What’s wrong with this property

ReadySteadyPop

strawb_shortcake said:

ReadySteadyPop said:

Herzlos said:

Convenience of stuff is a huge deal and most of the reason property in cities is worth more. 

Being able to walk to a shop is much better than being able to order online. 

I would disagree, in what way do you think it is "better"? I have at least five major supermarkets/stores nearby, one is 24 hours plus all the small shops that sell booze, snacks etc and still find online more convenient One reason is that people`s stress levels are off the dial nowadays (is it the "debt for everything" life that many have adopted?) even a few minutes in a busy shop now is unpleasant (IMO) Trust me, having a Waitrose nearby isn`t going to get someone a silly price for their flat, a lender won`t care too much about that in this climate.

One of our strongest factors in moving is to have more shops and amenities in walking distance, I don't much care for online shopping, I want that human interaction.

In a shop full of self-service points and people glued to their phones you won`t get that human interaction, more chance of a meaningful chat with the delivery driver to be honest.  

ReadySteadyPop

Herzlos said:

ReadySteadyPop said:

Herzlos said:

Does that make North Finchley a shrewd investment, with the area being nicer once the redevelopment work is done?

I don't know if the sweet spot would be buying before people catch on, or during the work when it's disruptive. 

I'd also be somewhat wary about moving into a development that's not going to be finished for another 3 years, that's a lot of potential disruption too. 

I don`t think there will be a "sweet spot" to be honest, just more losses for unwary buyers and profit for the developer of course.

Of course there's a sweet spot. Everyone seems keen to find where the next up and coming area is before it's public knowledge. 

I know you believe all property is a downward trend of losses for buyers but reality doesn't agree with you. 

The reality is that a lot of flats were thrown up in London over the last few years and a lot of them are not selling, or are looking at sizeable losses, the OP is well aware of this though and probably isn`t influenced by attempts at positive spin.

ReadySteadyPop

GDB2222 said:

Herzlos said:

ReadySteadyPop said:

Are you saying this Waitrose is the only shop in the area? Fascinated that you think paying for an online delivery is a "pain", how do you arrive at that thinking after nearly 30 years of online deliveries where it is obviously massively popular? Groceries can be delivered in 20 minutes if you use the express delivery services and normal deliveries are 1 hour slots, people regularly wait far far longer for plumbers and other trades to arrive?

I'm saying this Waitrose is only a few minutes walk away - it's handy. I'm not talking about any other shops in the area. Being near a physical shop is a huge convience, seemingly to everyone but you. 

Online delivery is a pain. We use them fairly often, and you need to book a delivery slot, pay a basket charge, there's often a mimimum value and you dont get much control over replacements. It's definitely useful for pre-planned stuff but it's not convenient. 

How much does  20 minute grocery delivery cost? What if you only need a single onion? How is 20 minutes quicker than a 10 minute round trip to the shop on foot?

I’m sure YBE knows this, but there are simply masses of shops in the area. Just speaking from memory, there’s Sainsbury’s Waitrose and Lidl , as well as Argos and Poundland. 

As you would expect in many parts of London and in many cities elsewhere, the idea that someone will pay an extra 60k because they can see a Waitrose isn`t a viable idea, even if someone was this gullible they would quickly be dealt  a lesson in reality by their lender.

strawb_shortcake

ReadySteadyPop said:

strawb_shortcake said:

ReadySteadyPop said:

Herzlos said:

Convenience of stuff is a huge deal and most of the reason property in cities is worth more. 

Being able to walk to a shop is much better than being able to order online. 

I would disagree, in what way do you think it is "better"? I have at least five major supermarkets/stores nearby, one is 24 hours plus all the small shops that sell booze, snacks etc and still find online more convenient One reason is that people`s stress levels are off the dial nowadays (is it the "debt for everything" life that many have adopted?) even a few minutes in a busy shop now is unpleasant (IMO) Trust me, having a Waitrose nearby isn`t going to get someone a silly price for their flat, a lender won`t care too much about that in this climate.

One of our strongest factors in moving is to have more shops and amenities in walking distance, I don't much care for online shopping, I want that human interaction.

