.

With demand outstripping the supply of quailty rental properties at present, I wouldn't expect this property to hang around for long on the open market.

For further information, floorplan and images, click the following link to the properties rightmove listing.

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-40753161.html

7.5% return at The Royal, Clacton

Omega Estate Agents have added this One bedroom apartment located in the Royal, a prestigious development of quality apartments situated in one of Clacton's most well known and historic buildings. This one bedroom apartment is situated on the second floor and is subject to a new 125 year lease, of which a draft copy is available to view at request.

One bedroom apartment to this standard would achieve a rental of £500 PCM, therefore based at purchase price of £80,000, this property would return 7.5%.

For further information, click the following link.

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-40650660.html

Oulton Hall - 9.1% Return!!!

This one bedroom apartment has been listed by Blake & Thickbroom in the Art Deco apartment block of 'Oulton Hall', ideally positioned along East Clacton's Seafront.

One bedroom apartments in this area range from £450 - £475, therefore based at £465 rental on the purchase price of £61,995, this apartment would return 9.1%!

Click the following link for further information and internal images!

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-40650870.html

Meredith Road with 8.1% return

Haarts of Clacton have added this one bedroom ground floor garden flat in Meredith Road for £70,000 and would make an ideal investment.

Ideally positioned close to town centre and railway station, this property is within close proximity to all amenities.

Properties similar to this achieve a rental in the region of £475 PCM, therefore based on full asking price this property would return 8.1%!

Click here for the further information!

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-53012410.html?premiumA=true

Town Centre Apartment with 7% return!

This one bedroom apartment have come to market with Peagrams for £85,000 located directly opposite Clacton Town Centre's fountain.

The property has recently been refurbished boasting a refitted kitchen with appliances combined with period features including the original sash windows.

Properties similar to this achieve a rental in the region of £475 - £500 PCM, therefore based at £85,000 purchase price this property would return 7%!

For further information, click the following link!

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-40555011.html

6.7% return on Land Close, Clacton

Blake and Thickbroom have listed this two bedroom first floor purpose built maisonette is being offered for sale with no onward chain, located on the popular Peter Bruff Development on the Northern outskirts of Clacton's town centre for £102,500.

Two bedroom apartments in this location achieve a rental of £575 PCM, therefore based on full asking price, this property would return 6.7%!

For further information, click the following link!

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-40369086.html

6.9% - Dudley Road - Terraced House

Omega Estate Agents have added this three bedroom terraced house located in Dudley Road, Clacton for £129,995.

The property itself occupies a non estate position in this established area of Clacton-on-Sea. The property benefits from lounge and a separate dining as well a 7'8 x 7'6 fitted kitchen and 36' rear garden.

Properties of this size and location achieve a rental of £725 - £750 PCM, therefore could return 6.9%

This property shouldn't be missed, so click the following link for more information!

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-40347645.html

Private Renting in Clacton increases by 180.54% in 20 years

You find me in a reflective mood today as I want to talk about the future of investing in property in Clacton. The truth is that we have got fat and lethargic, with many people having mistaken the ever rising Clacton (and in fact the whole of the UK) property market since the 1960’s as the eternal gift that kept giving as property prices constantly rose and doubled every five to seven years.

The days of making money from property as easy

as falling off a log, like taking candy from a baby are sadly

over my Clacton Property Blog reading friends

Whilst George Osborne has decided now is the time to milk the ‘Golden Cow’ of UK’s private landlords, with changes in taxation for buy to let property, many pundits are predicting the end of buy to let as we know it. However, it is still possible to make a reasonable, profitable and safe return on property with these changes. You see, I have always seen investing in the Clacton buy to let market (as I would anywhere in the UK), as I might see mother nature, creating some truly wonderful stunning warm weather but at the same time, she will bite, creating catastrophic situations such as snowstorms and hurricanes.  You need to study the market, take advice and opinions from many people and then decide what the proverbial property weather will be … remember, tenants will always want a roof over their head and I don’t see the HM Government building the millions of houses required to house them?

