Buy to Let in North East

Bluenose123

I am looking to purchase a buy to let property in the North East around the Durham/Darlington area for under £100k.
Looking on Rightmove you can get modern 2 and 3 bedroom properties in the area well under £100k so looking for areas towns villages that let out well and those to avoid.

Would be interested to hear from any landlords in the North East .

ColdIron

I would have thought this thread would be better on the House Buying, Renting & Selling board than savings and investments. Perhaps one of the mods could move it

System

ColdIron wrote: »

I would have thought this thread would be better on the House Buying, Renting & Selling board than savings and investments. Perhaps one of the mods could move it

Why? It is a business investment.

For someone who is not from the North East, especially southerners, they can look like very attractive bargains and it is easy to get drawn in by the fact you can buy a house for a quarter of what it'd fetch down south. Sub £100k houses are not in exactly desirable areas, the ones in the desirable areas are north of £150k.

Where exactly around Durham are you looking? The vast majority of places even just a few miles out from the city are poverty ridden with high levels of unemployment and lots of social issues so whilst the houses may be cheap the type of tenants you're going to get are not likely to be the ones in good employment with a regular good income. They will most likely be on welfare and housing benefit. Whilst that doesn't mean they're going to be bad tenants unfortunately the social issues that blight those areas tend to mean there's a more chance than not that you'll have problems. If you accept that going in then it is less of an issue but you need to put aside plenty of money for repairs and paying the mortgage when the rent doesn't get paid.

David_Evans

Bluenose123 wrote: »

I am looking to purchase a buy to let property in the North East around the Durham/Darlington area for under £100k.
Looking on Rightmove you can get modern 2 and 3 bedroom properties in the area well under £100k so looking for areas towns villages that let out well and those to avoid.

Would be interested to hear from any landlords in the North East .

I know LLs who own HMOs in Blackpool.
They make quite a good return.
But they are what I would describe as ''robust'' individuals.
It's not a game for amateurs.

David_Evans

Tarambor wrote: »

Why? It is a business investment.

For someone who is not from the North East, especially southerners, they can look like very attractive bargains and it is easy to get drawn in by the fact you can buy a house for a quarter of what it'd fetch down south. Sub £100k houses are not in exactly desirable areas, the ones in the desirable areas are north of £150k.

Where exactly around Durham are you looking? The vast majority of places even just a few miles out from the city are poverty ridden with high levels of unemployment and lots of social issues so whilst the houses may be cheap the type of tenants you're going to get are not likely to be the ones in good employment with a regular good income. They will most likely be on welfare and housing benefit. Whilst that doesn't mean they're going to be bad tenants unfortunately the social issues that blight those areas tend to mean there's a more chance than not that you'll have problems. If you accept that going in then it is less of an issue but you need to put aside plenty of money for repairs and paying the mortgage when the rent doesn't get paid.

If you're going to get involved in this - you're better off letting to immigrants and avoiding British tenants.

cosh25

I am from Durham (County Durham) and rent out my first home. There is big difference in the areas you have mentioned - Durham and Darlington. Durham City is very student driven with very few houses below £150k and County Durham, which I believe you may be talking about is full of outlining villages and towns, such as Darlington. A lot of these areas suffer from high unemployment and social issues. I did try using a letting agency at first, but then started managing the property myself once I got a tennant through word of mouth.

TBC15

Just sold a very nice 3 bed property in a nice village 7 miles outside of Durham for £118000. Stunned how cheap housing is.

Bluenose123

The areas we were looking at are Newton Aycliffe, Crook, Sacriston, Hougton Le Spring, Darlington, Bearpark, Quarrington Hill, Wingate, Murton, Seaham.

We currently live abroad so looking to buy somewhere in the UK which we can let out but potentially move into once we decide to move back to the UK which would not be for at least 5 years.

Will be interested to hear what members who know the area think of these areas and any recommendations for letting agents. We have been in contact with NMR lettings in Durham and Dh1 in Sacriston.

TBC15

Bluenose123 wrote: »

The areas we were looking at are Newton Aycliffe, Crook, Sacriston, Hougton Le Spring, Darlington, Bearpark, Quarrington Hill, Wingate, Murton, Seaham.

We currently live abroad so looking to buy somewhere in the UK which we can let out but potentially move into once we decide to move back to the UK which would not be for at least 5 years.

Will be interested to hear what members who know the area think of these areas and any recommendations for letting agents. We have been in contact with NMR lettings in Durham and Dh1 in Sacriston.

Have a look at (the extreme east side) of West Rainton. Nice place, very cheap.

Bluenose123

Thanks TBC15, we have seen a property a modern detached property at Houghton Le Spring which I believe is near West Rainton ..Are you from the area ?

TBC15

Bluenose123 wrote: »

Thanks TBC15, we have seen a property a modern detached property at Houghton Le Spring which I believe is near West Rainton ..Are you from the area ?

Many.many years ago.