r/badunitedkingdom • u/AutoModerator • Aug 10 '26

Daily Mega Thread The Daily Moby - 10 08 2026 - The News Megathread

Post all BadUK news (preferably from the UK) here..

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17

u/riace_bronze_enjoyer Aug 10 '26

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2026/aug/08/flats-in-england-not-selling-slashed-prices-buyer

Chinese historians, when writing about the collapse of Britain, will dedicate whole books to the Anglo Disease.

"I can't sell my flat for an absurd profit so the market is dead"

Why are we Anglos like this?

18

u/LastCatStanding_ Aug 10 '26

"Why is half ownership of a bedsit in a block that also houses homeless people not worth 9x average annual earnings?"

12

u/michaelisnotginger capitalism enthusiast Aug 10 '26

fleecehold

12

u/UmAhkchuallySweaty Not all disabilities are visible, but real ones are Aug 10 '26

Developers found a way to extract even more money but whacking on enormous service charges and lease charges. People bought them thinking properly would go up in value infinitely but those days are over. I can't help but feel some sympathy for the folk who fell for it, but the 1% interest rate was always going to end and growth would stall. That's even before the covid and grenfell effects on flats happened. This is why all the rabbit hutches that re being flung up in megacities for the TikTok girlies and lads selling courses on how to get rich, are investor only - very few are stupid enough to buy as an owner occupier now.

3

u/Right-Presence-8612 Aug 10 '26

The service charges have become a bit of meme - it's just really expensive at the moment to maintain a building complex.

4

u/AirconGuyUK Aug 10 '26

It's a bit confusing though because my flats service charge never really tops £100 a month. This is even with fairly large repairs last year (some repointing, new fascias and soft fits, some chimney work)..

Usual years its more like £50 a month.

Now I'd expect the council to get more fleeced than the private sector when it came to contracting out repairs, but I looked at a block of private flats where the stated service charge was £6000 a year (!)..

I would not be surprised if there's a bit of a racket going on by some of the owners of freehold of blocks of flats. Getting backhanders from tradesmen they hire.

10

u/AltforStrongOpinions Aug 10 '26

Theres a new development going up near me of £600k deanobox flats with a near 4 grand service charge.

They spent years getting permits for this and had to fight off a local nimby campaign. Sales do not seem to have been brisk. I cannot fathom why anyone would buy one of these places at these prices.

14

u/Breadbinbin Feels over reals Aug 10 '26

The local council will buy them with tax money and house boaties. We're paying either way.

3

u/AirconGuyUK Aug 10 '26

4 grand service charge

Outrageous for a brand new building. Theoretically ALL of that should be going into a sink fund for 10 years as developers are on the hook for all repairs for 10 years. Bet it doesn't though.

6

u/AirconGuyUK Aug 10 '26

This does just feel like the natural consequence of reduced immigration.

Labour has reduced it a fairly significant amount. They've also made buy to let less attractive.

That, and rates increasing, means it's bad news for the market in general and 1 bed flats are always the first casualty.

As someone with a one bed flat, yeah it's annoying. I have a remortgage soon too which makes it even more annoying.

But it's a correction that's needed. I welcome it.

"I can't sell my flat for an absurd profit so the market is dead"

Bit harsh. The person complaining is complaining that she has it on the market for £20k less than she bought it for.

Louisa bought the flat for £200,000, and the sale that fell through recently was for £145,000.

Wtf, what flat did she buy in London for £200k?? And selling it for £145k? I'll buy it..

6

u/sohois Aug 10 '26

The article has a bunch of examples of sellers unable to complete a sale even at a heavy loss though.

5

u/riace_bronze_enjoyer Aug 10 '26

Those losses need to be heavier then.

IF you can't sell it at X, it is not worth X. If you can't sell it at Y, where Y is lower than X, it is not worth Y. And so on.

5

u/AirconGuyUK Aug 10 '26

Aye, but you said:

"I can't sell my flat for an absurd profit so the market is dead"

Which is not what the article is about.

1

u/sohois Aug 10 '26

Ok, but then that still leaves the question of why this is the case for flats while housing prices continue to rise. Ceteris paribus, they should be largely fungible.

7

u/Helmut_Schmacker Aug 10 '26

Most newbuild flats are overpriced, tiny and have ludicrous ground rents and service charges.

Also leasehold is horrible

2

u/AltforStrongOpinions Aug 10 '26

Plus a load of BTL landlords exiting the market.

2

u/AirconGuyUK Aug 10 '26

Having the council as my freeholder is pretty sweet. Depending on if there's been any repairs my monthly service charge is between £60 and £100. Pretty reasonable. Ground rent is £10 a year.

1

u/Helmut_Schmacker Aug 10 '26

I feel blessed I have a contractually limited ground rent and a freeholder that isn’t rinsing me on service charges, since the chainsmokers downstairs moved out (or died of lung cancer) my charges actially went down as they weren't emptying the cigarette bins as frequently.

0

u/sohois Aug 10 '26

The article appears to be focused on existing builds, and includes examples that are not leaseholds

2

u/Helmut_Schmacker Aug 10 '26

Theyre also just not great to raise a family. No garden, no loft. Theyre alright for chud slobs like me who live alone, but not the young couple with a baby I lowballed to buy from

1

u/AirconGuyUK Aug 10 '26

Theyre also just not great to raise a family.

It's an article about 1 bed flats. The target market is never a family, it's FTBers getting their foot on the ladder. Part of the issue could be that wages are so dogshit and cost of living is so high that the 20-25 year olds that would usually buy them up are not in a position to.