The Nice People Thread, No.16: A Universe of Niceness.

Pyxis

Pastures......I have just replied to your pm......sorry for the delay...I was out all morning and not logged into here.

Pyxis

Plus........the service charges are likely to go up every year, and at some stage there may be substantial works that might need funding.

In addition there is ground rent, although that isn't often all that much.

These are annual expenses over and above what you have at the moment, so something to consider.

Does the block have an RTM? (Right to Manage).

You mentioned Freeholders. Would you have the option to purchase a share of the freehold?



Edit....crossed posts.
You're welcome.
If I can be of any further help just let me know.

gt568

I say again, living on top of and around people in a flat will become tiresome in less than a year.


Mark my words.

Pyxis

PasturesNew wrote: »

It's well maintained an "only" 20 years old, so I suspect they're still on top of things.

Ground rent is included in the figure, I did see it broken down. SC is £1718, GR is £125.

I would of course check there's not anything like the doubling thing every 10 years .... but that's appearing more frequently in more modern builds.

No idea re RTM. How'd you know/check/find out? Flats are alien to me as I've always avoided them before.

I doubt I could afford a share of a freehold. Are there any guesstimate calculators how much one might cost? It's probably well outside of my reach.

If the flat doesn't come with an option to buy a share of the freehold, then you probably wouldn't be able to buy one, unless one of the freeholders wanted to sell theirs.

The cost varies enormously from block to block, even assuming the freehold is up for sale, ...depends how many leaseholders would want a share, and the overall cost varies hugely, so I couldn't say.

The estate agent should be able to tell you if there is an RTM. Being in an RTM does give you more control over the service charges, etc., but the directors of the RTM (who are some of the residents, and elected by the residents), do need to be quite dedicated to the role, and it can be time-consuming, so not every block would have one).

GDB2222

Thanks for explaining what is so bad about that house. Local knowledge is clearly incredibly important.

Good luck with your searching.

vivatifosi

Hey Pastures. We've talked before about location. Would you consider moving further west along the coast? It may bring more into your price range. I appreciate that you know the area where you are, but what else is keeping you there?
Hope you dont mind me asking, as with all the NPs I just want to see you happier and less stressed by moving.

GDB2222

PasturesNew wrote: »

I've thought about that, but where does one pick without knowing anywhere? It'd be a massive/new learning curve. So it's not been dismissed... but "where".

I wonder whether you can approach this with your customary logic. You have said you want plenty of local facilities, so that means a town with a reasonably large population. There's not all that many as you go West, so maybe you can simply list them?

It does seem that In Exeter say you get more house for your money.

I know nothing about the area so I would choose Blandford Forum just because the name is picturesque, but I get the impression you would rule it out because there are too few facilities? Or quite possibly the scrote population is far too high.

GDB2222

Personally, I would let visitors worry about their own parking spaces.

GDB2222

PasturesNew wrote: »

Well, yes, but no. In particular, I've a sibling whose husband is very very proud of his long and immaculate Audi.

I'd not want the responsibility of that sitting out...

Also, if there's "no local parking whatsoever", then it's a dissuader to invite people over, or for people to suggest "I'll come over and then we can go ....." Also, handy for tradesmen doing bits/bobs. It's always handy/preferable to have a 2nd spot with your name on it.

It's nice to have visitors parking, but the Audi is totally his responsibility, not yours. The very very worst is that you move your car elsewhere, to leave your space for visitors, but most people would think that was OTT.

SingleSue

PasturesNew wrote: »

Well, yes, but no. In particular, I've a sibling whose husband is very very proud of his long and immaculate Audi.

I'd not want the responsibility of that sitting out...

Also, if there's "no local parking whatsoever", then it's a dissuader to invite people over, or for people to suggest "I'll come over and then we can go ....." Also, handy for tradesmen doing bits/bobs. It's always handy/preferable to have a 2nd spot with your name on it.

A very good point, I rarely go over to James and his partner's place because of the lack of parking.

They've taken to picking me up and taking me back there now....