We'd like to remind Forumites to please avoid political debate on the Forum... Read More » This is to keep it a safe and useful space for MoneySaving discussions. Threads that are - or become - political in nature may be removed in line with the Forum’s rules. Thank you for your understanding.

PLEASE READ BEFORE POSTING: Hello Forumites! In order to help keep the Forum a useful, safe and friendly place for our users, discussions around non-MoneySaving matters are not permitted per the Forum rules. While we understand that mentioning house prices may sometimes be relevant to a user's specific MoneySaving situation, we ask that you please avoid veering into broad, general debates about the market, the economy and politics, as these can unfortunately lead to abusive or hateful behaviour. Threads that are found to have derailed into wider discussions may be removed. Users who repeatedly disregard this may have their Forum account banned. Please also avoid posting personally identifiable information, including links to your own online property listing which may reveal your address. Thank you for your understanding.

House buying, renting & selling

For all questions to do with buying, selling, renting and letting homes.

One bedroom flat not selling
Im trying to sell my one bedroom flat in West Sussex in a coastal town. It's small but nicely presented, maintenance fee is around £1400 per year (not too bad in comparison with others in this area) and about 110 years left on the lease. I had a buyer who had agreed £160k and put in an offer to a two bed flat I'd like to…
Estate Agents TC - when selling
In the Estate Agent's contract, one of their clauses read: 'By signing this agreement you agree that if you do not pay our commission within seven days of the sale being completed, you will pay interest on our commission at a rate of 4% a year above the HSBC Plc base rate. If we have to instruct solicitors because you do…
Deprivation of assets ?
MIL owns her own house (early eighties, poorish health, mortgage free). Me and OH own own home (virtually mortgage free) Idea has been mooted by OH we both sell, combine money and buy house with annex for MIL. My concern is MIL is not in good health and where would we stand if had to go into residential care ? Would LA…
Best way to pay for care home fees
Hi I’m an only child and my elderly mother will soon be needing care at home and quite probably then go into a care home. She has a decent pension and some savings, so I know she’ll need to contribute towards most of the at home care fees and if she goes into a home she’ll be responsible for all fees, as she owns her…
Urgent advice on notice/vacating a property
Hello, we are on a 1year AST that expires on April the 30th, and we have given formal notice to our landlord right now, 14th of April. He's asking for a full May month's rent, too. We have this written on the contract: We will be leaving the property in a few days, could anyone knowledgeable on the matter help us out…
Tax payable on lease extension for freeholders
Hello, I can see a number of other posts on this matter but no one seems to have reached a conclusion. We are 5 freeholders, with 90 year leasehold interests in our flats (held via a company). We wish to extend these interests to 999 years. We have spoken to law firms and tax advisers all with very different views on the…
Giving Section 21 notice
Just needed a second opinion on this. Please don't write comments about don't I know this etc as sometimes landlords need to double check things. So basically my tenant's contract is expiring 23rd June. I have spoken to him yesterday to give him a heads up that I will be giving him notice & would like for him to leave by…
Skipton Mortgage with EU gifted deposit
Hi folks, I'm trying to help out my in-laws with their mortgage and part of this involves a gift from my own mother (through me in a joint borrower capacity) The funds are currently in an account in Portugal and have been in her account for over 6 months following a property sale last year. My broker is telling me that…
Investing in property to flip with family member
We are thinking of investing in a property to do up to help boost my mother’s and my pension. She is of retirement age, I am a builder so we would share the profit. We don’t need to borrow as between us we have enough funds, can anyone advise me on the tax implications, we both own our own properties we reside in. Any…
Utilities when moving home - transfer or set up as a new customer?
Hello all. We will be moving imminently and I am wondering if it is considered better to transfer utilities like phone/broadband, gas/electric etc. to the new home with the same supplier as is currently providing the services, or whether to close accounts with current suppliers and thereby (hopefully) get new customer…
New council tax powers re second homes
I believe these draconian measures have now reached second home owners in England? However, this situation has existed for some time here in Wales. My parents neighbours, a married couple from Manchester, have a small 2 bed bungalow in N Wales as their ‘holiday home’. Last year they were charged 100% premium on their…
House not selling
Me and my partner (unmarried) split in June this year and have been trying to sell our 3 bedroom house since August which was valued at £175k and that is what it is on the market for. It has a front garden, with a double driveway and back garden, brand new bathroom and separate toilet. We had the hallway repainted and the…
Can profits from second home be contributed to personal pension - to lower capital gain tax?
Hi Both my wife and myself have a BTL rental property that we are using for retirement but considering selling it now as needed to release the cash from it. There will be capital gain tax to be paid but wonder if we are allowed to use the profits from the sale to be directed into our own personal pension, therefore liable…
Boundary Wall Unstable - HELP!
Hi all, first post! My partner and I are in the process of buying a house, our offer has been accepted on the proviso that we fix the boundary wall between the property and the neighbours directly behind (jointly with said neighbour). Only problem is there is little info about the problem and we are concerned about costs,…
Right to park
Hi we just had new people move in and they have been told they seem to think they have the right to park a second car in front our house. I was told the space in front out house was for access to their one car parking space. I have attached the current deeds to both properties they live in the house marked on the left…
Offer made: 'Sale is subject to contract & survey'
Hello. Last weekend the estate agent called me to let me know that the folks who offered exactly the asking price, they have now found their buyer and the chain has now gone down to 3, or 4, from 6 He advised that since this is the best offer so far and that the property has not attracted too many viewings, it would be…
Query Regarding Temporary Savings of Gifted deposit for House
Good morning everyone, I recently transferred a large sum (over £150,000) from my European bank account to my UK account. The funds were a gift from my parents intended for a property purchase. However, the sale fell through midway, and I’m now unsure when I’ll need the money again. To ensure the funds are protected, my…
Rent tribunal - what factors are considered?
My landlord has put up my rent by 16% this year. This is after a 22% increase in 2023. The rent is a little higher than average for the area for similar flats, but the state of this flat is a lot worse than those (various aspects of disrepair outstanding). Would a tribunal look at the state of the flat when deciding if…
Offer Confusion
The owners of the house we went to view were very chatty and told us that their previous buyer pulled out as they wanted to be completed before the stamp duty rise. The house is currently on offer at £260k We took it therefore that the previous interested parties must’ve offered under 250k - but after offering 240 we were…
Seller in arrears on service charges
Am buying a leashold and everything is ready except for management pack which has not been sent for 9 weeks. Just found out today apparently the seller is in arrears on service charges and management company will not release pack until debt is paid. They have passed the debt to a collector. the seller is employed and had…

