Thats More Like It.

[Si1]

Hopefully one day in the UK housing affordability will improve. I just happen to think that for its target market that cottage is probably affordable. We're not talking about 1st time buyers here with tuppence f£$k all deposit, but people who've probably got that £250k in cash. There's a lot of them about.

there have ALWAYS been rich people about - but they have not always paid over the odds for properdie

[ccc]

I didn't really post it because I found it amazing value. It just surprised me to find something which (imo) is at last looking realistically priced in my search area. Believe me, I've spent an unhealthy number of hours monitoring my local market and this house sticks out like a turd in a punch bowl.

No I totally see where you are coming from. Just think some are seeing it as some sort of bargain simply coz it's not taking the piss as much as most other places !!

[Guest Noodle]

byut now tyhe baby boomers are past their peak housing-usage - now there are MUCH less families of 4 in the world - then there will be less demand for big family homes until the NEXT baby boom dominates house buying, which will be in about 25 years...

Is the population of the UK going up or down right now?

Look I understand why you people are desperate. Clock is ticking on in life. Just don't be over optimistic on quality family homes in nice areas.

[Guest Noodle]

there have ALWAYS been rich people about - but they have not always paid over the odds for properdie

QE scares me to death.

[Guest Noodle]

No I totally see where you are coming from. Just think some are seeing it as some sort of bargain simply coz it's not taking the piss as much as most other places !!

Bonkers!

[Si1]

Is the population of the UK going up or down right now?

Look I understand why you people are desperate. Clock is ticking on in life. Just don't be over optimistic on quality family homes in nice areas.

oh do me a favour fella - in the long run home building has kept up with population, it's the RESPONSE that is the problem, ie planning laws prevent building for ten years so a boom starts, by the time the political will catches on the bust is upon us and it is compounded

once you realise this, then demographics plays a bigger role than population growth over the med-long term

Edited August 5, 2010 by Si1

[OnionTerror]

Is the population of the UK going up or down right now?

Look I understand why you people are desperate. Clock is ticking on in life. Just don't be over optimistic on quality family homes in nice areas.

I've come to the conclusion a while ago, that unless I can realistically pay a mortgage off within 8 years or so, then I don't really want to touch a mortgage...A 25 or 30 year term for a mortgage was fine 30 or 40 years ago with moderately secure employment and HPs at a realistic level, but after being on the dole twice in 10 years, I just don't want to go down the whole painful financial tits up further on in life. Its much easier for the council to get them to pay for your rent, rather than getting them to pay for your mortgage, if necessary. Perhaps my mind will change if I decided to have kids, for the secure of "tenancy"...

[Guest Noodle]

oh do me a favour fella - in the long run home building has kept up with population, it's the RESPONSE that is the problem, ie planning laws prevent building for ten years so a boom starts, by the time the political will catches on the bust is upon us and it is compounded

once you realise this, then demographics plays a bigger role than population growth over the med-long term

I'm not talking about the crap that was thrown up in the past decade. I'm just talking about these sort of old places with character, well maintained, family homes in nice country areas. £250k ain't bad for that, but it is for some dodgy miserable new build on an estate. Those are barely worth the build cost.

What do you think you'll pay for something like Reck B has found here? Always be competition for this sort of house.

[Guest Noodle]

I've come to the conclusion a while ago, that unless I can realistically pay a mortgage off within 8 years or so, then I don't really want to touch a mortgage...A 25 or 30 year term for a mortgage was fine 30 or 40 years ago with moderately secure employment and HPs at a realistic level, but after being on the dole twice in 10 years, I just don't want to go down the whole painful financial tits up further on in life. Its much easier for the council to get them to pay for your rent, rather than getting them to pay for your mortgage, if necessary. Perhaps my mind will change if I decided to have kids, for the secure of "tenancy"...

Yup.

[Si1]

I'm not talking about the crap that was thrown up in the past decade. I'm just talking about these sort of old places with character, well maintained, family homes in nice country areas. £250k ain't bad for that, but it is for some dodgy miserable new build on an estate. Those are barely worth the build cost.

What do you think you'll pay for something like Reck B has found here? Always be competition for this sort of house.

I'm talking grey areas - I am saying that demographically there will likely be LESS competition in the coming years, despite it being a character property. And the existence of new build estates does, by arbitrage, water down price expectations for other classiers houses. As well as 'grand designs' houses and barn conversions, meaning that character properties are STILL being built.

[steve99]

I communte 80 miles everyday. I earn considerably more than the national average wage and my company pays for my car, the fuel, insurance, oil even to have it cleaned.........................

I would buy somewhere like this, your average wage earner has no chance. Sorry, that is life so stop all this average wage nonsense its meaningless hpc drivel.

