Help me find an affordable place to buy a house

Davesnave

Murphybear wrote: »

Here's the good bit. Anyone who books a viewing and goes along will receive a £20 M & S gift token :rotfl:

If the vendors of our property had offered an incentive like that, perhaps we'd have faced more competition in the race to buy it. Why else would one drive miles into the country to view something so obviously second-hand?

Maybe McCarthy & Stone have dished-out so many M&S vouchers that it's hit profits......;) ...or it could be that people are getting wise to the down-sides of buying new from them:


https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5858219/mccarthy-and-stone-profit-warning

Crashy_Time

Murphybear wrote: »

We had a leaflet through the door today advertising some brand new retirement properties in Poundbury. Prices from £265k. That will be for a 1 bedroomed flat. No mention of the maintenance costs but it is a McCarthy & Stone development and their charges are usually sky high.

Here's the good bit. Anyone who books a viewing and goes along will receive a £20 M & S gift token :rotfl:

Make it £50 and I will drive past the front door. Pure desperation, very encouraging actually :rotfl:

lisyloo

Crashy_Time wrote: »

".....down from an annual increase of 4.5 per cent recorded in September last year."

So are you admitting that price increases are down (in most of the UK) and not prices? (London excluded)

lisyloo

Murphybear wrote: »

We had a leaflet through the door today advertising some brand new retirement properties in Poundbury. Prices from £265k. That will be for a 1 bedroomed flat. No mention of the maintenance costs but it is a McCarthy & Stone development and their charges are usually sky high.

Here's the good bit. Anyone who books a viewing and goes along will receive a £20 M & S gift token :rotfl:

I'm just selling a retirement flat (NOT mccarthy and stone).
The ground rent is 544 pa and the service charges 3400 per annum which I don't think is too bad for having a full time manager, nice lounge, guest room, communal luonge, parking etc.


Anyway the fees for information packs for selling are £324 from managing agent and £150 from lanlord and that's just for answering questions. There are more fees to leave.


I believe the fees for Mccarthy and stone are high and therefore that is worth looking into.

Crashy_Time

lisyloo wrote: »

So are you admitting that price increases are down (in most of the UK) and not prices? (London excluded)

Transactions are down and falling, that is what really counts, many people won`t find a buyer at present price levels. Sitting in a house for forty years and believing it is worth "X" is great if you don`t need to sell, but it has no bearing on the housing market.

RainbowLaura

I would suggest Kettering or Corby.

Corby has undergone major improvements and investment over the last few years (including new train station with good links to London), but property prices are still incredibly cheap. There are lots of new developments which might tick the boxes for you. Just off the first page of a Rightmove search:

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-76408385.html

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-54278733.html

I actually quite like Kettering, especially the area around the market square which has again been improved in recent years. There's a shopping area up there called The Yards which is full of independent traders, which has proved very popular. It's not quite as cheap as Corby but you still get a lot for your money.

Crashy_Time

RainbowLaura wrote: »

I would suggest Kettering or Corby.

Corby has undergone major improvements and investment over the last few years (including new train station with good links to London), but property prices are still incredibly cheap. There are lots of new developments which might tick the boxes for you. Just off the first page of a Rightmove search:

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-76408385.html

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-54278733.html

I actually quite like Kettering, especially the area around the market square which has again been improved in recent years. There's a shopping area up there called The Yards which is full of independent traders, which has proved very popular. It's not quite as cheap as Corby but you still get a lot for your money.

First one is definitely over-priced. Horrendous.