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

Berkeley Road - Three Bedroom Semi Detached House

This three bedroom semi detached house has come to market with Omega Estate Agents for £159,995 located within one mile of Clacton's town centre and mainline station in Berkeley Road.

The property itself offers three bedrooms, two reception rooms, rear garden and off street parking.

Properties in this area and size achieve a rental of £775 - £800 PCM. Based on full asking price this property could return 6%!

Click here for more information.

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-54366173.html

The Clacton Property Market and £1,300,000,000,000,000,000 in loose change

The 5^th of March 2009 was the date Mervyn King, the then Bank of England Governor, slashed UK interest rates to the unparalleled figure of 0.5%. In just under five months, starting on 8^th October 2008, the rate had come down from 4.5% to that low figure, all in an attempt to ensure the British economy survived the worldwide credit crunch. Now as we deck the halls with bows of holly nobody expected that, over six years later, rates would still be at that low level.

In the summer, people were predicting a rise in the New Year, yet now, some forecast it may remain the same for years to come the due to the issues in China. Now, I am not some City Whiz kid with a hotline to Mr Carney at Threadneedle Street, but merely a humble letting agent from Clacton, so I can not profess to know what will happen to interest rates. However, what I do know, speaking to my Clacton friends and Clacton landlords is that these low interest rates have hit savers really hard.

If you added up everyone’s bank and building society savings in the UK, they would add up to £1,300,000,000,000,000,000 (that’s £1.3 trillion), most of which is earning a pittance in interest.  That is why more and more 40 and 50 year old Clacton landlords have been investing some of that cash into Clacton bricks and mortar, as they search for a low risk investment opportunity.

Buying a Clacton buy to let property isn’t risk free, but there are certainly things you can do to mitigate and lower one’s exposure to risk. You see by buying a rental property, it potentially offers an enigmatically decent proposition in terms of being able to obtain attractive returns that beat inflation and savings accounts, yet without taking the levels of risk associated with stock markets.

The UK residential property market has long been the safest form of collateral for lenders of all varieties. Against a backdrop of a greatly changing economic environment, Clacton house prices have been extraordinarily robust, increasing by over 2148% between 1974 and today. Some will say there have been significant property price falls, namely in 1975, 1988 and 2008, yet each time after this has been followed by an upturn in property values. For the record, the stock markets in the same time frame only rose by 432.5%!

.. and that is the best thing about buy to let property. Unlike the stock market, with its unfathomable equities, shares and bonds, that nobody really understands (as they are controlled by some faceless whizzkid in Canary Wharf!) with a buy to let property, landlords can take control and understand their investment .. in fact you can touch and feel the bricks and mortar investment.

..  but before you go out and buy any old Clacton property, plenty of landlords still get it wrong. You have to be aware of your legal responsibilities when it comes to tenant safety, tenants deposits, energy certificates and in the new year, landlords will have the added responsibility of checking the immigration status of prospective tenants. Get it wrong and big fines and even prison is an option – but that’s why many agents use a letting agent to manage their property for them.

Next, you have to buy the right property at the right price. Recently I have seen some really heart breaking situations in Clacton and the immediate area, of people paying way too much for a property, only to lose out when they came to sell. One example that comes to mind is that of a property owner on centrally located Victory Road in Clacton .. a decent three bed semi-detached house that has been divided into 2 apartments, the top floor apartment being 46 sq metres inside (495 sq ft in old money) sold in October 2009 for £118,500. In the summer, it only obtained £73,500, a drop of 37.97% or 7.93% a year - a very disappointing result.

Oxford Crescent with 6.4% Return!

An ideal buy to let investment, this three bedroom semi detached house located in Oxford Crescent has been listed with Omega and is being offered with no onward chain.

Positioned just 0.2 miles to Clacton railway station, this home is ideally positioned for all local amenities and primary & secondary schools.

This property would achieve a monthly rental of £725 - £750; therefore based on purchase price of £140,000 this home shouldn't be missed!

