Property Snakes and Ladders; 2009

IveSeenTheLight

Snooze wrote: »

Still not enough doom and gloom . They're still making profit.

Interesting to note that they are still making profit even at a time of falling house prices.

I believe one was converted to a rental flat and took in a 10-11% rental yield. Just shows that oppertunities are out there.

Lotus-eater

:money:

IveSeenTheLight wrote: »

Interesting to note that they are still making profit even at a time of falling house prices.

I believe one was converted to a rental flat and took in a 10-11% rental yield. Just shows that oppertunities are out there.

He had been renting it for 10 years and managed to get the flat at 100k under market value.
Not sure of the final figures, whether he made extra money on that or not. I think he did a bit.
I didn't fancy the kitchen upstairs tbh.

IveSeenTheLight

Lotus-eater wrote: »

:money:He had been renting it for 10 years and managed to get the flat at 100k under market value.
Not sure of the final figures, whether he made extra money on that or not. I think he did a bit.
I didn't fancy the kitchen upstairs tbh.

Like I said, there are oppertunities and this guy obviously took advantage of it.
Wasn't the property a commercial property before the conversion?

Lotus-eater

IveSeenTheLight wrote: »

Like I said, there are oppertunities and this guy obviously took advantage of it.
Wasn't the property a commercial property before the conversion?

Before he lived in it.

trumpton

I thought the same about the Bethnall Green guy - the profit was mostly made when he bought the place well under market value, not as a result of the work. But as usual, being a bit greedy, they decided to rent it rather than take the profit, expecting it to rise in value soon.

Walking straight into the kitchen was a big mistake, but they always know best and don't listen to Beeney. The other pair, well they should just be grateful they came out of it breaking even imho.

Yakubu22

trumpton wrote: »

I thought the same about the Bethnall Green guy - the profit was mostly made when he bought the place well under market value, not as a result of the work. But as usual, being a bit greedy, they decided to rent it rather than take the profit, expecting it to rise in value soon.

Walking straight into the kitchen was a big mistake, but they always know best and don't listen to Beeney. The other pair, well they should just be grateful they came out of it breaking even imho.

For £500k (if i had that kind of dosh) I would want a property with a nice garden and/or views. It was beautifully finished and I know its London...but c'mon £500k for an ex-shop property with no land and a living room in the basement...not for me!

dopester

Snooze wrote: »

Still not enough doom and gloom. They're still making profit.

Couple 2 didn't really make a profit. Not with selling costs. Away from the show... with the place up for rent for less than £1600..... possibly in for an education.. even if their employment circumstances don't change.

Which is a good thing, because they were like plastic people who know nothing about values, only know boom and being overly-rewarded in banking and data consultancy.

A lesson is coming their way on values, and with consolidation in banking and a glut of qualified people competing for work in the mid-level IT field... these 2 could be living in a caravan if they've spent or risked all their boom-time earnings.

I don't know the area whatsoever.. but Davesnake implies it is a sought after area.. that cottage looks like something a local milkman or weaver and his family might have lived in back in the day, for the village.

Beeny: "If you took the lowest valuation it would be an £8,000 profit, and the highest valuation a £13K profit. What do you reckon?"

Chris: Not enough

Jules: "No no... I don't like that idea."

Chris: "It's not enough for the amount of effort put in."

Jules: "I am disappointed actually I really thought we would head towards the 550."

Beeny explains the stamp duty 500K threshold: "If I was you I'd put it on for £499,950"

Beeny, voice over the VT of the property: "Chris and Jules decide against this and put the house on market for £549K...6 months later with house prices still falling and no interest from buyers... they decide to rent it out for £1600 a month."

---

April 2009

Chris : "We're in property development for money and after the amount of time, pain and effort we put into that, we were not going to walk away with thirteen thousand pounds."

Jules: "We're not put off by doing any future developments because my passion is interior design and developing houses so this is just a hiccup in the overall plans, and so we'll just wait, and wait for the prices to go up and then move on."