Only going off the pictures but £250k its a steal, the mortgage would be relatively tiny for the kinda of people interested in buying this.

In the context of 1/2% official interest rates, a free car, a high wage and your young enough not to be bothered with hours of communting then yes it is a steal, but if interest rates increase to a proper level in comparison with real inflation, your jobs ceases or you change job for whatever reason and dont get that magic free car etc etc, it wouldnt look so good. To top it off average/median wages and unemployment levels do matter on account they will determine the average of the market over time, ie if things progress as they are you would be holding a depreciating asset and if you wanted/needed to move you would be financialy bent over and porked from behind. Only pointing out that these issues should be taken into account. I remember 2 couples, friends of ours back in the early 90's (junior tail end baby boomers)who had similar ways of thinking/talking who ended up unemployed from their well paid jobs, in both instances both wife and chap were made redundant within months of each other and had their 'bargain' houses taken off them. Remember also that this recession so far has not been any where near as harsh as the early 90's yet and miles from what we had in the early 80's, I can only guess that when the government gets bored with the soft gloves treatment along with the banks panicking and repossessing like they used to do in the old days, then we will be in a real recession with a completely different national mindset than we have today.

[Reluctant Heretic]

I hate thatched houses.. or rather I hate the idea of them looking good for a few years, average for a few years, then another 5-10yrs of it looking grubby thinking "Oh dear, that's going to need doing soon", and the big bill that comes with it.

The thatch doesn't look right IMO. I guess I am just used to thatch on cobb cottages - the house structure looks too modern to me and the roof seems too high.

Good price though - around here you would only get a 2 bed thatched for that price.

Edited August 6, 2010 by Reluctant Heretic

[Si1]

The thatch doesn't look right IMO. I guess I am just used to thatch on cobb cottages - the house structure looks too modern to me and the roof seems too high.

Good price though - around here you would only get a 2 bed thatched for that price.

mumsnetter!

[Guest Noodle]

mumsnetter!

Nah, far, far too intelligent.

[Tired of Waiting]

4 bed thatched cottage in East Devon, £80k drop from £330k to £250k

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-15240099.html

People, I think you are going a bit soft. Please look at this post:

Just bought our rented house in Mineola (Florida) not far from Disney. Sold for $276K in 2006 and LL went bust last year. We have paid no rent since June 2009 as bank didn't want it empty. Anyway bank said we could finally have it for $80,000. I offered $70K and they have taken it. That's around 40K sterling for a 3 bed WITH pool. Full air conditioning, the lot. Point is that the kitchen is bigger than that pile of crap in Devon or wherever. We really have lost the plot in the UK.

It costs between £60 and £90 / sq. ft. to build a house. Land without planning permit cost less than £10,000 / acre, even here in the south east. Enough land for 10 spacious family homes. Most of it is now being utilised by very low yield pastures - not crops, agriculture.

Reduce planning restrictions and it would be easy to have decent plots, with amenities, for... what? £20k each? £50k each?!

Build a family home with 1,500 sq ft for ... x £80 = £120,000

Plus £20k plot = £140,000

Plus £50k (!) plot = £170,000

In the long term, planning restrictions will be the main structural factor deciding HPs.

[Guest Noodle]

People, I think you are going a bit soft. Please look at this post:

It costs between £60 and £90 / sq. ft. to build a house. Land without planning permit cost less than £10,000 / acre, even here in the south east. Enough land for 10 spacious family homes. Most of it is now being utilised by very low yield pastures - not crops, agriculture.

Reduce planning restrictions and it would be easy to have decent plots, with amenities, for... what? £20k each? £50k each?!

Build a family home with 1,500 sq ft for ... x £80 = £120,000

Plus £20k plot = £140,000

Plus £50k (!) plot = £170,000

In the long term, planning restrictions will be the main structural factor deciding HPs.

Is this apples with apples?

I say this because if I still had that sort of cash, I'd probably go buy that place in Devon.

Printing scares me. It's stopped at the banks so far, but I can see taps turning on shortly.

But I'm skint so it doesn't matter.

[gravity always wins]

Don't burst his bubble noodle.

Yeah houses only go up innit - jump in now before its too late!!!

Seriously though devon and cornwall are a disaster waiting to happen, I guess you are right within a decade the whole population will be commuting to London on a daily basis - they'll probably have to build a twenty lane super highway or sommat.

Wages and job prospects are shit the demographics suck in these two counties and half the villages are empty coz people only buy second homes coz its a nice little earner (which it clearly isn't anymore - anyone smell the fear).

But if I were you I'd jump on in presuming you still have a job next year and all your neighbours are employed and not forced sellers.

I love the house prices only fall in grotty areas and can't possibly fall in the places where I live attitude.

