Omega Owners Forum
Chat Area => General Discussion Area => Topic started by: tunnie on 11 May 2010, 22:26:29
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Been busy viewing flats in London today, saw 6 in total. Took shine to one in Wimbledon! Only short walk from Putney.
Only issue with flats is they are leasehold rather than freehold, obviously freehold is better. But practically all flats are leasehold :-/
One i saw had 100 years on its lease, don't plan on living there for ever, plan would be to move after 5/10 years.
Anyone bought leasehold? I know need to avoid ones sub 70/60 years as they can be difficult to get a mortgage
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The difference is simple...
Freehold - You own it outright.
Leasehold - You own the property but not the building.
Essentially, a Leasehold property just means that you'll have a rent to pay as well as the Mortgage ;)
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Cheers, i've budgeted for 'ground rent'
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As it happens, I own my property Freehold but still pay ground rent as it's on a private estate :y
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Incidentally... Wouldn't you be better buying a house?
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As it happens, I own my property Freehold but still pay ground rent as it's on a private estate :y
Just an extra bill to pay really, freehold is better, but i think most flats in London will be lease
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Incidentally... Wouldn't you be better buying a house?
I would prefer a house, but flat near work means £0 commuting costs
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I think you should forget freehold flats:
"It is worth remembering that freehold flats are not widely accepted by mortgage lenders, which could have an impact on the saleability of the property when you come to move on."
http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/mortgages-and-homes/ask-an-expert/article.html?in_article_id=401646&in_page_id=109
:y
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TBH with flats leasehold is the way to go. You can get freehold, but, say you are on the ground floor and the flat above has a leaky roof, you have no wway of compelling the owner to repair -- and, of course the disrepair will affect your flat. Similar situation arises if you are the guy up top -- you will have a flying freehold, as you won't own the ground below --- but he ( the guy now below) can allow his walls to bulge and colllapse. Naturally your flat will follow!!!
The leasehold situation .... each lease should contain clauses and covenants imposing the duty to keep the fabric of the building in good repair, probably also in good decoration ( keeping the value of the block higher). There will also be covenants regarding noise and nuisance. A pain if you want a party -- but a godsend when the neighbours want one !!!!
It is sometimes harder to mortgage a freehold flat than a leasehold for these (clumsily illustrated) reasons.
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Incidentally... Wouldn't you be better buying a house?
I would prefer a house, but flat near work means £0 commuting costs
but you've just LPG converted your car to make that more affordable :-/
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in brum ground rent is peanuts £5 quarter. the thing to watch for is the general maintenance charges as there are high/low rates/ good companies and spenders
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Cheers all :y
Did not think about freehold mortgage issue!
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in brum ground rent is peanuts £5 quarter. the thing to watch for is the general maintenance charges as there are high/low rates/ good companies and spenders
£5 :o
Tis £100 a month on average in London! ;D
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in brum ground rent is peanuts £5 quarter. the thing to watch for is the general maintenance charges as there are high/low rates/ good companies and spenders
Avoid a block with a lift -- and preferably go more modern. Lifts and old fabric cause havoc with maintenance charges. Also make sure they have a sinking fund to cover unexpected repairs (otherwise they will be knocking on your door for your share for the new roof!).
You can buy into a block where it is run and the freehold owned by a management company, made up of the owners. Each has the leasehold interest in their own flats and a share in the freehold interest -- best of both worlds.
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Incidentally... Wouldn't you be better buying a house?
I would prefer a house, but flat near work means £0 commuting costs
but you've just LPG converted your car to make that more affordable :-/
Its still costs £225/£250 month in fuel alone commuting :(
Add in Tyres, oil, servicing, going to be £300/400 at least.... doing 40k /year, my 2.2 does not have much life left in it, maybe 2 years max?
I own my car outright, but once that goes bang, i'd have to splash fair bit of cash on a semi-decent car. Sadly lot of second hand Omega's now have same miles, no forum will be as good as this, so my costs will only go higher, LPG is uncertain too, it will rise.
