Street of the Week - The Victorian Barratt Home

In a slight departure from my normal blog I am going to highlighting a certain type of property this week. But first a history lesson.

In the 19^th century Bristol boomed, the big Fry’s chocolate and Wills tobacco factories expanded attracting more people to Bristol for work & giving them greater levels of disposable income. This influx of people needed places to live and so thousands of houses were built to accommodate them. These were virtually identical terraced houses with two rooms on the ground floor and two rooms on the upper floor with bay windows at the front. These were the Barratt Homes of their day and that is what we call them at Accommodation Unlimited: Victorian Barratt Homes (VBH). Over the years they have been extended by adding one or two floors at the rear, and some of the smarter ones were built with 3 bedrooms upstairs, and we love them. They are on the whole solidly built and they are incredibly flexible. Some are let to sharers, others to families and some have been converted into flats.

There is not an area of Bristol that doesn’t have at least one row of Victorian Barratt Homes, so if you are looking for a buy to let investment, you are very likely to come across one in your search.

What I thought I’d do in this blog post is show you 4 different VBH’s that we have recently let to tenants, and tell you what they achieved in rental and why. 

• Hill View Clifton

   

  

Not the biggest VBH but let for the most money out of the properties in this list. Firstly it is in Clifton so it automatically attracts a higher premium. The rear reception has been turned into a 3^rd bedroom, giving it 3 double bedrooms, ideal for 3 professional sharers. The room sizes aren’t particularly generous, the living room is bordering on small, but it is well maintained and decorated and we let this property last year for £1,125 per month, and there was plenty of interest.

• Roseberry Road, St George

This was let before we had a chance to market it. The landlord was working in the house, when someone knocked on the door and asked if it was for rent and when they found out that it was rented it on the spot. The house is large with 3 bedrooms upstairs, 2 large receptions and a good-sized kitchen/diner. It rented for £750 per month, and is the cheapest of our selection. St George is the home of the VBH. There are roads and roads of them, which means that there are always plenty available. It doesn’t matter too much how you improve the property, the price is always within £50-75 of the market rent, due to the constant supply in this area.  

•  Southville (a.k.a "Lower Clifton" - to some!)

My how we laughed when Bristol estate agents started calling Southville ‘Lower Clifton’….but who’s laughing now, because that is exactly what it has become. It is a level walk to the city centre, the primary schools are good, North Street has plenty of cafes and deli’s, the queues at Mark’s Bakery have become longer since it was featured on Jamie Oliver’s TV show and there is a weekly farmers market held in the Tobacco Factory. It attracts professional families who cannot afford Clifton, Cotham or Redland but still want to be somewhere "nice". 

This property was put on our website at 5pm on a Friday by 8pm that same day, a couple from London had driven down with cash to take it, that’s the attraction of Southville being known as "Lower Clifton".

• Westbury Village

The smallest VBH here. A straightforward 2 bed, 2 reception VBH situated in the heart of Westbury Village. This is currently on the market although judging by the number of enquiries not for much longer. This is a rare beast a VBH in the suburbs. This road is surrounded by 1930’s semi detached properties, which makes this house all the more attractive. Its lack of size makes it attractive to couples and small families who want to be in the Westbury, Stoke Bishop locale but can’t afford a 1930’s semi. 

So there we are... the Victorian Barratt Homes ideal for buy-to-let investors whatever their budget.