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FTB..confused
We are currently council tenants. Never been able to afford to buy. I have recently inherited £20k from my grandmother. This now leaves us in the position to be able to think about buying. I currently earn £33k. My wife earns £8k, but am not going to include her in the mortgage calculations as her job is not secure as…
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Could auctions become the normal way to trade?
I know that peeps think auctions are for distressed sellers only and it's where you get a 'bargain'. I'm thinking that in the current market meltdown, anything could happen to how transactions are conducted. Let's be honest the English system, even in the good times, was pretty hopeless. For those with equity and/or an…
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Sell to Rent
Has anyone any experience of either; a) selling your house to a company for 80/85% of it's market value and renting it back from them. or b) selling your house (via an estate agent) and using the interest to part fund the rent on another property. Isn't it a good time to sell your house when the prices are starting to drop…
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Landlords insurance
Hi I'm not sure if this has been covered before but I can not see it in the history. I am renting my flat out in London and know I need to get landlords insurance for contents insurance at least (my buildings insurance is covered in the leasehold). However, I am struggling to work out what I actually need to include in…
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Estate Agents - how to get the best from them?!
Hi, I wondered if I could get some advice/info on how to deal with and get the best out of estate agents. I'm having a few problems selling - who isn't.... (As per my thread: http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=910561) But I'd like to know what I can do, or what I should be asking my agents to do to try…
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Buy or rent?????????????????
Ok, this is me. Just on point of getting divorced (next month or two) and then i will be looking to either buy or rent. I will have £200k available and can easily afford to buy a flat/small house. The big question is what is best at this time. Clearly the property market is in a state of flux and property prices may drop…
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Expensive Credit check - unfair profit?
Hi I have recently applied to rent a flat and have been charged £188 for a reference for me and my partner - which i paid. I have now researched and found the company that do the check (its not the people that i deal with, an external company) and its £15 for basic and £25 per person for a check. making the £125 for a…
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House Boundary Question?
Hi We have received the sellers information form and on the bounderies section the question asks " Looking towards the house from the road side who either accepts responsibility for the boundary?" the seller as replied "we do" to the left, right and back. Does that sound right? I know the house we are moving from we have…
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Worries & questions about giving notice to LA
My rent date is 11th of the Month and there is strong chance I will need to give notice but will not know for sure until the end of this week. So frustrating I will have just missed the May date. Also frustrating I have to give two months notice in accordance with my agreement - which I intend to honour. So my real…
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Letting - tax avoidance?
I have a flat and need to move into rented accomodation so wont be living there. Looking to let out my flat to cover the rent on the new place However, I understand that the rental income that matches the interest i pay on the mortgage is exempt from tax but the capital side isn't exempt and I need to pay income tax on it.…
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How much should I offer for this house
Have seen this house in a very desirable road. Ideal house for us. However very nervous about the property market at present. asking price is £825k. What would be a first sensible offer? The asking price is past my range. Usually houses on this road go quickly. this one has been on for about 6 weeks. Does 10% below asking…
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Eight months on market, no offers!
Hi, have been on the market now for 8 months, dropped the price twice, but no offers. In that time the agents have only sent about 7 sets of people around to view... some of them clearly not suited to the property. Very frustrating. Stupidly I signed up for a 1% deal with them, that would also allow for up to £450 in…
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Credit rating affected by new rental address?
Hello... Hope I've managed to post this question on the right board... I've just moved into a shared rental flat, and am already concerned about the credit worthiness of the address as a previous tenant seems to still have all bills arriving here. Am I best to avoid using this address at all for bills, bank etc or is this…
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How to set Reserve Price at Auction
Hi All, Just wondering how I should set a reserve price for a flat/appartment I would like to sell.. Same old story really, been up for sale for over 6 months, have dropped the price and am open to offers. Am thinking I might give it a shot at auction. It was valued at end 2005 at 160k and at 182k-205k in September last…
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tipping removal men
Have done a search but couldn't find a thread on this. We've moving house in a few days, and for the first time ever are using removal men. Now I moved house a number of times as a child and have a hazy recollections of my dad giving the removal men money for a drink or two (after the job was over!) . Of course that was a…
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Renting through Agency- Is my deposit protected?
I moved in before April last year, I was listening to Moneybox and they talked about something along the lines that all deposits should be protected and should be in an account not held by the agency. The agency said I won't be included as the date I moved in was before these new rules were setup. Whose correct? I'm about…
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Help needed! How do I up sticks and buy a house in the US?
Hey y'all, I think I need the help of the clever folk on this board who've a better understanding on things like economics and the US housing market. If the housing market is truly plummeting in the USA as the media seem to be, what's stopping disenfranchised UK residents like myself upping sticks and buying property in…
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back to the drawing board.
we had a buyer for our place and then last week managed to get an offer accepted on a house we really wanted. Of course as luck has it the buyer rang the EA this morning and said she has changed her mind and has pulled out. thankfully we haven't lost any money as we havent done the searches or anything for the place we…
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Changing Estate Agents - need some advice
OK.. so we signed up with Connells for a 12 week contract. This is our first time selling, so we're new to all this. One of the things I liked most was that there HIP was £299 + VAT and we could pay on sale of the house, much cheaper than the others around us. Anyway, they have been a bit rubbish, and we've found another…
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Lodger hasn't moved out
Our lodger was supposed to move out on Saturday, but didn't for various reasons. We have a very flexible arrangement and he paid us £100, i.e 1/3 of the month, 1/3 of the rent. Now he doesn't know when he will move out, but thinks it will be sometime during this week, or at the weekend. But he hasn't said anything about…