Click here for further information!

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-57282107.html

6.9% Yield on Marigold Avenue

Sheens have listed this four bedroom terraced house located in Marigold Avenue for £155,000.

The property itself is offered in immaculate decorative order and conveniently situated within a half mile of Bockings Elm local shopping amenities.

Four bedroom properties of this size and condition would achieve a rental figure of £895 - £925, therefore based on the rental figure of £895 PCM, and purchase price of £155,000; this property would return 6.9%!

For more information and images, click the following link.

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-38962242.html

What does 2016 have in store for the Clacton Property Market?

Clacton house prices up or Clacton house prices down? ... and if so, by how much? Those of you who read the Clacton Property Blog will know I am not the sort of person who pulls punches nor someone who ever fails to give a forthright and straight talking opinion – so here are my thoughts for the 16,099 Clacton homeowners and landlords.

The average Clacton property is 7.9% higher today than it was a year ago, which doesn't sound a lot, but when you consider inflation is currently running at -0.1% (ie consumer/retail prices are dropping) and average salary growth is only around 2.5% pa, this is bad news for first time buyers as property affordability continues to decrease (although I was reading in The Times the other day that wage inflation (ie salary growth) is showing signs of weakening).

Some commentators have said the higher stamp duty taxes announced a few weeks ago in the Autumn Statement for buy to let landlords, concerns over first time buyer affordability and the outlook of UK interest rate rises in 2016 will really dampen the property market. I hope you all read my previous article about what the new stamp duty rule changes would REALLY mean for Clacton landlords in my blog, but I believe the real issue in the Clacton property market is the shortage of property to buy, as people either worry there will be no suitable house to move to, or cannot afford to upgrade. However, on the supply side, Mr Osborne said in his Autumn Statement that he will change the planning laws to ensure the government meets the pledge made at the General Election (back in May) of 200,000 new homes a year.  All I can say is .. good luck George hitting those numbers!

Why? Because houses take years to build .. not months .. so George and his fabled house building aside .... where does that leave us in Clacton in 2016?

Well, talking of supply ... whilst Mr Osborne builds his properties (and let’s be honest - a week doesn't go by without him being filmed on a building site with a high viz jacket and hard hat building a house here and there!), let us look at the shortage of properties for sale. Back in January 2012, 1,234 properties were for sale in Clacton .. today that figure is 796. On the face of it, this means there is less choice for Clacton buyers – but it also means with a restricted supply of properties for sale .. it keeps property prices high for Clacton house sellers.

Everything isn't all doom and gloom though ... again back in January 2012, the average property in Clacton took 157 days to find a buyer .. latest figures state this has dropped to 115 days .. a drop of 27% in how long it takes to find a buyer. However, when you delve even deeper, the best performing type of property today in Clacton is the 3 bed, which only takes 98 days to find a buyer (on average) compared to the 1 bed, which takes 137 days. It just goes to show, even though the average has dropped since 2012, how varied that change has been!

So, back to the question everyone is asking .... What will happen to property values in Clacton in 2016?  I am going to suggest they will rise between 6.5% and 7.5% ... nothing out of the ordinary, but unless something cataclysmic happens in the world, 2016 will be like 2015! For more thoughts, opinions and views on the Clacton property market .. visit the Clacton Property Blog www.clactonproperty.blogspot.co.uk

6% Yield on Trunette Road

Sheens Estate Agents have added this three bedroom semi detached house located on Trunette Road, Clacton for £160,000.

The property itself is located on the 'Lake Walk' development, just 0.8 miles from Clacton railway station and within 500 yards of local shopping facilities, and standing just 0.6 miles to local schooling, this property makes an ideal family home. 

Properties in this location generally achieve a rental figure of £775 - £795 PCM, therefore based at £160,000 purchase price and rental figure of £795 PCM, this home would offer a 6% yield!

For further information and pictures, click the following link.

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-38810433.html