We loved the house we viewed last night. It's perfect perfect perfect. It's a 5 minute walk from Worcester Park station and shops, there is a nursery and a playground not more than 50 meters away, and the house -- well, it's lovely. It's a Victorian cottage with a cute little lounge/dining room with a fireplace and arched doorways, large windows and wooden floors. The kitchen is pretty big and nicely decorated, with a door leading out to the garden. The stairs lead up to a big family bathroom and then two more steps up lead to the two bedrooms. The master bedroom is very large and bedroom 2 is a decent sized double, plenty of room for the sproglet. The upstairs is carpeted and in good condition.
We took a good look around and then locked eyes and thought 'this is it!' We got the agent outside (there was another couple there viewing the house) and told him we were interested. He told us that another couple had put in a offer at the asking price about an hour before us so we'd have to go all in to even be considered. We put in a verbal offer and are faxing over the formal letter this morning. We threw in an extra £1,000 to show we are really interested and serious but we are also nervous because the couple who put in the full offer probably have more money to spare and have room to one-up us. Hopefully they are in a chain and/or don't have their mortgage agreed yet and that will give us the advantage.
Fingers crossed!
Thursday, 12 April 2007
Wednesday, 11 April 2007
Going walkabout
On Easter Monday, my husband and I decided to go check out an area that has recently become of interest to us -- Battersea/Wandsworth/Clapham. We took the train to Clapham Junction and turned right out of the station. We did a right on Plough Road and headed to York Road, which runs from Wandsworth Town right along until it turns into Battersea Park Road. We walked and walked and walked, doing a huge circle around Clapham. We grabbed some soft drinks and went to check out Battersea Park. We loved it. Gorgeous area -- good transport links; not too suburban and not overly, densely urban; independent shops galore with nary a Starbucks or McDonald's in sight -- bliss. We looked in a couple of estate agents' windows and saw what looked to be some fairly decent 2-bed flats in the area, in our price range. We knew we couldn't afford a period property but we thought surely something in a low-rise purpose built would be a reasonable expectation. Apparently, we were wrong.
On Tuesday, I rang up a couple agents to register and when I told them our budget and the area we were looking at, I was pretty much laughed at. A snooty Foxtons agent informed me that the only thing I might find in that price range would be in a high-rise council tower block. I think he was full of shit. I know that 2-bed flats not in high-rises are not the easiest things to find, but they DO exist. The bloody agent just couldn't be bothered looking for me. I'm sure he's used to dealing with people with a budget nearly twice mine for the same space requirements. Sorry, Wankertron, but this is my budget and I'm sticking to it. So meh. My dream of becoming an Urban Goddess is quickly diminishing.
This evening we are going to look at a house in Worcester Park, which is still Surrey but in Zone 4, so closer to London than where we are now and cheaper/faster for transport. I've never even been there but hubs is insisting that it's a fine area to live in. He's already asked if he could put in an offer if we like it. Gulp. Am I really going to remain a Suburban Surrey housewife? I need a drink...
On Tuesday, I rang up a couple agents to register and when I told them our budget and the area we were looking at, I was pretty much laughed at. A snooty Foxtons agent informed me that the only thing I might find in that price range would be in a high-rise council tower block. I think he was full of shit. I know that 2-bed flats not in high-rises are not the easiest things to find, but they DO exist. The bloody agent just couldn't be bothered looking for me. I'm sure he's used to dealing with people with a budget nearly twice mine for the same space requirements. Sorry, Wankertron, but this is my budget and I'm sticking to it. So meh. My dream of becoming an Urban Goddess is quickly diminishing.
This evening we are going to look at a house in Worcester Park, which is still Surrey but in Zone 4, so closer to London than where we are now and cheaper/faster for transport. I've never even been there but hubs is insisting that it's a fine area to live in. He's already asked if he could put in an offer if we like it. Gulp. Am I really going to remain a Suburban Surrey housewife? I need a drink...
