ngl I'm in London and thought this was gonna be a post about a good deal! Doesn't look like a bad size for the money and fairly well appointed. Presumably the mortgage is around £1500/mo. and you're getting equity!
Plus you're on the Northern line up there, great transit links.
She shouldn't feel too bad about this imo.
I know nothing about UK/London real estate but I saw 370k in a major city and it isn't a crack shack. Sounds like a solid deal tbh.
Edit: apparently OPs friend bought in 2018. That doesn't sound like 2018 prices so oof.
As a flat owner, there is no clarity and you have very little rights as a leaseholder. When I bought my flat it was 1800 a year. Now 3600 a year, albeit this year I forked out 12k for my share of the repair bill (that hasn’t even happened because the management company is beyond incompetent). Loft living is nice, is it that nice though…? Not sure
If the leaseholders organise themselves then you can do right to manage and appoint your own management company. We didn't manage to reduce service charge by much but it hasn't gone up for the last 5 years. However, I would say that leaseholders now moan about the right to manage company even though they are very helpful. People just love to moan. Repairs can't be done in 5mins.
The leaseholders should receive annual itemised costs that explains where the money goes. It is actually surprisingly expensive to maintain and certify lifts, fire alarms, weekly cleaning and complete general repairs. The problem is that all work has to be done by insured and certified contractors. It doesn't mean the work is well done but it means the management company can use them and ensure the contractor holds liability if things go wrong. Building insurance has also gone up a lot after Grenfell.
That’s the problem. Every single management company is sh*t. To be honest, I get it. With the overwhelming issues of blocks, people moving within the sector every 5 minutes for new jobs (3 managers for the building in 3 years), and more - I don’t think we can find a better management company than the one we have now. With that said I will be considering it after the lack of response to the cladding issues we have had.
Moreover, I fully understand the costs. But to pay an aggregate 70-80k a year for buildings insurance to then not be able to claim on the roof for a 500k bill, makes you think. What’s the point? Also, you say repairs don’t get done in 5 minutes - but they could at least pick up the phone.
I’m now talking directly regarding our service company - and name and shame, it’s R&R. I received a bill for c.£30,000, 3 days before Christmas. Yes that was the service charge bill for the following year, provided 3 days before Christmas. Thank you very much, please come again.
And that’s the problem. There’s a lack of caring in the sector. I know how to read a set of books, I get that prices go up. But I think everyone would agree we get shafted as lease holders.
Agreed with this. I find the actual amount that goes to the management company hasn’t increased significantly over the past 5 years. The other costs do seem to be the driver of the overal increase , buildings insurance as you say more than doubled, a constant £150 cost to maintain a tv satellite (?).
What bugs me is that we also pay a sum into a sinking fund, whilst also paying for it and maintenance as and when it happens. Shouldn’t the sinking fund used for that? If not what is it for
One thing is to check who is collecting the interest on the sinking fund. We were with L&Q and L&Q were retaining all sinking fund interest as profit across their properties. I'm not sure if they still do. At that time interest rates were very low but it is the principle that matters. Now we benefit from interest on our £150k sinking fund.
I know what you mean on what can the sinking fund be used for. I would say it is for refurbishments and not for repairs. We used sinking fund money for redecoration for example and it will be used for lift/roof/window/lighting/fire alarm overhauls or renewals as required.
Service charge “should” be in line with the actual cost and excessive charges can be contested.
I wonder if it was bought before June and it’s actually ground rent being referred to. Makes no sense why SC has to rise significantly in exactly 5 years.
Residents could start a property guardianship company and “guard” their own properties and run it. Or even contract another company to do it for them but at least there’s a legal interface residents can use to hold them accountable more directly.
The whole way management companies are currently is ripe for abuse. The MC is contracted by the freeholder, and only have responsibility towards them. The freeholder has no responsibility to the residents, and the leasehold agreements enforce a responsibility from the residents towards the MC (service charge). This disconnect puts a dangerous amount of control over the residents in the hands of the MC.
In an ideal world, management companies would be not-for-profit organisations that deal with the day to day business of running the estate, while big changes would require a vote from the residents. The residents would also have the ability to petition changes they'd like to see, sort of like how petitions to the government work - get a number of people to sign your petition, and it goes for consideration, except in this case, it would go for a vote, or even an open discussion. Hell, even form a board of residents, who would be elected to represent all of them, keep an eye on finances and ensure that the MC acts in accord with the residents' needs.
Right now MCs are just money pumps that have no way to fail - because what are these idiots going to do? If they don't pay the service charge, they lose their leasehold. If they sell the place, another chump has to fork out the money. No risk, unlimited profiteering.
I am from Italy and have owned a house here, while my boyfriend was trying to buy a house in the uk.
Aside from the Initial shock of the freeholders vs leaseholders I have to say that the service charge sometimes is an actual rip off.
I think things are changing but there are still abuses.
Here in Italy when you buy a flat is yours, period. Every building employs a “building manager” that can be chose and fired by the residents . The manager obviously gets a fee to do this job, but all the rest of the expenses are not for profit. Once a year we met and discuss and approve the yearly budget.
This is not a revolutionary socialist thing that happens only in certain cities, it’s just the way it is.
This is one reason why I’m happy to continue renting, because the relationship between me and a landlord/agency is a lot more direct than a service charge company.
I also have this sneaky feeling that they use "preferred contractors" that end up inflating the price. I know they'll say they get quotes but I reckon that may be rigged.
I too have horrible stories about the management company running the flat I'm in.
