Is buying house in Liverpool good investment??

judywoody

I have a bit of a problem... my father wants to buy us a house (which is not the problem)...

But: He is very prejudiced when it comes to the area and although he wants to gift us the house, he doesn't want to buy in Liverpool which is "so horrible and run down..bladibla"...and although I thought I nearly convinced him he now wants to persuade us to move to the South. He is a bit of a difficult person... Now the problem is, he is German and lives in Germany and doesn't really understand the British property market. In Germany, everybody rents and not many can afford buying a house, so I can understand that he is worried. But Liverpool (especially the area where we want to move to Aigburth/Mossley Hill) is VERY popular and even in the current climate, these houses will be under offer within a week of advertising them. We have viewed a beautiful Edwardian building and he says it's a small old dump! He doesn't understand that newly build properties are not very good quality and that in Britain there are more old properties than in Germany (thanks to the Brits bombing our cities..hahah..just joking) ... Yes, they are smaller but that's all we need. He owns a massive house and I really wouldn't want to live in there. I know more about the British property market than him but not enough - so I need really good sources that prove that Liverpool is not that bad. Actually, because the prices are lower (Price is not an issue for him, increase in value is) I think the increase in value will be better over time. Liverpool has really improved over the last few years and I think with the influx of Chinese investors, the house prices will rise soon. Although the South is more popular I personally have the feeling that they won't rise that much more because they are so expensive in the first place...But that's my subjective opinion. Liverpool is a very cultural city and good, unique properties will always sell over there. And we also have to put practicality over wishful thinking.. Because of our situation, we really can't even move to the Wirral - we don't have a car and I don't want to spend more time and m oney on travelling for my job. He can't really expect us to just change jobs so he is happy with the location - but he is a very difficult person, too...

I need FACTS - I don't want to lie to him but I would like to reason with him that buying in the North can be a good investment. He is very prejudiced and biased...he gets and idea in his head (usally very subjective) and then everybody has to conform to that..obviously it's a very generous offer and I don't want to take it for granted..But every time he rings me he asks "So when are you moving to the South so I can buy you a house??"... It would really help us, too. It will not be in his name anyway. So I don't understand the fuss he is making..By the time we sell again he will probably not even be alive (sorry, that's horrible I know)...

So can anyone help with good property market knowledge?

Alan2020

I have lived in Liverpool for many years (more than 10) and the only thing I can say is, you should look at the long term! Buying in a place near to work is fine, but what happens if you change jobs?

Some parts of Mossley Hill are nice, the others get ready to get a beating from the local Chav when you have a BBQ in your own garden. And before you start thinking this is made up I used to live 10 mins walk from Mossley Hill and our BBQ was raided by about 12 to 16 year olds and all the food stolen. We had a German guest, 6ft tall muscle monster, the 12 year old grabbed his beer from his hand and ran off. German guy wanted to beat him up, but we advised him, the chav will go scott free, he on the other hand would be done for assaulting a minor lol

Now that was a rented place, would you like to live in an area like that? It is hugely popular as an investment I would dare-say.

I personally think your Dad is correct ;-)

I would be looking at places outside the main parts of Liverpool, such as the Wirral, Crosby etc but then if you let us know approximate work location etc, we might be able to help :-)

Bufger

So disecting through all of that I would personally buy a property on the following basis:

Where I want to live
Where I can get regular work
Where im near(ish) family (ie within an hours drive).

Right down the bottom of the list would be 'where somebody else wants me to live'.

Based on that I would have a discussion with my Dad and ask what conditions this house purchase comes with. Will you forever be reminded that you're living in his house? is he gifting the money and it'll be in your name? Will this put strain on the relationship with your father no matter what option you choose?

Personally i'd buy my own house wherever I wanted, that way nobody has a hold over you, you get true freedom to do whatever you please

judywoody

@Alan: Are you being serious?? I don't know when you lived in Mossley Hill but that's so biased, it really hurts. Yes, there is an area in Mossley Hill (very far away from the place we actually choose to live, close to Otterspool Park) close to Smithdown Road which is not a good area. But the area we chose are ONLY home owners. I lived in Liverpool for a few years now, and yes, there are horrible areas. But there were horrible areas in Bristol, where I used to live. There are very good areas in Liverpool and you have to look at it by area and not by looking at the whole city.
I just started a new job in Liverpool. If I based my decision with regards to location on whether I might change my job some time in the future, I would have to live in a camper van...