Nobody knows the future, and yes people can predict but I wouldn’t be afraid of this change .. because as a famous French proverb says, (I told you I was a reflective mood today), ‘the more things change, the more they stay the same’.  I mean, no one could have predicted how the property market has changed in Clacton over the last couple of decades? Twenty years ago, 18,072 households (meaning 83.31% of property) was owned and only 1,428 households were privately rented (meaning 6.63% of property was rented out by private landlords). Roll the clocks on twenty years and the change has been seismic …. Now only 16,099 of properties in the town are home-owners (a huge drop to only 70.5% being owner occupied) and the jump in private renting has been out of this world, as 4,249 properties are now privately rented proportionally 18.6%). (NB Neighbouring towns show similar changes as well)

Who would have predicted in 1995 the private rental sector in

Clacton would have grown by 180.54% in the proceeding 20 years?

Also, if you had asked someone in 1995 to predict what would happen to property values over the proceeding 20 years (ie between 1995 and 2015), they might have predicted similar growth to the growth experienced over the previous 20 years (ie between 1975 and 1995), which was a very impressive 351.55%. Yes, property values in Clacton have increased over the last 20 years (between 1995 and 2015), but by a more modest 246.45% (and most of that can be attributed to house price growth between 2000 and 2006.)

The property market is constantly changing and buy to let for too long has been heavily dependent solely on house price growth, where yield has been almost forgotten.  I see the changes in tax and landlord and tenant law in a different perspective to the doom-mongers and see it as bringing many opportunities. You might need to change your buy to let benchmarks, your approach to financing or even consider places other than Clacton in which to invest your money, but this will shine a light on investing in properties with healthier yields and create more realistic long term buy to let opportunities, instead of short term growth bets and wagers.

The advice I give to my landlords, and you my blog reading friends is this; these changes will make some landlords panic, meaning competition for decent Clacton buy to let bargains will reduce as fear of change kicks in and amateur investors flee the market. These opportunities will provide a more stable platform for knowledgeable and wise Clacton buy to let landlords to thrive in. If you want to learn more about the Clacton Property Market, feel free to pop in for a coffee at our office for a chat with me, or failing that, visit the Clacton Property Blog, where you will find many more articles like this ..solely on the one topic of the Property Market in Clacton www.clactonproperty.blogspot.co.uk

Selsey Avenue, Martello Bay - 6.3% return

Omega have listed this purpose built double bedroom ground floor apartment situated within a seafront block on the popular Martello Bay development. Benefits include partial sea views, allocated parking and security intercom entry system. 

A popular location, properties like this achieve a rental in the region of £525 PCM, therefore based at £99,995 purchase price this property would return 6.3%!

For further information, click the following link!

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-56518661.html

Melton Close - 7.6 - 7.9% Return!

This two bedroom apartment has been listed in Melton Close with Stoneridge Estate Agents for £89,995 and with a potential yield return of 7.6 - 7.9%, this property shouldn't be missed!

Situated on the outskirts of Clacton on Sea, the property benefits from a modern fitted kitchen, gas heating, private rear garden and is being offered with no onward chain!

Properties like this offered in good order, generally achieve a rental of £575 - £595 PCM, therefore based at £89,995 purchase price this property would return 7.6 - 7.9% yield!

For further information, click the following link!

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-40211694.html

Clacton Buy to Let sees returns of 14.61% in 2015

Well as 2016 is well into full swing, I remember a few days before Christmas, I got chatting with one of my out of town landlords who was back in Clacton visiting his family. Brought up in Clacton, he went to Colchester School for Boys back in the 1970's and is now a university Lecturer in central London. To enhance his retirement, he has a small portfolio of four properties in the town and wanted my advice on where to buy the next property in Clacton.

Before I could advise him, I reminded him that the most important thing when considering investing in property is finding a Clacton property with decent rental yields for income returns, yet at the same time, it must have the potential for capital growth from rising house prices over time. Going into 2016, Clacton landlords will be under more pressure to find the best permutation of yields and capital growth, as extra stamp duty charges for buying properties and squeeze on mortgage interest relief will raise their costs.

However, (you knew there would be a however) before we look at yield and capital growth, one important consideration that often many landlords tend to overlook, is the propensity of how likely the rent will increase. Interestingly, the average rent of a Clacton property currently stands at £657 per month, which is a rise of 1.4% compared to twelve months ago (although it must be noted this rise in rents is for new tenancies and not existing tenants).

