PropertyNOOB

Battersea, SW18

• Battersea Reach, One The Tower, Battersea, SW18
• Nearest Tube/Rail : Wandsworth Town
• From £789,950 – £2,400,000
• http://bit.ly/9M1NTn

Clerkenwell, EC1

• Vision, 50 Peerless St, Clerkenwell, Lodon WC1V
• Nearest Tube/Rail : Old Street
• From £450,000 – £899,950
• http://bit.ly/dfUdry

City, EC2Y

• Frobisher Crescent, Barbican, City of London, EC2Y
• Nearest Tube/Rail: Barbican
• From  £375,000 – £1,400,000
• http://bit.ly/9taun1

Islington, N1

• Waterfront Mews, Arlington Mews, Islington, N1
• Nearest Tube/Rail: Angel, Islington
• From £875,000
• http://bit.ly/cY5z4h

• Galleria, Laycock Street, Islington, N1
• Nearest Tube/Rail: Highbury & Islington
• From £575,000 – £999,950
• http://bit.ly/bnnios

Islington, N7

• Arundel Square, Islington, N7
• Nearest Tube/Rail: Highbury & Islington
• From £290,000 – £1,200,000
• http://bit.ly/9mdYih

Putney, SW15

• Queen Mary’s Place, 177 Roehampton Place, Putney
• Nearest Tube/Rail: East Putney/Putney Rail
• From £349,950 – £785,000
• http://bit.ly/ar0UEa

Spitalfields, E1

• East One Apartments, Spitalfields, E1
• From £375,000 – £495,000
• Nearest Tube/Rail: Liverpool Street
• http://bit.ly/dgpquE

Vauxhall, SW8

• Aquarius House, St George Wharf, SW8
• From £399,950 – £649,950
• Nearest Tube/Rail: Vauxhall
• http://bit.ly/9DyEpi

While some property prices go up, some fall. Here’s one interesting example; Platinum House, Harrow HA1.

There are a few flats available for sale now at the links below.

a) Platinum House – 2 bed 2 bath GBP450,000 (Foxtons)
http://www.primelocation.com/new-homes/details/id/NWHZ999000246

b) Platinum House – 2 bed 2 bath GBP229,950
http://www.globrix.com/property-details/24672303-platinum_house-lyon_road-harrow-middlesex-ha1-2_bed-flat

More Platinum House flats for sale on Globrix. http://www.globrix.com/property-details/24476887-lyon_road-harrow-ha1-2_bed-apartment

???As I investigated why there was significant a price reduce of £100k by Foxtons on its advertisement,I ran a statistic on the previous sold prices of the flats between 2000 – Feb 2010:-

As we can see, the prices of the flats have fallen significantly since 2005.

Take Flat 313 as an example, it was sold at a loss in 2007 (year of property boom in the  UK).

For the lucky owners who made a profitable sale, the lowest growth rate per year was at 1.7% and the highest at 6.5%. Both sold on the same year at 2006. At the end of the day, sale of property requires a bit of luck and good timing for market demand.

Currently a 2 bed 2 bath at Platinum House fetches rental of minimum £1,200. There are more than 7 properties vacant and looking for tenants i.e. possible vacancy for an investment property.

Platinum House is a beautiful property less than a mile from Harrow on the Hill tube & train station, offering plenty of facilities including swimming pool, gym, jacuzzi and allocated parking space. With all these extras, a higher service charge is unavoidable. From an advertisement on Globrix, it seems the service charge is approximately £164 per month that is almost £2,000 a year. For a private owner who fully utilises these facilities, this property would be perfect for you as gym membership is approximately £600 a year, off street parking is approx. £1,000 a year. For an investor, this may not your cup of tea. High service charge, possible low growth rate and vacancy = high risk.

*all data extracted from Land registry UK and www.houseprices.co.uk

Apartments just outside Wembley Central tube station [Bakerloo Line (London Zone 4)] next to major shopping retailers.

http://www.wembley-central.co.uk

Pricing and Availability, floor plans:-

http://www.wembley-central.co.uk/pricing-availability.php

Amazing specifications with high finishing touch. Electrolux & Siemens kitchen appliances, Duravit bathroom pieces, high performance double glazed windows, CCTV coverage, etc.

http://www.wembley-central.co.uk/specification.php

What is Capital Gains Tax?

Capital Gains Tax is a tax on the profit or gain you make when you sell or ‘dispose of’ an asset.  You ‘dispose of an asset’ when you cease to own it – e.g:

• sell it
• give it away as a gift
• transfer it to someone else
• exchange it for something else
• receive compensation for it – e.g insurance payout when an asset’s been destroyed

It’s the profit you make – not the amount received for the asset that is taxed.

What is liable to Capital Gains Tax?

