new houses - opinions canvassed

EdInvestor

Period property in good locations will of course always benefit price-wise from the supply and demand equation, because they don't make it anymore.

IMHO it's more likely to keep its value than new build in a declining market, but this does depend on the area, in some parts of the UK, period property is simply not liked.

Yet

Jacster_2

bunking_off wrote:

Go on...I'll bite. In which way is stamp duty a voluntary tax? (other than the obvious that no-one forces you to buy a house at a given price).

From the Inland Revenue site, I gather that in the past stamp duty was only paid when documents were "stamped", and there was no legal requirement to do that - hence the "voluntary" I guess. However, in absence of the stamp the document wasn't valid as a legal document to signify registration of title, so I doubt any solicitor would ever accept it when you subsequently came to sell the property?

Now, that stamp duty's been replaced by Stamp Duty Land Tax (a change I wasn't aware of, and I doubt anyone else other than conveyancing solicitors & tax experts had noticed!), it doesn't seem that the voluntary aspect applies at all.

Have I missed something?

Thanks for clarifying - I was gobsmacked when I read that SD might be voluntary!!! Who would voluntarily pay it????

conradmum

Editor wrote:

Period property in good locations will of course always benefit price-wise from the supply and demand equation, because they don't make it anymore.

IMHO it's more likely to keep its value than new build in a declining market, but this does depend on the area, in some parts of the UK, period property is simply not liked.

Yet

Editor, what parts of the UK do you mean?

Jay1b

I used to work for a well known carpet firm, we had a number of stair cases collapse whilst having carpet fitted on them. RedRow was the worst culprit.

Personally i wouldnt buy anything newed than 20-30 years old, unless the price was comparitively a lot less. Mid 70's is the best houses to buy apparently.

EdInvestor

conradmum wrote:

Editor, what parts of the UK do you mean?

It's hard to say.Thirty years ago, period property was not liked in London -partly because the building societies wouldn't lend on converted flats and they had a monopoly on loans (can you believe it, how things have changed.) Thus the areas became rundown and unattractive - Notting Hill Gate was a slum areas in the 1970s.

When that changed, of course the price of period property went up and people made money. Also, many people discovered that it was a better living experience - bigger rooms, higher ceilings, often warmer in winter and cooler in summer etc, plus attractive features like fireplaces,original moudings and so on.As more owner occupiers mived into the inner city areas, the slum image disappeared, and of course now these areas are very expensive.

This change in attitude has been gradually spreading out from London it seems - 10 years ago people in Brighton for instance still preferred modern and you could pick up a flat in a Regency terrace for a song. Not any more. The change has spread right along the south coast now.

I get the impression it has yet to hit the North - but have no personal experience of those areas.

conradmum

Thanks Editor. I was interested to know because my plan is to buy period property in my area (East Midlands) because so many new houses are being built here. I reckon that period property will increase in value more because of its comparative scarcity.
It's useful to get another viewpoint.

EdInvestor

Hi Conradmum,

It's very hard to say without local knowledge. For instance I once had a look around Southampton, which was I believe heavily bombed in the war and has very little period property, so it's hardly on anyone's radar screen.

There was a rather pleasant little enclave of Victorian cottages very near the centre of town which I'd have thought would have potential: the houses were quite well bult but poorly decorated in non-period style. They all seemed to be occupied by immigrants and were probably letting properties.

But timing is important in the housing market, so the question is not only - is the property likely to get popular, but when?In the end I came to the view that it might never happen in Southampton, or it might take a very long time, because there just didn't seem to be enough period property around to develop a consituency of buyers who would be interested.

I think it helps if your City/town has some good historic buildings in it which preople have a pride in: seems to heighten their appreciation of things old.

bylromarha

mountainofdebt wrote:

My hubby is involved in the construction of new builds and he would NEVER buy one.

Because?

Saleswoman of new houses that I recently met said she lived in her companies house and was quick to sell them to her friends.

Seems company standards vary hugely.

pammie

We'll be homeless in two weeks because of our naivety in signing up for a new house without a completion date, 7 months delay and the builders attitude is tough luck!

bunking_off

Pammie - sorry to hear that.

7 months delay is OTT, but your plight isn't unusual. We ended up living with my parents for a protracted period of time (not something in our "life plan", having left home 18 years earlier...). Our neighbours lived in a caravan for a while.

The one piece of advice I'd give - and I'm sorry but you won't like this - is don't push too hard on the builders, otherwise the house will just be delivered substandard and you'll be snagging for years afterwards.