London flat - Would this sales history give cause for concern.

[another20]

One bed flat, zone 2, in old Georgian building, share of freehold - was sold in 2004, 2007, 2010, 2014 and is up for sale now. Is this too often - does it raise alarm bells? Or do one beds churn faster especially in London. Current owner is BTL investor wanting to offload

That sales history, for a one bedroom flat in zone 2, would not give me raise for concern on its own but I would definitely have a good look around the neighbourhood. Has the flat increased in price on each sale?

One bed flat selling often wouldn’t surprise me as they are often a first time buy. Singles or couples buy them and then upsize when they can afford to, or they want to start a family.

3 years each time. Do you want somewhere for 3 years or forever?
I'd deffo check in on the neighbours but its probably more to do with the size of the home and household.

I would check out the neighbours.

What floor is it on? Those types of converted Georgian flats often have noise transmission issues from above/below - might push people into moving more quickly. But agree one bed flats do turnover fast esp if not pied a terre

Check with the council if there have been any noise or other complaints registered. Legally they have to provide this information.

I would be concerned (but I'm paranoid about bad neighbours and other unknown issues) It costs such a lot to move home - that seems like a lot of selling up.

I'd hang about the area and try and catch people coming and going to the building and ask them what it's like living there.

I don't think it would raise concerns with me as people can move on quickly but it could be worth doing your homework as a noisy neighbour would worry me a bit.

There's a house a few doors down from my in-laws which sells every few years (and it's worth over £1.3m so you can imagine the stamp duty!). My father in law thinks it's haunted and is sure he walked past one day to see a vicar performing an exorcism in the front room.

Btl investor off loading is to be expected - if the epc is below e it is now illegal to rent, and many on mn will be pleased to hear that recent changes are discouraging landlords.

If you want to live in it ask if the tenants have gone, you can't exchange until they do.

A one bed may get sold more often due to people moving on to something larger. Georgian is lovely but it may not be a great conversion. We have a flat in a Victorian building but it was gutted and the sound and heat insulation is good. It’s warm and quiet. If it’s in a good area and it’s a pleasant building I don’t see why there would be noisy neighbours who have been there since before 2002 causing everyone to move every three years!

It is the middle (1st floor) flat with one above and one below - v high ceilings and only 50m2 so small and no scope to extend. Land Reg shows it sold in:

2004 for £175,
2007 for £245,
2010 for £250,
2014 for £280
an is now on at £400

It needs a full refurb so could you add noise reduction materials and how effective are these in an old building (and how much do they cost?).

Def need to check out the neighbours - EA said "the lady upstairs is lovely" - assume above and below are one beds also as same footprint - didn't mention the ground floor person - assume above and below are one beds also as same footprint.

How do we go about checking any noise (or anti social behaviour?) complaints before investing in survey conveyancing etc?

The floors have a definite slope - posted about this earlier and the consensus ran from very normal for old buildings to could be subsidence.....

The current price seems high if it needs a full refurbishment. Look at local equivalent sold prices in the last few months. Offer what you'd like to pay and see what happens.

That's a massive jump from last time given that prices haven't really done that much in the last 3 years. I would have expected a much bigger jump between 2010 and 2014 as prices went a bit mental in spring 2014 (although maybe it sold very early in the year?)

Go and knock on the neighbours doors and say hello. Agree that the price seems high too.

I too would have expected a much bigger jump from 2010 to 2014 and not such a huge jump to now.

The sales history wouldn't me off as one bed flats churn more.

Personally I'm not a fan of conversion flats - noise transfer issues are too common.

I agree it is a massive jump since it was last sold and not consistent I don’t think with zone 2 London trends. It sold early Feb 2014 so could have been on market since summer 2013? So they may have got in ahead of the crazy peak period? The current owners have done nothing since buying it, they are currently letting to a family friend it is quite unkempt - think student standard.

What do you think is reasonable buying price? It is perfectly serviceable as it stands - although shabby.

The number of times it has sold would not worry me in zone 2. The price - without knowing exact location (is it near tube, is there outside space, what is local area like) it’s hard to value as some areas go up fast eg cross rail has increased prices... look at similar properties and consider how long has it been on the market, and how the price compares to similar properties

Often older inner London buildings (eg Camden, Islington) have mixed tenure where previously council owned flats have been sold under right to buy. So it is perfectly possible to have some flats staying long term let on social rent while others in the same building change hands privately. If there are ASB/noise issues this can be quite tough to deal with as social housing tenancies will be long term. If the bottom flat has never sold but the others change hands a lot this might raise a red flag for me.

As part of your enquiries (if you make an offer) perhaps ask the managing agent if there have been any noise complaints. We lived in a lovely Victorian flat. The noise from upstairs and downstairs was unbearable (ended up sleeping with ear plugs!). We considered sound insulation, but that would have only solved the upstairs issue. Didn’t want to rip up carpets and floorboards. We put up with the noise because the positives far outweighed the negative, but overall the noise was the reason we decided to sell (rather than rent out) when we moved.

It is share of freehold - does this mean the other 2 flats can’t be owned by the council or HA? Also is there always a managing agent when it is share of freehold?

If it's share of freehold, unlikely to be council or HA in the other flats.

Not always a managing agent, sometimes the flats manage it internally.

That's a ridiculous jump in price... certainly not in line with anything. I wouldn't even entertain it.

Thanks Cara - what would be your max given these figures. It is in Stoke Newington

If it is Georgian, it will not have been built by LCC: far too early. The first council flats were circa 1890. It sounds expensive for Stoke Newington.