tbourner Posted February 2, 2006 Share Posted February 2, 2006 Plot of land in Waterlooville (average area), including planning permission for a 3 bed detached house - £120k. Cost to build a house is approximately 80k. 3 bed detached property in the area will go for about 250k-300k. So if you've got a year or two spare it's a good investment! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toyotasuprauk Posted February 2, 2006 Share Posted February 2, 2006 People don’t go down the build a house route because it’s so much harder than walking into a finished house, plus at least in my area there really aren’t many plots of land around, they have all been taken already. Also to my knowledge you can’t get a mortgage on essentially nothing to use to pay for the land and builders so you need £100K or what ever it costs floating around. Then there’s the hassle of dealing with, local authorities, builders, suppliers, plumbers, electricians, carpet fitters, kitchen fitters etc you get the idea. Plus being able to project manage something like this whilst working full time makes it even harder. It’s a brilliant investment and a great idea in theory but it takes a lot to go ahead with something this big without knowing if your even going to like the house at the end of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbourner Posted February 2, 2006 Share Posted February 2, 2006 Oh yeah obviously you need to be in the business - luckily I know plenty of people who'd work for tea, and even build the whole house for a cut of the profits. But like you say much harder to get a mortgage for some mud. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supragal Posted February 2, 2006 Author Share Posted February 2, 2006 one day I might build a place but finding the right plot of land will be a mare Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlotte Posted February 2, 2006 Share Posted February 2, 2006 My stepdad is an architect and it has always been one of his dreams to design and build his own house. Luckily he knows lots of people in the industry so got builders and things for 'his company' but took a lot longer. They bought a plot of land in Farnham with an old house already on for about 360k. Knocked the original house down and started again. Now valued at 3 million! So hard to find a plot though and get the right planning etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snooze Posted February 2, 2006 Share Posted February 2, 2006 Not sure you have the right to complain about over-inflated house prices when you're buying-to-let. The quantity of buy-to-let and 2nd home purchases over the last few years is precisely one of the main causes of the currently over-inflated prices!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Posted February 2, 2006 Share Posted February 2, 2006 Not sure you have the right to complain about over-inflated house prices when you're buying-to-let. The quantity of buy-to-let and 2nd home purchases over the last few years is precisely one of the main causes of the currently over-inflated prices!!! Indeed - I'd like 1 house thanks...it's the sodding Londoners that want a second home that's ruining the whole of the south east...and now they've fooked that area they are going further afield...not that a Londoner knows where a field is! Still I put an offer in on a Bungalow yesterday, fingers crossed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Need4Speed Posted February 2, 2006 Share Posted February 2, 2006 I'm seriously thinking about buying to let now as a means to get on the ladderBe VERY careful in that market. West London is overflowing with 2 bed flats with magnolia walls and laminate flooring... and no tenants. I can't comment on the rest of the country, but it's all gone barking mad! The prices will fall - two bed flat £350,000? And if it's not your primary residence - don't forget capital gains tax. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
francis Posted February 2, 2006 Share Posted February 2, 2006 http://www.hometrack.com and also http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/in_depth/uk_house_prices/html/houses.stm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
francis Posted February 2, 2006 Share Posted February 2, 2006 If you're doing a buy to let make sure you do proper calculations before hand and don't get sucked in to the idea of owning an investment property, unless you can afford it if things go wrong or unexpected costs come up! Void periods can be a pain in the arse, it all depends on the desirability of the property, the market and your price point, but I'd factor in for a void period of at least a month inbetween lets, of course it might so happen you line someone up before your last tenant has moved out but this is likely to be a bonus rather than a standard. Factor in service charges, maintainence costs (eg boiler, washing machine, leaks, etc) and importantly any the costs of an estate agent. Whilst you may be able to find tenants through friends or through loot, certainly in London, if you want to attract higher rents (eg. investment bankers who probably don't bother with loot) you'll be going through an estate agent. Foxtons charge 11%+VAT for their unmanaged service (probably at the high end) and most charge this up front so you effectively loose your first month's rent and a bit. If you're using an estate agent you can probably do the inventory and contract yourself which will probably avoid their own extortionate fees. Standard shorthold contracts can be found on the net easily enough (£10 or something like that), an inventory anyone can do with a pen, paper and a bit of time. Also, if you're worried your tenants might mess you about there are insurance policies out there which will cover any missed rent - useful but obviously come at a premium, depends how much your trust your tenants Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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