Buying a flat. Certificates: boiler...

Mutton_Geoff

Budget £1,000 for new boiler, £2,000 for new electrics (and a load of mess) and £1,000 for the plumbing. Add contigency of 25% then split the amount with the seller since you are benefiting from "betterment" when you buy, so suggest knocking £2,500 off the buying price to cover your costs.


And seriously consider whether you can afford to go to a 2 bed flat somewhere. Studios & one bed flats are notoriously difficult to sell because they are generally not considered long term homes (partners/children etc) whereas many people live in 2 bed flats all their lives. That would worry me more than the boiler etc on a 15 year old place.

BridgetLo

Thank you so much for everything! I really appreciate it!
Mutteon Geoff, thank you so much for your opinion about one bed flat being less desirable when it comes to selling the property. The reason why I am buying it is because it is very close to the university and the hospitals so I guess it will be saleable when I want to move out. It is a 1 bed flat from the 60s and the price is 95.000. Location is extremely good. What is your opinion about it?
Thank you!
Best

need_an_answer

Just because the flat is close to a university or a hospital doesn't mean that it will be bought by someone from there...most uni students will rent rather than buy for such a short period of time and even hospital workers re more likely to rent rather than purchase.

I would consider that your resale market will be to BTL LL's and suspect that the reason they haven't bought it this time round is because it will need work doing on it to bring it up to a rental standard .


Do you see this purchase as something where you plan to live there for many years?

I have a couple of 1 bed flats (i'm a LL) and tend to agree with what mutton Geoff says about people getting on the housing ladder with a 2 bed if possible because it gives you the flexibility to grow a little into a 2 bed that you don't always have with a 1 bed....1 beds are traditionally good renters.


Having said all that we have no idea what your situation is and you might end up living in your new flat for many years without the need or desire to move...many people do.

Smodlet

I take issue with the £1000 cost for a new boiler unless the OP is a registered gas-safe engineer... And the rest, like another £1500+.

OP, have you even considered service charges? Sorry but I get the impression this is your first buy anywhere, certainly in the UK and that, like most FTBs, you have a great deal to learn. Boy, do I wish I had had this forum (or the interweb at all) when I first bought... Then again, we used to ask friends and family, once upon a time.

need_an_answer

OP..i'm really sorry but I don't know the specific area of Manchester that you are buying in well other than a couple of days visiting the area a few years back when my offspring was looking at Manchester as a Uni destination....I have a feeling the general area of your property may also be where there is much first year student accommodation nearby...(from what you've PMed to me the street name rings a bell as the general area we may have investigated should our offspring have taken up the offer of a place at the uni.



I'd echo what smodlet says about service charges and make sure you have a full insight into whats been spent on the building in the last few years and any planned spending on it...those would be communal charges that could be passed back to you as the leaseholder.

On a plus note with the older properties you do get more room space which is a bonus with a 1 bed and whilst they are not as "pretty" as new builds they usually are quite solid in construction.


Expect the area to be quite vibrant with students and all that they entail.

I hope the property makes you a good base for the next few years even if you don't plan to stay years,although I do still believe its an investor who the property has been marketed at rather than an owner occupier.

BridgetLo

Thank you so much again! I am a FTB and have so many things to learn! I am a bit lost as I am not originally from the UK, I am from Spain. Th services charges are 110 per month and I have not been able to find out whether or not the roof has been done or not and if they are planning to do some works and therefore rise the price in the near future. I hope the solicitor will find out about it as it is a big thing. I am afraid I buy the property and spent lots of money in works in the property like roof, walls, drainage....
Thank you!!

Smodlet

I suppose you have considered renting as a more flexible option? I guess that is what you are doing now. What about a mid-terrace, freehold house in another location, so long as it is commutable? With your mortgage payments + £110 per month, you could conceivably buy somewhere perhaps more suitable in the longterm, even if you had to consider renting out a room to help with expenses? Just a thought.

Sorry, can't resist: Bienvenida en Inglaterra! That's probably wrong, right?

BridgetLo

Thank you so much Smodlet! As you have very well spotted I am from Spain but living in Manchester at the moment. Thank you for your advice! I will not have any mortgage as I am planning to pay in cash and would love to live in the city center. But you are totally right about a house in terms of getting more benefits. Thank you so much again

need_an_answer

How well do you know the area where you are buying?

I occurred to me over the weekend that that's possibly quite a student area of Manchester which for the past few months there would have been no students living in (or very few because of the holidays....they tend to move out in May/June and not return full time until mid September.


If I were buying in that area I would want to see the noise levels around the property and indeed in the block once its back to BAU in Sept.

I am aware that often property in student areas gets listed and sold best when the students are not there...make sure you are happy with the area now and that you know exactly what its likely to become in a few months time when the students return for next years studies

Sapphire

need_an_answer wrote: »

Expect the area to be quite vibrant with students and all that they entail.

That's a very polite way of putting it!