Exchanging soon but feeling conflicted! Should I buy?

ManuelG

11 x 11 would make the room fairly narrow for a double bed (space for a cabinet next to the bed, but a wardrobe might struggle to open?), but plenty of space from the foot of the bed to the end wall (there is where your wardrobe goes? Space for a desk if you wanted, and maybe a chest of drawers?).

Sounds to me... cozy, but not claustrophobic. Would rather a spot more width and a bit less length, but it's what you do with it that counts

penguingirl

My bedroom is 12'3 by 9'5 (just looked it up on the EA's floor plan!) and we find it fine and have a kingside bed and built in wardrobes along one wall. It is cosy as ManuelG suggests, but it isn't claustrophobic and we have plenty of storage available.

In yours I would have bedside tables either side of the bed and then at the other end of the room I'd put in wardrobes and a dressing table/drawers if your wanted them. Even a kingsize bed is only 6'6 long and allowing for a wardrobe depth of 2ft you'd have 2'6 walking space between bed and furniture which should be fine. For additional storage space you could consider having cupboards over your bed. Plus under bed storage is really handy.

If you're struggling to visualise the space, consider drawing the flat out to scale. If you want to go high tech you can use something like Google sketchup to do this. You can then draw in scaled furniture such as beds and wardrobes to get a sense of it.

AMILLIONDOLLARS

I'd always advise buying a 2bed property rather than 1bed, which are harder to resell, depending on the area! Life gets in the way and you may have met a partner, or had a child, or moved jobs. with a 2bed you have more options, renting the other room out, or giving you room for growth. You may have done this already, have you viewed other 1beds (non-new builds) in your area for a comparison on prices and room sizes. You will be paying a premium that you may not be able to claw back on re-sell

see the thread below:
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4426021

this is a similar scheme to the one the Government has launched. Bottom line research, research your market, location etc. If you feel confident about your situation, go for it. Ultimately this will be your home for the next five year, does this gives you a good feel? One last thought, can you resell without any penalties if you decide to go earlier?

AMD

silvercar

reeshay wrote: »

Just spoke to E.on and I can't cancel the heat/water, only the electricity. So i'm basically locked in for 25 years (as is the person I sell it to).

Would you deem this to be a big issue?

Quick update: i've already sent the documents and deposit to my Solicitor this morning.

I had a look at a nearby development that has a similar E.on scheme. I spoke to 3 people who have been living with this for the last 2 years. They all said their bills were incredibly low for the type of properties they had. The service charge for the system is basically like paying for a boiler maintenance and insurance policy, as there are no individual boilers in each property. Instead each property has its own meter and heating controls, but the actual system is one central device some distance away from the property.

reeshay

silvercar wrote: »

I had a look at a nearby development that has a similar E.on scheme. I spoke to 3 people who have been living with this for the last 2 years. They all said their bills were incredibly low for the type of properties they had. The service charge for the system is basically like paying for a boiler maintenance and insurance policy, as there are no individual boilers in each property. Instead each property has its own meter and heating controls, but the actual system is one central device some distance away from the property.

Thanks silver car! Since exchanging I have been slightly worried about the contract. Whilst I have heard positives about district heating, there seem to be a lot of negative comments out there. I also agree that the service charge is like paying maintenance/insurance against a boiler however it's still a strange concept.

racing_blue

A 25 year utility contract would trouble me. There is a risk it could complicate the resale process. I would prefer to avoid that risk.

You may take a different view... which is perfectly reasonable of course... but what if I am your buyer in 5 years time?

Edit - whoops - I have just realised that this is an old thread and that you have since bought. Also seen silvercar's balancing comments. I guess some constructive advice would be, start a resale folder if you have not already done so, keeping all marketing material and all paperwork about this energy deal so that you can present the info in a professional way to future buyers?

reeshay

racing_blue wrote: »

A 25 year utility contract would trouble me. There is a risk it could complicate the resale process. I would prefer to avoid that risk.

You may take a different view... which is perfectly reasonable of course... but what if I am your buyer in 5 years time?

Hi racing blue,

I am worried about this however I do think it may interest someone looking for a buy to let investment. Also I have noticed that this development has sold relatively quickly so there must be people like me willing to take a risk for the positives I.e. Proximity to the station.

racing_blue

Sorry Reeshay I was not meaning to rain on your parade - how rude- I hadn't read on enough to realise you had already bought!

The other thought I had- in your position, I am pretty certain that my aim would be never to sell that flat, but to keep it long term as a rental after I had moved on. Compact well-located London flats seem absolutely ideal for this.

Good luck and hope you are enjoying your new home.

silvercar

Sorry to drag off topic, Reeshay are you in Beaufort or Pulse? Is parking an issue?

reeshay

:beer:

silvercar wrote: »

Sorry to drag off topic, Reeshay are you in Beaufort or Pulse? Is parking an issue?

Pulse! Beaufort seemed way to over priced with studios going for around £300k. Parking is a major issue as it is on a first come first serve basis and unfortunately 1 bed flats cannot apply for parking spaces. Again this will probably put off some when I try to sell.