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Tenancy In Common
Hi, Hope someone can give me some advice. My Mom and Dad have been advised to complete tenancy in common on their property to avoid paying for care. Between them they have £77k of savings in joint accounts, ISAS, bonds and shares. Averages out to around to £35k each (Dad having more). Mom is going to need care which she is…
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House I'm buying is unmortgageable!!
Hi I've been going through the process of selling my current house and buying my next having had my offer accepted all is proceeding fairly well, it was, until this morning when I received an email from Virgin Money who my current (and future) lender. The survey was carried out yesterday and their email to me received…
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Another "How Long" question
Hi all, I'm looking for opinions regarding what's left to get done in our sale/purchase. The saga started in June so becoming pretty fed up now. We lost our buyer after we'd all signed but before official exchange. Luckily we resold within 24hrs but obviously back to square one. So now we are at this stage: Buyers mortgage…
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Survey results - pitch roof ponding
I've just had the survey back on property I'm purchasing. Other than the usual kind of stuff which is okay, the one thing the surveyor has flagged up is the side extension roof. It's a flat roof, but notes "there is ponding in places, This is serious and could lead to damp." Also the garage (which forms part of the…
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Retrospective permission from freeholder?
I am selling my leasehold flat. 2 years ago I put in new windows replacing the rotten timber framed ones with upvc ones in the same colour as the originals. Some of my neighbours have had theirs done and I had no idea I should have asked permission. I don't know whether the neighbours got permission as I don't know them to…
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Would you live in a Bungalow?
http://new.spectator.co.uk/2015/10/bring-back-the-bungalow/ Having recently moved into a bungalow and not having regretted it for an instance, I have become a huge fan of this type of housing. Ours is within walking distance of shops and on a frequent bus route. Would you like a bungalow as you get older, and would more…
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How do you want your conveyancing handled?
I work for a busy Solicitors practice and have been tasked with trying to improve customer service. We appear to be in another bubble where everyone wants to move house and need the services of our conveyancing department, a wonderful position to be in I know. However conveyancing has changed dramatically in recent years…
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Life and critical illness cover
Does anyone have any experience of getting life and critical illness cover with a pre- existing medical condition particularly Rheumatoid Arthritis? Legal and general would not cover my wife for critical illness, are there companies who do this for a reasonable price or is it going to cost a fortune?
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Changing tenancy period
My husband and I have rented the house in which we live for the last 3.5 years. Last October the landlord split ways with the letting agent. This was due to him relocating 200 miles away and he didn't want the costs. We agreed to sign a tenancy renewal for 1 year last November on the basis he would carry on being the…
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Estate agent reduced rent without informing landlord
Hi, We'v just started letting out a property start of this month. Agreed rent was £925. Received payment from estate agents and they've only charged the tenant £900. When I queried this they said it was offered by the tenant and they accepted in order to avoid a delay of 10 days (which is the earliest date the alternative…
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Conservatory & rear single storey extension
Hi guys, We've put an offer in on a house and have come up against an issue at the moment. The property has a conservatory built c1998, and a single storey kitchen extension built between 1998-2000 (current owners added both). When our solicitor checked for the presence of the correct paperwork for the building work, the…
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Staircasing competition duration time
Hi Guys Does anything here sound unusual to you? I currently own 45% of my shared ownership property and I’m now staircasing to 100%. I started the process in late july and got my valuation through on the 3rd of August. I was given an estimated completion of 10 weeks. Every week since the valuation my solicitors and i have…
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My landlord has gone missing
I am in the process of leaving my houseshare and moving to another property. But my landlord has gone missing, his phone number has been disconnected and he isn't responding to any emails. He needs to approve the changes on the contract at my existing property and provide reference for my new place, but for 3 weeks now…
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Yielding up, anyone heard of it?
What is yielding up? as shown on the lease for a flat I was thinking about buying. From what I can see it means giving the flat back to the landlord, free of charge, at the end of the 145 years lease! Maybe I have finally found out why they are not selling?
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Estate agents enterred property
I currently rent with Reeds Rains and one of their terms is a quarterly inspection. Amongst the problems I've had (basically them trying to backtrack from their extensive terms), they have now enterred the property without my permission (for the second time - the first time was a contractor who then lost the keys). They're…
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Legal fees
We have just been quoted £1550 by a CQS/Lexcel accredited local solicitor recommended by the estate agent (specific individual at the firm), to cover legal fees and disbursements apart from stamp duty for our purchase property. The solicitor stated that they pay no referral/commission and that their relationship with the…
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Pro's and cons of offering a long fixed term?
My current tenant is moving out and has said she knows someone who would like to move in, but would like some security of tenure. I am considering offering a 3 year fixed term, but wondered if there were any pitfalls in doing this. I own the property outright, so no mortgage issues. I'm also considering freezing the rent…
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Builder without insurance
We are hiring a small builder who has no public liability or any kind of insurance. He will be doing just flooring and removing wall paper, skimming, filling and painting the walls. Also he would be changing the radiators with the help of a plumber and adding a ceiling to the kitchen. Is it possible to get builders…
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House improvements and improvement indicator
I have recieved a letter today saying that my council tax band is changing due to the improvements that the previous owner made, and the new band would be confirmed in the next couple of weeks. I have checked and there is an improvement indicator against my house. I'm really upset as my budget is so tight, and I bought the…
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Landlords refuse any benefits claimants
"Enjoying" a new experience of not being good enough to rent a home! We have been perfect tenants for 31 years but now we need to downsize we are getting turned down at every turn just because we need to claim benefits. I know people think we are a drain on the country but as we both have debilitating chronic illness we…
