Pros and cons

[denny]

Trying to make a decision between two flats I might be able to buy. Interestingly, they both have exactly the same layout, which simplifies the decision slightly... but not much:

Edited to add: the flats in question are both large 3-bedroom maisonettes - space is not a problem.

Flat A:
£310,000
In E2 (near Hackey Road)
Has a garage
Near a main road, but otherwise the neighbourhood seems quiet
Recently and very nicely refitted bathroom and toilet
Bedroom and frontroom decoration good
Kitchen okay
Windows all new and shiny

Flat B:
£270,000
In N1 (near Hoxton Street)
No garage, but plenty of parking
Opposite a fairly large park (handy for fire-spinning etc)
Not near any huge roads, but otherwise the neighbourhood seems a bit noisy (kids playing in halls, etc)
Desperately needs bathroom and toilet refitting
Bedroom and frontroom decoration hideous
Kitchen nice
Windows in very poor condition, council likely to demand money for replacing them soon (could be up to £10,000)

PRACE BETS NOW!

I don't really know. The cheaper price is obviously tempting - I'm at the edges of my budget here, £40k is a lot of extra money to pay interest on every month. I'd prefer to live in N1 than E2 - I think of myself as a north London kind of person, having spent lots of time in Kentish Town as a kid. OTOH, having a garage would be really handy given the car I drive. The bathroon and toilet in the naff one would need doing before I could move in, they're really shit. But that would only cost ITRO £5000 according to a builder I've spoken with. Add in the redecorating and some other work that needs doing, call it £10,000 I'd have to spend before I'd want to move in. So it'd end up costing me nearly the same maybe, with the windows and the building/decorating stuff, but it'd be in N1 and it'd be decorated etc exactly as I chose. But no garage. But quieter streets. But noisier block? But near a park. *head-splodey*

I r confused.

Comments

[innocent-irony.livejournal.com]

Frankly, I'da thought the first one sounds better. Only bad is the munis-green area. No garden?

Can you look for more places? Alternatively, bid on both. You can withdraw at no cost and the house-buying system dos play people around so that way you may end up more certain of getting-a-house. Etc. Also, what council tax type bands are they in. Water metered or fixed monthly charge? They ll add up. Especially the tax. Maybe treat that as your deciding factor.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_nicolai_/]

I think interiors are usually fixable so don't worry too much about them.
Neighbours can't be fixed so make sure you can bear them, though unless they are right next door (sharing a wall!) I don't think you'll notice them that much. Islington is a much nicer place and better connected than Hackney.
I suggest hanging out a bit more in each place and walking around the streets a bit to see how you feel and see if that settles your mind.

[tephramancy.livejournal.com]

If it were my decision, I would plump for the N1 flat. You get to decorate bits of it exactly as you want it, which is nice, it's in N1, and it's next to a park. Those things would sell it for me :)

Also Hackney for teh lose. The entire borough gives me the willies :(

[calnen.livejournal.com]

In a one-bedroom house, you'll really (really) appreciate the extra storage space of a garage, as well as the issue of parking.
I dont know anything about London geography so will have to pass on that - how far apart are they? Is the first one an area you wouldnt like to live in, or just a different one than you have in the past? (How far from your job is it?)

40K is an awful lot of money, but its only an extra 8th of the cost so if it means getting the house you want...

To be honest I wouldnt be happy spending a quarter of a million pounds on a grotty house. (Just in case that isnt coming through ;))

[twinkle-lfs.livejournal.com]

Might be worth checking out prices for garage rents near the N1 flat before making a decision.

Apart from that, for 340k you could make a hell of a lot of interior improvements to the cheaper place.

[twinkle-lfs.livejournal.com]

erm, that should read for £40k, ahem.

[hilarityallen.livejournal.com]

I'd go for the garage; you can save on car insurance, get a bit more space, and save money on decorating the bathroom, which always comes expensive. Likewise the windows.

