Quit everything , and start again over 50?

harz99

Fwiw, I think you should buy a freehold house, and not a flat with ongoing costs. That said you really can't do anything about the flat at the moment, no time. You would also have the problem of getting the tenant out.

No, I wouldn't go there.

Smodlet

I agree with harz, AC. If you want to, and it sounds as if you do, you can always find an excuse for doing/not doing something. It's only one more week. Why not try doing without the coffee shop and just go for a walk to get out of the building... it's only a week but just see what you save... I know you won't. I can't quit my bad habit either, so I know.

lessonlearned

AC. I share the same concerns with Harz about apartments. I have serious doubts.

Obviously I cannot speak for the whole country but in my experience the market for apartments in for want of a better term I would call "the provinces" is not the same as London.

Generally they do not have the same cachet and do not hold their value. They regularly plummet in price.

For example I worked on a development where the show flat was £250k - that was in 2005 and £1/4m for an apartment in Derby was serious money.

We couldn't sell the last few and the developer did a deal with some NIgerian "businessmen", selling them as a job lot. It recently came on the market as a resale at £90k. I kid you not.

I can take you to several so called "upmarket" apartment blocks where resale values have fallen by up to 50 per cent. They then get bought up by investors and landlords and the ratio of owner occupier to renters become skewed. The buildings get neglected and values fall even further.

Leeds was notorious for this. Flats became unsaleable. There was a serious over supply. In my city too they sit on the market for years until the owners practically give them away.

I wouldn't touch one with a bargepole. And this is without taking into account poor sound Insulation and the potential for the neighbours from hell. Not to mention eye watering service charges.

Now Poole might be different but TBH I very much doubt it. The market for apartments will not be the same as in London. Take a look at how long they remain on the market, and look at their Sales history.

New York, Paris, Tokyo, Barcelona London - yes I would buy an apartment - Apartments in towns and cities across the U.K. - sorry but a definite no from me.

If it were me I would move further out and buy a cute town house with a small garden. It would be feeehold, no service charges and a relatively low council tax bill, probably Band B or C.

Over time it would steadily increase in value so that if you need to resell to release capital for your retirement it would serve as a nice little investment.

I doubt that a flat would show the same capital growth.

Your flat in London did very well in terms of capital growth but I genuinely think that London is the exception and that you struck lucky.

I wouldn't put odds on it happening again for you.

And I definitely wouldnt even consider a property with a tenant in situ.:eek:

Still it's your money, your call.

enthusiasticsaver

Great your brother lent you some money AC and LL and harz have made some good points about the caffe nero habit. If you think just £5 per day adds up to £100-£150 a month if you spend that. Once you have finished work I would cut that down drastically especially if you have no income initially. Maybe you could take a cooking class at the local college in Poole which would also get you out and about and maybe give you some ideas on eating healthily.

I would concentrate on finding somewhere to rent initially and then once you have lived there for a few weeks start looking at what is out there to purchase.

You may find the market a bit dead at the moment anyway but that will put you in a good position as a cash buyer but there may not be much for sale. The Purbeck heights one sounds interesting though but do make out a monthly budget so all your money does not go out in service charges. I would separate your money once you have paid off all debts and put the property purchase fund and emergency money aside so you are not tempted to overspend in your first six months before you have found a new job. Then once you know your rent etc allocate yourself a monthly spend much like a salary so you do not spend regardless.

enthusiasticsaver

Also I have to disagree with LL over flats and have some experience of that being we owned one in Coventry, West Midlands and also have a holiday flat down here in Cornwall. My daughter is also in the process of buying a 2 bed one in Bristol as house prices are completely out of her reach. They do appreciate but not as much as houses so I take that on board but we have never had an issue selling them.

My younger daughter bought a flat as her first property in our home town in Cornwall and sold it after she got married two or three years later and made a good profit on it and running costs were low. We however are not in a city (we are in a suburb near Plymouth) so I think you could compare these to your new home town of Poole rather than cities like Leeds and Manchester which are as LL says saturated with flats. At the right price down in southern towns they sell with no problem.

harz99

However Enthusiastic the real issue with flats is not resale. The problems are a combination of ACs health, his future job prospects, his limited pension provision and the ongoing cost's of service charges/maintenance fees etc. which will need to be found for many years. Bring all those together and in my view, and others like LL, you have a potential perfect storm in a few years time.

This is why I and others advise buying a freehold house, not a flat. That will almost certainly mean a compromise on location as well as the area AC would like to live in does not have many affordable small houses.

lessonlearned

Yes Harz puts it better than I did........indeed a potential future "perfect storm".

AC. I know it's hard to think about right now but you do need to think about retirement provision, especially given your health issues.

another_casualty

Some good points raised,and duly noted:)
Can't see me doing a cookery class tho '. Peel an onion
and I vomit.and of course the garlic

Let's move on from the Nero inquisition please
I wouldn't buy a place with tenant in situ TBH . I was surprised by the price

enthusiasticsaver

I certainly agree that lack of pension provision is a potential problem not just for covering service charges but other bills. Not all flats come with extortionate service charges though and they are cheaper than houses so I would not rule them out totally. The health issues and job prospects would be an issue if he bought a house too.

When you are sorted accommodation wise AC come over to pensions and savings boards and join us there to prepare for retirement.

copperjar

AC I notice you've always prefered the option of a flat. Any reason for this? I think it's important to remember why you wanted to move and what your dream future looks like. I think resale on flats is fine in my experience, the service charge does need careful consideration but moving away from prefered location into a property that would also be a compromise might not be for you. But an open mind (which I know you've got in bucket loads) will really help you over the next few months.

You must be so excited! You have so many options.