@Bufger:
Yes, it will be in my name and the thing is, we wouldn't even get a mortgage and don't want the pressure that comes with it. The only reason why I am inclined to accept is, that he lives in Germany and I live in the UK - there is enough distance :-). I don't care what he thinks AFTER we own the house. He has always been a difficult person so I don't think our relationship can get any worse :-)

Basically he said that I will inherit money from him anyway and this way he can avoid some inheritance tax - so I might as well do something useful with it now...

Bufger

well with that info i'd just tell your dad that he needs to let you decide where you want to live and that you'll only accept the gift if it has no conditional arrangements.

Even if he is a difficult man, buying a house outright for his son is an amazing thing to do

judywoody

You are right Bufger - but I still think I will need some facts to present to him....I don't want to come across as ungrateful...

edit: I think I will need to present him the increase in house prices by street and not by city....

Bufger

judywoody wrote: »

You are right Bufger - but I still think I will need some facts to present to him....I don't want to come across as ungrateful...

edit: I think I will need to present him the increase in house prices by street and not by city....

If the money for the house is gifted and will be in your name then why would he need to know its a reasonable investment for the future? I dont give birthday money expecting it to go in a good rate ISA.

We're getting into moral grounds here though. Only you know your relationship with your dad so do what you need to do to get what you want :cool:

GDB2222

I have the greatest sympathy with your dad that he does not want his money to be spent on a house that will depreciate in value. It is his money, and you need to respect his wishes, or not accept the money.

Really, you need to show him that the area you want to buy in meets his requirements, or else regretfully decline his offer of help.

I hope that there is no suggestion that you might let him buy you a house in the Wirral then sell it and use the money elsewhere? That would just be plain dishonest.

Better_Days

OP, is the underlying problem really that your Dad does not trust your judgement?

If you started looking 'down south' would you then get into arguments with your Dad regarding the merits or problems with this area over that area?

In my view a gift is not a gift if there are conditions such as you describe.

You say that the potential for increase in value is important to him. So is he buying the property for an investment or as a home for you? If the former then potential for increase in value is of importance. But if the property is to be a home then I think it is slightly different. What is much more important is whether you are happy in the property, it meets your families needs, and will do so for the period of time you intend to stay there.

There is no point moving somewhere which may increase in value (although of course nothing is certain), but where you are miserable.

Perhaps instead of trying to argue with your Dad regarding the merits of Liverpool one way or the other, perhaps you could approach this taking into account the points above.

judywoody

You guys are absolutely right...It will be a gift for me but I think he probably wants me to get the benefits of an increase in value over time as well, it's not for him. Yes, I want to respect his decision but he keeps pestering me about moving to the south, even if I don't mention the whole house thing myself.. But on the other hand he has always been more interested in me having a good career and something I can show off than how happy I am...so just to get an idea of what he is like..He doesn't even respect my husband because he is "only" a carer. But really, I have discussed the whole thing about the ethics and logic of this already. He just asked me to provide some information about the housing market so all I need is something that will convince him that Liverpool is not that bad (in fact, he can often change his mind after a whil..to my surprise)..

For example, I looked into the house prices of the street this property we like is on. In 2000 the average houseprice was £ 95,000 and now it is £ 225.000 ... I think this is pretty good. You can't say that about other areas in Liverpool. It's incredibly green there and we have a British TV Star living around the corner :-)
Now, I know the South is more popular but because the house prices are astronomical to begin with, I feel that the increase in value is not much better than in Liverpool..You see what I mean?

Better_Days

Well you could do some research using nethouseprices or mouseprice or similar, put in some postcodes and work out the percentages of price increases over a period of time.

Or you could do a similar thing on Zoopla - it will show results of percentage change over a specified period of time. (Zoopla can be wildly inaccurate for current valuations for individual properties though).

You could also ask your Dad how he feels about the importance of living somewhere where he is happy.