In a shop full of self-service points and people glued to their phones you won`t get that human interaction, more chance of a meaningful chat with the delivery driver to be honest.  

Perhaps you should spend more time outside than behind a screen and open that mind of yours. The areas I'm looking at have small independent shops, bakers, fruit and veg shop, butchers as well as cafes and pubs, as well as other community endeavours
It's not all about groceries and buying tat of amazon and temu.

ReadySteadyPop

strawb_shortcake said:

ReadySteadyPop said:

strawb_shortcake said:

ReadySteadyPop said:

Herzlos said:

Convenience of stuff is a huge deal and most of the reason property in cities is worth more. 

Being able to walk to a shop is much better than being able to order online. 

I would disagree, in what way do you think it is "better"? I have at least five major supermarkets/stores nearby, one is 24 hours plus all the small shops that sell booze, snacks etc and still find online more convenient One reason is that people`s stress levels are off the dial nowadays (is it the "debt for everything" life that many have adopted?) even a few minutes in a busy shop now is unpleasant (IMO) Trust me, having a Waitrose nearby isn`t going to get someone a silly price for their flat, a lender won`t care too much about that in this climate.

One of our strongest factors in moving is to have more shops and amenities in walking distance, I don't much care for online shopping, I want that human interaction.

In a shop full of self-service points and people glued to their phones you won`t get that human interaction, more chance of a meaningful chat with the delivery driver to be honest.  

Perhaps you should spend more time outside than behind a screen and open that mind of yours. The areas I'm looking at have small independent shops, bakers, fruit and veg shop, butchers as well as cafes and pubs, as well as other community endeavours
It's not all about groceries and buying tat of amazon and temu.

Many areas in nearly all cities have these things, the discussion was about being near a Waitrose as a major selling point, in London it clearly isn`t a major selling point because there are loads of unsold flats surrounded by shops, my further point was that "being near shops" has been much less of an issue in the last nearly 30 years because of the internet, and I find the fact that we are on the internet actually debating whether someone would overpay for a very basic quickly thrown up flat because it is near a Waitrose mildly bizarre.......

Tabieth

ReadySteadyPop said:

strawb_shortcake said:

ReadySteadyPop said:

strawb_shortcake said:

ReadySteadyPop said:

Herzlos said:

Convenience of stuff is a huge deal and most of the reason property in cities is worth more. 

Being able to walk to a shop is much better than being able to order online. 

I would disagree, in what way do you think it is "better"? I have at least five major supermarkets/stores nearby, one is 24 hours plus all the small shops that sell booze, snacks etc and still find online more convenient One reason is that people`s stress levels are off the dial nowadays (is it the "debt for everything" life that many have adopted?) even a few minutes in a busy shop now is unpleasant (IMO) Trust me, having a Waitrose nearby isn`t going to get someone a silly price for their flat, a lender won`t care too much about that in this climate.

One of our strongest factors in moving is to have more shops and amenities in walking distance, I don't much care for online shopping, I want that human interaction.

In a shop full of self-service points and people glued to their phones you won`t get that human interaction, more chance of a meaningful chat with the delivery driver to be honest.  

Perhaps you should spend more time outside than behind a screen and open that mind of yours. The areas I'm looking at have small independent shops, bakers, fruit and veg shop, butchers as well as cafes and pubs, as well as other community endeavours
It's not all about groceries and buying tat of amazon and temu.

Many areas in nearly all cities have these things, the discussion was about being near a Waitrose as a major selling point, in London it clearly isn`t a major selling point because there are loads of unsold flats surrounded by shops, my further point was that "being near shops" has been much less of an issue in the last nearly 30 years because of the internet, and I find the fact that we are on the internet actually debating whether someone would overpay for a very basic quickly thrown up flat because it is near a Waitrose mildly bizarre.......

