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Originally Posted by Bigsby

Shows how much I know then, I would have assumed that all those things you list would be paid by the tenant, rather than the owner, but I'm clearly not an expert in the field of property leasing like you are.

It is a lot easier to add them together

[Chris]

Originally Posted by MerryChristmas

It is a lot easier to add them together with an slightly overestimated value for gas and electric

Wait a minute, are you saying you over charge your tenants for utility bills?

Quite foolish of you to admit that publicly on a local website if you do.

[Bigsby]

Originally Posted by MerryChristmas

It is a lot easier to add them together

Good job you had the chance to edit that before somebody quoted it.

Oh wait...

I didnt say that otherwise it would have said post edited. I dont think they would understand anyway.

They would have to prove it anyway

powoedzenia

[Chris]

Originally Posted by MerryChristmas

I didnt say that otherwise it would have said post edited. I dont think they would understand anyway.

They would have to prove it anyway

powoedzenia

Actually you get a certain amount of time to stealth edit posts before it says post edited.

I'm sure the database will have the log of your edit though so proof wouldn't be a problem you shady slum lord.

[spellchecker]

not to dissuade anyone from the property market, but there are other ways to invest. an interesting 1-day read is a book called "rich dad, poor dad". it has quite a capitalist feel to it at times, but can appeal to anyone from a minimum wage up to highest earners. some good advice in there, related to general personal finance and identifying what are your assets and what are your liabilities. the city library has it.

the thing about investing in property is the hidden costs, some of which arguably are cost of living regardless of whether you rent or own your own home. i bought my first property in 2001 and sold it exactly five years later, making on the face of it, close to a six figure sum. however, i diverted a large portion of investable income over the five years not only to mortgage payments, but to renovation, maintenance and other costs (i.e. building insurance, etc). in reality i made only two thirds of the final profit, after costs. i was lucky in so many ways: bought undervalue, sold overvalue with over 10 bids, and no major maintenance costs in my ownership. some people aren't so lucky though - in the rush to get in the market, some people may end up with properties that actually lose them money, even if the market remains buoyant: consider the cost of a new tenement roof (approx £30000), wet/dry rot in timbers, building subsidence, local depreciation due to crime, bad press, unpopular new surrounding facilities/buildings, etc. etc.

so whilst the stock market is not for everyone it can serve as a useful part of anyone's portfolio for growth. one requires less capital, with the right self-taught knowledge, to begin investing in the stock market compared to the property market.

in any high-return investment there is always risk and in the stock market i suppose it is just more visible - people tend to forget about the property market crashes when the market is buoyant. whether the market does crash, stagnate further or just slightly weaken this year, i reckon like other people have said in Aberdeen it will remain strong - there is just too much money and too many investors willing to invest in property here.

i would recommend any person in their early twenties - whether you have any money to invest or not - to loan that book and read it. if only to make you aware of your money - not only how it affects you and your choices - but how not to let it limit your decisions and choices in life.

[Neil]

They say diversity is the key when it comes to investments don't they? That's what I've tried to always do...keep a mix of stock, savings, private pension etc.

I refuse to buy anywhere in Aberdeen at the moment because I'm going to have to significantly pay more than something is actually worth in order to own it. And that doesn't make sense to me anyway you look at it (just because everyone else is stupid enough to do it doesn't mean I'm going to as well). Being a would-be first-time buyer doesn’t exactly help either.

Bring on the recession and higher interest rates please. Then once the re-possessions start I'll swoop in for the kill...

Alternatively, I could just wait 15 years when no-one wants to live here anymore as there won’t be anymore decent money to be made from the North Sea. That’s when the property prices will really start to come down…

[Lester Burnham]

Average price over the last 17 sales in Fonthill... £157,667. I somehow thought it would be rather a lot higher than that.

Average in AB11 is £248k.... but those massive house worth not far off a million are bound to bring the price up. Crikey.

I'm not sure if that pricing site makes sense... I just checked aspc and it's offers over £185k for a two bedroom. Hrmmm.

[stuartmaxwell]

its a marketing thing, at this time of year they make the offers over much lower to generate more interest in the flat and encourage notes of interest which will allow them to stick a closing date on it

[Chris]

Originally Posted by Lester Burnham

Average price over the last 17 sales in Fonthill... £157,667. I somehow thought it would be rather a lot higher than that.

There aren't just nice 2 bedroom executive flats like the one you guys are in on fonthill though, it's the other flats that will bring the average down.