PROPERTY SPECIAL
Diary of a flatbuyer
August 2006 l'm staring at a pile of dirty dishes. questioning how my flatmate can make so much mess. After ten years of flat sharing I've become intolerant. It's time to surrender my financial independence and accept my parents' offer to help buy my first place.
September 2006
The ESPC website. repopulated every Monday. becomes my weekly lunch date. With hundreds of properties up for grabs it's hard to know which are w0rth investigating. I start by drawing up a wish list that would make Kirstie and Phil proud.
October 2006
Over 20 flats all over Edinburgh viewed and rejected before a compact but cosy. third-floor flat in Canonmills springs up. Offers over £77,000. What to bid? ‘Around 20% over the asking price depending how much you like it,’ I'm advised. Except this is Edinburgh, home of outrageous property prices and my offer is obliterated by another that's 50% over the asking price.
November 2006 ,
Two properties come up. one in Tollcross. the other down the Union Canal by the old brewery. We’re outbid again. the second time by £2200. Aaaaarrrrrggghh. I start to doubt whether I will ever get lucky.
December 2006
Perhaps ‘fixed price' bidding is the way ton/yard. I view an unusual apartment in a 19305 Art Deco building. Having expected to hate it I end up emailing the estate agent to express interest. On following up in the morning I'm told the flat was sold three days ago.
January 2007
Wanted. Basic one bedroom flat. in reasonable part of town. for careful lady owner. Must not have wonky floor. damp or kitchen the size of postage stamp. (Apparently there’s nothing matching this description on the market right now.)
February 2007
Another flat comes up in Tollcross. There's no schedule online and it's stretching the budget. but I go and see it anyway. Decor aside. the flat is packed with potential. I'm advised to have a survey done first as this will make our offer more favourable if it goes to the wire. and it's certainly helpful to know how much the place is worth on paper when deciding what to bid. Success at last!
March 2007
it may lack heating and need some TLC but this is the place for me. Post-celebrations my attention shifts toward mortgages. stamp duty and solicitors' fees. It'll be late May before I get my hands on the keys but. as I now realise, when it comes to finding your first place. patience is everything. (Jules Graham)
20 THE LIST 12—26 Apr 2007
FOR SALE
my bills and running costs.‘ she explains. ‘l’ve usually rented to friends or friends of friends. who come with a recommendation. Though I ask for a month’s deposit I‘ve never had to keep that for any reason.’
As well as enjoying the company. MacGregor says the best thing about this arrangement is the flexibility. ‘It’s the type of home you can grow into. That means I can gradually invest money doing it up and making itjust the way 1 want it.‘
Buy at auction
Buying at a property auction can be a way to find something totally different. from an old railway cottage to an abandoned warehouse. Sales are held regularly in Giasgow and Edinburgh. When buying at auction the property is equally available to all interested parties and there is no chance of the seller pulling out at the last minute if they receive a higher offer. All the legal work and surveying is completed before the auction so the sale is arranged quickly and you own the property from the date of the auction. You can arrange a viewing prior to the auction and auction houses have details of the properties including photographs.
‘The golden rule of buying property at an auction is do your homework.‘ says Shaun Vigers, director of SVA property auctions. ‘Make sure you know exactly what you‘re buying and that your finance is already in place because. once you've bought. the process moves quite quickly.’ Buyers should stick ngidly to their budget. despite the temptation to go higher. A down payment of around 10% is usually required. The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (www.m'csorg) has a good online guide.
Susan Pask and her husband James who live in Newport-on-Tay. Fife. scoured the auction catalogues for months before buying Wormit Reservoir’s old service building (pictured below before, during and after renovation) for £80,000.
‘My husband is an architect and I’m a designer. so we were in a good position to find something that needed a lot of work." she explains. ‘When we saw the building it immediately appealed to us. and though we didn’t get it surveyed independently we were able to see that it was structurally sound enough that we could fix any problems.‘
The building they bought was just a shell but the views over Wormit right down the river Tay took their breath away. The renovation took nine months. ‘Lots of people do it but you just need to look at a programme like Grand Designs to see how easily building costs and budgets can spiral out of control.‘ she says.
Though the Pasks won't reveal how much they spent. it was completed on budget and they feel they truly got a bargain. ‘The great thing about buying at auction is that you can get something really different.‘ says Pask. ‘l‘d definitely do it again if something interesting came up in the right situation.‘
Buy off-plan
For those who don’t want to get their hands dirty. buying a new build can seem appealing. But purpose-built luxury apartments don‘t come cheap. One way to bring the price down is to buy off-plan. ‘Buying off-plan is a relatively recent trend.‘ says Mark Hordern of GSPC. ‘Ten years ago you would have at least expected to see the show flat.‘ b
EDINBURGH Granton
Average price for one- and two-bed properties £101,000 Annual increase 11.2%
Amenities Close to Telford College and home to the ongoing Granton Waterfront Project. a £1 billion scheme incorporating homes. offices. hotels. schools. a new network of canals and walkways and a number of public squares. Ocean Terminal, with its shops. cinema. bars and restaurants. is within easy reach. Transport Granton is on the coast of the firth of Forth and buses run regularly to the city centre which is a 20-minute journey away. Transport links are being improved as the area is developed and Granton is on the list of locations likely to be served by the new tram network. Social Mostly centred around old-fashioned local pubs but there are one or two newer bars appearing.
Positives The area is constantly being improved and the Waterfront development looks set to increase the number of houses and businesses. A good investment opportunity for early buyers.
Negatives New developments are still under construction and the Waterfront Project will be ongoing for another ten years so one for medium rather than short-term investors.