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House buying, renting & selling

Archives for September 2006

Fixtures and Fittings
Just received my vendors Fixtures and Fittings list. I cant believe they are taking ceiling lights and curtain poles!!! I can understand taking curtains and light shades but the curtain poles and ceiling lights are screwed in for goodness sake. Based on this, I am surprised they are leaving the washing line and kitchen…
Your Town?
Just thought it would be interesting to see how others locations are performing. Try to get an idea of the housing market across the nation. I'll start for startings sake. Obviously you'll need a little insight into how the loacl market is performing, be it through own dealings/friends/relatives etc. Personally i've been…
DirectBuy
I apologize if this is the wrong forum, but there are so many! This seems like the right one. Has anyone heard of DirectBuy? They advertise themselves saying that if you join, you can buy houses, cabinets, carpet, all that stuff, for thousands of dollars less than if you buy retail. Well, I've seen their commercials for…
if renting out own property
with and without an agency finding the tenants, what rules does the landlord ie home owner have to adhere to, likely problems etc repairs, damage, appliances,
Dilemma - Sellers now not increasing lease and not reducing asking price! Please help
The dilemma is this..... My Son is buying his first flat at the price of £142,500. It has an 81 year lease. The agreement was that if the seller increases the lease by another 99 years - a total of 180 years obviously - my Son would pay the full asking price. This was agreed to verbally. With probably just a few weeks to…
Buy to let holiday cottage-Help Please
:confused: Thinking of trying to buy my neighbours house to let as a holiday cottage. How easy is it to get a buy to let mortgage, what should I be looking for,will I have to provide a bank with projections of possible rental etc.If anybody has done this (as opposed to buying to rent out normally) I would be interested in…
solicitor fee £450. does this sound fair
to sell my house with no morgage involved and also were not buying another house. so does this fee sound fair to people who deal with a solicitor
Advise for Negotiating with the Vendor
Hi Im looking at buying a house which a couple have just refurbished. The house has not gone on the market yet but they have had a valuation of £160K. I have been in contact with the owner during the refurb to ask how much they wanted etc and it is now ready for viewing and basically I have got the first chance of viewing…
Redditch & Bromsgrove - Any views?
Hello There Just thought I'll throw this thread out to see if any of you MSEs have any views to offer. I currently live in Bridgwater, Somerset and am planning on moving to the Midlands at the end of the year. Would like anywhere with good motorway connections within 1/2hr drive of Birmingham city and with good nursery and…
advice on house sale pls (re: a death and a solicitor).
HI all, My great aunt died and left the solicitor as the executor of the will. There are 6 main beneficeries of the will, which will include the sale of her house. Anyway we all know that its not a good idea to leave the solicitor as the executor, but my great aunt was quite old and belived that people like solicitors,…
Solicitor stuff......finding fault 4 days before completion??
We were due to complete today (29th). On Monday, buyers solicitor decided to take issue with our 'car space', that being a half assed drive thing. In a nutshell, our neighbours had to remove a tree from our property to lay their drive. We ended up with a 6 ft crater. Builder kinda filled it in and laid hardcore on the…
Selling house and start renting. Good idea?
hello I am thinking of selling my property (3 beds end terrace) in a not so good suburban area of Chester. It has been valued at around 125k, I would make a profit of ~90k after paying off the mortgage, and considering what many experts are saying about a very possible housing crash (ie. Martin here, and Cliff D'Arcy of…
Leasehold flat: £1200 payment demand for exterior decoration.
I own a leasehold flat in a block of 9. The management company charge approx £90 per month for admin. ie: gardening, cleaning, electricity for communal areas etc. The windows had not been painted for a long time when I moved in. The paint was peeling and some rot had started. I painted my windows myself since they looked…
FTB - How much should I borrow?
I'm in the middle of sorting out a mortgage for a £160k house. I have £30k as a deposit. My dad and sister between them have offered to lend me another £30k. The idea being that I won't be swallowed up by the mortgage repayments. However I am not sure, as realistically paying back an extra £30k, on top of a mortgage seems…
quick advice before meeting
We have recently had an offer accepted on a house we viewed last week. The vendors are selling it without the aid of estate agents and they have asked to us to meet them to discuss the way forward. We have alreday sold and are desperate to move quickly, they are less so as the house has only been on 'the market' for a few…
served a notice to quit
i got back from picking chops up to find the council had been round to sereve an eviction noticed because i owe £279. i actually owe £79 as i paid £200 this morning. im fuming. they have been harrassing me for months sending thrtetening letters when ive been incontact throughout my maternity leave informing them what i can…
Housing Association Valuation Request!
Yes me again...another problem, what another one i hear you cry?? This is a bl**dy nitemare, and we arnt even close to moving as yet!! We live in a property which we bought with help from a housing association. They paid 25% of the asking price, and we paid the remainder. However, 4 years on and now we want to sell and as…
Completed and have the keys!!
It's gone according to plan, and we completed this morning at 11:30. Went to pick up the keys at 15:00, and then went to have a look in the house- we're FTBs so will be slowly moving in over the next couple of weeks. All seems a bit of an anti-climax after 3 months of stressing out over it. I guess when we start moving…
Very annoyed,leasehold shorter
I posted yesterday about this, but now im really annoyed. Flat im buying advertised with 75 year lease left, got told yesterday it only has 69 years left. Vendor can't afford to extend lease. Solictor said all should be ok still but contact mortgage company and tell them, doing the right thing etc. Rang mortgage company…
Landlord entering flat without permission
A friend is renting a flat privately while at university.The Landlords are have recently taken to allowing people into my friends flat while they are not their,or my friend has entered the flat to be alarmed to find someone in their.On another ocasion,she was asleep in bed when someone walked in.They are entering to do…

