1. Aspiration: to move on and up
I am less than half a year from one of my biggest milestones in my life - turning 40. Loads of people have all kinds of ways to react to this big milestone, for me instead of buying a sports car, I want a bigger, flashier pad. That does mean getting into quite a lot of debt, but I am full of aspiration - it will make me want to get up in the morning, work harder, earn more money and desire better things for me in life as I turn 40. Life has become extremely comfortable - I don't need to work very hard, I have enough money coming in despite being as lazy and laid back as I am. I get loads of sleep, I travel loads, I do loads of sports and I could go on like that indefinitely but should I? I do feel that I need to do something that will make me achieve far more in life - I have just come off a project where I worked very hard with some very successful people and boy, I enjoyed it. Aspiration is my kind of adrenaline, I need to tap into this desire for better things in life, to better myself - and as I turn 40 in 2016, I need to be positive and optimistic, full of aspiration.
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| Is it wrong to aspire to have more in life? |
2. Somewhere nearby isn't going to make a huge difference
I am currently living in the middle of the West End of London. The properties I have been looking at are around the Mornington Crescent and Camden area - let's be realistic, if I want a bigger, nicer pad, I'm not going to find it in the middle of central London. I would need to head out of the center and I have chosen to look north: Mornington Crescent is about 2.8 km from where I am and Camden Town is a bit further at 3.5 km. I will still easily be able to go shopping in the West End if I want to. So it's not like I'm moving 300 km away into the countryside in Yorkshire (which I can, but I don't want to), I'm going to be moving about 3 km away from where I am right now to an area of town I am familiar with - so it isn't going to make a massive difference to my mental geography of London. A comparison in Singapore would be moving from Somerset to Novena, that's also about 3 km due north.
3. Noise factor: Soho is noisy, bad neighbours
Living in Soho may be exciting as you're in the middle of the most vibrant entertainment district in London, but good grief, it is noisy. Where do I begin? The staff from the local pubs and restaurants empty their wastes and recycling in the middle of the night after they close, which means noise from the streets in the middle of the night. There are people in the streets at all hours and all it takes it for a local nightclub or pub to leave a fire door open and music comes pouring out in the middle of the night. There is traffic, with narrow roads running through Soho, drivers sound their horns when they are stuck behind another vehicle, even if it is the middle of the night. And then there are my neighbours: a block in Soho tend to attract people who want to go out and party, I am sick and tired of being awoken in the middle of the night by people returning from a night out or having friends over and perhaps it is a sign of my age, but as I have stopped clubbing years ago, having neighbours who still do so is just a pain. I need my peace and quiet.
I live in a one bed room flat: one gets used to living in a small space and I wonder what I would do with more space. I would like a balcony or a roof terrace, so as I may do more gardening. I do spend a lot of time on my laptop, so a balcony or terrace would be nice so I can still be on my laptop at home with a cup of tea, but already outdoors. My living room is cluttered and it's not just a physical thing: I feel I do need more living space psychologically. My guests currently sleep on my living room floor if they wanna visit me in London, it would be nice to have a guest bedroom.
5. There are deals to be had, easy credit to be found (plus I can do it, many can't).
Having done my research in terms of the property market, I found that there are deals to be had: there are developers willing to give you discount if you buy off-plan. There are families who are in a hurry to exchange because they need to sell in order to buy their new home (in one case, there was one couple about to move to Japan for work, so they need to sell their home before they go.) There are brokers around helping me to find finance for my new home, with four properties to re-mortgage to finance our purchase, we are in a very strong position to do this. Whilst so many people complain that London property is totally not affordable, I am in a position to get my hands on my dream home.
1. Do I really want to take on so much debt (even if I can get the credit?)
It is rather scary to take on that much credit - I know I can clear it eventually. I have done the sums and no matter how you look at it, it means getting into debt again for the next few years and I have not been in debt since my late 20s. Living debt free for the last ten years has been great and I wonder if going back to those days when I keep monitoring my finances is really what I want to do in my 40s. So it is do-able if aspiration drives me to earn a lot of money, but looking at getting into close to a million pound debt (S$2.15 million) does scare me - it should scare anyone.