Chris: "Luckily the positive of recession is that interest rates go down, so with the rental income that we're getting from it, we're in a very comfortable position so we're still winning, and when we sell at the right price we'll win again."

Data consultant and bank manager - gives the developed house the same fancy top-end kitchen and bath as her own taste as she has in her own home.

ShelleyC_2

Can't believe the bank manager and her hubby! Never appeared to visit site, had to backtrack and rip stuff out and put in a crappy shower that even at my midget levels would be annoying low yet claim a remarkable profit of possibly upto 13k wasn't enough for their work :eek:

Hardly surprising that no one is very keen to rent. I did chuckle at the low IR comment but wondered if as a bank manager she got a good deal on her mortgage rates anyway they'd better have otherwise they're stuffed

Thought the other one ended up looking well finished but did find upstairs kitchen a bit random.

FungusFighter

So true.

What gets me is the quiet arrogance, the smug certainty that they have hit on a sure fire development winner.

They never think that with almost every property that appears, a dozen keen-eyed, calloused-handed, long-time local builders have already given it the once over. Looked at the asking price, then shaken their heads at the staggering audacity of the vendor. Muttered '!!!!!!!' at their mate, and climbed back into the pick up.

Then along come Tim and Charlotte Dipstick. Office drones with a few quid and the commonsense of a whelk. They think a spirit level is something you find in a wine bar. He's convinced they have an 'instinct'; a 'nose'; a 'feel' for a bargain in property. She's got a 'flair' for design; loves working on 'interiors'. Not for them actually learning something about building - they're too smart for that. Too convinced that the easy money is there just waiting for clever, aspirational couples like them to scoop up. 'We hope to market it in eight weeks..'

'We were so lucky to have stumbled across this property' they say. Not really. It had been viewed and turned down by every one with experience within 20 miles as as either a death trap, a lemon or a money pit. Or all three. Those joists haven't been fashionably distressed, Tim; they're rotten with woodworm. You can stand over the road and hear the death watch beetles. Or it was actually sold to them (via an EA) by a local builder who had a good laugh when he stuck £350K on it.

They say that you win or lose at a job interview within 30 seconds of walking into the room. The couples on Property Snake are so often like that. You can sense the underlying attitude, the muted lust for easy money; the sense of entitlement the moment they appear on the screen.

When they say they haven't had a survey done; that they can't devote much time to the project, and the 'Wow Factor' gets its first dog-eared airing of many, it's no surprise that HPCers hackles start rising up and down the kingdom. By the time that bloody cast-iron bath with silver feet came into the picture, even our dog Shagger* was growling at the screen, and ready to take 'em by the throat...

A plague on all their houses.

* The neighbours have asked if I could not call him in quite so loudly at night. It's affecting property values, apparently...

You can tell that these arseheads treat tradesmen with absolute distain..second class citizens almost...looking down on them.. How many of the people that they've featured actually do a job that is required - needed? A couple of singers, a wannabe sloan square thicko model, wall to wall bankers and a trendy artwork stenciliser..

The houses they design are all generic copycats of each other..the interiors are interchangeable with each other..

Sums these sort of people up perfectly.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQXJIi4oCGs

I hope the builders (the ones that originally wouldnt touch the house with a 15 foot barge pole) really stitch 'em up..that'll teach 'um.

PasturesNew

Lotus-eater wrote: »

:money:He had been renting it for 10 years and managed to get the flat at 100k under market value.
Not sure of the final figures, whether he made extra money on that or not. I think he did a bit.
I didn't fancy the kitchen upstairs tbh.

Just seconding this. Yes, he could have immediately sold the property for £100-120k more than he just paid for it he said.

He'd been renting it for 10 years and asking LL to sell it to him for 6 years. He said when he did buy it, it was a hell of a bargain and the LL seemed desperate/grateful.