Buying first house (Budget 300K) - opinions would be really appreciated.

[AndreeaG]

After years of renting we are finally looking for a house to buy. So being FTBs, I really need a second opinion.

Both myself and my partner will need to commute into London daily.

We have seen a first-floor maisonette, which is close to the Greenford station and we like the area. Is currently listed for £307,000 and it comes with 100 years of lease. What do you guys think what are the advantages/disadvantages of buying a first-floor maisonette?

We would like to buy a house instead of a maisonette, however, because of our £300,000 budget, we struggle to find a 2bed house with a garden. Do you have any suggestion on areas that we should be looking to buy a house within our budget e.g. (Watford)? Should we also wait to see what happens with Brexit?

Thanks for any input!

For a first home, I personally would pick the area over the house - it's unlikely to be your forever home and you can build equity over a few years and then move up to a house if you wish. I'd think carefully about such a short lease though - other posters will probably be able to comment better than I can but 100 years sounds fairly short, given that 75-80 year leases are often considered 'unsaleable'.

Regarding Brexit, the market is London seems to have been impacted a fair bit and you might be able to get a good deal, particularly as you have no chain.

HTH and good luck with buying your first home!

Have you lived in a flat or maisonette or been living in a house? We rented a flat before buying, all good for 6 months until flat above us changed hands and was let to students and they wanted to party all night every night.

Also what about maintenance of the building? Do you just pay for things as and when? If so what about if the owner of the other maisonette/maisonettes doesn't want to pay? I have maisonettes opposite me and one isn't maintained at all, the guttering has been broken for years as a result water pours down the outside of the building whenever it rains. There is a lack of control that I wouldn't be happy with.

So personally I would compromise more on location to get a freehold house that is 100% yours.

Are you particularly keen on that area? For £300K you could buy a small terraced house in the SE9 or SE 18 or DA15 areas. Much closer to central London than Greenford but that obviously depends on what station you need to come into/area ties etc. The commute cost will be a lot lower too.

100 years is a good lease and it's good to be upstairs and neighbours above can be more of a pain to consider.

Do you have/plan children? Are schools a consideration? First floor not ideal for carrying babies and buggies or going downstairs to use the garden.

Also, I'm not sure that Brexit will have that much impact on the cheapest properties (by London standards) as there always seem to be people keen to get on the property ladder.

48 mins to Euston by fast Train from Rugby
www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/52617180

Or what about
www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/photos/52627346?search_identifier=015c45a2d50ee75351f5c52cd5b42dda With scope to improve abs lovely location opposite the park?

Agree that a freehold house is a better investment- after living in a purchased maisonette would never do it again

Just checked season ticket prices from Rugby. 16k/year for a couple working in London (incl tube travel). Would be more than the mortgage

Oh yes didn’t notice that you both have to be in London daily!

Hi all,

Thank you for your help and advice.

Some more information which I forgot to add is that the ground floor maisonette is currently rented. In regards to the lease, this will be extended to 100 years by the vendor upon completion, ground rent is £50/year and service charges £350/year (includes building insurance).

Where do you work? Maybe look at places on the train line where you can get more more your money, but factor in the train cost as well.

How do do you intend to live there? A flat will have a shorter term prospect, and then you will,have the removal costs again when you upgrade.

We work in Shoreditch and we need to travel daily to Liverpool Street Station OR Shoreditch High Street Station.

In regards to the journey time, we are looking at around 1hour 30min max per journey.

We have looked at Horsham and we like the properties which are within our price bracket. However, the train ticket (inc Zone 1-6) will cost us around £450/month.

Service charge of £350/year may get seem lovely and low but actually sounds like trouble. If there are any bigger repairs required like the roof, gutters etc you might need to fork out thousands at a short notice.

Horsham is lovely but a million miles away from London. I don't know Greenford at all - is it more suburban? If you're after somewhere younger and vibrant, then I can see there are flats for your budget close to Crystal Palace station and the Triangle - nice restaurants, bars etc + a nice park. It's zone 3 on the overground to Shoreditch High Street.