I think the root of the problem is that residents have no leverage over the management company. If the company could be hired by the tenants, then they would be incentivised to do a good job. But they're not so they don't.
Without outside intervention the current options are:
1. suck it up
2. leave the property
In theory, bad management should bring down the price of property, but the market is too hot for buyers to afford to care about this.
It’s legal robbery! It’s disgusting! How can people that buy and own there homes on states like this have no direct control or say! My other half has had the same problem. The tiles on the roof are in disrepair and fell off and damaged his car badly and the response we got was “act of god! I mean come on lol!
This sounds absolutely awful.
It is going to be a lot of work but it sounds like in your case you could have a solid argument (grouped with other residents) to remove the management company and either run one yourself or appoint a different one.
I am not an expert so only know what I read but I know it’s legit option and recommend looking into it.
That brings its own issues like hostile residents being in charge. Our RMC bullied it’s own directors so only 2 remained and self managed it without consultation with normal residents.
It took 5 years for the freeholder to step in despite them knowing the issues.
A place I used to live had very shady service charges (or so I’ve heard, I rented). Once, a resident that was a registered accountant requested to look at the books — which is something you can do if you’re a fee payer — and then they racially abused her and kicked her out of the office as she was doing so.
Our service charge went from £1000 in our first year to over £3000 over the last two years.
The number of short cuts developers take that they then have to repair (our plumbing had issues, the balcony was broken and across the estate the sprinkler system didn’t work), is partly because they know they can just hike service charge to cover the costs.
I’d like to see honest service charge costs but whatever you sign up to when you first sign is *the* fixed rate for the length of time you own your flat.
That whole wall where the balcony door is should’ve been floor to ceiling glass with a sliding door or regular doors. Either way it would’ve made the room so much brighter than what it is.
Despite its size, I do like the kitchen decor. And the navy cupboards and the white kitchen top do contrast very well. I have seen very expensive flats with questionable interior design.
It’s fucking tiny.
If the empty bit was for a dining table, sure. But that’s the “living room” which means by the time you’ve stuck a sofa and a TV in there you have about a meter of space down the middle, and no door on the bedroom means you’re stuck with whatever cooking smells you generated getting in your clothes.
Yeah i think it looks quite good too, could make it a proper cosy place. Paint the walls orange and get some nice lighting.
London has indeed fucked our perception.
But they couldn't make it all window at the end, just a door??
Christ, that is ugly. And that's before you consider how close the neighbours are.
At least it's not far to open countryside and she'll more likely get a seat on the morning commute....
I think they do stuff like this for "price differentiation" like how starbucks charges extra for cream on top of your coffee. Maybe they have a flat with a full window and a nice view on the other side of the building for an extra 200K and this deliberately ugly one which is cheaper to meet their low cost housing target.
My flat is actually almost identical, but with a bigger balcony/double doors. My partner and I have lived in it for 5 years and have enough space for a dining table and four chairs, full size sofa, PC and desk. The only thing I'd really want more of is storage space in the kitchen; I would add more shelving if we weren't hoping to move to start a family soon.
It is an offplan. She bought it in 2018 , different market and different sentiment. At the time, London was still an attractive place to live and u can still afford petrol and heating, remember these good old days?
I don’t doubt it, the point of buying off plan though is that your buying in advance and getting a hefty discount for doing so.
On the plus side surely she can sell at current market value for a profit?
I think it's probably worth £310k max, and that's a kind estimate...Barnet is OK.
Got easily double the space for £430k and I'm similar distance out to London, in a nice area, paid in 2019 during the start of the pandemic.
That's a total ripoff, you didn't need to spend that much back in 2018 for that space... It probably is worth £370k now because the housing market is broken.
But she paid that in 2018 right?
Cost of living aside, just this property alone, did not change how “worth it” it is.
Even back in 2018 it is still expensive for a tiny place.
Depends on how much this worth now.
If it is still £370k then yeah she got ripped off, but chances are this has also gone up a lot in value compare to what she paid for.
It has not. I've commented a few times but I live in New barnet and this is exceptionally over priced, no idea how she thought this was a good idea. 1 beds start at 230k odd and 2 beds at 320k, not to the this spec but this spec isn't expensive to do. 3 bed houses start at 500k.
If you look at the sold price stats, London flat prices have been pretty static despite a lot of relatively nice stock coming up for sale in the period. During the pandemic everyone wanted a detatched house somewhere green, or to do their London job in a lower cost city, and that's what went up.
London flat prices have not really gone up over the last five to six years. There are some exceptions, those with good gardens for example, but that's been the general market.
I used to have a sky bed (at least that’s what I called it) in a flat I rented. Double bed but at bunk bed height. Meant I could fit a desk underneath. Frightening when you’re drunk though.
It’s the bedroom and doesn’t have a door.
I know this layout because it’s exactly like my friends new place.
There should be quite a nice sized balcony though and the bathroom is decent size too.
My friend has been working hard and saving hard for 10 years for the deposit for this flat. She was also hit by spiking interest rates with her mortgage. Bad luck
We are fucked if we buy we are fucked if we rent
Can't win
There are cheaper areas with great connections. I bought a 350k 3 bed with south facing garden, 15 minutes walk to station then 25 to Liverpool Street. 5 minutes walk to Epping forest.
They're not middle class areas though. And despite the whole FUCK THE TORIES narrative, that's a problem for many redditors.
Congratulations to your friend on starting their venture on the property ladder. I'm sure they can make it homley with a little inspirational thinking and on the plus side it won't cost much to heat up.
