[nuki]

Newbie question I guess..

Thinking about approaching the EA for an offer for a 2-br garden flat in the nicer area of Isleworth TW7. Here's the link.

Currently rented out on AST contract 'til June. Flat listed at 275K in December. No offers currently. Really nice location, cul-de-sac, shared garden, allocated parking. Decent size for London standards, good condition but not mint. Price history: 270K in March 2008, 240K in 2003. Lease is 120yr remaining. Service charges 1680pa, ground rent 250.

In the same development 2-br smaller flats are listed at around 230, medium size flats 250, larger 2-br... well this is larger than the other ones, but there is no other larger one.

At first I was thinking to go with 10% lower, but after I found out about the 270k paid for the flat in 2008 I'm not sure anymore. I have not mentioned anything to the EA yet, just that I might go for a 2nd viewing after I do my research.

Any suggestions are appreciated. Thanks!

[inflating]

It's not Strawberry Hill is it

I would've thought £170K max

but I suppose paying 2003 price may be the best to hope for

[Mrs Bear]

anukis, on 13 February 2012 - 08:52 PM, said:

Newbie question I guess..

Thinking about approaching the EA for an offer for a 2-br garden flat in the nicer area of Isleworth TW7. Here's the link.

Currently rented out on AST contract 'til June. Flat listed at 275K in December. No offers currently. Really nice location, cul-de-sac, shared garden, allocated parking. Decent size for London standards, good condition but not mint. Price history: 270K in March 2008, 240K in 2003. Lease is 120yr remaining. Service charges 1680pa, ground rent 250.

In the same development 2-br smaller flats are listed at around 230, medium size flats 250, larger 2-br... well this is larger than the other ones, but there is no other larger one.

At first I was thinking to go with 10% lower, but after I found out about the 270k paid for the flat in 2008 I'm not sure anymore. I have not mentioned anything to the EA yet, just that I might go for a 2nd viewing after I do my research.

Any suggestions are appreciated. Thanks!

Would have thought anything priced at £275K nowadays is hoping for £250K. Base this on obvious stamp duty factor + asking vs. sold prices I've seen elsewhere in this sort of price range in London, though not around Isleworth.

Service charges seem on the high side, though maybe not unusual for this sort of block.

Don't know Isleworth well, but aware that some parts are v nice.

[nuki]

Thanks for the responses! So 250k or 240k...

I actually have some new info (via property bee, not sure how reliable that is) the property was listed initially in Nov 2011 at 290K and since then they dropped to 279 then to 275.

That area is as nice as it gets in Isleworth, from what I've seen so far.

[jonboy2010]

Go for 245 they can only say yes or no

[abidova]

The service charges would put me off.
£2k per year including ground rent, although not the highest is still a lot of money

if you lived there for 10 years you would spend £20k which would lose you around £4k in interest over the period, or be £20k you could have paid off your mortgage saving several years in payments

[nuki]

abidova, on 14 February 2012 - 01:08 PM, said:

The service charges would put me off.
£2k per year including ground rent, although not the highest is still a lot of money

if you lived there for 10 years you would spend £20k which would lose you around £4k in interest over the period, or be £20k you could have paid off your mortgage saving several years in payments

thanks I guess you are right about that. is 1700 really high for that type of property?

[abidova]

difficult to say whether charges are high. It looks like a fairly new building so apart from gardening, replacing light bulbs, painting the communal areas every couple of years and maybe clearing guttering every so often it's difficult to see where the £20k a year ish (assuming 10-12 flats in the block?) would go.

could be because the building needs a lot of extra upkeep which maybe indicates costs could go up in time
or maybe there is an external managing agent who is creaming off some of the leaseholders contributions

you would probably want to look at detailed accounts for at least the last 2 years to see where all the service charge money is going and you would need to decide whether you are comfortable with paying out every month and maybe not having a say on where the money is going or whether it is wasted etc

[nuki]

abidova, on 15 February 2012 - 09:01 AM, said:

or maybe there is an external managing agent who is creaming off some of the leaseholders contributions

OM property management, yes. Thanks!

I'm still debating whether to place an offer or not. Went for the 2nd viewing though.

[pipester]

anukis, on 15 February 2012 - 01:23 PM, said:

OM property management, yes. Thanks!

I'm still debating whether to place an offer or not. Went for the 2nd viewing though.

For 250K you can get a good sized 3-bed freehold house in hounslow, hanworth or feltham which border isleworth. I know these
are not the nicest areas compared to twickenham/teddington but I personally would not pay 250K for a 2-bed leasehold in isleworth. Surely
there must be some 2/3-bed freeholds in isleworth within your budget?

[nuki]

pipester, on 15 February 2012 - 02:42 PM, said:

For 250K you can get a good sized 3-bed freehold house in hounslow, hanworth or feltham which border isleworth. I know these
are not the nicest areas compared to twickenham/teddington but I personally would not pay 250K for a 2-bed leasehold in isleworth. Surely
there must be some 2/3-bed freeholds in isleworth within your budget?

Thanks but my budget is about 220-240. 250K is the very maximum in fact, and yes I believe it's a bit too much for that particular flat. Its location is nice but service charges are high and it needs some internal work.

However, I found another one in the same development. There are two of them listed at 247950K, one of them being ground floor but facing a parking lot, and the other one 1st floor. Comparable floor plans.

So I'm really considering going in with an offer for 220K for the 1st floor flat...
http://www.globrix.c...-tw7-2_bed-flat
There was a slight drop (2K) recently, probably just to make it competitive with the ground floor one listed in the same development.

Service charges 1200pa, ground rent 125pa, and reserve fund 175pa so a bit more palatable.

Price history £247.5K in april 2011 (ouch!), and before that £225K in october 2004.

I'm thinking of offering £220K and go to a max of £230K.

Is there any hope for me? Am I approaching it in the wrong way?

Many thanks!

[Son of Taeper]

anukis, on 21 February 2012 - 10:37 AM, said:

Is there any hope for me? Am I approaching it in the wrong way?

Many thanks!

Yes you may be.
Full postcodes .

Edit -Check the doors and windows for break in damage as well, often overlooked by purchasers.

I Just answered another q on the boards suggesting a full postcode.
A googlemap link always works well also.

This post has been edited by Son of Taeper: 22 February 2012 - 03:41 PM

[nuki]

Son of Taeper, on 22 February 2012 - 03:33 PM, said:

Yes you may be.
Full postcodes .

Edit -Check the doors and windows for break in damage as well, often overlooked by purchasers.

I Just answered another q on the boards suggesting a full postcode.
A googlemap link always works well also.

Hi, here's the postal code for the 2nd flat: TW7 6TR (95 White Lodge Close).

The first flat is TW7 6TH (40 White Lodge close)

Many thanks!