Buying a city-centre flat in Nottingham - for myself

[Jezston]

Hi, just wondering if anyone would like to share their opinions.

I currently rent a 1-bed flat in central Nottingham and am seriously looking at buying. After almost buying a new build flat - kind of a relief that six months after my offer was accepted I decided to pull out as it was going nowhere - I've recently been looking at some newly converted apartments in a lovely old building next to where I currently live.

The advantages being:

- I like the flat!
- Property prices have come down significantly in the last year, especially in the last six months.
- The flats are being offered on a so called 'Rent Before You Buy' scheme where the final price includes legal and mortgage fees - as I won't be taking advantage of this scheme there is room for a significantly lower asking price.
- By letting out a room, and with a healthy deposit offered by my parents, and the low price, I'd be better off than I am renting by myself.

The concerns being:

- Are property values for city centre flats in Nottingham likely to come down significantly further?

Again, this isn't for an 'investment' so to speak, and although the value may go down (although I wouldn't have thought they'd go down much more) I'd certainly be better off than continuing to rent. As you might tell I've kind of convinced myself that it wouldn't be a bad idea, but could obviously do with second opinions!

Jez

[brian]

If you're not looking at the property as a short-term investment, then I honestly wouldn't worry too much about any potential fall in prices - there is a wide expectation of a correction in the market over the coming 2 years - but after that, expect reasonable recovery.

The main danger with falling property prices is the ability to cover repayments, because in a worst case scenario, if unable to pay the mortgage, and the house were repossessed, then you would be liable for the short-fall in negative equity.

Overall, though, if you're looking for a home, any fluctuations I would not expect to cause long-term damage to property prices.

I bought my first home in Sept 2006 - even then there was an expectation of a potential falls, and I was hoping to wait for the fall to occur first. 18 months on, and all we're looking at is a slow down and small falls. Finally getting on the property ladder was easily the best move for my personal circumstances, even though it was incredibly scary to do so - but I'm really glad I did.

2c.

[Jezston]

Hi, thanks for the reply.

Due to the nice deposit, my mortgage repayments will be below what I currently pay in rent, and although this is based on a 35-year mortgage, they allow overpayment so plan to pay the extra I get from flatmates on to it (along with paying off the parents deposit). Basically, unless there is a massive (like, 300%+) rise in interest rates I should be absolutely fine.

And so, I have bought it! Well, had an offer accepted anyway - and a silly one at that! The place was up for just under £130k and I offered £118k and they took it! Wish I'd offered less

Just to ask, they insisted upon a £1000 downpayment to take it off the market - is this acceptable when buying from a developer?

[brian]

Yep - from a developer is probably normal practice.

Congrats and good luck with your new home.