First time buyer and making an offer on a flat

Yasmin02

Thank you very much. You are right there are alot of flats but in the London area this in the only real way of gettingo nthe housing market...(i think). I have considered moving back furhter up North where ii could buy a house for that price. So how come new builds are way over priced ?

Yasmin

TTMCMschine

I think the people building the flats know that they can ask silly money because either a) there'll be some idiot buying it as a BTL "investment", or b) the FTB's will buy it because as you say everything else is too much money.

It's a very poor state of affairs for everyone really.

hoyin

TTMCMschine wrote:

I think the people building the flats know that they can ask silly money because either a) there'll be some idiot buying it as a BTL "investment", or b) the FTB's will buy it because as you say everything else is too much money.

It's a very poor state of affairs for everyone really.

I think in London the majority of buyers are bankers with their end of year bonus.

They buy them and then let them out.

olly300

Yasmin02 wrote:

Hello
The EA was also saying that i need to have a mortgage in principal agreed. Is this the case? Not to sure really as I thought that there was no garantee even if I had a MIP paper. Also, does anyone know if there is much movement in the market on flats in the romford.chadwell heath area in greater london.

Ysamin

No you don't need to have a mortgage in principle sorted out. I didn't but then:
1. I found out how much I could afford before looking using a mortgage broker
2. My flat was brought over a long time frame 4 months

I told the EA I was looking through that I was using a mortgage broker and they left me alone even though I was happy to supply them with the name. Lots of EA provide financial services and will recommend solicitors to you. (Use a local solicitor or use this board search facility or ask for recommendations.)

What you need to be careful off when buying a flat is the service charges some flats I looked at and talking to other people who live in flats have service charges over £1,000 a year.

TTMCMschine always talks about house crashes but then only knows the market where he lives, and doesn't seem to realise lots of people in London live in flats and not all flats are new builds and contain blocks full of tenants. Most of my neighbours are elderly, in this and my previous block.

rach29

Hi Yasmin,

It is worth pointing out that there are LOTS of new build flats in & around Romford which could affect the short term value of any flat. ie there may be a glut of them on the market when you come to sell (asuming you do at some point)

However, there are still lots of developers buying up land in the area looking to continue building, which suggests there are still plenty of buyers in the market.

Any chance you could post a link to the properties you are considering?

Yasmin02

rach29 wrote:

Hi Yasmin,

It is worth pointing out that there are LOTS of new build flats in & around Romford which could affect the short term value of any flat. ie there may be a glut of them on the market when you come to sell (asuming you do at some point)

However, there are still lots of developers buying up land in the area looking to continue building, which suggests there are still plenty of buyers in the market.

Any chance you could post a link to the properties you are considering?

Of course herre are a couple that I am looking at. I still have not increased my offer yet. Here are the links off rightmove....


http://www.rightmove.co.uk/viewdetails-6304503.rsp?pa_n=1&tr_t=buy

and

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/viewdetails-8535340.rsp?pa_n=8&tr_t=buy

Iam at the moment at a loss what to do. Whether to offer more or just wait a little longer. I do now know the market in greater london that well. Does anyone have any ideas at all? How much sellers are willing to accpet under the asking price.

I know that the first link Featherstone Court has depreciated in price from what it orginally sold at according to nethouseprices.

I notice that alot of the new builds partiuclary 2 bedrooms flats are starting with an asking price of over 200k.


Thanks in advance for your help.

Yasmin

BettiePage

They look very small..... you planning on living alone for the next 60 years?

rach29

Featherstone Court looks reasonable for the price & area but is a bus route from Rail Links into Central London & on a busy road.

Personally I wouldn't touch anything in the Brewery Complex with a barge pole but that's because I'm getting a bit middle aged
Having said that, It's (very) close to bars, pubs, shops etc & only a short walk to the Mainline station for travel into the City so that is an advantage.

I would consider looking further out into Essex if you are looking for value for money, are you particularly stuck on Romford?

rach29

Here's some examples
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/viewdetails-11973431.rsp?pa_n=1&tr_t=buy
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/viewdetails-6462601.rsp?pa_n=2&tr_t=buy
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/viewdetails-14061488.rsp?pa_n=7&tr_t=buy

Just a few ideas if you cast your net a little wider

paint

BettiePage wrote:

They look very small..... you planning on living alone for the next 60 years?

Most people, when they buy their first property, will get something small and affordable. Then possibly move to something larger as their salary increases, and/or they buy with a partner.