Anyway, back to yield and capital growth, the average value of a Clacton property currently stands at £193,800, meaning the average yield stands at 4.07% per annum, which on the face of it, many landlords would find disappointing. That is the problem with averages, so if I were to look at say 2 bed houses in Clacton which are the sort of properties a lot of landlords buy, in Clacton, the average value of a 2 bed house is £133,800, whilst the average rent for a 2 bed house is £692 per month, giving a yield o 6.21%. However, if that wasn't high enough, there are landlords in Clacton who own some specialist properties with specialist tenancies, that are achieving nearly double that yield - again it comes down to your attitude and risk and reward (give me a call if you wanted a chat about those sorts of properties - although they can be fun and games!)

Ultimately investors want to be making gains from both rent and house price growth. When combined, the rental yield and capital growth give you the return on investment, and that is what I told our University friend. Return on investment is everything. So, looking at property values in Clacton have risen in the last year by 8.4% ... which means the currently annual return on investment in Clacton for a typical 2 bed house is 14.61% a year.... not bad!

Whether you are a soon to be new landlord or existing seasoned landlord in Clacton, you might be interested in a blog about the Clacton Property Market... the web address is www.clactonproperty,blogspot.co.uk and to answer the question on what he should buy, well on the same blog once or twice a week, I post what I consider to be the best buy to let deals in Clacton, irrespective of which agent it is being marketed with. Maybe you should visit the blog as well? 

Two bedroom apartment located on Cann Hall

This two bedroom apartment have come to market in Merstham Drive for £99,995 and would make a perfect investment!

Located on the popular development of Cann Hall, which is located to the outskirts of Clacton, this property is in a prime position for A133 access to Colchester and beyond but still within close reach of Clacton town centre and railway station, being only located 1.3 miles away.

The property offers lounge, kitchen, bathroom, two bedrooms, use of communal gardens to the rear and a garage!

This property would achieve a rental of £575 PCM, therefore based on full asking price this property would return 6.9%!

For further information, click the following link.

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-57887132.html

Clacton Landlords count the cost of a Tory Election win

Can you remember 10.05pm on Thursday, 7^th May 2015 ... with the shock news that BBC Exit Polls suggested the Conservatives would be returned with majority? The middle classes in First Avenue exhaled a huge sigh of relief, as Clacton landlords, faced with rent controls from Red Ed and the Labour Party, now had something to cheer about as the Tory’s were always considered to be a political party that accepted the importance of the rental market, supported its development while properly targeting the lawbreaker landlords renting out below standard rental accommodation.

Since May though, George Osborne announced future rises in stamp duty for buy to let landlords and a change in the interest relief on buy to let mortgages, some people have started to question that loyalty. However, things could have been a lot worse for Clacton landlords as previous ideas of making landlord’s pay more tax was the idea (which was seriously considered) of increasing Capital Gains Tax rates to the landlord’s own income tax levels. If Landlords would have had to pay capital gains tax of 40% to 45% on any uplift in value, I can tell you here and now, that would have made investing in property a non starter for almost everyone.

However, I will admit the loss of mortgage higher rate tax relief will make a number of properties not stack up financially. The new rules are likely to slow demand in the Clacton housing market, which is in fact good news for the other landlords, as there is less competition from 'amateur' landlords offering too much.

Just a thought, but making Clacton landlords think twice and

run their numbers more cautiously is not such a bad thing.

So looking at the numbers, the November figures have just been released and they show a growth of property values in Clacton of 0.6% over the month of November. That figure doesn’t surprise me due to the time of year. It’s quite dangerous to look at one month in isolation, so looking at a more medium term view, over the last 12 months, property values in Clacton have risen by 8.4%, not bad when you consider inflation is running at -0.1%.

However, regular readers of the Clacton Property Blog know my passion for looking deeper into the stats. The really interesting information is the value growth, but what types of property are actually selling in Clacton?  Looking at all the properties sold, as recorded by the Land Registry, within 3 miles of the centre of Clacton in September 2015 (this data always runs a couple of months behind the house price data) compared to September 2007 (a couple of months before the credit crunch started to bite and the subsequent property crash).

