House buying, renting & selling

✅ 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…

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…

We divorced this year and completed our consent order which was approved in May. All amicable and seemingly straightforward. The house has been on the market for 6 months and it has only had two viewings. We're currently switching agents after reducing the asking price by £10,000 and then £20,000 without success. My ex…

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…

We’re currently trying to decide on our next house purchase and would really value some advice from people who have been in a similar situation. We’re a family of 5 and are looking to upsize from our current home. Ideally, our next move will be our forever home. We're torn between: 1. An older property that may need…

We put our house on the market in March after deciding it was time to move on and hopefully find the ‘forever’ family home. Fast forward to September and we hadn’t found the house and we were due to complete on ours. We made the decision to rent hoping it would be short term but the adjustment from living in a detached…

We're a family of 5 currently living in a 3-bedroom house that's starting to feel a bit tight. The house works for us now, but we're beginning to think about the next 10+ years as the children get older. A few of the things we're struggling with are: Lack of dedicated office space for working from home We'd like a bigger…

Hi, I'm buying a house and need some advice. The seller is buying a new build and has requested: A 7-week gap between exchange and completion. My deposit to be released directly to them ("as agent") to pay for their new build's fixtures. I'm very concerned about the risk. If their new house is delayed and they default on…

hello. I am new here - and hope I can get the correct advice as getting nowhere with the councils involved I own a place in city A together with my spouse I had to move to city B for work - I am renting we are paying council tax in city A and I am paying council tax in city B. Is this correct? Am I underpaying or…

Anyone ever managed to do this? On moving its all a rush, seller moves out, you show up, they chuck you're stuff off the lorry. No time at all to clean the house when its empty. One idea (but not sure if removal company will go for this) - move out on completion day, removal company store stuff overnight, we get someone in…

Our family's experience of administering an estate that included a retirement property was far more difficult, costly and stressful than we could ever have anticipated. Before accepting either the inheritance of a retirement property or the role of executor, I strongly recommend obtaining independent legal advice and fully…

My brother and I have inherited my dad’s estate after his death last year. Probate has been granted and IHT has been paid. The net estate (after IHT and some cash legacies) consists of a house valued at £600,000 and £300,000 in cash and equivalents. The will divides the estate equally between us. There is no mortgage. My…

Looked at a flat for sale and took some photos. The comparison between the estate agents website photos and mine was striking. Small print says some photos may be "staged" to show what the rooms might look like with furniture and different lighting conditions, but this was something quite different. The corner of the…

I decided to sell the house I was letting. The tenant moved out in August. The house is sold STC. The sale could complete in November. House currently empty, unfurnished. What do people in these circumstances normally do about home insurance? The current insurers insist that after 30 days unoccupied - they insisted that…

I have a detached Cotswold cottage, can't get it to an E EPC rating without spendings £20k+ I've done the minor alterations like, energy efficient lamps, TRV's, draught proofing, topped up loft insulation and the only other recommendation under £5k is to fit a Heat recovery system for mixer showers. This would cost about…

Hi I'm after a quick bit of help please. We've lived in our older house about 8 years and our semi-deteached neighbour is doing up the vacant house next door to be sold. He is now rebuilding his fence around his garden including our fence that divides our gardens(we will be paying him). He has discovered the existing fence…

a relative who is down sizing currently in a small rented house had a offer accepted on a flat couple months ago subject to contract. She had a level 3 survey done ( it’s a period property) bought up wood rot & damp issues & the roof needs maintenance but no sinking fund. She has reduced her offer which they were( prices…

I have tenants who have European passports with settlement status. With the new regulations do I need to take fresh copies and carry out an official govt check? Or is a manual check of documents sufficient?

I'm looking for advice on the best route forward. I live in a terraced property which sits lower than the neighbouring garden, so water naturally drains towards my boundary. My tenant neighbour has raised the external ground level directly against my cavity-wall extension, leaving only around 10 mm of my external DPC…

Hi All Looking for some advice as I am 2 years into this battle and becoming exhausted and running out of ideas I have lived in my home for 37 years and I put in the right to buy to my housing association 2 years ago. They sent an estate agent out to value my home and he went back to the housing association and told them…

If a tenant moves into a property on 10 September, what is the earliest they can leave, assuming they serve a notice to end the tenancy on their first day?

Hi All I live in a block retirement flats that has recently been taken over by Churchill Living. We have a legacy lease which I believe differs significantly from a standard Churchill living lease. Is anyone out there able to supply me with a standard Churchill lease please?