Considering buying an unrenovated flat in a London Victorian house

vincent2017

Thanks for that, AdrianC.

I guess then that it's just something to be aware of as a potential buyer and factor into my budget calculations. The lack of noise insulation is the thing I can see being the biggest problem in terms of potential future conflict with the people in the flat below. (The current tenants have never complained but I imagine owner-occupiers would be more assertive).

AFF8879

vincent2017 wrote: »

That's encouraging to hear, AFF8879. Were you able to buy at enough of a discount to make it worthwhile? Was it leasehold or freehold? And did you compete for the property on the open market?

I did, I bought at approximately £20k-£35k discount based on similar properties nearby. I would estimate I have probably spent about £11k on all the work thus far, hoping to keep the kitchen and boiler below £7k - so in the worst case scenario, should break even. But I don't envisage moving for at least another 3-4 years so I'm not massively concerned with market fluctuations for the time being.

In terms of competing, not at all, I bought a few weeks after the stamp duty changes hence the market went from crazy rush to desolate almost overnight. But even now the market is definitely subdued compared to the past few years, so I would definitely get in there whilst you can in case there's another surge.

davidmcn

vincent2017 wrote: »

But renovations to get it to meet the building regulations which it currently won't, I'd have thought would have been something different and more likely to have an impact on price. So for instance that there are wooden floors with no noise insulation whatsoever.

And how many potential buyers lift floorboards to check the insulation, or conduct acoustic tests, before deciding what price to offer?

vincent2017

Right, David! And in actual fact the lack of noise insulation doesn't have much of an impact on this top-floor flat itself. (I don't seem to hear much noise from downstairs). It's just it might potentially lead to future problems if and when the flat below changes hands and they realise every time I drop a pound coin they hear it like a gunshot. But I can see this is something an owner is hardly going to rush to announce to every potential buyer and offer a discount for.

kinger101

vincent2017 wrote: »

Right, David! And in actual fact the lack of noise insulation doesn't have much of an impact on this top-floor flat itself. (I don't seem to hear much noise from downstairs). It's just it might potentially lead to future problems if and when the flat below changes hands and they realise every time I drop a pound coin they hear it like a gunshot. But I can see this is something an owner is hardly going to rush to announce to every potential buyer and offer a discount for.

An owner would be legally obliged to mention it if lead to disputes with their neighbours.