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Post by alf on May 7, 2021 8:33:13 GMT
Currently in the Jaaaag (passenger seat!) on the way to Glasgow, where Tina has a new investment flat and we want to meet the “sourcers”. Not somewhere I’d usually drive rather than fly, but I’m not going near an airport currently. Hopefully it will charge the car battery for once ...
I hadn’t realised there were still “minimise travel” signs everywhere. Which we are clearly not obeying, though this is business....
If I have more notice and we come back, I’ll look up some of the local forum members next time 👍
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Post by Boxer6 on May 7, 2021 9:39:03 GMT
We're off further North in a little while, so you'll be arriving about the time we leave I expect! Next time hopefully.
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Post by johnc on May 7, 2021 10:18:05 GMT
The M5 is always available for passenger rides!
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Post by scouse on May 7, 2021 10:35:34 GMT
We got Big Breen & Big Green Too from Glasgow. Train up and drove back. Bloody frustrating with a 75mph speed limiter on the vans.
Good luck with the 'sourcers', we put our poretfolio up with a couple and have been less than impressed to say the least.
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Post by alf on May 8, 2021 14:17:05 GMT
Very impressed with central Glasgow - weirdly it reminds me of Toronto ! A widely spaced grid pattern on a hill rising up from water, big grand Victorian buildings mingled with brand new ones, and a motorway through it ! Also tonnes of flashy cars, we’ve seen multiple new lambos, more Porsche’s than ive seen in ages, bentleys, RR’s, even two SVR F Paces.
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Post by Bob Sacamano v2.0 on May 8, 2021 20:49:29 GMT
Very impressed with central Glasgow - weirdly it reminds me of Toronto ! A widely spaced grid pattern on a hill rising up from water, big grand Victorian buildings mingled with brand new ones, and a motorway through it ! Also tonnes of flashy cars, we’ve seen multiple new lambos, more Porsche’s than ive seen in ages, bentleys, RR’s, even two SVR F Paces. Glasgow frequently stands in for US cities ( Philadelphia in World War Z comes to mind) in movies because of its grid system and the integration of the motorways based on US designs. |
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Post by alf on May 10, 2021 8:57:24 GMT
I can see why.
Glasgow for me wins the prize for city most exceeding my expectations in recent years, from Belfast (which is a great night out but something of a mess to look at, and the muralled council estates are just a bit much in this day and age). Worst city compared to my expectations was Budapest, away from the grand civic buildings it was dirty and populated by some very moody people and trying to con tourists seemed a popular pastime.
Inevitably (in driving 800 miles) we saw plenty of nice cars on the way up and back, but by far more in Glasgow - four new AMG mercs with matte paint jobs for example, not sure I've seen any before. A Lambo SUV and Aventador Roadster, loads of top end JLR products, heaps of Audi RS and M division cars. And more Porsches than you can wave a stick at. The latest 911's - despite the comments about being fat and turbocharged - look incredible.
I'm not sure where the money comes from, but there is plenty of it. We had dinner in the Radisson on Saturday and it and the restaurant across the way was rammed with young people, all seemed early 20's at the most. People-watching as I do, I was trying to work them out, and decided on rich kids, then I noticed a succession of brand new Cayennes and RS6's and the like dropping them off, so I won't feel guilty for that typecasting. Elsewhere there were loads of students in the west end where we were staying, but the flash cars were never far away and I was entirely comfortable parking on the street.
If we go again (I may well get some small property up there myself if the numbers work out on Tina's) we'll probably share the load and take the Audi, but the XFR was perfect - at a steady indicated 80, made possible by still quiet roads, we averaged a few mph over 70, and 33MPG, without trying to save fuel and with some proper hills in the Lakes and Scotland. Impressive.
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Post by johnc on May 10, 2021 13:30:46 GMT
Remember that the cost of living (incl buying a house) are less up here than they are in the South, so for some, they have a good bit more disposable income. My immediate neighbours are: 2 NHS consultants, both still working, the retired head of the local planning department, a consultant surgeon, a retired senior manager from IBM, the owner of a well known Glasgow bakery, a retired Manager from the Glasgow office of a major insurance company, the owners of a large number of convenience stores and a GP. All of them have nice cars (GT3, M4, RSQ8 amongst others) but I wouldn't say any of them are dripping in money - one of them was telling me that they bought their house for £165K 18 years ago just before prices started to increase rapidly. It is now worth c£650K but I would assume he paid off his mortgage a long time ago and it's a lovely place to stay.
We are currently selling my Mother's home and have been told that there are quite a few buyers from the West end of Glasgow and from London and both are used to paying well for property. We are told that if they can get buyers from these areas interested, it could easily go for 10% - 15% over asking price.
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Post by Roadsterstu on May 10, 2021 19:59:08 GMT
Glasgow is a fantastic city for a mini break. The rough bits are proper rough and the roads are potholed more than I've known anywhere else in the UK but it's a great city.
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Post by PG on May 10, 2021 20:09:17 GMT
Is there a reason why is Tina buying an investment property in Glasgow? It's miles from where you live, so popping by to see if it is still standing every now and then and calling in on your agent are pretty difficult. Isn't that high risk?
Plus with the SNP on the march, you may end up with a property in a foreign country.....
