Outline Situation

We were first approached with this property and the owner was not sure what to do. He had owned the property for 15 years (since it was built) and had rented it out during this time. During ownership, very little work had been carried out at the property and this had been solely for maintenance. The highest rent achieved on this property to date was £290 pw.

Problem

Having eventually decided to sell the property the Vendor wanted to put the property on the market for £300,000 in September 2004 with no works carried out. The property sat on the market for 2 months receiving few offers due to the poor decorative condition. The best offer received was £275,000. As the property needed major works either to maximise its rental or to produce a beautiful central home no one was prepared to pay a high asking price.

Assessment

Having advised the owner not to sell from the start we finally convinced him to re-assess his property decision. On review, we discovered that the decision to sell was based on minor financial needs, and did not require the sale of the property. We compiled a detailed quote which would involve gutting the entire property, refurbishing, decorating and furnishing. We also gave guide appraisals for sales and rentals values once the works were complete. The owner then consulted various Financial Advisors and Accountants and decided, wisely, to finance the property. He was quickly able to release the equity required to meet his immediate financial needs and to carry out the refurbishment.

Project

The project was a complete overhaul of a 2 double bedroom, duplex apartment including gutting and emptying the property, new kitchen & bathroom, new flooring, re-decoration and complete furnishing including most of the appliances. The aim was to create a property that would achieve a rental of at least £325 pw- an uplift of over 10%. The works were scheduled to take 1 calendar month.

Pricing

£16,000- this was the cost of the complete project including supplies, labour, design, and all furnishings as well as disposal of all rubbish and with the property presented ready to occupy.

Results

The project was completed on time and within budget. Not only that, but we also exceeded our target expectations as follows:

Rented 2005: £360 pw- increase of £70 pw or £3640 pa
Rented 2006: £360 pw- increase of £70 pw or £3640 pa
Rented 2007: £385pw- increase of £95 pw or £4940 pa

Our target was £325, we exceeded £360 pw! Over 3 years we produced an additional rental income of £12,220. Had the vendor decided to keep the property for 1 more year the rental increase alone would have paid for the refurb over this time.

However towards the end of 2007 the vendor decided, mainly due to personal reasons, that he now wanted to sell the property. The property was placed on the market at £385,000 with a view to achieve offers in excess of £360,000. Within 48 hours of going to market we had 6 offers at Full Asking Price. Final offers were then taken and the vendor eventually sold the property for £392,500 (an offer for £400,000 was turned down due to selling position).

Therefore in 3 years the value of the property had gone from £275,000 to £392,500- a total value increase of £117,500 or 43%!

Therefore in total, for an investment of just £16,000, the vendor made returns of £129,720.

Return: 711%