Intrepid FTB ventures out in a falling market

huntersc

I've said it before and I'll say it again, anyone that buys an ex local authority property, especially one that is high rise needs to think about it again, and then pull out.

It reminds me of the old phrase, 'Beer Goggles'. It's like, you go to a pub, you're young, you're hoping for *insert celeb name* and you end up with Jo Brand. But it's okay, because you've got your beer goggles on, she's alright really, a bit shabby on the outside but all cuddly on the inside

It's like that with these places. People convince themselves they are a good deal, that £135k is a good price because it's in a nice position, a nice areal, it looks good on the inside.

Let's put this bluntly.

You are about to spend £135,000.

So what if it's Z1? That;'s the major problem, it's Z1 and people over the past few years got very very silly about living close to town. So prices increased dramatically.

Of course the owner bit your hand off at £135k. It's not worth anywhere near that and give it 12 months it will have lost another 20% in value.

I do encourage you to think again.

Out of interest can you supply a link to the property. Perhaps a postcode. What were these flats selling for in 2003?

longers

You sound quite sensible. You've priced according to your budget. You have a lodger lined up to share costs and very importantly, you appreciate that the property will probably lose value in the next couple of years (so you won't be on some forum whinging about being in negative equity (lol).

However as already mentioned, I do think it is a good idea to:

1) check out the neighbourhood, especially at night
2) if you can, try and find out which lenders have given mortgages on properties in the block, as they are the most likely to lend. If you cannot, once you have a lender in mind ask then to call their valuation department to see if they will recommend the block as suitable security (or ask you Broker to do this for you if you are using one).
2) your Solicitor can confirm if any major works are due to the property, as you will have to pay a share of this if you are a leaseholder. I think works up to 5 years in advance had to be mentioned for the original right to buy purchasers, however past that I'm not sure.
4) as far as the "yoots" (as it has been so eloquently put) are concerned, teenage gangs of all colours are a problem in all of the UK major cities. Short of walking around with a Bazooka, there's not much you can do apart from walking tall and with confidence. Anyway, it's a sad fact that the majority victims of yoot violence and muggings are other yoots of a similar hue.

Anyway, best of luck wherever and whatever you chose to buy.

wubbue_2

longers wrote: »

4) as far as the "yoots" (as it has been so eloquently put) are concerned, teenage gangs of all colours are a problem in all of the UK major cities. Short of walking around with a Bazooka, there's not much you can do apart from walking tall and with confidence. Anyway, it's a sad fact that the majority victims of yoot violence and muggings are other yoots of a similar hue.

Just wanted to make clear that my use of the term "yoots" was not intended to imply colour in any way, let alone of any hue. It's just slang for kids/teens and is not colour specific (although people make assumptions so it does get interpreted that way). Many of us E1 "survivors" (of all hues) use this kind of slang!

longers

wubbue wrote: »

Just wanted to make clear that my use of the term "yoots" was not intended to imply colour in any way, let alone of any hue. It's just slang for kids/teens and is not colour specific (although people make assumptions so it does get interpreted that way). Many of us E1 "survivors" (of all hues) use this kind of slang!

Fair enough, sincere apologies

lostinrates

Rightmove searches didn't reveal the property to me (brit, thank you I had forgotten the horror of the maintainance charges of these types of flat) but ther are a few other interesting ones. I don't know the area well at all, but I think I might put in a couple of days of walking around for the interest value and see what I think.

mrak

Guys, thank you to all of you for the feedback! I've been following this site for years and I'm only an occasional poster, but it's great to see the consideration you've put into your responses.

For the people concerned on saftey: good call all of you - MaryJane especially, so sorry to hear about your experience in E1. As it happens, I've lived and worked in E1 for the last 18 months, and the observations about the area are pretty much spot on. Like any area of London there are good and bad streets, and familiarity with the area helps me avoid the more problematic trouble spots. My rented flat is a stone's throw from Whitechapel mosque, which seems to draw a sober crowd most hours of the day, and acts as a make-do Neighbourhood watch! )

Primarily, like a lot of other MSE people I guess, I'm very frustrated with all the waiting involved in this property crash. I'd like my own personal fiscal traffic light telling me to "BUY NOW!" at the optimum moment, but no one can call the bottom with absolute certainty, and my patience is wearing out quick. I'm looking at this flat as a comparatively cheap way to get myself onto the ladder. Somewhere where I'd be building equity.. but wouldn't have to be somewhere I live forever. If I grow to hate it, then I could always rent it out maybe.

Big issue: there ARE works pending on the flat, to the tune of an estimated £10,000 across the next two years. This is quite a sting. Apparently this will include things like double glazed windows, and a new boiler, but the estimate still seems pretty hefty to my mind. Has anyone out there actually paid one of these reparations bills before? Do these estimates tend to be accurate?

