Overpaying for property in 2021?

1980John1980

I bought my first flat in Summer 2021 during the stamp duty holiday in Kentish Town, London. I paid the asking price which was verified by a RICS home buyer report (Survey level 2 valuation). Nearly a year on, I have been looking at other comparable properties that transacted around the same time and I am starting to worry I over paid by c10%.

I did my research at the time and thought it was a fair price, but now I am worried. 

I understand if the market goes up/ down that is out of my control. But I am worried I overpaid relative to comparable properties and will therefore take a hit if I come to sell it/ trade up. 

How reliable is the home buyers report and am I worrying over nothing?

thanks

SavingPennies_2

Well there's not much you can do about it now so there's little point in worrying! You were happy with the price at the time and if you are happy with the house then forget about the value, enjoy your home and if you can/ want to then overpay on the mortgage to mitigate any potential losses if/ when you come to sell.

diego_94

No point worrying about this now, its too late

Schwarzwald

It’s less than 12 months. Unless you are already planning to sell, what is the relevance of the house prices right now?
why worry?

Enjoy the flat now, look at the house prices when you actually consider selling.

Otherwise, get the flat valued by some EAs, they probably better positioned to take a view than judging by some online sales figures

1980John1980

Thanks all. For context, the flat below is occupied by a smoker and smoke comes into the flat. I have spoken to them about it and they were understanding and the issue is less bad than it was, but still unpleasant.

hence the reason for looking. I am unlikely to move due to transaction costs, but am considering my options. 

We never noticed the smell when we viewed the property on 3 occasions, as we had to wear face masks at the time!

GDB2222

You are entitled to a reasonably accurate valuation from the surveyor. That’s what you pay him for. And, it’s by no means too late to sue.

However, valuation is not an exact science, and the courts tend to regard a margin of error of 10% as acceptable. In other words, your valuation may pass the test of being reasonably accurate, even though it’s not completely accurate. 

I think that the 10% margin is more of a rule of thumb than a hard and fast percentage. So, it would also depend on how straightforward your flat was to value.

propertyhunter

This was in the news today:
https://news.sky.com/story/average-house-price-hits-a-new-record-according-to-rightmove-12598515

So if you think you overpaid back in 2021, think about people buying today. I bought a house this year knowing it was about £50-60k overpriced with the offer I put forward and had accepted. 

In your situation, anyone could have overlooked the smoking from downstairs. All it takes is the windows to be closed and a half decent room fragrance. It's one of those things you have to accept in a flat in some blocks.

scottishblondie

Honestly at this point there is no point in torturing yourself wondering about it.  You haven't lost anything until you sell up, so I would focus on enjoying your home.  Regarding the smoke ingress, you might want to look at how you can mitigate that if it's bad enough to make you think about selling up.  Is it a conversion or a purpose built block?

knightstyle

Would you stay if there was no smoker below?  If so consider positive ventilation then no smoke will come into the flat.

Sistergold

How about redoing your floors in such a way that it’s completely sealed so that no smoke can come in? For example, thin plywood, then thick building plastic or rubber then carpet underlay then carpet? I would not sell because of smell from flat below. Or is it through windows? In which case don’t open windows when the person is smoking. Overpaying your mortgage is a good idea to further improve loan to value. Most of us overpaid and it will work out if you stay long enough. Try to persevere. 

raygcon

I wouldn't worry too much if I'm you. Not only because it's too late and you should be happy with your flat. But also the flat market is a bit different than the rest. I sold my flat last year for 450k, a year passed my neighbour put it on the market for the same price ( and still doesn't sell after 3 months ), as flat price is stagnant so there is almost no growth ,at least in my area. Did my buyer overpaid for my flat? I don't think so. I only made 10k profit ( and that doesn't even take into account stamp duty and legal fee ) after 4 years of living there. It is what it is.

Now if you buy a house and there is no price rise in the area at all after a year of buoyant, then that's overpaid for sure.