house v location , is it really the location that matters?

ds1980

our lass is not a friend its my wife!!

I mean in terms of buying properties when estate agents says its in a catchment area. Of course criteria is different but there is new legislation coming in that will further enforce this. THere is no such thing. You have been warned.

Out of interest my wife is the admin manager of a large school and apparently its the council that offers places to schools etc and sorts everything out. Again your misinformed its the schools you believe who you like but i know what really goes on. The schools tell you its the ouncil to stop you from nagging them! I hope you get the school you want i know it must be a ball ache!

thesaint

I mean in terms of buying properties when estate agents says its in a catchment area. Of course criteria is different but there is new legislation coming in that will further enforce this. THere is no such thing. You have been warned.

You are still confusing me and possibly yourself?

Do you mean that there is no such thing(present tense), or there will be no such thing(future tense)?

What are you warning about?

littlescarlet

bargainquest wrote:

I too am having a bit of a location v. available space dilemma. One of the properties we are considering is an ex council house. It is only one street (cul de sac) of council houses and most seem to be privately owned. A lovely new estate has been attached to it (some of the houses are part of the same road) and houses a stones throw away go for between 200-500K. The house we like has been extended and is up for £179K (although the highest sold price is 127K for a non extended house). Am I likely to have more resale difficulties with an ex council house despite it offereing more space than more expensive houses in the area?

Having looked at the same thing in recent past I'm afraid the answer is definitely yes. My son is in the best primary school in the area, a village school 6 miles away, Other houses in the village are up to 50% more expensive that the area average - but the ex council houses are only 20% more expensive. Location puts up the price compared to other ex-council houses, but regrettably the stigma of ex-council housing is likeley to affect resale value for a long time.

On the other hand though 1. You will buy it for less anyway 2. You may not move!!

bargainquest

Thanks for the advice - Have been to view it again - the EA had told me that it was probably ex council but after speaking to the vendors it turned out that it isn't. Looks like the EA needs to swot up on the area a bit more!
It was an interesting discussion nevertheless!

Need_More_Money_2

ds1980 wrote:

Ok there is no such thing as a cathment area for a school its a myth. Our lass works for a very well regarded school in nw london and the house prices are ridiculous near the school and she has turned the majority away as they don't fit the criteria so please beware!!!

I don't know about London but in other regions schools definitely have catchment areas. You don't have to be in the catchment area to get into the school, but those in that area get priority.

TJ27

ds1980 wrote:

THere are loads more other criteria before cathment area takes effect and 90% of the time the spaces are filled via these before catchment area is used.

This had me worried for a while, as I always thought that catchment area was the single most important thing when applying for school places. I had council officials cold calling at my house before my daughter started school, to make sure we lived where we had claimed. I later discovered that they did this to each and every prospective pupil.

I've just read my local council admissions policy and it appears I'm correct. Catchment is number one priority.

What are the "other criteria" ds1980? Are you talking about nursery admissions by any chance? Nurseries are different, we have several out of catchment kids in our local nursery but I don't know of any at the primary.


Oh and most definitely, location is number one priority when house buying. But I do mean right location for you, which might not necessarily be right location for somebody else, and might not be most expensive area.

Need_More_Money_2

TJ27 wrote:

This had me worried for a while, as I always thought that catchment area was the single most important thing when applying for school places. I had council officials cold calling at my house before my daughter started school, to make sure we lived where we had claimed. I later discovered that they did this to each and every prospective pupil.

I've just read my local council admissions policy and it appears I'm correct. Catchment is number one priority.

What are the "other criteria" ds1980?

I think for my Son's school it was catchment area and then whether there were any older brothers or sisters at the school already and then by distance outside the catchment area

ExpertBargainHunter_2

ds1980 wrote:

i live in london!!! buying and selling many properties and have never paid £2k for rising damp!!! maybe £500 at most. injecting membranes is nonsense and £5k for a bathroom is ridiculous but of course know you can spend a fortune. saw a set of taps for £800 yesterday and some limestone flooring whilst on business in bath at weekend it was amazing but about £3k a room..... and a small one at that! £20k for a kitchen is easily done but you can get the same effect and quality for a quarter of that maximum. People who aren't prepared to shop around or use there heads deserve to get stung anyway though.

Out of interest i am using a surveyor on a new project and am being charged £390 for a full building survey. (3 bed semi) Please forgive me if im wrong but i would imagine you would charge twice this and i wouldn't get anything more for my money. Surveyor is 25 years experience and rics approved. If you are prepared to look you will always be able to do things a cheaper.

You get what you pay for. If you're happy to get a building survey for that kind of money then go for it. I would question why they charge so little - this seems more a Homebuyers Survey price. It's like they say about builders - if you phone and they say they can come round the same week you have to wonder why they're not busy. This surveyor obviously is desperate for work, I wonder why?

As for the other stuff, I really can't comment as standards obviously differ. My only comment would be that if one owns property in central London (and I mean Zone 1) one would be foolish to plonk in cheap fittings. It would be like wearing Argos jewellery with a Prada dress!

thesaint

There is such a thing as a catchment area.

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/EducationAndLearning/Schools/ChoosingASchool/DG_4016369

Other things taken into account can be amongst others:

Siblings at the school

Academic ability

Religous faith

GeordieBird

But areas change, the bricks and morter of a house don't. Please see Moss Side in Manchester as an example...

Nice people make nice areas - be a nice person and the area will change bit by bit :A

I, however, and an optimist with no children :rolleyes:

Depends really on how long you want to be somewhere and how you intend to use it.

Godd luck