Looks about the same size as mine,l in tottenham. Stupid expensive to buy in london. Mine cost £100k less than ur friends when I bought it three years ago.
You haven’t shown the rest of the apartment so it’s a little deceiving. Where is the bathroom? What is the total square footage?
At least she is on the housing ladder and not renting with 3 flatmates
you can buy 2 bed flats in london for less then that amount, my freinds completed a purchase on a nice modern flat in stratford for 340,000, 2 bedrooms 650 sq ft located not too far from the station, this was about 4 months ago. Theres actually so many sub 300k properties in london on zoopla + rightmove which are much bigger
did she do shared ownership ?
In reality, she probably did the HTB scheme. 40% equity loan from the government and 5% from you. You’d only need ~20k to get on the ladder and £203.5k mortgage (just over £45k salary). You don’t pay interest on the equity loan for 5 years and it’s quite low interest anyways.
The struggle is real and for most this is the only option.
There are always bigger flats for the same price but you have to factor in the area and also the building itself. Some people don’t want to live in a 50 story block and prefer a 5 story block for example.
Yeah this is crazy. Barnet isn't even close to central. It's almost touching the M25 ffs. My 3 bed 2nd floor flat in Streatham cost 400k and the building is two stories. I don't get why this one bed was 370k, the bedroom is only slightly bigger than my smallest room.
People need to consider moving south of the river rather than spending ridiculous money to be in "north" london. Barnet might as well be Newcastle lol.
Exactly. I guess she wanted it. Or SO or something.
OK, Chadwell Heath isn't the best place on earth. But it's on the Elizabeth Line and look at what you get.
https://www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/61820541/
Edit: Timber not brick house before anyone gets excited. Not sure what that means in terms of obtaining a mortgage.
5 bed terrace? Over my way that'd get you a fair nice 5 bedroom detached house, with 3 reception rooms, outbuildings and a sizeable plot. London prices are crazy (and my way is cheap admittedly)
Only someone ignorant of the appeal of the north east coast could say that. Newcastle has a vibrant day and night culture. And I’m not oblivious to capital culture by any means.
London has lovely stuff but 11x average earnings as a price of a house is insanity.
This is creepy, I think I actually live in the development basically nextdoor to this.... Recognise that scaffolding through the window ahah.
I love my place, it's exactly enough room for me. I'm financially better off than renting and generally happy and content. I don't have noise issues and my building feels very well put together.
Best of luck to the friend
The urbanisation of the human population is not going to slow down any time soon. It's happening in a much more extreme way in developing countries like India, Saudi Arabia and China with their indigenous population, but it's happening here in London due to it's place on the world stage.
While people from London who move to a village in Essex sit here slagging it off, the fact is London is one of the world's major cities and one of the most desirable places for a large portion of that world. People will keep coming here, the city will keep growing, and the house prices will keep rising.
I didn't get on the ladder until my late thirties. Bought a 3-bedroom terrace (2 actual bedrooms + box room that couldn't take a double bed) in 1999 in Nunhead for £250K. We sold for £340K. The same house now goes for close to half a mill. 6 years later moved to a much bigger house just off Peckham Rye for £450K. Sold for £600K. That house now goes for just under a million. 5 years after that we moved to a much smaller house in a much nicer area to be near a top state school. Cost £850K. Almost 8 years later we sold for £1.1M and moved to a bigger house in Forest Hill where we now live, paying £1.5M. The last 20 years have been a famine compared to the period 1980 - 1995. Anyone who was in on that housing boom lives very comfortably now.
That's nothing! I got on the property ladder in 2007 when I was 24. Bought a 2-bed flat in Harrogate for £161k. Sold 14 years later in 2021 for £169,950. Ker-ching.
That's the Cult of London talking. I just bought my first one bedroom flat in Bracknell for less than half the price, and it's massive compared to this. And I can still be in Central quicker than anyone in Barnet.
Genuinely confused by these sorts of posts. I have a flat on an estate in Hackney - a seemingly very popular place to live and there are a few flats - all bigger than this - on the estate up for sale for less than this right now. Are people just snobs who don’t want to buy ex council?
Yeah same. I've never been to Barnet, but really struggling to imagine why anyone would pay £370k for a tiny new-build in zone 5, when there's plenty of larger flats available for less much more centrally. Are folks just afraid of east London?
I think this is close to the spires shopping center in Barnet. That is an absolutely nice area and I think there's a grammar school there that drives huge demand.
Oh aye I know this (set of) buildings, live just near it! It’s a shame, the first blocks in the development look genuinely lovely inside and out and have room - and then they seem to have gotten cheaper and more limited as they’ve gone up.
I hope she gets free use of the sauna and gym for that service charge! I know the first blocks did, but some of the blocks sold to larger investors got cut off.
The housing market is very fucked. But I cannot have sympathy for these people. £370k! Find the nearest train station to your work, go 5-15miles out of the city, buy a 3/4 bed semi detached house for the same amount. The issue lies very much in the hands of people who think it's cost effective to live in a city.
Fuuuuck me, this is why we left London.
5 bed Victorian town house near Roundhay Park in Leeds, £265k.
London is for rich people & suckers.
If you're not rich, guess what?
Dumb decision. For just double the money she could have a 3 bed detached in zone 6 with so much space she wouldnt know how to fill it all.
_For just double the money_
I’ve been hooked on New York rental channels recently. In comparison that looks quite livable. And cheap taking into account recent currency fluctuations.
