mikeyb10supra Posted September 5, 2005 Share Posted September 5, 2005 I know boring post im a first time buyer and have seen a lovely flat with a veiw to buy I wondered if a lot of places are over priced.....a freind of mine has said offer a considerable amount less than the asking price because houses are not really selling at the moment and its a buyers market.....I dont know how true this rings, he has said offer 15k less than the asking price, I dont want the guy who ows the flat to laugh it off though, but I guess you can always up it, where as if you start high you cant drop it. Any veiws welcome Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Harwood Posted September 5, 2005 Share Posted September 5, 2005 Always worth a try, the vendor can only say no. We offered 10 thousand less on the bungalow we're buying and they accepted (originally offered 15k below but they rejected that). Chantelle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Posted September 5, 2005 Share Posted September 5, 2005 10% off the asking price is usually a good start. People overprice the houses hoping someone is silly enough to pay... The market seems to be reducing the cost of the average house by .25% per month. Which means thousands are coming off...since the peak. It is a buyers market and first timers are the ideal buyers doe to there not being a chain. So you can use "fast competion" as your haggling angle. You won't lose anything for going in too low. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
how_supra Posted September 5, 2005 Share Posted September 5, 2005 Interesting. I want a one bedroom flat, and they seem to start at 100k in my area. I'm only allowed to spend 90! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveRex Posted September 5, 2005 Share Posted September 5, 2005 you know what to do then !! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
how_supra Posted September 5, 2005 Share Posted September 5, 2005 Yep already been on the phone this morning......... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aerotop Dave Posted September 5, 2005 Share Posted September 5, 2005 im a first time buyer and have seen a lovely flat with a veiw to buy I wondered if a lot of places are over priced.....a freind of mine has said offer a considerable amount less than the asking price because houses are not really selling at the moment... Yes, but two key words there - flat and house. There is no hard and fast rule that says ALL houses and flats aren't selling. A seven bedroom mini-mansion takes longer to sell than a buy-to-rent flat, simply because the market for the mini-mansion is smaller. And that's before we get to the issue of location - just because houses aren't selling in Newcastle doesn't mean they aren't selling in Brighton. And just because a four bedroom house next to a school in one part of Brighton sells quickly doesn't mean a two bedroom flat next to a gasworks on the other side of town will also sell quickly. Stories of houses not selling needs to take into account exactly what is being sold and where it is. Flats generally sell quickly as they appeal to first time buyers and buy-to-rent-ers. And they get lots of viewings... and lots of offers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
how_supra Posted September 5, 2005 Share Posted September 5, 2005 There seem to be loads of flats for sale in my area and have been for sale for quite some time. I don't know, but as a first time buyer I am put off by the ridiculous prices - namely 90k for a small studio flat on the 7th floor etc etc - leasehold as well. As some of these flats have been up for sale for quite some time [a couple of months a lot of them], I think its worth a try offering less than the asking price, as you can't lose anything. But you make a fair point! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toyotasuprauk Posted September 5, 2005 Share Posted September 5, 2005 Always offer less and pretend to be not that interested. We got our maisonette as first time buyers in May for 5% less than asking price which was already really cheap well in comparison to others, so we were happy. Its totally a buyers market. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aerotop Dave Posted September 5, 2005 Share Posted September 5, 2005 There seem to be loads of flats for sale in my area and have been for sale for quite some time. I don't know, but as a first time buyer I am put off by the ridiculous prices - namely 90k for a small studio flat on the 7th floor etc etc - leasehold as well. Well, most flats are leasehold matey because you can't buy the land they sit on! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
how_supra Posted September 5, 2005 Share Posted September 5, 2005 Well, most flats are leasehold matey because you can't buy the land they sit on! everythings poo!! I wanna house! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aerotop Dave Posted September 5, 2005 Share Posted September 5, 2005 hehe Don't be put off by leasehold matey, there's really nothing wrong with them, and like I said, most flats are leasehold anyway. When you buy a house you are actually buying the land and anything sitting on it. With a flat you can't buy the land because you share it with other flats, so you effectively buy a right to live in the flat and then rent the ground (which is usually a stupidly trivial amount, I think mine used to be something like 29p a day). So it's actually more difficult to find a flat that isn't leasehold. Mortgage lenders won't be put off by it being a leasehold property. From your point of view (and your solicitors) there's more to it than a house because there's ground rent and a maintenance charge, and so the leasehold agreement is usually a fairly weighty document that has loads of clauses and stuff in it that need careful review (mine had stuff like how loud my fridge was allowed to be in decibels, for example, and stuff about not having wooden floors), but it isn't more complicated to get a mortgage on a leasehold than it is on a freehold. The only thing you have to watch out for is the length of the lease. Typically they are 99, 125 or 999 years. Anything 60 years or less you will struggle to get a mortgage for. And always take into account how much the maintenance charge is and add it into your mortgage calculations for how much you can afford each month. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
