Looking to buy in Belfast - Advice wanted

[alteredimage]

Hi, name change for this.

We are English but DD started working in Belfast a few months back....and loves it. She has found her people and place and sees herself staying, perhaps even settling for good.

She will need to move from her rental property in the summer so is thinking of buying. Her budget can probably stretch as far as £200,000. She is thinking of 2 bed, though happy to have more and is not too bothered about whether it is a house or a flat. She currently lives near Ormeau Park, but is happy to consider other areas, and will need easy access to the M1.

Can people suggest areas she might consider, and which would suit a single professional in their 20s. And perhaps suggestions of agents or information on how properties are bought and sold in N Ireland. Her career may require her to move at some point, perhaps just for a year or two. If this happens she would want to keep the flat as a base and rent it out. She is quite busy and the plan is for me to help with the initial search. She has confirmation from the mortgage advisor that she should be able to borrow the amount she needs.

I visited for the first time a couple of months back. I can see the appeal.

TIA

Start with these agents you can filter for post code etc

She should have a good chat with her colleagues and friends they will give her a better sense of which areas would be suitable

If she drives then she has a big area she could buy in if she wants to be within her peer group maybe stay around ormeau, stranmillis, lisburn rd, malone maybe finaghy

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwjs5IfbxaiEAxXrX0EAHYTXAv0QFnoECBAQAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ulsterpropertysales.co.uk%2Fproperties-for-sale-belfast&usg=AOvVaw0hZNtspK5O_TCHYYAbeVOb&opi=89978449

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwiDyIHsxaiEAxV3VEEAHVSvDusQFnoECBgQAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.propertypal.com%2F&usg=AOvVaw3XCIO3OHBhyk2To87HCcxP&opi=89978449

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwit0or4xaiEAxWcVkEAHS_iBp4QFnoECAYQAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.propertynews.com%2F&usg=AOvVaw3GAZCS_EoZeiVlN3fiiSkA&opi=89978449

For a young professional around the Lisburn Road area (good access to M1), stranmillis or balkyhackamore. In terms of agents, just use property pal or property news. If she likes Ormeau area she will get a 2+ bed apartment or house for under 200k.

Thank you so much.

She is working long hours, and finding a rental property first time round was a nightmare. Buying may not be any easier, so I have offered to do some of the initial legwork. It is an excuse for me to spend some time with her, and also to see a bit of the City, and, slightly surprisingly, she has agreed. Buying her current flat would have been ideal, the owner had it on the market before they rented, and it is modern and in a nice area. Unfortunately there is a problem with damp.

I will start looking looking at what the agents have to offer and might come over in two to three weeks time. It is a little daunting, but I guess that is why she has agreed for me to help. A surprising number of her friends still seem to be living at home, or have stayed in their old University flats. That said, whilst looking for her rental flat, she saw quite a lot of the City and so is reasonably familiar with different areas.

Does anyone know anything about the state of the property market. Are people offering below asking? if so how much. Are properties moving quickly? Eventually I may need help finding a surveyor.

The big advantage is that it is a lot cheaper than London. If she had stayed here it would have been forever before she could buy.

Back again, after a lot of looking at property websites, speaking to agents and DD consulting colleagues. We are focussing on houses to the east and south of Ormeau Park, and I plan to come over for a few days of viewings, with my daughter spending this weekend driving round and looking from the outside. (If you are selling a house in the area, don't be alarmed at a 20something with an English accent stopping outside and staring in. Instead invite them in and offer them a cup of tea and a custard cream.)

My next question is about the process. In England things are opaque. Bids come forward and the seller accepts or not. You take the estate agent telling you there are other interested parties with a pinch of salt. If there is a lot of interest things go to sealed bids, where everyone puts down their best and final offer. In NI it seems that the bidding process is transparent and goes on until the seller accepts something. We are seeing houses where the current bid is £30,000, ie 15%, more than the asking price.

I assume you can put in bids on more than one house until one is accepted. What sort of commitment is involved? I am hoping that when the buyer accepts a bid the property automatically goes off the market. (In England you need to make that a condition of your offer, though the agent may advice the seller to keep the property on until the buyer has shown signs of commitment like paying for a surveyor or commissioning searches.) I think I like the sound of the NI approach, not least because I like to be open and transparent, though would be happy to be told about pitfalls and what I need to look out for.

I would also love surveyor recommendations. DD would struggle with anything that needs major work. She does not have local builder contacts, and would not have the time, so we will probably have a full structural survey.

Exciting times. Enjoy the house hunting.
As far as I could tell there wasn't a huge difference between purchasing process in NI compared to England. Nothing is guaranteed until exchange of contracts. Maybe ask on the main property board if no further advice here.

