BelfastHouseHunter

Congrats! What mortgage did you go for? Fix or variable? What are your repayments? Hope its not too nosey....but would you mind showing your sums. Mortgae, rates, insurance etc, Id be looking to spend about the same amount with the same deposit. Cheers!

Joe, this is very interesting! I've been keeping my eyes on the apartments in Belfast particularly, Obel, Quaygate, Bakery, Annadale Embankment and victoria square. Not too many currently advertised at less than 100k. Some of the bedrooms are awfully small with horrible views and are nowhere near worth the price advertised. You estimate £3,500 per year on top of a mortgage for some of these places, that seems very expensive. Do you have a break down of costs for any of the apartments mentioned above, id be particularly interested to hear the service charge and rates if anybody has that information.?

Hi Guys, I attended the Auction at wilsons last night, the place was packed and the properties where shifting! Houses on the Donegal road back to 2000 prices id say, 40 - 50k. The highlight was lot no 43 in the malone area, a bidding war started and was bid up to 292k, the winner got a round of applause. An identical house next door (lot 47) sold ten minutes later for 223k, although apparently it had a bit of a damp problem. Heres the link: http://www.wilsonsauctions.com/property_mallusk.asp Might have to be quick, these listings could disappear soon. I dont have time to complete Paul's spreadsheet but here are the finishing prices below. Lot - Price 5 - 48k 6 - 6k 7 - 150k prov 8 - 98k 9 - 38.5k 10 - 116k 11 - 45k 12 - 210k prov 13 - SOLD 14 - 110K PROV 15 - SOLD 16 - 44K 17 - SOLD 18 - 95K PROV 19 - 42.5K 20 - 50K 21 - 200K 22 - 37K 23 - 15K 24 - 44K 25 - 26K 26 - 37K 27 - 225K 28 - 60K 29 - 48K 30 - 43K 31 - 90K 32 - 200K NOT SOLD 33 - 112K 34 - 35K 35 - SOLD 36 - 170K 37 - 54K PROV 38 - 24K 39 - 42K 40 - 48K 41 - 22K 42 - 60K NOT SOLD 43 - 292K 44 - 154K NOT SOLD 45 - 90K 46 - 350K 47 - 223K 48 - 132K 49 - 60K 50 - 70K 51 - SOLD 52 - SOLD 53 - 45K 54 - 146K PROV 55 - 35K 56 - 54K 57 - 32K PROV 58 - 63K 59 - 40K PROV 60 - 50K 61 - 42K 62 - 78K PROV 63 - SOLD 64 - 45K 65 - 54K Any questiosn regarding a particular lot, I might be able to answer!

Its nice to look at those percentage drops... Does the owner of the site be on here much? I wonder would it be possible to have a column with the Ratable Value as well....?

The rest of us may see that the prices are clearly no bargains, however it never ceases to amaze me just how blinkered the general public are about house prices. I still hear a lot of people saying how great the house prices are, "now is the time to buy", even people looking for investment properties. I have to say I think the majority of people in N Ireland now see prices as affordable, even cheap....people are buying....and it will be the cheaper properties that go first.

When an offer IS accepted on a repo the offer is supposed to be advertised in the local press for at least 7 days. Has anybody seen anything like this advertised? If so where?

Thanks for the detailed reply Lagansider, you've brought up a lot of valid points to consider. In looking at all the apartments for sale in Belfast nowhere is it clear what other charges are applicable, even on the promotional material. It really puts me off even looking further into an apartment, at least with a house you know how much you can budget year to year. I'd still be interested to hear however if anybody knows the current charges in these places. Using the One Bed Apartment mentioned above on Sale at £100,000. At a guestimate im thinking: Rates £600 p/a Service Charge - Ive heard about £3 per square foot? So 500s/f x £3 = £1500 This quick estimate works out at £2100 per year for a one bed apartment? Does that sound too high? An 80% LTV FTP buyer mortgage (3.7%APR) for 100k works out at ...£413 Total Cost £413 + £175 (rates and service charge) £589 p/m for a one bed apartment in the Obel........the thing is....a lot of people will see that as good value.....I think id rather have a house.

Long time lurker here..finally decided to sign up. Been looking at some of the big Apartment developments in Belfast, Particularly the Bakery, Obel, Victoria Square and St Annes. Heres an example of a one bed at the Obel, priced at £100,000. http://www.propertypal.com/6-02-obel-donegal-quay-belfast/150094 Still overpriced in my opinion, too small, elextric heaters etc... Anyway, if one was to buy one of these apartments, does anybody know what the hidden charges are on top of a mortgage? Do you have to pay rates and a service charge?