|
|
|
|
Hello again <<First Name>>
Happy New Year (if it's not too late to say so!) and welcome to the first ARaja Properties newsletter of 2017.
It's been a busy few months for us, both on the property side and the 'back-office'. I've set my goals for the year (and I'm sure some of you have too) and it's now time to achieve them.
You may have noticed the change to the newsletter colours and logo above - which has been done to compliment our new website (www.arajaproperties.co.uk). Click here to take a look, where you can find out a bit more about the services which we provide to property investors and how we help them to make strong returns on investment. Added to this, we've created our Facebook and Twitter pages (please "follow" and "like"!) where we'll be sharing anecdotes and updates of things which we encounter whilst doing property viewings, dealing with builders and suppliers, and letting and managing tenants.
On the property side, we completed the refurbishment of our 5 bedroom HMO in Nottingham just before Christmas. The refurbishment took slightly longer than I hoped and I ended up falling out with my builders, due to (a) them failing to keep the property clean and tidy throughout the project, and (b) their lack of care and attention to detail when finishing the work. It was disappointing but a learning curve, and needless to say I won't be using their services again. Another thing I learnt during the project was the brilliance of nail varnish remover(!) - it helped me remove lots of cellotape and grime which has been stuck to the windows and window frames (yes, I do occasionally get my hands dirty!). You can see photos of the project on our Flickr album, and for those of you who don't want to click on the link I've included some sample photos below. I'm hoping that all the rooms will be fully let by the end of the month - the ensuite room has already been tenanted so only 4 to go!
I completed the purchase of a buy-to-let property in Derby late last year, which is now undergoing refurbishment and will be transformed into a small 3 bed HMO. One interesting tale is that the seller failed to remove his furniture and left the property with a sofa, side tables, lamps, cooker, fridge/freezer, dining table, washing machine, bed, and all sorts sorts of rubbish in the property. After a lot of emails between solicitors and after I threatened to sue the seller for breach of contract (for failing to deliver the property with vacant possession), he agreed to pay my clearance costs. Justice prevailed!
My latest buy-to-sell project is now halfway through refurbishment and the works are progressing nicely (with different builders!). The project has involved a bit more work than I expected, due to the fact that the rear kitchen extension is only single skin brick construction, so I've had to upgrade the insulation on the external walls and change the roof in order to comply with building regulations. I'll hopefully have sold the property by the time of the next newsletter.
As always, I'm happy to share my investment experiences and help others achieve better returns on their money. Feel free to get in touch.
Until next time...
Anish Raja
  |
|
|
|
|
|
Before - bland, tired living room
|
|
Before - dated kitchen
|
|
|
Before - 3 small bedrooms in loft conversion
|
|
|
|
After - stylish, modern and cosy
|
|
After - new look, new appliances
|
|
|
After - two large bedrooms (reconfigured), including one ensuite
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
