London - which area for a first flat?

London - which area for a first flat?

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fido

16,735 posts

254 months

Monday 3rd December 2012
quotequote all
housen said:
good luck in the hunt! nearly lost this one as it was a bit cheaper i made asking offer (originally 550k steal!) and some chinese student offered 25k more than me on the day ! so had to pay up
Buying property in 2012 - nearly getting outbid by a student! What's more depressing is that I paid not a lot more for a 4-bed house in the burbs! And they say we're not in a bubble ..

housen

2,366 posts

191 months

Monday 3rd December 2012
quotequote all
fido said:
housen said:
good luck in the hunt! nearly lost this one as it was a bit cheaper i made asking offer (originally 550k steal!) and some chinese student offered 25k more than me on the day ! so had to pay up
Buying property in 2012 - nearly getting outbid by a student! What's more depressing is that I paid not a lot more for a 4-bed house in the burbs! And they say we're not in a bubble ..
well it was her parents to be fair ...but still p1ssed me off for so many reasons

housen

2,366 posts

191 months

Monday 3rd December 2012
quotequote all
Gwagon111 said:
housen said:
thx very much im v happy


bermondsey street and borough market both top places
The Garrison, down Bermondsey street always used to do nice grub as well yes
yeah very! think do some of the best burgers ive tried in london

edit sorry i meant the woolpack but garrison very nice and just as busy



Edited by housen on Monday 3rd December 15:27

princeperch

7,905 posts

246 months

Monday 3rd December 2012
quotequote all
housen said:
http://www.baseps.co.uk/full-details?profileID=100...

well now that i have the keys and can show u my new property

you dont need to spend 700K

but u gotta be quick !!!
A very nice flat in a great location. I just hope the service charge doesn't make you cry!

housen

2,366 posts

191 months

Monday 3rd December 2012
quotequote all
princeperch said:
housen said:
http://www.baseps.co.uk/full-details?profileID=100...

well now that i have the keys and can show u my new property

you dont need to spend 700K

but u gotta be quick !!!
A very nice flat in a great location. I just hope the service charge doesn't make you cry!
it has already !!!

but they said it was coming down by 5-10 % next year and i also got in the sale 1 share of 12 of the freehold (35ish flats in block) ..so no ground rent and get to attend the AGM and discuss how the property is run...and most importantly i heard there is a dividend each year from the slush fund so i hope this will be a ok payment and cut my overall service charge to a nice level

princeperch

7,905 posts

246 months

Monday 3rd December 2012
quotequote all
I wouldn't bank on it coming down at all! Tbh the only way I justify it is I know my flat was a sound investment and this is simply a tax which I've got to pay. If I looked at the figures in any real depth I would probably explode, so I just stfu and pay it each month and try not to think about it..

housen

2,366 posts

191 months

Monday 3rd December 2012
quotequote all
princeperch said:
I wouldn't bank on it coming down at all! Tbh the only way I justify it is I know my flat was a sound investment and this is simply a tax which I've got to pay. If I looked at the figures in any real depth I would probably explode, so I just stfu and pay it each month and try not to think about it..
exactly the way i feel too ...it wasnt a deal breaker as it was the one for me

princeperch

7,905 posts

246 months

Monday 3rd December 2012
quotequote all
Anyway it's a good flat. I'm surprised it wasn't on for something starting with a 6 tbh so even though you got rumped by the student at the last minute (why were they still showing the flat when it was under offer?) I think you paid a fair price..

housen

2,366 posts

191 months

Monday 3rd December 2012
quotequote all
princeperch said:
Anyway it's a good flat. I'm surprised it wasn't on for something starting with a 6 tbh so even though you got rumped by the student at the last minute (why were they still showing the flat when it was under offer?) I think you paid a fair price..
absolutly !

i was close on paying 6 for a 1 bed round the corner cos i was getting very desperate

the chinese girl saw it same day as i did she was the only other person who saw it

croyde

22,641 posts

229 months

Monday 3rd December 2012
quotequote all
What the hell happened to China? Last time I looked everyone wore a green tunic and carried a red book. Loads of bicycles and we owned Hong Kong, I know 'cos I was there biggrin

996c2

470 posts

164 months

Sunday 9th December 2012
quotequote all
croyde said:
What the hell happened to China? Last time I looked everyone wore a green tunic and carried a red book. Loads of bicycles and we owned Hong Kong, I know 'cos I was there biggrin
We gave them a lot of papers with the Queen's picture on it in return for plastic stuffs that are now mostly in landfills.

