Barratts - Offering parking space for £15K

pinkshoes

Put a sealed bid of £5k forward, so if you stay 5 years, it's paid for itself, and if you sell up or rent it out, it'll be more attractive to interested parties.

Even if you don't have a car, people often have friends who want to visit...

hethmar

Yes, if youre paying £1000 a year (and I guess thats subject to increase) it would make sense to get one if you can at a decent price.

paulnstar

Hi All

Many tahnks for all your replies.

To answer a few questions:

Flat is next to QE2 docks in Southampton - I was told location location location is key lol

Yes its a city center pad, but there are 2 of us in the flat, I travel via train to work (London) but a parking space is useful and used by my girlfriend.

Our plan was to sell the flat, but due to present climate we are thinking (we're getting married in July in our late 20's ect) that we could turn this property into a nest egg etc so a parking space long term sounds like a good idea. We didn't buy one at the time as being FTB we just didn't have any spare £££'s.

There is permit parking available at end of road for £150 per month, however after my girlfriend found somebody sleeping in the back of her car one weekend we decided not to bother!

I think based on you're advise that we'll make a bid but go in around 3-4K

If we get a space then good if we don't then we'll carry on as before. Anybody fancy ringing Barratts in Southampton and asking them how much for a carparking space in Oceana Boulevard lol

lfc321

paulnstar wrote: »

1. to buy today they cost £15k each
2. Out of the 10 they have sold 5 already

But this doesn't necessarily mean that 5 people have paid £15,000. They might all have bought them when they bought their flats back in Feb (or maybe even earlier). So the salesman could be telling the truth, but this could mean that the developers have only managed to sell half of the spaces they expected despite trying for nearly a year.

If that is the case you might have a good chance of getting one for a good price.

You also need to know how many other flats there are potentially 'competing' for these spaces. If there are 100 other flats then there might be a lot of bids at auction. If there are only 10 other flats then the spaces might still end up unsold even after the auction.

paulnstar

Hi,

There are over 250 flats in the development, most of the 2 beds came with parking, only 1 beds and studio flats came without. I'd say including studios that there are around 80-100 1 bed flats.

I doubt they've really sold 5 out of the 10 places for £15k each in the present climate, especially within 24 hours of the offer letter going out.

What I will do is also update the thread this Friday AM and let you know the out come as we'll know one way or the other on Thursday.

Cheers
Paul

dander

Based on those figures, I'd definitely say it's worth getting a space if you can afford one. In a big development like that, there are likely to be several flats on the market at any time, so if and when you come to sell yours, if yours is the only 1-bed that comes with a parking space, you're immediately ahead of the game.

Price I don't know about but you mention auction on Thursday and also sealed bids. Would it not be one or the other?

paulnstar

We think its probably worth it too, as you said when we come to sell there will probably be like for like properties on at the same time and this would give us an edge.

From now until Thursday anybody wanting to pay £15k gets a car parking space (well one of the 10)On thursday if they have any car parking spaces free it will then go to sealed bids.

My question to you all based on the above is how much would you pay, if you were in it to win it???

£3k
£5k
£8k
£10k

Budget wise we're thinking no more than £5k but I'm wondering if it were you what you bid? would you bid odd numbers like £3,002?

That way if 10 of you reply I can average it out and make a bid based on best avergage

GDB2222

If you are really paying £1000 a year, and the alternative of parking permits costs £1800 a year, it makes sense to buy at £15k. Does it occur to you that the space you are renting at £1k/yr may be one of the ones being sold? If so, what is your plan B?

You can always sell it if you no longer need it, although you may make a loss if you spend too much. Actually, you should check the lease/purchase terms to see whether you can sell the car space separately.

Next question is what it's worth? I found this vaguely comparable:
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-21142550.html

For where you are, there's no free market in these spaces. So, you may just have to pay what the developers want - or come up with a plan B. I don't see how you can bargain about it unless you have an alternative, ie an alternative parking space or doing without a car.

bluemrchimp

Based on absolutely no more knowledge than is in this thread and my gut feeling - given current economic climate, I wouldn't go above 5k. That's probably how much it could add to your flat when the market evens out again.

Like the idea of 5002 etc etc.

On the other hand, it's a small new build flat and tehrefore falling faster in value than any other type of property so you might be throwing good money after bad.

Sorry I can't be of more help!

pinkshoes

I'd go for a bid of £5k, so a 5 year pay back based on renting a space.

If you're planning on renting the flat, you could always add £80 a month on for the parking space to be included. Have a look on rightmove for any of these 1 bed flats for rent, and find out what they rent with and without parking spaces.

You could also rent your space out privately if your tenants didn't want it. If yours is currently rented privately, this would be a good option, but as someone has already suggested, perhaps your current space is one of the ones up for sale?