House Prices

[pinkmonkey]

The house we rented (a 3 bedroom in zone 4 opposite a park) sold for £400k less than a week after we moved out. It needs about £50k worth of work done on it too - new everything as it was very very tatty, crumbly plaster, rickey floorboards, dodgy wiring, rotten windows, you name it. We were very shocked that it sold for that much, to say the least.

The mortgage on our narrowboat is £350 a month. I can remember when I was married, (mid nineties) the mortgage on my husbands new 1 bed flat in Lewisham was £300 a month. That's a reasonable amount to pay IMO. Not the thousands some have to fork out nowadays.

Like Crispy, my dad is an architect. But the sticking point could be land. My dad said even in W Yorkshire (where I'm from) you're looking at a million pounds an acre, now. God knows how much it costs in the South East.

 

[sir.clip]

Chill out brother........

You are not ensnared in the property ladder. No..

So Great for you.. wonderfull & brilliant.. Excellent.. Woo..
How nice to be housed by the council.. & have your life subsidised so you can drink & visit festivals...& come onto forums & tell others that you are housed by the council & can drink & visit festivals.... Great, good on you, wicked, Crucial & marvelous..... Wow you have a job. Bully for you...
What a dude.. I wanna be like you..

Instead its that £1500 a month mortgage..

So tell me why do I feel worse off..?
Are you pissing down my back & telling me its raining ?



'Oak' & ash= flash.. ... Cockney Rhyming slang.

I am what i am. sometimes a twat sometimes a cool dude sometimes I just point out the obvious to other's..

 

[Griff]

. My dad said even in W Yorkshire (where I'm from) you're looking at a million pounds an acre, now. God knows how much it costs in the South East.

Here's an example of plot prices in Essex. The more expensive ones have DPP (detailed planning permission) for the building of dwellings. So add a minimum of £85k on top.

http://www.buildstore.co.uk/plotsearch/fst-plotsearch-summary.html

Cambrigeshire, especially Wisbech & March are a lot cheaper.

 

[Spion]

I am what i am. sometimes a twat sometimes a cool dude sometimes I just point out the obvious to other's..

In this case you're being a twat. William's post was a valuable reminder that there is/was an alternative to the property ladder. It's a very odd thing to accuse someone of showing off for being a council tenant.

 

[hendo]

I don't understand why you're having a go at WoW Sir Clip. Tis totally superfluous; he was telling us that he had a council flat, and were it not for this he couldn't live in London. What's there to be rude to him about?

 

[Spion]

I think he's feeling bitter about his mortgage payments. You'll get it back in the end, mate!

 

[hammerntongues]

I haven`t got a clue what he`s on about but its come to something when you have to appologise for being a council tennant

 

[zoltan]

Here's an example of plot prices in Essex. The more expensive ones have DPP (detailed planning permission) for the building of dwellings. So add a minimum of £85k on top.

http://www.buildstore.co.uk/plotsearch/fst-plotsearch-summary.html

Cambrigeshire, especially Wisbech & March are a lot cheaper.

sorry mate - its dead ( not a subscriber ) - would it be possible to cut n paste some tasty snippets to whet our housing appetites please ?

Id like to see what the prices are like in London

cheers

 

[Roadkill]

Chill out brother........

Fuck off and stop trying to bait William. Sure he was lucky ending up where he is, but as Spion and hendo point out, all he's done is to point out the benefits of renting - not least of which is that, if it weren't for social housing, London would be way out of reach of a great many people.

I've got no intention of buying a house anytime soon. It simply isn't worth it. It's certainly no cheaper than renting, and that's before you factor in all the costs of maintenance that you become liable for when you own your own place. And all the hassle. When my friend who owns his place (£150k for a badly-built, 1980s box in Woolwich!) has a leak in the roof it costs him a fortune in time and money to get it put right: when I've got problems I just ring the landlord.

Nor do I see the point of this very British obsession with owning your own place. I'm sure it must be nice to be able to think, 'this is my place,' but what difference does it really make? Not a lot IMO. I don't feel any less at home in my rented flat than I would in somewhere I technically own but would have a fucking great mortgage on. And although it's nice to think you'll have somewhere all of your own for your old age, personally I don't care very much whether it's technically mine or not.

Outside London, where houses are cheaper, buying might make more sense, but I can't see myself ever buying somewhere in the big smoke - and frankly, I don't want to live here long-term anyway.

The 'property ladder' is more like a greasy pole, IMO. More fool those who feel they have to try and climb it without wondering whether it's worth the risk and aggro.

