First time buyer: one bedroom in London

redefinr

Way over my budget! I think I would be happy with 30sqm - that one is a bit smaller but the balcony is a nice extra!

Poster_586329 what am I supposed to be doing in Scotland in a castle? Maybe when I will retire

jonnygee2

New build, good standard. Balcony! It could be quite small (25sqm) 

Sorry, 25sq meters?? You surely can't expect to live in that for any amount of time? 

My london flat is about 70sq meters and trust me that feels small enough (it was also about the same price as this one and is more central!). Be kind to yourself and at least get somewhere with a separate bedroom.

davidmcn

Poster_586329 said:

redefinr said:

Gosh, those prices are not going down at all despite brexit, pandemic and so on!
I'm still on the lookout, EA are now not posting much on RightMove but they seem to be using Zoopla more.
I'm just touching base for this property which is quite promising: https://www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/54374803
New build, good standard. Balcony! It could be quite small (25sqm) but the location is pretty amazing!
Ground rent: £400 PA
Service charge: Approx £1330 pa
Service charge seems a bit high, uh? 
It's still way pricey, I will see if the seller is up for some negotiations...

25sq metres in Hammersmith!!!  Why don't you buy a castle in Scotland instead?

What castle are you going to get for £350k? If you're lucky you might get something with a view of a castle.

redefinr

jonnygee2 said:

New build, good standard. Balcony! It could be quite small (25sqm) 

Sorry, 25sq meters?? You surely can't expect to live in that for any amount of time? 

My london flat is about 70sq meters and trust me that feels small enough (it was also about the same price as this one and is more central!). Be kind to yourself and at least get somewhere with a separate bedroom.

Prices are still very high though and my budget is limited. I'd imagine you purchased your property 10 years ago to get something better located and 2X as spacious! Right now is tedious...

jonnygee2

Prices are still very high though and my budget is limited. I'd imagine you purchased your property 10 years ago to get something better located and 2X as spacious! Right now is tedious...

No, I purchased it 1 1/2 years ago. I just bought in East London instead of West.

I guess it's a choice but if I were you I'd make some 'sacrifices' on location instead of a huge sacrifice in living space. You can't even get a couch into that place!  I don't even like Hammersmith but it is a really premium area right now. Seems to me you just don't have the budget for that area, and that's what's causing you issues.

numbercruncher8

The recent climate should be really favourable for you.

The unemployment figures are bad today, but will be worse considering that furloughing has kept some peoples jobs temporarily alive. Nothing concrete but my guess is that the Bush may be a little worse affected on the basis that its an area popular with young professionals and the younger people disproportionately take a hit.

I do think that there is the potential for a shift in prices here. The chances of prices going down 10% (which brings loads of properties into range) far exceed the chances of prices going up 10% over the rest of the year, IMO. Also in my opinion, if we are to see prices decline studios will also be worse off, simply because people may bypass that step.

I don't know if your flexibility has changed, but with recent price falls £350k would get you a house with a garden. You'd have to take a hit on location but may be more future-proof.

jimbog

I know you have been looking for a long time but I really would wait as prices are certainly not going up

Crashy_Time

Wasn`t there a thread about a 600k newbuild 1 bed flat in London some time back? I hope that poster held back as well......

redefinr

Love this property, I have seen a studio in the same building but lost it (sold for 315K):

https://www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/48864800?search_identifier=243b98d4b39044dfb80cef83598b0f3e

This one is way more spacious but still quite expensive, I'm just a bit confused as the EA said it's still under Pocket Living which doesn't allow a lot of things (such as rent it out in case i want to rent it). The service charge are £200/month and include electricity/hot water. 
This is technically at a discount price, will I be still be able to make an offer?

redefinr

in fact thats £2400pa in service charge, surely it's quite high?!