OH MY, The Most Stunning Beautiful Property

moggylover

matt99b wrote: »

Thanks for that - I'm doing that now.. is this the best place to do it? http://www.landsearch.net/services.asp

No! Direct on Land Registry site. Just google Land Registry - and then click on their site - much the cheapest and most direct way.

grey_lady

Marvelous thread, carry on Captin Mainwaring.

moggylover

Captain Mainwaring - I think you are a lovely big softie under all that grouch! And as for you being rude - the OP was not exactly sweet either!

How would you like to come and sort out my portfolio for me? lol

matt99b

moggylover wrote: »

But then, they would not have the kind of salaries they have now either!

Yes we would - the salaries with our companies has only gone up with normal inflation since those days. Our positions would have been paid more or less the same.

matt99b

moggylover wrote: »

No! Direct on Land Registry site. Just google Land Registry - and then click on their site - much the cheapest and most direct way.

thanks for the advice, already done that

Lakey

I am no. 1 fan of Capt. Mainwaring.

Grumpy and prickly on the outside but methinks, like yourself, softie and fluffy on the inside. Blue fluffy mind you not pink.

Would you like to be Capts. no. 2 fan??

matt99b

moggylover wrote: »

But that is not where first time buyers start! Not in the real World - and not 30 years ago when I started out, and not even before that!

One starts at the bottom and works up - THAT is why it is a property ladder - lol.:rolleyes:

We will either save £15,000 or 20,000 more over the next 2 years and get something better, or go for this one probably. We've looked at hundreds of other properties, like freehold houses with gardens, but area-wise they aren't as nice, they don't feel as safe in terms of community, and they aren't as nice inside. It's a big decision and there are pro's and con's for all the houses we've looked at. If we go with our heart it'll be this one. It's a home after all.

But re: the property ladder you mentioned- we can't see how we could climb the property ladder to be honest. We want our mortgage payments to go down and finish asap, rather than stay the same or go up. And we sadly can't see our salaries getting any higher. So we're unlikely to "climb" the property ladder.

ohyespleasethankyou

I'm new round here but supposed to be revising so thought read all of this thread instead...
Obviously it is your choice but here's my tuppence:
Leasehold is usual for flats as has been said. I would suggest you make sure your solicitor is 100% used to dealing with leases. Leases make house purchases ten times more complicated. I lived in a Share of Freehold flat and we had even more trouble when selling as their solicitor (quite rightly) was asking who dealt with all the paperwork to do with the lease, when were the common parts sorted out and by whom, why was this clause in there etc. In the end we found our freeehold wasn't actually owned by us as there was a !!!!-up when registering it. Saying that, there shouldn't be a big problem as long as your Sol is good.
Living above a shop, hhmmm. If, as you say, this is to be your 'home' for the forseeable I would question whether you will be as happy as you say. What happens if you have kids - dragging a buggy up stairs to a gardenless flat will quickly lose its appeal. If the area seems quiet what happens if the shop goes out of business? A boarded-up shop isnt very nice below. Noise from the early start and noise/smell from chippy as has been said. You need to hang around there at 4am and 11pm to see the real side of shop life in action. I still cringe at the memory of the horrendous clatter that the steel shutters of the bakery next door to my flat in Tottenham used to make in the dead of the night.
I know money is a factor but I would NEVER go back to living in a flat (even if it has no 'neighbours' as such - getting a 'proper' house - even a small one - will feel much more homely. Flats above shops are generally grim - yours might be OK but what about the others?
Flat roofs, big extractor fans to look at...
All the property shows warn against falling in love with a property. We all do it and, when we see the light and move on to something else, can hopefully look back and shudder with the reality of what we could have bought.
Sit on your hands and wait til the right place comes along.
This aint it.

Captain_Mainwaring_2

matt99b wrote: »

We will either save £15,000 or 20,000 more over the next 2 years and get something better, or go for this one probably. We've looked at hundreds of other properties, like freehold houses with gardens, but area-wise they aren't as nice, they don't feel as safe in terms of community, and they aren't as nice inside. It's a big decision and there are pro's and con's for all the houses we've looked at. If we go with our heart it'll be this one. It's a home after all.

But re: the property ladder you mentioned- we can't see how we could climb the property ladder to be honest. We want our mortgage payments to go down and finish asap, rather than stay the same or go up. And we sadly can't see our salaries getting any higher. So we're unlikely to "climb" the property ladder.

Save as much as you can for about 12-16 months time, maybe less if the rates go up as I expect.

If you do have a go at the flat, read the leases 3 times and then get a lawyer to go through them with you, after you have done that then make a silly bid and see what you mortgage payments would look like if the interest rates rise 4%, if you can still afford it, you could be onto a good thing.

I would offer tops 147K5.

tbs624

Useful info here: https://www.lease-advice.org