Hi all,

I am trying to understand the points that individuals consider when they choose to purchase a property abroad and to be specific, in the UK.

Please leave points and be as descriptive as possible.

Thanks


Charles

@CKfadden,

Is this Charles from the Kings Family Centre?

Hi Charles,
I think you need to be more specific about the purpose of the property. Is it property for personal use or for investment?
I’m not an Estate Agent but having just bought a property recently after viewing more than 40 flats and houses, I can give you some ideas of what I think most people living in London will consider when buying a property:

• Transport is one of the major factors you need to consider when buying property in UK. You don’t want spend hours travelling to work every day. So tube, train and maybe 24hrs bus service (if you are a night person) might be number one on the list. You don’t want to £50 for black cab every time you miss the last train on a night out and whoever is willing to rent will really consider this too. Having your property in a walking distance to tube/train station will automatically add values to the price of the property.

• Space is also very important. Most of the new builds have small rooms and the ceilings are ridiculously low. So some people prefers Victorian building with really large space, high ceilings and as most English peoples refer to them, ‘houses with characters’. So either you are buying a flat or house for personal or investments, the size of the rooms are very important. You might also want to consider the size of the garden too if you have kids or if you are one of those people that like BBQ parties whenever there’s little sunshine.

• Location is also one of the most important things to most people. I think this should have come first really on this list because the size of your wallet will determine where you want to live or invest but the closer you are to Zone 1 the more value your property would have. Maybe I’m wrong about this but 1bed flat in Zone 1, around Baker Street is £450k while you can get it for less than £200k in Zone 4. Some people put the safety of their children first and decide not to buy in a known crime/gang areas, like Peckham and Hackney(sorry guys, it’s official )

• Also- Are you buying outright or it’s going to be mortgage? Most of you guys always come from Naija to buy outright anyway. You can choose to buy a very old house at cheap price, renovate it and resell it to make profit. Buying such properties from auction is also an option but you really have to know your game to do that.

They are not limited to these lists but they are just what pop to my head at mo and I’m sure others will add to it but individual requirements are different. If you have the money, I cant think of a better time to buy in UK than now because the property market is shit and the prices are falling in some areas and if you have more than 20% deposit, the banks will fall over each other to offer you mortgage. Property investment is one the best anywhere in the world but why UK and not our fatherland?

Go for it and good luck!

Abuja Books,

Yes this is Charles from Kings family. Who is it pls?

Hi,

If you re buying a prperty in the uk, a few factors are important.
1. Price in relation to your salary

2. Good transport links to your place of work; very important

3. If you have children, proximity to good schools is very important

4. Closeness to Family and friends,

5. If you are a muslim, having the mosque because you have to go and pray regularly. If there is no mosque, you will start to fiddle you prayers and may not pray regularly anymore

6. Good neighbouhood, low crime area

Hope this helps.

As you know it can be lonely and if you re faraway, no one will visit you and you will always travel. your family needs to mix and you ned to have people like you around, people move because of children's schooling. This does not mean a black dominated area becuse it may not be a good area.If you check councils according to various indicators even health of the people you will find large differences, so it is important to live in an area where you have chance of longer life.