When you first think of buying a flat and putting that first foot on the UK property ladder you can be rendered almost speechless from excitement. You’ll fly through the flat viewing process keen on buying something as soon as possible and when you feel you have found the perfect pad you’ll only notice the airy rooms and magnificent views and casually ignore a ceiling that is bent on imminent collapse and the encroaching mildew in the bathroom. This is exactly why it’s vital that you are pedantic to the point of neurosis about the flat buying process, which is best done with a guide or checklist for buying a flat clutched firmly in your hands.
Before you even start thinking of what sort of flat you’ll be buying, you need to sit down with your partner and work out a long-term payment plan. You need to consider whether buying a flat at that particular stage in your life and that moment in the property market makes both long-term financial sense as well as short-term ‘real life sense’. If your mortgage repayments will allow for very little other expenditure you may have to put off buying a flat for or a while, at least? until you can also afford a tin of paint and some furniture with which to fill up that exquisite 19th century lounge. Luckily, one advantage of the banks being so cautious about lending out money is that you’ll be given a good indication of what you can afford when you apply for a mortgage.?? ?
The next step is the fun part: you can start thinking about whether your flat buying aspirations extend to a ‘period piece’ flat, a fixer-upper or if you want to be the first in a brand new complex. You should also consider what area you would like to live in and what amenities the area has, such as transport networks and schools. Then you need to imagine the area in 20 and 40 years time before you seriously consider buying a flat there. Ask yourself if there is a lot of rapid development taking place and if businesses are likely to cause residential properties to depreciate in value in the future. Other considerations include the crime rate and distance to your job.
Once you’re seriously considering buying a particular flat you need to look at every nook and cranny critically and if you’re unable to do this, take along your most pedantic accountant-type friend for advice. Buying a flat is the one time in your life where negativity will work in your favour: take a list of questions along to ask the owner and consider any potentially big problems that may arise out of existing small problems and what they will cost to fix.
However, your reserve should end once you have completed the flat buying process and chosen the perfect flat because now you are ready to throw yourself into making it your home and enjoy the advantages of owning property.
By: Frances Van Den Berg
Tags: 19th Century, Amenities, Aspirations, Banks, Buying A Flat, Excitement, Financial Sense, Imminent Collapse, Keen, Life Sense, Magnificent Views, Mildew, Mortgage Repayments, Neurosis, Paint Furniture, Period Piece, Property Ladder, Rapid Development, Tin, Transport Networks