Property advice (groan) - renovate or move??

maevey76

Hi All,

Just looking some general property advice/opinions/experience off everyone on here :beer: in advance for your help!

Myself and my other half bought a mid-terrace in south Belfast in 2008, and paid £155k. All in we've probably spent another £7-8k on it over the last 3.5 years, and it's probably worth about £135k now, according to local estate agents..ouch!

We have a toddler and we're planning on baby no.2 later this year/early next year so now we're at a point where we have some decisions to make.

Our current house is..err..bijou (read...small!). We have a tiny front garden and 2 beds and a box room, and we can definitely continue to live here, even with another baby, but to make the most of the space we've got we're thinking of putting in gas central heating (and getting rid of our oil tank / hot water tank / clapped out boiler), building a kind of outhouse/lean to at the back (where the oil tank is now) for storage and flooring the roofspace and putting lights/shelving up there, again for storage. This would mean we could clear out the box room and the rest of the house generally, freeing up a lot of space but prob costing us around another £6-£7k all in.

Or we can try selling the house (which will be slow), take the hit on it being worth less now than it was 3.5 years ago when we bought it, but buy somewhere on the outskirts of town (or a bit further out), gain an extra bedroom and a garden, pay a similar price to what we'll get for our own and use the £6-7k to do any renovation/redecorating work there.

We keep swinging between the two alternatives and are finding it very hard to come down on one side or the other. The location of our current house is great - near parks, shops, library, schools, our family. But the size? Not so much! But I don't think there's much chance of us getting a bigger house in the same area for not a lot more money - gardens and 4th bedrooms tend to cost the earth in the BT7 area :rotfl::rotfl:

Any advice, tips, experiences, other ideas out there from anyone? Much appreciated!!

avenida

Hi


Are you in negative equity? Might be difficult moving if you are. Its also worth bearing in mind you may not get what the estate agent is telling you, we were told we would get a certain amount for ours and got offers well below it but just depends on the buyers

Where you would be moving to would that mean you will be out more money on petrol? could you afford that extra expense?

We have been like this too, love were we are now as its close to schools etc but its small and would love a bigger house.

Is there any way you could convert the loft?

leftieM

That decision is based on what you are prepared to compromise on and your financial situation.
Your best starting point is a discussion with a mortgage broker regarding your personal circumstances. Go to someone who's whole of market and not attached an estate agent in the first instance. You need to know what you can borrow and what it will cost you.
You may or may not be aware that the mortgage market has undergone a huge change since mid 2008 and it's hard (impossible?) to get the best deals if you don't have a 20%+ deposit, steady guaranteed incomes and clean credit records.
When you know your buying power, then it's worth going out viewing houses in your price bracket and area. Be aware when making offers (and accepting offers on your own house) that rateable value is the benchmark used by surveyors. Check the RV on your house and pitch your expectations at this level.

If working with your existing house is the more attractive option, then plan carefully what you need to do. I personally wouldn't do much until the new baby arrives and then the space you have, and what works or doesn't, will be more apparent. None of the changes you're talking about are very disruptive.

There is an option 3 that you could consider: renting out your current house and renting something bigger in your area. I'd say you could rent out your's for 550-600 a month and rent something bigger in BT7 for 650-750 a month. Your area appeals to students and immigrant workers and it'd shift no problem. Your current house is in a good area - I'd hang on to it and see how the market plays out in the next 5-10 years. Houses in good areas of the city are always going to find people to live in them, whether renting or buying. That may not be true for houses on the outskirts, given that we have a declining population.

Old_Git

houses prices in BT7 are selling well below the rateable value .
I have a house in BT7 the RV is £170,000 yet they are selling at £100,000 and one Estate agent told me £65,000 .
Can you afford to move.

blueberrypie

maevey76 wrote: »

Or we can try selling the house (which will be slow), take the hit on it being worth less now than it was 3.5 years ago when we bought it, but buy somewhere on the outskirts of town (or a bit further out), gain an extra bedroom and a garden, pay a similar price to what we'll get for our own and use the £6-7k to do any renovation/redecorating work there.

You don't say how much is still owed on your mortgage, but if it's more than what you sell for, you'll have to find the funds to make up the difference. The current lender will not release its charge on the property until the mortgage is paid off in full, and the buyer's lender won't release the funds to purchase until the previous charge is removed.

You'll also need at least 10% deposit for the new property.

If you can't cover both of those things, then moving might not be an option at all.

A.L.D.A

leftieM wrote: »

Houses in good areas of the city are always going to find people to live in them, whether renting or buying. That may not be true for houses on the outskirts, given that we have a declining population.

Totally agree about houses in good areas, and with the cost of transport constantly increasing the attractions of the inner city may increase for some.

Maybe I am misreading the declining population reference, but to the best of my knowledge there is a net increase in population of around 11,000 per year (2010). However between 2000 and 2010 there was a decrease in the population of Belfast but I think that may be as much to do with availability of accommodation so that in turn could be a positive regarding desirability in BT7.

To quote, "From the 2010 projections the Northern Ireland population, 1.799 million in 2010, is projected to increase to 1.859 million in 2015."

links here.
http://www.nisra.gov.uk/demography/default.asp50.htm

leftieM

The population of Belfast is shrinking though as far as I know, or has it started to rise again? It definitely was on the wane for a long time.
My information is old. Maybe I'm confusing birth rates and population figures.

leftieM

Old_Git wrote: »

houses prices in BT7 are selling well below the rateable value .
I have a house in BT7 the RV is £170,000 yet they are selling at £100,000 and one Estate agent told me £65,000 .
Can you afford to move.

Far be it from me to question your figures :cool: but I have yet to see anything with that RV selling for half it, unless it was a really unique house where the RV is a number pulled from a hat. Is your RV a mistake? My last house had an RV of 85k, as did all of the houses on the road (give or take 5k), except for one which had an RV of 140k. I just thought it was an error that hadn't been spotted. There was nothing different about the house.

belfastgirl23

If you see yourself staying put long term (10+ years) if you make the changes, then do so.

If not, then it's time to move. Assuming that you will have to take a loss of £30k on what you've paid out your house has lost 20% of it's value.

But if you are planning on trading up then you will also be spending 20% less than you would have spent. So a house that would have cost £250k is now selling for £200k.

Overall you've lost £30k but saved £50k if that makes sense. It's a bad time to sell but a good time to buy. And if you're trading up, you're better taking the loss on your sale and gaining the benefit on your house buy.

A.L.D.A

leftieM wrote: »

The population of Belfast is shrinking though as far as I know, or has it started to rise again? It definitely was on the wane for a long time.
My information is old. Maybe I'm confusing birth rates and population figures.

No you are right there was a constant decline in the population of Belfast Council area, but the reason is not lack of demand, but a reduction in the number of houses. As terrace streets were redeveloped fewer houses were built. Look at lower Shankill. People moved out to Carrick, Lisburn etc.

However between 2006-2008 there was marginal population growth .35%. That trend has probably continued with a recognition that the city needed higher density development and development in the Harbour area and along the Lagan. There are probably a lot of people who would gladly move back into Belfast if there were suitable accommodation at a price they could afford. If you are spending say £5 a day on travel to work, that and the time it takes soon adds up.

Old_Git

http://www.propertypal.com/103-agincourt-avenue-belfast/182372
Asking price £125000

Rateable value £175000 .http://lpsni.gov.uk/vListDCV/propertydetails.asp?di=07&dn=Belfast+City+Council&wi=0000000102&wn=Botanic&si=0000000255&sn=Agincourt+Avenue&display=195634&rn=103


Anywhere in BT7 will not sell at the rateable value