80 mile a day commute! poor sod I'd get yourself a big fat mortgage as you clearly enjoy serfdom - good luck.

[Guest Noodle]

Yeah houses only go up innit - jump in now before its too late!!!

Seriously though devon and cornwall are a disaster waiting to happen, I guess you are right within a decade the whole population will be commuting to London on a daily basis - they'll probably have to build a twenty lane super highway or sommat.

Wages and job prospects are shit the demographics suck in these two counties and half the villages are empty coz people only buy second homes coz its a nice little earner (which it clearly isn't anymore - anyone smell the fear).

But if I were you I'd jump on in presuming you still have a job next year and all your neighbours are employed and not forced sellers.

I love the house prices only fall in grotty areas and can't possibly fall in the places where I live attitude.

80 mile a day commute! poor sod I'd get yourself a big fat mortgage as you clearly enjoy serfdom - good luck.

I have little doubt cacky tacky new build and estate stuff will be ten a penny. I still can't see that these period character 'I live in a thatched cottage with mature fancy gardens' houses will go for much less than that £250k.

However, I may be pleasantly surprised yet and hope you guys get the chance to have one, be nice that.

[gravity always wins]

I say this because if I still had that sort of cash, I'd probably go buy that place in Devon.

But you don't so you can't where as I do but I won't (not even with yours!). Its funny how markets work!

Do we seriously believe this is a one off price reduction peculiar to Devon?

Is this a sale of the century has the owner won the lottery and just decided to give this place away? OR maybe they can't find a buyer. or do we perhaps think this the start of a trend?

Answers on a postcard please.

[Tired of Waiting]

Is this apples with apples?

I say this because if I still had that sort of cash, I'd probably go buy that place in Devon.

Printing scares me. It's stopped at the banks so far, but I can see taps turning on shortly.

But I'm skint so it doesn't matter.

You could easily afford to build in Devon, if they allowed you ("planning permit").

[OnionTerror]

But you don't so you can't where as I do but I won't (not even with yours!). Its funny how markets work!

Do we seriously believe this is a one off price reduction peculiar to Devon?

Is this a sale of the century has the owner won the lottery and just decided to give this place away? OR maybe they can't find a buyer. or do we perhaps think this the start of a trend?

Answers on a postcard please.

I think they've dropped the price, as there's a planned 3000 house development which will be built right on their doorstep...The owners will have to put up with the traffic and noise pollution that hundreds if not thousands of construction workers will bring...does it seem such a bargain now?

If there wasn't going to be a potential development, there wouldn't be a price drop as large as that..

Edited August 6, 2010 by Dave Beans

[gravity always wins]

I still can't see that these period character 'I live in a thatched cottage with mature fancy gardens' houses will go for much less than that £250k.

That right property crashes only affect chavs.

The middle classes wouldn't have been stupid enough to mortgage themselves up to the hilt for a seaside holiday homes just to keep up appearances coz that would have been stupid.

As central London prices go (and they are) so will Cornwall and Devon.

But seriously if I hade fiver everytime someone trotted out the old posh areas don't crash in the last crash I still wouldn't be able to afford a house made of mud and straw built for manual farm labourers in one of EUROPES POOREST AREAS FOR WAGES.

Hey ho.

[Guest Noodle]

You could easily afford to build in Devon, if they allowed you ("planning permit").

But they don't, easily. Also, it costs money to build and building this sort of house would I guess be more than you'd expect.

[Guest Noodle]

That right property crashes only affect chavs.

The middle classes wouldn't have been stupid enough to mortgage themselves up to the hilt for a seaside holiday homes just to keep up appearances coz that would have been stupid.

As central London prices go (and they are) so will Cornwall and Devon.

But seriously if I hade fiver everytime someone trotted out the old posh areas don't crash in the last crash I still wouldn't be able to afford a house made of mud and straw built for manual farm labourers in one of EUROPES POOREST AREAS FOR WAGES.

Hey ho.

I don't understand you're first sentence.

I'm just talking about this particular house. Was this sort of place not £500k in the boom? Is this £250k a crash price?

Devon and Cornwall are retirement areas. Where old people with no debt tend to sell up wherever they happen to be living and buy the thatched cottage in Devon, instead of some sweltering hell hole in Spain.

I can't see that these sort of houses are really affected by local wages. Different market.

[gravity always wins]

I think they've dropped the price, as there's a planned 3000 house development which will be built right on their doorstep...The owners will have to put up with the traffic and noise pollution that hundreds if not thousands of construction workers will bring...does it seem such a bargain now?

If there wasn't going to be a potential development, there wouldn't be a price drop as large as that..

I haven't seen a bargain in D&C for at least a decade I am waiting for about 2012 and onwards.