★ ★ ★ Meet your Ambassadors

Confirm your email address to Create Threads and Reply

MSE News

Martin Lewis: How to call your bank with just three digits – as 'anti-scam' phone number called over a million times
One million calls have been made to the '159' anti-scam phone number since its launch in 2021, new figures reveal today (Wednesday 30 April). MoneySavingExpert.com founder Martin Lewis – one of the well-known faces most used in scams – explains how to call your bank by dialling just these three numbers.
Revealed: Holland & Barrett's supposedly cheaper 'Subscribe & Save' often costs more – it's promised a review after our investigation
Holland & Barrett's 'Subscribe & Save' scheme claims to offer regular shoppers "the best value" – but it failed to do so in the majority of cases MoneySavingExpert.com checked over a five month period. The retailer has now promised to review the scheme after our research found it was often more expensive.
Don't get your passport by post – 360,000 paid more than needed last year
If your passport is due for renewal, apply online if you can – it'll save you £12.50. More than 7 million Brits did just that last year – but over 360,000 missed out on savings by using a paper form instead, MoneySavingExpert.com can reveal.
Sainsbury’s Bank customer? NatWest takes over this week – here's what it means for savers and borrowers
Sainsbury's Bank's savings, credit cards and loans will be taken over by NatWest from Thursday 1 May. For most, this means little will change for now as the Sainsbury's Bank brand will remain, though it's expected to be phased out towards the end of this year. However, if you've over £85,000 saved across both banks, it's worth considering moving any excess elsewhere to ensure your cash remains protected.
Chase customer? Check if you can get its newly boosted 4.8% easy-access saver
If you've got a Chase account, check if you can boost your easy-access savings to 4.8% – made up of a 1.8% AER fixed six-month bonus plus its standard 3% variable rate. Chase says over 2 million customers can get the boost, which would top our normal savings tables if it were open to all, though it's beaten by the top easy-access cash ISAs.
NatWest to complete takeover of Sainsbury's Bank this week – here's what it means for savers and borrowers
Sainsbury's Bank's savings, credit cards and loans will be taken over by NatWest from Thursday 1 May. For most, this means little will change for now as the Sainsbury's Bank brand will remain, though it's expected to be phased out towards the end of this year. However, if you've over £85,000 saved across both banks, it's worth considering moving any excess elsewhere to ensure your cash remains protected.
Martin Lewis: Is the £20,000 cash ISA limit about to be killed off? What savers should be doing now
Plans to cut the £20,000 cash ISA limit later this year are being considered by the Government. In his latest video, MoneySavingExpert.com founder Martin Lewis explains what's likely to happen, what the changes would mean for savers and what you should be doing now.
NatWest to complete takeover of Sainsbury's Bank this week – here's what it means for savers and borrowers
Sainsbury's Bank's savings, credit cards and loans will be taken over by NatWest from 1 May. For most, this means little change for now as the Sainsbury’s brand will remain, though it's expected to be phased out towards the end of this year. However, if you've over £85,000 saved across both banks, you'll need to move any excess elsewhere to ensure your cash remains protected.
NatWest to complete takeover of Sainsbury's Bank this week – here's what it means for savers and borrowers
From Thursday 1 May, Sainsbury's Bank credit cards, loans and savings accounts will be run by NatWest as part of a deal between the two banks. You'll be moved to NatWest in the future, likely towards the end of this year, but for now the Sainsbury's Bank brand will remain and you can continue to use its products and services as before.

View All

House buying, renting & selling

Confirm your email address to Create Threads and Reply

🚀 Getting Started

Categories

Is this how you want to be seen?

Get our FREE Weekly email full of deals & guides - and it’s spam-free

House buying, renting & selling

Discussion List

Confirm your email address to Create Threads and Reply

🚀 Getting Started

Categories

Is this how you want to be seen?

Get our FREE Weekly email full of deals & guides - and it’s spam-free