Should I buy in London or wait?

BillJones

AndyGuil wrote: »

I think the major reason that kids in comprehensive schools in London are doing better is because the teachers there are higher educated. They are attracted to working in London. Success breeds success.

It's also because London attracts an awful lot of the more intelligent and higher educated, becauuse this is where so many of the best jobs are.

Intelligence is hereditary, and so intelligent parents tend to have intelligent children. Educated parents also appreciate the value of education, and encourage their children to take their studies seriously.

Pete111

I haven't read the whole thread but my advice to the OP is to buy.

The London popultation is growing and barring some sort of black swan event - ie a nuke, massive earthquake or biolgical terrorist attack will continue to do so. As such given the level of housebuilding the general trend will be for prices to rise.

In late 2011 We sold a flat we had bought in 2004 for 250k and had rented out since 2008 (it was our old home). We made a 30% profit and at the time were happy with that. Now however, that flat would provide a near 100% profit if we had kept it as it is worth up to 500k.

Ironically when I first came onto this site in 2008 I raised a question as to what CGT might be payable if in the future if my flat reached 500k. I was near laughed off the board for my naievity as house prices were 'about to fall by 70%' according to many.

So in a nutshell, buy the best property you can afford at a low mortgage rate and plan to stay there for a bit. Even if the market slows or dips I reckon you will be quids in in the end.

Out,_Vile_Jelly

lisyloo wrote: »

Thanks for all your help. Thinking about Wimbledon. Overground is 12 mins to Vauxhall from where DH is quite happy to walk. I know it's around 30 mins to angel from Vauxhall, so my commute would be around an hour (assuming a walk at Wimbledon end), but I'll get broadband as I have to be in the office twice a week. There is also tube as a back up to overground (sings...underground, overground) Will let you know how we get on. We may end up looking at many areas but it does make sense at it's what most of my colleagues do. Hardly any of them live centrally.

Feel more bullish about buying and would btl to our own company then we can set the rent to our advantage.

I lived in Wimbledon for years and loved it; multiple transport options, villagey poshness up the hill, two cinemas, two theatres, wombling on the common, horse riding. Couldn't afford to buy there though sadly.

chewmylegoff

lisyloo wrote: »

Feel more bullish about buying and would btl to our own company then we can set the rent to our advantage.

Suggest you take professional advice. Firstly that is at least a taxable benefit in kind but secondly it probably won't be classed as business expenditure in HMRC's eyes as paying for you to live somewhere permanently isn't a business expense. Worst case they decide you're evading tax. I'm not a tax expert but it sounds unlikely to succeed to me.

Thrugelmir

BillJones wrote: »

It's also because London attracts an awful lot of the more intelligent and higher educated, becauuse this is where so many of the best jobs are.

Intelligence is hereditary, and so intelligent parents tend to have intelligent children. Educated parents also appreciate the value of education, and encourage their children to take their studies seriously.

Sometimes people just sound pompous and arrogant........:eek:

Class died some years ago. Money doesn't buy class.

CLAPTON

Thrugelmir wrote: »

Sometimes people just sound pompous and arrogant........:eek:

.

surely not .............

BillJones

Thrugelmir wrote: »

Sometimes people just sound pompous and arrogant........:eek:

Class died some years ago. Money doesn't buy class.

Who on earth mentioned class?

Do you honestly not believe that intelligence has a hereditary component, or do you object to the idea that London tends to attract higher achievers because this is where so many higher level jobs are?

Why, when intelligence is mentioned, do people get so precious? Would you be as offended if London was attracting more than its own share of faster runners instead?

Don_Burgundy

Thrugelmir wrote: »

Sometimes people just sound pompous and arrogant.......

:rotfl:

padington

Pete111 wrote: »

So in a nutshell, buy the best property you can afford at a low mortgage rate and plan to stay there for a bit. Even if the market slows or dips I reckon you will be quids in in the end.

That's the trick, buy when you can and hold for as long as possible. My uncle is a teacher but he's good with his hands and can do light renovations. He started with a 18k cottage in kings Lyn in the 80's and now owns a 2 million pound house in Muswell hill.

People spend too much time worrying about the markets & procrastinating and they would be much better off spending their time finding the perfect property and making their place much nicer than it was and trade it a few times when they spot another property with potential.

Adding big sky lights, turning flat roofs into roof terraces, opening attics, doing up the garden, real fires, nice decorations, buying in the sweet spots etc and always owning at least one property so you don't have to pay rent is the way to do well.

setmefree2

IronWolf wrote: »

Cars don't cost that much, unless you're driving an Aston or something, but then you've got no problem.

London prices could come down a lot and still be far from "cheap"

Cars and petrol do cost a lot and imho this maybe starting to influence where people want to live. Look outside London at what is happening.

Manchester leads the UK house prices charge

Nationwide figures show that the city outperformed every other area of the country in 2013.
Manchester has beaten London to be named the UK city with the strongest house price growth in 2013, with property values up 21% over the year, according to Nationwide building society.
While much of the coverage of the housing market in 2013 focused on London's turbo-charged housing market, Nationwide says Manchester – and, specifically, the area covered by the city council – as the star performer last year, with London in second place and Brighton in third. According to the society, prices in the capital ended the year up by either 14.9% or 13%, depending on which measure is used, while Brighton saw growth of 12%.

However, it was Nationwide's claim that Manchester was the best-performing major town or city that proved the most eye-catching. It says average prices in the "city of Manchester" jumped 21% in 2013 to an average of £209,627. That rate of increase far exceeded the annual rise experienced by the wider Greater Manchester area, which was put at 5%,

Other cities that saw strong price growth last year, according to Nationwide, were Leicester (up 11%) and Birmingham (up 10%).

http://www.theguardian.com/money/2014/jan/03/manchester-house-prices-nationwide