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Post by PG on May 10, 2021 20:12:04 GMT
Worst city compared to my expectations was Budapest, away from the grand civic buildings it was dirty and populated by some very moody people and trying to con tourists seemed a popular pastime. I can agree re Budapest. It's 20 years since we went there and then beyond the done up centre it was incredibly rough looking and dilapidated. We accidentally took the wrong tram one day and ended up in what looked like a demilitarised zone. I'm still amazed we got out alive and with our wallets. |
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Post by Boxer6 on May 10, 2021 20:13:00 GMT
Glasgow is a fantastic city for a mini break. The rough bits are proper rough and the roads are potholed more than I've known anywhere else in the UK but it's a great city. Yes indeed! And I work right in the middle of one of the worst ones, as you know! What fun we have .. .. .. |
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Post by ChrisM on May 10, 2021 21:18:36 GMT
Is there a reason why is Tina buying an investment property in Glasgow? It's miles from where you live, so popping by to see if it is still standing every now and then and calling in on your agent are pretty difficult. Isn't that high risk? Plus with the SNP on the march, you may end up with a property in a foreign country..... Use the address for the kids to get them free education at a Scottish University ;-) Alternatively maybe she is planning to emigrate to Scotland in the future? |
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Post by Tim on May 11, 2021 7:43:21 GMT
Is there a reason why is Tina buying an investment property in Glasgow? It's miles from where you live, so popping by to see if it is still standing every now and then and calling in on your agent are pretty difficult. Isn't that high risk? Plus with the SNP on the march, you may end up with a property in a foreign country..... Use the address for the kids to get them free education at a Scottish University ;-) Alternatively maybe she is planning to emigrate to Scotland in the future? I'm sure ALF said she was German so she's already in a foreign country  Perhaps the distance makes it easier in some ways, assuming you get a decent agent. There's less concern about popping round to check it, etc. |
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Post by alf on May 11, 2021 10:36:56 GMT
Is there a reason why is Tina buying an investment property in Glasgow? It's miles from where you live, so popping by to see if it is still standing every now and then and calling in on your agent are pretty difficult. Isn't that high risk? Plus with the SNP on the march, you may end up with a property in a foreign country..... It's something of an experiment for sure, but if the numbers are anything like the projections, I may follow suit. Glasgow (the environs) is a lot less overheated with people looking to do a quick flip, or buy a traditional B2L or HMO, than northern English cities. Or South Wales. When we went to Leeds a while back it felt really overheated. Properties in the "up and coming" (read: still shit) areas were over £110k for anything immediately rentable, and so many people were "flipping" that the bad ones were not much less. Rents were about £600-650 for good 2 bed terraced places in these areas. I came back and bought one 4 miles away (Newbury is miles cheaper than Winchester) for £127k which rents for £700 a month (tenants in place) and needs nothing done. However the Glasgow one cost her about what I paid for a 4 year old XFR.... Even when the place had been gutted and new bathroom/kitchen/furniture fitted its still SH not new XFR pricing.... It's being run as "serviced accommodation" - and Glasgow has a lot of major building projects, government agencies, etc that have people wanting to stay in a flat not a hotel a few days a week. The potential profit is very high - so I'm watching with interest... I guess one other plus point was the sourcing agent, he seems to have plenty of available flats from repossessions before they go to market (so well under what they would go for as a one-off to someone miles away) as he buys many from them, he has good builders, and a good agent for the serviced accommodation side. Most people he deals with he never meets, they are much further away than we are! The housing investment business (investing for income) is a funny one, many Chinese are in it for a start, and yanks, and people from Singapore.... You can't get a mortgage on a place that is a mess - you need to own it, improve it, then a year later you mortgage it and get your cash back to use again on another. So it need cash up front, something I lack presently, I'd even consider a normal loan in the meantime at this money. But she's the guinea pig here......... And yes she's 100% a johnny foreigner already. As indeed I feel in Scotland... |
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Post by Tim on May 11, 2021 10:50:06 GMT
And yes she's 100% a johnny foreigner already. As indeed I feel in Scotland... You should head to a different part then, plenty of English accents further north and East. Friends of ours have bought a holiday home in the Lakes. You really don't get much for your money there. I don't know what the Air BnB returns are like. |
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Post by PG on May 11, 2021 11:50:16 GMT
Is there a reason why is Tina buying an investment property in Glasgow?... It's something of an experiment for sure, but if the numbers are anything like the projections, I may follow suit. .. However the Glasgow one cost her about what I paid for a 4 year old XFR.... Even when the place had been gutted and new bathroom/kitchen/furniture fitted its still SH not new XFR pricing.... It's being run as "serviced accommodation" - and Glasgow has a lot of major building projects, government agencies, etc that have people wanting to stay in a flat not a hotel a few days a week. The potential profit is very high - so I'm watching with interest... I guess one other plus point was the sourcing agent, he seems to have plenty of available flats from repossessions before they go to market (so well under what they would go for as a one-off to someone miles away) as he buys many from them, he has good builders, and a good agent for the serviced accommodation side. Most people he deals with he never meets, they are much further away than we are! The housing investment business (investing for income) is a funny one, many Chinese are in it for a start, and yanks, and people from Singapore.... You can't get a mortgage on a place that is a mess - you need to own it, improve it, then a year later you mortgage it and get your cash back to use again on another. So it need cash up front, something I lack presently, I'd even consider a normal loan in the meantime at this money. But she's the guinea pig here......... And yes she's 100% a johnny foreigner already. As indeed I feel in Scotland... It sounds a lot like what a friends of ours have done a few times in Morecombe. They've bought large houses that are pretty wrecked, for cash. Spent money renovating and converting into flats and then renting them out. As an architect and several times doer-upper, he does project manage it all himself and has a good builder he uses each time. They must have done pretty well at it as they've also just bought a holiday home in the lakes too! |
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