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Buying a house in Edinburgh now


Carl Weathers

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Carl Weathers

Curious to know if anyone else is in the property market at the moment.

 

I have been looking to sell my flat and buy a house since the end of last year.

 

I'm looking in the Mountcastle/Duddingston area. It's frighteningly difficult to get somewhere for a reasonable price. I'm seeing houses go for far more than the valuation and often properties are getting viewed by over 30/40 people. The prices seem at an all time high and much higher than even 6 months ago.

 

We are putting in more than reasonavme offers but still not getting anywhere. The other thing that is killing me is that my offers are subject to sale. I still have a flat to sell (although I have been told by the estate agent they expect it will go quickly as well). I don't really want to sell and then rent as my wife is pregnant but it looks like we might have to go down that route if we keep missing out. 

 

Is it common that people sell their own houses first and then buy? That seems new to me. 

 

I naively thought I would be in a strong position after lockdown but it feels much worse than before.

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The advantage of selling first is that you're ready to go with the money and any holdups won't be on your end. Does mean you could be in limbo for a while though.

 

Edinburgh prices will hold despite CV19. Seeing ones around me selling quickly, no doubt to become more Air BnB's though...

 

 

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luckyBatistuta

Sold our house before the lockdown, they were due to move in to my house 4 weeks ago. They’ve been quite good though, understanding the situation. We did view one not long after the market was open again. It ticked most of the boxes, but wasn’t really in a street we were particularly wanting, although still a nice place to live. Anyway, we put an offer in for what it was worth to us, as we were still wanting to extend it. We aren’t in a chain, as the folk buying were left money, so we offered 20k over valuation and were 5th of the 5 offers🤯🤯🤯  We weren’t gutted as we didn’t think it was worth that, plus we still want a particular few streets that we like. All I keep hearing about is houses going for crazy amounts at the moment🤷‍♂️

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Neil Dongcaster

Sell your flat and hold off buying a house for 6 months. The arse is about to completely fall out of the market once the redundancies kick in post furlough, 

 

 

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Housing is imo cannot any longer be left to the private sector.

It's getting worse .

It is one of the most if not most important issues facing the UK .

I would not like to be a young couple trying for a family these days.

 

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3 minutes ago, Neil Dongcaster said:

Sell your flat and hold off buying a house for 6 months. The arse is about to completely fall out of the market once the redundancies kick in post furlough, 

 

 

If interest rates rise it will be carnage.

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Neil Dongcaster
1 minute ago, Carl Weathers said:

@Neil Dongcaster I'm quite concerned about massively overpaying for that very reason.


Genuinely believe that If you sell up and hold off you could save yourself £30-40k

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Neil Dongcaster
5 minutes ago, Carl Weathers said:

I'd do that but my wife seems against renting. 


Shame. It would be worth it.

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Carl Weathers

Baby due in Jan, so I can see why she has reservations. Unless we get lucky and someone accepts a bid subject to sale, I doubt we'll move for the next couple of years. 

 

I really like my flat, so it's not the end of the world...

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Samuel Camazzola
1 hour ago, Carl Weathers said:

Curious to know if anyone else is in the property market at the moment.

 

I have been looking to sell my flat and buy a house since the end of last year.

 

I'm looking in the Mountcastle/Duddingston area. It's frighteningly difficult to get somewhere for a reasonable price. I'm seeing houses go for far more than the valuation and often properties are getting viewed by over 30/40 people. The prices seem at an all time high and much higher than even 6 months ago.

 

We are putting in more than reasonavme offers but still not getting anywhere. The other thing that is killing me is that my offers are subject to sale. I still have a flat to sell (although I have been told by the estate agent they expect it will go quickly as well). I don't really want to sell and then rent as my wife is pregnant but it looks like we might have to go down that route if we keep missing out. 

 

Is it common that people sell their own houses first and then buy? That seems new to me. 

 

I naively thought I would be in a strong position after lockdown but it feels much worse than before.

Would you be interested in a new build (although I don't know what developments - if any - are in your preferred area of choice)? 

 

A lot of developers will take your place off your hands as a part exchange, remove your selling worries and you can get your new home at a fixed price. 

