Wednesday 28 September 2016

0.25% interest rate cut – what will it do for the Falkirk Property Market?


I had an interesting chat with a Gartcows landlord who owns a few properties in the town. He popped his head in to my office as his wife was shopping, we had not spoken before (because he uses another agent to manage his Falkirk properties) yet after reading my blog on the Falkirk Property Market for a while, the landlord wanted to know my thoughts on how the recent interest rate cut would affect the Falkirk property market and I would also like to share these thoughts with you …


 Well it’s been a few weeks now since interest rates were cut to 0.25% by the Bank of England as the Bank believed Brexit could lead to a materially lower path of growth for the UK, especially for the Financial Services and Construction industries. You see for the country as a whole, the Financial Services and Construction industries are still performing well below the pre credit crunch levels of 2008/09, so the British economy remains highly susceptible to an economic shock. This is especially important in Falkirk because, even though we have had a number of local success stories in Manufacturing and Construction, a large number of people are employed in these sectors. In Falkirk, of the 16,688 people who have a job, 1,839 are in the Manufacturing industry and 1,352 in Construction meaning …

11.2% of Falkirk workers are employed in the Manufacturing sector and 8.1% of Falkirk workers are in Construction

The other sector of the economy the Bank is worried about, and an equally important one to the Falkirk economy, is the Financial Services industry. Financial Services in Falkirk employs 901 people, making up 5.4% of the Falkirk working population.

 Together with a cut in interest rates, the Bank also announced an increase in the quantity of money via a new programme of Quantitative Easing to buy £70bn of Government and Private bonds. Now that won’t do much to the Falkirk property market directly, but another measure also included in the recent announcement was £100bn of new funding to banks. This extra £100bn will help the High Street banks pass on the base rate cut to people and businesses, meaning the banks will have lots of cheap money to lend for mortgages… which will have a huge effect on the Falkirk property market (as that £100bn would be enough to buy half a million homes in the UK).

It will take until early in the New Year to find out the real direction of the Falkirk property market and the effects of Brexit on the economy as a whole, the subsequent recent interest rate cuts and the availability of cheap mortgages. However, something bigger than Brexit and interest rates is the inherent undersupply of housing (something I have spoken about many times in my blog and the specific affect on Falkirk). The severe undersupply means that Falkirk property prices are likely to increase further in the medium to long term, even if there is a dip in the short term. This only confirms what every homeowner and landlord has known for decades ... investing in property is a long term project and as an investment vehicle, it will continue to outstrip other forms of investment due to the high demand for a roof over people’s heads and the low supply of new propeties being built. 



A few more interesting articles about the Falkirk property market:

Friday 23 September 2016

Falkirk “Eye Candy” Property of the Week

We are adding a new feature to The Falkirk Property Blog – the Falkirk “Eye Candy” property of the week.  This will highlight Falkirk properties that are likely to be attractive to landlord in a different way – properties that they want to live in rather than buy to rent out.

We are starting big .... 7 bedroomed big!


Today’s Falkirk “Eye Candy” property of a week a recently re-furbished 7 bedroomed detached house at 3 Maggies Wood Loan, Falkirk which means that it is right in the heart of “old Falkirk” where houses are generally old and stone built.

The house, which is set in its own extensive grounds, has many detailed period features.  It has a large hallway, 4 reception rooms, 7 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 2 shower rooms and a cloakroom.



This property is on the market with Purplebricks for a fixed price of £775,000 which is expensive for Falkirk but it does have the ‘whaw’ factor so it is work a look.

If you would like any advice on buying a property, feel free to give me a call 01324 469840, email me on (news@thekeyplace.co.uk) pop into the office for a chat (6 Vicar Street, Falkirk).

Wednesday 21 September 2016

Is boiler insurance worth the cost for Falkirk landlords?


Today the Falkirk Property Blog is going to depart from the norm.  Normally, I discuss matters that help landlord’s answer the two basic questions that they are interested in (i) how much is my property worth? and (ii) where is my next buy to let property coming from?  Now I know, because I am one myself, that this is really all that landlords are interested in but occasionally all landlord need to deal with some of the more nitty gritty aspects of renting out property.  So I thought that I would write this week’s post about one aspect of this nitty gritty stuff .... do not worry, I will know from the emails I get from readers as well as the stats whether this sort of thing is of interest to readers!

