Moving Home - Zoopla Hurts!

katepnlo

Nothing to add about the price as i do think you are stuck there for a long time :?
Just wanted to say, a child does NOT need a ton of stuff at all. I have 4 children and by the time i had my 4th i realised that 90% of what you see in shops really is not needed in the slightest.
You could have a baby and quite comfortably not need a second bedroom for a year as long as you could fit a cot in your room.

Nappies, sling, boobs,clothes,somewhere for baby to sleep. Its 6m before they can start solids and as long as you have a good healthy diet they can have what you have

geoffky

You are kidding yourself..its worth 51k the same as ALL the others sold for....only a village idiot would pay more..

KateLiana27

Another vote here for starting your family if you're ready, and not make it contingent on moving house. Such pressures will only make you make hasty decisions and that's never good in the house selling/buying process. Babies really don't take up much room

ceridwen

geoffky wrote: »

You are kidding yourself..its worth 51k the same as ALL the others sold for....only a village idiot would pay more..

I think thats a bit harsh - as it is a nice-looking flat - certainly well presentable.

Its just that these are clearly very awkward circumstances for OP to be in.

I DO have to say though - that I disagree with going ahead and having a child regardless of the fact that the home isnt big enough for one. Personally - I DO have to say that I dont rate OP's chances of getting out of that flat into a bigger home within a matter of months. It aint gonna happen - and I do understand the recommendation to "Go ahead anyway" - but I seriously dont think its realistic in the circumstances.

poppy10_2

ceridwen wrote: »

I think thats a bit harsh - as it is a nice-looking flat - certainly well presentable.

I agree it's a lovely flat. But you can't really argue with the cold hard figures:




Sad fact is, the flat simply isn't worth what the OP paid for it. The price was deliberately inflated using the government's HomeBuy scheme, which purports to help first time buyers get on the ladder, but instead provides a tax-payer funded subsidy to the developers while tying vulnerable buyers into taking huge mortgages on overpriced properties that end up in negative equity as soon as they walk in.
I feel sorry for the OP for having been conned by this scam, but it's hard to see a way out. There's no point in putting it on at an unrealistic price and stating that you need the money to clear your mortgage - potential buyers don't care what you owe or what your requirement are, they aren't going to pay £20-£30k over the going rate for no reason.

jimjames

Running_Horse wrote: »

If you can rubbish your Zoopla valuation down, why not fiddle it back up?

Probably won't get you a buyer, but you would feel you were doing something.

I was in £20,000 negative equity in the 90s. It didn't go overnight, but gradually every year it seemed prices had risen another £10,000. Finally took £120,000 equity when we sold. If you can look long term, things do get better.

Definitely the right way to look at it. We had a 1 bed starter home, bought for £60k in 1989. Dropped to £30k in around 1993/4, we sold for £42k in 1998 to fund our current house. At the peak in 2006/7 they were then selling for £120k

Time makes a big difference if you can wait.

dopester

poppy10 wrote: »

The price was deliberately inflated using the government's HomeBuy scheme, which purports to help first time buyers get on the ladder, but instead provides a tax-payer funded subsidy to the developers while tying vulnerable buyers into taking huge mortgages on overpriced properties that end up in negative equity as soon as they walk in.
I feel sorry for the OP for having been conned by this scam, but it's hard to see a way out.

Same. I'm going to be generous and seeing they were one of the earliest buyers (from your screenie) that they were led to believe the other flats would be bought for around the same price they had paid - during the selling stage.

HomeBuySkyHigh. I've got no helpful suggestions so am keeping my mouth shut so to speak. Hope you get an unexpected lucky windfall or something, to help you get out of your situation.

pinkshoes

Ultimately, your flat is worth £51k. You are not going to get any more than that, so although that's not what you want to hear, it's just going to be easier to accept it. Who knows what house prices are going to do, but I very much doubt they're going to rise more than a couple of % a year...

Your options are:

1. Borrow money from a relative to pay your way out the debt, then rent yourself a 2 bedroom property, big enough to start a family.

2. Accept that you'll be stuck in that flat for the next 5 years, and adapt it. Babies really don't take up too much space. If needs be, get yourself one of those cabin beds where below it you can put a cot. Look into clever storage solutions. It has a nice garden for a kid to run round in.

HJS86

Geoffky that is really not helpful and very rude. If you had read the other posts, you would see that the flat was originally on for much more (over £100k) and we brought for 80k. It was almost a year before anyone else moved into the building, after which we found out that they had been purchased for £51k in bulk by a housing company. If this had occurred PRIOR to us purchasing ours of course we would not have purchased!

The theory regarding the housing scheme is an interesting one, however not one that was ever put to us when we joined it else obviously we would have been cautious. At the time, during the inflated prices, it was the only choice we had and one that thousands of people have taken just to be able to step onto the first rung of the property ladder.

I do not believe that the flat is only worth £51,000 at all. Even the lowest of our estate agents quotes were higher than this, with the average being at £65,000. Other flats in the area are around £60-80k - with one down the road, one bed just selling for £70,000.

The flat will be taken off the market at the beginning of September and placed back on at a further reduced rate in February 2012, most likely for £72,500 if my mortgage calculations are correct. We are aware that this is still high, however cannot do anything else other than sit it out. Wont hurt it being on?

We do not have any relatives to borrow money from so this is not an option for us as we may have looked into this.

I appreciate all the comments regarding starting a family in the flat, however its just not even big enough to fit a cot in the bedroom realistically. In addition, we would like to start one in a couple of years so that gives us a little time. Hopefully by then, we'll have a nice lump sum to buy things such as a pushchair and cot. Everyone is entitled to their opinion and I really admire those who were able to make it work in a flat, however we really want to start our family in a house. Ask again in a few years time if were still in the flat and we may have changed our minds ;o)

Thanks to those for the helpful comments ) its what us members come on here for. Stark reality checks yes, but also for friendly advice and support and not to be told we are village idiots! Not helpful in these hard times when as a nation we should be supporting one another and keeping spirits up. Its what us British are good at isn't it? Keep Carm and Carry On!

brit1234

HJS86 wrote: »

I do not believe that the flat is only worth £51,000 at all. Even the lowest of our estate agents quotes were higher than this, with the average being at £65,000. Other flats in the area are around £60-80k - with one down the road, one bed just selling for £70,000.

The flat will be taken off the market at the beginning of September and placed back on at a further reduced rate in February 2012, most likely for £72,500 if my mortgage calculations are correct. We are aware that this is still high, however cannot do anything else other than sit it out. Wont hurt it being on?

By this time house prices would of fallen further and you would get even less for it. Very risky strategy if you want to sell. Far better to do a big drop in September and pray.