Andy_Bangle Posted September 16, 2009 Report Share Posted September 16, 2009 (edited) Had my UK house valued at 250K in Nov 2006 and stuck it on the market at 284K, had an offer of 270K in the first week but turned it down (hindsight is a wonderful thing). Last year I reduced it to 250K and then got silly offers of 225K etc, well yesterday I got an offer of 235K, which I turned down saying I want 240K. Today they up to 237,500 ... so do I sell? Paying the agent 5K fixed-fee. Then what do I do with the money? saving rates are crap, exchange rate to SEK is crap plus i'd pay 30% tax on any interest, ... buy another place in the UK? Leeds perhaps. Edited September 16, 2009 by Andy_Bangle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruiser647 Posted September 16, 2009 Report Share Posted September 16, 2009 5K fee to the agent! Whatever happened to 1.5% max!!!???? Do you have another place in the UK? Are you likely to return to the UK? (do you want to.....)! 'Experts' seem to think the UK housing market will drop again after this 'false dawn', so might be worth hanging on to the cash - somewhere.... Some places offer good rates for large amounts - or you could stick it in a Fidelity OECD??? scheme - with commissions though??? Or find a place/town where you think that the housing market will do well once this downturn is over. Buy a place and get it rented it out? ie 4 bed place in a nice part of Peterborough is about £200K+ (before haggling) will get you a rent of £900+ a month? Obviously I know nothing about housing market or money investments.....hence I drive a 9 year old Bora Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy_Bangle Posted September 16, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 16, 2009 Do you have another place in the UK? Are you likely to return to the UK? (do you want to.....)! No I don't have another place in the UK, and of course I want to return to the UK ... ... NOT! There isn't a rental in Sweden and the GBP exchange rate is poor at the moment which could rule out buying abroad (Spain / Vegas). Therefore buying a 140K 2-bed apartment and renting it out for (example Leeds) appeals to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy_Bangle Posted September 16, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 16, 2009 Do you have another place in the UK? Are you likely to return to the UK? (do you want to.....)! No I don't have another place in the UK, and of course I want to return to the UK ... ... NOT! There isn't a rental in Sweden and the GBP exchange rate is poor at the moment which could rule out buy abroad. Therefore buying a 140K 2-bed apartment and renting it out for (example Leeds) appeals to me. This will be my pension and bricks has gotta be better than buying even stocks and shares! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bfc1912 Posted September 16, 2009 Report Share Posted September 16, 2009 No I don't have another place in the UK, and of course I want to return to the UK ... ... NOT!There isn't a rental in Sweden and the GBP exchange rate is poor at the moment which could rule out buying abroad (Spain / Vegas). Therefore buying a 140K 2-bed apartment and renting it out for (example Leeds) appeals to me. Andy Leeds is awash with flats for rent and sale, several major developments have had the brakes put on them and you only need to walk round and see the number of brand new buildings that are empty. The market was majorly overhyped with stupid prices and although you might be able to pick up a bargain there isn't a guarantee that you'll be able to rent it out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calm Chris Posted September 16, 2009 Report Share Posted September 16, 2009 Do what the Swedish do and buy a Summer Cottage, demand always seems to be firm and you get the choice of letting to others, using it yourself and if you pick a rough diamond there's development and value growth opportunities. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m4ttm4son Posted September 16, 2009 Report Share Posted September 16, 2009 Can you afford not to sell and wait for the market to come back again? What are you doing with it at the moment? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy_Bangle Posted September 16, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 16, 2009 Do what the Swedish do and buy a Summer Cottage, demand always seems to be firm and you get the choice of letting to others, using it yourself and if you pick a rough diamond there's development and value growth opportunities. Good idea but reconstruction costs & materials are very high, and market growth is very low here although yes, rent is OK for 4 weeks in the summer, the rest of the year its zero. Its cheap to buy somewhere, for around 60K you can get your own island with a summer house or 2 but if you can see water then you taxed at something like 50%. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy_Bangle Posted September 16, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 16, 2009 Can you afford not to sell and wait for the market to come back again? What are you doing with it at the moment? I can yes, but when will it come back? The house has been on the market for 3 years now but I haven't lost any money on it as it only cost me 90K (yawn) and was valued at 250K before the house price crash so has held its value over that time. For the last 3 years I've had a mate 'house sitting' so no real income from it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muppetboy Posted September 16, 2009 Report Share Posted September 16, 2009 The £5k fee is a little high but only by a grand or so... Is the place you're selling in Leeds? You could pick up a nice 2 bedroom flat in Twickenham for £200k, rent it out for a grand a month and bank the balance of £40k or so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m4ttm4son Posted September 16, 2009 Report Share Posted September 16, 2009 I can yes, but when will it come back? The house has been on the market for 3 years now but I haven't lost any money on it as it only cost me 90K (yawn) and was valued at 250K before the house price crash so has held its value over that time. For the last 3 years I've had a mate 'house sitting' so no real income from it. No-one knows when it will come back, but it definitely will (within reason), but as you say what can you do with the money? Interest rates are crud, using the money yourself means getting screwed on the exchange rate plus tax of actually selling it. My point is, why sell it if you don't have to and you're not getting a good deal? If you can let it out, do so until it's a good time for you to sell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mb Posted September 16, 2009 Report Share Posted September 16, 2009 Where do you pay tax as the profit is tax free if you are a UK tax payer & is your primary residence. I would seriously talk to a financial adviser as may want to consider a SIPP as can get tax back on contributions whereas if you buy a property with no mortgage you will be paying tax on any income so for this reason (rather than stocks vs property) I would not be sure about going for a repurchase as an investment + stocks are pretty low too at the moment. If you stick the money in the bank don't forget about the 50k limit for FSA protection, I have some money in index linked saving certs which pay a little above CPI (so not much currently) but are tax free. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tipex Posted September 16, 2009 Report Share Posted September 16, 2009 Personally I'd be asking the 'house sitter' for some rent, or asking him to leave and letting the property out until things perk up a bit. Alternatively, you could spend the money on a couple of seaside holiday cottages, my parents (who are both estate agents and have been forever) have got into this recently, they let the properties out through Hoseasons and get a very healthy rent, the only down side to this is that during the peak season, if you want to stay in your own property, you have to check it's available! The Hoseasons 'season' is at least 9 months a year, and they have been almost fully booked for the whole season, they've generated a lot more rental income than if they had rented traditionally on 12 month contracts, and the risk of the property getting trashed seems massively lower. Maybe worth thinking about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theduisbergkid Posted September 17, 2009 Report Share Posted September 17, 2009 An interesting dilemma, but I agree most UK cities are awash with modern buy-to-let flats that are (very often) stood empty. They're all the same "urban living", magnolia walls, cheap flooring, view of the canal. I wouldn't want to invest in that. How much will you have ? £240k ? You could buy Saab Good luck mate. Rich. ps - Iceland Property ? No, seriously, never a better time... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brabus Posted September 17, 2009 Report Share Posted September 17, 2009 Do what the Swedish do and buy a Summer Cottage, demand always seems to be firm and you get the choice of letting to others, using it yourself and if you pick a rough diamond there's development and value growth opportunities. Do not do this...yet. Interest rates are set to go up shortly in Sweden and will see alot of property hitting the market Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy_Bangle Posted September 17, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 17, 2009 (edited) Where did you hear that Brabus, only last week Sweden’s central bank pledged to hold its benchmark interest rate, the repo rate, at 0.25 percent until next autumn in a bid to keep interest rates low for business and households. Spill the beans as I'm paying 1.75% on my mortgage here Like the Iceland - not! Summer Cottaging - maybe. Edited September 17, 2009 by Andy_Bangle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shao_khan Posted September 17, 2009 Report Share Posted September 17, 2009 I am not sure leeds is a good place to be buying that 2-bed apparetment to rent. I know 2 people who invested in property in leeds a few years back and they are making little money as the market is flooded with rental property. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brabus Posted September 17, 2009 Report Share Posted September 17, 2009 Where did you hear that Brabus, only last week Sweden’s central bank pledged to hold its benchmark interest rate, the repo rate, at 0.25 percent until next autumn in a bid to keep interest rates low for business and households. Spill the beans as I'm paying 1.75% on my mortgage here Like the Iceland - not! Summer Cottaging - maybe. It's not going to last mate. Apply for a mortgage now and they want you to figure in/afford 7-8% minimum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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