London its fixed costs, plus loads of my mates live there
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in brum ground rent is peanuts £5 quarter. the thing to watch for is the general maintenance charges as there are high/low rates/ good companies and spenders
Avoid a block with a lift -- and preferably go more modern. Lifts and old fabric cause havoc with maintenance charges. Also make sure they have a sinking fund to cover unexpected repairs (otherwise they will be knocking on your door for your share for the new roof!).
You can buy into a block where it is run and the freehold owned by a management company, made up of the owners. Each has the leasehold interest in their own flats and a share in the freehold interest -- best of both worlds.
wise words.
get in with commitee,become a director,have a say how the monies spent :)
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Adding to what HC wrote, leasehold (ex councel flats for example) the lease is still held by the concel and a bond must be paid, then any maintenance is shared by the number of flats for any repairs and renewals, like drains, room, wall, hall/stair painting and renovation work.
Allways ask regards, bonds and maintenance contracts for a flat.
Consider a house and taking in lodgers for a few years.
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problem with lodger is what happens if he/she does not pay or i cannot get one :(
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in brum ground rent is peanuts £5 quarter. the thing to watch for is the general maintenance charges as there are high/low rates/ good companies and spenders
£5 :o
Tis £100 a month on average in London! ;D
My ground rent is £45 a year ...... but that's for a house ooop north :y
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in brum ground rent is peanuts £5 quarter. the thing to watch for is the general maintenance charges as there are high/low rates/ good companies and spenders
Very important as this can easily add 250 to your montly bill. Best to clarify what the various charges are (i.e. maintenance, insurance, communal grounds upkeep, water etc..)
Then with this figure plus your monthly mortgage payments you can work out if you could get a freehold house instead for similar montly costs.
If you can afford it I would go for a freehold house.
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problem with lodger is what happens if he/she does not pay or i cannot get one :(
Well you take 4 to 6 weeks rent up front, then you have the same ammount of time to think about it and change the locks, dont take on female renters, you might end up........well getting talked out of the rent. Dont rent to mates they are just as bad, and create a list of rules and rinders that they LODGE with you and not the other way round.
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Been busy viewing flats in London today, saw 6 in total. Took shine to one in Wimbledon! Only short walk from Putney.
Only issue with flats is they are leasehold rather than freehold, obviously freehold is better. But practically all flats are leasehold :-/
One i saw had 100 years on its lease, don't plan on living there for ever, plan would be to move after 5/10 years.
Anyone bought leasehold? I know need to avoid ones sub 70/60 years as they can be difficult to get a mortgage
With leasehold flat you will have service charges (annual) eg this normally covers day to day maintenance, cleaning, service roads and any grounds. In addition if any major refurbishment works are planned eg re-decorating the block or replacing windows, roofs etc, the cost could run into thousands of pounds. Avoid a leasehold flat with a lift, unless it's brand new lift.
Also whether any service charges are outstanding on the property. Solicitor will or should obtain the bulk of the above information for you. Any works costing over £250 per property within the block the freeholder must consult with leaseholders by issuing a Notice of proposal (giving 30 days for any observations regarding the works), works may subsequently be tendered and a further notice has to be issued Section 20 notice advising of the estimated costs and tender accepted. If neither of the above are followed by the freeholder and they seek costs they are doing so illegally and can be challenged at leasehold valuation tribunal.
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problem with lodger is what happens if he/she does not pay or i cannot get one :(
Well you take 4 to 6 weeks rent up front, then you have the same ammount of time to think about it and change the locks, dont take on female renters, you might end up........well getting talked out of the rent. Dont rent to mates they are just as bad, and create a list of rules and rinders that they LODGE with you and not the other way round.
As above... You wont have any problems getting a lodger ;) ;)
We (my ex wife and I) used to have 2 lodgers when we first bought our house. Took a months rent up front and set up some ground rules... No problems at all. It actually ended up that we became very good friends with all the people who had lodged with us over time :y
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still not keen on lodger, whole point of getting my own place its my own space.
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still not keen on lodger, whole point of getting my own place its my own space.
