Levenshulme/burnage

[emmkay]

I'm looking to buy in this area and ideally I'd like a house in the West Point area but all of the houses seem so expensive for an area so close to Longsight. One of the properties I am very interested in is this one ( http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-33614870.html ) I would love to know people's opinions on whether it is massively overpriced or not. I was thinking of an opening offer of £145,000 - £150,000 although I expect to be told to stick it.

Thanks in advance.

[riverside]

Don't live in Manchester or know the area very well other than when I have had to go to the area for work and don't know your personal situation so only general points

Have you got a clear idea of what your needs are short and medium term

Property

Good points Victorian usually well built and a long garden

Bad Points Small Kitchen and third bedroom , Drive looks narrow. Some redecoration needed

Quite old what will survey through up, what state are the electrics and plumbing in ?

Area

Area M19 is not good for crime stats the % of owner occupied is low in the area which doesn't help

Is there a good school nearby to keep prices high

Price

Price average 3 bed in this area from mouseprice is £140k the overall trend in house prices is turning down across the north. This area has fallen about 5% in last year generally working class areas are likely to get hammered most. Impact of public sector cuts on this area ?

There are 5 pages of 3 bed houses generally in the Levenshulme area between 140k to 170k on righmove so the sellers have competition. I can see a couple of similar in west point on higher prices but all around prices seem to be falling that is unlikely to last

Finance

Have you got finance in place it is possible that when you get the bs surveyor round to view he will be harsher than you are so you need to go in hard a lot of deals are falling through

Exit strategy

How long are you planning to live there, what is your exit strategy if prices continue to fall,would you rent if so what is the rental market like in the area

Good luck, caveat emptor

[jay67]

I lived in Levenshulme in the early 80's(Stockport Road,near Bloom Lane)It was a dodgy area then,and doesn't seem to have improved.For £140-150K you could buy a 3-bed semi in Stockport,in a safer area with better schools.

[jfk]

^^^ wot he sed

Keep clear of levenshulme and burnage. Overpriced sh*t that is rapidly coming down in price. That part of old hall lane is right deep into scumville. Have you ever taken a drive around those areas at night? It's like a zombie flick.

Burnage with it's M19 postcode will crucify you on car insurance alone. It's full of scum chavs.

Good idea about more towards Stockport area.

[Kazuya]

Buying in Longsight/Levenshulme/Walley Range was only worth it (maybe!) when terraced houses cost between £10k~£20k throughout the 90's and semi's cost beween £20k~£40k. They are still a cr*phole though!

I know someone who purchased lots of BTL's in these areas in the late 80's and throughout the 90's and sold in 2006 for a huge profit and purchased a MASSIVE gated house in Hale Barns for himself

This boom has created a huge transfer of wealth between the lucky ones and unlucky ones.

[emmkay]

Thanks for the advice people.

I'm originally from the New Mills/Stockport area and I've lived in Manchester since 2004 (I've rented in Fallowfield, Didsbury and now Victoria Park). After spending so long in the sticks I actually prefer the city life. I picked Levenshulme to buy because it's convenient and has good primary schools (as yet I have no children). It's also definitely a long term purchase; I don't have any plans of moving in the near future.

I thought the area was the better part of Old Hall Lane and it was less desirable towards Birchfields Road? Ideally I would have prefer a property on Lindsay Ave or Lytham Road but properties around there don't tend to appear for sale as often and are closer to the £200,000 mark.

[emmkay]

After careful consideration of the advice given I am now considering looking at Heaton Mersey (as close to East Didsbury as possible). I am just concerned about public transport as my wife works at Manchester University and doesn't drive.

[SarahBell]

After careful consideration of the advice given I am now considering looking at Heaton Mersey (as close to East Didsbury as possible). I am just concerned about public transport as my wife works at Manchester University and doesn't drive.

She should dry run the journey home before you commit to anywhere.

[Kazuya]

After careful consideration of the advice given I am now considering looking at Heaton Mersey (as close to East Didsbury as possible). I am just concerned about public transport as my wife works at Manchester University and doesn't drive.

Heaton Mersey is a much better choice but prices are higher there since it is considered a more desirable place to live. How about Heaton Chapel? That is also a good area with plenty of victorian era semi's. I wouldn't recommend Heaton Norris and the good roads in Heaton Moor are WAAAAY overpriced!

[emmkay]

Heaton Mersey is a much better choice but prices are higher there since it is considered a more desirable place to live. How about Heaton Chapel? That is also a good area with plenty of victorian era semi's. I wouldn't recommend Heaton Norris and the good roads in Heaton Moor are WAAAAY overpriced!

