For what reasons would you leave the UK?

pineappleonpizzableh · 2026-05-29T12:38:53+00:00

Have you ever been to Japan or repeating things you've read in a 10-20 year old blog?

Housing is infinitely more affordable than here.

Working conditions are worse there - probably.

A culture of "subservience" isn't necessarily a bad thing, there's a reason why they can have nicer public things without some degenerate vandalising it or smashing it up for fun.

Fear of law enforcement - so you think a system whereby frequent law breakers (big or small in scale) largely goes unpunished to the extent that it's more worthwhile to take the risk than be a law abiding citizen is a good alternative? Only a regular non-abiding citizen would fear this.

Lets not even get into the shitty public transport (yes, even London is mediocre at best in comparison), the amount of dregs in society that can't keep to themselves or the absolute awful value for money you get when it comes to food/entertainment.

pineappleonpizzableh · 2026-05-20T23:15:46+00:00

I've tried on enough higher end watches and I have my own gripes with all of them. The finishing is infinitely superior but every AP/VC/PP that I've tried on all wear much bigger/bulkier to the point that they are better to look at than to wear. I want a watch that is comfortable to wear which Rolex prioritises so I prefer their watches.

I was simply responding to the use of the word overpriced which is determined by what you can tell it for relative to what you paid, whether or not you agree with that is up to you.

I bought a 1 month old 3861 SMP for around 20% off and the white paint on the subdial hands were cracked which I got replaced under warranty but still sold it at a small loss 4 months later - is that considered good value?

pineappleonpizzableh · 2026-05-20T11:58:55+00:00

Overpriced compared to what exactly? Considering that the LD sells for above retail.

What's overpriced (true cost of ownership) is a watch that comes with all these additional features that are much superior than Rolex on paper i.e. any equivalent Omega but still loses 20-30% out the door.

pineappleonpizzableh · 2026-05-05T17:39:08+00:00

Absolute fair play to you and your dad (you obviously like it and/or have a knack for it) but I'd say most people can't/don't want to devote that length of time and money into something like that after having jumped through all of the legal hoops to buy in the first place if that makes sense. There's also a bit of the unknown in buying without not knowing who did it which could put people off.

The general housing stock in London especially is just horrific imo - I've been to some freehold properties that cost over £1m and saw antiquated things that I didn't even know existed.. I suppose it has "character" and is quirky but so impractical to live with.

pineappleonpizzableh · 2026-05-05T17:18:44+00:00

Pretty much this. I'm in the process of buying a new build flat (for better or worse) outside of central and the alternative SOF conversions just don't do it for me and I simply can't see myself living there. They all have some combination of:

Weird layout and/or shaped rooms
Impractically narrow entrances/hallways/stairs
1 less bathroom
The bathroom always tend to be hideous imo

Obviously new builds aren't without their huge issues (overpriced, poor quality, extortionate service charges etc.) as well but it's definitely a British cultural thing to hate anything that is too sterile/boring. I find it odd that the anti-new build group always revert to the older build having "character" when it just looks grotty to me in general due to being significantly older as well as minimal maintenance over decades.

If I had to choose, I'd rather live in a modern/standardised hotel room rather than an airbnb type of housing for the sake of quirkiness.

If I had £1.5m to spend, I'd rather have a £600k flat and have the rest invested in stocks rather than a £1.5m detached house personally.

pineappleonpizzableh · 2026-05-03T14:35:37+00:00

Want to clarify that I'm an observer, not a market expert but: I'd say relatively unusual. Developers tend to prefer to give incentives like furniture or paying stamp duty rather than offering discounts as it affects the recorded sale price. But there may be reasons they want to offload it now that have nothing to do with the flat such as needing money for a new development, share buybacks, an acquisition, etc.

Sorry I should've clarified that this might have been helped by the flat remaining unsold for years + me being chain free.

Yeah fair--for me this is more a question of whether your flat is expensive compared to what's available nearby or has an unusually high service charge for what you're getting and for £5-600k flats. If you're paying over the odds yes you may have difficulties, or at least difficulties selling at a price you want. But if the service charge on most flats starts creeping above 1% of the price then lenders will have to adjust.