2. Aspirations can be fulfilled in other ways apart from a bigger house.
Aspiration is always good, but must it be expressed in terms of having more expensive things? Surely I can fulfill my aspirations through my career, or through my interactions with society - I can achieve a lot as I turn 40 without actually living in a more expensive, bigger house. For example, if I had invested that £300k in a smaller flat closer to the £500k mark, then I would not be in debt for so long and it could very quickly put me in a very comfortable position where I would have a lot more passive income coming in every month from another buy-to-let property. I could start a new business with that property or just use that money for more traveling, like an epic trip around all of South America.
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| What form should aspiration take? |
3. Noise problems can occur elsewhere too.
Part of the reason I want to get away from Soho is the noise - getting woken up in the middle of the night by the noise makes me irritable and tired the next day; but this can happen anywhere in London really. I lived in the leafy, respectable suburb of Kensington in the period 2000 to 2004 before I moved to Soho and back then, I used to get woken up from time to time as well by noise: it would be a mix of noisy pedestrian walking by on the street outside, car/house alarms going off in the middle of the night and occasionally loud parties from inconsiderate neighbours - in fact, that's pretty much the same mix of irritants that bothers me in Soho. Short of really moving out to somewhere like rural Scotland, then that's just part of living in any big city I'm afraid.
4. I am giving up the convenience of being in the middle of everything.
Oh yes, currently I am within walking distance of everything from the British museum to Oxford Street to Piccadilly circus to Leicester Square to Covent Garden to Chinatown to Regent Street. But it goes beyond that, being smack in the middle of town, it is 20 minutes to the City (ie. the CBD) or 20 minutes to Waterloo station south of the river or 20 minutes to Knightsbridge. On top of the convenience of accessing so many things at my doorstep, I am also not far from everything. Displacing myself about 3 km north of where I am, well, that would mean spending more time going to the places I need to go - it would add about 20 minutes to my journey times. It's not a lot but it does all add up.
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| How central do I want to be? |
5. Will I find my dream home?
I have had a chance to see quite a few properties so far in my search but so far, nothing is quite perfect. I saw a pub conversion (ie. this building used to be a pub, it has been turned into three units of luxury flats) and it was stunning, but the location wasn't convenient and I didn't like the street it was on. I then saw a three-bedroom two storey loft conversion in Camden Square (where the late Amy Winehouse used to live) and it was absolutely stunning, but Camden Square is actually just a bit too far north and the place would need a bit of work. I saw a 3-bedroom house in Kentish Town which was run down and needed work, but had a lot of potential to be turned into a dream home. I then saw the most stunning, brand new penthouse near Regent's Park but it was a bit bigger than I had in mind (three bedrooms, rather than two bedrooms) and it was priced at £1.4 million, which was beyond what I was prepared to pay. I don't think I need three bedrooms - but none of the two bedroom flats I saw had the wow factor and really, only the three bedrooms flats well and truly impressed me. So far I've seen some really nice places, but nothing really perfect. And of course, the nicest ones were the most expensive ones which are ever so out of my budget.
So for now, I am going to put in an unrealistically low bid for that gorgeous three bedroom penthouse and see how the vendor reacts. The current asking price is £1.4 million and the estate agent told me that it has been on the market for a while at that £1.5 million and it has not shifted, so the vendor will accept bids and will probably close at £1.35 million - I'm going to test the waters to see how keen they are to sell by offering around £1.15 to £1.2 million. Perhaps they will just laugh at my bid and throw it back at my face, maybe they will start negotiating and bargaining. I have worked in sales and understand the mindset of the sales process -I don't know till I start the process, but yes there is always some element of bargaining when trying to reach the final price. If someone else is willing to pay full whack, then they're welcome to it. I would only go for this if I can get a bargain and in the meantime, I am going to keep viewing properties. I saw eight yesterday and good grief, that took a whole day. This is a time consuming and tiring process!