There are a couple of houses in the Heaton Mersey that are close to our budget but Heaton Chapel might be more convenient. My wife would have to take the dreaded 42 route to work if we were living in Heaton Mersey but she could take the 191 if we were living in Heaton Chapel. Are the schools decent in the Heaton Chapel area and which areas would you recommend? Heaton Norris is somewhere we are avoiding and like you say Heaton Moor is well out of our price range.

Thanks again.

[Migrant Mother]

There are a couple of houses in the Heaton Mersey that are close to our budget but Heaton Chapel might be more convenient. My wife would have to take the dreaded 42 route to work if we were living in Heaton Mersey but she could take the 191 if we were living in Heaton Chapel. Are the schools decent in the Heaton Chapel area and which areas would you recommend? Heaton Norris is somewhere we are avoiding and like you say Heaton Moor is well out of our price range.

Thanks again.

She could get the 50 bus in down Kingsway which goes striaight to the Uni!

[emmkay]

She could get the 50 bus in down Kingsway which goes striaight to the Uni!

The houses in our price range in the area would involve a walk, 42 bus and then switch to the 50 at Parrs Wood. The journey would take around an hour, which is mad as it only used to take less time than that to travel from New Mills.

[Chicken]

I grew up in Burnage. The area you were originally looking at is not as bad as some other posters are making out but still way too expensive for what they are.

[emmkay]

Well Heaton Chapel houses in this price range seem to somewhat smaller than what we have found in Levenshulme. There was a very nice house on the Heaton Chapel/Levenshulme border which was priced at £160k. We made an offer of £141k and were told that there has been an offer over £10k above that so we aren't going to bother offering any more. It's strange because no houses on that particular road have sold for more than £150k since 2008. We will play the waiting game and continue our search.

[jfk]

Well Heaton Chapel houses in this price range seem to somewhat smaller than what we have found in Levenshulme. There was a very nice house on the Heaton Chapel/Levenshulme border which was priced at £160k. We made an offer of £141k and were told that there has been an offer over £10k above that so we aren't going to bother offering any more. It's strange because no houses on that particular road have sold for more than £150k since 2008. We will play the waiting game and continue our search.

oh what a surprise, don't tell me - they had the offer THAT DAY! ... leave them at it. Point out the last sale was 150k in 2008 and the market is on the slide so your offer has gone down to £120k and will remain for 2 weeks and that's it ... then keep on looking.

[hirop]

Give it a few weeks and call the ea up and ask if the vendor has accepting the higher offer yet. This alleged higher offer represents something upward 95% aprox of asking - which would be golden in this market. For that reason alone, I'd be amazed if that offer was getting turned down, so if its not accepted yet, I'd say it is a phantom.

What does the bee say? I see no point even sticking something on my rightmove list until it has dropped in price once, properties that have not dropped once are almost certainly still in the delusion zone.

The other area you mention, Burnage always get a bad rep on here I think the worst you can say about burnage is that it is unbelievably boring. Surely down the bottom toward parswood can't be that bad. I'm liking the heaton chapel, heaton mersey, heaton moor bits of Stockport, keeping my eye on that quarter. Thought this one Heaton Norris was quite good, only question was if you can hear the motorway or not

[emmkay]

Give it a few weeks and call the ea up and ask if the vendor has accepting the higher offer yet. This alleged higher offer represents something upward 95% aprox of asking - which would be golden in this market. For that reason alone, I'd be amazed if that offer was getting turned down, so if its not accepted yet, I'd say it is a phantom.

What does the bee say? I see no point even sticking something on my rightmove list until it has dropped in price once, properties that have not dropped once are almost certainly still in the delusion zone.

The other area you mention, Burnage always get a bad rep on here I think the worst you can say about burnage is that it is unbelievably boring. Surely down the bottom toward parswood can't be that bad. I'm liking the heaton chapel, heaton mersey, heaton moor bits of Stockport, keeping my eye on that quarter. Thought this one Heaton Norris was quite good, only question was if you can hear the motorway or not

I've probably made a few errors with this one as it's my first time making an offer on a house. The house has only been on the market for just over a week so I know I should have waited longer before making an offer. There is a house on the same street for sale with a much smaller garden, no downstairs WC and a smaller bathroom advertised for the same price.

The seller told me she has divorced recently and can't afford the place so she is moving into a two bedroom flat she has already found. This would suggest to me that she wants a quick sale and has possible financial worries. As first time buyers with a large-ish deposit I think we are in a decent position so I thought I may get away with a lower offer.

