Should I keep looking for my forever home?

stamford5957

Took early retirement and divorced a couple of years ago and sold house in North London at the end of March.  Currently renting a lovely 1970s huge 2bed 2bath flat (total floor area of nearly 950 sq feet) for 12 months in a beautiful part of Hertfordshire to make my base while looking for my forever home in surrounding areas. 

There are 6 seperate blocks which are 3 floors high (I'm on the 1st floor) with 3 flats on each floor so very quiet. Well nearly one month into my tenancy a flat in my block which went on the market at the end of February has just been reduced by £20K and after viewing I'm tempted to put in an offer.  The only thing I'd have to do is decorate to my taste and change carpets in lounge and bedrooms (bathrooms and kitchen have just been refitted and a combi boiler installed two years ago).  All the flats have a share of the freehold with reasonable service charges and there is no ground rent.  It has its own garage and plenty of free parking spaces on the premises.

I've already paid my 2022/2023 council tax for where I'm renting so what I'm asking is as there is no break clause in my tenancy agreement where would I stand on the council tax situation if I purchased the flat and didn't move in for a while...or would it be better to break my tenancy agreement say if I still had six months left on it whilst the sale went through (but I think it would be quick as I'm a cash buyer and there is no upper chain with the flat). 

Or...should I keep looking for my forever home???

Thanks

lookstraightahead

I would do whatever suits you now. Who knows where will be for ever? I bought my forever home in about 1996 and I've moved so many times since then with my idea of forever and life getting in the way 😂. Sounds like a lovely apartment - I rented one like that and loved living there. 

p00hsticks

stamford5957 said:

what I'm asking is as there is no break clause in my tenancy agreement where would I stand on the council tax situation if I purchased the flat and didn't move in for a while...

Check with the local council.

You'd become liable for council tax on your new property as soon as you buy it, even if you don't move in. Your council may offer a reduction for a short period if it is empty and unfurnished, but I'm not sure such reductions are that common now.

As far as your existing property is concerned, you'll be liable for the period you live there and (I think) up to the end of your tenancy agreement even if you move out, unless the landlord finds someone else to move in and is therefore prepared to terminate the agreement early

GDB2222

If your landlord is reasonable, you can probably negotiate an exit from your lease. You would have to pay the landlord’s costs, such as estate agent fees.  

If you like the flat, and see yourself living there happily, why would you keep looking for something else?

GDB2222

If you are planning a forever home, which floor is the flat on, and is there a lift?

Sistergold

This flat sounds ideal for you in your description? Was your idea of forever home going to be a flat? 

Council tax and paying it for two places for a while should not be what stops you from buying this flat if it’s a good opportunity and meets your requirements. 

Being a cash buyer does not mean the process will be quick or has to be quick. If you should make an offer you can let the buying process take as long as any other buyer by insisting on surveys, searches, answering and responding at normal speed and also saying when you want to exchange. So don’t be rushed just because you are a cash buyer and don’t skip checks just because you are a cash buyer. Also let your solicitor be thorough aswell. In truth getting a mortgage is not what delays the process but the due diligence the lender insists on that is the conveyancing is what should/does take time. 

When I was buying I did tell my solicitor not to let my file jump to the top of her pile every time she saw it  as I needed the process to not rush too much. Found the house in February and needed to move nearer the start of the summer holidays. I was also like you renting after divorce so no chain and so at the bottom of the chain. I did not want to have months and months of overlap. In the end we completed first week of July and we moved in end of August so paid for 2 places for 2 months. 

This also gave me a chance to renovate the house without staying in it. 

TripleH

I genuinely believe you don't buy a forever home. I believe you buy a property to suit your lifestyle and situation and whilst you live there it either does or doesn't become a forever home.

We bought our home as we desperately wanted a stable base but in the 6 months we've lived here, we've moulded it into a long-term home. It's not a forever home because it's too big for that but suits our current lifestyle.

I worry people who seek out a forever home often find the reality is quite different.

elsien

What’s the difference between your flat, which seems to suit you right now, and whatever you have in your head for your forever home? 

Rosa_Damascena

elsien said:

What’s the difference between your flat, which seems to suit you right now, and whatever you have in your head for your forever home? 

Renting and buying?

stamford5957

Thank you all for you replies... they've been most useful.

I'm in my mid 60s...so I think this will be my last move.  We sold our house (due to divorce) after living there for over 28 years.

I've never lived in a flat before and the main reason for trying flat living was that I didn't want a garden (there is a lovely communial garden and I'm within walking distance of 2 parks) and for security reasons for when I start going on holidays again - a place I could lock up and leave without worrying too much as the blocks are very secure.  The flat I've viewed is in fact just across the hall from me so also on the first floor and is empty.

I think I'll test the water and make an offer.

lookstraightahead

How exciting op - honestly I just loved living in a flat especially from a safety perspective if it's just you. When we rented ours there were six flats - an elderly couple, two mid age couples, an older single, a younger single and a family with two little ones. They were big flats and were perfect. The only reasons we moved was to buy (and there were none for sale) and we wanted an old house to do up (we moved areas).