Is it too late to sell a house in Northern Ireland???

leftieM

baldeagle09 wrote: »

House prices in Belfast have been falling too. New build on Upper Newtownards Road are down from £495k to £470k within a month. I know of people who have been made redundant from estate agents. This downturn has been happening since the spring. What I cant understand is why the 'official' figures as represented by the University of Ulster statistics for the 3rd quarter of 2007 indicate a rise of 3.6% on the previous quarter.
Sometimes I wonder about the independence of such statistics, when clearly what is happening on the ground is different

I know it's easy to slag off a report that doesn't agree with what I see, but the UU report is based on information from estate agents and there is no obligation on their part to tell the whole truth. What's to stop them just passing on the good figures or lying?? There is no official record of house prices so there is no way of knowing what is real and what is fake. Certainly prices in the FTBer and STBer end of the market (< 500k) have fallen in Belfast. The Nationwide and Halifax reports will be more reliable.

ballyblack

I would be wary of buying any apartment in the present market.

If the market is in for a long recession houses rather than apt's will offer better value in my opinion

Most apt's have less flexibilty (no extending) and on going service charges

leftieM

You're right, apartments will be very vulnerable because of over supply and over pricing. They were particularly desired by investors. New builds will also get creamed for that reason and because they have been built with very little land and can be isolated. I saw an estate called Mill Valley in Ligoniel which isn't an area I'm familiar with but suspect it's not the next Malone. There are 41 of these houses for sale with 6 of them showing as 'sale agreed'. I would be very nervous if I owned one of these.

ballyblack

What is a typical/average annual service charge on a 2 bed apartment?

Does this have to be paid if the apt. is unoccupied ?

Also I heard that ground rent is not been charged on any new build houses but is on new build flats/apts?

qwopmnxz

ballyblack wrote: »

What is a typical/average annual service charge on a 2 bed apartment?

Does this have to be paid if the apt. is unoccupied ?

Also I heard that ground rent is not been charged on any new build houses but is on new build flats/apts?

I pay £250 every 6 months.

However I think its good value

This Covers Buildings insurance
Electric gates and their upkeep
Electricity for outside lights
Gardens cut and maintained
All outside windows cleaned every few weeks
cleaners for the communial areas every few weeks
every 5 years the interior painted / refreshed
I am sure there are other areas it covers, but cant remember from the top of my head.

kgrant

My partner and I have been looking at the Northern Ireland house prices and looking at buying our first home (we are both FTB) somewhere in the East Antrin area, since July this year. In the new year we have the dilemma, do we buy or just rent for 6months as we both want to live together now?

At first we were going to go the co-ownership route for a mortage back in July. Then we talked to a few honest mortage advisors, friends and family members who informed us of more info on that way of buying and as we feel its not economically sound in the long-term we decided to go try for a full 100% mortage in August. Also, during that time a really nice house we liked came onto the market in September for £165,000.

Having talked to our mortage advisor and 3 different banks informally we were under the impression that we had no hope going that route without having a 10% deposit (i.e. approx £15000-£16500). Therefore we chilled out about getting a place at the time as it was very stressful and from then until now have been saving and living at our respective parents houses.

The £165,000 house we both liked is still on the market at this time and we dont know on whether we should offer an affordable offer for us on the asking rice (i.e. £135,000-£145,000) or just find a nice fully furnished place to rent for approx £350 - £500 a month in our area...therefore what do you all think would be the sensible choice for us in the new year and any other opinions and advice would be appreciated (i.e. short term housing market predictions etc.)?!

kgrant

My partner and I have been looking at the Northern Ireland house prices and looking at buying our first home (we are both FTB) somewhere in the East Antrin area, since July this year. In the new year we have the dilemma, do we buy or just rent for 6months as we both want to live together now?


At first we were going to go the co-ownership route for a mortage back in July. Then we talked to a few honest mortage advisors, friends and family members who informed us of more info on that way of buying and as we feel its not economically sound in the long-term we decided to go try for a full 100% mortage in August. Also, during that time a really nice house we liked came onto the market in September for £165,000.

Having talked to our mortage advisor and 3 different banks informally we were under the impression that we had no hope going that route without having a 10% deposit (i.e. approx £15000-£16500). Therefore we chilled out about getting a place at the time as it was very stressful and from then until now have been saving and living at our respective parents houses.


The £165,000 house we both liked is still on the market at this time and we dont know on whether we should offer an affordable offer for us on the asking rice (i.e. £135,000-£145,000) or just find a nice fully furnished place to rent for approx £350 - £500 a month in our area...therefore what do you all think would be the sensible choice for us in the new year and any other opinions and advice would be appreciated (i.e. short term housing market predictions etc.)?!

IvanOpinion

kgrant, it is a case of you pays your money and you takes your chance. I would suggest that you should not be afraid to put in an offer below the asking price, it is likely that it will be turned down but the seller may meet you somewhere in between. In the meantime you could be looking for a rental.

Ivan

leftieM

kgrant wrote: »

My partner and I have been looking at the Northern Ireland house prices and looking at buying our first home (we are both FTB) somewhere in the East Antrin area, since July this year. In the new year we have the dilemma, do we buy or just rent for 6months as we both want to live together now?


At first we were going to go the co-ownership route for a mortage back in July. Then we talked to a few honest mortage advisors, friends and family members who informed us of more info on that way of buying and as we feel its not economically sound in the long-term we decided to go try for a full 100% mortage in August. Also, during that time a really nice house we liked came onto the market in September for £165,000.

Having talked to our mortage advisor and 3 different banks informally we were under the impression that we had no hope going that route without having a 10% deposit (i.e. approx £15000-£16500). Therefore we chilled out about getting a place at the time as it was very stressful and from then until now have been saving and living at our respective parents houses.


The £165,000 house we both liked is still on the market at this time and we dont know on whether we should offer an affordable offer for us on the asking rice (i.e. £135,000-£145,000) or just find a nice fully furnished place to rent for approx £350 - £500 a month in our area...therefore what do you all think would be the sensible choice for us in the new year and any other opinions and advice would be appreciated (i.e. short term housing market predictions etc.)?!

My advice would be to ask yourself some questions. Will a £135k mortgage be comfortable for you? Will the house you want do if you have a baby (accidents happen!) ie does it have a garden, enough bedrooms, and is it close to family (believe me, when you have children you need babysitters nearby!) Is it reasonably close to your workplaces, friends and social life? Will you kick yourselves if the house is worth less than you paid for it in the short to medium term (it will pick up again but you may need to wait)? Can you anticipate any changes that might occur that might mean you have to sell the house eg moving jobs?
If I was buying now and I really wanted to go for it regardless of the market I would put in an offer of 145k and say that for every week that the offer wasn't accepted they could consider it reduced by 5k. I would seriously consider co-ownership too as the tax payer will swallow half of any price drops (I think prices will fall further but that's an educated guess based on reports from the OECD, the IMF and what I'm seeing where I live).
If you are just now moving in together but aren't married then the 6 month rental seems sensible. Nothing worse than being financially committed to someone you've split up with.

whitedj

I currently rent a house in Coleraine. My wife and family moved over from Scotland and we were shocked at the house prices in Coleraine. We pay £485 rent a month for a 3 bed detached house, which would probably be on the market to buy at over £270,000. I refuse to pay that amount for a house and a mortgage for 270,000 would just be crippling. Plus if I need anything fixed (i.e. if the boiler goes) then it's the Landlord that pays for it and not me.
For me, it seems more sensible to rent and have a better standard of living rather than crippling our monthly finances just so we can say we own our own home.