Would you buy this ex-council flat?

54 replies

wordyoutalk · 17/03/2024 18:49

Thinking about buying a flat (first time buyer). Would like to live centrally but don't want an enormous mortgage. Also want a 'spare' bedroom to rent out if money ever gets tight/lose a job.

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/142869377#/?channel=RES_BUY

Check out this 3 bedroom flat for sale on Rightmove

3 bedroom flat for sale in Cambridge Street, Pimlico, SW1V for £695,000. Marketed by Jackson-Stops, Pimlico

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/142869377#/?channel=RES_BUY

OP posts:

BoringBoris · 18/03/2024 08:30

Schoolchoicesucks · 18/03/2024 08:18

I like the flat and the area.
With costs you'll need to factor in £250 per month (and increasing) service charge. Plus contributions to sinking fund for repairs as pp's have mentioned (which could be £10,000's). How long is the lease? If it's short, then you may struggle to get a mortgage/have to pay out for an extension.

Ex LA dont have a sinking fund
Ex LA are very simple and cheap to extend the lease.
My Westminster service charge (smaller flat) is £100 a month up from about £70 pre-pandemic which is almost entirely insurance cost drive. We have 2 onsite caretakers/handymen and a site office manned mon-fri. There are about 800 flats on our estate.

I also have a shared freehold flat in another part of the country- that is a much greater risk as only 5 of us share and it is a big building.

NewmummyJ · 18/03/2024 17:15

Letterbix · 18/03/2024 08:04

My first property was an ex-council maisonette which was lovely, nice area, great community feel on the estate etc but the maintenance fees were horrendous. I swore I would never buy leasehold again if at all possible after getting stung with an enormous bill (over 10k) for renovations on the estate. We lost money on the property as the bill was higher than what we made over the few years we were there (we bought and sold at a bad time!) but we moved because we couldn't risk another huge bill! Especially as the paperwork we got prior to sale said that the maintenance bills which came every 5 years or so averaged around £1000.

Show quote history

Yes unfortunately I've heard many stories such as this! I was tempted by an ex LA flat or two myself, but I understood that the maintenance charges can be bankrupting. It's a shame as as you describe there can be many positives. I know others in thread assume charges would be split 'fairly', in reality they are often split across the private owners, because the freeholder is the LA and decides how costs and works are arranged, and of course the council tenants aren't responsible for such charges.

usernother · 18/03/2024 17:17

@Geebray Hatty65
Goodness. How the other half live! 😉

I cannot conceive of blithely announcing I don't want a enormous mortgage, so I'm only thinking of forking out £700,000 as a FTB.

That kind of money is beyond most people's wildest dreams.

What was the actual point of that?

Probably just to say what most of us are thinking.

Geebray · 18/03/2024 17:39

usernother · 18/03/2024 17:17

@Geebray Hatty65
Goodness. How the other half live! 😉

I cannot conceive of blithely announcing I don't want a enormous mortgage, so I'm only thinking of forking out £700,000 as a FTB.

That kind of money is beyond most people's wildest dreams.

What was the actual point of that?

Probably just to say what most of us are thinking.

Do you go on to Style threads about Toast to say that most people can only afford Primark?

Do you go on to Travel threads and say that most people can't afford to go skiing?

Flip

1 2 3