Smashed Up Apartment - What's The Story Here?

[JoeDavola]

This apartment is up for auction at the end of the month:

http://www.propertypal.com/lot-83-auction-apartment-18-shaftesbury-court-marcus-ward-street-belfast/281167?utm_source=EmailAlert&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=&utm_content=propAddress

As you can see...it's been ransacked. Someone's obviously went around with a sledgehammer and done as much damage as possible.

Anyone know the story behind this? Is it a previous owner who had the flat repossessed and decided to do as much damage as possible before they left?

It's a great size of an apartment but it would certainly make you wary of buying it in case whoever did that decides to knock on your door one day.

[long time lurking]

£40 k guide/reserve price seems cheap what sort of money were these places going for before it all went pear shaped over there

Going by the bath tub (£4k plus at a guess) that looks like it was a high end place

[JoeDavola]

Oh I have no doubt whatsoever that this will go for many times the reserve price. My guess is that it will be north of £150K, even in that condition.

All that is needed is a couple of rich folk to start a bidding war (there's not many flats in Belfast this size) and it could go for an eye watering amount; even though it's in such a state.

I remember this flat, or one like it in this block being available to rent for £1200 a month about 5 years ago - the reason it stuck out were the baths...which were like the one in that picture. Don't know whether this is the same apartment or whether all apartments on that floor have the fancy baths.

I do however also remember there being scaffolding up around that building a few years back because of a leak or something, so that's another pitfall in terms of ownership costs.

[Wurzel Of Highbridge]

A 'revenge repo' I would have thought. Strip out what you can then feck it up so the bank take a big loss and the next owner doesn't benefit from your debt.

[2buyornot2buy]

What size is it exactly?

I know a two bed in the same block went for under 100k recently.

Just had a look on the web, I was surprised the number of 3 bed "penthouse" flat for sale in Belfast. There are actually quite a few this size (3 bed), If someone pays 150k for this, they are mad.

http://www.propertynews.com/belfast-city-centre-property-for-sale/

Edited June 4, 2014 by 2buyornot2buy

[thombleached]

Be wary, not uncommon for revenge repos to do more damage than comsmetic, cement down the drains being a popular one. Knotweed in the garden (though it doesn't apply as its a flat), damage to support beams, lintels or chimney breasts are other ones that could cost you big.

[JoeDavola]

I know a two bed in the same block went for under 100k recently.

Interesting - the prices that EA's are putting city centre apartments on for suggest that they are going for alot more than that!

[JoeDavola]

Be wary, not uncommon for revenge repos to do more damage than comsmetic, cement down the drains being a popular one. Knotweed in the garden (though it doesn't apply as its a flat), damage to support beams, lintels or chimney breasts are other ones that could cost you big.

This is a great point - who knows what sort of nasty surprises could be in store.

[2buyornot2buy]

Interesting - the prices that EA's are putting city centre apartments on for suggest that they are going for alot more than that!

Don't look at for sale prices.

If you want a flat go down to the land registry and see what some have actually been selling for.

Old blocks will be going for much less than the newer ones. Looks like this one had a problem with the roof, similar thing happened to Winter Gardens. Stuff like this would put me off. That and the ridiculous service charge.

[JoeDavola]

If you want a flat go down to the land registry and see what some have actually been selling for.

Old blocks will be going for much less than the newer ones. Looks like this one had a problem with the roof, similar thing happened to Winter Gardens. Stuff like this would put me off. That and the ridiculous service charge.

I wasn't aware that we could see the actual sold prices in Northern Ireland - can you confirm that this is something that we can actually get?

On the one hand an apartment is an attractive proposition because of the lack of maintenance; but when major building work needs to be done to the building as a whole, I'd assume that the cost is split and billed to the apartment owners? So there's always a chance when you own an apartment that you could suddenly be billed for thousands because of something like this?

[2buyornot2buy]

I wasn't aware that we could see the actual sold prices in Northern Ireland - can you confirm that this is something that we can actually get?

On the one hand an apartment is an attractive proposition because of the lack of maintenance; but when major building work needs to be done to the building as a whole, I'd assume that the cost is split and billed to the apartment owners? So there's always a chance when you own an apartment that you could suddenly be billed for thousands because of something like this?

They don't have to be recorded but I've seen loads of examples where the price is recorded.

Lack of maintenance, well kind of (the fabric still has to be maintained, and is) but large ongoing costs just to cover the management/insurance. There’s also the issue of control over these costs. RPI+ increases soon mount up. Even a small apartment, like 117 Lisburn road, 400 sq foot will cost nearly £1000 a year in management fees and ground rent.

If there's no reserve fund or it's not large enough then they would have to pay. I know the Winter Gardens are trying to go through insurance to fix the damage to the roof; it's going to cost several hundred thousand.

[rattusrattus]

"There’s also the issue of control over these costs. RPI+ increases soon mount up. Even a small apartment, like 117 Lisburn road, 400 sq foot will cost nearly £1000 a year in management fees and ground rent."

Just round the corner the 15 storey block of flats facing City Hospital (Bradbury Court) costs £1100 a year in maintenance charges. That includes one free car parking space, window cleaning, maintenance of communal areas and probably your flat insurance as well. The price is set high so as to budget for expensive renovations in the near or distant future, ie. lift replacements, new windows, issues with the roof. I know someone who had a flat in London that after around 40 years the lift needed to be replaced. Rather than spend those decades slowly building up enough money for the inevitable replacement they kept the premiums low so when the time came to buy a new lift every tenant was hit by a massive bill, think it was around £4k.

The grand a year for 117 Lisburn Road seems a bit pricey given that it's a new building, you might find that the lift is uneconomic as there are few tenants to use it to make it efficient. But I'm not an expert so I'm just guessing. I've seen photos of the place and the communal hallways look nicely designed with every floor painted a different bright colour. However design choices like this cost next to nothing so you run the risk of paying premium prices for living standards that should be the norm.