Has anybody bagged a bargain?

huntersc

sarah_elton wrote: »

Not to turn this into the DFW board or anything, but I would say that for a single person (which you're assuming since the mortgage is all coming out of one salary), (1) there's no way they should be spending £300/month on food, and (2) £250/month for entertainment and clothes is a lot!! I don't bother with life insurance because there's no reason too when you're single, and house insurance looks expensive but I guess that's London for you. Mine's under £100 a year for contents only (no buildings as I live in a flat).

I agree re living out of London though. I mix - I work in London and commute in from north Essex. Mortgage of £600/month and train fare of £314 but I get to live in a two bed flat with country views. (one in negative equity as you'll have seen on other threads but that's another story)

Edit: I don't mean to argue particularly, I was just trying to figure out what was going on since I earn only a bit more than the figure you're talking about, and have a £115k mortgage. Obviously also your mention of school fees, trust funds etc aren't likely to apply to someone living in the properties we're talking about. And if they were paying those and having to put food on credit cards then something's wrong!

I don't mean to argue either, just argumentative over the last few days, not sure why

I'm probably a bit out of touch with what people spend on entertainment and food etc, I thought I was under estimating. I do remember spending at least £500 on entertainment when I was 23 and first moved to London. Probably more, that's only about £100 a weekend nevermind drinks and evenings out during the week. I wasn't a big money saver back then I guess

huntersc

beingjdc wrote: »

The £75k that people are suggesting as a fair price is coincidentally enough around what 1-beds in the block were changing hands for in 2000-1, so I guess it's not impossible if prices continue falling right back to the level of before the boom - in real terms though that would represent a huge fall. East London Line extension might push prices in the area up a bit though.

I think that realistically flats of that kind will be back at 2001 prices by the beginning of 2009. They won't sell otherwise. Prices I see are negotiable to 2003 prices, we're not that far away from sliding back further, the question is, will Gordo manage to instill enough confidence in the banking sector, lower CDS rates and reduce libor to allow lending again to allow people to buy above £75k. I don't think that'll happen in the near future.

hethmar

lynzpower wrote: »

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/viewdetails-22696916.rsp?pa_n=1&tr_t=buy&mam_disp=true

Seriously, I doubt anyone would find a better area than this, although it is zone 3.

I used to live around the corner from these, the area is fantastic.

No garden though or else we would have bought one of these when they were on for 160

Gawd, that is TINY Lyn, what was the living room? 8ft wide wasnt it and no bathroom!

hethmar

huntersc wrote: »

In a one bed flat? Would be cosy I suppose and save on heating bills.

I dont think anyone mentioned the size of the flat - you were just saying how much it costs to live in London.

huntersc

hethmar wrote: »

I dont think anyone mentioned the size of the flat - you were just saying how much it costs to live in London.

It certainly does cost a lot. If you're suggesting one way to offset this is by taking on a lodger, well that simply makes my point for me, that is, you can buy a nicer house outside of London and not even need to think about lodgers.

Goodness me, if you're in a situation where you have to rent out part of your house to a stranger then you made a bad bad bad financial decision somewhere down the line.

Jorgan_2

No idea how you define a bargain but one of my clients was looking at a new build a while ago for £190k, she played hardball with the sales office and was told if she purchased two, she could have them both for £220k. At which point she walked away.

A vendor of mine has recently had an offer accepted of £235k, originaly on for £290k.

hethmar

hunter, you may not NEED to rent a room, but many people enjoy the company and the shared costs leave them able to spend more on the entertainment you mentioned.

PropertyPro

huntersc wrote: »

I don't mean to argue either, just argumentative over the last few days, not sure why

I'm probably a bit out of touch with what people spend on entertainment and food etc, I thought I was under estimating. I do remember spending at least £500 on entertainment when I was 23 and first moved to London. Probably more, that's only about £100 a weekend nevermind drinks and evenings out during the week. I wasn't a big money saver back then I guess

£500 on entertainment? The drinks are obviously on you Hunter.:beer:

rachy86

ME and OH bought a house in this summer for 78k..only 2 bed, with a small bathroom, but a massive garden that leaves plenty of room to extend and still have a bigger garden than others in the area. it is an ex council house, but I am so happy with the purchase. I see it as a long term investment, somewhere i could happily live for years and years :j and have kids than something im trying to make a quick buck on.

May not be a bargain as such, but we did knock 12k off the asking price..i wouldn't have bought it at full asking price and that was my last offer.

huntersc

hethmar wrote: »

hunter, you may not NEED to rent a room, but many people enjoy the company and the shared costs leave them able to spend more on the entertainment you mentioned.

I'm really at a loss to understand how someone wanting to share a flat with others because they get lonely is relevant to this discussion.

The costs of living in London are prohibitive to those earning £30k. (what many in other parts of the country consider to be a good wage). It's expensive here and my point is that unless you're earning significantly more in London than you could in other parts of the country then you'd be as well to move, find a slightly lower paying job, buy a bigger house (rather than a rat hole) and enjoy lower living costs and a higher quality of life. You'll also have more disposable income and probably save more.