Owning your own home

WF is a pretty big borough, sure you'll find something

Looks like probate, E11 £399:

https://www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/44397269?search_identifier=6602fa85f16ee58599f5752cac52ff22

You could play yourself like a total tool and buy this bad boy:

http://www.stirlingackroyd.com/property-for-sale/-for-sale-in-bridge-court-lea-bridge-road-london-e10/30151#

Come live in our cracky block. Pay post gentrification prices for a pre-gentrification flat! Brilliant!

I offer £10

Cracky? The deets say it's bathed in natural light. Fucking bathed in it.

It IS bathed in natural light! That's because the crackheads bang their way in pon de regs!

Actually it's not as bad as I'm making it out. Our block is probably the last place in London you can still buy a two bed flat for under £200k, and we're forming a residents association to make sure the managing agents sort their shit out, so at some point it will be worth that, but it's a good three or four years off.

I'm actually convinced.

Who'd have thought you can buy anything anywhere under two-hundy large? And easy access to chemical entertainment too.

.

Sorry - ignore me.

They've done a good job on that I reckon. Good news for you if they get 315 as it'll set a precedent for the block.

I think you're underselling it - right Lea Bridge Rd is perfect for riding out to Essex.

Yeah you guys are right, I'm just being a jerk. Bridge Court does have its problems but it's kind of amazing that there's anywhere this cheap left in London. I'd never have got on the property ladder out East if this place didn't exist.

And you have a Quality Bike Shop under you! Not stolen or anything!

What are people's thoughts on shared ownership?

I've got the resources to buy into a shared ownership scheme in Brixton/Peckham, but I'm hearing conflicting reports on the value for money - spiraling maintenance costs and difficulty to sell being reported as issues.

Situation: 26yo, single, can see myself in London for at least the next 3-5 years, good salary (in the low 40s), could stretch to £40k deposit using personal savings and parental contribution. Salary likely to increase in coming years.

My options currently:
1) Remain in sharehouse in Streatham for at least another year. 740pcm all-in, living with 2 housemates, 40min ride to work. not responsible for maintenance, can save approx 1/3 of take-home each month.
2) Shared Ownership: Buy 25%-35% of 1 bed flat in Brixton ostensibly worth £350k-£400k. Get to live on my own, better location, but maybe fall into maintenance cost trap/difficulty to sell when the time comes. Attempt to staircase up to 100% as salary increases.
3) Buy 100% of a flat around the £220k mark way further out (Norbury/Thornton Heath/Croydon (shudder)).

This is not a purely financial decision - there's a quality of life aspect to being located further in. I like my ~40min commute ride - it's a distance I'm comfortable with, plus it's not too tough to get to Streatham by tube/bus when I'm not on the bike. I know many people do the Croydon-Zone 1 commute ride (think of the gainz!), but I'm not sure it's for me. Also not sure I could face East Croydon station on mornings when I'm not riding.

Thoughts appreciated, even if it is to tell me I'm being a prat, I'm only 26 and I need to stop getting ahead of myself...

There's some pros...and there's some cons. Some of the cons you are aware of and are quite large.

I think a lot of it depends on the quality of the Housing Association you would be buying through, and the quality of the block and the mix of the other residents.

One bed flats...also I'd avoid these.

One bed flats...also I'd avoid these.

Could you expand on that?

Could you expand on that?

The discount you get for forfeiting a room doesn't stack up against the disadvantages; you can't get a lodger in (which is a super great way of buying more equity if SO) and it's harder to sell because there are less people who will consider single bed flats. For example landlords - they aren't a fan.

I know a few people who've done it. One has now staircased up to 100% and is looking to sell the flat. From the sounds of things the sale process has been a little more extended because of extra hoops with the housing association, etc.

He also had issues with maintenance fees, service charge, etc which ended with them auditing the company running it, claiming money back and the residents taking over.

Overall though he doesn't regret buying it.

Others who've bought more recently seem to be happy. Same kind of thought process in terms of quality of life and that was the only way to buy in somewhere they wanted to live. To my eye the service charge, etc seems steep but I think that's the way with most modern flats.

The main thing is probably how long you're planning to stay in London. Going through the whole process to stay for 3 years doesn't seem worth it. If you're staying longer then having somewhere to live that you can't be chucked out of is nice, assuming you'll be happy to live there for a decent number of years if the worst comes to the worst.

I know a few people who've done it. One has now staircased up to 100% and is looking to sell the flat.

This is what I'm doing, now. Yet to see what happens when solicitors start to talk to the HA - I've yet to have a sensible offer.

But if that's all you can afford as a FTB then it's what you have to buy. My advice is buy a 1 bed flat with proper separate living room, if you get in a dire financial situation you can rent that out if you really need to.

OK, interesting. I've heard lodgers are a no-no in SO flats, but suppose it must depend on the HA in question.

Owning a 2-bed outright would be great, but I would certainly have to sacrifice location. Compromises only to be expected when taking the first leap onto the ladder though. :)

From what I gather the HA had a clause that the property had to be initially offered to the HA at market value for them to sell.

The lad I know put it on the market, got some offers and presented those to the HA as market value which got rid of the haggling about what market value is. The HA decided they didn't want to pay that price so allowed them to carry on selling privately.

They did run into problems though in that the lease didn't allow sub-letting which ruled out purchase for anyone looking for buy-to-let.

The main thing is probably how long you're planning to stay in London. Going through the whole process to stay for 3 years doesn't seem worth it. If you're staying longer then having somewhere to live that you can't be chucked out of is nice, assuming you'll be happy to live there for a decent number of years if the worst comes to the worst.

Yeah, I get that. My 3-5 years estimate is very much a lower bound (you can remind me of this in 2 years when I sell-up and leave).

Same kind of thought process in terms of quality of life and that was the only way to buy in somewhere they wanted to live.

This is a big part of it. Sure I might be financially better off in Thornton Heath, but c'mon... Brixton's cool! Being able to wander down to the Village on a Saturday morning gets big QoL bonus points. Plus having friends/relatives/other visitors (ahem) come to a flat on the Victoria line is waaaay less hassle than having people come all the way out to visit Croydon. I need to work out what price I personally put on that.

rom what I gather the HA had a clause that the property had to be initially offered to the HA at market value for them to sell.

Yes, that's right, and usually they value by asking a surveyor to make a figure up I mean do a desk evaluation.

They did run into problems though in that the lease didn't allow sub-letting

Hah, shit lease. I assume they knew that, when they bought the place. I don't understand why solicitors seem to be bad at telling their clients about the things in the lease they really should think about before pulling the trigger.

OK, interesting. I've heard lodgers are a no-no in SO flats

Depends on the lease, but even if they are ruled out, it's not enforceable.

But if that's all you can afford as a FTB then it's what you have to buy. My advice is buy a 1 bed flat with proper separate living room

Or just move further out until you can afford a two bed - it won't be far because as I said the one bed flat discount is tiny - and never get in dire financial straights at all because someone will always pay a hefty chunk of your mortgage for you to stay in your spare room. This is tax free and this is a trick you can only early on in your life but as time goes on it becomes much harder.

One bed modern flats are bankers crash pads only.