Thursday, 5 April 2007
Is That All There Is?
There's not much on the market right now. Scratch that. What I mean is, there's not much on the market right now that is not also in a crack-den haven or so suburban that it makes me want to go on a diet, buy a Bugaboo and get a bob the minute I step foot into it. It's like Invasion of the Suburbia Brain Snatchers.
And then there's the fact that my husband can't quite shake the tiny remaining bit of inherent snobbery that he gleaned from living in an upper middle class neighbourhood in Richmond, dahling, his entire life. He wrinkles his nose at certain places I suggest as up-and-coming and not that bad and mentions some council that had a bad rep 10 years ago. Insert much eye-rolling here. The man has champagne tastes but we've got beer money. Give it up! You're going to have to live amongst chavs, all the races of the rainbow, and people begging for change. It's called urban living.
So anyway, here we are. I haven't viewed a house in two weeks now, I'm just too depressed and downtrodden about the whole thing and needed a break from it. Over Easter weekend we're going to go visit a few more areas so that when something does come on, we don't have to umm and ahh over whether we want to live in the neighbourhood itself.
This is my top tip of the week: Don't look at houses/flats unless you know for sure that you would (both) want to live there. Once the excitement of the place itself has worn off, you don't want to hate your 'hood or be a million miles from any amenities.
And then there's the fact that my husband can't quite shake the tiny remaining bit of inherent snobbery that he gleaned from living in an upper middle class neighbourhood in Richmond, dahling, his entire life. He wrinkles his nose at certain places I suggest as up-and-coming and not that bad and mentions some council that had a bad rep 10 years ago. Insert much eye-rolling here. The man has champagne tastes but we've got beer money. Give it up! You're going to have to live amongst chavs, all the races of the rainbow, and people begging for change. It's called urban living.
So anyway, here we are. I haven't viewed a house in two weeks now, I'm just too depressed and downtrodden about the whole thing and needed a break from it. Over Easter weekend we're going to go visit a few more areas so that when something does come on, we don't have to umm and ahh over whether we want to live in the neighbourhood itself.
This is my top tip of the week: Don't look at houses/flats unless you know for sure that you would (both) want to live there. Once the excitement of the place itself has worn off, you don't want to hate your 'hood or be a million miles from any amenities.
Thursday, 29 March 2007
The Search Begins
Who we are: a married, late-20s (me)/early-30s (him) couple with a 1-year-old daughter. First time buyers looking for a 2 or 3 bedroom house/flat in the southwest London area. We are on one income at the moment (I'm a full-time parent, he's a full-time IT Engineer -- guess which one of us gets paid!) and have a budget of £250,000 with a £40,000 deposit. Our mortgage has been agreed through our bank and we are not in a chain (don't own another property that we need to sell before we buy).
We have been house hunting for just over a month now. We have redefined our search in terms of area and requirements three times now, in the vain hope that this will yield a greater result. So far, we haven't had much luck.
We live in London, where the average price of a semi-detached (with one adjoining wall to another property), 3-bedroom house was £497,060 in 2006 and looks something like this
A terraced home, which looks like this
costs an average of £435,067
A 2-bedroom flat, with neighbours on all sides and (most likely) no private outside space, will run you £299,310 in the capital. Yikes.
The 2-bedroom maisonette across the street from where we rent is going for £300,000 and this isn't even in London proper; we reside in Greater London, in the southwest suburbs. Needless to say, it is an expensive place to live and an even more expensive place to buy.
The housing market is aggressive right now with many more buyers than properties for sale, resulting in first offers often being put in at above the asking price after 20 potential buyers view it in one day. Many vendors operate a 'sealed bid' system in which buyers submit bids without knowing what has already been offered by others and the house goes to the highest bidder. This basically means that if you offer below the asking price, you have a snowball's chance in hell of having it accepted. Even offering the full asking price won't cut the mustard. A property I recently enquired about went for £15,000 above the asking price. Sellers must be laughing all the way to the bank. Not that I blame them. I would be laughing and skipping to the bank too if I was making a £30-50k+ profit on a property I bought only a few years ago.
