House buying, renting & selling

Discussion List

• 'forced' to sell?

  Hi all I am hoping to buy a property with my elderly mother next year, in order to improve both our standards of living. Initially she planned to sell her house and 'gift' me a large portion of the profit so that I and my partner could get a mortgage for the rest and buy a big enough home for all of us (her choice), but…

• Bank asking me to carry out repairs on house I don't yet own! help

  Hi guys I have bought an old cottage to do up and live in and the bank is asking for me to make repairs to the house before they will release the loan. I have told them on numerous occaisions that I will putting on a new roof etc basically totally renevating the entire house once I have moved in. They then said they will…

• BBC Look East News item re EA email contract?

  Did anyone see this item? I gathered it hinged around the client accepting a sole agent contract by replying to an email which had the contract attached - she didn't sign the contract, simply replied to the email. Does anyone have any information on this case, as I'm wondering if it's relevent to the company I work for…

• Advice needed about complaint re:damp/condensation to social landlord

  Hi, I am hoping someone can advise me on this matter. In September 2008 I reported a case of damp which was resulting in damage to my property to my housing association. A contractor came out and advised on measures which were taken to reduce condensation. Despite my effort the problem recurred and resulted in the loss of…

• In-house mortgage advisor confidentiality?

  I called in at an estate agent recently and registered details to look at houses up to 140k and was persuaded to make an appointment with their in-house mortgage adviser for about two weeks time. During this two week period I recieved details of several properties up to 140k. Two weeks later, the mortgage adviser took my…

• Estate Agents Solicitor

  Any advice on taking up the offer of free H.I.P. when using EA own solicitor( to sell!) Am I right in thinking this is not a good idea and getting my own solicitor and paying for HIP would be cheaper anyway. Would be gratefull of any thoughts on the matter.

• Capital Gains Tax On Second Home

  Appologies as I am sure this issues has been covered before but I am lookign to see what tax I will pay on the following: I purchased a property and lived in it as my main residence, I then moved out & rented the property for a period, then I sold it. Feb 2002 – May 2004 - Main residence (Approx 2 Years) May 2004 – April…

• FTB - What should we offer?

  Hi, my girlfriend and I have been looking at houses recently and have seen one that we feel has potential. The asking price is £160,000 to £180,000. We went to see it yesterday and, althought we feel there is a hell of a lot of work to be done to it, feel it is something that we would like to take on. The only thing is…

• Changing title of property to include family member

  Hi My house is in my sole name and I'd like to add my wife's name to the title. What is the procedure and how much does it cost? Should I talk to the mortgage provider first or the land registry? Do I need a solicitor or can I do it myself? Land registry website is very unhelpful to answer this query. Please advice thanks…

• Advice on low valuation on house we are selling

  Hello I am currently selling my house and the buyer had their valuation a couple of weeks ago. The valuation report has come back and it says that the house is worth about £20k less. Our estate agent has provided proof of other comparable sales that back up the offer price, but the surveyor will not change their valuation.…

• MSE News: Call to up tax-free lodger allowance

  This is the discussion thread for the following MSE News Story: "The Government is being urged to increase the tax-free allowance given to people who rent a room to a lodger as it has remained static for over a decade ..." Read the full story: Call to up tax-free lodger allowance

• Do right to buy sales show up in sold price searches?

  Hi. Seen an ex la townhouse that's on for 345k. On the websites that show sold prices it shows that the identical ( these are all townhouses in one block ) house next door sold for 220k in mid 2007. Just wondered if the huge disparity could be down to it being sold under right to buy? Really wouldn't have expected a rise…

• Estate Agents fees!

  Hi, I am in a quandry! We have agreed to part exchange for a house that was to let. We agreed to pay the vendors legal fees. He has had an offer of £10k more than we are paying but he has agreed to stay with our arrangement if we pay the EA fees so he gets a nice round £100k and our old house. The EA is acting as his…

• Home Purchase funded by parents - Tax Issues?

  Hello everyone, I'm not very familiar with any restrictions to foreigners trying to purchase a property in the UK and I was hoping some of you may be able to help me out. I'm not originally from the UK and my parents and I are looking to purchase a property in London. I am employed in the UK under a working Visa and the…

• Short Term Use of a High Street EA?

  I’m currently selling via HouseNetwork and the viewings are definitely dwindling as Christmas/New Year approaches. I’ve had three High Street EAs pestering me on the phone that ‘they’d have sold it three times over, they’ve got a huge queue of buyers for my house’ etc etc. I’m not convinced, but I’m wondering how to…

• Big reduction in our service charge!

  I've read so many horror stories of unexpected spikes in management charges so thought I'd add our own little tale. Our service charge is presently £225 a month. For this we get buildings insurance, a security door, sinking fund, weekly cleaning of communal areas and a lift (we're on the 11th and 12th floor so we really…

• Advice re letting agent

  we had tenants move into our porperty on the 21st October via a local letting agent. however we haven't had the rent via the agent yet.. depiste promises of the cheques in the post etc.. any advice on how to get around the situation and any advice on "how long" it should take - they advised that they pay within 5 working…

• Management agensts have locked the electricity meter cupboard.

  Our totally inept management agents have recently actually done some work. Sadly, however, it involved them suddenly being worried about an electricity meter cupboard. They've fitted a lock to it. They've yet to explain to me how I am supposed to read my electricity meter. They've explained it as being a legal requirement.…

• Purchasing Freefold of house, but ground floor owned by leaseholder..survey help pls!

  Hi Peeps I'm sure the title doesn't make too much sense, so i'll clarify! I'm in the process of purchasing a freehold property, a first floor flat in a semi detached house. The purchase includes the freehold of the whole house (ie ground and first floor), but the ground floor is leasehold owned by the occupier. My question…

• How would do I become a lanlord? All advice appreciated

  I will be finishing converting my house from a 3 to a 6 bedroomed, 2 bathroomed house hopefully by the end of June. I was wondering how I would go about renting my house out to mulitiple tenants for a higher income. From a brief reading around I know I would have to register as a landlord with my local council and have…