Or do you want to be out somewhere quieter? The commuter belt is going to be pricey in terms of travel.

I also know one couple in Plumsted - one of the spots on Lightsabre's list. It falls into the up and coming bracket but it'll get the Crossrail soon.

How about Croydon? 15 mins to victoria or London bridge and still in London zone 5 i think. Lots of homes being built in Croydon so you might be able to get a decent home for £300k

Bishops Stortford has trains into London Liverpool Street on a fast route and 2 bed houses for £300k and good schools.

If Brexit goes to no deal I would expect prices to fall - Bank of England has scenarios for a 40% fall in residential house prices last time I looked which isn't a prediction but its what banks have to withstand. If a big fall happens it could push you into negative equity and you may not be able to move. In the longer term house prices tend to always rise. If its just another extension wouldn't expect any massive change in prices.

I would be looking but not buying if no deal goes through.

Sorry checked and it was a 33% fall in the BoE stress test not 40% but still a lot.

Have you thought about Essex OP? Some nice bits and easy commutes, £300k would even get you a garden

Well done on getting to the point of being FTBs but I do think the maisonette will be a mistake. It has several features that would deter me now and I've bought two similar properties in the past but would never do so again having had that experience.

As PPs have said, a leasehold is always a compromise and even with an extension it is not particularly a long one - you will find it harder to sell the longer you live there. Service charges are only half the story - I paid them in my properties but in both ended up having to fork out thousands for other essential repairs that the Service charge didn't cover.

You have no control over who is living below you; the initial tenant below my first maisonette was as quiet as a mouse but was subsequently followed by several who variously played loud music through the night, had screaming rows with their partners or had regular visits from the police.

I don't know if you are planning to have children but it's a real pain lugging buggies etc up and downstairs.

Please look at some of the excellent suggestions on this thread - you will be able to get a house which is freehold in your budget but it needs to be a focused operation. Draw a radius out from where you both need to get to work and really research those areas that have a combination of an acceptable commute, both in terms of time and cost, plus housing within your price bracket. For instance several of my colleagues have bought their first homes in Stevenage and a quick look at Rightmove shows several 2 and 3 bedroom houses in your price bracket and a 48 min journey, including the tube, from Stevenage to Shoreditch.

One thing I'd say about Stevenage, though, is that the crime rates are high even compared to most of London.

There's this one in Ware, needs a bit of work but its mainly them taking their clutter out:

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-56515839.html

Ware has a trainline into Liverpool Street, good schools, is very safe and a very pretty town. Trains are only 20 mins or so so you do have to make sure you don't miss one.

Actually kitchen and bathroom look like need redoing but it has been on market a while so might be worth trying a lower offer.

Agree with posts about maisonette not having freehold.

It leaves you vulnerable and may be difficult to sell in a falling market.

Location is the most important and that firstly is fact that it's positioned in someone else's house!

So a house that is 100% yours but in a slightly less desirable area wins at housing top trumps!

Be cheeky with your initial offers. It's a buyer's market so don't be scared to look £20k or more above your budget.

Good luck!

I’ve got a bit of experience of flats due to dabbling in property investment for about 15 years.

If you really like Greenford or some other area best, you could get a flat but you’d need to pick carefully. My favourite are actually slightly larger blocks (say 12-20 flats) that are well managed. They will have well kept communal areas and healthy ‘sinking funds’ to pay for big repairs. Service charge tends to be 1000-1500 annually. Gardens are communal but with some luck on the ground floor you can get a private patio. Share of freehold is better but leaseholds aren’t bad at all. With over 80 years remaining, it can be extended for a nominal fee. If it goes under 80 years, it starts getting more expensive but it’s all legally regulated so not that difficult.

And while flats get bad reputation for possible noise, terraced houses aren’t that great either as you’ll hear your neighbours just as much. But obviously you get to decide your own repairs and you get a private garden.

Hi all,

Thank you so much for all your support & advice.

We still haven't found the property that will tick all the boxes for us, but we will keep looking until we find one that we like within our price range

Kind Regards,
Andreea