Last week a tenant contacted me to say their boiler was leaking water at an alarming rate. This was the third time in 12 months this particular boiler has had an issue and it prompted me to suggest to the landlord whether it might be worthwhile taking out boiler insurance on it.
I don’t normally take out boiler insurance on my own portfolio as I’ve run the numbers, which shows it’s not worthwhile. I have a very good gas engineer who is both competent and readily available to attend to my properties.

However, in this particular case, it was the third time in 12 months there had been an issue with it; costing £720 in total!

I took a quick look online at boiler insurance policies and found for £15 per month you could have unlimited repairs with no excess. At £180 for the year, it certainly would have been worth it for this particular boiler!

Looking through my records though shows that only 9% of boilers had repair bills above this figure in any one year. Unfortunately however, I know the pain of having a boiler become uneconomical to repair and having to fork out for a complete replacement (easily costing 10 years of insurance premiums).

Some independent research suggested that 49% of boilers develop a fault within their first six years, costing an average of £188 to repair, whilst 67% of those with breakdown cover did not need a repair visit at all.

Of course like all insurance policies, overall the insurance company makes money from the group as a collective. But landlords some will take comfort that by paying a manageable monthly fee they may prevent a larger unexpected bill.

It would certainly help me not have to make uneasy calls to landlords with the news of a large repair bill! As a letting agent, there’s nothing in it for me except the hassle.


If you’re using a letting agent they should have good links with local tradesmen to get the work done promptly. For a ‘DIY landlord’, the convenience of having an insurance policy in place could be a deciding factor, alongside improved service levels to tenants. The most likely time you’ll encounter a failure is in the winter months - just when plumbers are all busy! Will they get to your stricken boiler promptly whilst your tenants are without heating and hot water? You may feel it’s easier to simply pay a monthly fee for the privilege of providing tenants with a number to call with a guaranteed response time in place.

It seems to me that if you are on a tight budget, have an older boiler or just don’t want the hassle of phoning around for plumbers, then boiler insurance might be worth the cost; just be sure to check the policy for limits and exceptions so you don’t have a nasty surprise in the event of a breakdown that isn’t fully covered.

If you would like to have a chat about boilers or any other buy to let property matter (be that property market or day to day property management related), please get in touch on 01324 469840 or at news@thekeyplace.co.uk.

Alternatively please feel free to pop in and see me at our offices in Vicar Street for a chat.



A few more interesting articles about the Falkirk property market:

Wednesday 14 September 2016

Where are the Twenty Somethings going to live in Falkirk?


My parents bought their first house in the 1960’s, they were in their early 20’s. Interestingly, looking at some research by the Post Office from a few years ago, in the 1960’s, the average age people bought their first house was 23. By the early 1970s, it had reached 27, rising to 28 in the early 1980’s. 

This year alone, 394 people in Falkirk will turn 28 ... and dare I say it a similar number will do the same in 2017, 2018 and each year beyond that ... year in year out, the conveyor belt carries on ... where are the Falkirk youngsters going to live?

Ask a Falkirk ‘twenty something’ and they will say they do not expect to buy until they are in their mid thirties, seven years later than the 1980’s. Some people even say they will never be able to buy a property and the newspapers have labelled them ‘Generation Rent’, as they are people born in the 1980s who believe that they have no hope of getting on the property ladder. One of the major problems facing young Falkirk people is the large deposit needed to get a mortgage… or is it?

The average price paid for an apartment in Falkirk over the last 12 months has been £84,179 meaning our first time buyer would need to save £4,210 as a deposit (as 95% mortgages have been available to first time buyers since 2010) plus a couple of thousand for solicitors costs. A lot of money, but people don’t think anything today of spending a couple of thousand pounds to go on holiday, the latest iPhone upgrade or the latest 4k HD television. The deposit and solicitors costs could soon be saved if these ‘luxuries’ were with held over for a couple of years but attitudes have changed.

Official figures, from the Office for National Statistics, show the average person in Falkirk earns £501 per week meaning they would still comfortably be able to get a mortgage for apartment.