	Sept 2007	Sept 2015	Difference
Detached in Clacton	60	47	-22%
Semis in Clacton	51	31	-39%
Terraced Houses in Clacton	12	15	+25%
Apartments / Flats in Clacton	35	24	-31%

Now I have mentioned in previous articles that the numbers of properties selling in the town has certainly dropped post 2008, but what amazed me were the drop in the number of detached, semis and apartments selling in Clacton compared to the sales terraced properties.

Less properties are selling than last decade in Clacton

and the types of properties selling have changed ...

interesting times ahead for the Clacton Property market!

Therefore, all I can say to the landlords of Clacton is do your homework, make sure the numbers do stack up, take advice and opinion from professionals and above all, for those of you planning to add to your portfolio, buy the right property at the right price. One place for such advice and opinion on the Clacton Property market is the Clacton Property Blog www.clactonproperty.blogspot.co.uk

Family home in Salvia Close

We have just added this three bedroom terraced house has come to market for £150,000 in Salvia Close, Clacton.

Located on the popular 'Ruaton Gardens' development, this property is situated within 0.3 miles for St Clare's primary school and Clacton Coastal Academy. This property would make an ideal family home.

This property would achieve a rental in the region of £750 PCM, therefore based on full asking price this property would return 6%!

For further information, click the following link.

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-57866195.html

Where will Clacton Property Prices be by 2021?

I was having lunch the other day at Armstrong’s Restaurant, Marine Parade East, in Clacton, with a local Clacton solicitor friend of mine, when the subject of property came up. He asked me my thoughts on the Clacton property market for the next five years. Property prices are both a British national obsession and a key driver of the British consumer economy. So what will happen next in the property market? So here is what I told him, and now wish, my blog reading friends, to share with you.

Before I can predict what will happen over the next five years to Clacton house prices, firstly I need to look at what has happen over the last five years.  One of the key drivers of the housing market and property values is unemployment (or lack of it), as that drives confidence and wage growth – key factors to whether people buy their first house, existing homeowners move up the property ladder and even buy to let landlords have an appetite to continue purchasing buy to let property.

When the Tory’s came to power in May 2010, the total number of people who were unemployed in City stood at 2,373 (or 7.3% of the working age population in Clacton parliamentary constituency). Last month, this had dropped to 1,406 people (or 4.4% of the working age population).

As the Clacton job market has improved with better job prospects, salaries are rising too, growing at their highest level since 2009, at 3.4% per year in the private sector (as recently reported by the ONS).  That is why, even with the turbulence of the last few years, property values in the Clacton area are 20.62% higher today than they were five years ago.

Many home occupiers have held back moving house over the past seven to eight years following the Credit Crunch but with the outlook more optimistic, I expect at least some to seize the opportunity to move home, releasing pent up demand as well as putting more stock onto the market. With a more stable economy in the City, this will, I believe, drive a slow but clearly defined five year wave of activity in home sales and continued house price growth in Clacton.

I forecast that the value of the average home

in Clacton will increase by 19.8% by 2021

19.8% might sound optimistic to some, but according to Land Registry, values are currently rising in Clacton at 7.9% year on year, I believe my forecast to be fair, reasonable and a reflection of both positive (and negative) aspects of the local property market and wider UK economy as whole.

However, it wouldn’t be correct not to mention those potential negative issues as I do have some slight concerns about the future of Clacton housing market.  The number of properties for sale in Clacton is lower than it was five years ago, restricting choice for buyers (yet the other side of the coin is that that keeps prices higher). Interest rates were being predicted to rise around Easter 2016, but now I think it will be nearer Christmas 2016 and finally the new buy to let taxation rules which are being introduced between 2017 and 2021 (although choosing the right sort of property / portfolio mix in Clacton will, I believe, mitigate those issues with the next taxation rules).

I am telling the landlords I speak to, that with interest rates at their current level 0.5%, the cash in your Building Society Passbook is going to grow so slowly that it might as well be kept under their bed. Property prices, by contrast, have rocketed over the years, even after the property crashes, far outstripping bank accounts and inflation.

