flat in city center manchester - service charge seems steep?

IAmWales

Does third (second?) floor count as a penthouse nowadays? :j

The apartment is majorly overpriced.

rtt2017

IAmWales wrote: »

Does third (second?) floor count as a penthouse nowadays? :j

The apartment is majorly overpriced.

it does, im new to house buying so not sure, i couldnt go streaming in with a lower offer could I?

its tucked away on a side street too, but they must be asking that price for a reason

02346631

Manchester City Centre flats have gone up massively in price, it's probably not high for the area. Be aware of the noise of living in the City Centre if you don't already though, noise at night in that area will be considerable. You could get a lovely house in a leafy suburb of South Manchester for that price!

Hiddenidenity

Brave moving to northern quarter

Anyway I rented an apartment (2009) 3rd floor, 2 bed, similar to the one your looking at and our service charges where £140 a month plus the rent obviously. Including all maintenance outside and communal areas/window cleaning etc and a parking space. It didn't include any utilities etc.

rtt2017

02346631 wrote: »

Manchester City Centre flats have gone up massively in price, it's probably not high for the area. Be aware of the noise of living in the City Centre if you don't already though, noise at night in that area will be considerable. You could get a lovely house in a leafy suburb of South Manchester for that price!

you know I didn't factor in the noise, perhaps I should rent first to see if i can put up with it

02346631

rtt2017 wrote: »

you know I didn't factor in the noise, perhaps I should rent first to see if i can put up with it

Might be worthwhile if you aren't in a rush to buy somewhere. Have you lived in the centre before? Living in the centre isn't for everyone, don't think I'm being totally dismissive about it though, some people wouldn't want to be anywhere else. I think a lot depends on how well soundproofed the place is, the neighbours and the street more than anything. I've got friends who lived in the centre who said they were plagued by the sound of rubbish trucks emptying bottle bins first thing in the morning haha.

That said, there's a lot to be said for having everything on your doorstep in the centre of Manchester which is buzzing at the moment. If you are young and don't have a mortgage that's potentially a lot of money to have some fun with!

Beaker99

I'd just be worried if prices do go southwards, the the £167pm service charge would seriously put people off if you were trying to sell in a difficult market.

Marvel1

Not the best presented, looks cluttered.

rtt2017 wrote: »

its tucked away on a side street too, but they must be asking that price for a reason

Explains the bad view from the balcony.

zagubov

Fact is, you're finding it high for what you're getting.
Charges are more likely to go up than down!
In the future, buyers may be put off, leaving you stuck with a moneypit you had doubts about buying and no prospect of getting rid of it on terms agreeable to you.

Tiners

It was only a few years ago they couldn't give away the masses of new build flats in Manchester City centre and hundreds were just sat empty or half finished, now people are queuing up to pay £350k+ for them!!

You have to ask yourself where this perceived ''value'' of these properties has suddenly materialised from given that wages and incomes have barely increased in the same time period.