FTB looking for a flat in brum city centre

ftb999_2

Hi guys. Looking for a bit of advice really. First time buyer here.

I am 25 years old on just over 20k salary. I am thinking of buying a flat in birmingham city centre for about between 80 - 90k for a one bedroom flat.

I will have a 10k deposit perhaps in june 2010 and have been working for 2 1/2 years then. Will I have any luck getting a decent mortgage?

Are there tips I should look for when buying a flat? Any hidden things I need to know when buying a flat? Help would be much appreciated.

ftb999

poppysarah

Don't buy a one bed flat.
Get a two bed minimum.

puddy

i suppose the only thing would be to conside whether a one bed will sell on as easily as a 2 bed when you decide to sell in the long term. how long do you expect to own it?

try for somewhere established, not a new build or recent new build, i would also try to build up your deposit to around 20% of the purchase price to get a good fixed rate when you buy, rates will be much higher next summer than now, you will want to have a good choice of mortgages

puddy

oh, poppy said the same thing!!

Rommo_3

ftb999 wrote: »

Are there tips I should look for when buying a flat? Any hidden things I need to know when buying a flat? Help would be much appreciated.

ftb999

Check the build quality. The new build I bought is crap build quality, you can hear the neighbours on the floor below/opposite from the master bedroom. All walls between the flats are plasterboard with no (or very crap) soundproofing. Plus most of the fixtures and fittings are cheap and not very cheerful. Obviously this doesn't apply to all new builds, but the quality of build and fixtures and fittings does differ between building companies.

Also how much the service charges are. I'm currently in dispute with my management company over service charges. Some can be quite expensive. I'd also agree about going for a 2 bed too. Easier to sell on or rent when you move out.

Personally, I'd never ever buy a leasehold property again, but that's just my view from my own experiences.

m_13

There have been quite a few Birmingham City Centre flats going through the auctions recently where they have been the last couple in the block. The City Centre is quite large - where were you thinking of?

This one is in Balsall Heath - 2 bed, guide price £70k

Some planned blocks are not being built or completed (there's a started block near my work) so I'd avoid buying off plan like the plague!

Might be worth looking in the property paper for deals. If the block is completed then paying somebody to sit in a show flat is costing them a lot of money.

Henry_Hoover_2

Personally, I'd never ever buy a leasehold property again

I second that!

karie

there are quite a few repossessed city centre flats in birmingham at the moment. some of which have never been lived in.

Doozergirl

We converted a huge house in Edgbaston in 2002-2003 into four flats.

In 2003 we sold the first floor flat for 133,000 I think. Two bedrooms, high ceilings, parking, huge shared garden. I'm positive it had an ensuite too (how bad is it that I can't remember?)

It's been repossessed (buyers of our buyers) and it's on the market for 99,750. It's such a good buy at that price, it's barely been lived in - the second people in were very failed BTLers, didn't seem to appreciate the value of actually letting a property.

Not to buy that one but just that if you come outside the city centre you will find really good deals well worth the cost of a cab fare a mile out of town. A bit more interesting than a boxy box. No doubt that flat was soundproofed well, side from the cost of it, we had friends who bought the first floor and we never heard anything in the many evenings we spent drinking there!