Huntersc, thanks for your post, it made me laugh! )

Mrak

mrak

huntersc wrote: »

So what if it's Z1? That;'s the major problem, it's Z1 and people over the past few years got very very silly about living close to town. So prices increased dramatically.

See, the property in question would mean a 10 minute walk to work for me. I've got fmily in London, but I'd like a place of my own centrally to avoid the long commute.

Having lived out near the end of the Met line for the first 20 years of my life, I'm not sure I could commute that journey ever again. When the inevitable delay announcement goes out over the Tannoy on those rainy Monday mornings... the same, uncaring monotone informing the latest platform-load of wage-slaves that they'll lose another 20 minutes of their life standing on a packed platform at Harrow on the Hill because of a "signal failure at Baker Street"... I see hundreds of people lose 30 minutes of their life waiting for the problem to be resolved.. Deep sighs, mobile phone calls, grumpy faces..

I did Computer Science at uni. I never studied Engineering, but if anyone reading this post did do engineering: here's an easy route to a quick million quid:

• Invent a SIGNAL BOX
• Nothing fancy, just make it's operational life longer than.. ooh, say a week
• Bid for TfL contracts, and save millions of people precious free time

Long tube commutes? I think I'd rather pull Jo Brand.

fudgecat

My fourpennyworth for what it`s worth:
the maintenaince coming up may be just the first of many future charges for external works. With a coming recession and a government making noises about Keynsian public infrastructure works, could councils be encouraged to carry out further improvement works? If they do, it will mean a lot of money charged to you.
Have you considered the noise from those above and below? If you have a troublesome council tennant (and as high rises can be considered undesireable, you could get one)it could be a lot of noise and misery for a long time.
Areas go up and down and I take other posters points about the nuances of the E1 postcode, but in a recession things will get tougher, so will crime and gangs get worse? Even being near a respectable mosque, in bad times the poor and ignorant will look for scapegoats, so could a mosque become a target and you in the middle of the unpleasantness? I speak as a teacher of a multi-cultural class and I am appalled at the way muslims are targeted by the press and less savoury elements.
A few years ago mortgage companies would not lend on high rise blocks and they were often advertised by estate agents in my area as cash buyers/investment properties only. I am wondering if recent granting of mortgages in this block was in "happier" times when mortgage lending was much free-er. Would they still lend now - or more to the point in the next year or so, when things get even tougher? You have to consider resale in changed circumstances.
I have to say I am prejudiced - there is not enough money in the world to pay me to live in E1! This is because I have children.

puddy

mrak wrote: »

Guys, thank you to all of you for the feedback! I've been following this site for years and I'm only an occasional poster, but it's great to see the consideration you've put into your responses.

For the people concerned on saftey: good call all of you - MaryJane especially, so sorry to hear about your experience in E1. As it happens, I've lived and worked in E1 for the last 18 months, and the observations about the area are pretty much spot on. Like any area of London there are good and bad streets, and familiarity with the area helps me avoid the more problematic trouble spots. My rented flat is a stone's throw from Whitechapel mosque, which seems to draw a sober crowd most hours of the day, and acts as a make-do Neighbourhood watch! )

Primarily, like a lot of other MSE people I guess, I'm very frustrated with all the waiting involved in this property crash. I'd like my own personal fiscal traffic light telling me to "BUY NOW!" at the optimum moment, but no one can call the bottom with absolute certainty, and my patience is wearing out quick. I'm looking at this flat as a comparatively cheap way to get myself onto the ladder. Somewhere where I'd be building equity.. but wouldn't have to be somewhere I live forever. If I grow to hate it, then I could always rent it out maybe.

Big issue: there ARE works pending on the flat, to the tune of an estimated £10,000 across the next two years. This is quite a sting. Apparently this will include things like double glazed windows, and a new boiler, but the estimate still seems pretty hefty to my mind. Has anyone out there actually paid one of these reparations bills before? Do these estimates tend to be accurate?

Huntersc, thanks for your post, it made me laugh! )

Mrak

no they are not accurate, they creep up very quickly. ive just paid 6k for roadways being redone around the garage area, it started off at 2k. i hate them

however, for what its worth, if you like the area, if it works for you, if you can afford it if the mortgage goes up (are you on a fixed rate) and you can afford the maintanaince and you will enjoy living there, and you can afford the mortgage without a lodger, then buy it

neverdespairgirl

mrak wrote: »

Big issue: there ARE works pending on the flat, to the tune of an estimated £10,000 across the next two years. .....Do these estimates tend to be accurate?

From what I hear, costs can spiral up many times over.