Getting the most bang for my buck

Red-Squirrel_2

How big a mortgage could you get?

Red-Squirrel_2

Facknats wrote: »

Why are you hoping to get a 3+ bed if you are single out of interest? Are you hoping to let a room or two to cover mortgage costs?

Single people don't just want to live in one bed boxes all their lives.

Cakeguts

You seem to be part of a trend of young people who think that they can buy the kind of house their parents have as their first house. If you buy a house at auction it will have something wrong with it that means that it can't be sold by the normal method. So something like a structural problem, access problem, ownership problem, or something that needs so much work doing to it that won't get a mortgage to buy it.



The cheapest way to buy a house is to buy one that is already in reasonable condition so something that is around 10 to 15 years old. If you can't afford that then you are looking for houses that are more expensive than you can afford.



A house that is cheap is either in a terrible area or has something wrong with it. Depending on what is wrong with it, it can work out more expensive than one that appears to be more expensive but doesn't have anything wrong with it.

MysteryMe

You could look to buy a nice two bed in a good area with scope to extend in future.

Quality over quantity. Id rather live in a smaller house with better layout in a good area than a larger house in a ropey area.

penguineater

Mr.Generous wrote: »

My experience is that I make a living buying run down cheap property and renovating them, you normally add about £30 - £35k when you renovate a cheap property.

Obviously you look at the price they sell for in top shape v's dilapidated and unless there is a substantial difference don't bother. If the initial purchase price is higher then you add more value. Its the stamp duty that hurts, on a £385k property the stamp duty for a developer is £12k which eats into the margin.

Cost control is crucial but you make your money when you buy at the right price.

Interesting you mention that. I have been checking land registry of properties in the areas i'm looking and they seem to buy at auction for 40-50k and selling for 70-80k. So I guess they only need to put 10-15k max into renovations.


Is there any way to get more information on why they were sold at auction? For example no next of kin, mortgage arrears etc.



And also is there any way of seeing if a property was discounted due to help to buy?


This property has me scratching my head, the average price on that street is £100k-£130k or more yet this recently renovated (to a nice standard imo) went for £92k and it's a very spacious end terrace!



https://www.rightmove.co.uk/house-prices/NE22/Beech-Grove.html


Rest of street:

https://nethouseprices.com/house-prices/beech%20grove%20bedlington?sort=price&order=down

Red-Squirrel wrote: »

How big a mortgage could you get?

Using MSE mortgage calculator £97k-£130k but I don't want a home that hosts more than £60k if a fixer-upper and i'd have 50% deposit.

Cakeguts wrote: »

You seem to be part of a trend of young people who think that they can buy the kind of house their parents have as their first house. If you buy a house at auction it will have something wrong with it that means that it can't be sold by the normal method. So something like a structural problem, access problem, ownership problem, or something that needs so much work doing to it that won't get a mortgage to buy it.



The cheapest way to buy a house is to buy one that is already in reasonable condition so something that is around 10 to 15 years old. If you can't afford that then you are looking for houses that are more expensive than you can afford.



A house that is cheap is either in a terrible area or has something wrong with it. Depending on what is wrong with it, it can work out more expensive than one that appears to be more expensive but doesn't have anything wrong with it.

That's something I need to have a good think about. There is definitely some trash in auctions but i'd imagine some real gems as well.


I wonder how many houses are put in auction for 'safe' reasons such as no next of kin or mortgage arrears and if there is any way of knowing this beforehand.

Podzilla

I’m from Newcastle and would genuinely love to know where you’re looking to find a 3-4 bed house starting from 80k in an area where you’re not going to be compromising your life. Towards the 150 end you could get a 3 bed in Killingworth or Kingston Park which is fine but even those places you would be hard pushed to find a 4 bed for those prices. Unless by Newcastle you mean South Tyneside or Gateshead towards Durham?

penguineater

Podzilla wrote: »

I’m from Newcastle and would genuinely love to know where you’re looking to find a 3-4 bed house starting from 80k in an area where you’re not going to be compromising your life. Towards the 150 end you could get a 3 bed in Killingworth or Kingston Park which is fine but even those places you would be hard pushed to find a 4 bed for those prices. Unless by Newcastle you mean South Tyneside or Gateshead towards Durham?

It's actually in Northumberland area, Blyth, Cramlington, Bedlington etc.


Decent places start around 80k depending on garden, needing updating etc. Obviously can pay less for a fixer-upper.

quantumlobster

You've reviewed the contents of a search like this one, right?

Properties For Sale in Untitled (Drawn Area), up to £150,000, don't show shared ownership, new home, retirement, 3 – 4 bed, detached, semi detached, bungalow

Cakeguts

penguineater wrote: »

Interesting you mention that. I have been checking land registry of properties in the areas i'm looking and they seem to buy at auction for 40-50k and selling for 70-80k. So I guess they only need to put 10-15k max into renovations.


Is there any way to get more information on why they were sold at auction? For example no next of kin, mortgage arrears etc.



And also is there any way of seeing if a property was discounted due to help to buy?


This property has me scratching my head, the average price on that street is £100k-£130k or more yet this recently renovated (to a nice standard imo) went for £92k and it's a very spacious end terrace!



https://www.rightmove.co.uk/house-prices/NE22/Beech-Grove.html


Rest of street:

https://nethouseprices.com/house-prices/beech%20grove%20bedlington?sort=price&order=down






Using MSE mortgage calculator £97k-£130k but I don't want a home that hosts more than £60k if a fixer-upper and i'd have 50% deposit.





That's something I need to have a good think about. There is definitely some trash in auctions but i'd imagine some real gems as well.


I wonder how many houses are put in auction for 'safe' reasons such as no next of kin or mortgage arrears and if there is any way of knowing this beforehand.

When looking at sold prices you have to take into account that sometimes one member of a couple who are divorcing buys the other out which means that the prices look out of place.


A £40k to £50k house in an auction is unlikely to be the sort that you can get a mortgage on.



Don't buy an ex council house. Peoplein the north who are buying houses only buy these if they really can't afford anything else so they have to be sold as cheaply as possible. If you buy an ex council house and spend a lot of money on it you won't get it back. What makes them cheap is the fact that they are ex council and usually in horrible areas.

Red-Squirrel_2

Cakeguts wrote: »

Don't buy an ex council house. Peoplein the north who are buying houses only buy these if they really can't afford anything else so they have to be sold as cheaply as possible. If you buy an ex council house and spend a lot of money on it you won't get it back. What makes them cheap is the fact that they are ex council and usually in horrible areas.

That really really depends on the area. In some places ex council houses are desirable because their location is now trendy or up and coming. In lots of places the former estates are entirely privately owned.

Of course, those houses are then not much cheaper than any other locally.