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MSE News

Ofgem proposes new 'no standing charge' Price Cap – but Martin Lewis warns vulnerable customers need to be opted in or it won't work
Ofgem has today launched detailed proposals for a major shake up to its Energy Price Cap that dictates the price over 80% of homes in England, Scotland and Wales pay for their energy bills.
Lloyds, Halifax and Bank of Scotland to cut overdraft rates for millions but hike them for others – here's what's happening and full help
If you're a Lloyds, Halifax or Bank of Scotland current account holder, the interest rate you're charged for using your overdraft could change soon as part of a fees shake-up. The Lloyds Banking Group, which owns all three brands, says millions of its customers will pay less after the changes – but a "few" will pay more.
Warm Home Discount expansion confirmed with millions more eligible for the £150 top-up this winter – here's what we know
Around 2.7 million more low-income households, including 900,000 families with children, will become eligible for the £150 Warm Home Discount this winter, as the Government has confirmed it will remove the existing 'hard to heat' eligibility criteria. The extension has only been confirmed for winter 2025/26, with further changes possible for future years.
Martin Lewis: At last a chance to fix Council Tax flaws impacting millions – debt collection, difficulty challenging your band, discounts and more
Major flaws in the Council Tax system in England could finally be fixed in future, as the Government has launched a wide-ranging consultation to review hideous debt collection practices, the difficulty of challenging your band, the overly complex and horribly-named Severe Mental Impairment discount and more. MoneySavingExpert.com founder Martin Lewis, who has long campaigned on these issues, shares his response and analysis.
Energy complaints to be dealt with more quickly and Energy Ombudsman to get new powers under Government plans
If you have a complaint about your energy firm, it may be resolved more quickly in future, as the Government has announced a raft of proposals to strengthen consumer protections in the energy market. The planned changes include giving the Energy Ombudsman new powers to force firms to comply with its decisions – but it's still very early days. Here's what we know so far.
Warm Home Discount expansion confirmed with millions more eligible for the £150 top-up this winter – here's what we know
Around 2.7 million more households, including 900,000 families with children, will become eligible for the £150 Warm Home Discount this winter, as the Government has confirmed it will remove the existing 'hard to heat' eligibility criteria. The extension has only been confirmed for winter 2025/26, with further changes possible for future years.
Base rate held at 4.25% – here's what it means and when it might be cut next
The Bank of England has held the base rate at 4.25%. Below we explain why, when it might be cut, plus what it means for your mortgage and savings.
Applied for South West Trains 'boundary fares' compensation? Act now to claim it
If you applied for compensation from South West Trains before the deadline in January 2025, you now need to provide your bank details to the claim administrator so it can be paid to you. Here's what you need to know.
Winter Fuel Payments to be reinstated for millions – Martin Lewis explains how it'll work, what it means and if it's an improvement
All State Pensioners in England and Wales will receive a Winter Fuel Payment this winter, though those who earn over £35,000 will see it clawed back through the tax system. It means nine million pensioners will get the £200 or £300 top-up. Here MoneySavingExpert.com founder Martin Lewis shares his instant response and analysis, and we include answers to your key questions.

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