I was reading a report/survey commissioned by Paragon Mortgages recently. The thing that struck me was when tenants were asked about their long term housing plans, some 35% of participating tenants intended to remain within the rented sector and 24% intended to buy a house in the future, with the proportion of respondents citing the “unaffordability” of housing as the reason for renting privately increasing from 69% to 74%.

However, time and time again, in the starter home category of property (i.e. apartments), nine times out of ten, the mortgage payments to buy a Falkirk property are cheaper than having to rent in Falkirk. It is the tenants’ perceptions that they believe they can’t buy, so choose not to. Renting is now a choice. Tenants can upgrade to bigger and better properties and move up the property ladder quicker than their parents or grandparents (albeit they don’t own the property). Over the last decade, culturally in the UK, there has been a change in the attitude to renting and, unless that attitude changes, I expect that the private rental sector in Falkirk (and Scotland as well as the UK as a whole) is likely to remain a popular choice for the next twenty plus years. With demand for Falkirk rental property unlikely to slow and newly formed households continuing to choose the rental market instead of purchasing a property, I also forecast that renting will continue to offer good value for money for tenants and recommend landlords pursue professional advice and adopt a realistic approach to rental increases to ensure that they are in line with inflation and any void periods are curtailed.

If you would like to explore how I can help you with your property investments, or should you require any advice about investing in the Falkirk property market, wish to enquire about our Investment Analysis Reports, Property Sourcing, Residential Lettings or Property Management services, please do not hesitate to contact me on 01324 469840 or at news@thekeyplace.co.uk.

Alternatively please feel free to pop in and see me at our offices in Vicar Street for a chat, the coffee is always on.



A few more interesting articles about the Falkirk property market:

Monday 12 September 2016

Impressive modern Falkirk detached family house buy to let opportunity


Welcome back readers - I hope you have all had a fantastic weekend and have not OD’ed too much on the Paralympics! 

On to today's beautiful "Property of The Week!" in Falkirk.  It’s a three bedroomed, detached house on Park Road in New Carron Village that is being sold by Homes for U.

The house has a lounge, dining room, kitchen and WC on the ground floor as well as three bedrooms (one with en suite) and a family bathroom on the upper floor.  The house, which has gas central heating and double glazing, has a driveway, a single garage and gardens to the front and rear.


Let’s do the maths.  This flat is on the market with Homes for U for offers over £138,000 so let’s say it goes for £150,000.  A house like this in this area should rent for £700-725 pcm so that gets you to a yield of 5.6-5.8%.

If you would like any advice on buying a property to let, feel free to give me a call 01324 469840, email me on (news@thekeyplace.co.uk) pop into the office for a chat (6 Vicar Street, Falkirk).

Thursday 8 September 2016

It’s time to have some fun negotiating a good deal in Falkirk!


Sometimes various properties come on the market at the same time which presents an opportunity to buy to let investors and today’s The Falkirk Property Blog is highlighting one of these such times!

There are four 2 bed flats in the modern development in Victoria Road for sale.  Having four similar flats in the same development gives a buy to let landlord an opportunity to play each selling agent off against each other so as to drive a good bargain.

The four flats are on the market at:
  • Offers over £59,995.  This flat is on the market with Your Move Falkirk - click here for details.
  • Fixed price £61,500.  This flat is on the market with Urban.co.uk - click here for details.
  • Offers in excess of £62,000.  This flat is on the market with New Neighbours - click here for details.
  • Offers over £65,000.  This flat is on the market with JSB Gillespie - click here for details.  Interestingly, they say ‘you can never beat the market’ and this is a perfect example of this as this flat, which seems out of line with the pricings of the other flats, has been on the market since May 2016 and it hasn’t sold – this is an absolute age in current market terms!

Interestingly, they say ‘you can never beat the market’ and this is a perfect example of this as this flat, which seems out of line with the pricings of the other flats, has been on the market since May 2016 and it hasn’t sold – this is an absolute age in current market terms!
These flats will rent easily given that they are modern and fairly near the centre of Falkirk  You should get rents of £450 - £475 for these flats which is a yield of up to 9% +.

So buy to let investors, go and have some fun negotiating a good deal in Victoria Road, Falkirk!

We hope you find our posts useful.  If you would like some advice with your potential investment, please pop in to the office for a chat at 6 Vicar Street Falkirk, call me on 01324 469840 or email me on news@thekeyplace.co.uk.