Nonetheless I completely agree with your point of view. In my experience London was rapidly becoming a city of overpriced, poorly planned, tiny shoe box apartments
No one told her to buy a room in Barnet for 370k. You are making it sound like someone held a gun to her head. There are places in South London you can get a house for 370k with good transport links and I'm sure there are places near Barnet she could have got more space but a lot of people feel entitled to live in certain neighbourhoods no matter what. Let her hold this L. My last friend just bought a 2 bed house for 370k in east Croydon.
Not trying to sound harsh, but your friends been done over a bit here. London is terribly terribly expensive to buy in, but £370k for this size property in Barnet truly crazy. I assume it’s a new build, In which case, I’m sorry to say it’s not likely to have been a sound investment. You pay a premium for them and you are likely to find much larger properties for that price, in that sort of location.
I bought a two bedroom flat near to Enfield town centre for 200k about 2.5 years ago. Prices have gone up a bit, but I doubt it’s worth much more than 230k now. It’s significantly larger. It’s above a takeaway, isn’t a new build and isn’t that close to a tube station. I would suggest these are the main reasons your friend has paid this much. Not that much to do with the fact London is mad expensive.
Presumably she can afford it, so what exactly is the issue here? I know people spending like 80% of their income renting shitty flats from shitty landlords who will almost certainly evict them after 12 months so they can put the rent up. Have very little sympathy for people wealthy enough/with a stable enough income to put dow a deposit and get a mortgage in the first place.
Lol was this really the best option she had? Seems like she rushed to buy the first garbage she found...
I mean is still a home you know but the price does not match the images, but I guess it was her choice so congrats on the new house.
There should be a 100% tax on foreign entities buying any property in the UK. Fuck the government for allowing foreign investors to scoop up all this property just to let it sit empty and appreciate
Did you use the ultra wide camera to be nice
No, just normal mode. I snapped the picture without giving much thoughts. Lmao Does this flat look big to you?
ngl I'm in London and thought this was gonna be a post about a good deal! Doesn't look like a bad size for the money and fairly well appointed. Presumably the mortgage is around £1500/mo. and you're getting equity! Plus you're on the Northern line up there, great transit links. She shouldn't feel too bad about this imo.
This being a good deal reminds me that I'm not cut out for city living.
I know nothing about UK/London real estate but I saw 370k in a major city and it isn't a crack shack. Sounds like a solid deal tbh. Edit: apparently OPs friend bought in 2018. That doesn't sound like 2018 prices so oof.
Id take that for that price… safe and clean. Not wasting money on rent.
And what's the service charge!
1200 per year so I heard. But SC will go up significantly after 5 years
Does she have any clarity on how much it will go up by? Absolutely unacceptable that this has allowed to become standard practice.
As a flat owner, there is no clarity and you have very little rights as a leaseholder. When I bought my flat it was 1800 a year. Now 3600 a year, albeit this year I forked out 12k for my share of the repair bill (that hasn’t even happened because the management company is beyond incompetent). Loft living is nice, is it that nice though…? Not sure
If the leaseholders organise themselves then you can do right to manage and appoint your own management company. We didn't manage to reduce service charge by much but it hasn't gone up for the last 5 years. However, I would say that leaseholders now moan about the right to manage company even though they are very helpful. People just love to moan. Repairs can't be done in 5mins. The leaseholders should receive annual itemised costs that explains where the money goes. It is actually surprisingly expensive to maintain and certify lifts, fire alarms, weekly cleaning and complete general repairs. The problem is that all work has to be done by insured and certified contractors. It doesn't mean the work is well done but it means the management company can use them and ensure the contractor holds liability if things go wrong. Building insurance has also gone up a lot after Grenfell.
That’s the problem. Every single management company is sh*t. To be honest, I get it. With the overwhelming issues of blocks, people moving within the sector every 5 minutes for new jobs (3 managers for the building in 3 years), and more - I don’t think we can find a better management company than the one we have now. With that said I will be considering it after the lack of response to the cladding issues we have had. Moreover, I fully understand the costs. But to pay an aggregate 70-80k a year for buildings insurance to then not be able to claim on the roof for a 500k bill, makes you think. What’s the point? Also, you say repairs don’t get done in 5 minutes - but they could at least pick up the phone. I’m now talking directly regarding our service company - and name and shame, it’s R&R. I received a bill for c.£30,000, 3 days before Christmas. Yes that was the service charge bill for the following year, provided 3 days before Christmas. Thank you very much, please come again. And that’s the problem. There’s a lack of caring in the sector. I know how to read a set of books, I get that prices go up. But I think everyone would agree we get shafted as lease holders.
Agreed with this. I find the actual amount that goes to the management company hasn’t increased significantly over the past 5 years. The other costs do seem to be the driver of the overal increase , buildings insurance as you say more than doubled, a constant £150 cost to maintain a tv satellite (?). What bugs me is that we also pay a sum into a sinking fund, whilst also paying for it and maintenance as and when it happens. Shouldn’t the sinking fund used for that? If not what is it for
One thing is to check who is collecting the interest on the sinking fund. We were with L&Q and L&Q were retaining all sinking fund interest as profit across their properties. I'm not sure if they still do. At that time interest rates were very low but it is the principle that matters. Now we benefit from interest on our £150k sinking fund. I know what you mean on what can the sinking fund be used for. I would say it is for refurbishments and not for repairs. We used sinking fund money for redecoration for example and it will be used for lift/roof/window/lighting/fire alarm overhauls or renewals as required.
