Want to buy in apartment block - contacting the owners directly?

rich06

I am new to the property market in the UK and I am not sure of the customary practice here when buying.

Anyway, I am looking to buy a 2 bedroom flat and recently viewed a flat in a block that was so nearly perfect for my requirements except one aspect namely the elevation. The flat, being on the 1st floor, was too close to the road and directly above a busy restaurant/bar with associated noise levels and cooking smells etc Having said that, the apartment block itself was in the perfect location for me so I was thinking of contacting (by letter) the owners of the flats in the higher levels/stories to let them know I am keen to buy if they wanted to sell privately etc etc. So is this the done thing or completely frowned upon? I was intending to discover the owners' names from the land registry which I presume is up to date?

If it is relevant at all I will add that the EA at the viewing said that quite a few of the apartments are second/holiday homes and in general the property turnover is currently very slow in the area.

TIA for any advice which will be greatly appreciated!

Silvertabby

Will you need a mortgage? Not all UK mainstream lenders will approve a mortgage for a private residence over commercial premises.

This could be why the other flats are second/holiday homes - they were bought by cash buyers.

Apart from that, there is no reason why you can't pop 'I'm interested' letters through each door.

Lokolo

I wouldn't go and find details of each individual flat, that is maybe a bit too personal.

However a generic letter addressed to the owner of Flat X along the lines of

"Dear Sir/Madam, I recently viewed property Y and I liked the property however it was on lower levels and I would prefer higher levels, on floor 3 and above. If you are thinking selling in the near future I would be grateful if you could contact me on 07xxxxxxxxxx to discuss options. Yours faithfully, Rich"

Send to all flats that are appropirate

Hoploz

Individual notes through flat doors would be a good idea (don't research names, people won't like the feeling of being snooped on) or a notice up in a communal area could also work.

Consider also posting a 'wanted' advert on a local Facebook page - that way you may catch people who live elsewhere but own the flats.

rich06

Thanks all for the sage advice!

agrinnall

You can do it, but expect the vast majority of the letters to go straight into the bin after a brief glance, that's what I do with all the "we have clients looking for property in your area" letters from estate agents that come through my letter box.