 

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Considered putting an offer in for house in Newhailes earlier in the year. It required a lot of work done to it, I knew that there was a lot of interest in it so decided against putting in an offer. It was a 3 bedroom semi-detached advertised at offers over £225k sold for £320k 😲

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Carl Weathers
36 minutes ago, Neil Dongcaster said:

Congratulations! Neil is a great name for a baby.

 

:kirklol:

 Cheers mate. After Neil Berry!

 

34 minutes ago, Samuel Camazzola said:

Would you be interested in a new build (although I don't know what developments - if any - are in your preferred area of choice)? 

 

A lot of developers will take your place off your hands as a part exchange, remove your selling worries and you can get your new home at a fixed price. 

 

 

Hoping to stay in the Duddingston/Mountcastle area but might consider moving further out in future. 

 

10 minutes ago, Jambo314 said:

Considered putting an offer in for house in Newhailes earlier in the year. It required a lot of work done to it, I knew that there was a lot of interest in it so decided against putting in an offer. It was a 3 bedroom semi-detached advertised at offers over £225k sold for £320k 😲

 

That's mental. We put 60k over asking for a bungalow needing a fair bit of work and didnt get it (which I'm now glad about. It was a stretch and would have proved too expensive). 

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1 hour ago, jake said:

If interest rates rise it will be carnage.


Here’s hoping so I can get money back on my savings 

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Just sold my house, on the market for about 3 weeks. First week had lots of interest and viewings, first viewer actually made an offer but it was too low to accept right away.

 

went to a closing date and had 3 offers in total and one of those was 36k over the ‘offers over’ price! Unfortunately the person who made that offer had just put their home on the market and I would have been under a big risk of losing the place I wanted if I had taken that one.

 

i agree with @Neil Dongcasterhere as well. Our solicitor recommended us to sell a quick post lockdown as possible, they do half expect a 15% drop generally in house prices when furlough generally comes to an end.  The LBTT reduction will help a bit but might not go far enough.as suggested Edinburgh and other desirable areas might ride the wave a little better

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Howdy Doody Jambo

The big problem will be getting mortgages sorted out, decisions in principle mean nothing especially for those who have made use of the government 80% support schemes as lenders are tightening their belts, lessons have been learned from the last credit crunch Edinburgh does have a very strong and competitive market and should hold their prices 

Best selling first to strengthen your offer as its not always the highest offer accepted 

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Harry Potter
1 hour ago, Jambo314 said:

Considered putting an offer in for house in Newhailes earlier in the year. It required a lot of work done to it, I knew that there was a lot of interest in it so decided against putting in an offer. It was a 3 bedroom semi-detached advertised at offers over £225k sold for £320k 😲

Wow thats mad,🤔

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Carl Weathers
17 minutes ago, DarthVodka said:

Just sold my house, on the market for about 3 weeks. First week had lots of interest and viewings, first viewer actually made an offer but it was too low to accept right away.

 

went to a closing date and had 3 offers in total and one of those was 36k over the ‘offers over’ price! Unfortunately the person who made that offer had just put their home on the market and I would have been under a big risk of losing the place I wanted if I had taken that one.

 

i agree with @Neil Dongcasterhere as well. Our solicitor recommended us to sell a quick post lockdown as possible, they do half expect a 15% drop generally in house prices when furlough generally comes to an end.  The LBTT reduction will help a bit but might not go far enough.as suggested Edinburgh and other desirable areas might ride the wave a little better

 

Did you have an offer accepted on a place when you were subject to sale yourself?

 

 

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1 hour ago, Carl Weathers said:

 Cheers mate. After Neil Berry!

 

 

Hoping to stay in the Duddingston/Mountcastle area but might consider moving further out in future. 

 

 

That's mental. We put 60k over asking for a bungalow needing a fair bit of work and didnt get it (which I'm now glad about. It was a stretch and would have proved too expensive). 

I recently offered 50k over asking price, property needed at least 35/40 k work done.I ended up fourth highest offer, that was in 350 k price range,as you say mental just now.

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Neil Dongcaster

I don’t think the Edinburgh market will hold its value, our economy is taking an absolute tanking just now. I think a 20% reduction is very possible.

 

Although I also think it will bounce back quickly. 

