One bed flat

[Lazingonasunnyafternoon20]

At some point, in the future, I would like to buy a one bed flat in London. Due to my budget, it would have to be a doer upper of sorts - nothing structural.

What kind of budget would you set for

kitchen

• units

-appliances -flooring

Hall
-flooring

Living room

• floor

Bedroom
-floor

Bathroom
-new units
-floor
-taps

• bath, sink and toilet

The rest I think I can work out but I would like to know what kind of budget I could set myself.

Thanks

Remember, those prices quoted for auction properties are only guide prices, and would usually sell for much higher. They are priced kiwis to get people interested. And before you go wild with dreams of extensions, etc, unless you are a freeholder - unlikely - you will have to get the freeholder’s permission, which they may not grant. And it’ll cost you.

@Smallgoon I 've thought about SO and getting a secondhand one with 2 bedrooms (and rent one room out to a lodger if need be).

I might have to look into it again and see what options I have. It is so depressing to be in my 40s and looking at this quality of stuff. It has taken me a year to get an entry level secure job (have mobility problems due to illness). Job has potential though so not all negative and some of those places with a bit of tlc could look very different.

Kiwis - low !

@daisypond

I agree but also rightmove overprice I reckon because it's online. I bet local sellers would be a bit more realistic.

Rightmove don’t do the pricing for properties advertised on it. The auction houses or estate agents do.

It’s not an online estate agency.

I've been looking on the SO site - the rent you pay each month is so high (I am paying a low rent now). Most of them are actually pitched at salaries over £30,000 too.

The swiss cottage studio is a tiny box room with high ceilings. Horrendous.
Fir sleeping may d but not to live.

The Croydon studio looks a decent size and done out.

@Lazingonasunnyafternoon20 I'm so sorry to hear that. Would you be classified as a key worker at all?

It makes me so angry how property ownership is just an unrealistic dream for many. It wouldn't be so bad if the rents were reasonable but they're really not. Often you'll find a mortgage works out way less than rent, but obviously it's a lot hard to be in a position where you have a mortgage.

The Swiss Cottage one also states “there are signs of cracking.” So with any auction property you need to get a full survey so you don’t end up with a money pit.
And as a PP said, check the lease lengths.

@Lazingonasunnyafternoon20 also, most properties are over-priced when they're initially listed. When I was looking for property, say for example my max budget was 300K, I would deliberately look at properties listed at up to 350k. Remember that they are often listed at a higher price because sellers rarely get their asking price, and they know the price will be negotiated down so list higher. It's what I would do. If I knew I'd be happy with a set price, I wouldn't list at that price.

Keep track of properties that you like in your watched list, and regularly check to see if they have dropped in price (trust me, in the last couple of years, properties have been drastically dropping - I was once watching a property that dropped in price by 100k over the course of 3 months!!!). And when you notice that one you like has dropped, but is still higher than your actual budget, there's nothing stopping you from putting in an offer. The other good thing about 'watching' properties is that you have a good idea of how long it's been on the market. The longer it's been on, the more keen the seller is to sell.

The Croydon one looks the best bet. Ready to go.
Many auction properties go for higher than the guide price and you also need to pay 10% on the day, which you lose if you pull out. Defo look into buying an auction property.

Sorry, to clarify, I mean do your research about buying an auction property as there’s quite a lot to it, than you’d need to get up-to-speed on.

I should also add that I completed on my property in February this year. I made the offer last October. It was quite a drawn out process because the owner lived abroad, and had never even stepped foot inside the property! However, it was a one bed flat which was listed at £35k more than I what I paid for it. I was actually a little cheeky with my initial offer and offered as low as £50k below asking but after some toing and froing we agreed a final price which meant I upped my offer by another £15k (something I was always willing to do). Don't assume that a property is worth what it's list price is. A property is only worth what somebody is willing to pay for it.

Most lenders won't give you a mortgage on anything with less than 70 years left on the lease, so that takes out a number of those flats. You'll find it difficult to get a mortgage on anywhere that doesn't have at least a basic kitchen, toilet and sink.

The Swiss Cottage one says there are "signs of cracking" - I'd be wary of structural issues tbh.