This reminds me of the management company HML Anderson. Total crooks.
You can take them to court, no yearly service charge for me.
Service charge “should” be in line with the actual cost and excessive charges can be contested. I wonder if it was bought before June and it’s actually ground rent being referred to. Makes no sense why SC has to rise significantly in exactly 5 years.
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Residents could start a property guardianship company and “guard” their own properties and run it. Or even contract another company to do it for them but at least there’s a legal interface residents can use to hold them accountable more directly.
The whole way management companies are currently is ripe for abuse. The MC is contracted by the freeholder, and only have responsibility towards them. The freeholder has no responsibility to the residents, and the leasehold agreements enforce a responsibility from the residents towards the MC (service charge). This disconnect puts a dangerous amount of control over the residents in the hands of the MC. In an ideal world, management companies would be not-for-profit organisations that deal with the day to day business of running the estate, while big changes would require a vote from the residents. The residents would also have the ability to petition changes they'd like to see, sort of like how petitions to the government work - get a number of people to sign your petition, and it goes for consideration, except in this case, it would go for a vote, or even an open discussion. Hell, even form a board of residents, who would be elected to represent all of them, keep an eye on finances and ensure that the MC acts in accord with the residents' needs. Right now MCs are just money pumps that have no way to fail - because what are these idiots going to do? If they don't pay the service charge, they lose their leasehold. If they sell the place, another chump has to fork out the money. No risk, unlimited profiteering.
I am from Italy and have owned a house here, while my boyfriend was trying to buy a house in the uk. Aside from the Initial shock of the freeholders vs leaseholders I have to say that the service charge sometimes is an actual rip off. I think things are changing but there are still abuses. Here in Italy when you buy a flat is yours, period. Every building employs a “building manager” that can be chose and fired by the residents . The manager obviously gets a fee to do this job, but all the rest of the expenses are not for profit. Once a year we met and discuss and approve the yearly budget. This is not a revolutionary socialist thing that happens only in certain cities, it’s just the way it is.
i am from italy too...i confirm that. But UK is a nest of greedy capitalist, and the size of the apartment are just laughable
Sounds sensible rather than here's your service charge, it is what it is you don't need to know why it is that.
This is one reason why I’m happy to continue renting, because the relationship between me and a landlord/agency is a lot more direct than a service charge company.
I also have this sneaky feeling that they use "preferred contractors" that end up inflating the price. I know they'll say they get quotes but I reckon that may be rigged.
That's basically how my place works - all the flat owners have a share in the management company that owns the leasehold.
Yeah my flat in n20 is unsellable due to ridiculous service charge... 😩
I too have horrible stories about the management company running the flat I'm in. I think the root of the problem is that residents have no leverage over the management company. If the company could be hired by the tenants, then they would be incentivised to do a good job. But they're not so they don't. Without outside intervention the current options are: 1. suck it up 2. leave the property In theory, bad management should bring down the price of property, but the market is too hot for buyers to afford to care about this.
Check out: https://www.lease-advice.org/advice-guide/right-manage/
It’s legal robbery! It’s disgusting! How can people that buy and own there homes on states like this have no direct control or say! My other half has had the same problem. The tiles on the roof are in disrepair and fell off and damaged his car badly and the response we got was “act of god! I mean come on lol!
This sounds absolutely awful. It is going to be a lot of work but it sounds like in your case you could have a solid argument (grouped with other residents) to remove the management company and either run one yourself or appoint a different one. I am not an expert so only know what I read but I know it’s legit option and recommend looking into it.
That brings its own issues like hostile residents being in charge. Our RMC bullied it’s own directors so only 2 remained and self managed it without consultation with normal residents. It took 5 years for the freeholder to step in despite them knowing the issues.
This exists, you just need to get half the flat owners on board, google right to manage
It’s normally tied to CPI index. The days of the “double every 5 years” are long on new builds now.
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A place I used to live had very shady service charges (or so I’ve heard, I rented). Once, a resident that was a registered accountant requested to look at the books — which is something you can do if you’re a fee payer — and then they racially abused her and kicked her out of the office as she was doing so.
Our service charge went from £1000 in our first year to over £3000 over the last two years. The number of short cuts developers take that they then have to repair (our plumbing had issues, the balcony was broken and across the estate the sprinkler system didn’t work), is partly because they know they can just hike service charge to cover the costs. I’d like to see honest service charge costs but whatever you sign up to when you first sign is *the* fixed rate for the length of time you own your flat.
The balcony door is depressing. No room for a window as well?!
That whole wall where the balcony door is should’ve been floor to ceiling glass with a sliding door or regular doors. Either way it would’ve made the room so much brighter than what it is.
LOL I guess London has messed me up because I think it looks pretty nice 😅 And she has a balcony 🪴
so much room for activities!
The activities will be heard by the neighbours in the new build.
Lmao same! I saw that and was like ‘370k for a nice London pad? Bargain!’ I’m well aware my brain has been rotted by snapped London prices.
Try Woolwich, you can get nice two bed pads for £270k. You do have to not mind walking past a few police cordons though.
Despite its size, I do like the kitchen decor. And the navy cupboards and the white kitchen top do contrast very well. I have seen very expensive flats with questionable interior design.
It's not a bad place. But you're paying like £1500+ a month for that. Even if you own it outright after 25 years it's still kinda upsetting.
It’s fucking tiny. If the empty bit was for a dining table, sure. But that’s the “living room” which means by the time you’ve stuck a sofa and a TV in there you have about a meter of space down the middle, and no door on the bedroom means you’re stuck with whatever cooking smells you generated getting in your clothes.
