Buying flat in london

kaymee

Schwarzwald said:

kaymee said:

Schwarzwald said:

In terms of valuing, I put together a “comparison sheet” in excel and tracked each single property that I viewed. To prepare my offer, I also researched all Sold properties and prices in the very street I was looking at for the last 5 years (e.g. Rightmove).

I primarily focused on price per sq.ft, as I find the number of bedrooms v misleading. You can change the number of bedrooms in a given property easily, but square footage is square footage unless you do an extension.

I then adjusted for Leasehold vs (Share of) Freehold, garden vs no garden, etc. to come up with the specific price I was willing to bid. I also included a 5-7% budget for furniture, modernizing the space and select room refurbs.

Very methodical, thanks for sharing! I’ve looked at the sold prices history at land registry before, but it unfortunately has no information on square footage!

you can also sometimes find floorplans of previous listings on Rightmove, i.e. sold properties, and then sometimes the old EA ads are still saved, not for every property, but for some 

Thanks @Schwarzwald!

kaymee

K_S said:

kaymee said:

K_S said:

@kaymee To see the floor area for the property, check if it has an EPC certificate here https://find-energy-certificate.service.gov.uk/find-a-certificate/search-by-postcode?lang=en&property_type=domestic

If it does, that will show the total floor area in sq metres.

Very useful - thank you!

I don’t suppose I can find this information in a downloadable format (that will help me get sqm data in bulk, to be able to calculate / study psf data in bulk)?

@kaymee Not that I know of but might well be available from sources like Nimbus Maps . You sound like my partner, they're in a numerate profession, always looking for excel datasets

But unless you're comparing very similar properties, in London there are as-significant or more-significant factors than floor-area that impact price, even for flats.

😂😂 think of all the invaluable trend charts it can produce!

Fair enough, thanks for your advice.

googler

coypondboy said:

Aprtment prices are about to be hit by the building safety bill now in the house of lords but will be law by end of March and come in 2013/14.  All flats will need to pass the PAS9980 and no one knows if any will so remediation/buildings ins bills will hit service charges hard with a 2 bed flat likely to double form 2.5k to 5k.  No one knows how this will affect prices but I would wait a couple of years to see what happens before buying as prices won't rise in the short term until all flats have this certificate.

Surely this only affects buildings with "cladding" ... ?

Stone-built, brick-built, and other similar constructions won't be affected, or will 'obviously' be classified as low-risk. 

GDB2222

Schwarzwald said:

kaymee said:

Would you mind me asking which tube did you go for? Distance to tube is also one of my criteria, but I keep getting advice to choose the “right” lines (I.e. ones with better connectivity).

Also, do you have any tips on figuring out a fair price and on price negotiations? I know I can access past transaction data and apply the general property market trend to it, to make sure it’s not ridiculously quoted, but any rules on how or how much I should be negotiating?

I ended up between Mile End and Bow Road. I have access to three tube lines in immediate walking distance: Central, District and Hammersmith & City.

I get pretty much everywhere in zones 1-2 within 25-30min and max 1 line change.

 It was not an area that was on my radar initially, in fact had never really spent time there, but I found Bethnal Green and Islington already too expensive for what you get for a 2/3 bedroom in the 650-800k range – leave alone West London in general.

 And as I said, a (quiet) spacious property with garden and immediate tube access was more important to me than a fancy neighbourhood with trendy cafes – but that is a personal choice. And IMO there is only one way to for properties in E3 in the long-term (maybe with bumps in between) … and that is UP, look at what happened to E2/E8 in the last 10-15 years.

 

I also liked the Finsbury Park area, N4. Great access to public transport, a park around the corner, lots of period properties and relatively better priced than, for example, Hampstead.

 

In terms of valuing, I put together a “comparison sheet” in excel and tracked each single property that I viewed. To prepare my offer, I also researched all Sold properties and prices in the very street I was looking at for the last 5 years (e.g. Rightmove).

I primarily focused on price per sq.ft, as I find the number of bedrooms v misleading. You can change the number of bedrooms in a given property easily, but square footage is square footage unless you do an extension.

I then adjusted for Leasehold vs (Share of) Freehold, garden vs no garden, etc. to come up with the specific price I was willing to bid. I also included a 5-7% budget for furniture, modernizing the space and select room refurbs.

I don't know E3, but Finsbury Park area is much too edgy for me. 

coypondboy

new rules not law yet so banks just applying current standards just watch house of commons discussion yesterday on bbc parliament to see the horror show coming especially ffor Londoner's.

coypondboy

googler said:

coypondboy said:

Aprtment prices are about to be hit by the building safety bill now in the house of lords but will be law by end of March and come in 2013/14.  All flats will need to pass the PAS9980 and no one knows if any will so remediation/buildings ins bills will hit service charges hard with a 2 bed flat likely to double form 2.5k to 5k.  No one knows how this will affect prices but I would wait a couple of years to see what happens before buying as prices won't rise in the short term until all flats have this certificate.

Surely this only affects buildings with "cladding" ... ?

Stone-built, brick-built, and other similar constructions won't be affected, or will 'obviously' be classified as low-risk. 

just google pas 9980 and watch yesterday's debate by London MP's to see the horror show of leasehold flats and the new building safety bill going through parliament.

dodo1990

Hey @kaymee - Congratulations on your upcoming purchase and move. 

10 years London worker here and have lived (not owned) in various areas. The ones you mention are wildly different from one another and opinion of boroughs really comes down to personal preference. For me, Hampstead Heath is the least "London" like and feels suburban given how green and clean it is, with beautiful and very expensive properties to match. It would be my choice if I could afford it, but I like the outdoors and a bit more peace and quiet. It sounds like you want some hustle and bustle and to be well connected! Have you considered Southwark and further south on the Northern or Victoria Lines?  

Where will you be based for work? Ideally you want the least tube changes possible to get to and from work, it is hell during rush hour. For social purposes it's more bearable, so personally I would prioritise your most regular commute over your social life connections. 

Newnoel

Looks like you are timing your purchase well, with the government encouraging us all to return to the office.

London house prices have trailed the rest of the UK for the past 5 years. I can see the London market recovering over the short - medium term:
Buying a London house in 2022: impact of inflation, partygate, office return, Covid | Evening Standard 

kaymee

dodo1990 said:

Have you considered Southwark and further south on the Northern or Victoria Lines?  

Where will you be based for work? Ideally you want the least tube changes possible to get to and from work, it is hell during rush hour. For social purposes it's more bearable, so personally I would prioritise your most regular commute over your social life connections. 

@dodo 1990, thanks for the congrats, that made me feel like I’m already a homeowner, and gave me positive vibes about this process, and made me smile!

I had not considered Southwark, but mostly because I haven’t really seen properties pop up there while searching online. I work in the city (moorgate / bank), so feel like nine elms will be the perfect place for a direct line. That’s a very good point on prioritizing a direct line to work, I’ll take it onboard!

kaymee

Newnoel said:

Looks like you are timing your purchase well, with the government encouraging us all to return to the office.

London house prices have trailed the rest of the UK for the past 5 years. I can see the London market recovering over the short - medium term:
Buying a London house in 2022: impact of inflation, partygate, office return, Covid | Evening Standard 

Thanks for the link!