Manchester city centre small commercial

Z

z106

Guest
Ok people - I've asked this before but got little interest so I'm going to rephrase it in the hope that some people may find the topic more interesting.
Propertyiq.eu are selling small commercial units right in the very heart of manchester city centre. c. 500 sq. ft.
They cost £120k with a £20k discount.
i.e. they cost £100k.
They say that halifax have valued the whole building already.
They are finished in 18 months.
10% deposit down required.

Its location is superb.
It seems cheap too (even without the discount) on a per sq. ft. basis.

Like - I'd love to just get 3 of them and walk away with £60k profit in 18 months even if it was a static market.

Basicaly - does anyone have any experience in buying discounted properties? Have these discounts turned out to be genuine or not?

If these are generally considered genuine then mark my words but I'll never buy a full priced property again.
 
With a bit of searching, you will find quite a bit of discussion on Manchester, and, more specifically, the type of scheme you are asking about above.
 
Where?

I couldn't find anything with direct relevance to my question.
 
Nobody on that thread said they actually bought with a discount.

My main question on this thread is aimed at people who actually have bought with a discount.

I ma asking those peopel who have actually gone through with such a deal as to whether they found their discounts to be genuine.
E.g. - Has anyone bought with a discount and sold immediately to realise the instant equity?
 
Is this a serious question ?. All these so-called discounts are simply marketing hype. If it was possible to to buy below BMV, and then sell-on immediately for a profit at supposed OMV, why would the developer sell to you at a 'discount' in the first place ?.

Let's get real here. All these outfits offering 'genuine' discounts are offering nothing of the sort. Just sales talk. Discounts of what ?. A little research on comparables will give you an indication of the real value of these deals, be they commercial or residential.

I'm staggered, reading on this forum, by the number of intelligent (assumption) people who actually believe agents speak and glossy brochures (particularly with regard to 'investments' in Eastern Europe). On realising they've been well and truly screwed, and are left with a s...hole thay can neither rent nor sell on, they bleat, "Well, the agent said......".
 
would anyone agree that 'discount' is the same as the 'guaranteed rental' line that so many swallowed hook, line and sinker?

The other reason the word discount is used, is because the units cannot be sold without using it - think about it
 
Well the main question is how will the banks value the property.
 
This is from 'JOHNNYD' on a previous post.
So does everyone think Johnny is wrong ?
He may well be - I'm just throwing it out there.

"There are 3 genuine reasons a developer would sell properties at a discount as well as many ungenuine.
  1. A developer will sell a limited number at a discount at the beginning of a development to generate interest and publicity.
  2. Also to impress his bank so he can borrow enough to complete the development.
  3. Or at the end of a development when there are not many left and he wants to get money to start his next project"
 
Anywqay - to recap on my initial question.

Has anybody bought at a discounted price and found it to be/not be genuine ?
 
About point1,

The day you buy is the day you sell. A developer would only give a discount if hes having a problem selling.
Why would a property developer sell at a discount while property values are booming as they have been in the uk unless he cant sell normally ? In fact I suspect from reading about the liklihood of a property bubble (with all the risk of a collapse) in the Uk that the "discount" doesnt go far enough. A discount of 50% might give a fairer market value and include some measure of a proper discount in a lot of cases.

About point 2, If the builder hasnt got a proper costed business plan then you're dealing with a cowboy, is johnny saying that people who buy off plan wont have their properties finished unless the bank loans the builder more ?



About point 3,

Greed rules eveything in business. Theres no such thing as a discount given out of the kindness of a developers heart.

Again, The day you buy is the day you sell. A developer would only give a discount if hes having a problem selling.
Why would a property developer sell at a discount while property values are booming as they have been in the uk unless he cant sell the property normally ?
If the 'deal' is so hot then surely some 'savvy' uk buyer or relative of the developer has stepped in already in the time taken to write a post.




All these nice arguments in favor of the developer 'doing you a favor' seems to be the propertyaholic version of Stockholm Syndrome.
 
If you want to know if discounts are genuine or not, ask those thousands of numpties who bought through those oufits such as Inside Track. Can't rent for the promised amounts, can't sell for what they paid.

Qwerty, you seem determined to ignore reality in the vain hope that just one person posts that they got a genuine discount (that person will have a vested interest), so you can convince yourself you got one.

Check out:

[broken link removed]
 
I am not determined to disbelieve everyone.

I accept that fi, for example, someone was selling a place in ballsbridge he's hardly sell it at a disount.

However - I would liek to hear from someone who actually did it as opposed to someone speculating (albeit not wils speculating)

Obviously if i was to go through with such a deal i would have it independently valued first.
 
I sell directly for developers.

A discount is given to certain clients who buy several units - especially to clients who have purchased before.

A discount is given when there is a slump in the market - eg at the moment. Spain where we are giving discounts or big deals re furniture, storage, parking etc

A discount is give if we only have one or two left and we just want the out of our hair.

Plain and simple.

Prevous poster was right.

You must have been thinking about this for a while, so whats stopping you? Why didn't you buy the last time
 
I'm surprised that the OP has not given us the most important and basic fact about these units, i.e., what is the expected yield from them expressed as a % of the selling price. Taking this thought process further, why on earth would a developer be letting valuable commercial in the city centre off to market without either considering holding it himself and leasing it out, or why is it not being sold with the benefit of a tenant?

Empty shell and core commercial in a city centre may well be valuable (depending on exactly where it is), but if it is being sold like this with a "discount" then it is being aimed at amateurs, and has probably already been looked over by the serious players and found wanting. In the unlikely event that the experts have just simply missed out on this "opportunity" then the correct approach is to see what similar sized units in the area are yielding, and apply that factor to these to get an idea of potential value. Factor in a year without tenants into your business plan -- the % yield can only be truly measured for tenanted property and you would need to be getting this one at a lower price.

If of course you buy the unit and then install a quality tenant giving a yield in the high single digits, you have probably created a product that can easily be resold at a profit. On the other hand, trying to flip an empty commercial property is pretty much imposible, unless you meet another gullible paddy!

The approach being made by the OP to the issue of commercial property shows a complete lack of knowledge of the realities of the market, and in this instance I would advise him to go back to first principles and make a cold evaluation of the value of the investment. If it still looks good, then go for it, but ignore the notion of a "discount" -- doesn't work like this in real life.