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| What is your idea of your dream home? |
That's it from me on this issue. What do you think? Should I be upgrading to a bigger, nicer property? Should I push the boat out and get something more expensive or should I wait for something closer to my original budget? If I miss out on this dream penthouse, would I ever see anything as perfect and gorgeous in my hunt? How long will I need to search for to find my dream home in London? This process could be over in two weeks or drag on for months - after all, I am shopping for my dream home, not just looking to move in a hurry. I'll keep you updated. Thanks for reading.
Hello there, my husband and I are in the position where we are trying to accumulate properties - hopefully we get to be where you are soon! :)
ReplyDeleteWe just moved into our new apartment in the centre of Sydney (about 400m from Central station).
Our previous apartment was really noisy, again because of being the centre of the city - we could hear all the crazy party people especially over the weekends. While we are mellow, non-crazy party people.
However, we realised that the way to solve the noise problem is just proper insulation and sound proofing. Our current apartment is still in the centre of Sydney, but it is so nice and quiet. The difference is really the materials and the quality of the construction.
If that is your main concern, perhaps consider improving your current apartment - nothing beats being able to walk everywhere! :) (And it can be just me :))
However if the new dream apartment can give you some motivation to achieve more - why not?
All the best!
J
Hi there and thanks for your comment and suggestions. I did actually consult quite a few experts to look at sound proofing and was told that there is only so much the sound proofing can do when it comes to noisy neighbours. Noise from the street is one thing, but when it is neighbours, it is a lot harder to deal with. The key difference is this: noise transmission in a building depends on the age of the block. Older blocks are bad because standards were lower then, the newer the block, the higher the standards. My current place was built in the early 1970s - so even if it does look aesthetically okay, noise does travel in the building as the walls were built thinner then. Mind you, I know people who live in blocks built in the 1920s and 1930s and noise is a huge issue for them.
DeleteLike you and your husband, I am a very mellow, non-crazy person. I've been in the middle of London for 11 years since 2004 and quite frankly, whilst it has been convenient for work, I don't quite mind adding an extra 20-25 minutes to my commutes. I've been using Google Maps to calculate how much further I have to cycle and it's not going to make a huge difference to me at least - but I think my main priority in my search is to find a property that is my 'dream home'. I've seen some really "ooh la la" places so far, but none really in my budget. The more you spend, the more incredible it looks - I've seen one recently that is just on the cusp of my budget at £1 million and the owner is keen to sell ASAP. The location is in a quiet street and I think it does look like the kinda place I would love to call home for a good 20 years. If it is going for £1 million exactly then we can afford it and we're buying it - but if it is going to end up in an eBay auction type situation and go for £1.3 million, then we're going to drop out of the auction process if it is clear that the price is gonna climb.
Ah I see. All the best for your new "dream" place :)
DeleteFor now, we are not yet in the mindset of having a place that is forever - as we love moving, and we are looking to move every 2-3 years.
Well, you know I am currently sleeping in my living room because noise transmits from my neighbour's flat into my bedroom? It seems ridiculous that I have a bedroom but end up sleeping in my living room 'cos I don't wanna be disturbed in the middle of the night? It's like sometimes there's noise, most of the time there isn't - but it's gotten to the point where I'm just like, I'm not taking any chances, I don't wanna get awoken, when I know I can shut my living room door and not hear anything. (The bedroom wall is the one I share with my neighbour, my living room walls totally encloses my living room).