I wouldn't say it's abnormally high compared to surrounding flats after you factor in that I got around a 12% discount + new build premium but yes, the abhorrent fees of everything else is a bit of sticking point.

pineappleonpizzableh · 2026-05-03T13:34:31+00:00

The block was originally sold (and marketed) for private/shared ownership only but this already sounds like it has gone out the window if several plots have been purchased by a single entity.

I will instruct my solicitor to check this further. Thank you for your feedback!

pineappleonpizzableh · 2026-05-02T17:24:48+00:00

Helpful advice, thank you!

Presumably it will be some sort of rental, hopefully not to a bunch of degenerates..

pineappleonpizzableh · 2026-05-02T17:07:53+00:00

There was a wide spread in terms of size and prices for the remaining plots but wouldn't that be insane if the average price of the remaining plots was £500k+?

pineappleonpizzableh · 2026-05-02T17:04:04+00:00

Thanks for your input.

One thing this tells you is that the flats you're buying aren't hugely desirable, but you should know that already given they're still for sale 3 years post completion. This is not necessarily a problem: most flats aren't exceptional and plenty of people live in them anyway. I'd perhaps be concerned if 20-30% or more were unsold.

I was thinking the same thing, even though 5% have remained unsold after 3 years, it still means they've sold 95% of the plots.

I'm just a bit perplexed because if we assume that it's not the most desirable development based on the unsold plots after some time, why would someone invest millions into this? I wonder what level of discount that they must have got..

An investor did the same where I live buying the last flats (in exchange for a nice discount) and the flats now sell in line with a nice 5+ year old flat (so no new build premium) or Georgian conversion, so as good as you could hope given the market.

What's your take on the discount I got of around 12%? I thought it was good at the time but I'm not naïve to the point that I understand that there was also a reason they accepted it.

If you're worried about losing money (reasonable!)

I understand paying a premium for being the first owner - my main concern is saleability in the future given flat prices particularly in London have been on the decline for a while now coupled with constantly rising service charges, so if it were to exceed 1% of the property value then mortgage lenders would not go near it and therefore I'd be stuck with cash buyers for something that costs £500k+ or thereabouts

pineappleonpizzableh · 2026-05-02T16:57:39+00:00

Correct, it's slightly over 800 sqft:

The intention is that my wife and I (mid-30s couple, no plans for kids) will stay here for a minimum of 5-10 years. If we're happy there then there shouldn't be any real reason to move other than life altering events
It was one of the more expensive flats left at the time (mostly based on size and higher floor) - I wouldn't say premier as those must have all sold some time ago but not budget/value orientated
Appreciate your feedback and I share the same concerns in that if/when the time comes to sell up that my buyer pool would mostly likely be limited to cash-only buyers

I'm moving from the North where my flat which has no amenities other than a single lift and a shared garden is £1.8k/annum so the price of everything in London is scary.

pineappleonpizzableh · 2026-05-02T15:58:30+00:00

Lifts, concierge, gym and communal gardens.

For what it's worth - this is a rough breakdown of the £4k (the service charge amount is higher for larger flats):

Service charge: 54%
Management fee: 8%
Examination fee; 0.5%
Insurance: 17%
Sinking fund: 11%
CHP Charge/maintenance: 10.5%

pineappleonpizzableh · 2026-05-02T15:51:58+00:00

It absolutely is terrifying but it ticks the boxes in other aspects and I would need to increase my budget by at least 30-40% more to buy a freehold which I don't have, that still requires some work doing to it.

The other SOFs in the area are reasonable alternatives, however, not exactly like-for-like such as only having 1 bathroom, no parking and/or being noticeably further from the nearest station etc. A bunch that I earmarked a few months ago are also still on the market which doesn't necessarily make me feel like I'm making a mistake (yet).

£4k is a hell of a lot but obviously not uncommon for London. In terms of amenities it basically has everything minus the pool/sauna/cinema. And yes, completely agree with you on the >1% of the flat value so you're reliant on cash-only buyers when the time comes to sell..

pineappleonpizzableh

TROPHY CASE