Manchester Based - To Rent or Buy?

silvercar

I'd rent first. My cousin is in manchester city centre and rented initially. She said some blocks were half empty and the remainder rented out, which made the block cold and unfriendly. Generally speaking having some owner occupiers in the block is a good thing, renters tend to move quickly and having half the block empty can attract the wrong attention. I'd look for a block with mainly owner occupiers. There is an oversupply of city centre apartments so try and find something with some character or selling could prove difficult.

Prices are so cheap that I was trying to persuade my son to rent a luxury apartment with a mate rather than a 5 bed grotty student flat in Fallowfield, available for the same money. Unfortunately students want to live in groups.

mlc2009

luvthecity wrote: »

Hi, this is David from Luvthecity.

If you're looking to buy a 1-bed apartment in the city centre we'd recommend something in a smaller, older, niche block. The service charges are very high in the Beetham Tower and the Edge.

And if you're looking for something to live in yourself, rather than an investment (which is probably a good idea in the current climate) then go for something in one of Manchester's three well- established residential areas; M2 (around Albert Square), M15 (Castlefield) and M1 (Canal Street, Chinatown).

We'd recommend:

1. Castle Quay
2. 37 Cross Street
3. Jacksons Warehouse
4. Leftbank
5. 63 Bloom Street

Any of these will sell in any market, even a depressed one.

Good luck!


David

Hi david, service charges? This is all new to me. How much are service charges in beetham and edge as an example? Thinking about it, beetham would not be best for me, the rooms are tiny for your money

mynameisdave

Sorry, call me a cynical old miser but I am suspicious now as to the authenticity of this scenario.

The owner of the website finds this thread and registers with 14 hours of the thread appearing (first post by OP) and then 6 minutes later the OP posts as well - at almost 2am.

In case it is not, though.

Service charges apply to flats and, sometimes, other freehold buildings for things such as window cleaning, maintaining gardens, electricity and cleaning of communal areas, buildings insurance and so on.

Property Bee shows lots of flats in those areas having been on the market for 6 months+ so I am not so sure that they will sell even in a depressed market

mlc2009

mynameisdave wrote: »

Sorry, call me a cynical old miser but I am suspicious now as to the authenticity of this scenario.

The owner of the website finds this thread and registers with 14 hours of the thread appearing (first post by OP) and then 6 minutes later the OP posts as well - at almost 2am.

In case it is not, though.

Service charges apply to flats and, sometimes, other freehold buildings for things such as window cleaning, maintaining gardens, electricity and cleaning of communal areas, buildings insurance and so on.

Property Bee shows lots of flats in those areas having been on the market for 6 months+ so I am not so sure that they will sell even in a depressed market

I can guarentee nothing sinister is going on, luvthecity and rightmove are sites I look at, but would love to hear some more. I feel a lot of other sites dont show enough pictures. The flats David mentioned dont appeal to me, I'm looking for somthing more upper class looking with a nice balcony

mynameisdave

Speaking of their pictures - they are exhibit A as to why you should not buy in Manchester City Centre!

Hovever over each entry of the 265 empty apartments in Manchester and see how tall many of those blocks are! You want to rent go in and offer low. LL will probably accept.

Edit: And google suggests service charges (Beetham Tower) are £1.85+VAT per sq foot
http://media.propertylive.co.uk/IMG/5689/5689_407_DOC_00.PDF

Thats £4 per day assuming it hasn't gone up and you can easily add the same again for your council tax!

The more I look at Beetham Tower the more it is annoying me.

£330,000 in 2006 (so not even peak) for a two bedroom apartment WITHOUT an en-suite. Master bedroom is ~3.5m by ~3m

Absolutely shocking. People who bought in there must have more money than sense - Wayne Rooney bought an entire floor IIRC.

mlc2009

can you negotiate on the rent? Also, how do these companies collect rent, is it direct debit?

themull1

would a small house not be better than a flat, to buy?

inmypocketnottheirs

In a word...... rent.

poppysarah

themull1 wrote: »

would a small house not be better than a flat, to buy?

There are some houses in town (Cllr Pat Carney was on TV recently and tried to get a word in about his house he was selling on Tib street area) ...

Service changes make a house a much better option.

Person_one

Hello! I'm a 25 year old from Manc, currently living with parents but in the process of buying a one bed in the city centre!

Its nothing like what you could get with your budget, I'm er, poor!

I say buy. Rents in the city centre are horrendous, my flat would cost me twice my mortgage each month to rent it, interest rates are never going to go any lower, and some of the nicer flats are languishing on the market for months and months (I've been watching since April) so you could probably get a pretty decent bargain.

The Edge is massively overpriced, and the flats aren't even that great, you'd be paying for 'finish' and the name of the building rather than square footage.

Beetham Tower is overpriced because of the fame of the building and the views, but by all accounts the flats are unbearably hot in the summer and freezing in the winter.

Have you thought about the New Islington area? The Metrolink will be running through there soon and in my humble opinion its the only bit of Manchester that has the potential to be 'up and coming' anymore. The Royal Mill and Advent buildings are nice, with lovely surroundings, but watch out for giant pillars in the middle of the room in Royal Mill!