-
Martin Lewis Blog: 'House offer accepted, now they want £20,000 more! What should I do?'
A passer-by stopped Martin in the street recently to ask his opinion on her house buying dilemma. You can check out his view in a video he posted: Martin Lewis: 'House offer accepted, now they want £20,000 more! What should I do?' What would you do? Stand your ground? Walk away? Pay the extra? Negotiate? Tell us your…
-
New to the House Buying, Selling & Renting board? Start here
✅ This board is for... * Questions about buying or selling a home * Questions about renting a home * Questions about being a landlord 🚫 This board is not for.. * Debating the state of the economy * Debating house prices in general * Political debates Note: In order to help keep the Forum a useful, safe and friendly place…
-
Tenancies in Eng/Wales: Guides for landlords and tenants
post 1 This thread is intended to provide information to both landlords and tenants relating to Assured Shorthold Tenancies (ASTs) in England and Wales. Updated April 2020 to include the Coronavirus Act 2020 and July 2020 to include the Electrical Safety Standards Regulations 2020. Topics covered: Post 2: Repairing…
-
renting furnished or unfurnished for 6 months or so
Hi looking for a nice flat for around 6 months possibly a slightly longer makes sense to me to go furnished, due to time frame. however, does anyone think i'm limiting the market unnecesarily? i mean could i just buy a roll up mattress on the floor and a cheap chair table/desk which i wouldnt even take with me at the end?…
-
Selling part of flat to my mum without conveyancer.
My husband bought a flat for my mum so she could move nearer us before she sold her own flat which was difficult to sell. My mum has been living in the flat near us for a year and now she has sold her flat she is keen to buy 50% from my husband which has been the plan from the start. In hindsight we should have asked the…
-
Could my friends car, parked on my drive stop me from selling my house?
Hi, I would like to sell my house, but my friend's car is parked in my driveway. He has been working on the vehicle for over the past four years, doing very little to it. I did tell him I want to sell my house, and could he move his car off my driveway? I'm starting to lose my patience with him as I now want to move this…
-
Shared Drive White Line
Hi, we currently own a property at the end of a shared driveway, can anyone tell me if these white lines leading up to our neighbours gate (part on shared driveway and part on their property) have any significance to the shared driveway convenance? And is the area within protected?
-
Taking the co-tenant to small claims court for rent arrears.
Hi all, I need some advice regarding unpaid rent by a co-tenant. A while ago, I rented a flat with a friend. Both our names were on the letting agreement, and my name was on all the bills. We have decided to split the rent and all the bills 50/50. My friend paid rent to my account with reference “Rent [month]”. After a…
-
Buyers is delaying / refusing to exchange
We have agreed the sale of our property (leasehold flat) and all outstanding items have been resolved. The buyer (cash buyer) is moving back from the States and is apparently 'desperate' to move yet she keeps delaying exchange and completion. She has recently had surgery in the states and has refused to complete until she…
-
Neighbour's extension - boundary window
I live in Milton Keynes, England. My neighbour has a planning application in for a single-storey extension, which includes a window (red circle) right on the boundary with my property (red line). My concern is twofold: privacy (direct overlooking into our front garden/property) and the risk that a boundary window could…
-
Increasing value for House Sale
Hi everyone. I have a couple of questions about selling my house to maximise its sale price. I know an estate agent would be ideal to ask but i'm in the doing it up stage to make it look nice for a sale and am about 2 months away from starting the process so just wondered if these things were worth spending money on.…
-
Thinking of doing holiday lets
I am in the process of buying a property which I intend to live in for the time being , but I am considering renting it out for holiday lets in the future. From what I have read on these forums and elsewhere, there are lots of rules and regulations, financial and otherwise, that I should think about before I go down that…
-
RICS Survey Question
Hi all. House we are in process of buying we are looking to get a survey done. I have done quotes with a couple of somewhat local firms with good reviews. One has come back with a price for what I asked for (L2 survey), the other has come back to me recommending a level 3. For context its a 1950 2bed end of terrace. They…
-
Second home council tax – part-year UK use while living abroad?
Hi, I have a property in the Sefton Council area which is currently classed as a second home, so I’m paying the council tax premium. I spend part of the year there (around 10–12 weeks at present), while also living abroad, but I’m now retired and gradually planning to base myself more in the UK. The house isn’t empty—I use…
-
Conveyancing and water pipes
I'm in the process of selling my parent's house which has been in their possession for over 50 years. All searches have been done and the buyers solicitor has come back with this: “We cannot see the title refers to any rights for the benefit of the Property to connect to, use and access the mains water pipe in the adjacent…
-
New "Have a Look at This" thread
The other one has disappeared and any posts I have made are not listed in either my posts or thanks. This thread is for things like: . Spotting pets in properties . Anything awful - decor, extensions etc . Quirky properties . Timewarp properties . Properties in serious repair and anything which is different and of interest…
-
Run away? Victorian terrace survey help
Hello friendly folks! Clueless FTB here, so thanks in advance for your patience and insight. Any thoughts are very welcome and so appreciated. In the process of purchasing a late Victorian end terrace in the North of England. Trying to be very sensible about survey, but it's so tricky when you don't have any context or…
-
Land missing from title-future lending problems?
We are buying a property, using a bridging loan, as its being sold under auction conditions. The property has two separate title deeds and the current owners have lived there since the 50’s. They bought the second title in the 70’s (im mentioning this as its before it all went digital) which is ajoining and used as a…
-
Land Transaction Tax (second property)
Hi, I have a slightly more complicated situation and hope someone may have some insight as I can't find the answers online. I currently own a property with a family member that we lived in for 3 years after buying the property. I then purchased my family home and paid stamp duty land tax on the new property. The family…
-
'Instant' property buying companies - has anyone had a good experience?
I have had a nightmare of an 18 months of legal difficulties that my late parent left behind. The final thing that will need sorting is the disposal of a rental property, which has not been looked after, and when the tenants finally go, it will probably be down to bailiffs and it's likely they'll leave it in even more of a…
-
Solicitor held my money for 20 years should I get interest on top of the capital amount
My solicitors who acted in conveyance for me in a sale of my property just contacted me. They found they had accidentally withheld a significant amount of money on my file/account - unbeknown to me. They rang me to ask for my details to pay me the amount. After confirming it was the solicitors and not a scam they took my…
-
Adding Wife To Title Deeds
Hi, what would be the process for adding my wife to the title deeds of my house? Can I DIY using forms from Land Registry or would it be better to pay a conveyancing solicitor? We would be tenants in common and it may not be a 50/50 split.
-
Service charge falsely advertised
I had an offer accepted on a flat in November 2025, with an advertised service charge of £1400/year. Today I have received the documentation from my solicitor including details of the service charge, which is shown as £1800/year. This is the first time I have seen this figure and this has not been mentioned to me at any…