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Martin Lewis Blog: 'House offer accepted, now they want £20,000 more! What should I do?'
A passer-by stopped Martin in the street recently to ask his opinion on her house buying dilemma. You can check out his view in a video he posted: Martin Lewis: 'House offer accepted, now they want £20,000 more! What should I do?' What would you do? Stand your ground? Walk away? Pay the extra? Negotiate? Tell us your…
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New to the House Buying, Selling & Renting board? Start here
✅ This board is for... * Questions about buying or selling a home * Questions about renting a home * Questions about being a landlord 🚫 This board is not for.. * Debating the state of the economy * Debating house prices in general * Political debates Note: In order to help keep the Forum a useful, safe and friendly place…
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Tenancies in Eng/Wales: Guides for landlords and tenants
post 1 This thread is intended to provide information to both landlords and tenants relating to Assured Shorthold Tenancies (ASTs) in England and Wales. Updated April 2020 to include the Coronavirus Act 2020 and July 2020 to include the Electrical Safety Standards Regulations 2020. Topics covered: Post 2: Repairing…
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Help with leasehold ; complicated?
The abridged story is that I purchases a SO property in 2011, and fully staircased 10 years later. The lease I signed in 2011 clearly states 99 years. So this is definitely the time to consider extending. Slightly bizarrely, my lease doesn't have a date on my hard copy. So I used an online tool called the Leasehold…
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Parking outside own home in a 6 house cul-de-sac......?
Hello, FAO: MODS If this is in the wrong place, please move it. Background information - we have moved into my girlfriends childhood home that her mum lived in until she died 2 years ago. It is a small cul-de-sac with 6 houses on it in a L shape (see Picture 1). They were Council Houses, all 3 bedroom semi's. Number 1&2…
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Sheltered housing criteria
I currently own a home and would like to move to another area where my parents live. It is a more expensive area so buying is out of the question. They both live in sheltered accommodation and moved there 20 years ago. They previously owned a property, sold it and now pay rent. There is no warden. I also would not need a…
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Buying a leasehold flat has been the single worst experience of my life
I started this process in May 2025 when I had an offer accepted on my first flat I tried to buy. After 5 months of forms, waiting for packs and information, enquires, weeks of back and fourth with very little progress being made, I dropped the purchase. All because the seller didn't want to pay his own fee of a deed of…
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What tools did you use to track and manage your house or flat hunt?
I'm not great with organisation, especially with things I'm not particularly excited about. I'm currently looking for a new home and finding the whole process surprisingly hard to manage. When I start searching I end up with tabs open on Rightmove and Zoopla and can never remember which ones I've already looked at, or…
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Manage the CGT on the sale of a rental property
Hi All, Please excuse my rambling, just trying to enter details that maybe relevant. My wife and I jointly own a rental property for 10 years, it has increased in value approx 50K in this time. I would like to sell and legally avoid/manage as much CGT as I can. I also own my main residence. On personnel note, I can…
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House wont sell other options
So i have been trying to sell my home for a few months. Valued by 3 agents between £220k and £230k. I would accept £220k but it is just not selling. No interest despite changing the photos to clear and uncluttered pictures. I desperately need to move areas. Should i just keep reducing the property to below market value and…
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FTB cash-only flat with short lease and major works pending
Hi all, I’m a first-time buyer and would really appreciate some guidance before I submit an offer on a flat I’ve viewed. The property is listed at £130k and is a probate, cash-buyer purchase due to the lease only having 54 years remaining. A neighbour on the building committee reportedly bought their share a few years ago…
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A niche SDLT question.
(posting for a colleague) A married couple A & B owned their own home. For historic reasons it was always in the sole name of A. They then decided to move to another part of the country, due to work commitments B moved first with the intention that A follows a few months later. B moves into a doer-upper. The property is in…
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Proving Source of Funds
I hope this is the correct place to post. My son is experiencing difficulties in proving the source of funds for the deposit on his first house. He was left an inheritance when he was 4 years old. This was held in trust until he was 18 when it transferred to his name i 2016. He is now 27. The Solicitors are insisting he…
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Selling House in Spain with squatters
looking for advice on behalf of my parents in their 60’s who have a house in Tortosa Delta de Ebro region of Spain in a rural area which is now in a sorry state after Squatters have taken residence. They have been there a while and the house is now a shell of what it once was. Wondering if there are any companies who…
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Whopping stamp duty or wait it out?
is it normal to pay 50k stamp duty? Are people actually paying this? Seems hefty!!!! I want to buy a place to let out but 50k plus extra seems a bit much? Are people in UK actually paying this? Seems very dissuading. Or is it just me being tight!?
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Shared ownership stamp duty for staricasing
Hello, I am new into this but I will try to be brief I read a previous thread but it was closed so I could not reply back. From reading , I understand these are the info you will need at the moment. I am considering staricasing and trying to figure out the cost of stump duty. Here are the facts that I know. - property…
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Selling a park home
Hi everyone, my father has just got into a residential care home and he was living in a park home. Luckily, it’s under my name and has been for nearly 10 years so I can sell it. However, the owner of the Park has said before he would let us sell it on the open market we have to fix the fence which I think is fair enough…
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Creation of Residents Management Company - Insight sought
Hi everyone, I’m looking for some insight from anyone who has set up or taken over a Residents' Management Company (RMC) specifically for a small private road. Our developer is ready to hand over the freehold of the road to us. I’m stepping up as a Director, but I want to make sure we aren’t being taken for a ride on the…
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No heating or hot water since 11 September 25
My disabled (enhanced rate PIP recipient) pensioner (70 years old) partner has had no heating or hot water in his Housing Asosiation flat since 11 September 2025, due to a problem with the communal boiler. The association are seeking quotes for repair replacement. The costly rent at the property includes the central…
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Retirement Village in Breach of Repairs Contract?
Hi My Mum lives in a Retirement Village, where she shares ownership of a bungalow. In December she had a burst pipe behind the kitchen units. She has a RepairsPlus contract for which she pays £43.99/month. An engineer came out & repaired 2 sections of copper pipe, which were badly corroded. It transpired that whoever had…
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Would you buy a house that had previously had spray foam insulation?
I had an offer accepted recently on what I thought was my dream home. A few weeks later I've been informed by the estate agent that it has spray foam insulation in the loft, which the vendor is going to have removed prior to me arranging a survey as he knows it's not mortgageable as it is. I hadn't heard much before about…
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What is the advantage of a council flat over a privately rented flat?
I was homeless, I went onto this impossible system gateway, that finds you a flat but in about 4 decades time. Im still on it. Im allowed to keep searching even though I now have privately rented accommodation (which I like) But why would it be worthwhile, what are the advantages of a council flat over a privately rented…
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Selling a house for the first time - struggling!
We bought our first home in 2022, at peak pandemic price, when properties were selling like hot cakes. We had been renting for 7 years before, and we bought into the idea that we needed to get on the property ladder sooner rather than later. We bought a 2-bedroom semi, new build, with a surprisingly large, SE facing…
