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Rental Application
Good evening, I am a bit worried as looking to rent again but back account is nearly £500 overdrawn I am on benefits, I have a guarantor and can give reference letter from landlord, and obviously show benefits statements. I am really worried they will ask for bank statements as then they will see the overdraft, I do pay…
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Buy now vs buy in a few years?
Good Afternoon Everyone, I have a question regarding whether I should buy now or rent for a bit longer to save more money and increase my deposit. So I have just seen that Santander do 2% deposit mortgages currently, and with that I would be able to buy a house in the latter part of this year. But I am wondering whether it…
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Water Damage from Other Property - Leasehold
Hello. The property upstairs is managed by a Letting Agency on behalf of the owner. Several months ago this agency arranged for plumbers to replace a water heater and water came down into my property because they didn't drain it. I lost electricity for several days whilst it dried out and then they replaced the mains fed…
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Certificate of Structural Adequacy after Subsidence
Who’s had experience of getting buildings insurance cover with these at reasonable rates? If so were you actually asked to submit them or did you get the cover simply by declaring that you had one and weren’t actually asked to submit a copy? In my experience the latter is more common now as with AI underwriting there is no…
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Overpriced house, offer rejected, what now?
Husband and I went to view a property on Sunday and we both really liked it however we think it is overpriced. It was put on the market in June 2025 for 850k, reduced 3 months later to 800k then taken off the market. It has recently been put back on at 775k and I still think it is really overpriced. The house has been…
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Defunct land next to house
Hello! This is a weird one - our house at the end of a cut-de-sac has a lane running down the side - we have been here for 7 years and it's not been used in that time - speaking to the neighbours, the lane hasn't been used for decades. The local council still maintain a street light at the top of the lane! After calling…
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Got a Homebuy Keyworker Loan in 2004 - who do I owe??
Hi, wondering if anyone can help direct me. I was lucky enough to get a Homebuy keyworker loan in 2003 that purchased 25% of my property, a small flat. In 2011, I managed to port the loan to a bigger property, where it then equated to 13% of the value of the property. We did some home improvements (it was a fixer upper)…
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Rents increasing
Locally in Essex where we have rental properties we own and manage rents have, on average gone up by 10% and we have noticed fewer properties for rent. It looks to us as if the renters right act is having the opposite effect intended. Less homes to chose from and higher rents? Is it the same in your area?
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Buying my old house back after 3 years
hi I need advise on buying my old house back I sold it 3 years ago for 400k and now regret it but now it’s back on the market for 460k the new owner has done nothing to it and he’s let it go I’ve offered 425k cash and he won’t accept my offer he says wants 440k but I feel 40k in 3 years is delusional as other houses in my…
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Purple Bricks' Lifetime Guarantee
Hi, we paid Purple Bricks' agency fee 4 years ago on the basis that it would be honoured whenever we chose to sell our house. I've now been advised that the new owners of the company will only give us six months to sell our house, after which we lose our money (c£1700). Anyone know if there is any way of challenging this…
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Insurance for property that had subsidence 20 years ago - certificate of structural adequacy
Hi all, A year ago I moved into a property that suffered a one off bout of subsidence 20 years ago due to soil slippage / trees. I'm renewing my insurance but most insurance companies ask for a certificate of structural adequacy which the previous owners told me they never got (they didn't know what it was). They did…
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Subsidence - Repair or Re-build Porch
Hi, My house was built around 50 years ago and previous home owner added a porch he built himself around 30 years ago, with shallow foundations. In the dry summer of 2022, I let our wisteria grow too big and along with the dry ground the porch started to subside. Detached from house with a 1-2cm gap. My options are to…
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Clarification of responsibilities in common areas.
A poster ( ndelightfullyvaguely) has raised an issue ( on the DIY forum ) that might be better helped in this area. It started as an electrical issue with the supply in the common area but to my mind it needs the party responsible clarifying regarding the electrical supply in a common area. Can anyone help? It has…
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Buildings insurance, subsidence and a withdrawn mortgage offer
We are now at the point of exchange on a property with a recent (2021) history of subsidence for which there was an insurance claim. Our mortgage lenders have withdrawn their offer based on the fact that we cannot get buildings insurance with an excess of lower than £2,500. As is standard, the mortgage offer states the…
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Certificate of structural adequacy
The surveyor of a house we are buying has suggested we hire a structural engineer to provide a Certificate of structural adequacy. The house has been underpinned in the past, but the surveyor did not comment on any signs of current subsidence. Is this normal to get a certificate?
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Human grave in garden of house.
Listening to local radio and elderly gentleman on who's wife has recently died and is having her buried in their house's garden (he's having built some kind of mausoleum for them both) as they want to be with their pets also buried in the garden (they were/are animal rights activists he said) No family, so has willed the…
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Social Housng service charge increase
I have just recieved my new rent and estimated service charges. The rent increase seems proportional. The service charge is absurd. It has gone from £34.19 per calander month to £161.67!!! The biggest charge comes under Managing agent costs of £18.51 a week. I live in a small 1 bed flat with no garden. The idea of a £161…
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Stamp duty confusion
my son has saved for years to buy his first house. His offer on a house has been accepted. A few years ago he married his long time girlfriend who already owned a house. She is the sold owner on the deeds. this new house will be their main home as she has rented out her own house. My son will be the only owner on the new…
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Extending Lease - "Bulk Buying"
A close friend owns a leasehold flat in a block of six. The building is owned by a limited company which all the leaseholders are members/directors of. Recently she was looking at (re)mortgage options and was told that she'd need at least 90 (ninety) years left on the lease but she (and all the other leaseholders) have 8X…
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New rules and eviction
Just trying to understand the new rules around eviction. Relative has been renting same property for 8 years now. Their landlord was using an agent. But they've been self managing for a little while now. New landlord wants to sell and has offered relative first refusal, but due to personal issues currently can't get a…