 

[hammerntongues]

I live in Essex , a building plot for a moderate 3/4 bed home with DPP where I live would be £ 200-250 000 before you even put a spade in the ground.

 

[Griff]

sorry mate - its dead ( not a subscriber )
cheers

Ooops, forgot it was something I had to pay to subscibe to.

27 Debden Road, Saffron Walden, Essex, CB11 4AA PLOT STATUS: Under Offer

PLOT DESCRIPTION: 2 Plots with OPP for the constuction of a pair of semi detached Victorian Style cottages.
Unit 1, 1,150 square feet, entrace hall, cloakroom, lounge, breakfast room/kitchen, two bedrooms, en-suite shower room, bathroom.

Unit 2, 1,050 square feet, entrance hall, cloakroom, lounge, kitchen/breakfast room, two bedrooms and bathroom. VIEWING DETAILS: Contact Agent.
PRICE: £250,000 - Offers in the Region

So this is a two plot Plotshare which with another person will set you back £125,000 for the land and however much to build a Victorian style semi covering 1150 sq. ft.

I never bothered subscribing to London plots, it would have been stoopid.

Besides I love Saffron Walden and the surrounding areas.

 

[art of fact]

my parents pretty bog standard 3 bed semi just got valued at, at least 470k its prety much doubled in price over 7 - 8 years

 

[sir.clip]

London would be way out of reach of a great many people.

British obsession with owning your own place.

Outside London, .

London is chocker block with outer town ponce's who think they are great.

This is britain & that obsession of owning property is traditional & a good way of creating a family home .

Outside london.. where is that?

 

[Roadkill]

London is chocker block with outer town ponce's who think they are great.

So what?

This is britain & that obsession of owning property is traditional & a good way of creating a family home .

tory drivel.

Buying property was out of the reach of most people until at least the 1960s and often later. It's hardly 'traditional' except among some sections of the middle (and of course upper) class.

And who says you can't create a good home in rented property?

Outside london.. where is that?

Somewhere with most of the same problems and not all of the advantages, but somewhere that costs a third as much to live in and is generally pleasanter.

 

[AnMarie]

...

 

[William of Walworth]

<Sarcasm>
You're not allowed to be *reasonably* or even *well paid* on here William, just look around at how people are refused support or attacked for being so
</sarcasm>

Sure, but sir clip appears to have a particular agenda, and I'm wondering exactly what it is

I'm as leftie and and anti capitalist/anti property market as they come, so it seems odd for me to be attacked in the way that I have been ...

Feel free to clarify, sir clip!

 

[William of Walworth]

I don't understand why you're having a go at WoW Sir Clip. Tis totally superfluous; he was telling us that he had a council flat, and were it not for this he couldn't live in London. What's there to be rude to him about?

Spot on x 1

I haven`t got a clue what he`s on about but its come to something when you have to appologise for being a council tennant

Spot on x 2 ...

Fuck off and stop trying to bait William. Sure he was lucky ending up where he is, but as Spion and hendo point out, all he's done is to point out the benefits of renting - not least of which is that, if it weren't for social housing, London would be way out of reach of a great many people.

Spot on x 3 ...

And more generally ...

I've got no intention of buying a house anytime soon. It simply isn't worth it. It's certainly no cheaper than renting, and that's before you factor in all the costs of maintenance that you become liable for when you own your own place. And all the hassle. When my friend who owns his place (£150k for a badly-built, 1980s box in Woolwich!) has a leak in the roof it costs him a fortune in time and money to get it put right: when I've got problems I just ring the landlord.

Nor do I see the point of this very British obsession with owning your own place. I'm sure it must be nice to be able to think, 'this is my place,' but what difference does it really make? Not a lot IMO. I don't feel any less at home in my rented flat than I would in somewhere I technically own but would have a fucking great mortgage on. And although it's nice to think you'll have somewhere all of your own for your old age, personally I don't care very much whether it's technically mine or not.

Outside London, where houses are cheaper, buying might make more sense, but I can't see myself ever buying somewhere in the big smoke - and frankly, I don't want to live here long-term anyway.

The 'property ladder' is more like a greasy pole, IMO. More fool those who feel they have to try and climb it without wondering whether it's worth the risk and aggro.

... Roadkill knows the score ...

 

[William of Walworth]

Chill out brother........

You are not ensnared in the property ladder. No..

So Great for you.. wonderfull & brilliant.. Excellent.. Woo..
How nice to be housed by the council.. & have your life subsidised so you can drink & visit festivals...& come onto forums & tell others that you are housed by the council & can drink & visit festivals.... Great, good on you, wicked, Crucial & marvelous..... Wow you have a job. Bully for you...
What a dude.. I wanna be like you..

