Scotland Stuff

thirtytoseventy

Hi Pixie

Well those suburbs would be my first choice two but about 2x my budget unfortunately!

Renting is pointless for me, since I won't be living there all year round. In the context of this being a bolt-hole and literally somewhere to hang a hat in a city that I like, I don't mind being somewhere less....salubrious. However, in view of re-sale or renting it out, I do still need to be somewhere people want to live so that I wouldn't have a big issue with it if I want to move somewhere bigger a few years down the line.

Most of my trips to Glasgow I stayed with different friends, one living in the Ibrox in a large tenement flat just of Paisley Rd, and the other in a super glam West Ens georgian crescent building... so I have definitely seen the range! Coming from 10 years in London, I honestly don't see some of these areas as any different than what I'm used to... you just learn where to go / not to go late at night.

thirtytoseventy

Hi davidmcn

Thanks for that, yeah I am aware of this... if I don't get lucky with a good neighbour I can get my mate to look in on it once a week. For contents insurance I don't need much anyway as tbh I live a gypsy life and do not have a lot of stuff... I don't go wild buying electrics and stuff for example and don't intend to until I go back to a job based permanently in the UK.

I thought getting a mortgage was going to be tricky as well for the same reason but both underwriters I have spoken to so far (high street banks too, surprisingly) and unfazed by my set-up; they just want to see a P60 instead of 3 months payslips. I think because I am paid in £ it's OK, whereas some of my colleagues on $ contracts have run into a lot of obstacles (but they are taking home more than me right now due to the epic fail of the £, so they get to be smug about that at least...!)

Gers

Thirtyseven - you'll be fine, as fine as any other random place you chose to buy. Research well and a look around.

Most tenements are late 19th century / early - mid 20th century, the only Georgian style ones I can recall are around St Andrew's Square near the city centre and they are reconstructions of the previous 18th century houses.

You'll love the feeling of space. Top floor apartments (fourth floor) are usually the cheapest cos of the long way up. First floor ones tend to be the most expensive. Take your choice!

itsnotarace

I've lived in a couple of tenement flats in Glasgow and and found both of them great. My first one was in Shawlands in the south side which is excellent if you need local shops/pubs/restaurants without having to travel into town - although the public transport links to town are excellent too.

The other was in Cessnock (next to Ibrox ) which was a bigger flat for less money and had the advantage of the underground next door which took you into town or the West End etc in minutes. That convenience is offset by the area not being as great, and seeing the full gamut of human behaviour on match days. Most of the time it's just crowds, but occasionally you get real imbeciles, like the otherwise respectable looking guy who had brought his kid into our close to do a pee up against the wall.

Oh and the other huuuge downside of that area to me are the constant Orange Walks in the summer months. The football crowds were easy to live with, getting woken on weekend mornings with this blight upon Glasgow I never got used to - I still can't believe this is a thing in 2016.
So I would go for Shawlands over the Paisley Road West area every time - in fact, we now live in a house nearby to Shawlands after a few years away from the area.
Oh and the neighbours we had in Shawlands were much more considerate and mindful of noise than our neighbours in Cessnock - although this obviously can be the luck of the draw.

We owned both flats and never had an issue selling either of them though - both sold within a matter of weeks, and we loved our time in both of them.

Apodemus

Like everyone has said, research location very carefully! A street or two can make a huge difference! The SIMD link above is a good indicator.

While the classic for a "liberal elite" would be west end or (more recently) Shawlands, don't rule out Cathcart or Mount Florida for cheaper flats, but still good train links to the city centre (if West End/Partick are too expensive).

glasgowdan

My wife's flat was on Paisley Rd West. It took a long time to sell, even at way below home report value, and one night we came home to find the bin on the street outside on fire. The roof was a huge issue and there was something like a bill every year for £500-1000 per flat. The front door was always broken because of the idiot tenents in a couple of the flats and their friends. The council gave planning permission approval for the pub next door to be turned into a bookies, despite there being another bookies right across the road already!

I'd never buy there again!

My bro's girlfriend has just bought a flat near Ibrox though and they're very pleased, although parking is terrible and it's in a bad state of repair. It's big. Top floor though. I'm crossing my fingers for them.
What's your budget OP?

Apodemus

I'm afraid I am still struggling with why someone who describes themselves as "Liberal Elite" would think that Glasgow is the place to be! Maclean, Maxton et al. will be whirling in their graves!

thirtytoseventy

Haha ref the Liberal Elite tag, it's not something I would have ever described myself as but in various other threads (and in general) it's the tag being applied to any bremainers, cos obviously if we didn't want to leave the EU we must be whinging champagne socialist Islington residents, right? So I'm owning it.

Budget is going to be circa 100k but if I can get 80k great as I want to pay it off in around 5 years ideally.

thirtytoseventy

Glasgowdan yeah I thought ibrox was ok, but honestly if I can get somewhere a bit better im not going to say no to it. I need to
Investigate a load of new suburbs on my next trip I think!

Pixie5740

Ibrox, Paisley Road West etc is what I would describe as the Wild West. There's even the Grand Old Opry where if it's your first time there you have to get up on the stage and sing.

You'd get a 1-bedroom flat in Shawlands on your budget no bother at all. You could also get a 1 or 2-bedroom flat in Mount Florida or Cathcart for that kind of money. All 3 areas have train stations with frequent trains going to Glasgow Central. Based on purely anecdotal evidence I would say it is easier to rent or sell a property in one of those areas that the Wild West.