Houses

[FoyleFox]

The rental proposal isn't a bad idea, if it's just for a few years. Alternatively, have you considered adoption

 

Just remember to calculate the tax you'll pay on your rental income, in your financial calculations, and set aside a proportion of rent for maintenance and all the safety certificates. Plus, ensure you have an EPC of C or above for your house - although the legislation isn't due on that until 2025.

[Mickyblueeyes]

On 15/05/2023 at 12:24, Izzy said:

That's a really interesting post and has made me think. Thank you.

 

I guess the question is when will the kids move out!?

 

They'll soon be 14 and 17 so it could be a few years I suppose, but then you hear about kids staying at home until their 30's because they can't get on the property ladder.

 

Definitely something to discuss with the wife later. Thanks again.

Definitely worth considering. 
 

pros and cons. I always think a “free asset” is far more valuable. If the kids are having difficulty because of the bonkers market, having a free asset allows alternative ways to fund things. Such as an equity release. Opens up possibilities. 

[oakman]

There should be financial penalties for people messing you around on house purchases. My uncle passed away earlier in the year and we're in the process of selling his house - we accepted an offer and the prospective buyers wanted its listing removing which we agreed to. Fast forward 3 & a half weeks and the prospective buyers aren't responding to letters, emails or phone calls from our estate agent. Looks like the house is going back on the market.

[VLC86]

38 minutes ago, oakman said:

There should be financial penalties for people messing you around on house purchases. My uncle passed away earlier in the year and we're in the process of selling his house - we accepted an offer and the prospective buyers wanted its listing removing which we agreed to. Fast forward 3 & a half weeks and the prospective buyers aren't responding to letters, emails or phone calls from our estate agent. Looks like the house is going back on the market.

Is it definitely the buyer and not their solicitors?

[oakman]

19 minutes ago, Costock_Fox said:

Is it definitely the buyer and not their solicitors?

Definitely the buyers. Galling, but it is what it is.

[Raj]

1 hour ago, oakman said:

There should be financial penalties for people messing you around on house purchases. My uncle passed away earlier in the year and we're in the process of selling his house - we accepted an offer and the prospective buyers wanted its listing removing which we agreed to. Fast forward 3 & a half weeks and the prospective buyers aren't responding to letters, emails or phone calls from our estate agent. Looks like the house is going back on the market.

Why did you agree to this?

Weird how the estate agent agreed- change the EA

[lcfc278]

43 minutes ago, Raj said:

Why did you agree to this?

Weird how the estate agent agreed- change the EA

Isn't this common practice? I remember when we bought our first house once we had an ofer accepted we asked them to take the listing down and they agreed - didn't want gazumping.

[Lako42]

1 minute ago, lcfc278 said:

Isn't this common practice? I remember when we bought our first house once we had an ofer accepted we asked them to take the listing down and they agreed - didn't want gazumping.

Our seller suggested he's do it if we offered asking price 

[FoyleFox]

5 minutes ago, lcfc278 said:

Isn't this common practice? I remember when we bought our first house once we had an ofer accepted we asked them to take the listing down and they agreed - didn't want gazumping.

 

Absolutely is, everyone that makes an offer does so on the understanding that the listing ends. Or, in reality, it changes to STC/sale agreed.

 

We've just accepted an offer on a house, and it was definitely on that basis.

[Raj]

1 minute ago, FoyleFox said:

 

Absolutely is, everyone that makes an offer does so on the understanding that the listing ends. Or, in reality, it changes to STC/sale agreed.

 

We've just accepted an offer on a house, and it was definitely on that basis.

Yes ST/Sale agreed but not taking it off for this scenario.

If the listing is still present, perspective buyers can still show interest and be made aware of any issues just incase?

 

Edited 17 May 2023 by Raj

[FoyleFox]

15 minutes ago, Raj said:

Yes ST/Sale agreed but not taking it off?

 

Same difference. Various ways to phrase it, but it's no longer listed 'for sale'.

It's generally described that the seller agrees to 'take it off the market'. How the website is updated is just admin.

Edited 17 May 2023 by FoyleFox

[oakman]

As others have mentioned, it seems pretty standard to remove the listing once an offer has been submitted and accepted. Our EA didn't have a problem with it and he doesn't earn a penny until the house has sold.

[JonnyBoy]

On 15/05/2023 at 12:35, FoyleFox said:

The rental proposal isn't a bad idea, if it's just for a few years. Alternatively, have you considered adoption

 

Just remember to calculate the tax you'll pay on your rental income, in your financial calculations, and set aside a proportion of rent for maintenance and all the safety certificates. Plus, ensure you have an EPC of C or above for your house - although the legislation isn't due on that until 2025.

 

we rent out my partners house and use an estate agent - she gets enough back to pay her mortgage but anything else goes on estate agent fees to manage the property, will change it to buy to let next year when her mortgage us up so will be interest only and she doesn't pay 40% tax so worth doing it. 