Wednesday 7 September 2016

My Concerns About The Falkirk Property Market


I am genuinely concerned about the Falkirk property market, but in a way that might surprise you.

Zoopla announced that average ‘asking prices’ fell in the last three months by 0.6% in Falkirk, leaving them 0.2% higher than a year ago. 

Looking at all the data on the Falkirk property market, and putting aside the need for more houses to be built in the next decade to balance out the increase in population (helped in part by inward European migration) but not matched by a similar increase in housing being built, my research shows there is a widening gap between what property buyers want and what is available to buy.

In a nutshell, many more buyers are looking for the smaller one and two bed properties (the typical semi detached and smaller terraced houses/apartments), whilst there is an over supply of the four and five bed properties, which are the typical large detached properties available.

Demand for smaller properties comes from both first time buyers and the growing number of buy to let landlords, where it is more cost effective and efficient to buy smaller properties to let out compared to larger properties which tend to offer poorer returns. Also, landlords with larger loans (on those larger more expensive properties) will also be hit harder with the changes in the way tax is paid on buy to let investments, which starts in 2017.

I recently carried out some research on how various types of properties have performed in Falkirk since the year 1996 and what struck me was just how different the various types of properties have performed over the last 20 years and what this means for our property market and for people trying to trade up from their starter home to their next home. In a nutshell, this mismatch of supply and demand isn’t a new phenomenon, it’s been happening under our noses for years!

In the last 20 years, the average terraced house in Falkirk has risen in value from £26,849 to £97,847 whilst the detached house has risen in value from £72,639 to £229,327. Nothing seems amiss until you look at the percentage growth. The terraced house has grown in value by 264.4% whilst the detached house grew by only 215.7%, meaning the gap between the inexpensive terrace’s and expensive detached properties has in percentage terms narrowed enormously (this isn’t just a Falkirk trend, it has happened all across the Country).

I am concerned because more houses need to be built, not only in Falkirk, but in Forth Valley and Scotland as a whole. In particular, there is specific need for more affordable starter homes for the growing demand from both tenants (and the landlords that will buy them) and first time buyers.

The government needs to face up to the fact that unless they can get the planners (to release more building land), the banks (to finance the building of house), the builders (to build houses) and themselves together to ensure long term plans can be made and implemented, this issue will continue to worsen.

It is estimated that the country needs 30,000 houses a year to be built to start to tackle the chronic housing shortage that we have. Last year, only 16,270 properties were built, the year before 14,890 and 14,050 in the year before that.

This means only one thing for Falkirk’s landlords. Unless Nicola Sturgeon and John Swinney start to rip up huge swathes of the Scottish countryside and build on acres and acres of green belt, demand will always exceed supply when it comes to property for the foreseeable future.

Therefore investment in the local Falkirk property market as a buy to let investment could be the best move to make as stock market investments are possibly on the wane. Everyone is different and, trust me, there are many pitfalls in buy to let. You must take lots of advice and seek out the best opinion.

If you would like to explore how I can help you with your property investments, or should you require any advice about investing in the Falkirk property market, wish to enquire about our Investment Analysis Reports, Property Sourcing, Residential Lettings or Property Management services, please do not hesitate to contact me on 01324 469840 or at 
news@thekeyplace.co.uk.

Alternatively please feel free to pop in and see me at our offices at 6 Vicar Street, Falkirk for a chat, the coffee is always on.

A few more interesting articles about the Falkirk property market:

Thursday 1 September 2016

Fantastic 2 bed apartment in Falkirk for buy to let ....


Good morning, check out today’s property. This is an opportunity to grab yourself a ready made investment, with hopefully no hassle.

Have a look at this 2 bed flat in Gartcows Place, Falkirk to see if you think it will work for you. 


Turning to the financials.  This property is on the market with Purple Bricks at a fixed price of £82,500.  Based on my experience, a rent of £550 pcm should be achievable on this property.  So that gets you to a yield of 8%.

We hope you find our posts useful.  If you would like some advice with your potential investment, please pop in to the office for a chat at 6 Vicar Street Falkirk, call me on 01324 469840 or email me on news@thekeyplace.co.uk.