Thinking long-term, you are 'probably' better off stretching yourself as much as possible, early on in your home-ownership career....
I think this is true and I wish I had done this myself earlier instead of wasting thousands on service charges and not extending my mortgage earlier on.
Croydon is affordable if you look around the Addiscombe (not to be confused with Addington), South Norwood areas.
The first one is nice but I need direct access to the garden and normally first floor maisonettes require you to go out the front door and then into a side gate into the garden.
Second one needs to be a private own garden and not a share of a communal garden.
( I will be having a dog!)
Most flats are leasehold so make sure you check out the lease carefully because I'm not sure many permit dogs because of the potential for the noise to disturb other owners. I own my flat but cant have a dog or a cat. I do have a cat but he was a stray and moved in and I have had a hell of a job persuading the other residents to let me keep him.
As long as you have a good relationship with your brother and don't mind lodgers I'd say go for his offer. Two lodgers in an area near London surely would give you a decent return if you could put up with them?
Well I didn't bother with the viewing in the end, I did some more research and the block is ex-local authority and not all the properties are private so that put me off a bit (having lived in one most of my life I wasn't keen on going back to that!)
I'm now thinking of just finding a decent cheaper one bed and not have to worry about lodgers and borrowing from my bro....finding one with a garden however is proving tricky!
Thinking long-term, you are 'probably' better off stretching yourself as much as possible, early on in your home-ownership career....
A few people have said this but I am quite cautious when it comes to large finances like a mortgage, I lost my last home due to borrowing from my ex's parents which I couldn't pay back when we broke up so I lost my beautiful home. I never want to go through that again, I need something that is affordable should the worst ever happen.
Also the way I see it, the help to buy scheme has created an artificially inflated market right now, so many more buyers and fewer properties, and so properties aren't necessarily what they are really worth at the moment so there may be no point in stretching for something that's not going to appreciate in value later on.
I think this is true and I wish I had done this myself earlier instead of wasting thousands on service charges and not extending my mortgage earlier on.
Croydon is affordable if you look around the Addiscombe (not to be confused with Addington), South Norwood areas.
Thanks for the tips, and good luck in your search too
Most flats are leasehold so make sure you check out the lease carefully because I'm not sure many permit dogs because of the potential for the noise to disturb other owners. I own my flat but cant have a dog or a cat. I do have a cat but he was a stray and moved in and I have had a hell of a job persuading the other residents to let me keep him.
Damn good point!! I never thought about that but to be fair this was the first flat in a block that I've even contemplated. I've mainly been looking at houses or conversions. But will definitely bear that in mind.
As long as you have a good relationship with your brother and don't mind lodgers I'd say go for his offer. Two lodgers in an area near London surely would give you a decent return if you could put up with them?
Luckily my bro and I have a great relationship but I've come to the conclusion that I would rather have his help for emergencies rather than to get that ideal place. We are talking about his savings and so it just doesn't sit right with me to use it.
I'd go with that option too. You can always upgrade a house as and when time and funds permit but you can't upgrade the neighbourhood that you live in.
Go cheap, especially if being stretched would stress you out.
I borrowed £112000 in 2007 (supposedly over 20 years) at 5.4% and the total repayments would have come to almost £200000. Cheapish house in cheap (but nice) area.
But I found that I could manage to overpay quite a bit and have recently paid off the whole thing in 6.5 years, saving absolutely LOADS of money. So I can now save up all my earnings and hopefully won't have to take out much of a mortgage on the forever house in a few years' time.
Howzabout buying somewhere cheap that needs a bit of cosmetic work doing? Stuff you can do yourself?
One tip - get a mortgage that will let you overpay and one without a huge early repayment fee if overpaying will be a possibility. Pay off as quickly as possible (reduce the term, not the repayments).
Go cheap, especially if being stretched would stress you out.
I borrowed £112000 in 2007 (supposedly over 20 years) at 5.4% and the total repayments would have come to almost £200000. Cheapish house in cheap (but nice) area.
But I found that I could manage to overpay quite a bit and have recently paid off the whole thing in 6.5 years, saving absolutely LOADS of money. So I can now save up all my earnings and hopefully won't have to take out much of a mortgage on the forever house in a few years' time.
Howzabout buying somewhere cheap that needs a bit of cosmetic work doing? Stuff you can do yourself?
One tip - get a mortgage that will let you overpay and one without a huge early repayment fee if overpaying will be a possibility. Pay off as quickly as possible (reduce the term, not the repayments).
Wow!! Impressive. Must start trying to overpay my mortgage.
The problem you are facing is not new. You like the area but so does everyone else so the prices go up. A shortage of properties in a nice area and the prices go up. Not everyone can afford the prices so nice people start looking further a field and find a new area that is not yet popular. They buy and others move in and the area becomes sort after and so the prices go up.
Your challenge is to find the up and coming area before everyone else does.
New trains are on the way so what at first may seem a long way out is getting closer. Just means you have to wait for the train to get there. A bit of inconvenience for a year and you are on a new fast line into the heart of the city.
No matter where you move you will make new friends and see others after work. As soon as families start to appear you see less of them as they are unable to afford to go out as they are trying to pay off the mortgage on that must have flat that is now to small.