[pooloftrees.livejournal.com]

I'll have the other 300k if that's going spare... :-p

(Although with my luck that will be in Vietnamese Dong and so I'd get about £9 :-/ )

[pooloftrees.livejournal.com]

From your descriptions, I'd think the slightly more expensive E2 was the best bet. But you seem to be hankering towards the N1 property, and you can change the interior (admittedly at a cost), so as the other comments say, the main thing is whether the area is somewhere you would feel happy with in the longer term, and if you'd actually want to rent a garage...

I hope that's somewhat helpful...

[dennyd.livejournal.com]

Well, it wouldn't be grotty by the time I moved in to it, and I'd still have spent less than on the one which is already decorated nicely.

They're both exactly 15 minutes walk from my work - one is directly east of the office, the other is directly north.

I've edited the entry to mention that they're quite large 3 bedroom flats, so space isn't one of my concerns. Also, never ever leave stuff in a council-estate garage in London, unless you want it stolen :)

[naath.livejournal.com]

You can decorate, possibly you can even rent garage space... but you can't shift the flat you buy to a better location - you'd have to sell up and move all over again. So I'd go for the location you like over any other consideration (except space inside house - but you say these are of similar size).

Hackney isn't my ideal part of London; although I do like the Pembury... but of course my views on London are probably not closely related to yours. I'm rather shocked that housing is so expensive in what looks like (to my naive eyes) a very poor part of London.

[altered-state.livejournal.com]

well if you are thinking of a place that has work that needs doing, do you know about [Unknown site tag]'s many brothers? they all seem to be in some building/plumbing trade style job or another and i'm sure if you asked nicely she would be able to negotiate a price... who knows you could even turn a tidy profit...

[dennyd.livejournal.com]

These areas are expensive for exactly the reason that I'm trying to buy a place in one of them - they're very close to the latest trendy office areas. They're also not too far from the square mile. They're fairly grim areas now, but it's quite possible that in ten years time they'll be known as mildly flashy places to live.

The prices are indeed outrageous, but then with property perhaps more than any other commodity, a thing is worth whatever somebody is willing to pay for it. Plenty of people are paying these prices for flats :(

[willlondon.livejournal.com]

I think the one thing you got to look for first is location and the house pricing around that area. Because at one point you will be moving again. E2 Hackney is not the nicest area and its unlikely thats going to change anytime soon. The fact that its done up is of little concern and especialy for that price. With the same ammount of cash for the cheaper house you can doup both the bathroom and anything else you want doing. Garages are cool, but thats because people are likely to steal your car there. I mean cmon, allow having a name like murder mile. :S) HAving a park next to you is ideal and also will help when moving in the future. (A done up house next to central london and not in Hackney with a park is going to increase ur house price by far. Who needs a garden when you have a park.

N1 is the best in my opinion.

[robert-jones.livejournal.com]

N1. No contest.

[wildeabandon.livejournal.com]

N1 is closer to me, so that's an easy decision, isn't it ;p

Also closer to all the other cool people, like say, Helen, who might be minor factors.

[potatoprint.livejournal.com]

Murder Mile is in Clapton, which is nowhere near E2.

There's also going to be a tube station on Hackney road fairly soon, which will help boost the price should you want to sell later.

I've lived just off Hackney Road for 10 years, and I love it.

(pointed in your direction by a mutual flister)

[djlongfella.livejournal.com]

Hrm, they always go on about, Location, Location, Location, But I think you are right, you will end up spending the extra 40 K on bringing flat b up to spec, and still won't have a garage, I'm guessing that your recent windfall and pay rise may lead to an even fancier " shiney " in the future, and that will make a garage even more important. Knowing the hours you sometimes keep, kids playing in corridors, could be a major annoyance.
You may also find that with flat B the Mortgage company insist you get the works done withing a given time frame, which having just taken on sizeable mortgage may be a real drain on finances...

Just my two cents