At first, our search was focused on areas further out into the suburbs, out of Greater London and into Surrey. I mistakenly thought things would be cheaper the further away we got from London. Wrong! They are marginally cheaper in some areas, but only in the pockets of less desirable areas. Surrey is one of the most exclusive places in the United Kingdom and is home to some of the most expensive properties and best schools in the Home Counties. Ergo its popularity.
But last night, as I searched yet again for decent properties in decent neighbourhood that aren't completely cut off from civilisation, I had an epiphany. I don't want to move out to the 'burbs. I don't want to need a car to go buy a loaf of bread and a pint of milk. I don't want to live in white-bread, homogenised outer Surrey. Okay, maybe someday I will, when I can afford a nice, spacious house with a lovely garden, when I'm ready to learn how to use pruning shears and can afford a cleaning service. But until then, I should be living further INTO the city, not out of it. We're not ready to give up the conveniences, the culture, the people and the buzz that the city has to offer.
So, once again, our search has been redefined, from 3-bedroom house in the 'burbs to 2-bedroom flat in the city. The Clash would be proud.
London calling to the faraway towns
Now war is declared, and battle come down
London calling to the underworld
Come out of the cupboard, you boys and girls
We have been house hunting for just over a month now. We have redefined our search in terms of area and requirements three times now, in the vain hope that this will yield a greater result. So far, we haven't had much luck.
We live in London, where the average price of a semi-detached (with one adjoining wall to another property), 3-bedroom house was £497,060 in 2006 and looks something like this
A terraced home, which looks like this
costs an average of £435,067
A 2-bedroom flat, with neighbours on all sides and (most likely) no private outside space, will run you £299,310 in the capital. Yikes.
The 2-bedroom maisonette across the street from where we rent is going for £300,000 and this isn't even in London proper; we reside in Greater London, in the southwest suburbs. Needless to say, it is an expensive place to live and an even more expensive place to buy.
The housing market is aggressive right now with many more buyers than properties for sale, resulting in first offers often being put in at above the asking price after 20 potential buyers view it in one day. Many vendors operate a 'sealed bid' system in which buyers submit bids without knowing what has already been offered by others and the house goes to the highest bidder. This basically means that if you offer below the asking price, you have a snowball's chance in hell of having it accepted. Even offering the full asking price won't cut the mustard. A property I recently enquired about went for £15,000 above the asking price. Sellers must be laughing all the way to the bank. Not that I blame them. I would be laughing and skipping to the bank too if I was making a £30-50k+ profit on a property I bought only a few years ago.
At first, our search was focused on areas further out into the suburbs, out of Greater London and into Surrey. I mistakenly thought things would be cheaper the further away we got from London. Wrong! They are marginally cheaper in some areas, but only in the pockets of less desirable areas. Surrey is one of the most exclusive places in the United Kingdom and is home to some of the most expensive properties and best schools in the Home Counties. Ergo its popularity.
But last night, as I searched yet again for decent properties in decent neighbourhood that aren't completely cut off from civilisation, I had an epiphany. I don't want to move out to the 'burbs. I don't want to need a car to go buy a loaf of bread and a pint of milk. I don't want to live in white-bread, homogenised outer Surrey. Okay, maybe someday I will, when I can afford a nice, spacious house with a lovely garden, when I'm ready to learn how to use pruning shears and can afford a cleaning service. But until then, I should be living further INTO the city, not out of it. We're not ready to give up the conveniences, the culture, the people and the buzz that the city has to offer.
So, once again, our search has been redefined, from 3-bedroom house in the 'burbs to 2-bedroom flat in the city. The Clash would be proud.
London calling to the faraway towns
Now war is declared, and battle come down
London calling to the underworld
Come out of the cupboard, you boys and girls
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