DeleteIn the UK, yes we have dense city centers where people live in relatively old buildings that date back to the 70s, 60s, 50s and even some that go back to the 1920s, or even older Victorian-era buildings. Sound really travels in these buildings as people didn't care about noise pollution back then as much as they do today. My block was built in the 1970s and the 'social contract' when you live in a block like that is to be considerate to others - and most of the time, it works: ie. if your neighbours needs to get up at 6:30 am to go to work the next day, then they will probably be asleep after midnight. But there are times when things don't work out like that and believe you me, I have tried everything I can to resolve it amicably and am just grateful now I can actually have somewhere to sleep (ie. my living room) without being disturbed. I know of cases where the noise disturbance is so bad the poor resident has no where to run to.
Hence my 'dream home' will be on the top floor of a building, no neighbours (or at least, have a quiet room where I can escape to where the noise won't transmit) and it must be a new enough building - no old creaky buildings.
So yeah, you can live in the middle of Sydney or London, but if the building is well built (ie. recently, not before 1980s), then sound pollution is far less of a problem.
Hi LIFT, Congrats! Though a little envious, Im also happy for you, as someone who came from the same background as myself but has achieved SO much more. Go for it, you have nothing to lose and everything to gain. I have dabbled a little in property and moved house a handful of times, though I currently only own the place Im living in. So here is my input:
ReplyDelete1. You are focusing quite a lot on the monetary aspect, the apprehension of taking an extra mortgage even though you know you will pay it off in a few years or less (probably less, since you are prepared to rev your engines and start working hard again; and at 40, you still have a LONG way to go in earning power).
I think debt should be the LEAST of your worries given your cushioned circumstances (4 properties puts you squarely in the upper crust). In terms of your lifestyle needs you could think about hosting and entertaining close friends, a bigger place would allow extra guest rooms for them to sleep over. Perhaps your Singaporean family (especially your parents) will then visit more often as they can save on accommodation.
2. One thing Ive learnt about buying property, its not a simple cost-benefit/ return-on-investment analysis. If you really REALLY fall in love with a place, youd willingly pay 10 times the market price just to have it, to make your life complete!
So when you view different places, pay attention to the vibes they give you and also to your partner. Is this your little corner of the world, where the two of you can retreat from the stresses of society and be happy and peaceful together?
3. But if you are still thinking finances, and getting a bargain on a property is part of the thrill of acquiring it, then use your imagination to see what you can do with a place when you view it for the first time. Transform it (in your mind) into a place that suits you to a T. Youll get a kick out of challenging your own knack for interior decoration. Renovation costs should be no object if you get a good deal on the property, since you would have saved on the price itself, and renovating or furnishing, is just a fraction of that.
If this factor means a lot to you, then the most important considerations are the exterior features, built in size, and most of all, the location of the property.
Once again, HUGE congratulations on getting this far, just before the milestone of turning 40. You know what they say about THAT: life is just beginning!
Thanks for your kind words. We have currently seen a place that is really nicely done up - it was previously let out by the owner and is down very tastefully, but we're not going to have to do any kind of renovation etc. It is on a very respectable, quiet street and it's now down to price... it's on the cusp of our budget and I am meeting an property expert on Monday to get his opinion on what the bidding process is like and at which point we should walk away and say, "out of our budget". Cos I just can't believe that nobody would be interested in a property that is this nice at the current asking price.
DeleteI say go for it if you are ready to work harder. I see you in a brick building. Hardwood floor with industrial fixtures.
ReplyDeleteHahaha, if work didn't keep me in London, I would live in a chalet in the mountains, far away from civilization, away from the city, in beautiful countryside.
DeleteAnother way is to turn on white noise- a background, low frequency noise running for 12 hours in your sleep. Theres loads of them on youtube. Typically the noises that seep in are also low frequency, and the white noise will drown out any external ones. its known that people think better in white noise thn complete silence too. Next alterntive to buying a new home or renovating.
ReplyDeleteHi John and thanks for your message. I listened to the white noise track on Youtube and it reminds me of what I hear when I am on the plane. Interesting. I will try it - many thanks for your recommendation.
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