Street of the Week - Pearl Street BS3

As promised this week we are going south of the river. Pearl Street is one of several roads in Bristol named after precious stones situated in the area known as The Chessels.  

Ten years ago this was a road and an area that was considered beyond the pale.  As the old joke goes: “I  flagged down a taxi and asked to go to The Chessels  The Taxi driver refused and replied ‘I don’t go that far south on my holidays’”

Now the area has undergone a renaissance, but why is that?  What makes an area up and coming and why do some areas consistently stay in the doldrums?

At its basic level, it is supply and demand. An area becomes popular prices rise so people look to an adjacent area for value. This happened with Southville and so people looked to the Chessels, but not all areas rise on the back of the popularity of others, Southmead and Westbury-on-Trym being prime examples.  So why has The Chessels (a BS3 postcode area of South Bristol) become so popular.  The catalyst was the gentrification of North Street in Bedminster/Southville..  The opening of the Tobacco Factory on North Street brought upmarket cafes, bars and delis to service the clientele who frequented it.

Why do we like the Chessels? Firstly the location is good.  It is a flat walk or cycle ride to the city centre.  The houses are well built.  They are what we call Victorian Barratt Homes.  In the 19th Century thousands of two up two down houses were built throughout Bristol, for the influx of workers to the City.  Over the years they have been extended and done up so that now a typical Victorian Barratt Home has 2/3 Bedrooms and 1/2 Receptions.  They are flexible they lend themselves to professional sharers or a family, and they are popular with prospective tenants and the numbers stack up for landlords

So if you’re looking for a buy to let property in the BS3 area of Bristol how do the figures stack up?

Haarts currently have a 2 bedroom 2 reception house for sale in Jasper Street for £209,950. If the 2nd reception was converted into a third bedroom, the property would let for a minimum of £810 per month to 3 professional sharers and maybe as much as £900. 

I spoke to Fiona Bolt of Vivid Financial Services and asked for a typical buy to let quote for this property.  She told me: “Looking at a purchase of £210,000 with a 25% deposit (the minimum required for a buy to let)   You could at today’s rates get a buy to let mortgage in a 1 year tracker with a monthly payment of £536.89

Alternatively you could play safe and fix the rate for 2 years with a monthly payment of £585.21.   These are just sample rates but show what a good return you could get on this property.” 

In conclusion The Chessels is an area that is popular it has quality property and rents are on the up, but it is still relatively reasonable to buy, perhaps this is an area you should be looking at if you want to add a buy to let property to your Investment portfolio

Links

Tobacco Factory - http://www.tobaccofactory.com/

Vivid financial Services - http://www.vividfs.co.uk/