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Re: Buying a house

Posted: Fri Feb 24, 2017 7:00 pm
by Squinty
Lagamorph wrote:For painting doors the best way is to take them off surely? Take them down, take them outside on a nice day or into the garage and paint them there. Not having to worry about paint/gloss going all over that way.

Not that I've ever done it before myself. I'll just pay someone else to do it.


Can't imagine it would be too hard to take a door off, but it might be awkward putting them back on.

The internet waiting game begins. Initial phoneline activation was 3rd March, within an hour that changed to 7th. strawberry float sake, I just want fibre. I don't want a phoneline.

Re: Buying a house

Posted: Sat Feb 25, 2017 9:16 am
by Curls
So anyone waiting on a lifetime ISA.

I've got about £4400 in my help to buy ISA. And I think I can move that over to a lifetime ISA and then STILL add another 4000 for the 17-18 financial year come April.....whack in another 4k in April 2018 and I'll have 12K ready for a deposit, plus hopefully another dollop I earn from working in the falklands.

12K + 25% is 15k then the extra I save should be able to get me there...

I would ideally like to cover 10% of the price of the house with the deposit....so I think I'll need to save about 17K if I want a 3 bed in lincoln. 20K if i want a nicer one.

Although...realistically I am single and I don't see that changing any time soon with me being away for 8 of the next 12 months, so a 3 bed may actually be too much...it would just save me the hassle of moving again when I do bag myself some poor lady.

Re: Buying a house

Posted: Sat Feb 25, 2017 1:53 pm
by Squinty
Much the same here, single guy, now I have a 3 bed house. Having patient parents was a blessing.

Re: Buying a house

Posted: Sat Feb 25, 2017 2:01 pm
by jawafour
Squinty wrote:Much the same here, single guy, now I have a 3 bed house. Having patient parents was a blessing.

I like my flat although I would love to have a house. But, living in the London area, I can't see that happening; even the most basic, poorly-maintained two-bedroom houses are now around £330k in my (relatively cheap, for London) borough. Three-bedroomed places (again, in a very basic condition) are nearer to £400k which is just crazy.

Re: Buying a house

Posted: Sat Feb 25, 2017 6:40 pm
by Squinty
jawafour wrote:
Squinty wrote:Much the same here, single guy, now I have a 3 bed house. Having patient parents was a blessing.

I like my flat although I would love to have a house. But, living in the London area, I can't see that happening; even the most basic, poorly-maintained two-bedroom houses are now around £330k in my (relatively cheap, for London) borough. Three-bedroomed places (again, in a very basic condition) are nearer to £400k which is just crazy.


Can't imagine even getting my foot in the door in London. That's a crazy amount of money.

Internet plot thickens. They are now saying the whole thing will be done by 8th March.

Re: Buying a house

Posted: Sun May 21, 2017 11:43 am
by 7256930752
In the middle of a house move and the stress is starting to ramp up. I asked for an update from the solicitors on Friday and got "that form you had to pay £488 for last week still hasn't arrived, also we haven't had an enquiry from the buyers solicitor". Essentially they did absolutely strawberry float all last week and the only thing that seems to have spurred them to do any chasing is me asking about the progress.

This process needs a good shake up, the legal merry go round is an absolute shambles.

Re: Buying a house

Posted: Sun May 21, 2017 1:35 pm
by Squinty
I seemed to hit the jackpot in terms of solicitors. Yer man I had was actually pretty good in hindsight. It was the sellers estate agents that were a total gooseberry fool show.

Speaking of houses, I think either my boiler or my hotpress is strawberry floated up. The water has never been truly warm in this house, the hotpress makes strange noises when you turn on the water heater.

I swear, I don't think the guy that owned this house before did anything. Ah well, you live and learn.

Re: Buying a house

Posted: Sun May 21, 2017 1:43 pm
by Glowy69
Hime wrote:In the middle of a house move and the stress is starting to ramp up. I asked for an update from the solicitors on Friday and got "that form you had to pay £488 for last week still hasn't arrived, also we haven't had an enquiry from the buyers solicitor". Essentially they did absolutely strawberry float all last week and the only thing that seems to have spurred them to do any chasing is me asking about the progress.

This process needs a good shake up, the legal merry go round is an absolute shambles.


Ours sellers were dogshit as well. Search through the thread you'll see my breakdown. Nearly gave up on the whole thing.

Re: Buying a house

Posted: Sun May 21, 2017 2:03 pm
by Photek
It's shambolic over here aswell. Our solicitor wanted me to go check stuff with county council and do several things until my mortgage advisor rightly told me that's literally what I'm paying her for so rang and said "yeah that stuff you wanted done. Shouldn't you be doing it?" She was like "ok I'll get on it". She wanted payment for writing a couple of letters, mental.