They are now giving us our paper notes back in return for brick and mortar. Crafty lot the Chinese wink

wiffmaster

Original Poster:

2,600 posts

197 months

Monday 21st January 2013
quotequote all
Well it's taken a while, but offer accepted on one of these this afternoon. Not at that price, I hasten to add! Decent size, well specced and a nice street. Parking also included. Well chuffed, but not going to get too excited until exchange.

Thanks for everybody's help on this thread - gave me some good tips and helped narrow down search areas.

Cheers.

scenario8

6,548 posts

178 months

Monday 21st January 2013
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Congratulations and best of luck with it all. Very exciting for you, I bet.

princeperch

7,905 posts

246 months

Monday 21st January 2013
quotequote all
premium location that. very nice. I bet they were asking upwards of 30 grand for the parking spaces too..

wiffmaster

Original Poster:

2,600 posts

197 months

Monday 21st January 2013
quotequote all
scenario8 said:
Congratulations and best of luck with it all. Very exciting for you, I bet.
Cheers. Exciting yet nerve-wracking at the same time.

princeperch said:
premium location that. very nice. I bet they were asking upwards of 30 grand for the parking spaces too..
They were originally. Ten flats in total, two sold at around £825k (+£30k for parking). The rest didn't shift as they were pretty overpriced, so they were taken off the market over Autumn/Winter. Re-launched last weekend with a substantial reduction and parking included and two sold on the Saturday (one £30k above asking). Only five left now, so hopefully they'll go fairly quickly.

As an aside, London pricing is beyond depressing. It's painful to spend this sort of money for 925 ft², but location, location, location and all that. Conservation area and plenty of the stuff on that street is listed, so hopefully the area will hold its value.

princeperch

7,905 posts

246 months

Monday 21st January 2013
quotequote all
its not so much the pricing I found depressing when I was buying (although I wasnt looking in your price range smile ) it was the service charge - ...

eta: if you are buying this sort of flat as a trainee I look forward to seeing what you are shopping for when you qualify (and to joining your firm hopefully)

wiffmaster

Original Poster:

2,600 posts

197 months

Monday 21st January 2013
quotequote all
princeperch said:
its not so much the pricing I found depressing when I was buying (although I wasnt looking in your price range smile ) it was the service charge - ...

eta: if you are buying this sort of flat as a trainee I look forward to seeing what you are shopping for when you qualify (and to joining your firm hopefully)
Indeed. Service charge isn't too horrific on this one - £2125 and £350 ground rent. Better than some I've viewed...one was £5500.nono

jke11y

3,181 posts

236 months

Monday 21st January 2013
quotequote all
wiffmaster said:
Indeed. Service charge isn't too horrific on this one - £2125 and £350 ground rent. Better than some I've viewed...one was £5500.nono
About the same as our mansion block in W14. Only beef with ours is its only splittable over 2 payments which is annoying.

Through work I had cause to look at some apartments designed by the you-know-who brothers; 6600sq ft at £15.60 a sq.ft annual service charge (just under £100k/yr).

Irish

3,991 posts

238 months

Monday 21st January 2013
quotequote all
This is why I love a freehold house - no service charge.

jke11y

3,181 posts

236 months

Monday 21st January 2013
quotequote all
Irish said:
This is why I love a freehold house - no service charge.
We own a share of the freehold, but I guess when its apartments it's the only way to maintain gardens / pay for porters/ block insurance, over 00s of flats.