The Thames View estate is rough, I wouldn't live there, especially as a single female. Plus the service charge is £200 a month.

Talking of service charges, I'd avoid any blocks with a lift if possible - they tend to have higher service charges.

You'll want to set aside a few £k for rewiring - you might get lucky, but in most cases if it needs a full new kitchen and bathroom, it'll need rewiring too.

What is your budget for the work? Would you need to live in it while saving for improvements or do you have somewhere else you can stay? Whereabouts in London do you need to get to ie what station? If we know what lines you can travel on, then we might be able to suggest other areas.

I think you need to think very carefully about auction properties and how it all works. Are you a cash buyer? If you're not, it's trickier as the time scale to exchange/complete is short. You'd need definite finances in place or a confirmed mortgage offer. You would probably need a full structural survey on some of those places and you'd need to very carefully look at any leasehold position. It's risky. I like Plumstead Common (High Streets a dump). Investment is coming though - same with Dartford and Edith re;Crossrail.

How about looking further out to the Medway towns? You'd probably find a studio/1bed for £150k. Your only other option is SO - at least you'd get a decent property in a nicer area. Or, a friend's son bought a house in Liverpool for £90K - rented it out after a few months and used the rental income towards his London rent. It rose in value by about £15K. Obviously if you have a mortgage, you'd need to apply to the bank for permission to let and also being a landlord, particularly from afar, is a minefield. Just another option.

In all cases, don't buy yet! See how the economy pans out post Covid and Brexit.

Can't link but a quick look on Rightmove throws up 56 properties in Chatham for example including many two bed houses with gardens for under £160K, some close to the station. Obviously, you'd have to add in commute costs. Gravesend and Strood are 'cheap' too.

Thank you all - some great advice.

I am due to start work in Croydon in the autumn. I might be at the Croydon base for 6 months - 1 year then hopefully I will move work back into Central London.

My salary is low at first

Thanks @Lightsabre

Yes, have thought of both of those options. Agree that it is not a good time atm but am trying to do the research I can now so that I am ready when it is a good time. I know Manchester and have thought about there but a friend said it is flooded with student properties.

have you considered West Croydon as a potential area to purchase, or even Croydon? I was thinking this would be a good option for you even before you mentioned your job posting there. I've noticed there are very good links from West Croydon to London for example. It has the overground (which I personally think is great) but also the rail trains that go straight to London bridge in like 18 minutes. How much further afield are you considering moving? I saw that @Lightsabre was suggesting Chatham but I wasn't sure how much outside of London you are willing to live. Do you know where in central London you might be posted after the Croydon stint?

We did up a two bed mid terrace house for 25k ish including installing central heating, rewiring, new bathroom and kitchen and complete redecoration including new floors.

That was us doing whatever we could do ourselves but paying professionals for what we didn't want to mess up!

@elbels out of interest, what did you do yourselves? I'm also intrigued and impressed by the number of people that manage to tackle challenging tasks by themselves!

@Smallgoon

No, I don't know where but West Croydon to Central London is easy enough, isn't it? I'll be working in East Croydon.

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-59562786.html

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-91552463.html

Not sure this one will still be standing in 6 months time -

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-
66422292.html

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-76587013.html

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-89309381.html

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-70014555.html

@Smallgoon we did knocking everything down ourselves (we made no structural changes! Apart from a wall in the kitchen), ripped everything out.

Paid for a plumber and electrician and for wooden flooring and carpets to be laid, and to re do the bathroom including tiling.

Built and installed the kitchen ourselves (from IKEA) apart from the worktop, and did all the tiling. Did all decorating, including stripping all wood back and starting again, and laying skirting.

Replaced insulation in the loft and boarded it.

Now we're onto the garden which we were going to pay someone to do but lockdown time plus DP not working means we can do it ourselves.

Have you heard of the Property Log extension that you can download and it works with the rightmove website, and tells you the price change history of each property?

So basically, the first link you just sent, I can see that that property has been on the market since March 2019, and was initially listed at 195k. Its price has dropped twice since then. I found the Property Log extension invaluable when I was looking at properties, as it gives you an idea on how desperate the vendor may to be sell, which means you have better buying power.

download it from here www.propertylog.net/

it's compatible with google chrome - check it out