We found that, generally, we saw very little of the lodgers... Tended to stay in their space most of the time :y
But I must admit that having lodgers takes some getting used to... You can't just walk around in the buff when other people are living with you ::) :D
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still not keen on lodger, whole point of getting my own place its my own space.
We found that, generally, we saw very little of the lodgers... Tended to stay in their space most of the time :y
But I must admit that having lodgers takes some getting used to... You can't just walk around in the buff when other people are living with you ::) :D
I do like the idea of a house, but adding up figures, just does not work. My fuel bill alone each month (even on lpg) is £300, which is only going to go up. Add in at least £200 for running costs, tyres/tax/mot/service items/unknowns i am left with cost of £500 just to get to work :(
Being closer in a flat for say first 5 years, is less risky, £0 commuting costs, mean if rates go up, i can still get to work to earn the money to pay it. If i can't get to work, then i am a tad stuffed!
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still not keen on lodger, whole point of getting my own place its my own space.
We found that, generally, we saw very little of the lodgers... Tended to stay in their space most of the time :y
But I must admit that having lodgers takes some getting used to... You can't just walk around in the buff when other people are living with you ::) :D
I do like the idea of a house, but adding up figures, just does not work. My fuel bill alone each month (even on lpg) is £300, which is only going to go up. Add in at least £200 for running costs, tyres/tax/mot/service items/unknowns i am left with cost of £500 just to get to work :(
Being closer in a flat for say first 5 years, is less risky, £0 commuting costs, mean if rates go up, i can still get to work to earn the money to pay it. If i can't get to work, then i am a tad stuffed!
Seems you've thought carefully about this TBH :y :y
Other option is to buy a house nearer "home" and rent it out, then just rent something closer to work... Gets you onto the property ladder with a house which should pay for itself with the rental income and leaves you with a rent to pay but owning a house... Then you don't have the headaches which can go with owning a flat :-/
Just a thought...
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still not keen on lodger, whole point of getting my own place its my own space.
We found that, generally, we saw very little of the lodgers... Tended to stay in their space most of the time :y
But I must admit that having lodgers takes some getting used to... You can't just walk around in the buff when other people are living with you ::) :D
I do like the idea of a house, but adding up figures, just does not work. My fuel bill alone each month (even on lpg) is £300, which is only going to go up. Add in at least £200 for running costs, tyres/tax/mot/service items/unknowns i am left with cost of £500 just to get to work :(
Being closer in a flat for say first 5 years, is less risky, £0 commuting costs, mean if rates go up, i can still get to work to earn the money to pay it. If i can't get to work, then i am a tad stuffed!
Seems you've thought carefully about this TBH :y :y
Other option is to buy a house nearer "home" and rent it out, then just rent something closer to work... Gets you onto the property ladder with a house which should pay for itself with the rental income and leaves you with a rent to pay but owning a house... Then you don't have the headaches which can go with owning a flat :-/
Just a thought...
thought about that as well, i found rental income is just below what a mortgage would be. Which is not really a problem, as i would just 'top-up' the rental income by £200/300 and it would be paying for itself.
Again assuming i could rent it out, other issue is would the mortgage company let me rent it out. There is no way i can get a buy-to-let, i would have to get a normal one, then tell them what i want to do :-/
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What about getting a house in the suburbs so you have a shorter commute but cheaper house prices? Wimbledon is never going to offer the ultimate in value for money. ;)
Kevin
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What about getting a house in the suburbs so you have a shorter commute but cheaper house prices? Wimbledon is never going to offer the ultimate in value for money. ;)
Kevin
Found there is not much in it, Brackley now 160k gets you 2bed house, maybe 3bed semi at a push.
Another appeal for me is fact its so easy to get into London, best mate known for years is moving to Chelsea, he now works at BBC.
So can easily have friends around as its walking distance from Tube and Putney rail
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Found there is not much in it, Brackley now 160k gets you 2bed house, maybe 3bed semi at a push.
But that would cost you at least 250k-300k inside the M25. :-/
What I meant to say is that you can probably find Brackley 'ish prices much closer to where you work, thus cheaper housing and cheaper commute.
