Buying a house - advice please!

tulipz

Doozergirl wrote: »

I presume they are including the conservatory in that suare footage as well, which is cheeky as it won't be liveable all year and is therefore less valuable per square foot.

To clarify, the conservatory is just an extension of the living room. Like 3/4th of the living room has a roof over it and the remaining 1/4 has glass over it. This glass roof part of the living room has a door that opens into the 30ft garden..... on second thoughts, would this explode my heating bills during winter?

nomoneytoday

The parking would put me off that TBH.
For £350k I would expect a space for me and a visitor guaranteed, especially if you get home late one busy evening

tulipz

poppysarah wrote: »

Why?

Sort that bit out first.

Hmm...perhaps we were quite smitten by the show home (typical first time buyer)... also, we like symmetric properties. 3 good sized proper double bedrooms. Good storage space. The 'fall in love' part of the home is the dream master bedroom. its exactly the way DH and I dreamt of. It is quite spacious, has a dressing area to it that leads into an on-suite. Just for the space and dressing area.

I am begining to see the real picture (the more practical side of the initial infactuation) reading through the views given here.

Are 'plots with permit to build' hard to come by in Bromley, bromley common, petts wood area or even orpington area? Our main requiremetn is proximity to public transport and links to Central London.

hazyjo

I'd be very concerned about having to get a bus to the station. Okay, no major hardship, but it would put a hell of a lot of people off buying your home if they worked in London and needed to commute. I'd never buy a house I needed to get a bus to the station from. Different if you're out in the sticks, or can afford to use a station car park every day (don't forget those bus fares add up too!). I lived in Eltham and know Bromley fairly well. There are several stations (from memory), and it's very much commuter territory.

Have you actually looked round some Bromley houses, or just these new builds? I'd rather live in Bromley than Orpington... Actually, I'd rather live in New Eltham than Orpington, I think. You might want to consider Bexley too. That's quite nice...

Jx

womble12345

Look round some second hand houses for a similar budget before deciding

tulipz

What are second hand properties like ? I see a LOT of people buying such properties without a doubt in mind.... it makes me wonder what if a £50k repair bill comes up after a year becasue of some leakage during snow? what it £100k bill comes up if a part of the roof collapses (coz its old)...Some of my friends did buy old properties. They seem just as happy...did they get plain lucky or is there something I dont understand??? The reason DH thinks we should pay the premium for the new property is JUST because of the age and guarantees...

Wondering what most of you think about buying an old property vs buying a new one.

kkgree1

Our friends own a beautiful 5 bed terrace in West Wickham they bought 18 months ago for close to 400k.

Older houses have more maintenance costs but doesn't have to be extreme. New roof would be worst of these - 20k? Nowhere near 50 - 100k.

hazyjo

I'm sure we had someone from China on here before asking pretty much the same thing. They were concerned about a house built probably around the middle of the last century still standing! We have houses in this country that are several hundred years old! In fact, they're usually far more desirable than the new builds! Many won't touch a new build.

Don't let the age put you off. Just make sure you have a thorough second viewing if you find something you like. Check things like windows, cupboard space, roof, plug sockets (often not enough, or in strange locations), etc...

Jx

Alybea

tulipz wrote: »

What are second hand properties like ? I see a LOT of people buying such properties without a doubt in mind.... it makes me wonder what if a £50k repair bill comes up after a year becasue of some leakage during snow? what it £100k bill comes up if a part of the roof collapses (coz its old)...Some of my friends did buy old properties. They seem just as happy...did they get plain lucky or is there something I dont understand??? The reason DH thinks we should pay the premium for the new property is JUST because of the age and guarantees...

Wondering what most of you think about buying an old property vs buying a new one.

This is why you have buildings and contents insurance, if the roof collapses under 6" of snow the insurance is there to help you.
When you buy a house you should have a survey to check there isn't anything seriously wrong with the structure of the building.
As long as the building has been well maintained throughout it's life it should remain solid for a long time. You don't hear of rows of victorian terraces just falling over.

If you like the look and size of new builds then go for it, but consider older properties, even if they're just a couple of years you'll save the premium for the shiney newness.

jc808

tulipz wrote: »

what if a £50k repair bill comes up after a year becasue of some leakage during snow? what it £100k bill comes up if a part of the roof collapses (coz its old

This roof is St. Paul Cathedral, right?