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While
I'm absolutely delighted to have moved into my first flat, my tale
of woe should act as warning to other first time buyers, all is
often not what it seems.
When
I decided to move back home to my parents house due to a new job
and a desire to start saving for a house, I had only intended to
stay for two months. Four years later and I was still residing with
my parents and my plan for quick get away had disappeared.
The
original idea had been to save money for a deposit while I stayed
at home. My parents were very understanding and helped me by charging
low rent.
However, it soon became depressing to realise that while I was saving
money at a good rate, the price increases in housing were far greater.
The feeling of being trapped in my childhood bedroom became apparent
and I just wanted to break free.
Deposit
I had
a healthy deposit after four years and one afternoon decided now
was the time. I rang two Estate Agents and had viewing organised
almost immediately, I was ready for action. The first flat I visited
was actually the one I ended up buying, but not wanting to rush
in I viewed a multitude of other properties, much to my horror.
It was quite amazing how low the standard of properties were in
my price range. I viewed a variety of damp, smelly, squalid properties
which needed so much work to even make them habitable. With the
help of my dad I trawled the Bedford area, but my mind kept taking
me back to that first flat.
I arranged
a second viewing and this time realised that it really was the most
suitable choice and placed an offer straight away. The current home
owner was recently bereaved and wanted a clean break and as I was
a first time buyer I assumed we would have a quick sale.
But weeks turned into months and even though we had agreed the price
in October 2003 I didn't get the keys until February 2004.
Once
the price was agreed I went ahead with organising the survey and
other legal matters. The flat was part of a development that was
only six years old, and with the thought of being shackled to a
large mortgage I decide to purchase the cheapest survey possible.
The results were positive and everything appeared to be in good
working order.
Rotten
When I walked through the door of my flat I immediately decided
changes were needed, the carpets in the kitchen and bathroom just
had to go. As my dad peeled back the kitchen carpet the horror of
what lay beneath became instantly apparent. The entire floor was
completely rotten, panic set in and a builder was called in to survey
the damage.
The previous tenant had installed a specialist disabled bathroom,
the pipe work was faulty and as a result both floors in the kitchen
and bathroom were rotten and needed replacing.
My
cheap survey had not included peeling back carpets and the previous
tenant was unaware of the problem, so the burden of expensive bills
rested solely with me. What made it worse was that while the work
was undertaken I still couldn't move in and was still stuck in my
old bedroom.
The
work took far longer than I thought and I eventually moved in properly
at the end of June. When the final bill was paid I was out of pocket
by £6,000, but I now owned a perfect flat.
If
I have learned anything from the whole experience it is that it
is better to buy the best survey you can afford. The extra cost
of a more in depth survey was a just few hundred pounds but that
could have identified the problems and saved me a huge amount of
my time and money.
Read
other case studies >>
Have
you had problems getting on the property ladder?
Have
you just got on it? If so, how did you manage it?
Do
you want to upgrade but will have to move away from the area to
do so?
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us your experiences using the form below.
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