orcocan

hi all, I was wondering if anyone here is aware of any home equity insurance product available in the uk? To hedge against a possible house price drop without necessarily having to sell your own property. Thanks

hi Sam, interesting to see that link, i notice both listings are foxton's (maybe not a coincidence). However what worries me is that they've revised the price up, as if they had so many viewings and people interested in the flat that they felt the could get away with a 30% increase. I hope that's not the case and I hope the flat will still be there in 6 months but I'm not that confident. I had almost made up my mind thinking I should bite the bullet and buy, but looking at where prices have gone over the last 6 months is really putting me off... I really don't know what to do... probably just keep renting... although on the other hand I don't see the bubble bursting anytime soon.

http://www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/31663501?utm_source=trov&utm_medium=feeds Listing history First listed £399,950 on 18th Jan 2014 Asking price changes £440,000 10.0% Increased on: 28th Jan 2014 £500,000 13.6% Increased on: 30th Jan 2014 thoughts?

Which parts of London are seeing rents in free fall??

Can also try blackheath , brockley, forest hill

thanks for your replies... as you both seem familiar with the neighbourhood, can I ask whether you see the area potentially getting better with the olympic legacy initiatives in stratford?

canning town yes i had a look, couldn't see anything particularly interesting. The new flats in the vermillon complex seem hugely overpriced... royal docks feel quite isolated, not sure i'd agree about better connections there... thanks... any more opinions on plaistow itself are also very welcome

thanks for the answers so far... i would add that the flat is quite close to the tube station so i wouldn't necessarily have to spend much time in plaistow itself also want to add that i'm not necessarily looking to make any profit, i've worked out that even if prices fall by some 15% 20% i'd still be better off than renting over the next few years. My reasoning is that if the bubble bursts in london i can lose way less owning a really cheap property rather than a more expensive one (at least prices have reverted in this area, unlike other parts of london), if prices keep on going up, even run down areas will have to catch up at some stage. any more opinions on the area are very welcome, thanks! ps i'll have a look at east ham, although that's further away from central london...

hi all i've lived in east london for 6 years and now i'm thinking of buying a flat rather than waiting for a crash that will never come i've seen a flat i really like in plaistow and i'm thinking about making an offer. I'm not overly fazed by the fact that the area is not exactly glamorous as I've happily been living in shadwell which many of you would consider a sh*thole... prices in the area are quite a bit down since the peak, while more central parts of london have been on the rise, so the area has become relatively cheaper and is now one of the cheapest in london. While I can see why a lot of people would not want to live there, i'm 'young' and single and mostly go out in central and east london so it would be acceptable for me. I was wondering if anyone has any first hand experience about living there and any view on whether the area is/will be getting better or worse, whether there's any expected positive 'spillover' from the olympic legacy initiatives, etc. Please do not answer with the usual 'buy a house 20 miles out of london', 'do not buy overpriced leasehold flats', etc etc. that's not what i'm asking... thanks in advance!

not sure if you're still reading... i've seen a few flats in that area. Neighbourhood isn't great but i do think it'll get better, only advice would be to drive a hard bargain, the number of flats being built in that area is astonishing, and you are at high risk of negative equity. Guide price for this one just down the road has come down from 225 to 200, just to give you an example. If you're just looking for a BTL opportunity I don't see why you'd want to buy a new build, just find a second hand one (plenty of 2-3 y.o. properties) make low offers and snap a bargain... http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-36605473.html

Lol you can't really "buy a flat" in england. 990 year lease is good enough for me, thank you for your concern :-)

i don't think a property in central london is much more expensive (often cheaper if anything?) than a property in central paris, new york, hong kong or beijing... i don't think it looks like a bubble...

i want to buy a flat...

exactly... i really don't know what you're on about, honestly

unfortunately if you want to buy a flat you don't really have a choice...