Potential double figure return on an 8 bed in prime Hyde Park

 

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-49861048.html

This is a very interesting house in a very popular student area, just off the park itself in Hyde Park.  It’s currently a 6 bed and is occupied by the owner and his family, but it has an HMO license for 6 people.  To maximise it's value, I think it would need converting to an 8 bed and upgrading.  In that area, if it were a high spec then you’d be looking at £89pppw, or £37,000 per annum – possibly even more.

The cellars have already been dug out, although the cellar at the front of the house would need digging out a bit deeper, and both would then need tanking.  It would also need a dormer putting on the rear of the property and a new bathroom on the first floor and Jack and Jill bathrooms in the cellar and the attic.  Whilst the kitchen is modern, it would be too small for 8 people so I’d suggest opening up the existing living room and dining room into an open plan living kitchen area (it's plenty big enough), and putting the 8th bedroom into the existing kitchen.

So I'd suggest the carrying out the following works:

Tank out the basement, replace the existing door into the basement room with a window, re-format the layout to include two bedrooms and a bathroom, 

On the ground floor, knock through between the existing living room and dining room and install a new kitchen.  Re-configure the rear extension, removing the existing toilet and kitchen and converting to a bedroom and corridor to the basement.

Put in a Jack and Jill bathroom in the basement and attic, a new bathroom on the first floor and put a dormer in at the rear of the house to make the rear bedroom bigger.

Strip the house throughout, re-plaster and re-decorate, re-carpet and replace all the internal doors, 

 

The house is on the market for £330,000, and I’m not sure how negotiable the vendor will be due to it being prime location, but its been on the market since May so you may be able to get it for nearer £300,000.  

I would suggest that the works I've outlined above would be in the region of £50,000, so with a rent roll of £37,000 you'd be looking at a decent return of 10.5%, and be left with a great house in a fantastic location.