How Much Would You Pay - Gower?

[malibu]

Hi Everyone

This is my first post on this slightly depressing but realistic forum! As a result I apologise in advance for the long and slightly ‘open’ question I am about to post….

Anyway, My family and I (wife and young child) are moving back to the UK after some time living abroad. We are from different parts of the county and neither of us want to move to the others home town.

As a result we have had a good look around the UK and have decided that the Gower is the best option for us. I’m a surfer and wanabe small holder, so the idea is to get a nice place with some land, with B and B potential, buy a few chickens and get planting some vegetables! Basically we want to be in a good position, ready for the impending economic collapse.

We are in the fortunate position that we have a good-sized deposit and a decent inflation protected passive income so are protected if I loose my reasonably well paid part time job. We like the West Gower and have our eyes on a few houses with land, around the £750,000 mark.

Now obviously the market is in a bad way, especially at the end of it we are looking. Having said that if you were making an offer on a nice house/land at this sort of level, in this part of the world what would you offer?

I’m thinking perhaps 25% below asking?

[Argoed]

Hi Everyone

This is my first post on this slightly depressing but realistic forum! As a result I apologise in advance for the long and slightly ‘open’ question I am about to post….

Anyway, My family and I (wife and young child) are moving back to the UK after some time living abroad. We are from different parts of the county and neither of us want to move to the others home town.

As a result we have had a good look around the UK and have decided that the Gower is the best option for us. I’m a surfer and wanabe small holder, so the idea is to get a nice place with some land, with B and B potential, buy a few chickens and get planting some vegetables! Basically we want to be in a good position, ready for the impending economic collapse.

We are in the fortunate position that we have a good-sized deposit and a decent inflation protected passive income so are protected if I loose my reasonably well paid part time job. We like the West Gower and have our eyes on a few houses with land, around the £750,000 mark.

Now obviously the market is in a bad way, especially at the end of it we are looking. Having said that if you were making an offer on a nice house/land at this sort of level, in this part of the world what would you offer?

I’m thinking perhaps 25% below asking?

Gower is not typical of the rest of Wales and your 750K is unlikely to buy you much more than an old and large farmhouse in need of some renovation, with say an adjoining 5 acres. The same money in willdest west Wales would buy you a property in good condition with perhaps 40 to 80 acres.

Moreover, the level of blind delusion in Gower remains high, vendors continue to believe that Gower is the land of milk and honey and everyone wants to live there (and they can ask outrageous prices for poor quality estate), or else they are up to their testes in debt and just will/can not drop their price.

25% off .... certainly start from there . But prepare yourself for a lot of disappointment and start on the skin-thickening therapy as soon as possible.... but do keep us informed of your experiences.

[The Masked Tulip]

Gower prices shot up due to that Daily Mail writer writing about her house on the Gower. I am told that she sold it some years ago now at the height of prices.

But it resulted in loads of yummy Mummies and their City husbands buying stuff on Gower so that prices shot up. Locals think of Gower as a nice place for a day out but not somewhere to live - I have talked about this much in this forum so see past posts for the reason why.

Alas, the Londoners and Daily Mail readers did not know why you visit Gower rather than live there. The house prices shot up out of the stratosphere and now, all over Gower, there is a deluge of properties for sale at the most ludicrous asking prices - prices that the locals can never afford.

It is complete denial and delusion land. Repos are on the rise down there.

Finally, Gower is no different from Wales where city types from the South East of England fall in love with the idea of having a small-holding. They want the chickens and the goats, etc, but have no idea what it means in reality. I have lost count of the Londoners I have known who gave up city living to become Gower small-holders only to sell up a year or two later, usually with divorce thrown into the bargain.

Best of luck.

[Swansea Estate Agent]

It can be lonely in the Gower which seems great initially, but the novelty well and truely wears off.

Why the Gower?

Why not somewhere on the outskirts of Swansea where you will get 50 times more for your money and only be 20-30 minutes from the beach?

If the Gower is ideal for you, then good luck with finding something that you feel is a good deal otherwise you will end up paying over the odds.