Instead its that £1500 a month mortgage..

So tell me why do I feel worse off..?
Are you pissing down my back & telling me its raining ?



'Oak' & ash= flash.. ... Cockney Rhyming slang.

I am what i am. sometimes a twat sometimes a cool dude sometimes I just point out the obvious to other's..

Well self-outed sir.

Why the fuck you need to have a go at me personally for getting lucky, rather than at the system or at the REALLY privileged, is beyond me though.

Perhaps it's because you're basically a nasty person?

ETA : Divide and rule in action possibly ...

 

[marty21]

Chill out brother........

You are not ensnared in the property ladder. No..

So Great for you.. wonderfull & brilliant.. Excellent.. Woo..
How nice to be housed by the council.. & have your life subsidised so you can drink & visit festivals...& come onto forums & tell others that you are housed by the council & can drink & visit festivals.... Great, good on you, wicked, Crucial & marvelous..... Wow you have a job. Bully for you...
What a dude.. I wanna be like you..

Instead its that £1500 a month mortgage..

So tell me why do I feel worse off..?
Are you pissing down my back & telling me its raining ?



'Oak' & ash= flash.. ... Cockney Rhyming slang.

I am what i am. sometimes a twat sometimes a cool dude sometimes I just point out the obvious to other's..

you chose to buy your property, william has chosen not to...for reasons he has clearly stated

my mortgage is £400 a month btw, paid by two of us

 

[ViolentPanda]

London is chocker block with outer town ponce's who think they are great.

And wherever you live obviously has at least one massive arsehole who thinks he's great.

This is britain & that obsession of owning property is traditional & a good way of creating a family home .

Traditional my aunt fanny, you ahistoric eejit.

 

[ViolentPanda]

Well self-outed sir.

Why the fuck you need to have a go at me personally for getting lucky, rather than at the system or at the REALLY privileged, is beyond me though.

Perhaps it's because you're basically a nasty person?

ETA : Divide and rule in action possibly ...

I think "nasty person" is rather too kind.

"Self-pitying arsehole eejit" has a much better feel to it.

 

[spanglechick]

to present the other view to Roadkill -

I do want to get back on the housing ladder. I don't have a pension, so the money i spend on accomodation providing for me in my old age (either as a roof over my head, or equity to sell - seems like the way forward.

i'll be laying out that money anyway, in rent. the differences betweeen rent and mortgages on equivalent sized properties fluctuate (atm, rents are lower but that's not the norm) - and so i may as well lay that money out for 25 years and have something to show for it.

whether i will be able to get back on the ladder is another story, and depends on all kinds of things. I'm hoping in maybe 3 years' time / whenever I get my debts paid off?

 

[PacificOcean]

I now have a mortgage with my other half (I wouldn't have been able to afford it on my own)

However, I would much rather the security of a council/HA property. It must be comforting to know that no matter what happens, you will always have a roof over your head.

 

[Roadkill]

to present the other view to Roadkill -

I do want to get back on the housing ladder. I don't have a pension, so the money i spend on accomodation providing for me in my old age (either as a roof over my head, or equity to sell - seems like the way forward.

i'll be laying out that money anyway, in rent. the differences betweeen rent and mortgages on equivalent sized properties fluctuate (atm, rents are lower but that's not the norm) - and so i may as well lay that money out for 25 years and have something to show for it.

whether i will be able to get back on the ladder is another story, and depends on all kinds of things. I'm hoping in maybe 3 years' time / whenever I get my debts paid off?

I see that side of it but I'm not convinced.

I've known people whose mortgages have been less than my rent, but they were still laying out a small fortune for a shoebox, whereas my rent got me a half-decent flat. Nor am I convinced that renting is even usually more expensive: sometimes, perhaps, but once you factor in maintenance etc I don't believe renting comes out more expensive.

In the long term? Well, maybe you'll end up with a property to sell to provide for old age, but for me that seems a long time off and I'm not disposed to worry about it now. Besides, you might be able to sell the house, but you won't see a fair bit of the money if there's still a humungous mortgage outstanding on it.

In much of Europe, house-buying is much less prevalent than it has become here in the last few decades (and it's a pretty modern British fad) and people seem to manage okay. They don't have the inevitable panics about debt and negative equity that happen every so often here, for a start...

I'm not suggesting that no-one should buy their own house - just that the 'property ladder' is a bit of a con, there are a lot of risks involved, and it's as well to remember that renting is a perfectly sensible option for many.