Yes, many areas have these things and many don’t. I live in a city and my area has independent shops, fishmongers, artisan bakeries, etc.. Other parts of the city don’t. Having access to these things is importantly to me which is why I bought in a “good” area, rather than a bigger property in a less desirable area. Its location, location, location. And I suspect (but don’t know) that Waitrose was being used as a bit of a short hand for all of that in many of the replies. It’s not being near shops per se (something that’s true in many areas), it’s being near “nice” shops. (Of course that doesn’t mean all properties in a nice area are good buys, that would be silly and over simplistic. Just that the one thing that can’t be changes about a property is its location). 

Saying all that, I’m very online and I do online supermarket shopping regularly. But being able to nip around the corner to buy something I’ve forgotten is importantly to me.  It’s one reason I’d never live in a very rural area. 

Herzlos

Tabieth said:

And I suspect (but don’t know) that Waitrose was being used as a bit of a short hand for all of that in many of the replies.

In this case it's literally about a Waitrose. Someone said about 4 pages back that the flat Ybe was looking at was "really handy for the big Waitrose", and RSP has been trying to claim that being near a shop isn't an important factor for anyone.  Whilst he doesn't seem to value his time, a lot of people pay a lot of money for convenience.

I'm in the same boat of using online delivery for the bulk of my stuff but being able to nip acrross the road to grab something you've forgotten is brilliant. I'd certainly pay a bit more to live within a short walk of a 'big shop' though I'm on an Aldi budget rather than Waitrose. When I lived in the city it was great being able to pop into a shop on the walk home and buy whatever I fancied for dinner that night fresh, but I was never big on meal prep or planning. I probably nip over to the big shop twice a week currently. 

ReadySteadyPop

Herzlos said:

Tabieth said:

And I suspect (but don’t know) that Waitrose was being used as a bit of a short hand for all of that in many of the replies.

In this case it's literally about a Waitrose. Someone said about 4 pages back that the flat Ybe was looking at was .  Whilst he doesn't seem 

"really handy for the big Waitrose", and RSP has been trying to claim that being near a shop isn't an important factor for anyone

to value his time, a lot of people pay a lot of money for convenience.

I'm in the same boat of using online delivery for the bulk of my stuff but being able to nip acrross the road to grab something you've forgotten is brilliant. I'd certainly pay a bit more to live within a short walk of a 'big shop' though I'm on an Aldi budget rather than Waitrose. When I lived in the city it was great being able to pop into a shop on the walk home and buy whatever I fancied for dinner that night fresh, but I was never big on meal prep or planning. I probably nip over to the big shop twice a week currently. 

I am claiming that being near a Waitrose in central London won`t help sell overpriced new-build flats, I suspect most people get this.

ReadySteadyPop

Tabieth said:

ReadySteadyPop said:

strawb_shortcake said:

ReadySteadyPop said:

strawb_shortcake said:

ReadySteadyPop said:

Herzlos said:

Convenience of stuff is a huge deal and most of the reason property in cities is worth more. 

Being able to walk to a shop is much better than being able to order online. 

I would disagree, in what way do you think it is "better"? I have at least five major supermarkets/stores nearby, one is 24 hours plus all the small shops that sell booze, snacks etc and still find online more convenient One reason is that people`s stress levels are off the dial nowadays (is it the "debt for everything" life that many have adopted?) even a few minutes in a busy shop now is unpleasant (IMO) Trust me, having a Waitrose nearby isn`t going to get someone a silly price for their flat, a lender won`t care too much about that in this climate.

One of our strongest factors in moving is to have more shops and amenities in walking distance, I don't much care for online shopping, I want that human interaction.

In a shop full of self-service points and people glued to their phones you won`t get that human interaction, more chance of a meaningful chat with the delivery driver to be honest.  

Perhaps you should spend more time outside than behind a screen and open that mind of yours. The areas I'm looking at have small independent shops, bakers, fruit and veg shop, butchers as well as cafes and pubs, as well as other community endeavours
It's not all about groceries and buying tat of amazon and temu.

Many areas in nearly all cities have these things, the discussion was about being near a Waitrose as a major selling point, in London it clearly isn`t a major selling point because there are loads of unsold flats surrounded by shops, my further point was that "being near shops" has been much less of an issue in the last nearly 30 years because of the internet, and I find the fact that we are on the internet actually debating whether someone would overpay for a very basic quickly thrown up flat because it is near a Waitrose mildly bizarre.......