Many in the Gower are unable to reduce more than 5% let alone 25% due to the level of living they have been enjoying for so long because banks continued to throw money at them over the last decade until recently. If you do gain an acceptance at 25% below asking, then you will probably just about get a surveyor to value the property at your offer.

You could end up spending a fortune on surveys trying to buy in the Gower.

[Argoed]

It can be lonely in the Gower which seems great initially, but the novelty well and truely wears off.

Why the Gower?

Why not somewhere on the outskirts of Swansea where you will get 50 times more for your money and only be 20-30 minutes from the beach?

If the Gower is ideal for you, then good luck with finding something that you feel is a good deal otherwise you will end up paying over the odds.

Many in the Gower are unable to reduce more than 5% let alone 25% due to the level of living they have been enjoying for so long because banks continued to throw money at them over the last decade until recently. If you do gain an acceptance at 25% below asking, then you will probably just about get a surveyor to value the property at your offer.

You could end up spending a fortune on surveys trying to buy in the Gower.

Other S'x Ea's share your sentiment it seems.

I was recently talking to one of your competitors about a Gower property that he was trying to sell. Mostly the conversation was focused on price with him saying X was fair in this market and me saying I was prepared to offer X minus (** %). The quibbling continued for some time .....unresolved.

But what really surprised me was that at one stage, he himself admitted that he wouldn't want to live down the Gower at any price . Understandably very confusing to those who only see the Worm on sunny days perhaps.

[The Masked Tulip]

Other S'x Ea's share your sentiment it seems.

I was recently talking to one of your competitors about a Gower property that he was trying to sell. Mostly the conversation was focused on price with him saying X was fair in this market and me saying I was prepared to offer X minus (** %). The quibbling continued for some time .....unresolved.

But what really surprised me was that at one stage, he himself admitted that he wouldn't want to live down the Gower at any price . Understandably very confusing to those who only see the Worm on sunny days perhaps.

People see the beaches and the countryside on sunny days but they do not stop and think about the many negatives - they probably do not enter their minds. If you stop and think about them they are numerous... and those are before you get into the other issues with the 'gower mentality' of a certain type of person.

[Tankus]

I would head further west to Pembroke ....Just as spectacular scenery .....but cheaper houses and land ..........plus .....you wont have a bunch of Jacks looking over your shoulder ......

[The Masked Tulip]

I would head further west to Pembroke ....Just as spectacular scenery .....but cheaper houses and land ..........plus .....you wont have a bunch of Jacks looking over your shoulder ......

I was going to say that I would opt for Pembrokeshire over Gower.

I would avoid North Pembs though as the Ceredigion language issue is apparently spilling over into North Pembs - there is that group 'Parents for Choice' I think they are called who have some shocking stories about what is allegedly happening to their kids in school because they kids do not speak Welsh. Fine if you speak Welsh but it sounds like it is a world of grief if you don't, especially if you have children of school age.

My other doubt about Pembs is the hospital issue - you basically come to Morriston Hospital if anything major happens to you down there and that is a long journey just to get an ambulance to you let alone to get you to Morriston.

There is a lot of talk about downgrading of Haverfordwest and Carmarthen hospitals. I have often been in Swansea's two hospitals and met people from West Wales. Not fair on them at all. In fact, a neighbour of mine in Swansea told me that he is a consultant in Haverfordwest hospital - what is that, a 90 minute journey? I didn't believe him when he told me.

[The Masked Tulip]

Just to add, I have been driving around Bishopston/Pennard/Kittle/Murton today looking at houses - the nagging thing in the back of my mind was that even these areas are too far out.

There is nothing to do in those areas - you basically come home of an evening and then have to get in a car if you want a meal in a restaurant or do some leisure activity. Can you imagine being further down Gower?

[Argoed]

Just to add, I have been driving around Bishopston/Pennard/Kittle/Murton today looking at houses - the nagging thing in the back of my mind was that even these areas are too far out.

There is nothing to do in those areas - you basically come home of an evening and then have to get in a car if you want a meal in a restaurant or do some leisure activity. Can you imagine being further down Gower?