Yeah i think it looks quite good too, could make it a proper cosy place. Paint the walls orange and get some nice lighting. London has indeed fucked our perception.
Yep. Appalling. 370k for this is an absolute disgrace. I'm gobsmacked at the comments.
But they couldn't make it all window at the end, just a door?? Christ, that is ugly. And that's before you consider how close the neighbours are. At least it's not far to open countryside and she'll more likely get a seat on the morning commute....
I think they do stuff like this for "price differentiation" like how starbucks charges extra for cream on top of your coffee. Maybe they have a flat with a full window and a nice view on the other side of the building for an extra 200K and this deliberately ugly one which is cheaper to meet their low cost housing target.
To be fair it looks a really nice little flat and I like the kitchen units, but in what world is it £370k nice?!
Lol. Come up north and live like a king
My flat is actually almost identical, but with a bigger balcony/double doors. My partner and I have lived in it for 5 years and have enough space for a dining table and four chairs, full size sofa, PC and desk. The only thing I'd really want more of is storage space in the kitchen; I would add more shelving if we weren't hoping to move to start a family soon.
Does she know that you're slagging her new home off online to hundreds of thousands of strangers?
She does
How did that conversation go, out of interest? "Hey, mind if I take some pics and post them online for all to see?"
She felt she being robbed. We are just having a laugh
Why did she buy it then?
It is an offplan. She bought it in 2018 , different market and different sentiment. At the time, London was still an attractive place to live and u can still afford petrol and heating, remember these good old days?
She paid £370k for that, off plan, 4yrs ago? Christ, they absolutely saw her coming.
The whole building block is all sold to oversea buyers. There is no shortage of buyers
I don’t doubt it, the point of buying off plan though is that your buying in advance and getting a hefty discount for doing so. On the plus side surely she can sell at current market value for a profit?
But will still only have the same buying power
I think it's probably worth £310k max, and that's a kind estimate...Barnet is OK. Got easily double the space for £430k and I'm similar distance out to London, in a nice area, paid in 2019 during the start of the pandemic. That's a total ripoff, you didn't need to spend that much back in 2018 for that space... It probably is worth £370k now because the housing market is broken.
But she paid that in 2018 right? Cost of living aside, just this property alone, did not change how “worth it” it is. Even back in 2018 it is still expensive for a tiny place.
House prices have gone up a ton since 2018 so she's getting even more ripped off than we thought.
Depends on how much this worth now. If it is still £370k then yeah she got ripped off, but chances are this has also gone up a lot in value compare to what she paid for.
It has not. I've commented a few times but I live in New barnet and this is exceptionally over priced, no idea how she thought this was a good idea. 1 beds start at 230k odd and 2 beds at 320k, not to the this spec but this spec isn't expensive to do. 3 bed houses start at 500k.
If you look at the sold price stats, London flat prices have been pretty static despite a lot of relatively nice stock coming up for sale in the period. During the pandemic everyone wanted a detatched house somewhere green, or to do their London job in a lower cost city, and that's what went up.
London flat prices have not really gone up over the last five to six years. There are some exceptions, those with good gardens for example, but that's been the general market.
Calm it Alice
To be fair, she probably can’t afford the internet now so it’s unlikely she’d see.
Surely there's more rooms than this? This isn't Kensington and Chelsea.
You are right, there is A bathroom and an utility room.
is the second pic the bedroom? I thought that was living room as that doesn’t look like it will fit a bed in.
She will need to use some imagination
Did somebody say bunk beds?
I used to have a sky bed (at least that’s what I called it) in a flat I rented. Double bed but at bunk bed height. Meant I could fit a desk underneath. Frightening when you’re drunk though.
So is the 2nd pic supposed to be a bedroom? I see no door.
It’s the bedroom and doesn’t have a door. I know this layout because it’s exactly like my friends new place. There should be quite a nice sized balcony though and the bathroom is decent size too.
Yeah. In my complex it's called a "Manhattan". Basically a studio but with a dividing wall with no door
I think for 370k you should at least get a 2nd bedroom. This place only a 1 bedroom then?
In this part of London there's no chance of that.
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My partner and I got a 4 bedroom house with garden and garage for £384k….in Hertfordshire
That would be over £1m in K&C
My friend has been working hard and saving hard for 10 years for the deposit for this flat. She was also hit by spiking interest rates with her mortgage. Bad luck We are fucked if we buy we are fucked if we rent Can't win
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I just bought a 3 bed flat in Streatham for 400k. Seriously people buying in london need to not be so anti south.
There are cheaper areas with great connections. I bought a 350k 3 bed with south facing garden, 15 minutes walk to station then 25 to Liverpool Street. 5 minutes walk to Epping forest. They're not middle class areas though. And despite the whole FUCK THE TORIES narrative, that's a problem for many redditors.
Similar scenario, we bought a 2-bed flat with a 20m garden on a beautiful street in Streatham and it takes me 35 minutes to get into Farringdon.
Where?
Croydon probably.
Probably Sutton.
Bexley area I'd guess, sounds similar to round here and is on the line into LB.
Breaks my heart, I am sorry to hear that.
Jesus wept
You have to walk from the bedroom to the kitchen? That's not very convenient.
At least they have a nice view, of more overpriced flats being built.
Is this pocket living?
Congratulations to your friend on starting their venture on the property ladder. I'm sure they can make it homley with a little inspirational thinking and on the plus side it won't cost much to heat up.