I also found the house buying process similar in England and NI. It is a matter of hold your nerve until exchange of contracts (which in my experience tends to happen a couple of weeks before completion whereas in England we had even done both on the same day, which I would never do again).

I’ve been looking recently for a house similar to your DD (but Lisburn Road area so don’t worry I won’t gazump her on her ideal home!)
I viewed 2 properties last week that had offers more than 10% above asking price by the end of the first open house session.

I will have a look through paperwork and see who was our surveyor, they are surprisingly busy so she could make an offer subject to survey. I wouldn’t buy without a full survey but that is personal choice.

Good luck with the search!

Many thanks.
It seems to be a tough market. I phoned up about one, which was at the top of the price range only to discover that bids were already 25% above asking.

"Offers over" are unusual in London as is the way agent are the open about bids received. One even told me the price the vendors would be willing to accept. It seems to then become a open auction, which I assume can go on for a while. The way properties are still available to view, even after an offer has been accepted suggests nervous times ahead. Having said that it is good to know that things are much the same as England. I am aware that Scotland is different.

According to agents I am not the first mum to be doing the legwork for a DC. It will be interesting, and a way of me getting to know Belfast better, useful if she ends up putting down roots.

It is good to know that there is a wait for good surveyors and a suggestion would be really useful. I will get DD to ask local colleagues if they have ideas. One agent warned me off the three properties on his books I was asking about, suggesting they needed work and FTBs were usually unwilling to do work. The next agent was more relaxed. Victorian properties normally showed signs of age. As long as the property was priced accordingly it was better to know in advance, than to buy something more expensive only to discover that the work carried out was to a poor standard. DD seems happy to buy somewhere that is mortgageable, in a good location and liveable, but where she could improve the value by carrying out major works in a couple of years time. One difference with London is that here damp concerns are often about condensation, whereas in parts of Belfast the water table is high, there is plenty of rain, and damp rises.

Anyway I will come over next week and see as much as I can. I was only able to get one Saturday appointment (in central London some agents work evenings and Sundays) which also happens to be, by some margin, the grottiest (a former student HMO). Good in a way that it will be a chance to test how tolerant DD is. She has just graduated from student slums, so may not fazed, and I can be confident that everything else will be better. I am still quite worried about the level of trust she is putting in me. The rental market last summer was super-heated and though she and her friend did a lot of viewings, they kept coming second. Buying won't be easier, but it will avoid her having to go through that scramble again.

Another difference. In London estate agent photographers check the weather forecast so the outside looks sunny and the rooms look lighter. I have looked at a lot of dismal rainy photos. Perhaps a good thing as they will look better if the sun shines.

Lisburn Road ideally but not Tates Avenue ( v sectarian) - the end closest to Cranmore Gardens is v. nice, lovely shops, cafes and restaurants and perfect for a young professional. Ormeau road also good and around the university - but not the Holy Land as full of partying students. Belfast is a brilliant city (these days)

Thank you. MN, and its kind posters are an amazing resource.

An estate agent had already tried to get me to view a nice looking, and cheap house near the football stadium, but it immediately failed the advisory panel made up of DD's colleagues.

I have set up a number of viewings around Ormeau Park as DD is familiar with the area, but the Cranmore Gardens idea is good, if nothing stands out. (I promise that we won't compete with sunleopard.) I am quite nervous but also excited. I have bought once before in an area I did not know, as my mother lived with dementia for a decade and we needed a base nearby and ended up being very pleased with the result, but viewing for someone else is a step further. To be honest, DD knew very little about Belfast's history when she chose to work there. Some of her University friends came from N Ireland, and she had seen Derry Girls. She started in marching season which was an eye opener, but is really enjoying it and has settled in well. It is as if, after the Covid years, she is finally getting the chance to have fun and be young.

I would still welcome surveyor and solicitor suggestions. I will also try the property board.

Four days of viewings, roughly 20,000 steps a day and DD has had an offer accepted on a house in Ravenhill just east of Ormeau Park. We both preferred a house in Lower Ormeau near the tow path, but the agent was hopeless and we did not trust them. Luckily the other house is equally nice, though very different. DD describes it as a “grown up house”, at the end of a cul de sac, with front and back gardens and a garage.

Good luck to sunleopard. There are a lot of people looking and not many properties. A couple I wanted to see went at 25% above asking. Fingers crossed everything goes through smoothly. I would not want to do that again, especially if things get busier in the spring.

Belfast was great. I need to return and see the sights properly rather that stride past on my way to or from the Lisburn Road. Thanks again.

Great update OP. Fingers crossed for a smooth sale.
I know what you mean about not going with a flakey agent.
Amazing to hear how hot the market is currently.

My reading of the market is that it is being driven by a combination of factors.

