What to do when buying a flat

marcy990

This is a great thread, ill be visiting this everyday now. i've seen a quirky one bed flat in an 18 century building which id love to put an offer in on. im a first time buyer and about to get a mortgage. im scared however about the roof. Everything has been recently done but in a building which is 200 years old and and above 2 shops i do worry about the responsibility of downstairs' shop ceiling which would be my floor.

RealtimeBlues

And of course ask if the flat has cladding what is the specification of it as it can cost £30k plus

member101

Hi,

FTB thinking of buying a flat which is reasonably underpriced, However, been told the ground rent is £700/year and doubles every 10 years (next due in 6 years)... I knew there was something too good to be true and this is it. Advice? Is there anyway around this either via contracts/shaving a load off the already low asking price? It's been listed a while and not sold so I'm sure they're keen to get out of the trap and let someone else into it :rotfl:

Thanks in advance.

Crumble2018

member101 wrote: »

Hi,

FTB thinking of buying a flat which is reasonably underpriced, However, been told the ground rent is £700/year and doubles every 10 years (next due in 6 years)... I knew there was something too good to be true and this is it. Advice? Is there anyway around this either via contracts/shaving a load off the already low asking price? It's been listed a while and not sold so I'm sure they're keen to get out of the trap and let someone else into it :rotfl:

Thanks in advance.

A lot of lenders won't lend against flats with 10 year doubling ground rents - which would explain why it hasn't sold yet.

csgohan4

OP buy a house, Flats and their restrictive leasehold and rip off service charges are not worth it

Crumble2018

csgohan4 wrote: »

OP buy a house, Flats and their restrictive leasehold and rip off service charges are not worth it

I doubt there's many people who actually choose a flat over a house. We certainly didn't. The £70,000 difference between house and flat in our area mean't we couldn't afford to buy a house.

csgohan4

Crumble2018 wrote: »

I doubt there's many people who actually choose a flat over a house. We certainly didn't. The £70,000 difference between house and flat in our area mean't we couldn't afford to buy a house.

Saving up for a house if possible or waiting longer, I chose to buy a house instead of flat, so I waited longer to buy.

In the long run it would be cheaper generally. no need to renew leases, no unexpected expensive bills e.t.c


Not to mention the build quality of flats now a days

Crumble2018

csgohan4 wrote: »

Saving up for a house if possible or waiting longer, I chose to buy a house instead of flat, so I waited longer to buy.

In the long run it would be cheaper generally. no need to renew leases, no unexpected expensive bills e.t.c


Not to mention the build quality of flats now a days

Not everyone's life runs in an ideal pattern and timeline. We are renting, are low earners and live in the South East. I am also the wrong side of 45. To save long enough to afford a house would mean me being too old to get an affordable mortgage. We hardly have any money left over at the end of the month, (and no, we don't go out for meals, have expensive hobbies, and haven't had a holiday in 12 years.) The only reason we have (a low 5%) deposit now, is because we were given the money by relatives.

ThemeOne

Very useful. It's amazing the number of flats you see advertised for sale with no mention of service charge and remaining lease term, as though this information is somehow unimportant, and yet it is vital to making a realistic offer.

I would support a change of law saying this information must be included when a flat is marketed for sale.

Something else often omitted is which floor the flat is on - again very important in the buying decision, and absolutely no excuse apart from laziness for it not to be included in marketing information.

Fire_Fox

Crumble2018 wrote: »

I doubt there's many people who actually choose a flat over a house. We certainly didn't. The £70,000 difference between house and flat in our area mean't we couldn't afford to buy a house.

Plenty do Oop North. Buy-to-let, young-ish professionals, downsizing retirees ....

Noise-wise I would rather a modern apartment in a solid older building (eg. Victorian worsted mill or cotton warehouse; mid-century offices) than a back-to-back or mid-terrace.