Does anybody live in... Burnley?

Swafe

Been looking for places near me to rent and everything is pretty pricey... yet in Burnley... property is dirt cheap, and rents seem only slightly less

For example.. a flat near me will cost 100k, with a rental income of 500/month

Up there it seems you can get a house for 20-25k with rental incomes of about 300/month, so it seems the best for buying places to rent.

My question is... why are there so many for sale? & why are they so cheap? I imagine its due to their not being many jobs around at the moment but its weird how there are so many for sale, my question is, if I buy somewhere as an investment, is it highly unlikely Ill get someone in to rent it? Even if I was to rent it at a pretty low price?

Thanks

BitterAndTwisted

Properties are cheap because the locals don't have jobs that pay enough to enable them to buy. If they have jobs at all. If you buy to become a landlord there one of the things you need to bear in mind is the quality of tenant as well as their ability to pay the rent. With the coming LHA caps this might have an effect on the market rents chargeable in future.

Swafe

LHA cap will not make much of a difference, it seems to be 250 a week for 1 bedroom going upto 290 a week for 2 beds - these were rents I'd be expecting monthly rather than weekly so is unlikely to affect me.

The quality of tennant is an issue you will always have in renting, obviously more so in low employment areas but I guess hand in hand with that, with the reduced house prices the damage they can cause is also more limited

hcb42

have you watched homes under the hammer today?!

I dont think all homes in the area are that cheap, if they are it is because some areas are much less desirable.

My best friend and a colleague both live there and both live in houses which are ove £300K so it is not all cheap run down terraces

Swafe

I certainly did haha, just thought you get a lot of house for your cash, compared to around these parts anyway, they paid 25000 i think for their house which seemed really cheap, but after looking on rightmove theres loads of houses sale at auction coming up soon with bids starting from 18-20000

Running_Horse

Sssshhhhh. Burnley is the best kept property secret.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/3767453

As is the search function at the top of the page.

Buy now while stocks last.

Wail

Oh god

Burnley has some extreme levels of deprivation. I would also suggest you learn a lot about the area. There is one positive. The Todmorden Curve will give Burnley a direct rail link to Manchester soon. Have a look at areas with good access to Manchester Road station and appealing to you to live and you might be on to a winner.

I say might. Like I said, understand the area because there is no sympathy for the avoidable mistakes.

BettiePage

My husband is from a village near Burnley. All I would say is, Burnley itself is cheap for a reason. I wouldn't live there. Surrounding areas are very nice though (apart from Blackburn of course ).

Swafe

Whats the main reason? lack of jobs, or undesirable sorts? :P

Anubis_2

Swafe wrote: »

LHA cap will not make much of a difference, it seems to be 250 a week for 1 bedroom going upto 290 a week for 2 beds - these were rents I'd be expecting monthly rather than weekly so is unlikely to affect me.

The quality of tennant is an issue you will always have in renting, obviously more so in low employment areas but I guess hand in hand with that, with the reduced house prices the damage they can cause is also more limited

Looking it up, LHA for Burnley is a lot lot less than 250 pw one bedroom etc....

Here are Burnley rates:

Shared accommodation £60.00
One bedroom accommodation £75.00
Two bedroom accommodation £85.00
Three bedroom accommodation £95.00
Four bedroom accommodation £137.31

http://www.burnley.gov.uk/site/scripts/documents_info.php?documentID=990&categoryID=200118&pageNumber=4

I imagine no work etc is the main reason. I live quite a good few miles away from Burnley (thankfully!) but to be honest it's the same story in my area for jobs - there are a good few empty properties in my area though, as some of the rents are too expensive for LHA, LL don't allow LHA, and there simply isn't the working people to fill them. Catch 22.

I would not advise investing in a low work area tbh unless you are prepared to take on LHA tenants. Remember though some who do work also get some LHA.

sheilavw

I live in Burnley, have done all my life. The area I live in is lovely. There are a lot of nice areas with expensive housing. The shopping centre is poor, full of cheap shops. So its not all bad!