vman7

thanks all for your replies. i enquired about the builder converting one of the 4 beds and the price went from 382k to 440k so 60 grand. i may as well go for the 6 bed on a better plot im in no rush to buy so i may hold off and see how brexit affects the market or do you guys think property price are going to continue to rise in NI? Also a qustion about schooling, is hazelbank hall in a good catchment area for good schools?

wow, so the extra 120k is a massive profit them. think thats rules out the 6 bed then maybe thats why none of them have sold yet. one of them was built for someone and they pulled out

thanks for the reply, thats exactly what i was thinking as well but was told the height is different so the roof conversion would be quite short. not sure if this is true or not as cant find dimensions Any idea how much roof conversions cost? have you heard of the developer/builder?

Hi All i have been living abroad for 10 years and thinking of returning to NI with the family We ideally want to move to the Newtownabbey Area and have seen Hazelbank hall development. Anybody know much about the development, builders etc? the house is on for 495k for a 6 bedroom house. This seems to be the going rate these days for a house that size which is a lot more than i was expecting for NI i dont want to spend that amount of money on a house if the builders have a bad rep or the area its in any advice would be appreciated

sarcasm........

well what i have read from that is luxury and quiet so it musnt be that bad...... Also the guy confessed and went to the police voluntarily so that says it all about the clientele there

Does anyone on this forum live here or know someone that lives here? They look like nice apartments but seem a little overpriced for the size and location. Is there just an automatic 10/20 grand due to the views? I am interested in the apartments and went to view one but would like some inside knowledge before i make any commitment thanks

so continue renting is the verdict then?

Owning a house instead of renting saves homeowners almost £200k over a lifetime – and it’s double that in London http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/mortgageshome/article-2161147/Rent-vs-buy-Owning-home-194k-cheaper-lifetime.html?ito=newsletter what are peoples take on this? Im currently renting and worked out that if i owned the propoerty and had to pay mortgage, maintenance, rates etc etc it would be in or around £700-£800 per month over 25 years with a 10% deposit and at a rate of 6% this is compared to my rent of £550 per month so i cant see how this makes sense.

Well folks i have put my first ever offer on a place but the problem is i dont have the first clue on who to go to for a mortgage Can anyone recommend mortgage lenders and what a good rate would be ideally i would prefer a fixed rate for 2-4 years and then look to re-asses and negotiate. Any help would be great as i simply dont trust advisors that work within/affiliated with estate agents. Are banks/building societies a better bet any help would be great thanks

just to clarify it was a 240k with possibility of £250k mortgage. not bad for a 27 year old couple on normal wages!! i have calmed down a bit today as i have decied to stay on in my rental property on a rolling contract. the problem is how many more years can i keep telling myself that next year is the year.

did anyone read the front page of the daily express the other day? house prices up £65 a day. Is anyone else getting sick of this property propaganda bullsh1t? I viewed a few house the other day ina development and left my number for an "independent" advisor to call me about mortgage rates. he called me giving the usual rubbish about now is the time, rates are low bla bla blah. Basically he worked out with both our wages we could get a £200,000+ mortgage which baffles me as we are first time buyers with minimal depost and average wages. turns out the reason i coulf afford the monthly payements was that he was putting it over 40 years!! Who the hell takes a 40 year mortgage? I am just sick of it all and im sick and tired of people/EA's clinging on to the past. the sooner they realise that house prices need to be cut substantially (not the 5 grand decreases i see using property bee) the better. RANT OVER (i dont think the rubbish weather over our bank holiday has helped my mood)

range rover, mad man!!

tinbin i would say you are more or less spot on with the figures except car loan as there are people out there who spend £350 and above a month PER car. a friend of mine is paying nearly £600 a month for his motor! So lets say 2 teachers who bring in £1500 each only have about 200 to spare each month. how is this relistic? how is this sustainable? the life of living on a beach in thailand and scrapping enough to eat is sounding better by the day, hassle free and no need for a car!

ideally i wanted a 4 bedroom, 2 reception detached but you may add another 50k + to the price of this hosue to get anything decent! I never realised Newtownabbey would be so expensive You seem to get much more house for your money in Lisburn which i find strange as i thought Lisburn would be much, much more expensive than newtownabbey. May have to start looking towards that end of belfast but the only issue i find there is the traffic in the morning is horrendous

thanks for that Bergy. its good to hear omeone elses perspective as you have picked up on things i do not think about such as cramped driveway etc I dont have kids but we hope to in the next couple of years so will have to take this into consideration. I am tempted to call them tomorrow morning to gauge how low (if any) the owner will go and i will post. I havent looked at the older type houses i cant see anything that i would be interetsed in. most of the older ones need fireplaces updated, kitchen ripped out, dorrs etc. for the kind of money people are looking i wouldnt expect to fork all that out ontop of the mortgage

would like to hear peoples views on this property. I took a drive round last night and the area seemed ok (im from portadown so anywhere will seem ok lol) and doesnt look like a builders site like most other devleopments i have seen. http://www.propertynews.com/Property/Newtownabbey/PTNPTN2032/4-Blackrock-Lane-Newtownabbey/ the rateable value is £140k but is there any point in me even getting a viewing of the place if i am asking for 40k (minimum) off? these are farily new looking so i am guessing the current dwellers probably bought at the peak and may not consider selling any lower. I know people are going to come back to me and say you can just ask but i am more interested to hear peoples opinion on the house and how overpriced it may be etc I also want to know if anyone has any experience or stories about blackrock devleopment? I am a FTB so any advise would be grateful

how much did you have to pay your solicitor to tell you to walk away? You could have gotten that advice for free here PS - My landlord just asked me if i would be interested in buying the property i currently rent. Im tempted but he is asking way too much for it and i dont want to rock the boat by offering around 30% less than what he is asking and ruining a very good relationship. Awkward position as he keeps asking me if i have decided.....

the search continues Bergy. Decided to continue renting till after the summer and see how things are then. People have mentioned that house prices tend to dip towards winter time

Im sorry but am i the only one here that thinks this is outrageous for a SEMI-D!! on what planet would anyone pay £250k for this never mind £309k! the people who own this house and the EA that valued this house need a serious reality check! More jobs going in banks throughout Ireland, SHope closing left, right and center and people still think there house is worth £300k, we live in northern ireland For f**k sake, not london!

is mayfield ok or is it worse than aylesbury some nice semi-d's up which seem fairly reasonable

Bergy thats exactly why i looked at Aylesbury as its close to the motorway for work and for getting into belfast etc. My lease runs out in June and i am torn between paying £600 rent or buying a HOME. Its really is tough for a FTB as the uncertainty keeps putting me off, massive desposits, price of house falling, losing job etc etc I read a report recently which mentioned that FTB's could be in their 40's!! just another 13 years to go for me then

does anyone else do what i do and skip the bullsh1t and look at the price?

i may start giving up on newtownabbey as everytime i mention an area to friends/family they keep coming up with negatives!! I thought the area looked safe and clean. handy with tesco express and motorway around the corner Is blackrock ok?

Dont worry i wont be bidding on it. for one i would be able to stretch to 175k and second i dont think i could afford the heating bills of a 3000 sq foot house still cant see it on proertynews though.....