 

Thinking of renting my house out (she lives at mine) and then get a new mortgage together, problem is, it will cost to get the EPC rating to a C (if they do make the changes in 2025) plus we will have to pay an extra 3% stamp duty if we buy another property and being a 40% bracket tax payer I just don't think i will get any yield from it so will probably sell mine but keep hers. The changes in EPC will mean a lot of landlords will sell causing chaos to the housing market, i can't see it happening. 

 

 

[Raj]

25 minutes ago, FoyleFox said:

Same difference. Various ways to phrase it, but it's no longer listed 'for sale'.

It's generally described that the seller agrees to 'take it off the market'. How the website is updated is just admin.

 

14 minutes ago, oakman said:

As others have mentioned, it seems pretty standard to remove the listing once an offer has been submitted and accepted. Our EA didn't have a problem with it and he doesn't earn a penny until the house has sold.

 

stand corrected.

Im sure i told my EA to leave it on the website incase something dodgy happened.

Its all a blur now and it was only last winter!!!

[LCFCJohn]

56 minutes ago, lcfc278 said:

Isn't this common practice? I remember when we bought our first house once we had an ofer accepted we asked them to take the listing down and they agreed - didn't want gazumping.

Yes, normally once the buyer has brought in proof of ID and funds. Which can of course be the same day.

 

It was the case when we bought our house, they said they’d take it down once we’d done that. My parents have accepted an offer on their house and had one accepted on a new house last week and both disappeared quickly from the public domain (like Rightmove).

[FoyleFox]

5 hours ago, JonnyBoy said:

 

we rent out my partners house and use an estate agent - she gets enough back to pay her mortgage but anything else goes on estate agent fees to manage the property, will change it to buy to let next year when her mortgage us up so will be interest only and she doesn't pay 40% tax so worth doing it. 

 

Thinking of renting my house out (she lives at mine) and then get a new mortgage together, problem is, it will cost to get the EPC rating to a C (if they do make the changes in 2025) plus we will have to pay an extra 3% stamp duty if we buy another property and being a 40% bracket tax payer I just don't think i will get any yield from it so will probably sell mine but keep hers. The changes in EPC will mean a lot of landlords will sell causing chaos to the housing market, i can't see it happening. 

 

 

 

With the increase in interest rates and the extra regulations that have already been introduced, landlords are already selling in considerable numbers. It will only get worse, too.

[VLC86]

1 hour ago, FoyleFox said:

 

With the increase in interest rates and the extra regulations that have already been introduced, landlords are already selling in considerable numbers. It will only get worse, too.

And before that the price rise for selling during Covid, plenty cashed in on that.

 

I feel sorry for anyone that doesn’t currently own their own house, it must feel pretty impossible.

[JonnyBoy]

47 minutes ago, Costock_Fox said:

And before that the price rise for selling during Covid, plenty cashed in on that.

 

I feel sorry for anyone that doesn’t currently own their own house, it must feel pretty impossible.

yep I imagine, I was there a few years back renting whilst saving for a deposit and even harder now. someone on below £40,000 a year will struggle to save a deposit/get mortgage for a single person, madness really. 

Edited 17 May 2023 by JonnyBoy

[Trumpet]

Looking for some advice and this is probably the best place for it. We have a garage to the back of our house. It’s not connected to the house and I’m looking to use it as a place to work. It has breeze blocks on the side that connects to the neighbours garage and brick the rest of the way round. 
 

I’m thinking of putting up some stud walls with plasterboard and then getting someone to skim over it with plaster. As it stands there’s no ventilation in there, although with the current door (will be looking to replace with a door that opens inwards in place of the current door that slides up) I suppose it’s draughty. Would I need to knock a few bricks out and put in some sort of vent before putting up the stud? Am I possibly biting off more than I can chew here? 

[LcFc_Smiv]

Wasn’t sure where to put this, but looking for advice on an integrated fridge freezer. About a week and a half ago we noticed that fridge compartment was running warm while the freezer was still working fine. Local appliance technician came out and said we had a crack in the door seal that was letting warm into the fridge- £100 (£45 for call out, £55 for door seal) we replaced it. Woke up next morning no change, still running warm. Messaged him back, he apologised and said that was an obvious issue and everything else he check was running fine- only but he didn’t get to was the control unit- offered to come and fit it for free if I could get a new one. £95 later, he comes out fits it, fridge starts whizzing and whirring, got up this morning, still warm. 
 

Im at a loss at what to do next. We’ve essentially pissed £200 down the drain, a new fridge is going to be £700 for that model or around £400 for a cheaper one. He’s offered to come out for free again and check everything over but as nice a guy as he is and as much as he’s apologising I can’t trust he’s going to sort it. The other option is getting a Neff technician out as it’s one of their fridges, this will be £100 straight off the bat, then whatever else on top. I never though a fridge would get to me but it’s bringing me down big time, we’re having to go shop every few days to buy bits little and often, we’re living out a cool bag with ice packs we keep have to keep alternating and it’s just proper scrambling my head, not to mention wasting £200 already.

 

Edit: the fridge was new as off Nov 2019, so less than 4 years old- warranty only covered 2 years.

