Pro-crastinator

Spoke to the EA about this. Apparently went on the market in March. Maybe it did, maybe it didn't I can't remember seeing it. But I'm sure if I did it would have got my attention as the property is a decent size in comparison with the other shoe-boxes being sold in the area. Not sure why it re-appeared on RightMove then (at the time I started this thread). Can't help feeling that as a buyer there is so much stuff/information going on under the radar that I don't think I'll ever get either a) a good deal or the ideal place for me let alone a combination of the two.

video slides of property pictures posted in june yet only viewed 5 times. I suspect this is good example of internal profiteering from the EAs

Thanks for the replies. I was just about to use the netprices site you referred to. Clicked my bookmark to get the property details and it's now 'been removed by the agent'. I'm really actually upset about this! (Not crying, but genuinely would have made an offer) I suspect it will be done up (needed modernising) for about £10k and have a £50k premium added for the efforts. I will call the agent tomorrow to ask them as the guy is regularly pestering me for interest on other properties which I am not interested in. How can I definitely check that it's sold as I don't have a flat number. Land registry? BTW, thank you for informing me of this EA practice. I'm still really naive on the whole house buying process and I guess the more I look into it the more I feel disillusioned about the concept of a 'fair' deal.

I have to admit - I'm am up and down like a yo-yo on house buying. But I thought after reading some stuff on the BBC that I'd have another look at the area I want to buy. Using the advice from other posts about seeing what has gone before I decided to click STC. I found a flat that I really like that is under this banner. The thing is I don't recall ever seeing it for sale (it's within my budget settings) and I have looked with a relatively high level of frequency over the past few months. So I decided to use property bee and see what data I was given. Apparently it was listed in June, updated in July and then edited today (or maybe that is a cache of my search?). So I'm confused: Why would I not have seen the flat advertised (when it is a small search area I am looking at)? Why would property-bee keep having the details edited up to today if it is STC? How can I find out for sure if the flat is sold (I am actually on the agents books who are representing it and knowing my budget and specific search area they have not mentioned it to me - which is stupid as I very specifically said 'you get this area and it's a goer')? Even if it is STC am I right in saying I could still potentially have a go at raising the existing offer? Apologies for all the questions but putting the buy now or later debate, this is the first time since March that I've seen a flat that I can afford in the location i really want (and feel will make me happy). I hate all this cloak and dagger stuff with EAs and property in general!

That sounds pretty good! The problem I'm having is the value of my £60k deposit has lessened significantly since I topped out at that amount a couple of years ago (since owning a car I've found it very hard to save!) so trying to hit the sweet spot of 80% LTV. But I am guessing that negative side of this scheme is the potential for lots of people jumping on the scheme thust further increasing demand on an already limited number of houses (I guess pushing the prices up).

Interesting - I would have automatically assumed the longer it had been vacant the more likely they'd take less! What is the actual agent fee ranges typically? Will give it a try - unless I crumble and opt for help2buy in Jan...

I enjoy location, location, location. Buuuuttt, reading this thread is a bit like the reveal in the 6th sense when Bruce Willis finally puts it all together. Reading some of the commentary of the episodes I can see how things that they do don't make sense (especially the tense offer the asking price standoff!). I'm feeling more and more dispondant with the media and their portrayal/representation of housing buying. Joe Public, like me, genuinely looks to these types of programmes for advice/tips.

Is there an upper limit on what to ask off? I'm now going to park my house buying plan until the new year to assess what the 'bubble' is saying. Part [most] of this is because of what information I've read on here. I'm looking around London Bridge as I figured I could rent for 6 months and then re-assess the situation come March. I've seen places for around £400pw for a one bed which is too expensive for me. Having said that a fair few are available immeadiately. With that in mind, if I use something like property bee to ascertain how long they have been vacant for, is it possible (or unheard of) to ask for that same place at £300pw? I don't know what other costs I have to factor in but with take home pay of 2k £1200 pcm seems ok. At least I'll be living in the place I'll never be able to afford to buy! What other charges am i missing here? Agency fees, are they one off? Council tax/bills. Am I being naive?!

According to zoopla it has. Average 2009 was just above £300k now it's just under £400k. £80-90k increase in four years! Is that a sign of artificial increase or a realistic snapshot of just how bad the housing shortage is in London?

Interesting to see so many here predicting a bubble burst off of this news. Not sure how to take it myself but naturally a business sells when they think things are going to go down. Or could just be thinking there are faster ways to make more money in other industries given the tighter margins they're working with. Makes me think to hold on to Jan 2014 to throw my pennies in the ring of home ownership... maybe a short term rent would be better after all.

