Why is Manchester City Centre on Rightmove FULL of investor only flats OR unmortgageable/cash only.

SavingPennies_2

IAMIAM said:

p00hsticks said:

Residences in city centres generally tend to come with high service charges and no parking - I can;t see why you;d expect Manchester to be an exception. If you want parking, go further out.

Correct. This never used to be the case though. You now find a 1 bed costing 250k and a 2 bed costing 350k+
Parking additional 25k (which is always used by someone else!!) and service charges now hitting £300 a month.
Oh Well.

Which comes back to the question of why are you set on the city centre? As I and other posters have alluded to, you can get something cheaper with parking just outside the city with a very short commute by train or tram, as Manchester has excellent transport links (yes strikes and all that aside). Even in the most desirable areas like Didsbury, Chorlton, Sale, Urmston etc you could get a 1 bed with parking for under 200k and have the train/tram on your doorstep. For 350k you might stretch to a 3 bed semi. 

Sunsaru

I'd go as far as saying there are a lot of decent places outside the ring road where you can get more for your money. Where I live you can be in the centre of Manchester in 15 mins yet get a 3 bed semi for the prices you're looking at.

user1977

SavingPennies_2 said:

IAMIAM said:

p00hsticks said:

Residences in city centres generally tend to come with high service charges and no parking - I can;t see why you;d expect Manchester to be an exception. If you want parking, go further out.

Correct. This never used to be the case though. You now find a 1 bed costing 250k and a 2 bed costing 350k+
Parking additional 25k (which is always used by someone else!!) and service charges now hitting £300 a month.
Oh Well.

Which comes back to the question of why are you set on the city centre?

Quite. I'm not sure what the rant is about? OP, do you think there are other city centre properties available which aren't on Rightmove?

kingstreet

IAMIAM said:

Where are all the owner occupier flats with parking or buyers who actually work and live in the city?

Its now either...

Cash Only/Poor Cladding Rating/Cant shift the apartment/Short Lease/Massive Service Charge
OR
Investor Only. Rental Income Guaranteed for 5/10 years. Cant sublet. Cant owner occupier live in. Service Charge £4k minimum. 

So I presume everyone just rents now, paying £1.5k (it seems) per month for a 1 bed that you cant view or with no parking and a shower over a toilet practically!!!

Rant Over

As the owner-occupancy rate is so low, mortgage lenders shy away from residential lending. It's a 'Catch-22.'

SavingPennies_2

I'm confused too, I can find city centre flats on Rightmove for sale as "normal" purchases so they are out there. Likewise there are plenty of options beyond the city centre (as covered). I think city centre living is a certain lifestyle which I assume is why you are looking there, and part of that is why the flats have huge fees, aren't they paying for things like gyms and concierge? They look to me a bit like living in a hotel, the more expensive ones at least.

You sound quite frustrated and fed up OP when actually you sound like you are in a good position, so keep looking and maybe widen your search area!

Edited to add, I've worked in the city centre for many years and it's never occurred to me to live there, I don't have any colleagues that live there either, though obviously many other people live there given all the high rises that have gone up in the last decade. As someone says below, it's not like London, and Manchester is a "small" city, if you are not living in Manchester at the moment I recommend researching other locations to buy or rent.

Countrysider

IAMIAM said:

Where are all the owner occupier flats with parking or buyers who actually work and live in the city?

Manchester isn't London. 

The majority of professional people in Manchester rent in the city centre for a couple of years, meet their partner, then move to South Manchester. It's so common it's almost comical.

In contrast to London, there isn't the same established inner city gentrified neighbourhoods of owner occupiers in Manchester. 

Manchester and Salford city centre flats appeal to investors because they seem cheap (when they compare to London) and they assume that there's long term capital growth and a desire to live centrally long term. Both these assumptions are wrong in my experience. 

Sarah1Mitty2

Countrysider said:

IAMIAM said:

Where are all the owner occupier flats with parking or buyers who actually work and live in the city?

Manchester isn't London. 

The majority of professional people in Manchester rent in the city centre for a couple of years, meet their partner, then move to South Manchester. It's so common it's almost comical.

In contrast to London, there isn't the same established inner city gentrified neighbourhoods of owner occupiers in Manchester. 

Manchester and Salford city centre flats appeal to investors because they seem cheap (when they compare to London) and they assume that there's long term capital growth and a desire to live centrally long term. Both these assumptions are wrong in my experience. 

Yes, the assumptions are wrong, and costly if you bought these properties as BTL.

Sarah1Mitty2

SavingPennies_2 said:

I'm confused too, I can find city centre flats on Rightmove for sale as "normal" purchases so they are out there. Likewise there are plenty of options beyond the city centre (as covered). I think city centre living is a certain lifestyle which I assume is why you are looking there, and part of that is why the flats have huge fees, aren't they paying for things like gyms and concierge? They look to me a bit like living in a hotel, the more expensive ones at least.

You sound quite frustrated and fed up OP when actually you sound like you are in a good position, so keep looking and maybe widen your search area!

Edited to add, I've worked in the city centre for many years and it's never occurred to me to live there, I don't have any colleagues that live there either, though obviously many other people live there given all the high rises that have gone up in the last decade. As someone says below, it's not like London, and Manchester is a "small" city, if you are not living in Manchester at the moment I recommend researching other locations to buy or rent.

What locations would you recommend?

SavingPennies_2

Sarah1Mitty2 said:

SavingPennies_2 said:

I'm confused too, I can find city centre flats on Rightmove for sale as "normal" purchases so they are out there. Likewise there are plenty of options beyond the city centre (as covered). I think city centre living is a certain lifestyle which I assume is why you are looking there, and part of that is why the flats have huge fees, aren't they paying for things like gyms and concierge? They look to me a bit like living in a hotel, the more expensive ones at least.

You sound quite frustrated and fed up OP when actually you sound like you are in a good position, so keep looking and maybe widen your search area!

Edited to add, I've worked in the city centre for many years and it's never occurred to me to live there, I don't have any colleagues that live there either, though obviously many other people live there given all the high rises that have gone up in the last decade. As someone says below, it's not like London, and Manchester is a "small" city, if you are not living in Manchester at the moment I recommend researching other locations to buy or rent.

What locations would you recommend?

I was more recommending the OP looks at areas other than the city centre in general as I get the impression they are not currently living in Manchester.

Different people will recommend different areas depending on preference and budgets. I can only comment on areas I like/ am familiar with. For nice areas close to the city centre and within a short train or tram commute I'd look at the areas of South Manchester / Trafford already mentioned by me and other posters above. If the OP finds any specific flats or areas they are interested in and asked for more info on here I and I'm sure others would be happy to comment. 

dimbo61

Well top of the list is Hale/Altrincham  and Maybe Chorlton and Didsbury but can be expensive as trendy.
Above fast tram line into the city but I have never caught the tram into the city in the rush hour.
No underground in Manchester.
Maybe Tram line will run out to Levenshulme and Stockport