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23 minutes ago, Carl Weathers said:

 

Did you have an offer accepted on a place when you were subject to sale yourself?

 

 


kind of - new build deposit, which was ok but it could have quite easily dragged into September as the other guys had a cladding of sorts on their property which needs a buyer to get a special report from the council which the solicitor said should be no issue in the sale but can delay it 

 

my new place is meant to be ready in December...but fully prepared that to go to January 

 

edit - house builder was fine to take a deposit due to the speed of the market in the area 

Edited by DarthVodka
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heartsfc_fan

Was 5 years ago but we sold before we bought.

So went looking for houses we liked, saw two we liked and hoped they didn't go before we sold our place.

Sold our place in 12 days and bidded on the place we liked the most got it and the rest is history.

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9 hours ago, graygo said:

Folk are minted now that the olds are getting done in by Covid-19 and leaving them a property to sell and a bundle of cash.

op has a genuine question and thats your reply???

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9 hours ago, Carl Weathers said:

Curious to know if anyone else is in the property market at the moment.

 

I have been looking to sell my flat and buy a house since the end of last year.

 

I'm looking in the Mountcastle/Duddingston area. It's frighteningly difficult to get somewhere for a reasonable price. I'm seeing houses go for far more than the valuation and often properties are getting viewed by over 30/40 people. The prices seem at an all time high and much higher than even 6 months ago.

 

We are putting in more than reasonavme offers but still not getting anywhere. The other thing that is killing me is that my offers are subject to sale. I still have a flat to sell (although I have been told by the estate agent they expect it will go quickly as well). I don't really want to sell and then rent as my wife is pregnant but it looks like we might have to go down that route if we keep missing out. 

 

Is it common that people sell their own houses first and then buy? That seems new to me. 

 

I naively thought I would be in a strong position after lockdown but it feels much worse than before.

I live 3 miles from galashiels. I've noticed most properties in the area are under offer and selling quick since lockdown lifted so its not just edinburgh thats experiencing a boom. My own opinion is folk are acting quickly whilst they still have jobs. I reckon this time next year the arse will fall out the property market like 2008. Just my opinion though. As an Edinburgh boy..no idea why more folk don't consider the borders area. 50mins on a train directly into centre of Edinburgh, less than some bus journeys from mid/east lothian and get so much more for your money property wise. Folk can still be clique w*nks mind 😂😂😂

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13 hours ago, Carl Weathers said:

Curious to know if anyone else is in the property market at the moment.

 

I have been looking to sell my flat and buy a house since the end of last year.

 

I'm looking in the Mountcastle/Duddingston area. It's frighteningly difficult to get somewhere for a reasonable price. I'm seeing houses go for far more than the valuation and often properties are getting viewed by over 30/40 people. The prices seem at an all time high and much higher than even 6 months ago.

 

We are putting in more than reasonavme offers but still not getting anywhere. The other thing that is killing me is that my offers are subject to sale. I still have a flat to sell (although I have been told by the estate agent they expect it will go quickly as well). I don't really want to sell and then rent as my wife is pregnant but it looks like we might have to go down that route if we keep missing out. 

 

Is it common that people sell their own houses first and then buy? That seems new to me. 

 

I naively thought I would be in a strong position after lockdown but it feels much worse than before.

It’s a hard time mate. We sold our flat last year and bought a house in Willowbrae but we found you have to accept that you’re going to buy a do-er upper as the ones that are already modernised go ridiculously quickly. We bought subject to selling our flat and found that bit harder than our purchase. With a little one on the way I’d say stay put for now as you don’t need more stress buying a run down house and come back to it in a year or so.

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Carl Weathers

Thanks for all of the comments. I'm leaning toward staying put for another year and a half (until the baby is a year old) and seeing what the market is like.

 

Having said that, I'm sure myself and my wife will check the ESPC everyday anyway... 

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7 hours ago, hmfcbilly said:

op has a genuine question and thats your reply???

 

It was a bit crass and I thought I'd got away with it, consider me suitability chastised.

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I can't imagine ever being in a position to buy without selling first. Finding 40/50k as a deposit and the cost of a second mortgage would be crippling. I'd need to sell before I bought.