Edited 25 May 2023 by LcFc_Smiv

[FoxesDeb]

1 hour ago, LcFc_Smiv said:

Wasn’t sure where to put this, but looking for advice on an integrated fridge freezer. About a week and a half ago we noticed that fridge compartment was running warm while the freezer was still working fine. Local appliance technician came out and said we had a crack in the door seal that was letting warm into the fridge- £100 (£45 for call out, £55 for door seal) we replaced it. Woke up next morning no change, still running warm. Messaged him back, he apologised and said that was an obvious issue and everything else he check was running fine- only but he didn’t get to was the control unit- offered to come and fit it for free if I could get a new one. £95 later, he comes out fits it, fridge starts whizzing and whirring, got up this morning, still warm. 
 

Im at a loss at what to do next. We’ve essentially pissed £200 down the drain, a new fridge is going to be £700 for that model or around £400 for a cheaper one. He’s offered to come out for free again and check everything over but as nice a guy as he is and as much as he’s apologising I can’t trust he’s going to sort it. The other option is getting a Neff technician out as it’s one of their fridges, this will be £100 straight off the bat, then whatever else on top. I never though a fridge would get to me but it’s bringing me down big time, we’re having to go shop every few days to buy bits little and often, we’re living out a cool bag with ice packs we keep have to keep alternating and it’s just proper scrambling my head, not to mention wasting £200 already.

 

Edit: the fridge was new as off Nov 2019, so less than 4 years old- warranty only covered 2 years.

We had this problem, the freezer was fine but the fridge wasn't getting cold. We had a build up of ice in the freezer blocking the flow of cold air into the fridge. As far as I know the fridge part cools from the cold air being blown into it from the freezer, and ice in the freezer was blocking the gaps where the air moves between the two. It might be as simple as checking for a build up of ice, ours was at the top/back of the freezer, if you can see ice then just defrosting it might fix it if your problem is the same. 

[LcFc_Smiv]

44 minutes ago, FoxesDeb said:

We had this problem, the freezer was fine but the fridge wasn't getting cold. We had a build up of ice in the freezer blocking the flow of cold air into the fridge. As far as I know the fridge part cools from the cold air being blown into it from the freezer, and ice in the freezer was blocking the gaps where the air moves between the two. It might be as simple as checking for a build up of ice, ours was at the top/back of the freezer, if you can see ice then just defrosting it might fix it if your problem is the same. 

Will give it a go thank you!! I’ll try anything at the moment!

[Wolfox]

On 20/05/2023 at 12:05, Trumpet said:

Looking for some advice and this is probably the best place for it. We have a garage to the back of our house. It’s not connected to the house and I’m looking to use it as a place to work. It has breeze blocks on the side that connects to the neighbours garage and brick the rest of the way round. 
 

I’m thinking of putting up some stud walls with plasterboard and then getting someone to skim over it with plaster. As it stands there’s no ventilation in there, although with the current door (will be looking to replace with a door that opens inwards in place of the current door that slides up) I suppose it’s draughty. Would I need to knock a few bricks out and put in some sort of vent before putting up the stud? Am I possibly biting off more than I can chew here? 

Consider insulation…. If it’s a place you’re working in you’ll be spending a lot of time in there…

 

Consider electricity supply and definitely have an insulated roof and rock wool/ PIT boards  into the walls too

 

You could get a cheap enough pair of patio doors on the front for light (look on eBay for second hand ones if on a budget)

 

What’s the floor like? 

[kenny]

On 20/05/2023 at 12:05, Trumpet said:

Looking for some advice and this is probably the best place for it. We have a garage to the back of our house. It’s not connected to the house and I’m looking to use it as a place to work. It has breeze blocks on the side that connects to the neighbours garage and brick the rest of the way round. 
 

I’m thinking of putting up some stud walls with plasterboard and then getting someone to skim over it with plaster. As it stands there’s no ventilation in there, although with the current door (will be looking to replace with a door that opens inwards in place of the current door that slides up) I suppose it’s draughty. Would I need to knock a few bricks out and put in some sort of vent before putting up the stud? Am I possibly biting off more than I can chew here? 

Hi

 

Sorry I missed your post. 

 

The job itself is within the competance of a DIY'er I think. However, I would use an Architectural Technician and get Building Regulations approval as part of the works. This ensures it is an asset to the property and not an unwanted mess when you sell up. The fees for this would be fairly low as there isn't too much work.

 

They would advise on how much insulation is required and what ventilation to install. If there are no windows then I would have thought installing one would be beneficial from a light and ventilation perspective.

[Izzy]

Had the first viewing of our house earlier this week.

 

Feedback was positive but the woman wanted more info on our the cost of our utility bills (which are high as we have no gas in the village and are on a flat rate electricity tariff)

 

We also got that EPC certificate but our rating is only 'E' because the electric radiators and hot water tank we have are totally inefficient but would cost a lot to replace.

 

Turns out she's now offered on a different property.

 

Got a feeling this house selling lark isn't going to be as straightforward as we first thought.