Yes, many areas have these things and many don’t. I live in a city and my area has independent shops, fishmongers, artisan bakeries, etc.. Other parts of the city don’t. Having access to these things is importantly to me which is why I bought in a “good” area, rather than a bigger property in a less desirable area. Its location, location, location. And I suspect (but don’t know) that Waitrose was being used as a bit of a short hand for all of that in many of the replies. It’s not being near shops per se (something that’s true in many areas), it’s being near “nice” shops. (Of course that doesn’t mean all properties in a nice area are good buys, that would be silly and over simplistic. Just that the one thing that can’t be changes about a property is its location). 

Saying all that, I’m very online and I do online supermarket shopping regularly. But being able to nip around the corner to buy something I’ve forgotten is importantly to me.  It’s one reason I’d never live in a very rural area. 

That is being too generous, my take is that some people find it hard to acknowledge that these flats are not in demand at all, the 400k one that I thought was laughable overpriced  (250k would be too much) has already trimmed 75k off it`s asking price, the problem is there were just too many of these developments thrown up over the last few years hoping to cash in on the cheap credit and immigration boom, the OP luckily is quite aware and doesn`t seem easily influenced by advice that these flats are a good buy because they have a shop in the street.

GDB2222

Tabieth said:

ReadySteadyPop said:

strawb_shortcake said:

ReadySteadyPop said:

strawb_shortcake said:

ReadySteadyPop said:

Herzlos said:

Convenience of stuff is a huge deal and most of the reason property in cities is worth more. 

Being able to walk to a shop is much better than being able to order online. 

I would disagree, in what way do you think it is "better"? I have at least five major supermarkets/stores nearby, one is 24 hours plus all the small shops that sell booze, snacks etc and still find online more convenient One reason is that people`s stress levels are off the dial nowadays (is it the "debt for everything" life that many have adopted?) even a few minutes in a busy shop now is unpleasant (IMO) Trust me, having a Waitrose nearby isn`t going to get someone a silly price for their flat, a lender won`t care too much about that in this climate.

One of our strongest factors in moving is to have more shops and amenities in walking distance, I don't much care for online shopping, I want that human interaction.

In a shop full of self-service points and people glued to their phones you won`t get that human interaction, more chance of a meaningful chat with the delivery driver to be honest.  

Perhaps you should spend more time outside than behind a screen and open that mind of yours. The areas I'm looking at have small independent shops, bakers, fruit and veg shop, butchers as well as cafes and pubs, as well as other community endeavours
It's not all about groceries and buying tat of amazon and temu.

Many areas in nearly all cities have these things, the discussion was about being near a Waitrose as a major selling point, in London it clearly isn`t a major selling point because there are loads of unsold flats surrounded by shops, my further point was that "being near shops" has been much less of an issue in the last nearly 30 years because of the internet, and I find the fact that we are on the internet actually debating whether someone would overpay for a very basic quickly thrown up flat because it is near a Waitrose mildly bizarre.......

Yes, many areas have these things and many don’t. I live in a city and my area has independent shops, fishmongers, artisan bakeries, etc.. Other parts of the city don’t. Having access to these things is importantly to me which is why I bought in a “good” area, rather than a bigger property in a less desirable area. Its location, location, location. And I suspect (but don’t know) that Waitrose was being used as a bit of a short hand for all of that in many of the replies. It’s not being near shops per se (something that’s true in many areas), it’s being near “nice” shops. (Of course that doesn’t mean all properties in a nice area are good buys, that would be silly and over simplistic. Just that the one thing that can’t be changes about a property is its location). 

Saying all that, I’m very online and I do online supermarket shopping regularly. But being able to nip around the corner to buy something I’ve forgotten is importantly to me.  It’s one reason I’d never live in a very rural area. 

Just to clarify, the proximity to Waitrose of a different flat had been raised earlier on in this thread. I just noted that the Tramworks development is near Waitrose as a light-hearted comment. It seems to have taken on an awful lot of significance since then.