The next tour date is Saturday 20th October, so be quick and book your seat….
(Call 01923 776400 and ask for Emily or 01923 721900 and ask for Reagan)
Saturday 3rd March 2012 was the first Rental Investor Tour, part of our Magical Mystery Tour scheme… and now the tours have become SO POPULAR we are running them bi-monthly! There is a general shortage of good rental properties in this popular area, which is heaving with excellent quality potential tenants, many of whom are relocating to this area for work, so we have transformed our usual ‘new tenant’ Magical Mystery Tour into a tour for the rental investor or potential investor.
The tour showcases some of the fabulous new homes sites available in the area and highlights the best plots for investment, calculates yields and capital values for you, lists your potential costs and offers all the advice you could possible want, if you are thinking of buying a property for investment.
The tour are organised by Reagan Bradley & Susie Griffiths from the lettings team,
in conjunction with our sales team, Emily Outrim & Emily Walton.
Kick off time is 10.30am, jump on board our ‘Magical Mystery Tour Bus’ and we will drive you to relevant sites and any 2nd hand residential properties which we feel are perfect for the investor. On the bus, the Sewell & Gardner staff will answer any questions or concerns you have about investing in property and will provide refreshments throughout the tour . After the final viewings, everyone will be treated to a light lunch and drinks in a local pub, while the sites are discussed and your feedback forms are completed.
Landlord Feedback Forms
From previous tours, here are some of the most important features Landlord investors look for:
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- Good location
- Close to a station
- Near shops & amenities
- Good quality kitchen & bathroom
- Income vs cost
- Helpful site staff
- Appliances & flooring included
Strangely enough, it was found that the finish & quality of the apartment was more important than the predicted yield in most instances!
Things which have put off investment buyers are:
- Unattractive look – so the heart is still ruling the head, despite how good the yields are, if the investor would not live in the property themselves, they are not keen to buy
- No hidden costs
- Lack of visitors parking or only one space allocated, especially for houses
- Too close to busy road or too near to railway line
We also asked our Landlord Investors what they look for in their letting agent, and the following points were listed:
- Fully qualified, helpful lettings staff
- Good website presence, with property portal feeds to Rightmove
- ARLA or regulated with client money protection in place
- Cheap fees on offer
It does not always follow that you get the top 3 points above and still get the cheap fees! You must remember that fee percentages usually come down in line with quality of service!
There are hefty costs involved with uploading property to the major portals, and an even heftier cost to train staff to ARLA standards and maintain their regulated agent, status . Invariably you get what you pay for in this industry, and a few weeks extra to find the best tenant can actually wipe out any difference in fees you have negotiated!! Ensure that you make an informed decision when choosing the agent to take care of your investment, as the wrong choice based on fees could end up costing an awful lot more in the long run!
According to research published today by Mortgages for Business, some 60% of property investors plan to expand their portfolios over the next six months. “More and more investors are exploring which options will give them the best returns on their investment. While vanilla buy-to-let properties remain popular, more complex deals are offering higher yields on average and are growing in popularity, particularly because of the shortage of housing stock currently on the market.”
Every single one of our participants stated that the Rental Investor Tour was highly informative and has definitely helped to make a decision on what to purchase next and where to look. The tour showcased some areas which a lot of investors may not have previously considered and has also given developers a great insight into what the investor is looking for!
One of our Happy Tour Passengers
We really hope that you will join us on the tour if you are considering a rental investment in this area. We cover Watford & it’s surrounds, Rickmansworth, Croxley Green, Chorleywood, Abbots & Kings Langley and will gladly incorporate ANY SITE you are interested in, so do not hesitate to give us a call and discuss.
Kind regards,
Jane Gardner, FARLA
Director