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8 hours ago, hmfcbilly said:

I live 3 miles from galashiels. I've noticed most properties in the area are under offer and selling quick since lockdown lifted so its not just edinburgh thats experiencing a boom. My own opinion is folk are acting quickly whilst they still have jobs. I reckon this time next year the arse will fall out the property market like 2008. Just my opinion though. As an Edinburgh boy..no idea why more folk don't consider the borders area. 50mins on a train directly into centre of Edinburgh, less than some bus journeys from mid/east lothian and get so much more for your money property wise. Folk can still be clique w*nks mind 😂😂😂

My daughter starts at uni in Gala next month and will be in student accommodation. We will be looking at possibly buying next summer.

Is it Tweedbank you're in by any chance?

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Ainsley Harriott

I bought a new build 5 years ago with a part exchange. Meant I knew what I was paying and got to live in my current place until the day i was ready to move. I know not eveyones a fan but with new builds it's just a case of sticking your furniture in and off you go.

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3 hours ago, superjack said:

My daughter starts at uni in Gala next month and will be in student accommodation. We will be looking at possibly buying next summer.

Is it Tweedbank you're in by any chance?

I'm in the other direction mate, wee village called Clovenfords. Couple of miles from Gala on the A72 peebles Road. If you have any questions in the future about areas etc ill be happy to help. Feel free to PM me.

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We were in the market at the start of the year and actually missed out on a place that we had the highest bid for because we still had to sell the GF's flat. 

We managed to get moved in April and the going rate for places seemed to be around 10-15% higher than the valuation price going by what we paid/GF got for hers. 

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Dusk_Till_Dawn
On 01/08/2020 at 18:42, Carl Weathers said:

Curious to know if anyone else is in the property market at the moment.

 

I have been looking to sell my flat and buy a house since the end of last year.

 

I'm looking in the Mountcastle/Duddingston area. It's frighteningly difficult to get somewhere for a reasonable price. I'm seeing houses go for far more than the valuation and often properties are getting viewed by over 30/40 people. The prices seem at an all time high and much higher than even 6 months ago.

 

We are putting in more than reasonavme offers but still not getting anywhere. The other thing that is killing me is that my offers are subject to sale. I still have a flat to sell (although I have been told by the estate agent they expect it will go quickly as well). I don't really want to sell and then rent as my wife is pregnant but it looks like we might have to go down that route if we keep missing out. 

 

Is it common that people sell their own houses first and then buy? That seems new to me. 

 

I naively thought I would be in a strong position after lockdown but it feels much worse than before.


Sister in Law has just bought. Was a ****ing nightmare. Lost out on loads of properties because of the offers over system, which is utter shit. People paying wildly over the odds

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luckyBatistuta
5 minutes ago, Dusk_Till_Dawn said:


Sister in Law has just bought. Was a ****ing nightmare. Lost out on loads of properties because of the offers over system, which is utter shit. People paying wildly over the odds


Should bring in the Australian system.

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Jambo-Jimbo
2 hours ago, hmfcbilly said:

I'm in the other direction mate, wee village called Clovenfords. Couple of miles from Gala on the A72 peebles Road. If you have any questions in the future about areas etc ill be happy to help. Feel free to PM me.

 

My oldest daughter lived at Thomson Court for a while, Granddaughter went to Caddonfoot Primary, they have now moved to Jed.

I'm 8 miles further up the road from you in Innerleithen.

 

Back on topic, can't believe the prices you lot are paying in Edinburgh for a house, move out to the Borders, you are a matter of 30-40 minutes from Edinburgh, can get a 3 bedroom house for around £150k with big gardens, plus there's little crime and the air quality is a hundred times better than in the city.

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luckyBatistuta
22 minutes ago, Dusk_Till_Dawn said:


What do they do there?


It’s pretty much like you’d get at the car auctions here. Everybody who is interested in the property for sale shows up and they auction it off. Yes, sometimes folk might bid a little more than they planned, but that was there choice. If you’re not prepared to bid enough, you’re not getting it. It takes away this nonsense of blind bids. My new neighbours had the winning bid of the 3 notes of interest. What they don’t know is and I do, is that the other 2 notes of interest never even submitted a bid. They could have got the house about 20k cheaper, but thought they were bidding against 2 others, when in fact they were bidding against themselves...that’s not right imo.

