Doing it on my own: bobobski's house deposit diary

savingwannabe

Blimey I wish i'd heard of that paint before!!!!!!!!

We'll make a decorator of Bobobski yet, I might get a certificate myself my builder says. :j

bobobski

Wowza you guys really are fonts of all knowledge on the decoration front I'll definitely have to slot in a trip to Wilko. I think I've found that crack free paint you mentioned SYA (http://www.wilko.com/white-paint/polycell-crack-free-ceiling-smooth-flexible-matt-emulsion-paint-white-25l/invt/0105560) and also the white/pink stuff (http://www.wilko.com/wall+ceiling-paint/wilko-easy-white-matt-emulsion-paint-pure-brilliant-white-25l/invt/0289116) - half the price of Dulux, wow!! FANTASTIC tip From the reviews it sounds like the quality is good but it's stinky while it dries - I can live with that for half the price...

A weird thing just happened - as I was scrolling through the paints on Wilko's website, I started actually smelling paint! Am I going mad??

I had great fun looking at washing machines and things in Curry's today although when the guy approached me to offer to help I had to confess that I don't have a house yet...

My seller may be leaving her white goods in the flat - we haven't agreed that part yet - which would be great as there would be somewhere to put the milk for tea and the prosecco on day 1. I'd want my own fridge etc pretty soon though, and I definitely want a new cooker because hers is very grubby and they're not very expensive to replace. New home, new cooker

I'm going to stalk the DIY stores either tomorrow or another weekend to space out the obsession I think. I am pleased with myself as I think I've decided on my surveyor (to be instructed once mortgage offer comes in) out of a number of quotes I received, largely because they are local and have brilliant online reviews. Trying to be sensible first, then indulgent!

savingwannabe

Well done on all your research and hard work today. Make sure you are eating properly etc as it will get a bit stressful in a bit. It is sooo exciting though.

Skint_yet_Again

Yes those are the paints I mentioned. If you use the crack free ceiling paint you don't need the pink to white.


The surveyor sounds promising, have you decided which level of survey to have ?

bobobski

Morning SYA. Yes I've decided to go for a home buyer's report and I've specifically asked them to go into the attic as part of it. From reading around this and talking to friends there doesn't seem to be a correct answer - a lot of people don't get any survey, whereas some want the highest level possible. The building at least appears structurally sound, and is around 40 or so years, so based on the guidance I opted for home buyer's. Do you think that sounds right??

savingwannabe

Hallo Bobobski, I had everything done in my survey - it's good to be sure and saves money in the long term so you know what you are facing.

It depends on the age of the property mine is 80 years old. Building techniques weren't fab after the war.

Skint_yet_Again

When we bought our first flat it was under 10 years old and under NHBC guarantee so we just had a basic valuation (and we didn't know any better !)


We had a homebuyers report when we bought our current house which was built in the 1930's.


However we were considering moving from our current house (a few years before our divorce) and the living room floor in the property we were looking at was sloping and it had an old loft conversion with no planning / building regs, so we had a full structural survey on that occasion. It determined there was historic subsidence but nothing to worry about so was worth the extra money.


I think if there has been any history of flooding or subsidence or any structural alterations (internal walls removed / attic conversion) its worth getting the full survey done.


Our house move fell through on that occasion, (the seller pulled out on the day of exchange but that's a horror story I don't want you worrying about) thankfully we had paid for insurance with the solicitor to cover us so we didn't have to pay solicitor fees, however we did lose the survey money, but I would still opt for a full structural survey if I was moving again and thought the property warranted one.

bobobski

Thanks both, that's really helpful. I'm definitely of the view that, if you're going to bother getting a survey, you should get a decent one - which is one of the reasons I'm not going for the cheapest option (in terms of survey and surveyor). I'll think again about whether to get a structural survey and might ask for a quote for one from my chosen surveyor.

To be honest my main concern today (it changes daily...) is valuation, as I'm terrified I'm paying well over the value of the flat, which would lead to a rejected mortgage amongst other things. Funny, because when I first found it I thought it was under-valued! I am doing some reading about why it doesn't matter if you overpay to calm me down, but the home buyer's report (or at least the one I was planning to get) includes a valuation. As long as it's in the ballpark of my offer price I'll feel better. Thing is, the seller only bought it 3 years ago and is asking for 50% more than the price she paid. That's a massive jump for this part of town which has seen steady, but not crazy, house price rises in that period. I hope she just got a stupidly good deal when she bought it! Another property in the same place, same layout, same floor area, same floor level, roughly same quality etc, sold a year ago for 6% below my offer price, and the market does seem to have grown by about that much, so hopefully that's a better yardstick than what the seller bought it for..?

Gah, so many things to worry about!

I'm going to continue cleaning my bedroom wall today to try to limit the amount my landlord deducts from my deposit - it'll burn off some of this worry and distract me for a bit...

Hope you both have fab Sundays x

bobobski

Sorry I forgot to say - SYA, seller pulling out on exchange day!! :eek: :eek: :eek: Surely they didn't have to leave it that late?!

savingwannabe

I was really lucky in that mine was quite simple but like you I paid over the odds as the person I bought it from wanted a fixed amount and wouldn't budge. I was starting a new job and needed to move in more than he wanted to sell so we paid it.

It's just good to be aware that there are pitfalls but you may not have any so for now chill and enjoy. I am about to do work from 'work' but am only going to do it for 4 hours max.