I am currently looking for an apartment with my partner in Birmingham city centre; however I am having problems finding somewhere that we will be able to keep two cars. Do you have any suggestions? Edward O'Brian, Solihull
Isabelle Wright comments: As you will be aware from your search for a suitable apartment there are very few developments that offer visitor parking, and as such it is a quandary for couples like yourselves that need two cars. There are a number of options available to you that are worth considering before you opt for true 'city living' and ditch the second car in the hope that public transport will suffice. This is of course a viable option bearing in mind that Birmingham does actually offer comprehensive transport facilities with easy access to New Street and Snow Hill railway stations and regular bus services operating regularly between the different areas of Birmingham. Many people who move to the city centre are actually finding that a second car and even their main car are surplus to requirements. However, if you do need to keep hold of the second car it is possible to find parking options. There are actually a number of developments that do provide some visitor parking such as Symphony Court, Berkley Court, Britannic House etc. Although apartments are not always immediately available in these developments they do come up on a fairly regular basis. Another option is to looking for an apartment in one of the suburbs such as Edgbaston, Harborne or Moseley, where on-street parking is possible. It is also worth bearing in mind that if you do not need to park until after 6pm you would be able to use a meter space in the city centre for free until 8am in the morning. Another option in the city centre is to rent a space in a multi-storey car park. There are a number of car parks scattered throughout Birmingham that offer seasonal passes to individuals. I would recommend in this case that you contact Birmingham City Council on 0121 303 9944 to ascertain the most local car park to where you want to be and the likely costs involved.
I have purchased an apartment off-plan that is not due for completion for some time. I would like however to re-sell the apartment immediately, is this possible? Jeanette Baker, Leicestershire
Isabelle Wright answers: It is certainly possible to generate a 'back to back' deal with an off-plan apartment and this has been done in some developments. I would however recommend that you check that there are no restrictions enforced by the developer regarding the re-sale of the apartment after exchange of contracts but before completion. If you do need to sell prior to your completion date then there are ways in which this can be achieved, however there are a number of problems associated with doing this. First and foremost your agent or prospective purchasers may not be able to gain access to the apartment for viewings and the development will of course still be a building site. The majority of purchasers will demand to see the apartment before agreeing to buy and in most cases it will not be possible to use the marketing suite facilities. Furthermore the development will not look its best until it has been completed and having builders and their dust on site is not always the most ideal selling conditions. I would recommend that where possible you wait until you have completed on the apartment, which will give the developers time to work on the overall look of the development. This will allow you to present the apartment at its best and enable your agent to take purchasers for a full inspection. In many cases further decoration work may be required such as flooring, which may help you to achieve a better price for the apartment.
Isabelle Wright is an apartment sales specialist at the Birmingham office of Knight Frank. If you have a property query you would like her to answer in CityLiving Magazine, email isabelle.wright@knightfrank.com
