‘Resurgent’ Grimsby is catching the eye of property investors in other parts of the country who believe the town is one of the best places in the UK to put their money.
A combination of low house prices and high demand for quality rentable accommodation is proving an irresistible lure – especially against a backdrop of major new developments and the prospect of faster rail connections to London.
One couple have sourced 30 Grimsby homes for eager investors over the past 18 months alone, in addition to buying three themselves. They now make a 500-mile round trip every fortnight from their home near Eastbourne to identify potential buy-to-lets.
Paul and Ann Waters, who run Panda Property Investments Ltd, say the former fishing port is ‘definitely on the up’ after years of decline and they love visiting the area, looking for houses they can either buy or pass on.
Ann said: “Grimsby has had a lot of bad press in the past, but we love going there.
“It ticks a lot of boxes for us. The houses offer incredibly good value and there’s lots of investment going on in the area.
“It’s changing for the better. We’ve seen it with our own eyes. A new Premier Inn has gone up where we often can’t get in because it’s fully booked.
"There are plans for a large multi-screen cinema and bowling alley. Within a couple of years you’ll be able to get to London from Grimsby in around two hours and the world’s biggest wind farm, recruiting thousands of people, is about to be built on the Humber estuary.
"There are lovely places to visit, it’s on the coast and the shopping is good.”
The result is a buoyant buy-to-let market, they say, that is creating huge demand for the properties they buy and refurbish or pass on.
Paul continued: “Many outsiders conjure up a negative image when they think of Grimsby. The fact is it is not grim at all, but brimming with opportunities."
A floorer by trade, he has helped transform run-down homes in the area by fitting fresh new carpets that give them an immediate lift. Ann, who like Paul loves art, has taken charge of the interior design.
They spend two to three days at a time in the area and are soon to enter into a joint venture with a group of local builders who have carried out refurbishments on their buy-to-lets. Paul and Ann will find houses in need of renovation and put down a deposit. The builders will refurbish them and the profits from the sale will be shared between them.
“Grimsby is full of old, spacious houses which are perfect for converting into lettable rooms," added Paul.
"It’s such a good place to rent out property. Even the builders are approached sometimes when they’re doing refurbishment work by prospective tenants and pass them onto us. We let our rooms out immediately."
The pair became involved in the buy-to let market after attending a seminar by millionaire Midlands property entrepreneur Samuel Leeds who by the age of 21 was financially free. The strategies he taught them have proved highly successful.
They invested in several of his training courses, part of which involved searching for good buys on property websites. They found a bargain in Grimsby and it quickly became a rich hunting ground.
Their talent was recognised and they were invited to sign up for one of Samuel Leeds’ partnerships, sourcing buy-to-lets for investors.
In total, Paul, 56 and Ann, 59 have completed 43 deals, earning them a healthy referral fee. The last two were no money down deals.
They bought the first property, worth around £65,000, for £57,000 with a bridging loan. With their sourcing earnings they spent £15,000 on doing it up. They then refinanced it up to £90,000. That left them with just £6,000 of their own money in the house, which they are renting out for £550 a month.
The second one they purchased for £85,000, again with a bridging loan, and plan to refinance it for about £135,000 once it’s been redecorated and repaired.
Samuel, chairman of Property Investors UK, part of Samuel Leeds Ltd, said: “Paul and Ann have put themselves in the right place at the right time and work hard to keep their tenants happy.
"They showed their talent on the course by finding a perfect opportunity in Grimsby. Since then they have sourced a string of properties in the town which have been eagerly snapped up by our investors.”
Paul recalls that when he first met Samuel in February 2017, he was working long hours as a floorer and was starting to get back problems.
“I was thinking am I going to have to do this till I’m 70 and then retire on what?
"Ann was doing the books. Now I’m still in flooring, but I’m not going to be doing that much longer.
"I’m hoping to get out by the end of the year. Much of that is thanks to the favourable buy-to-let market in Grimsby.”
Last October Paul and Ann celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary with a holiday in Switzerland and Venice, returning to London on the Orient Express. Paul also bought her a diamond ring.
“We wouldn’t have been able to do that before,” said Ann who says they will continue to sniff out good property deals in Grimsby even when they retire because they enjoy it so much.