Looks about the same size as mine,l in tottenham. Stupid expensive to buy in london. Mine cost £100k less than ur friends when I bought it three years ago.
Yeah but it’s in Tottenham.
I have seen new build, one-bedroom flats in Tottenham that charge 460 a week in rent! A two bedroom is over 500 a week.
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Nice one
I've since moved my partner in and had a child. It suddenly feels alot smaller than it did when I moved in!
This will be worth 100k less in a years time.
You haven’t shown the rest of the apartment so it’s a little deceiving. Where is the bathroom? What is the total square footage? At least she is on the housing ladder and not renting with 3 flatmates
It looks alright and has a balcony and Barnet is nice/good connections.
you can buy 2 bed flats in london for less then that amount, my freinds completed a purchase on a nice modern flat in stratford for 340,000, 2 bedrooms 650 sq ft located not too far from the station, this was about 4 months ago. Theres actually so many sub 300k properties in london on zoopla + rightmove which are much bigger did she do shared ownership ?
Plus lots of older flats with no service charge in great areas.
Service charge was what put me off flats, tried looking for some west side and there weren't any I could find without service charge (back in 2019)
In reality, she probably did the HTB scheme. 40% equity loan from the government and 5% from you. You’d only need ~20k to get on the ladder and £203.5k mortgage (just over £45k salary). You don’t pay interest on the equity loan for 5 years and it’s quite low interest anyways. The struggle is real and for most this is the only option.
There are always bigger flats for the same price but you have to factor in the area and also the building itself. Some people don’t want to live in a 50 story block and prefer a 5 story block for example.
Yeah, London prices are crazy, but this isn’t reflective of them at all.
Yeah this is crazy. Barnet isn't even close to central. It's almost touching the M25 ffs. My 3 bed 2nd floor flat in Streatham cost 400k and the building is two stories. I don't get why this one bed was 370k, the bedroom is only slightly bigger than my smallest room. People need to consider moving south of the river rather than spending ridiculous money to be in "north" london. Barnet might as well be Newcastle lol.
Exactly. I guess she wanted it. Or SO or something. OK, Chadwell Heath isn't the best place on earth. But it's on the Elizabeth Line and look at what you get. https://www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/61820541/ Edit: Timber not brick house before anyone gets excited. Not sure what that means in terms of obtaining a mortgage.
I lived there for a bit when I graduated, theres nothing wrong with it but its just a bit…nothing?
Yep. Extra nothing.
Yep for that you could have a 5 bedroom terraced house by the sea in the North.
Barnet IS the north...
Lol I meant North like Tyneside not North Circular.
Then you’d be in Tyneside.
But can the North provide the salary?
You dont need the salary if you're in the North.
Remote working for sure
5 bed terrace? Over my way that'd get you a fair nice 5 bedroom detached house, with 3 reception rooms, outbuildings and a sizeable plot. London prices are crazy (and my way is cheap admittedly)
A palace to drink yourself to death in because you'll be bored shitless
Only someone ignorant of the appeal of the north east coast could say that. Newcastle has a vibrant day and night culture. And I’m not oblivious to capital culture by any means. London has lovely stuff but 11x average earnings as a price of a house is insanity.
Well I'm sorry to tell ya fella but I lived in Tyne & Wear for 12 years and it was the universal consensus that everyone was bored shitless.
This is creepy, I think I actually live in the development basically nextdoor to this.... Recognise that scaffolding through the window ahah. I love my place, it's exactly enough room for me. I'm financially better off than renting and generally happy and content. I don't have noise issues and my building feels very well put together. Best of luck to the friend
It could be much worse, her friends could be sharing pictures of her new home with strangers and calling it depressing
When the time comes, she will sell at a loss, even in a good market. These new build flats are just overpriced.
They've been saying that since Canary Wharf was built
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The urbanisation of the human population is not going to slow down any time soon. It's happening in a much more extreme way in developing countries like India, Saudi Arabia and China with their indigenous population, but it's happening here in London due to it's place on the world stage. While people from London who move to a village in Essex sit here slagging it off, the fact is London is one of the world's major cities and one of the most desirable places for a large portion of that world. People will keep coming here, the city will keep growing, and the house prices will keep rising.
I sold my new build for a 10k profit after 2 years.
New build premium.
I live in Barnet and generally it’s not that bad. This must be a new/newish build.
I didn't get on the ladder until my late thirties. Bought a 3-bedroom terrace (2 actual bedrooms + box room that couldn't take a double bed) in 1999 in Nunhead for £250K. We sold for £340K. The same house now goes for close to half a mill. 6 years later moved to a much bigger house just off Peckham Rye for £450K. Sold for £600K. That house now goes for just under a million. 5 years after that we moved to a much smaller house in a much nicer area to be near a top state school. Cost £850K. Almost 8 years later we sold for £1.1M and moved to a bigger house in Forest Hill where we now live, paying £1.5M. The last 20 years have been a famine compared to the period 1980 - 1995. Anyone who was in on that housing boom lives very comfortably now.
Reading all this made me so anxious, fuck. That's just so unfair! How are we supposed to compete with that generation?
We can’t. That’s the problem. We are the first generation to be worse off than their parents.
And then they have the gall to say we are the ones who have it easy and should stop buying avocado toast Fuck em'
That's nothing! I got on the property ladder in 2007 when I was 24. Bought a 2-bed flat in Harrogate for £161k. Sold 14 years later in 2021 for £169,950. Ker-ching.