Kevin
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Found there is not much in it, Brackley now 160k gets you 2bed house, maybe 3bed semi at a push.
But that would cost you at least 250k-300k inside the M25. :-/
What I meant to say is that you can probably find Brackley 'ish prices much closer to where you work, thus cheaper housing and cheaper commute.
Kevin
Sorry yes see what you mean, looking outside M25, need to go a good 20/30 miles from it before prices are reasonable. Which brings back commuting again. Luton is cheap, but crap side of M25 plus M1.
London life appeals too, father tunnie started off in a flat, so did my uncle, then moved onto a house. Fully agree that a flat in Wimbledon does not offer value for money, or space, but its whats there which pushes price up. Fact in 20 mins i am in central London.
As i work 3 days on 3 off, i miss out on a lot of social stuff that goes on, because i am not on shift, if it costs me nothing to pop into work for beers on a day i am not working is a real plus. Another example was last week, drinks on one of the fixed boats along river, loads of my old work mates going, i was not on shift. Would have cost me £15 in gas + tube + 3 hours just to pop down..... different story if i could cycle in for free
Went to see a mate few weeks ago, no drinking session or anything just chats and such, finished at 10:30, headed home, did not get back till 1 AM :(
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Fair enough. :y Sounds like you have some compelling reasons for being in the "smoke". Just wanted to point out the other options.
Not really a city person myself, and I think my liver would have failed if I'd ever tried it, with the temptation for a "swift one" on the way home, with no driving to do. ;D
Kevin
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in brum ground rent is peanuts £5 quarter. the thing to watch for is the general maintenance charges as there are high/low rates/ good companies and spenders
£5 :o
Tis £100 a month on average in London! ;D
My first bedsit was not much more!
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still not keen on lodger, whole point of getting my own place its my own space.
We found that, generally, we saw very little of the lodgers... Tended to stay in their space most of the time :y
But I must admit that having lodgers takes some getting used to... You can't just walk around in the buff when other people are living with you ::) :D
I do like the idea of a house, but adding up figures, just does not work. My fuel bill alone each month (even on lpg) is £300, which is only going to go up. Add in at least £200 for running costs, tyres/tax/mot/service items/unknowns i am left with cost of £500 just to get to work :(
Being closer in a flat for say first 5 years, is less risky, £0 commuting costs, mean if rates go up, i can still get to work to earn the money to pay it. If i can't get to work, then i am a tad stuffed!
Not sure your costings are accurate - thats an awful lot of money for running a car ;). Also, it wouldn't all be a saving, as you would still need to tax/insure (at London rates!!)/MOT/service the car.
I think you need to consider your costings much better, rather than massage them into what you want to see ;)
If you *MUST* live in London, then simply make that the primary criteria, rather than trying to convince yourself it will be cheaper. It won't be.
£200k for a 1 bed leasehold flat in the Smoke or £160k for a 3 bed semi, maybe with a garage, out in the middle of nowhere - though probably not much in it for commute times....
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Been busy viewing flats in London today, saw 6 in total. Took shine to one in Wimbledon! Only short walk from Putney.
Only issue with flats is they are leasehold rather than freehold, obviously freehold is better. But practically all flats are leasehold :-/
One i saw had 100 years on its lease, don't plan on living there for ever, plan would be to move after 5/10 years.
Anyone bought leasehold? I know need to avoid ones sub 70/60 years as they can be difficult to get a mortgage
Don't forget to add in maintenance charges for the up keep of the exterior,we had a woman in Newcastle who bought a flat in a multi block and ended paying thousands of pounds for her share of the scaffolding when it came time to refurb the exterior ,some hidden charges can be VERY expensive!
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still not keen on lodger, whole point of getting my own place its my own space.
We found that, generally, we saw very little of the lodgers... Tended to stay in their space most of the time :y
But I must admit that having lodgers takes some getting used to... You can't just walk around in the buff when other people are living with you ::) :D
I do like the idea of a house, but adding up figures, just does not work. My fuel bill alone each month (even on lpg) is £300, which is only going to go up. Add in at least £200 for running costs, tyres/tax/mot/service items/unknowns i am left with cost of £500 just to get to work :(
Being closer in a flat for say first 5 years, is less risky, £0 commuting costs, mean if rates go up, i can still get to work to earn the money to pay it. If i can't get to work, then i am a tad stuffed!
