First time buyer: one bedroom in London

UnderOffer

That looks lovely and great that it has a separate bedroom. I’ve been following your thread and really hoping you find something within your budget but gives you a little more space. The studios have been shocking, so keeping my fingers crossed for you. 

sarahevie1

I own a 30sqm one ground floor bed flat in York that I rent out. The conversion (four flats) do not have gas to the building. They are extremely cheap to run £40pcm electric. Mine was converted in 2006 so was soundproofed insulated well. It doesn't take a lot to heat 30sqm. In fact for many months heating isn't required. As general cooking heats it up, but be careful of condensation. Never been a problem with mine;i always been single occupancy but can be an issue if they're never heated/ventilated. 

barbiedoll

It’s interesting how they sell these properties now, both of the apartments are marketed as being in “Deptford”, when everyone who lives in this area knows that SE10 is Greenwich, and SE13 is Lewisham. Funnily enough, the folk in the some of the newer developments on Creek Road, moaned incessantly about having a SE8 (Deptford) postcode, when they considered themselves to be Greenwich residents, citing “increased insurance premiums” as a particular cause for concern. Seems like Deptford is deemed to be as desirable as Greenwich (or even Lewisham!) nowadays. 

Having said that, I’ve met lots of people who live in the Deals Gateway estate, they’re all young professionals, and they seem to love it there. Deptford Bridge is undergoing something of a renaissance, there are lots of people moving there due to the affordability and the mostly excellent transport links, especially the DLR. The traffic is horrendous though, I’m stuck in it every day, but the road/water works will be finished in 18 months or so, whether or not that improves things, remains to be seen. 

Good luck with your offer, do let us know if/when you move into your new place! 

numbercruncher8

The only downside I see is how thin the market is - don't see many completed sales relative to the size of the development. 
From a sellers point of view, the market here peaked a couple of years back, and it seems a tough old slog to get something sold here without going under £300k. That seems to be a bit of a psychological barrier here. If its anything like other ex-new builds I have seen, sellers would rather take their listings off rather than breach it. I think any offer above this level would be taken if you keep your nerve.

I am sure these flats must house many workers in the Canary Wharf area, who might become sellers soon, either because of job loss or that the location isn't required any more.

Depends on your current circumstances of course. There is a possibility that further supply may come on to the market later this year which gives you better choice/lower prices. Also a possibility that some event happens that forces prices up. But I think even though nobody knows for sure what might happen, it is silly to equate these as equal chances, thus risk/reward is good if you wait.

There is nothing inherently special in this type of property TBH, they are common enough. 

Crashy_Time

Good points.

redefinr

nothing special about the flats, I get it...but it's quite a nice house to live in. I've been renting in London for 12 years now and it's not often you come across decent houses (in my opinion). I tried to reach out to EA today but no answers regards the heating system, I have to say Purple Bricks are quite sloppy with infos and response. The EA told me the heating is gas but it's clear enough that it's electric...she didn't seem too much knowledgeable of the property. I will ring their office tomorrow,...

redefinr

Ok the EA told me the electric meter is Economy 7....what y'all guys think?
Since I'm going the new builds route I guess I will have to deal with electric heating....I'm wondering if I would be able to change those metering system though? I just compared the Economy 7 with 10...I think I would prefer the 10....
Now I'm just waiting for the ews certificate - i hope it's all in place!

numbercruncher8

May be worth looking at this:
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-95239283.html
Seems to be an auction property but would be interesting to see what kind of price it fetches. Or even asking Foxtons what the deal is with the two listings. But IMO someone wants to sell and soon. A similar one sold in 2018 for £411,000 - in my view prices have not gone up since then and I'd be surprised if this gets the same.

jimbog

redefinr said:

Ok the EA told me the electric meter is Economy 7....what y'all guys think?

It wouldn't be a deal-breaker for me. Newer properties have good insulation so will be far more efficient than older ones

redefinr

numbercruncher8 said:

May be worth looking at this:
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-95239283.html
Seems to be an auction property but would be interesting to see what kind of price it fetches. Or even asking Foxtons what the deal is with the two listings. But IMO someone wants to sell and soon. A similar one sold in 2018 for £411,000 - in my view prices have not gone up since then and I'd be surprised if this gets the same.

Yeah, I saw that but it didn't go under my radar - even if it sells at that price the cost of that flat is high:
Ground rent:

£400 per annum (2020)

Service charge:

£2800 per annum (2020)
I'm trying to get a max of £2000k pa for service charge and ground rent. It's a beautiful place for sure and 65sqm it's wonderful...but out of my budget