how_supra Posted September 5, 2005 Share Posted September 5, 2005 hehe Don't be put off by leasehold matey, there's really nothing wrong with them, and like I said, most flats are leasehold anyway. When you buy a house you are actually buying the land and anything sitting on it. With a flat you can't buy the land because you share it with other flats, so you effectively buy a right to live in the flat and then rent the ground (which is usually a stupidly trivial amount, I think mine used to be something like 29p a day). So it's actually more difficult to find a flat that isn't leasehold. Mortgage lenders won't be put off by it being a leasehold property. From your point of view (and your solicitors) there's more to it than a house because there's ground rent and a maintenance charge, and so the leasehold agreement is usually a fairly weighty document that has loads of clauses and stuff in it that need careful review (mine had stuff like how loud my fridge was allowed to be in decibels, for example, and stuff about not having wooden floors), but it isn't more complicated to get a mortgage on a leasehold than it is on a freehold. The only thing you have to watch out for is the length of the lease. Typically they are 99, 125 or 999 years. Anything 60 years or less you will struggle to get a mortgage for. And always take into account how much the maintenance charge is and add it into your mortgage calculations for how much you can afford each month. TBH the leasething doesn't bother me too much. I already have done some research on leasehold, and you have just confirmed what I have read. I suppose the way to view it, is as a first time buyer I wouldn't be looking to own my own property, just looking to get the foot on the ladder. My issue is with how much property costs nowadays. It may be a buyers market, but its not a first time buyers market, unless you have a lumpy deposit and a huge salary and no uni debts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terribleturner Posted September 5, 2005 Share Posted September 5, 2005 Didn't i say Sabrina you can knock the price down. I just need to find somewhere with a garage in my price range and i'll be laughing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dash Rendar Posted September 5, 2005 Share Posted September 5, 2005 Aerotop Dave has some good advice! We recently bought the freehold on our flat. Well, more precisely, we bought a share of the freehold by forming a company with the other flat owners. (It's called leasehold enfranchisement.) What a pain in the arse that was. The advantage of buying the freehold is that you can then write yourself a new lease... Which is what we did! Of course, barely months after buying the freehold we decided to sell up and we only just exchanged this weekend! So we're moving in a week!! Woohoo! Definitely worth offering 10% less. But my advice would be to get on the ladder as soon as you possibly can. If you can't afford your dream home, then just get whatever you can afford. The rungs on the ladder grow apart faster than salaries increase. At least, that's been my experience. So you're better off being on the ladder than off it, if you know what I mean. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dash Rendar Posted September 5, 2005 Share Posted September 5, 2005 I just need to find somewhere with a garage in my price range and i'll be laughing Sadly, I couldn't afford a garage either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jake Posted September 5, 2005 Share Posted September 5, 2005 Here you go Mikey/Sabrina : http://www.ecoboot.nl/artikelen/f_houses.php Sorted! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terribleturner Posted September 6, 2005 Share Posted September 6, 2005 Here you go Mikey/Sabrina : http://www.ecoboot.nl/artikelen/f_houses.php Sorted! No real room for a garden though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jake Posted September 6, 2005 Share Posted September 6, 2005 No real room for a garden though No problem, me and Sabrina are going to have a water garden. I haven't told her yet though, so keep it to yourself Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terribleturner Posted September 6, 2005 Share Posted September 6, 2005 Guess you can always tell people you have a sea view, or that you have the biggest pond ever Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
how_supra Posted September 6, 2005 Share Posted September 6, 2005 No problem, me and Sabrina are going to have a water garden. I haven't told her yet though, so keep it to yourself Jake how did you know I wanted a pond...........................you're my hero................ Guess you can always tell people you have a sea view I'd probably end up being charged a premium for that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supragal Posted September 6, 2005 Share Posted September 6, 2005 We completed 2 months ago, so glad it's done now. I'm tempted to get an estate agent round to value it again to see if the price has fluctuated but I'll wait until more of the improvements are in place I'd do it, even if the market in your area does drop it'll go bak up again over time. Just dont' buy thinking it'll be a fast buck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeyb10supra Posted September 6, 2005 Author Share Posted September 6, 2005 Im up for that......just need my supra hovercraft conversion and im sorted Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suprasteve Posted September 6, 2005 Share Posted September 6, 2005 TBH the leasething doesn't bother me too much. I already have done some research on leasehold, and you have just confirmed what I have read. I suppose the way to view it, is as a first time buyer I wouldn't be looking to own my own property, just looking to get the foot on the ladder. My issue is with how much property costs nowadays. It may be a buyers market, but its not a first time buyers market, unless you have a lumpy deposit and a huge salary and no uni debts. Hi Sabrina, i can tell from your tone you're getting fed up with looking - don't give up, one will turn up eventually. Have you tried speaking to your local government about any Shared Ownership properties. Basically they are designed for people to purchase say 50% of the property with a mortgage and rent the rest from them (the rent is normally minimal). When your salary increases or your debts are paid off you should be in a position to gradually buy the rest from the local gov. The positive thing is you get a bigger better property than your current budget of £90k, a foot on the property ladder and the chance to own it 100% in the future. what do you do for a living? if you're a nurse, teacher, police etc then you could apply for a Key Workers Scheme grant (similar to Shared Owners Scheme but you don't pay rent) hows the FTO by the way ? if its still working you could always sell that ?!?!? or is that a stupid thing to say ??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suprasteve Posted September 6, 2005 Share Posted September 6, 2005 mikeyb10supra. where abouts you looking in Essex ? I work for a company that covers the A12 from Upminister north to Braintree. Can i help ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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