An in-between phase

PennysIntoPounds

Thanks @Blackcats. Neither do we and apparently neither do any of the qualified professionals who we keep giving thousands of pounds to!
Did I mention that the whole thing started by being delayed by over a year because the architect, who we trusted what with them being a fully paid up expert on all the certified boards etc, submitted for planning permission... plans that completely ignored that the sewer for the whole street existed and that we would have to build through it.
I'm sure there are capable people in this industry but we're yet to come across any

Sun_Addict

That all sounds so blooming frustrating 😖 Why is anything to do with land, surveyors, solicitors and architects so complicated. 

amber03

Hope you don’t mind me asking, what is the background of the above, are you looking to build your own house on some land you have. Sorry to ask this but I can’t find in your blog where this all kicked off. I’m exhausted just reading everything you have to do that relates to it. You do wonder how some people just seem to get on with it and don’t seem To hit any hurdles. Hoping for some good news for you soon.xx

PennysIntoPounds

As far as I can tell its cos everyone in this industry gets their qualification or job then develops Walter Mitty syndrome @Sun_Addict, we've spent the last half a decade with our jaws dropped at the fact that everyone who we thought knew what they were doing turned out to be a worryingly delusional fantasist. And we're super careful about making sure everyone is on the professional registers etc!

Oh there was also the delay because the council didn't respond to our consents for yonks then when we contacted the MP just lied and lied to the actual Member of Parliament, and when we objected we were just blanked by the MP's office

Oh and there was also the time the council waited six months instead of their stated eight weeks to press send on a consent despite us begging them all that time for any update, and only did it then because we contacted the chief exec's office, and we know they were just not pressing send cos they literally did it in under five minutes 

Anyway, I am a perfectly fine chilled person who is absolutely fine and chilled and everything is cool 😂

Sun_Addict

Sends both wine and beer to help smooth the process 🍺 🍷 😬

PennysIntoPounds

Hey @amber03, thanks and not at all- Mr PIP and his brother were gifted a plot of land big enough for two modest houses by their dad, as their dad used to be a builder and the land was his builder's yard.
It was supposed to be a nice thing that would give them and their partners a secure home! And hopefully still will be

PennysIntoPounds

Cheers @Sun_Addict, think I can share some of the wine with you after the day you've had! 🥂

foxgloves

That's interesting, Pip, as I too was interested as to how you had come into a parcel of land. Potentially a very thoughtful & useful legacy, but I can totally get how stressful you are finding it. It all sounds just so very complicated & more so when people with a finger in the pie don't properly fulfil the brief despite being paid. I found myself thinking, "SURELY it must be possible to buy a small ready-built property rather than endure all this faff.....", but then I thought about what houses cost on my sister's London street - small semis (terraced) with miniscule outside space & a bunfight for parking spaces, & I know that this thought was really more about me not wanting you to be so stressed. I suppose it's a case of keeping your eye on the prize against deciding to call it a day, then spending the rest of your life wondering if it could have worked. Can understand the frustrations though. Shall certainly continue to follow your house journey from the sidelines & send positive vibes.
F x

badmemory

What must be very frustrating is that they seem to be quite prepared to build on green & previously unused land but not to give the go ahead on something that quite obviously wasn't.

PennysIntoPounds

Thanks @foxgloves, I'm sure I mentioned how the land was got (definitely a film title) before but maybe I omitted that key detail 😁 
We looked at places we could get for the cost of our life savings and our half of the land, and could barely both fit in them, there was no actual outdoor space, they were in neighbourhoods you would genuinely feel unsafe living in, and we would have to have split up if we wanted a basic fridgefreezer as we couldn't both fit in the gaff with one. So definitely praying this build comes good!

It makes me so angry @badmemory. Every time I hear 'there's not enough housing in London' I go into a rage, there's a f*ckton of housing and land sitting empty but let's just build over the environment and shove people into ever more untenable living quarters rather than tell big businesses and foreign 'investors' that they can't just buy up their portfolio and sod society