The thing is house prices are inconsistent on this road because it is quite long and has different types of houses. The few years of sale prices are:

March 2011 - £115k

December 2010 - £135k

September 2009 - £138k

August 2009 - £145k

February 2009 - £118k

December 2008 - £136k

November 2008 - £100k

August 2008 - £178k

Nay 2008 £165k

March 2008 - £158k

Although there are a few anomalies I guess it does indicate that prices there are in decline.

The house in Heaton Norris is very nice but the fact that it's on the main road near a very busy junction/roundabout would put me off. Ideally I want something on a bus route that will take around 30 mins to get to town and the University so Heaton Norris and Heaton Mersey are probably going to be ruled out. I do like parts of Burnage and Levenshulme and part of the reason I'd like to buy there is I don't want to be too far out as most of our friends live in Withington, Victoria Park, Didsbury & Fallowfield.

[emmkay]

OK we need to make a choice between two houses and I was wondering what are your opinions. At the moment it is just myself and my wife who will be living there but we plan to have kids within the next few years.

House one is on the Levenshulme/Heaton Chapel border. http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-30237094.html

-Much bigger

-Garage

-Bigger garden

-Backs onto Highfield park

-Some shoddy brickwork on the kitchen extensions

-Area is not fantastic but still quite nice (in my opinion)

-Slightly lower asking price

House two is on the Burnage/Heaton Mersey border. http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-19253700.html

-Small (only one bedroom will fit a double bed)

-Nicer area

-More expensive

[hirop]

First one is really Levenshulme\Heaton Chapel border, can't say much about the ammenities there, commuting to stockport or manchester should be doddle.

The second one has the benefit of being around the corner from the 24 hour Tesco which is luckily not a chav magnet. It's close enough to east didsbury for walking, and west disbury for a £2 taxi if thats what you like socially. And fog lane park is fine also.

You might find 3 beds bigger & cheaper just north of fog lane park, heading into withington. Same ammenities as your second choice.

OK we need to make a choice between two houses and I was wondering what are your opinions. At the moment it is just myself and my wife who will be living there but we plan to have kids within the next few years.

House one is on the Levenshulme/Heaton Chapel border. http://www.rightmove...y-30237094.html

-Much bigger

-Garage

-Bigger garden

-Backs onto Highfield park

-Some shoddy brickwork on the kitchen extensions

-Area is not fantastic but still quite nice (in my opinion)

-Slightly lower asking price

House two is on the Burnage/Heaton Mersey border. http://www.rightmove...y-19253700.html

-Small (only one bedroom will fit a double bed)

-Nicer area

-More expensive

[Venger]

This seller is trying his best to big up his 3 bed house for sale in Levenshulme/Burnage.

Best part of £400K asking price. http://www.rightmove...y-35074942.html

I don't mind some background but what an odd story. Can feel his concern house buyers may have for the area, combined with his desire to get a good sale price.

He had to mow an overgrown lawn after buying it in 1981 and deal with some minor issues.

He sounds proud of his 2008 new roof with sprayfoam insulation and 25 year guarantee, when I've read sprayfoam an be a bad idea, unless done expertly. And creates another job to remove if needing any future roof work. Don't expect a builder or contractor to tell you what complies with Building Regs, they'll often just do what you ask for, and there is little risk of comeback to them.

Having foam sprayed on to the undersides of the slates may sound like a wonderful high-tech solution but it is actually a bad idea. It is at odds with the recommendations of the Building Regulations, which require a clear 50mm ventilated gap between insulation and roof covering. The foam sets hard and removes the two vital attributes that allow a traditional roof to last and perform so well for so long - the ability to breathe and the ability to move. The foam completely encloses the timber battens and

continues

A quick check on 'Warmroof', the company who did his roof in 2008 with a 25 year guarantee (insurance backed?), suggests they're no longer about. Looks like their domain is up for sale at least. Ouch. Quite a few unhappy Warmroof customers about on searches, and apparently was on Watchdog. Including here: http://forums.moneys...ad.php?t=482529

but I ran the head office of Warmroof yesterday and got recorded message saying Warmroof is now in administration so looks like I am stung good and proper.

[Nomadd]

This seller is trying his best to big up his 3 bed house for sale in Levenshulme/Burnage.

Pretty gobsmacked reading all that, TBH. Sounds very desperate, doesn't it? Kind of, "Well, we screwed-up moving here, but don't let that put you off."

No mention of his initial purchase price or "renovation" costs. I'm betting that they are slightly - cough - lower than his current asking price.

[RKA777]

Reading this in 20w0. Tables have turned in Levenshulme and Burnage now havent they?? Lol. These are areas that will do really well in the future. Prices have risen in these areas faster than 'nicer' areas. 

Burnage and Levenshulme primary and secondary schools outperforming schools in Didsbury and definitely Stockport.