For example: is this really worth £489k!? http://www.primelocation.com/for-sale/details/30076579 Seems a lot for 90sq metres (granted a sort of riverside view). Obviously this is not in my price range but I'm curious as to what it 'should' be.

Additionally on this, is there an accurate measure fpr price per square foot for surrey quays? I ask as London at least seems to have a certain pricing scale per square feet which I think would help me weed out what and approximate cost for a property i'm interested in should be (obviously would need to take into account things like desireability, parking etc). Then if say one was 250,000 for 65sq metres and one was 310,000 for the same vicinity then I can know that in all likelihood the latter has been overpriced.

Hi thanks for the comments guys. Some interesting thoughts. @ Gone to ireland - I understand your question now. The theory is to live in the flat for say 3-5 years and then keep hold of it and rent it out (which partly responds to your very good point about who will i sell on to next). I'm not wild with my money so I would hope to be able to raise some sort of deposit for a house further out of London. The point made is good in that it's made me think properly about long term. Trouble is I'm just not that good at that! I didn't buy in 2009 as I was too lazy living comfortably at my folks. So I missed that boat through my own failiure to forward think (see my point above!). YOu guys are much more hardcore on the numbers front. I just want a home of my own! @Fazer, I here what you're saying about Ireland. I don't know how property works in terms of a crash. But is it not true that if those people can sit it out long enough the general cost of living/value of things will see it be worth something to someone. Although I guess the issue is that everything else has gone up in price too.... The help to buy scheme in Jan could be effective for me to use a smaller deposit and then redirect some funds to help my brother buy a property for himself. Though I'm not sure of the full implications of the scheme. If we use the wonderful world of hindsight what happened in the run up to 2008? Things were getting more expensive then the whole lending situation in the US rippled over to everything and it crashed, right? But is the market a constant peak and trough setup where you just need to know when to go in and catch the right wave? So that is, there was a crash in the 90s and it took 10years or so to 're-crash'. With that [naive] logic whatis the rationale that the current 2013 levels will crash and what factors would we be looking for to warn of it? Surely with the US issue and bank lending issue these would have been learnt from and tightened up accordingly? So what will be the source of the crash? Lots of thinking out aloud and questions there. I'm just trying to get my head around it all. What I should have done really is buy anywhere in 2009 and rent where I aspired to live... too late now (or is it?).

I think SQ has good connections relative to the prices in the area vs other areas (if that makes sense!). For me I can get home to my parents (SW Lon) via the overground and walk to Canada water to get in to town/connect with better options. @ Gone to Ireland - I don't fully understand your question so I may not answer this properly. Essentially, whilst house prices can go up and down the 2008 crash has shown me that even those who bought at the peak and were in negative equity should be starting to things balance out. So fair enough they haven't made any money - but they're not down money. 3/5/10 years I just see myself completely priced out of London. It's a land grab and in 5 years I suspect that unless you want to live on a housing estate, no first time buyer will be able to afford it. Proof for me is in the number of people commuting in. I can't even get on the bus train without it being already busy and I'm in the burbs! Another worry is I work in the public sector. Pay freeze city! I'm at a point in my career where it will take a few years before I can make a leap to the next level (if indeed I can) so this is compounding the situation of my earnings/deposit devaluing the longer i leave it.

Forgot to say. There was a thread on getting EAs on side and the general overpricing on property. This was a really useful thread to make me feel less at the mercy of the EA and also to hold true to my cynicism of some house prices. With 20-30% offer below list price rationale what do you guys reckon to surrey quays. is the area over priced? I feel like it is but perhaps I'm deluding myself as to what I can get (after being sucked in by the hype of part-buy s*****y looking new builds).

Hello, Quite glad I found this forum and have read a lot of what is on here. Interesting to see some people like me who could have bought in 2009 but didn't. Yep, I'm kicking myself in the ass now as the money I have saved up for a deposit has increased much but is obviously worth less (but not worthless )! I'm starting to really doubt what i read in the papers these days. London house prices up 8% one day the next day, London in another housing bubble. I guess no one knows how the market will play out but are there any signs i can look for? I'm looking around Surrey Quays, I have no knowledge of the area but it seems the closest I can get to London for sub £300k (1 or 2bed). Any views on this location? I'm thinking of buying now regardless of the markets as it's just getting beyond a joke. As evidenced by my thread title - it is genuinely making me upset. Sounds silly, but i think some of the other people on who have been waiting for the 'right' time will get me. I'm Almost 35 and it feels pathetic that I haven't got this sorted... Opinions on area, gameplan and markets would be appreciated.