House 5 - Elland
Photos before - https://www.zoopla.co.uk/property-history/127-park-road/elland/hx5-9hz/28188199
Am i glad to see the back of this house! Bought for 62,500 on a bit of a whim. Too eager to crack on and get another one done - the saying goes that you should be doing 3 or 4 a year to be a pro and this would be my 3rd. I'd been sat in my then accountants reception and saw a leaflet with a photo of houses by the canal and thought to myself - hmmm one of these would make a good project. When i got home I started searching rightmove and google earth, everything from Marsden down to Mirfield, Hebden bridge to Brighouse and came up with this.
Located on Park Road, Elland - (those of you who are familliar with it will probably be thinking now - oh no!) a bit further away than usual but still within my 10 mile search radius on Right Move. It had sold for 100k in 2007 (or so i thought - looking at the sold prices section - not realising that re-mortgaging also showed up as sold prices and it turned out the three houses which had gone for around 100 within the immediate vicinity were all owned by the same person) Backing on to Elland Wood, canal to the front and a very busy main road in-between!
At the time i was wearing my rose tinted glasses and everything looked rosy (including the very busy road). It only needed a small outlay to get it up to speed and make a quick buck - The wiring was less than 4 years old so was the combi boiler, all the walls were skimmed even the kitchen and bathroom were good. There were problems with the roof leaking and water getting into the house in various other places. A proper good clean, a few alterations and improvements here and there, re- decorate and carpets then when finished 3 valuations came in at between 80 and 90k - things were looking promising. If only it was all that easy.
I went with Simon Blyth as they'd opened a new branch in Ripponden close by and I knew some of the staff already from Huddersfield like Martin , Sam and Peter, only to be handed over to the new branch manager - Amy Baxter - We never hit it off together and then when the homebuyer's report came back and the buyer had a list of snags as long as your arm looking for every possible way to get money knocked off I told them no way and put it back on the market.
At the time i was wearing my rose tinted glasses and everything looked rosy (including the very busy road). It only needed a small outlay to get it up to speed and make a quick buck - The wiring was less than 4 years old so was the combi boiler, all the walls were skimmed even the kitchen and bathroom were good. There were problems with the roof leaking and water getting into the house in various other places. A proper good clean, a few alterations and improvements here and there, re- decorate and carpets then when finished 3 valuations came in at between 80 and 90k - things were looking promising. If only it was all that easy.
I went with Simon Blyth as they'd opened a new branch in Ripponden close by and I knew some of the staff already from Huddersfield like Martin , Sam and Peter, only to be handed over to the new branch manager - Amy Baxter - We never hit it off together and then when the homebuyer's report came back and the buyer had a list of snags as long as your arm looking for every possible way to get money knocked off I told them no way and put it back on the market.
Things went a bit quiet after that so I went with my regular agent from Huddersfield - Holroyd and co and then it sold for 75,500. When it did sell the second time there was nothing on the survey that the first surveyor had claimed was wrong with the place - that's the difference between a mortgage valuation, a homebuyer's report and a different person surveying.
Very little profit on this one due to the time it took to sell and the fees incurred from the interest only buy to let mortgage, utilities, council tax etc etc. I'll never get a BTL mortgage again, even more so now they've brought in stamp duty land tax on second homes. All these kind of BTL mortgages and repayments they all look good on paper - just like a business plan can. I remember doing a 5 year business plan once and in it 5 years down the line I was earning 50k profit a year - it looked great on paper but it never happened that way in the real world.
Before photos here -
http://www.zoopla.co.uk/property-history/127-park-road/elland/hx5-9hz/28188199
and
After
http://www.zoopla.co.uk/property-history/127-park-road/elland/hx5-9hz/28188199
and
After
