31 Jan 07 One offer down
Last week we made an offer for a flat in Bethnel Green.
The Good:
- Located a 5-minute walk to two excellent tube lines, Central and District
- Quiet residential street lined with Victorian brick buildings
- Large 2-bed flat with eat-in kitchen, big sash windows
- Real wood flooring in some rooms covered by the carpet (apparently)
- Still within our East London ‘preferred living zone’
The Bad:
- Signs on lamp posts out front warning of ‘high-crime area’
- Entire innards need ripping out - kitchen, bathroom, carpet, etc
- Not insignificant labour and expense to rebuild & renovate
- 2nd bedroom quite small
- Questionable plumbing throughout building
- Much of the building occupied by renters not owners
The Nasty:
The real problem is the premium asking price, which we know is high from researching previous properties sold in the same buildings (at this useful website, the UK Land Registry database of House Prices). So we offered over 10% less than the asking price, what we thought the property is really worth considering all the work that needs doing. The offer was rejected, and rather unprofessionally I’d say. Sellers here are in the fortunate position of asking inflated prices and are likely to get it from desperate buyers willing to overpay. Reality is nonexistent.
I discussed this problem with one estate agent who said her agency positions itself as one that prices for fair value. She complained that certain dominant agencies inflate their list prices and buyers (for example with city bonuses) overspend, which in turn forces her agency to list properties for higher prices… it’s a vicious cycle that hurts first-time buyers, especially.
We still may get a callback on that offer though, as I find it hard to believe anybody in their right mind will pay top pound for that place.
Then again yesterday I viewed what I would call an absolute shithole 2-bedroom listed for £289,000. Yikes!
We were scheduled to view a place this past weekend in the lovely converted dock/warehouse area of Wapping, in a building called Vancouver House - Vancouver! Its a sign, right? Unfortunately that wasn’t meant to be, as our appointment was cancelled last-minute and the property taken off the market next day.
Onward then.. It’s been six weeks so far that I’ve been scouring listings and I think I/we have viewed only six or seven flats. It’s tempting to look only another mile and a half east where we could get a two or three bed house in the Olympic redevelopment area of Stratford for the same price as a 1-bed flat over here. Stratford’s got some stigma at the moment though, hence cheap prices, and we don’t really want a whole house. But who knows what will happen.
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