THE COLUMBUS
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The beginning of a journey.
41YR holds a great deal of sentiment to me. It was the first property I bought personally, whilst I was finishing my degree at Loughborough.
I was fortunate enough to have made some great contacts in the industry which lead me to finding the property off market for a great price.
I still own it today and it lets year on year for fantastic rental prices, showing that luxury student accommodation has it’s place.
Purchase & Costs
Purchase Price: £275,000
Deposit: £68,750 (75% LTV)
Purchase Fees: £2,000
Stamp Duty: £12,000
Renovation; £75,000
Total Cash In: £157,750
Post valuation & Returns
Re-Valuation: £400,000
Cash Released: £133,750 (85% LTV)
Money Left in Deal: £24,000
Annual Gross Rent: £43,680
Mortgage: £20,400
Utilities: £3,120
Management Fees: £3,500
Contingency 5%: £2184
Net Profit Per Annum: £14,476
ROI: 60%
Renovation & Works
A grand, extended end terrace with an attached double garage, the property offered excellent scope for adding value.
Located in a prime student location, 5 minutes from town and just another 10 to the university it had previously been used as a student HMO, alleviating the need to circumvent Loughborough’s strict Article 4 direction.
It was in poor condition however, and required a full renovation to capitalise on it’s excellent size and location.
Garage Conversion
I benefitted from Permitted Development rights, allowing me to convert this attached double garage into a large living room.
Subsequently, I was able to convert the previous living room into a 6th bedroom.
Living space is arguably the most sought after commodity in student homes, and being able to offer 32 sqm of it was crucial in creating a desirable asset.
I added high tech features, such as surround sound and a cinema screen set up which has proven to be a key selling point.
Kitchen
Considered to be the focal point of the home, it was crucial to design the kitchen right to promote social activity whilst being functional for a group of 6 students.
We removed the walls at the end of the kitchen into the utility room, opening up the space to create a walk through to a dedicated laundry room and additional bathroom.
Replacing the rest of the kitchen units and appliances was then straightforward, and we were able to create an extremely large, functional and attractive focal point of the home.
Pool House
I started this project with an end vision in mind, of a true, luxury student home.
Many people laughed when I said I would be putting a hot tub in the house; everyone thought it was a waste of money and that it would be a pain to manage.
As it’s turned out, it’s a true selling point in the home.
I was fortunate to have a ready made outhouse, perfect for improvement and able to house a full, 6 man hot tub.
Bedrooms
Fortunately, not much work was required to renovate the bedrooms, and I was very lucky that all of them were of good, even sizes, so I didn’t have to reconfigure any walls or partitions.
I have found through my experience in student lettings that students are increasingly paying attention to the quality and design of furniture provided, and are looking for additional technological and leisure features, such as USB charging points, TV’s and speakers.
I had all the wardrobes and drawers hand painted, provided wall mounted TV’s and various USB sockets.
Garden
Students are very discerning. Outdoor spaces are playing a larger and larger role in their decision making process when choosing homes to rent.
The house had a huge garden, 100 sqm of it to be precise. To avoid high maintenance costs, we flattened the turf and laid it with plush artificial grass. No cutting or lawn maintenance!
We added a ping pong table to offer an outdoor leisure activity for when the weather is nice.