Nah, you have loads of pubs in B'ton and Kittle and they all do OK meals (though nothing very special I admit). And you can always walk down to Pwll Ddu and back for your exercise. Though I do know that the buses in B'ton are infrequent and used to be unreliable, so if you are not a driver you have a real problem; you might as well be living in Ystradgynlais.

You were talking earlier about the Gower Types and this is the big issue for me in places like Bishopston. Too many upthemselves residents who consider that their move to the Gower from their Morriston roots has mysteriously transformed them into gentrified intellectuals . Reminds me of the overfed, underworked females horrors out here who complain about their problems getting the "right domestics". Somehow forgetting to tell you they spent the first 25 years of their lives scraping along in a council semi in Doncaster.

[sticky fingers]

Just to add, I have been driving around Bishopston/Pennard/Kittle/Murton today looking at houses - the nagging thing in the back of my mind was that even these areas are too far out.

There is nothing to do in those areas - you basically come home of an evening and then have to get in a car if you want a meal in a restaurant or do some leisure activity. Can you imagine being further down Gower?

Its horses for courses MT. You sound like a single man with no children at the moment - once i was one of those! In those days i too would have found it a little remote, but i assure you that when you have children your outlook completey changes. If you have a family and children, the advantages of these areas totally outweigh the negative aspects. I'm currently renting in the area and find its fantastic if you have (like me) kids, and the 20 min drive to the city centre, 20 min drive to the M4 is a non issue.

Firstly, you get your kids into one of the best state schools in Swansea (Bishopston). My little nipper absolutely loves it and whilst there are other good schools in terms of academic results in Swansea, i find the attitude of the teachers and the school in genereal to be outstanding.Like most parents my main priorities and social life now revolves around my children - access to after school activities, beach, safe areas for them to play etc are much more important to me than the extra 10-15 min drive to get to the city centre.

That said there are disadvantages- the prices of houses to buy! At the moment most of the stuff in these areas are ridiculously overpriced but even that is no big deal. You can like me afford to wait it out as rental prices are relative cheap compared to asking prices. It does astound me when you see the same house on the market for sale and for rent, and work out how much difference there is.

Take this one , on the market for £750 k. http://www.findaproperty.com/for-sale/property-11583295

Now assuming an interest rate of 4%, its gonna cost you 30k a year in interest payments or lost interest i.e £2500 per month.

Now you can rent the same house for £1500 per month. http://www.findaproperty.com/to-rent/property-12301280

You feel like asking the estate agent why on earth would but something which is so much cheaper to rent!

[Democorruptcy]

Take this one , on the market for £750 k. http://www.findaproperty.com/for-sale/property-11583295

Now assuming an interest rate of 4%, its gonna cost you 30k a year in interest payments or lost interest i.e £2500 per month.

Now you can rent the same house for £1500 per month. http://www.findaproperty.com/to-rent/property-12301280

You feel like asking the estate agent why on earth would but something which is so much cheaper to rent!

2.4% yield.

Cheers, I love to see those. What we need are landlords shrewd enough to secure some long term income with a 5 year let for the price of 4 years or a 10 year let for the price of 7 years.

[malibu]

Thanks for the replies everyone.

Sorry for the slow reply – it took absolutely ages to get my 1st post accepted on this forum for some reason. I almost forgot I posted it.

All points gratefully received..

We don’t really want to venture further west than the Gower as it’s becomes a real slog when I have to travel down the M4 to work every couple of weeks. Also, as Sticky fingers points out the Gower has great schools and is a pretty good base if you have kids. We also like the out door life, surfing, walking, fishing, sailing etc which the Gower is great for. I don’t reckon it would be too lonely, as there seems to be good community feel around some of the villages, such as Rynoldston – it’s just a case of getting involved. Certainly everyone we have met seemed very helpful and friendly.

Property does seems a little pricey given the economic output of this part of the world and things presumably won’t be getting better any time soon. Having said that at this end of the market a lot of the vendors are older, so are non-mortgaged and less ‘desperate’ to sell. I guess this will keep prices up?