Surveys conducted last year for Travel Supermarket’s Hip Hang-Out Neighbourhood Index ranked Uplands in 14th, with trendy Cardiff districts Pontacanna and Canton in 13th. They were the only 3 Welsh regions to make the list.

A spokesperson from Travel Supermarket, Emma Colhurst, explained that the aim of the index was to inspire city breakers with ideas for new places to discover. Places thought to be of “peak hipster” status did not make the cut as they are often already well-trafficked. Instead, the aim is to encourage people to experience an area’s independent creative spirit.

Scoring Points

Points were awarded to places based on markers like independent coffee shops, vintage fashion outlets, vegan cafes, co-working spaces or art galleries, and the potential savings travellers could make by staying there instead of the city centre.

Points might be deducted if the areas featured a high number of big chain brands.

Emma added, “You’ll be pleased to know that we didn’t base the ranking on beard-to-face and pints of craft beer ratios”.

About to Get Even Cooler

Public art promoting and celebrating the work of poet Dylan Thomas has been popping up in Uplands over the last year, thanks to funding from local councillors Irene Mann and Peter May.

These have attracted the attention of National Lottery funders, who have pledged &10,000 more to allow more artwork to be commissioned and put up in the area.

Dylan Thomas was born on Cwmdonkin Drive in Uplands, and a plague on popular establishment the Uplands Tavern commemorates one of the poet’s frequent drinking spots.

As well as images of Thomas, the art depicts characters such as Captain Cat (from Under Milkwood), his friend, minister and activist Rev Leon Atkin, and colourful flowers in both Brynmill and Cwmdonkin Parks. They have been painted on benches, electricity boxes, and other items you might happen upon in a street.

New artwork may include a mural on the walls of St Helen’s Rugby and Cricket Ground, and further bench paintings, including those around the Cenotaph on Swansea Bay.

An Area in High Demand

Although historically a very popular location with students, young professionals and families have been more keen, recently, to rent accommodation in Uplands. They’re all looking to benefit from its wealth of shops and restaurants and nightlife, its proximity to Swansea City Centre, the beach, and all of the parks.

The proximity to major transport links, as well as major employers such as Singleton Hospital and Swansea University are also attractive features.

Significant Rental Growth in Uplands

Ten years ago, a landlord might expect to receive around &550pcm for a 2 bedroom house for a professional let in Uplands. In the past 12 months, we have seen these properties achieving up to  &750pcm – which is a stunning 36% increase.

This 2 bedroom house on Cambridge Street for &695pcm was only available for a couple of weeks before it was let to a professional couple (unfurnished). It had been modernised and newly redecorated prior to marketing, with new carpets laid throughout and a new bathroom suite installed.

Soon to be marketed for let in Uplands is this 3 bedroom house on Hawthorne Avenue for &850pcm (also unfurnished). Although modernised, this property is full of traditional features, and has a family-friendly garden.

6% + Yields in Uplands

At the time of writing this article, we found that there wasn’t much left on the market for sale! However, we did find this lovely 3 bedroom house on Edgeware Road  with an asking price of &144,950. Click here to view the brochure.

 We think this would easily achieve rent of &750pcm which, if purchased at &140,000 would give a yield of 6.42%.

As rents rise close to their peak in Uplands, we are seeing some savvy landlords with student HMO properties in the area making the decision to convert them instead into high-end apartments for professionals, which easily achieve &750pcm. We let this one last summer, again to a professional couple.

We predict that Uplands still has some room to grow due to the increase in demand for modern accommodation for professionals and professional families in this area. With prices still favourable for investors, Uplands may just be the right area to be looking in right now.

If you’d like more information on where the “hippest” areas to invest in Swansea area, please give us a call on 01792 430100, or click here to email us!

Disclaimer: The information contained in this newsletter is of a general nature and no assurance of accuracy can be given. It is not a substitute for specific professional advice in your own circumstances. No action should be taken without consulting the detailed legislation or seeking professional advice. Therefore no responsibility for loss occasioned by any person acting or refraining from action as a consequence of the material can be accepted by the authors or the firm.

Sources: Wales Online on Cardiff / Wales Online on Uplands

Related: Sunday Times names Mumbles Best Place to Live in Wales / Guide to Buy-to-Let for New Investors 

From the beginning of April 2018, McCartan Lettings are listing their properties with all three top property portals – Rightmove, Zoopla, and OnTheMarket.com.

OnTheMarket.com is the newest portal to join the list of places we advertise, and with their position as the third biggest UK property portal (right behind Rightmove and Zoopla), we are confident that our landlords are getting maximum exposure for their properties online.

We specialise in securing professional tenants for long term tenancies – and quickly! -, and are pleased to be utilising all the tools available to us in order to do that.

You can check us out at OnTheMarket.com by clicking here.

We’re also active on social media, not only with sharing links to our property brochures, but also to our blogs and news articles, other Swansea property related news, and occasionally a work selfie or two!

Links: McCartan Website / McCartan on Facebook / McCartan on Twitter

Related: McCartan on Swansea Bay TV / Teaming Up with Ella's Kitchen to Save the Planet

I recently wrote a blog about the importance of having a Grand Plan when it comes to investing in property.

Having a Grand Plan helps you to focus on making the right investment decisions for you, but Grand Plans can (and probably often do) change over time, so reviewing your property portfolio becomes just as important to make sure you continue to achieve what you want from your investments.

Writing about this got me thinking about my own Grand Plan, and what I want my portfolio to do for me for the next 10 years. This lead James and I into realising we had the opportunity now to buy our forever family home, and that my investment needs had thus changed. 

