Rough cost of heating a 2-bed flat?

Richie-from-the-Boro

RayKay wrote: »

Sorry, to clarify, I did mean heating for individual flats...was using 'communal' in the sense that everyone benefits from it.

Thanks Richie, very useful figures.

- have a look at your bill if your SC is more than 6% of the rent then your particular HA need to explain why

olly300

RayKay wrote: »

Sorry, to clarify, I did mean heating for individual flats...was using 'communal' in the sense that everyone benefits from it.

Thanks Richie, very useful figures.

The problem with blocks of flats in the UK is insulation

If the flat is modern i.e. built after 2000 and properly insulated then you shouldn't have a problem with people trying to get their monies worth. I lodged in a modern flat and it was too hot even with the heating off in winter.

I've also lived in other countries where the heating was communal and again it was too hot.

There as when I lived in a flat built in the 1930s the boiler was so ineffective that you needed to leave the heating on the majority of the day for the place to be warm.

I suggest you actually find out:
1. When the flat was built, and,
2. What the actual heating system is then research it.

GreatBigBookcase

Yolina & Olly, good point! I lived in Poland for a year in an old communist built block. They turned the heating off in the summer and then in the winter it was so hot that I remember having to have windows open, even on days when it was below freezing. They were big old rusty radiators with no temperature control though, maybe different in these flats. Still, good point about paying for something that you might not always be using. And yes, guess it does make people a lot less bothered about using their heating efficiently.

Oh, the block was built in the 1930s Olly, so probably not that well insulated. Will try and find out what the heating system is. Thanks.

Richie, the flat I'm looking at isn't HA, it's one I'm thinking of buying. But, if you compare the 150pm SC to the 425pm rental income being asked for on rental flats in the building, then it's way above the 6% HA's work on!

Thanks all.

Richie-from-the-Boro

RayKay wrote: »

Yolina & Olly, good point! I lived in Poland for a year in an old communist built block. They turned the heating off in the summer and then in the winter it was so hot that I remember having to have windows open, even on days when it was below freezing. They were big old rusty radiators with no temperature control though, maybe different in these flats. Still, good point about paying for something that you might not always be using. And yes, guess it does make people a lot less bothered about using their heating efficiently.

Oh, the block was built in the 1930s Olly, so probably not that well insulated. Will try and find out what the heating system is. Thanks.

Richie, the flat I'm looking at isn't HA, it's one I'm thinking of buying. But, if you compare the 150pm SC to the 425pm rental income being asked for on rental flats in the building, then it's way above the 6% HA's work on!

Thanks all.

Social housing [all] is regulated. The private sector is not. Is it leasehold ? - see here and this poor sods learning curve here. Best of luck.

GreatBigBookcase

Richie-from-the-Boro wrote: »

Social housing [all] is regulated. The private sector is not. Is it leasehold ? - see here and this poor sods learning curve here. Best of luck.

Richie, thanks for the links. Interesting reading and lots to think about... I've already asked about the lease and there's only 59 years left on it. The agent said the vendors are willing to get the lease extended (although unclear from the wording of her email whether they would also be willing to pay for it or if the cost (2,500-3,000) would fall to the buyer) so I've asked for clarification on that. My main concern with all these points is that I'm only intending to live in the flat for a couple of years (although things can change of course...) so I'm concerned about the resale more than anything else. That said, looking at zoopla, around 10 flats sold in the block last year and 8 or 9 the year before, so they do seem to sell ok. I guess it's these kind of issues that keep the prices relatively low...swings and roundabouts...

Thanks again.

Fire_Fox

Don't purchase for a couple of years, you could very easily make a hefty loss in an unstable market - property is considered a gamble in the short term, an investment longer term. Or you could get a nasty shock when they start considering or consulting on major works. If it's thirties these costs could run to tens of thousands of pounds per flat and scare off any possible buyer. If you are dead set on buying, go for a fairly new build with NHBC cover or new conversion of a gutted building so there are no maintenance shocks, but expect the service charge to be artificially low to attract buyers.

I honestly don't see how all those services including heating and hot water could be provided for as little as £150 a month, unless some major corners are being cut with maintenance. That is based on knowing a few blocks in the north of England including a couple that are self managed so nobody creaming off profits. Buildings insurance and electricity have gone up crazy amounts in recent years.

That price for lease extension doesn't sound right either, at 59 years the place is not mortgageable and there is marriage value to consider. Everything about this deal sounds wrong to me, don't spend money on legals until you have put a long list of questions to the leaseholders directly and seen documentary evidence that the lease extension has been agreed at that price, that there are no major works planned, exactly what the service charge is and what it covers. Do not trust the estate agent nor verbal assurances nor fobbing off that your solicitor deals with all that - he does, but it will cost you many hundreds of pounds and weeks or months to find out the truth.

Don't buy leasehold until you have thoroughly read this site, there is a calculator of costs of lease extension somewhere too
http://www.lease-advice.org/publications/

GreatBigBookcase

Ooh Fire Fox, you're scaring me now...

Re the risk of buying to sell a few years down the line, I'm not too worried about that. I'll be buying in cash and settling long term in the area myself...the selling in a couple of years would only be done if doing so enabled me to buy something bigger and better for myself.

That said, I'm taking everything else you've said on board. I've not viewed the flats yet as I'm currently working abroad, but once I'm back in the UK next month I'll take a look at the ones available and if I'm interested I'll make sure I chase up all the points you've given above. Thanks for the advice. It's all much appreciated.

Middy

I live in a 2 bedroom flat with no gas but with an eco source heat pump. My monthly dd is £44 a month and my service charges are £50.35 a month.

The HCP reduces the energy prices by a third. My friend lives in a similar sized 2 bedroom terrace built in 1977 and she pays £75 pcm for dual fuel.

GreatBigBookcase

Thanks Middy.