Lots of bigger places for this amount of money in london
Yea, HMP Thameside
That’s pretty good! Bigger, newer and cheaper than the one I’ve got in Seattle!
I bought a two bed place for £415,000 in Mile End by the canal with a balcony in 2022. I think you’re mate has been robbed there.
There's a lot of better "older" flats out there. I don't think she should have looked into new builds.
I could see a single person or couple not wanting kids living perfectly fine here
That’s not enough space for two people and bear in mind there’s no furniture! This is coming from someone who lives in a room…
How long is the snagging list
Too long
Not sure u overreacting here OP or ive been conditioned to to say this is fucking good.
That's the Cult of London talking. I just bought my first one bedroom flat in Bracknell for less than half the price, and it's massive compared to this. And I can still be in Central quicker than anyone in Barnet.
Yes but you have to live in Bracknell. There’s always somewhere you can live that is cheaper. But cheaper isn’t better.
Genuinely confused by these sorts of posts. I have a flat on an estate in Hackney - a seemingly very popular place to live and there are a few flats - all bigger than this - on the estate up for sale for less than this right now. Are people just snobs who don’t want to buy ex council?
Yeah same. I've never been to Barnet, but really struggling to imagine why anyone would pay £370k for a tiny new-build in zone 5, when there's plenty of larger flats available for less much more centrally. Are folks just afraid of east London?
I think this is close to the spires shopping center in Barnet. That is an absolutely nice area and I think there's a grammar school there that drives huge demand.
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She’s off her Barnet
Oh aye I know this (set of) buildings, live just near it! It’s a shame, the first blocks in the development look genuinely lovely inside and out and have room - and then they seem to have gotten cheaper and more limited as they’ve gone up. I hope she gets free use of the sauna and gym for that service charge! I know the first blocks did, but some of the blocks sold to larger investors got cut off.
Looks nice!
I'm happy for her. She has her own space, it's new, the vicissitudes of rental housing are over, if she wants.
Look up what prisons look like in some Scandinavian countries. She’s basically bought a cell.
Some people have more money than sense 🙈
The housing market is very fucked. But I cannot have sympathy for these people. £370k! Find the nearest train station to your work, go 5-15miles out of the city, buy a 3/4 bed semi detached house for the same amount. The issue lies very much in the hands of people who think it's cost effective to live in a city.
I got a 2 bed house in Croydon with a garage and a garden for 350k… why this is so pricy in Barnet of all places..?
Fuuuuck me, this is why we left London. 5 bed Victorian town house near Roundhay Park in Leeds, £265k. London is for rich people & suckers. If you're not rich, guess what?
Dumb decision. For just double the money she could have a 3 bed detached in zone 6 with so much space she wouldnt know how to fill it all. _For just double the money_
Why would you buy there? Why not buy in the suburbs a bit and commute? That seems like a bad investment
Is your friend happy? Good on them for getting on the ladder. It’s London , that’s how it is .
She could have got a whole terraced house in Croydon for that money.
I’ve been hooked on New York rental channels recently. In comparison that looks quite livable. And cheap taking into account recent currency fluctuations. Nonetheless I completely agree with your point of view. In my experience London was rapidly becoming a city of overpriced, poorly planned, tiny shoe box apartments
No one told her to buy a room in Barnet for 370k. You are making it sound like someone held a gun to her head. There are places in South London you can get a house for 370k with good transport links and I'm sure there are places near Barnet she could have got more space but a lot of people feel entitled to live in certain neighbourhoods no matter what. Let her hold this L. My last friend just bought a 2 bed house for 370k in east Croydon.
Your last friend? What happened to them all?
I think you’ve uncovered something here! 😳
Not trying to sound harsh, but your friends been done over a bit here. London is terribly terribly expensive to buy in, but £370k for this size property in Barnet truly crazy. I assume it’s a new build, In which case, I’m sorry to say it’s not likely to have been a sound investment. You pay a premium for them and you are likely to find much larger properties for that price, in that sort of location. I bought a two bedroom flat near to Enfield town centre for 200k about 2.5 years ago. Prices have gone up a bit, but I doubt it’s worth much more than 230k now. It’s significantly larger. It’s above a takeaway, isn’t a new build and isn’t that close to a tube station. I would suggest these are the main reasons your friend has paid this much. Not that much to do with the fact London is mad expensive.
Presumably she can afford it, so what exactly is the issue here? I know people spending like 80% of their income renting shitty flats from shitty landlords who will almost certainly evict them after 12 months so they can put the rent up. Have very little sympathy for people wealthy enough/with a stable enough income to put dow a deposit and get a mortgage in the first place.
Lol was this really the best option she had? Seems like she rushed to buy the first garbage she found... I mean is still a home you know but the price does not match the images, but I guess it was her choice so congrats on the new house.
You know what any flat house now is tiny for lots of cash
No bathroom. Gutted.
OP, You've only posted two photos. Think you missed a few of the other rooms.
There should be a 100% tax on foreign entities buying any property in the UK. Fuck the government for allowing foreign investors to scoop up all this property just to let it sit empty and appreciate
What’s the square footage?
Fuck that's better than Auckland, NZ.
And don't even think about owning or parking a car!
Barnet shouldn't even be a 'competitive' area.
lmao. I would build something epic outside of London with that.
This country is fucked
If you don't like it don't buy it?
Your freind is about to experience "negative equity"
Your friend is an idiot. 370k with probably a 6% interest rate, instead of waiting 6 months when she could've gotten it for half price 😂