My niece bought a small apartment at Elephant and Castle yet a few years ago no one wanted to live there. House prices went up as people moved further out and the locals could not afford to live there. The landlords wanted higher and higher rents so they were forced to move away to find cheaper accommodation so the area became popular with a nicer class of people
When we were looking for somewhere, someone suggested we go for a smaller place in a nicer area than a bigger place in a not-so-nice area. The trouble was there wasn't much available (due to the time of year - it will apparently pick up in the next few months), so we've ended up renting for a year and then onto a rolling contract, will hopefully sell our old place and then have the money freed up for buying somewhere next year.
We've moved from a block of flats 3 times the size of this one, where pets were not officially allowed but nobody seemed to mind (we had a cat, as did several of our neighbours, and one neighbour had a dog!) to a smaller block where the other residents are adamant pets are not permitted but the landlord is sure they are, so we now have two cats. I'm hoping we can avoid flats in the future, as I hate having busy-body neighbours and managing agents that like to pretend they are big and clever by trying to enforce 'rules' that aren't actually documented anywhere! Much easier in a house; my husband reckons the rules are just as bad, but my Mum has lived in a semi-detached house for 20 years and nobody has ever told her what pets she can and can't have etc!
Skipped the other comments.
I'd go for the Bromley house but put an offer in of 15k less than asking price and hope its accepted, if its not, I'd still go for that one and either find ways to cut back food wise etc or get a lodger in.
It will be worth it in the long run.
Comments
I think this is true and I wish I had done this myself earlier instead of wasting thousands on service charges and not extending my mortgage earlier on.
Croydon is affordable if you look around the Addiscombe (not to be confused with Addington), South Norwood areas.
Most flats are leasehold so make sure you check out the lease carefully because I'm not sure many permit dogs because of the potential for the noise to disturb other owners. I own my flat but cant have a dog or a cat. I do have a cat but he was a stray and moved in and I have had a hell of a job persuading the other residents to let me keep him.
I'm now thinking of just finding a decent cheaper one bed and not have to worry about lodgers and borrowing from my bro....finding one with a garden however is proving tricky!
A few people have said this but I am quite cautious when it comes to large finances like a mortgage, I lost my last home due to borrowing from my ex's parents which I couldn't pay back when we broke up so I lost my beautiful home. I never want to go through that again, I need something that is affordable should the worst ever happen.
Also the way I see it, the help to buy scheme has created an artificially inflated market right now, so many more buyers and fewer properties, and so properties aren't necessarily what they are really worth at the moment so there may be no point in stretching for something that's not going to appreciate in value later on.
Thanks for the tips, and good luck in your search too
Damn good point!! I never thought about that but to be fair this was the first flat in a block that I've even contemplated. I've mainly been looking at houses or conversions. But will definitely bear that in mind.
Luckily my bro and I have a great relationship but I've come to the conclusion that I would rather have his help for emergencies rather than to get that ideal place. We are talking about his savings and so it just doesn't sit right with me to use it.
I'd go with that option too. You can always upgrade a house as and when time and funds permit but you can't upgrade the neighbourhood that you live in.
I borrowed £112000 in 2007 (supposedly over 20 years) at 5.4% and the total repayments would have come to almost £200000. Cheapish house in cheap (but nice) area.
But I found that I could manage to overpay quite a bit and have recently paid off the whole thing in 6.5 years, saving absolutely LOADS of money. So I can now save up all my earnings and hopefully won't have to take out much of a mortgage on the forever house in a few years' time.
Howzabout buying somewhere cheap that needs a bit of cosmetic work doing? Stuff you can do yourself?
One tip - get a mortgage that will let you overpay and one without a huge early repayment fee if overpaying will be a possibility. Pay off as quickly as possible (reduce the term, not the repayments).
Wow!! Impressive. Must start trying to overpay my mortgage.
Your challenge is to find the up and coming area before everyone else does.
New trains are on the way so what at first may seem a long way out is getting closer. Just means you have to wait for the train to get there. A bit of inconvenience for a year and you are on a new fast line into the heart of the city.
No matter where you move you will make new friends and see others after work. As soon as families start to appear you see less of them as they are unable to afford to go out as they are trying to pay off the mortgage on that must have flat that is now to small.
My niece bought a small apartment at Elephant and Castle yet a few years ago no one wanted to live there. House prices went up as people moved further out and the locals could not afford to live there. The landlords wanted higher and higher rents so they were forced to move away to find cheaper accommodation so the area became popular with a nicer class of people
Good Luck with the hunt ..
We've moved from a block of flats 3 times the size of this one, where pets were not officially allowed but nobody seemed to mind (we had a cat, as did several of our neighbours, and one neighbour had a dog!) to a smaller block where the other residents are adamant pets are not permitted but the landlord is sure they are, so we now have two cats. I'm hoping we can avoid flats in the future, as I hate having busy-body neighbours and managing agents that like to pretend they are big and clever by trying to enforce 'rules' that aren't actually documented anywhere! Much easier in a house; my husband reckons the rules are just as bad, but my Mum has lived in a semi-detached house for 20 years and nobody has ever told her what pets she can and can't have etc!
I'd go for the Bromley house but put an offer in of 15k less than asking price and hope its accepted, if its not, I'd still go for that one and either find ways to cut back food wise etc or get a lodger in.
It will be worth it in the long run.
LOL! Terrible value for money
I was considering buying this at roughly the same price:
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-41567141.html?premiumA=true
Am sure Wench wont mind the 700 mile round trip each day.