LL75 Posted November 19, 2014 Share Posted November 19, 2014 That 3 bed Semi looks great value compared to Basildon, Essex. I am looking in Langdon Hills (nicest area of Basildon, but not as ott price-wise as Billericay or Brentwood). A 2 bed with Garage is north of £215k here. They were £165k-£190k two years ago. I saw one for sale the other day (in the worst part of Langdon Hills), the house is unoccupied, 2 bed a strange shape 1980s build semi. The kitchen and bathrooms are unusable and are in pieces and would need to be completely refitted. The conservatory looks a bit mouldy and all of the rooms would need total redecoration. It was up for £194,500. They have had an offer for £198k and are still open to offers of more! So £189k for a 3 bed semi with garage would be within my grasp, if only I could get a mere 2 bed semi for that in Essex I would be in there like a shot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cozza Posted November 19, 2014 Share Posted November 19, 2014 What would the rental yield on those cheap European houses be? I recall that in parts of Ireland you could easily get 5% gross, however there would be higher rental taxes there than the UK. Rental yields on French property are non-existent. <2% after cotisations and income tax. There's no incentive to buy unless you're so obsessed with the concept that you're prepared to lock your savings into a hugely over-priced, unsellable asset in a falling market. Renting on the other hand is fantastic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Jemmy Button Posted November 19, 2014 Share Posted November 19, 2014 Is it time to buy? Well, if you have the money to buy, then buy. Conversely, If you haven't got the money to buy, like me, then don't buy. It's hardly rocket science is it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cozza Posted November 19, 2014 Share Posted November 19, 2014 (edited) I agree the contrast between the UK and France is shocking but there are a number of things to consider. A lot of the French properties appear to be high maintenance/money pits; they are often a long way from anywhere (I stayed in a small village in France that was 70 miles from the nearest railway station), the local communities and jobs are often non-existent; it's also quite hard to set up in business in France. Although the weather will be better once you're south of say, Lyons, most of the year it will be much the same as England. It's farcically easy to set up a starter, auto entrepreneur business in France. One online form to complete. Once the business is running, all you have to do is add up your paid invoices on a quarterly basis and enter a single value into a single box on another online form. If you're worried about managing that I heartily recommend this site: http://www.startbusinessinfrance.com/.Run by a knowledgeable bilingual who answered each and every question I asked for a flat fee of 70 Euros a year. Compare that to equivalent advisory costs in the UK (e.g. £100 to an accountant for one email). Things get more complicated with a larger business model (as they do in the UK) but I've found most professions have a very low-cost network of advisory bodies to help out. The main issue with running a French business is the high levy of social charges. In exchange for those, however, I get high quality healthcare (makes the NHS look third-world) and a pension. I'm much more comfortable with that equation than giving all my income to a BTL spiv or robber bank. Edited November 19, 2014 by Cozza Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
renting til I die Posted November 21, 2014 Share Posted November 21, 2014 That 3 bed Semi looks great value compared to Basildon, Essex. I am looking in Langdon Hills (nicest area of Basildon, but not as ott price-wise as Billericay or Brentwood). A 2 bed with Garage is north of £215k here. They were £165k-£190k two years ago. I saw one for sale the other day (in the worst part of Langdon Hills), the house is unoccupied, 2 bed a strange shape 1980s build semi. The kitchen and bathrooms are unusable and are in pieces and would need to be completely refitted. The conservatory looks a bit mouldy and all of the rooms would need total redecoration. It was up for £194,500. They have had an offer for £198k and are still open to offers of more! So £189k for a 3 bed semi with garage would be within my grasp, if only I could get a mere 2 bed semi for that in Essex I would be in there like a shot I had no idea that Basildon had jumped that much. I've only just started looking around places on rightmove again. With my LL wanting to putting my rent up by £300 a month, I am now looking for somewhere cheaper to live. Yields seem a fair bit higher outside of London which I find a bit weird, seeing as most assets are paying FA! but if rent are really getting pushed up the choice between buying and renting becomes far more blurred. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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