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Thread: Buying a Flat ( Condo ) in Five years?

  1. #1
    Member Deini's Avatar
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    Default Buying a Flat ( Condo ) in Five years?

    Since I’ve decided I love this job and will do it for as long a possible (preferably 10 years max), I’ve also been thinking about what to get out of it when my sell-buy-date ends. I am only 24 this year, and began to make a steady amount of money in specific clubs.

    Now one of the most obvious choices is buy my sis council flat. I have been temporally living with her for the most part of a year, and am a registered tenant here. Only she wants’ to move out now cause she is pregnant and needs an extra room. (She already has a two year old.)

    It’s a two bedroom flat in a good residential road. The flat itself is good, and 70% percent of the houses in this road is privately owned. The area is not the best, but it’s bad either. Travel wise its good too. On a whole I like the place. It’s got pretty good potential.

    I got this idea because i been wanting to do the flat up, but i want it to be decorated to a veryr goo standard. I mean gut the bathroom and kitchen and put in whole new ones. I want to the flooring to a high standard and put in new doors-things like that...and more...but the thing is, it’s just a council flat and my sister does not want to stay in it forever...which means..i do it up and it’s all lost money if she moves on. I do like the flat and i will do it up...but i want to do it up good...so i thought maybe I could invest in it and then...hopefully try to buy it.
    So I’ve been looking at the right-to-buy offer the council gives...and it seems that it’ll be much cheaper to buy from them and possibly a lil easier too, in comparison to going into the housing market. Buying a Flat in Five years.

    It requires a tenant to live in the property for 5 years; I can convince my sister to do this, and after this ‘she’ can apply to buy the flat. She can go in partnership with family, which is ‘me’ for as long as said family member lives with her for at least 12 months. So it’s possible and I’ll like to own a flat as quickly as i could and 5 years is nothing and it gives time to save a Easter egg for it. A goal to aim for...

    I do also plan to buy land in Brazil or flats and sell or rent them out...sort of be a part time property developer in brazil as the money i make here will take me further in how much i can afford to get. This is obviously my long term plan which will need some work. But i do want to live in London and it’ll be nice if possible to own something here first. My original plan was own things in brazil and then that’ll pay for my venture’s here.

    The point i’m trying to get here is...does this sound like a good idea? And if so i would like to know if any of you have done this (bought a house, overseas and otherwise) and how you went about it financially and such.

    I have no idea how mortgages work and i will look into it in detail and loans too. If possible I’ll borrow a lump sum from a friend because I’m terrified of banks. So any info and advice you can give would be greatly appreciated.

    Also how can i get people to trust me and my income when my profession is a stripper (self-employed.) this is likely to cause some issues...is there a fool proof way of working on this now so when my five years are up I can present myself as solid. Whatever i do...this is something I’d like to know.

    I have other plans for my future, but these are not financially...more educational.

  2. #2
    Banned Melonie's Avatar
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    Default Re: Buying a Flat in Five years?

    obviously I'm not intimately familiar with real estate markets in every part of the world. But the UK, and London in particular, has been receiving a lot of publicity re falling real estate values. The importance of this factor is that, even if you purchase a flat ( condo ) today at a price that is a 'good deal', in two or three years you may find that surrounding flats are being sold at prices that are 10-20-30% lower than what you paid ( and still owe ) on your own flat. If you plan on living in this particular flat for MANY years this isn't a huge issue. If you plan on 'flipping' ownership of this flat as soon as a 5 year residency mandate allows you to, it could be a huge issue.

    Banks in the UK as well as the USA have been badly 'hurt' by falling real estate prices resulting in mortgage loan defaults. Taxpayers in the UK as well as the USA are already on the hook for billions in bank bailout money. As such, mortgage lenders in the UK as well as the USA are going to be much stricter about assessing the 'repayment risk' involved with any new mortgage loans. Obviously, self-employed persons have a more volatile income than salaried employees and thus represent a higher risk. Self-employed persons in the 'adult entertainment industry' represent an even higher risk. And self-employed 'adult entertainment industry' workers whose typical career length falls short of the typical 30 year mortgage loan repayment 'table' by 10-15 years represent an even higher risk.

    Your particular situation may be much easier if this potential property sale involves gov't guarantees or gov't financing. When a gov't entity is willing to extend the credit and/or assume 100% of the loan risk, banks usually don't care at all about the creditworthiness of the mortgage borrower.


    As far as the purchase of investment properties in Brazil by a 'foreign' investor, from what I have heard from fellow ex-pats Brazil's laws are pretty friendly in this regard. They allow full 'foreign' ownership rights ( as opposed to other countries that only permit long term leases etc. ). Additionally, Brazil has no property taxes. But such a purchase by a 'foreign' investor is probably going to require that said foreign investor is in a position of bringing in 100% of the funds for the actual purchase price plus fees plus sales taxes from their foreign source at the time of purchase ( i.e. loan funding by Brazilian lenders is probably not going to be an option ).

    Personally speaking, investment in property in a foreign country is a VERY good idea ... if for no other reason than the future possibility of establishing a second citizenship !!! It's an even better idea if that foreign country has low / no taxes on income / investments !!! As the UK and USA continue to experience gov't budget problems they will undoubtedly increase their efforts to tax their 'productive' citizens at higher and higher rates ... thus also being a citizen ( or at least legal resident ) of a low tax foreign country may provide an extremely valuable future 'option'.

    ~
    Last edited by Melonie; 06-20-2011 at 03:31 AM.

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    Veteran Member Citychick's Avatar
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    Default Re: Buying a Flat ( Condo ) in Five years?

    You may want to get a move on with this though as you have probably heard buying council properties (it's like the UK version of Government Housing) is going to get alot more difficult.

  4. #4
    Member Deini's Avatar
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    Default Re: Buying a Flat ( Condo ) in Five years?

    After asking many many questions around....buying in brazil is the best options for the reasons Melonie has said and then some as I plan to buy several within the next 10 years, renovate, rent or sell after for a profit. hopefully.

    lets see...but at least a plan. A goal for me.

  5. #5
    Veteran Member Citychick's Avatar
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    Default Re: Buying a Flat ( Condo ) in Five years?

    Quote Originally Posted by Deini View Post
    After asking many many questions around....buying in brazil is the best options for the reasons Melonie has said and then some as I plan to buy several within the next 10 years, renovate, rent or sell after for a profit. hopefully.

    lets see...but at least a plan. A goal for me.
    Excellent idea.
    Good Luck and hope it's successful for you.

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