Buying a property under 31 sq m

RoisinDove

Hi everyone,
Having recently seen a thread by someone who was struggling to sell a flat under 30 metres squared because no lenders would offer a mortgage on it, I'm a bit concerned that I may face the same issue if I buy a place I have my eye on, which is just under 31 square metres, according to the floorplan. It's small, definitely, but it doesn't feel overly cramped, especially for just one person. It has high ceilings (so could make use of shelves or built in storage at height) and huge windows, and the bedroom is a fairly decent size. Is this something to worry about? If it matters, the flat is in London. 

K_S

@roisindove A non new-build liveable studio flat in London should usually be mortgage-able at mainstream / mainstream-ish rates at 80/85% LTV. The 30sqm requirement is sort of a red line for some lenders and not for others, so I wouldn't fixate on that aspect too much.

Of course, there are other aspects to the mortgageability that are as/more important - lease, access arrangements, is it above/adjacent to commercial, etc.

When you go through the mortgage process, you'll get a good idea of how easy/hard it is and can use that to reassess your decision or renegotiate the price at that stage.

hazyjo

Don't forget, whatever you go through will be current regs/ requirements for lenders. As you'll see from that other post, what's mortgageable at one point in time might not be in the future.

Billy_B_North

I love the idea of a “micro” apartment, where the bed folds away, or the shower does, or the desk flips over to be a hob, and think I’d love to have a home like that, but you’re going to be a bit of a hostage to fortune.
If it’s in Pimlico, I think you’ll be fine. If it’s in Peebles, then less so.

It’s a risk, but then so is spending a lot more money to get a bigger place when this one may be ideal for you.

RoisinDove

K_S said:

@roisindove A non new-build liveable studio flat in London should usually be mortgage-able at mainstream / mainstream-ish rates at 80/85% LTV. The 30sqm requirement is sort of a red line for some lenders and not for others, so I wouldn't fixate on that aspect too much.

Of course, there are other aspects to the mortgageability that are as/more important - lease, access arrangements, is it above/adjacent to commercial, etc.

When you go through the mortgage process, you'll get a good idea of how easy/hard it is and can use that to reassess your decision or renegotiate the price at that stage.

It isn't even a studio - it's a one bed, with a decent size bedroom and bathroom. The only bit that feels small is the living room, tbh. Not above or near commercial, residential street of lovely period houses in a desirable part of zone 3, share of freehold IIRC. I wouldn't have even considered the square footage as an issue until I saw that thread, and now it's got me a bit paranoid!

RoisinDove

hazyjo said:

Don't forget, whatever you go through will be current regs/ requirements for lenders. As you'll see from that other post, what's mortgageable at one point in time might not be in the future.

Yes, and this is concerning for me, as someone who can only afford a one bed flat in London. Between the square footage and the EWS1 issues with purpose built blocks I'm feeling rather anxious. 

RoisinDove

Billy_B_North said:

I love the idea of a “micro” apartment, where the bed folds away, or the shower does, or the desk flips over to be a hob, and think I’d love to have a home like that, but you’re going to be a bit of a hostage to fortune.
If it’s in Pimlico, I think you’ll be fine. If it’s in Peebles, then less so.

It’s a risk, but then so is spending a lot more money to get a bigger place when this one may be ideal for you.

It's nowhere near that small! There's a full size kitchen, decent size bedroom and bathroom. It's definitely not 'micro'. I'm wondering if the square footage given on the ad might be a mistake, because it really doesn't feel THAT small. A compact one-bedroom flat, yes, but there's plenty of space in the bedroom for a huge wardrobe and chest of drawers. The living area is definitely small but doesn't feel too bad because it's open plan kitchen/living area. I think the enormously high ceilings help a lot in creating a feeling of spaciousness, as I've seen flats that were over 40 square metres in purpose built blocks which felt a lot smaller.

Alan2020

I thought the last time you asked for advice, the advice was that for your budget, out of London will be the best choice instead of a hovel in London. But the London lifestyle or the lack of it brigade were there telling how great it was.
Whilst I think legally all legitimate houses/flats must be offered a mortgage by lenders, people’s view are the lender should make profits.

Sub 500k apartments in central London are typically basket cases and usually have short leases, huge service charge, noise issues, problems with the freehold/building, horrible areas - Kennington, Hackney, Camden etc etc Always buy with your eyes open.

[Deleted User]

Also a small flat in Zone 3 doesn't have the same appeal as one in Zone 1! 

What's attractive in Pimlico might not be in Penge. 

(Although this is cheap!: https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/77345145#/ )

It's perfectly possible that it could take an hour to get from zone 3 to somewhere in the centre. 

AdrianC

RoisinDove said:

It's nowhere near that small! There's a full size kitchen, decent size bedroom and bathroom. It's definitely not 'micro'. I'm wondering if the square footage given on the ad might be a mistake, because it really doesn't feel THAT small.

Let's see the floorplan, then...

Owleyes00

Poster_586329 said:

Also a small flat in Zone 3 doesn't have the same appeal as one in Zone 1! 

What's attractive in Pimlico might not be in Penge. 

(Although this is cheap!: https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/77345145#/ )

It's perfectly possible that it could take an hour to get from zone 3 to somewhere in the centre. 

That flat only has 58 years left on the lease 😵