First time buyer: one bedroom in London

redefinr

It's still 300K for that though. Nah...

numbercruncher8

Not sure if you have seen this:
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-87293174.html
Close to the station. Not sure if the building is an old wing of the prison.

davidmcn

numbercruncher8 said:

Not sure if you have seen this:
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-87293174.html
Close to the station. Not sure if the building is an old wing of the prison.

Bit light and airy for prison cells! Those blocks were built as social housing.

redefinr

numbercruncher8 said:

Not sure if you have seen this:
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-87293174.html
Close to the station. Not sure if the building is an old wing of the prison.

Yeah i've seen that, I used to live 2min from that. It is quite alright the only thing is the are quite a lot of those blocks (like 5-6) and it does feel a bit enclosed once you get inside

Crashy_Time

numbercruncher8 said:

Not sure if you have seen this:
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-87293174.html
Close to the station. Not sure if the building is an old wing of the prison.

50k off asking so far, even with another 50k off it is still pricey for the tiny space that it is, but of course London is very special....

redefinr

I went to see the property in Camden on Saturday:
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-70789767.html

The block is actually quite good - I thought it was a social housing but it's not. Everything inside the building is a bit old style but in good nick (clean carpets, no rubbish, no mess around). The studio was on the first floor, which is kinda good.
Unfortunately, the current owner is not been looking after the property at all and the place is quite in a bad shape, I would say all the furnitures must go, including the whole kitchen. The place must have been locked for quite a long time as it was very smelly and full of flies (good to have a mask these days!). Both me and the EA were wearing a mask - it was unbearable inside. Beside that, the space is actually decent...the room has enough space, but not enough to create a separate bedroom. That white wardrobe is fitted into the wall and it got a bed inside coming down, I guess once all of that junk goes the space should be even more.
The toilet was in good nick actually. 
The place comes with a little balcony (enough to have a small table) and underground car space (not a garage!) hence the price.
£350K seems quite high to be honest, even thought the EA said this will go very fast (lol). I may be willing to spend 300k on that considering it needs some refreshing but I don't think they will drop 50k on that price, it's a bit a shock drop.
The location is very good only 12min from King's Cross or Euston and a 1min walk from Morning Crescent - really really good.
Camden has a bit of a high Council Tax too which is a bit putting me off.

numbercruncher8

I quite like the place, I tend to think that most things coming onto the market in London will eventually have at least one reduction.

If you go down the road slightly, there are a bunch of studios at £350/365k, better condition but no balcony so I guess they could be approximately equal. But some of these studios have been on the market since November 2018 and it looks like there are no takers, so I'm guessing the price is wrong.

So I'd agree that £300k is more like it than the asking price. Don't know if its possible but selling out/renting the parking space could be quite lucrative. Also check how the charges break down with respect to management of the building. It doesn't look like the biggest block of flats, therefore an unexpected but big ad-hoc repair could cost a lot as it is divided up between fewer properties.

Crashy_Time

numbercruncher8 said:

I quite like the place, I tend to think that most things coming onto the market in London will eventually have at least one reduction.

If you go down the road slightly, there are a bunch of studios at £350/365k, better condition but no balcony so I guess they could be approximately equal. But some of these studios have been on the market since November 2018 and it looks like there are no takers, so I'm guessing the price is wrong.

So I'd agree that £300k is more like it than the asking price. Don't know if its possible but selling out/renting the parking space could be quite lucrative. Also check how the charges break down with respect to management of the building. It doesn't look like the biggest block of flats, therefore an unexpected but big ad-hoc repair could cost a lot as it is divided up between fewer properties.

That is probably all anyone needs to know really. 

jumperabv3

OP, I'm sorry if I'm joining this thread only now but why don't you buy yourself a 1 bed flat in a place like Reading or Iver?
The Elizabeth Line would take you from Iver to Central London in 20 minutes, which is nothing in comparison to places even like Camden - for instance this one costs £220k but I have no opinion whatsoever on the property itself etc.
https://www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/55091145?search_identifier=0acd9b0deaae04995d3cc85bd8694fdf

When I look for 1 beds in Iver all I get in Zoopa is 3 results which shows you the supply is dead (but the demand is high) so when you come to sell it you won't lose taking the benefit of the Elizabeth Line into account as it's not fully operational yet.

I've invested in Reading for instance, I did it for BTL purposes, but for me the main kicker was the Elizabeth Line (and I took a place that is not at the doorsteps of the station (many estate agents believe if it's close to the station then it's worth it, I've seen other trends with properties with bigger space, parking etc. - so take these into considerations).

You can also consider other areas surrounding London if it's not far from the station as you would get to Central London pretty fast (20 minutes by all means is not bad), and this is how you would save almost £100k - and you would be able to afford the place and don't buy in areas where you would have to stretch yourself financially.

Also - take into account many areas in London are already or will be licensed - that means you would have to pay extra charges aka fees aka "taxes" on properties in London where there isn't any additional benefit. £100k is not a small amount and if I were you I'd certainly consider an area with good transport links to Central London and save myself £100k for other things in life.

But if for you being in Camden or Islington is something you can't forfeit and it must be part of your day to day life then look PropertyData.co.uk - they show you properties with 30%-40% off the original asking price, so maybe you can find a nice bargain there but if you do - please ensure your solicitor and even yourself do a proper due diligence on the property.

Good luck!

numbercruncher8

Pretty sure that if it was that simple nobody would live Central and everyone would live on the outskirts.

If your life is based around London and you live in Reading for instance, after 10 years you will be at least £50k worse off, because you have to buy a season ticket on the train. Not to mention the intangible inconvenience of having to get back there.

It's very estate agent-esque to quote a journey time from Central London as 20 mins, and maybe newbies are suckered into it. Croydon has an even shorter commute time for instance. The reality is that the short journey time only holds up from certain destinations. Being elsewhere in London could easily double that as you have to get to that station. Personal experience.

Whereas it could be said that due to interchange and tube frequency, somewhere reasonably Central is a quick journey from a large variety of stations.