Buying a New Build in London, UK

Buying a New-Build in London

On this page, links are provided to blog posts on topics regarding the purchase of new-builds in London, UK, as well as maintenance, lettings and other important aspects of managing UK property from overseas.

So far, we have only ventured into the London property market.  We are not confident enough to invest in properties in other of the UK. We have looked at other UK properties and some of them look cheap. However, we lack the knowledge of UK properties outside London, especially those in the more rural areas. Therefore, we have decided to stick to London, while keeping out of other parts of UK property for now.

We have only bought new-builts, off-plan.  Why?  We trust the build quality of the reputable developers.   Also, all the developers have to adhere to very high standards of building regulations, some of which have been only put into legislation in the past decade.  Since we are not physically in London to inspect the quality of the existing flats, we'd rather play it safe by buying new-builts.

1. The Developers

This blog post discusses our experience in buying from different developers.  In general, we have had no major issues with any developer.  All of them will deliver on what they promised. Of course, how they price their units is a different matter altogether. 

2. The Legal Process
This blog post discusses the legal process.  We only dared to enter into London after carefully studying their legal regime.  They have a first class legal system, as far as property rights and conveyancing matters are concerned.  Don't underestimate the importance of this.  

3. Landlord Costs to Take Note of
There are various costs you need to be aware of, monitor and manage.  These include Lettings and Management, Service Charges, Council Tax, Furniture and replacement etc.  More details on this blog post.  A big reason why we stay away from all the fanciful and high-end developments is because their annual Service Charges can go through the roof.  In Singaporean terms, would you pay more than $500SGD a month for your Condo maintenance, if you live in a Condo?  Too painful for us.  Read to find out more. 

4. Documents and Completion Process
This blog post discusses the documents you would need to prepare for the purchase of the property and also the completion process.

5. Must You Complete After Exchanging Contracts?
The short answer is yes, unless you manage to do a sub-sale before completion.  But this may be rather risky.  Better to have enough funds for completion.

6. Zone 1 Central London or Further Out?
We explain why we have not bought in Zone 1, at least not yet. 

7. Mortgage Loans - SGD or GBP?
This post discusses loans.  Generally, credit is cheaper if you borrow from Singapore banks.  In recent times, Singapore banks have been more aggressive in lending.   When we started investing in London, there were no Singapore banks lending!

8. Opening a UK Bank Account
You would need a pound sterling account in order to receive your rent, pay certain bills and other transactions related to your buy-to-let property.  Opening this account may not be to easy.  Refer to the discussion in our community forum to see how it could be done.

9.  Tenants
As buy-to-let investors, it is important to understand the lettings market well.  Our experience has been generally positive.  No significant voids.  Read more in this blog post and this blog post.

10. Buying Direct and Not Through Exhibitions
Be aware that only a small subset of all the new build launches in London come to Singapore.  You can buy direct from the developers. Read this blog post to find out more.

11. Buying New Builts From Resale Market
Buying recently completed new-builts from the resale market is yet another option you can explore.  Read more about this method in this blog post.

12. Planning Process in London
This post is more of a commentary of how the UK planning process stifles new supply, which means existing supply as well as all the supply that is coming online is very valuable!

13. Inheritance Tax Issues
Thinking of leaving a property or two for your kids or grandkids?  Better think twice after reading this post. The UK Inheritance Tax regime is rather punitive.

14. More Inheritance Tax Issues
Plan to sell.

15. Opening a UK Bank Account - Sharing of experience by forum member westwind
Community forum member westwind opened a UK bank account in person in June 2014.  Read more about his experiences here.  

16. Rental Dispute - TDS
Our tenant decided not to pay utility bills and the last 10 days of rent.  How did we get the money back? Read on.

(To be continued)

Views?
Please share your views on our community forum.  The more we exchange views, the more we can learn from one another's experiences.

PS: Be sure to check all aspects of the location before committing to the purchase.  Yes, we may not be physically there.  However, you can use Google maps, walk the streets using Google Street View, search Youtube for the location etc. Take Royal Wharf (Oxley Holdings & Ballymore) location as an example.  It may not be as great as it seems - see this blog post.

Quick Links:

1. Montreal House, Maple Quays, SE 16 (Barratt Homes)
2. Denison House, Lanterns Court, E 14 (City & Docklands)
3. Brickmakers Apartments, E1 (Telford Homes)

Don't believe the person who tells you that investing in UK property as overseas landlords was a piece of cake.