buying concrete ex-LA flat

GDB2222

Read this bit from lower down in my link:

'On the 16th floor of a high-rise block off the Harrow Road in central London, I spend an hour talking to 44-year-old Agim Sekiraqa, a Kosovan-Albanian refugee who was granted British citizenship in 1992. He lives in his two-bedroom flat with his wife and two children; having initially been tenants of Westminster city council, they bought it under the Right to Buy in 2002. "I thought my kids would have a roof above their heads when we are not around any more," he says. "That was my main reason. And at the time, we thought, 'Well, now we have our own place, no one can kick us out.' We felt secure." With a discount of 33%, and having secured a loan, they paid £41,500.

In 2005, however, there came grim news. In return for work on his block's exterior - focused on windows, balconies and cladding - Citywest, Westminister council's property management company, would soon be expecting a payment of at least £58,000. In a small handful of London boroughs - notably Southwark and Westminster - this seems be common practice, and for the Sekiraqa family, it seemed to spell doom. "It was a disaster," he says, and you can see his point: he does bits of work as a freelance interpreter and works part-time for his local MP, and his wife does likewise for Tesco. "Once the work is done, we have three years to pay," he says, "but over three years, we will earn much less than that. We're a low-income family."

lincroft1710

20% is about average for a deposit, so I'm wondering if other lenders would decline to lend as it is of non traditional construction. I personally would find something of more traditional construction to buy.

james007ago

im confused now with what to do., i fell for the flat because it is so nice, its close to my work, close to shops, transport links etc but then again if i have to pay a lot in the near future, i would decline.
i said to the agent i withdrawed my offer unless a price reduction is made on the property. He said, he can not do that as there is an offer higher than mine, but the thing is that until now its stil there. I think the EA is bluffing.
when i wound to a zoopla.co.uk, i found out that there were only 2 properties sold there, 1 back in 2007 was sold for 152k, my offer is 170k but then its recently reburfished so probably the higher price. I think when il see it again on monday, i will ask for price reduction and if it accepted il order a structural survey. Or shall i just wait and build our deposit? Im leaning now towards waiting for another property, no 1 would like to have their finances (and life) messed up i nthe future right?
by the way, il give u the address its in enfield road, w3 acton, london.
Its posted both in rightmove and in foxtons website. if you do check it, tell me what you think of the property please?
thank you all for replying. You guys are incredible!

GDB2222

Let's start with the wooden floors - they are probably against the terms of the lease. Most leases require carpet, to keep the noise down for people downstairs.

The sold prices I can find are:
Flat 45 Anstey Court, Enfield Road
Leasehold (Flat)
Sold for £154,000 on 15 Jun, 2007

Flat 57 Anstey Court, Enfield Road
Leasehold (Flat)
Sold for £152,000 on 21 Dec, 2006

Flat 21 Anstey Court, Enfield Road
Leasehold (Flat)
Sold for £175,000 on 31 Mar, 2006

Flat 13 Anstey Court, Enfield Road
Leasehold (Flat)
Sold for £174,000 on 17 Mar, 2004

Do you know if all the flats are the same, or could some be 3/4 beds?

If you start with £152k as right in 2007, then knock 20% off as prices are down that much, so that's £120k. Then add say £10k on for refurbishment. I can't see why anyone would pay more than £130k. Has the whole block been refurbished or just this flat?

At the end of the day, this is still a local authority-owned block of flats, and £170k seems way, way over the top, even if this particular flat is nice inside.

Foxton's have a very bad reputation, so I can well believe that the other bidder may not exist. If you offer too much, you are wasting your money on survey fees, as it just won't value up when you want to get a mortgage.

Even if you get it for a sensible price, can you afford huge charges for maintenance at regular intervals?