So my final thought ...  property is a long term investment, it has its’ up and downs, but it has always outperformed, in the long term, most investments. Those in their 40’s and 50’s in Clacton would be mad not to include property in their long term financial calculations. Just make sure you buy the right property, at the price in the right location. One source of information on such matters would be the Clacton Property Blog www.clactonproperty.blogspot.co.uk

Clacton Landlords could be fined £57,000 per year

“Who would want to move to Clacton in weather like this?”, was what one landlord said to me as we shook hands outside his property, the other afternoon. It was windy, cold, it had been raining most of the day and it was the last appointment of the day at 4.45pm. I will admit, as I had been out of the office all day, I was looking forward to getting home, putting the fire on, and watching telly with a big mug of tea.. but this landlord lived in neighbouring Colchester and this was the earliest he could do. 

It turned out he had been self-managing the property himself over the last few years, but was worried with all the new legislation that had been introduced recently. He was particularly concerned about the up and coming ‘Right to Rent’ legislation, so as his tenant had handed in their notice recently, on this new tenancy he called us for our opinion.

For those Clacton landlords that don’t know, landlords will need to check the immigration status of any new tenants moving into properties from February 2016 or face a £3,000 fine. It is called the 'Right to Rent' rules. However, tenants should also be aware that as well as traditional landlords, tenants who sub let rooms and homeowners who take in lodgers, must also check the right of prospective tenants to reside in the UK.

Our landlord from Colchester wanted to know how much of a real issue was ‘Right to Rent’ in Clacton. I was able to tell him, the last available figures (from a couple of years ago) show that 19 people (whom were registered as Non-UK Born Short-term Residents) moved into private rented accommodation in the Tendring District Council area in one year alone. If all of those people weren't supposed to be in the UK, that would be a fine of £57,000 to the landlords of the town.

It doesn't sound a lot when you think there are 50,548 residents in Clacton, and of those, 48,245 people (or 95.44%) were born in the UK. But Clacton is a cosmopolitan town as the country of birth of the residents in Clacton can be split down as follows:

• UK                                          95.44%
• Ireland                                    0.91%
• Europe                                    1.81%
• Africa                                      0.53%
• Middle East and Asia                0.91%
• Americas and Caribbean          0.28%
• Australia and Pacific region     0.09%

However, it must also be recognised that landlords, by checking up on tenants, could potentially be accused of discrimination under the Equality Act. This is a real minefield for landlords, especially when you consider that not all of the 914 Europeans in the area necessarily have the right to live in the UK either.

In a nutshell, Clacton landlords will need to check and retain copies of certain documents that show a potential tenant has the right to live in the UK. These include...

• UK Passport
• EEA Passport/Identity card
• Travel document or Permanent Residence Card showing indefinite leave to remain
• Paperwork from Home Office stating their Immigration status
• Certificate of registration or naturalisation as a British citizen.

I hope the new law will target dishonest landlords who repeatedly fail to carry out Right to Rent checks by making it a criminal offence. This means they could face imprisonment for failing to check on their tenants. That is why more and more landlords are asking agents to manage their properties, so they can stay the right side of the law.

So what did our landlord do?

Well after our chat, he asked us to find a tenant and manage the property for him - he had been reading the Clacton Property Blog for a while and because of the knowledge we impart to the landlords of Clacton, we obviously know what we are talking about.  Even better news for him, even though this would cost him agency fees, I was able to get him an additional £55 per month for his property (when we found him a tenant one week later). Now, together with the peace of mind we will keep him the right side of the law and put a stop to midnight phone calls complaining about dripping taps, it was a win-win situation for everyone.

Holland Road - One Bedroom apartment

John V Story have added this one bedroom ground floor apartment located in Holland Road, Holland on Sea for £85,000. 

Located in this small block is situated just off the main Holland road being in close proximity to local general store and bus service that connects into Clacton and Holland on Sea both giving a wider choice of shops and facilities. Within a mile Clacton's seafront and open beaches can be found for a good walk.

A popular location, this property would achieve a rental income of £500 PCM, therefore would return 7% yield!

For further information and images, click the following link.

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-57582545.html

Will the young people of Clacton ever own their own home?

I had the most interesting chat with a mature couple (in their early/mid 50’s) from Kings Parade 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 Clacton 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.

