Right, Im being boring again, but last time

chrisandanne

I have been looking at mortgages with a 25% deposit for my daughter and the fee is about the same but there are a lot of 5.05% deals. A x

hethmar

Once you have paid the arrangement fee you are stuck or you lose it. IF only he had added the fee to the mortgage rather than paying up front ..................

poppysarah

They're rushing without answering a question?

Can he afford it at current price?

I'd be tempted to tell him to pull out.

moanymoany

hethmar wrote: »

Some of you may remember son had offer accepted on a2 bed/2 bath flat in south east London by the Thames (not Thamesmead ) just a week before the world collapsed.

Now it was at its peak sold for £300k in Jan 2007. His offer of £162k accepted. Supposed to exchange in 28 days as its a repo but the vendors side fiddled around, didnt have paperwork etc. and there is still a question re the heating system they havent answered but they agents have text son to say the vendor wants exchange this Friday at the latest.

In the meantime, prices as we know have been dropping all round. Son has got a bit nervous and decided to offer £10k below his original price to give him some sort of buffer against NE. Agents have come back that the vendor (finance company) have refused and if he doesnt exchange on Friday they will "sell to another buyer"

SO - final answer please guys. Is he asking for too much off this place which was a new build in 2006? Not in the nicest area, albeit earmarked for regeneration and with a DLR arriving in 3 months?

He is in two minds - he is concerned about prices crashing even more yet he doesnt want to lose a bargain and wonders if he is being too cheeky or worrying too much.

Buying houses is an imperfect science at any time. With the chaos that is our economy at the moment - and forecast to worsen - I think this company is desperate - hence the 'or else'. They haven't answered all of the enquiries!

It is your son's call. Usually if something like the DLR is coming the area rises way before 3 months ahead! My guess, because that is what it is, is that you would regret buying.

GDB2222

hethmar wrote: »

Well, its nearly 2 years old now, but I get what you mean. Im expecting that so many in the development will be btl that there will be an influx of them on the market soon.

If I were an OO, I wouldn't want to live in a block that was mainly BTL. Nothing against renters, but as an OO you want to put down roots, get to know your neighbours etc. A mostly-BTL block is a bit of a risky proposition.

This question about asking people what they think about price is a bit over-optimistic, I'm afraid, without even a Rightmove link. Some flats are down by 50%, prices generally aren't down by that much. You don't know how much of the £300k selling price was refunded as an incentive. Too many unknowns to be able to solve the equation.

Conrad

Heth I walked away from the investment flat I was going for, but in esscence only your son is able to answer this question as he is the one that knows the local market.
Could it drop further, yes, but in the great scheme of things I dont think £10k on a flat that sold for £300k should be a deal breaker. If he likes it and the prices seems ok....... why not

penguine

hethmar wrote: »

Once you have paid the arrangement fee you are stuck or you lose it. IF only he had added the fee to the mortgage rather than paying up front ..................

Not necessarily true. We paid ours up front and got it all back. The arrangement fee, that is, not the survey fee.

penguine

hethmar wrote: »

Well, its nearly 2 years old now, but I get what you mean. Im expecting that so many in the development will be btl that there will be an influx of them on the market soon.

If a lot of flats in the block are BTL how's he going to feel about living there if they can't get tenants and the block ends up being mostly vacant? Or they take whatever tenants they can get, who turn out to be nightmare neighbours from hell? What happens with maintenance if the block is mostly vacant -- if the BTL landlords go bust and abandon the properties? How will the freeholder be able to keep things like the lift working if not enough people are paying towards maintenance?

And if you think it likely there will be an influx of these flats on the market soon then he doesn't have much to lose by waiting. If he regrets pulling out of this purchase, he can buy another one more cheaply in a year or two.

geoffky

Sounds Like Tomorrows Ghetto (NO OFFENSE)

amcluesent

40 minutes commute, dodgy area, questions about the quality of a new-build, 'transient' tenants, no sign of a bottom on house-prices...walk away!