 

[moon]

I bought my tiny flat in 1999 when no other soul wanted to live in Crystal Palace, things have changes a bit now and the flat is now worth about £110k more.

So I'm on the move again to another unloved part of deepest south east london where I can get a well built 2 bed house with a 90 foot garden and large rooms.

I really do think people should consider getting a roof over their heads in unpopular parts of the city, transport links to popular areas are not so bad and you really do get much more space for your money.

 

[spanglechick]

I see that side of it but I'm not convinced.

I've known people whose mortgages have been less than my rent, but they were still laying out a small fortune for a shoebox, whereas my rent got me a half-decent flat. Nor am I convinced that renting is even usually more expensive: sometimes, perhaps, but once you factor in maintenance etc I don't believe renting comes out more expensive.

In the long term? Well, maybe you'll end up with a property to sell to provide for old age, but for me that seems a long time off and I'm not disposed to worry about it now. Besides, you might be able to sell the house, but you won't see a fair bit of the money if there's still a humungous mortgage outstanding on it.

In much of Europe, house-buying is much less prevalent than it has become here in the last few decades (and it's a pretty modern British fad) and people seem to manage okay. They don't have the inevitable panics about debt and negative equity that happen every so often here, for a start...

I'm not suggesting that no-one should buy their own house - just that the 'property ladder' is a bit of a con, there are a lot of risks involved, and it's as well to remember that renting is a perfectly sensible option for many.

couple of points - why would you still have a humungous mortgage outstanding on your house? - that's why people buy in their thirties - so that the 25 year mortgage will be paid off before retirement. Unless you suddenly decide to remortgage in your late 40s or later, outstanding mortgage isn't going to happen.

The other thing about rents vs mortgages, is that if you stay put on the housing ladder and don't keep trading upwards, your mortgage stays low as the housing market inevitably rises - that's how marty is paying £400 or whatever - it'd cost him a bloody sight more to rent the same property by now - because rents rise in parrallel with the housing market (give or take).

 

[PacificOcean]

I really do think people should consider getting a roof over their heads in unpopular parts of the city, transport links to popular areas are not so bad and you really do get much more space for your money.

That's what I have done - I have moved out to Zone 6 and got a three bed house with huge rooms and garden for £225k.

Thing is it's actually really nice here as my bedroom window looks out over fields and Epping Forest in the distance.

It's only 25 minutes into Central London (when ONE can be arsed to run a train service that is )

 

[Roadkill]

couple of points - why would you still have a humungous mortgage outstanding on your house? - that's why people buy in their thirties - so that the 25 year mortgage will be paid off before retirement. Unless you suddenly decide to remortgage in your late 40s or later, outstanding mortgage isn't going to happen.

The other thing about rents vs mortgages, is that if you stay put on the housing ladder and don't keep trading upwards, your mortgage stays low as the housing market inevitably rises - that's how marty is paying £400 or whatever - it'd cost him a bloody sight more to rent the same property by now - because rents rise in parrallel with the housing market (give or take).

Plenty of people buy later in life, and don't have 25 years to pay off a mortgage before retiring. In addition, I wonder if mortgage periods will have to be extended as house prices rise far above what's affordable for most people over a 25-year period.

Point taken about staying low on the 'property ladder' (and I hate that term, with all its aspirant/yuppie/Thatcherite overtones), but again, that doesn't happen in a lot of cases.

And anyway, despite the confidence of some, I think it will crash at some point. Every boom in history has ended in slump, and the housing market it so far out of balance atm that I don't believe it will go on like this forever.

But to reiterate, London is far worse than most other parts of the country - which is one reason I don't plan on staying.

 

[equationgirl]

I bought in a part of town that had previously been famous for its docks, hookers and heroin (but is actually a fairly decent part of town to live in).

I can walk back from the centre of the city - takes me about 20 minutes or so. I spent six months looking for a flat to buy that would be the largest I could afford on what I was earning. I looked at dozens of properties (some were rat infested hell holes) before I found my flat.

I chose to buy because it was right for me to do that, just as it right for WoW to be a council tenant.

 

[Griff]

That's what I have done - I have moved out to Zone 6 and got a three bed house with huge rooms and garden for £225k.

Thing is it's actually really nice here as my bedroom window looks out over fields and Epping Forest in the distance.

Where are you Woodford/Buckhurst Hill?

That's pretty good for a 3 bedroom house, the agent quoted me £260k for my two bed.

Just re-read your post, and are you out as far as Harlow if you have to use ONE for transport?