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Dusk_Till_Dawn
7 minutes ago, luckyBatistuta said:


It’s pretty much like you’d get at the car auctions here. Everybody who is interested in the property for sale shows up and they auction it off. Yes, sometimes folk might bid a little more than they planned, but that was there choice. If you’re not prepared to bid enough, you’re not getting it. It takes away this nonsense of blind bids. My new neighbours had the winning bid of the 3 notes of interest. What they don’t know is and I do, is that the other 2 notes of interest never even submitted a bid. They could have got the house about 20k cheaper, but thought they were bidding against 2 others, when in fact they were bidding against themselves...that’s not right imo.


My SIL lost out on one recently where someone paid £80k over the £490k asking price. Complete lunacy 

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1 minute ago, SwindonJambo said:

I imagine the recent suspension of Stamp Duty on purchases below £500k has a lot to do with this recent lunacy.

 

not the case for Scotland 

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SwindonJambo
15 minutes ago, DarthVodka said:

 

not the case for Scotland 

 

Egg wiped from face! Thanks, I stand corrected. But the no stamp duty threshold was temporarily raised to £250k I believe (in Wales also) last month. Not as generous as here but still a wee help.

 

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/2020/07/homebuyers-in-scotland-and-wales-won-t-pay-transaction-tax-on-pr/

Edited by SwindonJambo
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5 minutes ago, SwindonJambo said:

 

Egg wiped from face! Thanks, I stand corrected. But the no stamp duty threshold was temporarily raised to £250k I believe (in Wales also) last month. Not as generous as here but still a wee help.

 

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/2020/07/homebuyers-in-scotland-and-wales-won-t-pay-transaction-tax-on-pr/


yeah I was hoping Scotland would have followed England but it was not to be,  but I can understand the reasoning 

 

will save me some money on my new place so cant complain (apart from The fact this tax exists full stop)

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luckyBatistuta
33 minutes ago, Dusk_Till_Dawn said:


My SIL lost out on one recently where someone paid £80k over the £490k asking price. Complete lunacy 


It’s mental, really is. One of the houses we went after, folk offered more than 60k over the valuation. I told my wife that it’s guaranteed that the house would be back on the market, as once they go for a mortgage, they’ll get told to gtf. It was back on the market again shortly after. Glad we didn’t win it though, as after looking at it again, we weren’t as keen on it. It’s crazy that folk spend hundreds of thousands of pounds on something they’ve looked at once. You put more thought in to the price of something expensive in a shop🤯

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luckyBatistuta
3 minutes ago, DarthVodka said:


yeah I was hoping Scotland would have followed England but it was not to be,  but I can understand the reasoning 

 

will save me some money on my new place so cant complain (apart from The fact this tax exists full stop)


So was I, not happy about us not doing the same.

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4 hours ago, hmfcbilly said:

I'm in the other direction mate, wee village called Clovenfords. Couple of miles from Gala on the A72 peebles Road. If you have any questions in the future about areas etc ill be happy to help. Feel free to PM me.

Thanks for the offer. However, although I was born in Edinburgh, most of my childhood was living in tweedbank. I haven't been back for almost 30 years so I will be using it as an excuse to catch up with old friends.

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2 hours ago, Jambo-Jimbo said:

 

My oldest daughter lived at Thomson Court for a while, Granddaughter went to Caddonfoot Primary, they have now moved to Jed.

I'm 8 miles further up the road from you in Innerleithen.

 

Back on topic, can't believe the prices you lot are paying in Edinburgh for a house, move out to the Borders, you are a matter of 30-40 minutes from Edinburgh, can get a 3 bedroom house for around £150k with big gardens, plus there's little crime and the air quality is a hundred times better than in the city.

I moved here for work purposes 7 years ago. Ironically, im now based in Edinburgh for work again as is my wife but we both couldn't imagine living in the city or midlothian again. This side of the borders has the added benefit of the train for commuting.  Like you say, can get a decent property for a variety of budgets and the train takes less than an hour from Tweedbank to Waverley. I reckon some peak time buses would struggle to get from dalkeith to Edinburgh in that time

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