We need your help, deliberating this....

motherofstudents

Coming from up north it amazes me how much people are prepared to pay in London. When I think of what that amount of money would buy here it really does seem mad. However, you are in London and obviously that is how it works so I think if you are confident of being able to rent it out after 5 years, that sounds like a sensible plan and as above, you have thought it through so I would say go for it.

Yorkie1

Have you spoken to a mortgage broker to find out if you can definitely get a mortgage on this particular combination of location factors?

We have seen posts on here where people have been refused mortgages on properties above commerical properties or next to pubs.

propertyman

But members have to remember that a commercial unit and a pub nearby are not uncommon in central London and buyers moving into the area, esp Islington, understand that.

On the 4th floor, I hope there is lift otherwise moving in and out and getting deliveries are hard work and sometimes declined by the delivery company eg good luck gettting a washing machine delivered up 5 flights of stairs!

metso

abankerbutnotafatcat wrote: »

What kind of pub/ shop are they?

the shop is currently a Ladbrooks betting shop, the pub is currently under renovation to be a Gastro pub, serving real ale, (i'm not much of a drinker so proximity to a drinking hole doesn't sway me either way)

metso

propertyman wrote: »

But members have to remember that a commercial unit and a pub nearby are not uncommon in central London and buyers moving into the area, esp Islington, understand that.

This to me is a major point, being in London, within Islington border, such is the market place, that a flat above a shop within a high street is very common.

Ideally, the place i'd love is a ground floor garden flat, but so far, i haven't found one, well I did the other day, put a bid on it above asking price and was beaten by near 28k & thats in Harringay!! (did have a lovely garden & basement)

On the 4th floor, I hope there is lift otherwise moving in and out and getting deliveries are hard work and sometimes declined by the delivery company eg good luck gettting a washing machine delivered up 5 flights of stairs!

It's actually on the 3rd floor counting the number of flats, but mortgage companies like to adopt the system where they count the ground floor as the first floor.

There's no lift, but point taken, it will be hard to move things up & down the stairs.

cattie

metso wrote: »

the shop is currently a Ladbrooks betting shop, the pub is currently under renovation to be a Gastro pub, serving real ale, (i'm not much of a drinker so proximity to a drinking hole doesn't sway me either way)

I grew up in Islington & still have relatives living there, so am very familiar with the area.

A flat above a betting shop certainly wouldn't appeal to me as it just makes me think of a load of Sun type readers hanging about.( Sorry if that offends anybody as no offence meant). I think it being a betting shop will put some people off when you come to sell & it may be reflected in the price.

The pub next door will be an additional stumbling block too.

I knew somebody who bought a flat above an off-licence in Islington a few years ago & though it was a great split level flat, spacious & even had it's own garden behind the shop, the flat was bought at a much lower price than a comparable one not above an off-license would have been.

abankerbutnotafatcat

Above a betting shop would make me think twice as well. The shop we considered being above was a interior design shop and that was to rent not to buy.

bitsandpieces

metso wrote: »

the shop is currently a Ladbrooks betting shop, the pub is currently under renovation to be a Gastro pub, serving real ale, (i'm not much of a drinker so proximity to a drinking hole doesn't sway me either way)

Personally, I'd rather be in a slightly quieter area - even if just a 10mins bike ride away - and then head into 'trendy' bits when I'm wanting to go out. Lots of people do like to be more in the middle of things, though!

Have you been past at different times of the day? Betting shops can be a hassle (everything from people smoking outside to punters kicking off if they lose to the shops being targets for robbery), though some will be better than others.

I wouldn't assume that the pub will be less hassle because it's aiming at being a 'gastro' pub - it might be absolutely fine, or it may be noisy and disruptive but with the loud drunk people chatting in a slightly posher-than-usual accent! Dalston/Stoke Newington/Hackney have so many 'hip' new bars and restaurants opening now that I'd expect a reasonable failure rate (so there may be a different pub there in a year's time) and some may not reach the intended audience even if they get in enough custom to stay open.

'Luxury' flats nearby could be a positive or negative thing. They could be a sign of rising property values, but equally some of these areas may reach saturation point with all the new flats going up (so you could end up with flats being harder to shift). I'd guess the former rather than the latter in that part of London, but this is just an uneducated guess and there have been problems in other parts of the country.

Care to share where the flat is? I've stayed in that part of London fairly often, so am curious

metso

as I mentioned in my original post I called the agent renting out the flat below (has an additional 100sq ft because it doesn't have a balcony) and he advised the flat below had been put up for sale back in Dec'12, but never reached asking price, so I was surprised to learn that he hasn't been able to rent it out either.

It turns out, the flat has not been rented out since May, with the price dropping from 475 pw to 400 pw (just dropped from 420 : 400 yesterday!!)

So my idea of renting it out in 5 years may not be as easy as I think!!

kizkiz

metso wrote: »

Tesco's express close by (Indicator of good & prosperous area)

Sorry, not helpful, but I had to :rotfl:at that comment.
It's a bit like that fact for rats, you're never more than 4oom from a Tesco, no matter where you are!