Therefore, I have made the decision to sell my own investment property - an apartment in the heart of Swansea City Centre, in prime location to benefit from the Kingsway Regeneration and new Digital District.

The apartment has been kept immaculately, and as it is situated on the third floor, it has stunning sea views of Swansea Bay. It has been recently redecorated and updated with new modern furnishings, and with a tenant already in situ, it doesn't need any work, and there would be no void period.

The Numbers

As we only specialise in lettings, the property is on the market with Clees for &79,950.00. It’s  currently achieving &425pcm, and with the Kingsway Regeneration underway and set to increase demand for the area, there is the opportunity in due course for the rental income to increase to &475pcm, increasing the yield to 7%+.

The tenant has been living at the property since July 2017, and isn’t planning to leave any time soon.

The apartment consistently lets quickly to young professionals and the longest void period I have had since I bought it in 2004 has been 3 weeks.

I am also offering the following with the sale:

• All furniture and furnishings as listed in the inventory and condition report
• All certificates and reports (electrical cert, inventory)
• Free full property management on this current tenancy for up to 6 months with McCartan Lettings*
• Free tenancy set up on this current tenancy*

*If the purchaser decides to keep the tenancy but not under management with us, then they will be responsible to complete the relevant paperwork and serve appropriate notices.

Service Charges

Service charges for the building are very low, especially when compared to other developments in the City and Marina:

Ground Rent: &50 per annum

Service Charges: Approx. &162.63 per quarter

You can view the brochure by clicking here. If you’d like to book a viewing, please arrange directly through Clee Tompkinson Francis.

Disclaimer: The information contained in this newsletter is of a general nature and no assurance of accuracy can be given. It is not a substitute for specific professional advice in your own circumstances. No action should be taken without consulting the detailed legislation or seeking professional advice. Therefore no responsibility for loss occasioned by any person acting or refraining from action as a consequence of the material can be accepted by the authors or the firm.

We’ve put together this easy guide to understanding how to check whether your Landlords’ Gas Safety Certificate is valid.

6 essential parts that need to be completed on the certificate:

1. The engineer’s name, company name, and Gas Safe Registration Number
2. The landlord’s name and address (can also/instead be the name of your managing agent if applicable, but ideally it should have both!)
3. All of the gas appliances in the property need to have been listed and checked, including any that are disconnected or capped (even if they were disconnected or capped on a previous visit)
4. Either an operating pressure or a heat input figure for all appliances listed above
5. A tick to show the Gas Tightness has been tested
6. The date the checks were conducted and the certificate produced

If your certificate is missing any one of these parts, your certificate is not valid, and the plumber will need to write a new one or re-conduct the checks.

What appliances need to be tested?

All appliances that have a gas supply must be tested and listed on a Gas Safety Certificate. Make sure you know which appliances in your rental properties have a gas supply, and which don’t. Common appliances would be boilers, gas fires, hobs, and sometimes ovens.

Some gas engineers say that hobs don’t have operating pressures or heat inputs, but that is incorrect. They’re slightly more difficult to test, but they do still need to be tested.

Although you’d hope an engineer would be savvy enough to notice any appliances you haven’t mentioned, the liability for making sure they are all checked and all safe ultimately resides with the landlord.

Ideally, all appliances that have a gas supply should be tested at the same time and listed on the same certificate. Having multiple certificates is acceptable provided they are conducted no more than a year apart for ease of organising for new checks to be carried out.

When do the certificates need renewing?

Gas safety checks should be conducted annually on rented properties – and before the date on them expires.

Is your plumber allowed to issue gas safety certificates?

In order to be able to carry out any work involving gas, a plumber is legally obliged to be registered with Gas Safe. You can ask to see their Gas Safe card before letting them conduct any work, and/or check them out on the Gas Safe Register.

You will also need to make sure that they are qualified to carry out work on the specific appliances you have in your property. Not all plumbers are qualified to do work on water heaters, for example, or on appliances that run on LPG instead of mains gas.

Mates Rates

As tempting as it might be to get your plumber pal to do the gas checks for you under the radar, checks carried out “off the books” are invalid, even if the certificates produced from it are on compliant company stationary. The work must be done all “above board” and “on the books”.

Finding out that your certificate is invalid last minute could mean that your tenancy start is delayed, and that you have to pay for further checks to be carried out.

Also to Note

If a plumber does work for you as part of a company, but that company isn’t listed on the Gas Safe Register, that work is invalid – even if the plumber themselves is on the list separately from the company, or listed with a different one.

If a plumber does work for you as part of a company, the company is listed on Gas Safe, but the engineer isn’t listed as being one of their plumbers, the work is also invalid.

If a plumber has newly joined or set up a company and they aren’t showing on the Gas Safe Register yet, you can give them a call and they should be able to clarify the situation for you.

McCartan Lettings have been working with Andy John Plumbing and Heating Ltd for over 11 years. They are a highly qualified and recommended Gas Safe Registered company working in the Swansea area.

If you would like us to put you in touch with them, or if you would like any more advice about Landlord’s legal responsibilities when letting out a property, give the team at McCartan a call on 01792 430100, for send us an email by clicking here. 

Sources: Gas Safe Register / Andy John Plumbing and Heating Ltd

Sample Gas Safety Certificate and Gas Safe Register screenshots included with permission of Andy John

Related: April Fools No Joke for Poor Rental Accommodation / Rude Awakening for Landlords as Tax Year Ends