Hi all, Having built our portfolio up to a modest six properties over here in N.Ireland and with the dramatic price increases we have experianced in the last 12 months (some properties have actually doubled in value) however the rents have not followed suit. I now feel that a new strategy is needed and being an electrician and also pretty good at most building work i would like to enter the arena of property developing. having put alot of thought into it i have decided that it will have to be over in England that i will have to focus on. I thought of my fathers home area Nottingham however he advises me against that area. therefore i am now looking for an area to focus on and research before i make my move. Any ideas guys?

Hello Chris, I live in Nottingham and just over a year ago started developing properties as a full time business. I would say that Nottingham is no different to most areas of the country. It has it's good areas, bad areas, improving areas and a large student population. The trick to developing is finding the right properties at the right price. I have looked at hundreds in the Nottingham and Derby area and have found 4 in a year. All have given me a good return but I rejected a heck of a lot on the way. Once you get an eye for the market and get known by local agents it becomes a lot easier but you need to put in the leg work particularly at the beginning. Being "in the trade" will certainly help you with your refurb costs and if you can use cash then the buying and selling costs will be much lower, hence margins greater. read the PS Developer Secrets and Renovation Secrets for good tips and don't rule out Nottingham. Hope this helps, Peter

Hi Peter, thank you for your reply and for your information regarding the Nottingham area. My Father has been out of the area for a while and with the bad press recently of gun culture etc he has said to avoid it.(coming from a person now living in N Ireland a bit daft in my opinion). i agree all areas have their good and bad areas. back to the old cliche worst property in the best street. However having developed 4 property in a twelve month period certainly does appeal to me as this is what i would hope turns out to be my full time job (if successful)and hopefully the returns are a bit better than the wages of the rat race we are all in. Thanks again. CHRIS.

Chris, The "gun culture" news is 2-3 years old now. In fact, Nottingham has had great success in reducing this type of crime. Remember Bristol had a similar reputation before Nottingham and it didn't stop a property boom. It took a lot of time and effort to find the 4 properties and the average profit after all costs is around £20k per property so decent returns. Properties to look out for are older Victorian, Edwardian or 1930's properties, typically 3 bed semi's. Competition is hot and you really need to know the areas within areas sa well as the agents so you need time. I don't know where you are based but you can't beat living on the patch. Let me know if you need any further pointers on Nottingham (or Derby) and surrounding areas. Cheers, Peter

Many thanks peter, i shall keep up the research and look into the e-books also so i can gather as much info before i even start to look at properties. that way i will hopefully attend auction well prepared. chris

Hi chris I am a qualified college trained bricklayer and I live in Macclesfield in Cheshire. ( As a guidance note ) Why dont you try your intensions in Macclesfield or surrounding areas, their are lots of terraced houses in Macclesfield that need to be renovated, some are even boarded up !! their a Railway station with links to almost every where and a bus station you could get a 2 x bed mid terrace near town for around £95,000 if it needs general work If no work was required you would sell the same house for around !! £115,000 to £125,000 your best bet is to log on to the estate agents so you can view some houses Good luck

We work in the York/Harrogate area where prices are a bit higher but the returns are good especially capital growth.

Hi Chris As a professional owner of a company involved in investment property with sites across in the UK I can only give you one piece of general advice - do not develop property in either Sunderland or Nottingham. Your father is totally correct in advising against his locality. I employ a RICS surveyor and an FSA mortgage broker who both have access to confidential data on these two areas. There is without doubt an oversupply and indeed a saturation of property in these areas. To confirm this in my own mind we have recently turned down property from a national housebuilder who offered us 25% off their prices to bulk buy some units in both areas. Even at this discount, we turned down the offers as actual discounts would have had to be nearer 43% to make them viable!

Derek, It is true to say that new apartments in Nottingham far outstrip demand. I have been saying that for a couple of years on this forum. Also, there are a lot of new student apartments and this is driving a lot of landlords to sell their old student houses. However, Chris is after property to develop. I live in Nottingham and I am developing properties all of the time. If you look at my earlier post then you will see my views. I was brought up in the North East and I visit still regularly. My family still live there. Sunderland too has property development potential and like everywhere else, you need to spend time looking and learning. So, please be careful when quoting data. It has to be relevant. Peter

Hi all again, This is the sort of debate i would like as it airs all peoples opinions regarding different areas. I also like the fact that others are inputting different areas as they are all to be considered and discussed this way we can see who is developing in which areas and how they view their chosen areas for profitability and also the pitfalls or quirks to avoid in each location.. Chris.