(no subject)

[mstislavl]

I've developed a crazy idea to buy a flat in NCL. I have enough money for a deposit and there are banks that provide mortgage to people on work permits - Halifax, for example. As soon as I bring nIcholas over, I wouldn't be able to rent a room and flat's rent is comparable with a mortgage. So why waste the money?

Comments

[oryx_and_crake]

А что, папаша, овёс нынче дорог? How much is a decent apartment in a decent neigborhood nowadays? 5 years ago, you could buy a townhouse (maybe they are called terraced houses in Britain, I'm not sure - the kind where you have neighbours on your right and left, but your own street entrance) in Tyne&Wear for as low as 15 to 30 K GBP, depending on location, the age of the house etc. And what is the minimum downpayment?

In Britain,

[farraige.livejournal.com]

townhouses and terraced houses are two different things, although the basic notion of having neighbours to your right and left, but not on top + own front door and garden(s) is applicable to both. a townhouse in the British sense of the word is a three-storied affair with a garage on the ground floor and a utility room/kitchen at the back, whereas an ordinary terrace lacks those niceties.

[eastexpert.livejournal.com]

30K? Ahaha :)

My neighbour has decided to leave for Canada. She sells a two-bedroom *apartment* in our converted manor right now. Not a large one, I must say. The price's bloody £165K! Tell me about "affluent neighbourhoods"... This is probably near the top of the range I could afford without indebting myself forever, and deteriorating my quality of life -- and without a second income source (read: a partner).

All that happens thanks to strong buy-to-let demand who drive the prices through the top. If this insanity doesn't stop, there will be no entry to property market (in South East) even for people like me... definitely not the worst-paid in this country. I really hope the bank regulations discourage further practice of irresponsive lending (which most of buy-to-let really is), so there will be still a remote possibility of clinging to the bottom rung of the property ladder for me and people like me.

[oryx_and_crake]

Well, I saw these advertisements with my own eyes; but please keep in mind that
it was a) 5 years ago and b) in North-East where the housing is generally
cheaper than in South.
As to leaving for Canada, here you won't be able to buy anything decent for
under 200 K CAD (it will be either a very small 2-bedroom condo apartment or
condo townhouse, or a detached house in the middle of nowhere and you'll have to
spend 2-3 hours a day commuting). At least these
are Toronto prices; in other Canadian cities the housing is cheaper but the job market is
much worse... same as everywhere else, I guess.

[oryx_and_crake]

However, if one is a S.I.N.K. ( Single Income No Kids ), one could probably afford a smaller but better apartment (not needing a house) closer to downtown, if need be, or even a lakeshore one with a beautiful view onto lake Ontario...