Their son, like many 20 to 30 year olds in Clacton, desperately wants to own his own property and the parents said he had read in the Telegraph recently, when you compare house prices to earnings, the current 20 to 30 something’s generation have to spend more of their salary in mortgage payments than any previous generation. The demand for private rental sector accommodation in Clacton is huge. There are in fact 4,249 private rental properties in Clacton at the last count, impressive when you consider there are 943 council houses in the town. However, let us not forget 16,099 properties are owner occupied (6,147 with a mortgage).

Let us all be honest, private renting doesn’t have the stigma it had a few decades ago and it might surprise people that even though us Brit’s class ourselves as a nation of homeowners, roll the clock back 100 years and over 75% of people rented their own home (and it was all from private landlords as council housing only started to come in with the ‘homes for hero’s’ after the first World War). It might also surprise you to learn that at the time of the 1971 census, still more people rented than owned their own home.

Looking at the affordability issue, I have proved time and time again, it is in fact cheaper to buy a property than rent, when one looks at starter homes for first time buyers. 95% mortgages have been available to first time buyers for over four years and whilst you could certainly find better properties in better condition in better areas, terraced houses can be bought for as little as the early £100,000’s in the area of Clacton between St Osyth Road and Coppins Road  (meaning a modest deposit of £5,000 would be required).

When it came to affordability, I was able to tell them that when they bought their first house in Clacton in 1988, the ratio of house prices to salary was 7.54 to 1 in Clacton ... and here was the surprise for both of us, today’s ratio is only 6.53 to 1!

I said I believed there had been a cultural attitude change towards renting property in Britain and that this quiet revolution was likely to be permanent. In the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s, saving for the deposit was everything and buying a house was everything. Youngsters today have far much more disposal income today than people had in the Callaghan and Thatcher years, but choose to spend it upgrading their mobile phones every 12 months, the newest tablet or PC, a newest 50” plasma LCD TV and two sun drenched holidays a year, than go without and save for a deposit.

Yes, there are horror stories of tenants living in rat infested properties with landlords who charge massive rents and don’t repair their properties. But that is very much the exception as most tenants rent homes of a quality they couldn’t ever to afford to buy. Twenty years ago, if you said you rented a property, you were considered the lowest of the low ... but now it’s the norm.

So with mortgage affordability being well within the bounds of most first time buyers, the level of deposit required for a 95% being surprisingly modest (starting off at c.£5,000 in Clacton as mentioned above) until we change our attitudes, the UK housing market is slowly but surely turning into a more European model, where people rent for long periods of their life, then eventually inherit their parents properties and subsequently become homeowners themselves, albeit later in life.

Hence, I cannot see the demand for decent, high quality rental properties ever dropping in the next 10 to 20 years, but only ever increasing as the population continues to soar. Just make sure you by the right property, at the price, in the right location. One source of information on such matters would be the Clacton Property Blog - www.clactonproperty.blogspot.co.uk

7.2% Yield - Regency Lodge, Jameson Road

IDEAL INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITY! Being offered for sale with a tenant in situ, More Estate Agents are delighted to offer this two bedroom apartment located in Jameson Road, Clacton.

Offering 7.2% yield, this apartment is a ready made investment either for the first time landlord or investor. The property itself offers two bedrooms, L-shape lounge/diner, kitchen and bathroom.

The current tenants are two months into a 12 month tenancy at a rental of £575 PCM, therefore you can expect a rental income the moment you complete!

For further details, click the following link.

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-57501485.html

8.3% Yield - Coppins Road, Clacton

Centrally located close to Clacton Town, Seafront and Pier is this one bedroom first floor maisonette being sold with no onward chain through Moving Places.

The property offers lounge, kitchen/diner, modern bathroom suite, double bedroom, gas central heating, double glazed windows and the additional benefit of an approx. 40ft south west facing rear garden. 

I would expect this property to achieve a monthly rental of £475 PCM, therefore based at £68,500 purchase price, this property would return 8.3%.

For further information, click the following link.

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-57457655.html

Clacton House Price Monopoly: How do Prices vary?