Post agreement the economy is doing well, and interest rates are finally starting to fall, so first time buyers and others are out looking. Not least, and part of the reason DD decided to buy, is that it is really hard to find anywhere to rent. Her flatmate is moving in the summer, and she could not face the idea of looking again. Paying mortgage and having a friend/lodger contributing would make financial sense.

High rents are leading to a bigger problem which is that investors from England and the Republic are coming in. NI has the cheapest property prices in the UK, so some of the highest investment returns. I also heard, and indeed met someone who had done this, that people with jobs in Dublin who only need to go into the office one day a week, will stay in Belfast and commute as it is cheaper than renting in Dublin.

The people hit most are FTBs with only a 5% or 10% deposit, and needing a mortgage for the rest. Mortgage companies are risk adverse so if a property goes for 10% over asking, at best the valuation is likely to come out at asking and no obvious way of financing the gap.

One agent suggested that buyers in NI are very wary of do-er uppers, much preferring properties that are immaculate. Very different from London where people will buy as much property as they can in a slightly edgy area and live in it until they can afford to do building work. My guess is that attitudes will change. My advice, probably worthless, is to also get everything lined up in advance: mortgage in principle; solicitor name etc, and tell the agent at the viewing that you are ready to go. A vendor who wants to move quickly will prefer a well qualified buyer to getting more via a protracted bidding war. Also view properties slightly under your budget, with the idea that you may need to go up to 10% above. There is so little on the market that it is quite possible that property prices will rise through the spring.

Sorry about posting so much on my own thread.

Thought I would come back to say that DDs purchase of a house in Ravenhill went through a month ago.

The market is really difficult. Lots of people looking at very few properties - as many as 70 people wanting to view properties new on the market. DD was really lucky. The agent was very good, the solicitor was super efficient, and the vendor lovely. We also had a good Belfast-based mortgage broker who was able to organise an application within the day in order to take advantage of an attractive rate that was coming to an end.

The vendor had already found a property outside Belfast so just wanted things to go through smoothly and DD did her best to oblige including not quibbling over small problems in the survey. At the end of the day DD wanted to secure the property and was happy with the price she was paying. The vendor then kindly sold her unwanted furniture (sofa, beds, table) at a reasonable price and left behind other things she did not need, so DD was able to move straight in. And really helpfully moved out in advance of when her own purchase was due for completion.

I had a great few days getting to know South Belfast, and definitely want to come back. Our experience was that it was important to carve out a block of time to see as many properties as possible. Not least it helps highlight which are a better fit than others.

I understand that it is a deliberate policy to underprice properties, especially those within a FTB budget, to attract a lot of viewings, so worth having your finances sorted, being decisive and accepting you might have to offer 10% above. (Some properties I saw, went for 20% over. ) Even though we offered above asking (offers over) both our surveyor and the mortgage valuer valued the property at the same price DD was paying.

Other than the frantic market and the "offers over" the only other significant difference is that apparently 90% of houses in Belfast are leasehold. We had a bit of a panic when we noticed, but the solicitor assured DD it was normal. Exchange of contracts also normally happens on the same day as completion, which meant that it can be nerve racking until the end, especially if a chain is involved. It also means that the solicitor might want to "order" the mortgage money the day before so that it is there when needed.

Oh, and everyone seems to know each other. It turned out that our surveyor had been in the same class at school as the vendor, and people on the next table to us in a restaurant knew the new neighbours. That sort of thing. A bit unnerving if you come from London.

The help I had earlier was really useful, so thank you.

One other thing. The "offers over" can lead to a protracted auction process, with everyone raising by £1,000 and then others having a couple of days to respond, and going on until the vendor accepts. We followed the English "sealed bids" approach and simply offered what we expected we would have to pay eventually, ie our best and final offer. The vendor wanted a quick problem free sale so, slightly to our surprise, accepted straight away. We had told the agent that we had been trying to bid on another property but were frustrated by the dozy agent (he knew the agent and agreed), so I guess got our offer right as in the amount he expected to get for the property, and he did not want to lose DD.

So glad your daughter got a great house.
I'm in Dublin and the guide price imho is a work of fiction by auctioneers.
It's not a new thing either. It has been going on for decades.

I’m so pleased to read your update, glad that DD has got a house she wanted and you both managed to navigate the system!

I hate that raising by £1,000 increments nonsense, we did offer a much bigger increase last time on what is now our home and said that would have to be it, another potential buyer offered to match eventually but because we had done so first they accepted ours (as it happens I think we paid more than what the house was worth but a very tricky moving situation meant we just needed to get a house).

I haven’t moved any further forward with my house purchase, hoping to look properly in the next few months.

Does this mean you’ll be over visiting @alteredimage ? Hope the spare room has a comfy bed!