First Flat (scotland)

arkwright_2

I wonder if anyone could please help me.

I am thinking of buying my first flat, but as I have never done anything like this before I am complete lost and don't know where to start. I would be most grateful for any tips people could offer.

I have found a flat which I am interested in (Glasgow area). The flat is being advertised as "Offers in Excess of" and have been advised by the agent that this means you add 15 to 20 % above the listed price, is this the normal figure.

Many thanks for any advice

irnbru_2

arkwright wrote:

I have never done anything like this before

Don't buy property without doing research first.

arkwright wrote:

have been advised by the agent that this means you add 15 to 20 % above the listed price, is this the normal figure.

Who do you think the agent's working for!

There is no normal figure.

Use the GSPC site to look at the past prices for the (surrounding) postcodes.

Is it a new build?

Sammz

15% - 20% would be great. In Aberdeen people are paying up to 80% more.

When I was buying I had kept an eye on the market on and off for quite a while so had a rough idea of what to expect. The best thing to do is search all the selling sites and also go to nethouseprices.com and see how much houses in that area sell for. If it's not immediate you could keep track of how much the house is on the market for and then how much it sells for.

greytroot

It really is a case of how much is the property worth to you - bearing in mind that a mortgage company may not cover more than the valuation. My mate bought a house in glasgow 4 years ago it was on market for offers over £58k he paid £95k for it.

I preferred to go and buy new at a fixed price.

GardenMillie

Check out what other similar properties are selling for in the same postcode and go back to visit the flat during the day (can you get your car parked) and in the evening. Always take someone else with you they can be more objective and between the two of you, you will notice much more.

epz_2

GardenMillie wrote:

Check out what other similar properties are selling for in the same postcode and go back to visit the flat during the day (can you get your car parked) and in the evening. Always take someone else with you they can be more objective and between the two of you, you will notice much more.

agreed, im also in tha market for a flat in the glasgow area but parking is by far the bigest limiting factor for me.

i would love and could easily afford a big tenemant, you know the type with 25 foot rooms and 15 foot cellings etc but i need somewhere to park and that has seriously skrewed me.

im almost ready to give up and either get a semi or go on out to paisley which at least has a 24 hour bus service lol (1).



(1) anyone whos ever been on the glasgow night bus service will know is mental but hey ive also had great times on it.

MikeLB

https://www.nethouseprices.com is a free service that will let you see what properties have actually sold for in the same street / block across the UK to help you judge what offer you may want to submit.

Offers Over System 15 - 20% sounds about right, but it can and does go a lot higher in some areas. If you can get a fixed price though its far easier. Also bear in mind that the seller is not obliged to ever accept the highest offer in Scotland.

epz_2

i dont see why you would need to accept the highest offer anywhere, its a sale between two parties and there could be all sorts of reasons to not to take the highest offer.

example on offer has a chain of 5 houses and another is slightly lower with no chain, even if i wasnt in a hurry i would still be tempted by the latter option.