Assets. Types of property liable to Capital Gains Tax include:

• a rented property that you’ve never lived in or a second home
• business premises, such as a shop or a farm
• land, such as agricultural land
• Leases

NB: If you sell your main home – even though the asset is liable to Capital Gains Tax – you may qualify for Private Residence Relief. This may mean there’s no tax to pay.

Capital Gains Tax Increase?!

The Government is planning to increase the tax rate investors pay on selling their assets from 18% to 40%. It may even go to 50%.

How would that affect a buyer?

Due to the tax increase, buy-to-let investors may be in a panic to sell their properties right now. More properties in the market, the more choices. As buy-to-let investors may have lost their motivation to buy more properties, this may be good news for private buyers.

For those of  you in a limbo of completing a sale due to your vendor, try to use this as a trump card.

More on CGT increase 2010:-

The Telegraph

Economic Voice

Times Online

HMRC – more information on CGT in the UK.

Looking for new build? Here’s a list of London developers:-

1. A2Dominion
2. Astral Homes Ltd
3. Barratt Homes Ltd
4. Berkeley Homes Ltd
5. Bryant Homes Ltd
6. Fairview New Homes Ltd
7. Family Mosaic
8. Kebbell Homes
9. Linden Homes
10. Notting Hill Housing
11. Octagon Developments
12. St Edwards Homes
13. St Georges PLC
14. St James Homes
15. St Modwen
16. Taylor Wimpey PLC

These developers are currently active in London and do click on their website to check out their portfolio and future developments. It is worth signing up for their newsletter for latest development information.

You may notice the phrase ‘no onward chain‘ in some property advertisement. What does ‘chain‘ in this context mean?

What is a chain?

A property chain is a line of buyers and sellers who are all simultaneously involved in linked property transactions. When one  falls through the whole chain breaks and all the transactions will be held up or could possibly fail completely.

What is an example of a broken chain?

For instance, you are buying a property A, and waiting for the seller to complete his purchase of another property B. For some reason, the vendor of Property A’s mortgage was not approved, and the deal falls through. This may mean you have to pull out of the purchase Property A. As well as causing considerable stress and strain, property chains can cause financial headache.

Does this happen often?

Unfortunately, yes. The cost of the survey,  legal fees incurred and all the time spent on the deal will be lost. All of these are NON-REFUNDABLE!

What else could break a chain?

• Someone is refused a mortgage.
• Buyer may withdraw their offer. When contracts are exchanged the buyer is still under no legal obligation to purchase the home, and doesn’t have to pay for any costs.
• Negative results of the survey – previously unknown problems with the house become apparent.
• Gazumping. When seller accepts higher offer price last minute.

How should I avoid getting caught in a chain?

• Finding out the status of the people you are dealing with.
• Make sure that you have all your finance in place. You should have your mortgage offer/mortgage-in-principle in place before you start making offers
• Examine all paperwork closely. Read the HIPs and other documents sent by your solicitors as well as surveyor.
• Keeping communication between all parties lessens the chances of a chain collapsing. When it takes too long to complete transactions, parties gets impatient and may seek alternative.
• Some companies offer bridging loans to cover financial shortfalls, but this can be an expensive way of borrowing money.

What should I do if I get caught in a chain?

Some companies specialise in repairing broken property chains by co-ordinating reductions in price. However, for various reasons, this can prove an even more expensive way of keeping a chain moving than a bridging loan.

More information on:-

Times Online: How to stop property chain from collapsing http://bit.ly/cok7P3

There are a lot of things to consider when viewing a  property. Here is a checklist to ensure you’ve got the important areas covered.

1. How much is the council tax for the area?
2. Is the property leasehold or freehold?
3. If leasehold, how many years left on the lease?
4. Also, how much is the ground rent?
5. For flats, how much is the service charge?
6. Is there allocated parking/garage?
7. Does it have a private/communal garden?
8. Is there central heating in the property? Gas/electric? (Change to natural gas condensing boiler would cost between £1,500 to £5,000)
9. Are there damps in the property?
10. Are the windows single or double glazed? (Double glazed is more energy efficient – bear in mind there is additional cost if it is not)
11. Are the bathrooms and kitchen in good condition? (if immediate work is needed, you must have the budget to do so)
12. For buy-to-let buyers, it is worth asking how much rent the property is fetching.
13. Are the transport links good?
14. How far is the nearest station?
15. Is it noisy around the area?
16. Where are the nearest shops?
17. What are the local schools like?
18. Has any building works been done since the owner moved in?
19. Is the property tied up in a chain?
20. How quickly would the owners like to move/how long a notice do the current tenants need?

This checklist can provide you a clear view on the current condition of the property, which can be put into good use to support your offer price.

To print, Property Viewing Checklist (170kb, PDF)