Not sure your costings are accurate - thats an awful lot of money for running a car ;). Also, it wouldn't all be a saving, as you would still need to tax/insure (at London rates!!)/MOT/service the car.
I think you need to consider your costings much better, rather than massage them into what you want to see ;)
If you *MUST* live in London, then simply make that the primary criteria, rather than trying to convince yourself it will be cheaper. It won't be.
£200k for a 1 bed leasehold flat in the Smoke or £160k for a 3 bed semi, maybe with a garage, out in the middle of nowhere - though probably not much in it for commute times....
Understood :y
Just been through my old invoices for the car, think its a fair price. With current LPG prices (if Asda HW stops selling it, costs could rise lot) it cost me £15 per shift in Gas. I am shifted to work roughly 15 days a month, so thats £225 alone. Looking £15 in oil, £25 in tyres, (assuming 40k per set), thats even before its taxed & MOT'd
I also cannot rely on OOF, the 2.2 has 2 years left in it max, the HG will go at some point. So there will be a large cost of new transport year or two down the line. (i'd say 3k for something semi-decent thats going to be reliable and last)
I don't want to be out in the middle of no ware, not yet, maybe in 5-10 years time, but now is time to be in the smoke and increase my social life a bit :)
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still not keen on lodger, whole point of getting my own place its my own space.
We found that, generally, we saw very little of the lodgers... Tended to stay in their space most of the time :y
But I must admit that having lodgers takes some getting used to... You can't just walk around in the buff when other people are living with you ::) :D
I do like the idea of a house, but adding up figures, just does not work. My fuel bill alone each month (even on lpg) is £300, which is only going to go up. Add in at least £200 for running costs, tyres/tax/mot/service items/unknowns i am left with cost of £500 just to get to work :(
Being closer in a flat for say first 5 years, is less risky, £0 commuting costs, mean if rates go up, i can still get to work to earn the money to pay it. If i can't get to work, then i am a tad stuffed!
Not sure your costings are accurate - thats an awful lot of money for running a car ;). Also, it wouldn't all be a saving, as you would still need to tax/insure (at London rates!!)/MOT/service the car.
I think you need to consider your costings much better, rather than massage them into what you want to see ;)
If you *MUST* live in London, then simply make that the primary criteria, rather than trying to convince yourself it will be cheaper. It won't be.
£200k for a 1 bed leasehold flat in the Smoke or £160k for a 3 bed semi, maybe with a garage, out in the middle of nowhere - though probably not much in it for commute times....
Understood :y
Just been through my old invoices for the car, think its a fair price. With current LPG prices (if Asda HW stops selling it, costs could rise lot) it cost me £15 per shift in Gas. I am shifted to work roughly 15 days a month, so thats £225 alone. Looking £15 in oil, £25 in tyres, (assuming 40k per set), thats even before its taxed & MOT'd
I also cannot rely on OOF, the 2.2 has 2 years left in it max, the HG will go at some point. So there will be a large cost of new transport year or two down the line. (i'd say 3k for something semi-decent thats going to be reliable and last)
I don't want to be out in the middle of no ware, not yet, maybe in 5-10 years time, but now is time to be in the smoke and increase my social life a bit :)
Fuel aside - your running costs are likely to increase. So dont use that as an excuse. If you have a desire to live in London, then as said, make that a requirement. Don't try to use it for justification, as you will mislead yourself.
Only you can make the decisions, but make them with the full facts, not tweaking them to suit your needs - else you may end up with something you can't afford.
If you go down house route, dont rule out lodgers - my lodging years were some of the best times I had - permenent company, drinking partners, larking around.