Re: Buying a house

Posted: Sun May 21, 2017 2:23 pm
by Squinty
Photek wrote:It's shambolic over here aswell. Our solicitor wanted me to go check stuff with county council and do several things until my mortgage advisor rightly told me that's literally what I'm paying her for so rang and said "yeah that stuff you wanted done. Shouldn't you be doing it?" She was like "ok I'll get on it". She wanted payment for writing a couple of letters, mental.


What the actual strawberry float.

Re: Buying a house

Posted: Sun May 21, 2017 8:11 pm
by Roonmastor
Wow Photek, thats really taking the piss!

House move happened on Friday. I took the day off for the move and got in about 3pm. Since then its been blitz o'clock. Garden was massively unloved, now trimmed and managed with a large bonfires worth of greenery removed (no bonfires allowed here though), all flags powerwashed, house cleaned top to bottom, blinds and curtains fitted, furniture rebuilt, extractor fans fitted and more trips to B&Q then I've done in my life. Oh, and blitzing the old place on Saturday.

Fricking shattered! Just white goods delivery, internet activation and insurances meeting tomorrow. Actually looking forward to work for a break!

Re: Buying a house

Posted: Sun May 21, 2017 9:01 pm
by 7256930752
Glowy69 wrote:
Hime wrote:In the middle of a house move and the stress is starting to ramp up. I asked for an update from the solicitors on Friday and got "that form you had to pay £488 for last week still hasn't arrived, also we haven't had an enquiry from the buyers solicitor". Essentially they did absolutely strawberry float all last week and the only thing that seems to have spurred them to do any chasing is me asking about the progress.

This process needs a good shake up, the legal merry go round is an absolute shambles.


Ours sellers were dogshit as well. Search through the thread you'll see my breakdown. Nearly gave up on the whole thing.

See I just think it's the system. I'm not sure either set of solicitors are particularly bad, just that their mentality is "I've requested x, my job here is done". The fact that the request remains unanswered for weeks is nether here nor there. My parents moved house a couple of weeks ago and there were a load of hold ups with transferring funds between solicitors, things finally started to move and the sellers solicitor then went AWOL as they close from 1-2 for lunch oblivious to the fact that people have had their lives packed into the back of a lorry for several hours trying to get into a house :lol:

Photek that is gooseberry fool, sounds almost exploitative.

Re: Buying a house

Posted: Tue Aug 08, 2017 8:14 pm
by 7256930752
Coming up to completition on Friday and get an email from my solicitor that they have found a form that hasn't been signed. They received said form in May. I am paying them several thousand pounds.

This whole thing is disgusting.

Re: Buying a house

Posted: Tue Aug 08, 2017 8:16 pm
by Lagamorph
Yeah paying the solicitors makes you really wonder where the hell your money is going. Think I paid mine about £2,500-£3,000 and the most I got was a few envelopes of things to sign and send back, followed by a bill when everything was done. Never actually met a person.

Re: Buying a house

Posted: Wed Aug 09, 2017 7:58 am
by Moggy
The whole house buying thing needs a massive overhaul. With modern electronic records, it is crazy how long it all takes and how much solicitors charge.

I am going to be looking at moving in the next year or two and am utterly dreading the thought of going through it all again. :dread:

Re: Buying a house

Posted: Wed Aug 09, 2017 8:40 am
by Drumstick
Moggy wrote:The whole house buying thing needs a massive overhaul. With modern electronic records, it is crazy how long it all takes and how much solicitors charge.

I am going to be looking at moving in the next year or two and am utterly dreading the thought of going through it all again. :dread:

Don't move?

Re: Buying a house

Posted: Wed Aug 09, 2017 8:48 am
by Moggy
Drumstick wrote:
Moggy wrote:The whole house buying thing needs a massive overhaul. With modern electronic records, it is crazy how long it all takes and how much solicitors charge.

I am going to be looking at moving in the next year or two and am utterly dreading the thought of going through it all again. :dread:

Don't move?


I'm not really going to have a choice. It's ok at the moment living in a flat, but as my lad grows up I want to have a garden for him as well as more space indoors.

My next move will be my last ever though.

Re: Buying a house

Posted: Wed Aug 09, 2017 9:28 am
by Photek
Yep, buying a house is a stressful and long process. I'd absolutely HATE to ever do any of it ever again.

Re: Buying a house

Posted: Wed Aug 09, 2017 9:41 am
by Drumstick
Moggy wrote:
Drumstick wrote:
Moggy wrote:The whole house buying thing needs a massive overhaul. With modern electronic records, it is crazy how long it all takes and how much solicitors charge.

I am going to be looking at moving in the next year or two and am utterly dreading the thought of going through it all again. :dread:

Don't move?


I'm not really going to have a choice. It's ok at the moment living in a flat, but as my lad grows up I want to have a garden for him as well as more space indoors.

My next move will be my last ever though.

Yeah our next move will be into the forever home. And we've got the murky world of Help to Buy to navigate...

Re: Buying a house

Posted: Wed Aug 09, 2017 9:54 am
by Lagamorph
Help to Buy isn't really all that complex to be honest. Or at least it wasn't when I went through it a few years ago.