Well as the nights have been drawing in, if there is nothing on the telly, the significant other and myself like to play the board game Monopoly. The buying and renting of property, it’s like a busman’s holiday for me! Interestingly, the game was originally invented at the turn of the 20^th Century (in 1903) and the game was initially called ‘The Landlord’s Game’!  Anyway, after a few years in the wilderness, the current owners of the game renamed it in 1935 and so began Monopoly as we know it today.

So whether you are a homeowner or landlord in Clacton, what would a Monopoly board look like today in the town? Property prices over the last 80 years have certainly increased beyond all recognition, so looking at the original board, I have substituted some of the original streets with the most expensive and least expensive locations in Clacton today.

Initially, I have focused on the CO15 postcode only, looking at the Brown Squares on the board, the ‘new’ Old Kent Road in Clacton today would be Morris Avenue, with an average value £57,600 (per property) and Whitechapel Road would be Bentley Avenue, which would be worth £60,380. What about the posh dark blue squares of Park Lane and Mayfair? Again, looking at CO15, Park Lane would be Albany Gardens East at £340,000 and Mayfair would be The Esplande at £392,571. However, look a little further afield from the CO15 postcode, and such roads as Church Lane in Great Holland would claim the Mayfair card at £440,000! Also, I can’t forget the train stations (my favourite squares), and over the last 6 months, the average price that property within a quarter mile of the station sold for was £128,800.

So that got me thinking what you would have had to have paid for a property in Clacton back in 1935, when the game originally came out?

• The average Clacton detached house today is worth £230,650 would have set you back 417 pounds 6 shillings and 3 old pence.
• The average Clacton semi detached house today is worth £176,950 would have set you back 320 pounds 3 shillings and 1 old penny.
• The average Clacton terraced/town house today is worth £149,460 would have set you back 270 8 shillings and 4 old pence.
• The average Clacton apartment is today is worth £117,750 would have set you back 213 pounds and 10 old pence.
• The average Clacton detached house today is worth £230,650 would have set you back 417 Pounds 6 shillings and 3 old pence.

If that sounds like another currency, you must be in your 20’s or 30’s, because it was back in February 1971, that Britain went decimal and hundreds of years of everyday currency was turned into history overnight. On 14th of February of that year, there were 12 pennies to the shilling and 20 shillings to the pound. The following day all that was history and the pound was made up of 100 new pence.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this bit of fun, but underlying all this is one important fact. Property investing is a long game, which has seen impressive rises over the last 80 years. In my previous articles I have talked about what is happening on a month by month or year by year basis and if you are going to invest in the Clacton property market, you should consider the Clacton property you buy a medium to long term investment, because Buy to let is pretty much what it sounds like – you buy a property in order to rent it out to tenants.

As I reminded a soon to be first time landlord from Holland-on-Sea the other week, Buy to let in Clacton (as in other parts of the Country) is very different from owning your own home. When you become a Clacton landlord, you are in essence running a small business – one with important legal responsibilities. On that note, I want to remind landlords of the recent and future changes in legislation when it comes to buy to let. This year, rules have changed about tenant deposits, carbon monoxide detectors and early in the New Year, landlords will have responsibilities to do immigration checks on all their tenants. Failure to adhere to them will mean a minimum of heavy fines in the thousands or in some cases, prison ... it’s a mine field!  That’s why I write the Clacton Property Blog, where it has an extensive library of articles like this one, where I talk about what is happening in the Clacton property market, what to buy (and sometimes not) in Clacton and everything else that is important to know as a Clacton landlord.

Martello Bay - Two Bedroom House

Blake and Thickbroom have listed this two bedroom terraced house located on the sought after location of Martello May, located a stones throw away from the popular Blue Flag beach.

An extremely popular development, properties in this area never hang around long on the rental market and generally achieve a monthly rental of £700 PCM, therefore offering an approx. 6% return.

Click here for further information!

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-39220557.html

Key Road - 2 Bedroom Terraced House

Sheens Estate Agents have listed this two bedroom mid terraced house located within close proximity to Clacton town centre for £127,500.

The property internally offers lounge, kitchen/diner, two bedrooms and shower room. 

Properties in this area achieve a rental in the region of £625 - £650 PCM, therefore offers 6.1% return!

For further information and pictures, click the following link.

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-57349700.html