Back to running costs, I probably only do 1000-1500m a month now, but even with my 3.0l, my appitite of tyres and brakes, and a 12yr old car, I still don't think your running costs add up, certainly not as savings (your mileage will not drop to zero ;))
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Whats the situation regards parking costs with a flat, house, if possible there is a chance for a drive/car port or even garage. If living in london then get a small 60mpg runabout, cheaper all round, no point of a big car in london anyway, what you save will a small car would pay for the mig to be driven for pleasure.
Or, work more hours and earn more, then aim higher.
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Omega will be staying, its worthless anyway, no point in selling it. No matter how i drive it gets between 24-27mpg on gas. Cracked 9.6p mile on long runs, town runs its a cheap as a diesel so i'll keep it.
Holidays will need to be on the cheap so more camping ahead ;D
not tweaking them to suit your needs - else you may end up with something you can't afford
After mortgage payment still have £1k available, so do-able :)
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Nothing wrong with running high mileage old cars, I think 15,000 a year in a 16 year old wasn't bad. ( A while ago but an example)
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Omega will be staying, its worthless anyway, no point in selling it. No matter how i drive it gets between 24-27mpg on gas. Cracked 9.6p mile on long runs, town runs its a cheap as a diesel so i'll keep it.
Holidays will need to be on the cheap so more camping ahead ;D
not tweaking them to suit your needs - else you may end up with something you can't afford
After mortgage payment still have £1k available, so do-able :)
I seem to recall somebody telling me when I bought my first house (may have been mortgage advisor, or solicitor) that if mortgage is more than half your take-home income, then you may struggle. That may have been based on my wage at the time, the fact interest rates were 15% :o, and related to freehold with no rent and service charges.
Having been privy to some of the places you have shown an interest in, it seems you are now looking at a completely different area of London, and away from the 'free' commute :-/
Good luck with your search.
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Omega will be staying, its worthless anyway, no point in selling it. No matter how i drive it gets between 24-27mpg on gas. Cracked 9.6p mile on long runs, town runs its a cheap as a diesel so i'll keep it.
Holidays will need to be on the cheap so more camping ahead ;D
not tweaking them to suit your needs - else you may end up with something you can't afford
After mortgage payment still have £1k available, so do-able :)
I seem to recall somebody telling me when I bought my first house (may have been mortgage advisor, or solicitor) that if mortgage is more than half your take-home income, then you may struggle. That may have been based on my wage at the time, the fact interest rates were 15% :o, and related to freehold with no rent and service charges.
Having been privy to some of the places you have shown an interest in, it seems you are now looking at a completely different area of London, and away from the 'free' commute :-/
Good luck with your search.
Its just below half :y
Its still a free commute if i cycle it, whilst Acton has better link to Sky, Wimbledon is much nicer area.
Do also remember someone telling me if its not a struggle then you have not pushed yourself hard enough ;)
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Do also remember someone telling me if its not a struggle then you have not pushed yourself hard enough ;)
correct, for the first couple of years. Though make sure you have every other outgoing covered.
Also be aware that interest rates are liable to creep up, possibly in the summer/autumn, and that most companies, particulalry corporates, are trying to keep renumeration costs under better control.
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Do also remember someone telling me if its not a struggle then you have not pushed yourself hard enough ;)
correct, for the first couple of years. Though make sure you have every other outgoing covered.
Also be aware that interest rates are liable to creep up, possibly in the summer/autumn, and that most companies, particulalry corporates, are trying to keep renumeration costs under better control.
I am totting up my figures on a fixed 3 year rate, so gives me stability for 3 years.
For job stability i am about as good as its going to get i feel, also experience i am getting is going to be valuable. Why Sky is doing in mobile (although not to everyone's taste) in technical terms is class leading.
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Allways anticipate the worst regards all out goings, apart from mortgage fluctuations, look at the sudden hype in household ful bills, and car exspensences, most people had kittens when it rose to £1 a litre, blink and it's 20% higher.
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car will be a luxury, it won't be used for work. Keep it to visit family, camping holidays, road trips and such. Already checked how much car insurance would increase by :y
Bills is good point, Sky have excellent canteens, which are subsidised, so can have dinner there, and has shower facilities. Also go into Uni mode and put jumper on to keep warm ;D