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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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Options for insurance for probate house.
Hi. A relative has been granted probate for a late friend's estate which includes a house - the house was left to the executor, my relative. Up until now - whilst probate was being sought, and since being granted - the house was insured using an Unoccupied House policy. She now wishes to tidy the place up for ultimate…
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Questions about The New Homes Group.
I have a few questions about a company called The New Homes Group [TNHG] and I want to see if any of you have come across them and if you have what you have to say. My situation is as follows - My partner has viewed a house and wants to purchase it. The house is in Witham, Essex. It is marketed by a local estate agent but…
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Auction Purchase Compliance question
So we purchased a property through an auction site in July 2025. The sale contract was extremely vague and obviously we were liable for extremely high additional costs. Which we did factor into our decision, however…… After extensive refurbishment, we are looking to sell the property through the same auction house.…
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New boiler - no gas certificate
I had a new gas boiler fitted last year and the fitter made a really good job of it. I never did receive a (gas safe) certificate for it. He now seems to have vanished into thin air. I'm a little concerned about when we finally come to sell our property in a few years time. I'm not sure where to go from here and would like…
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Buying house with extension but no "improvement indicator" for council tax
We've recently put an offer in for a house that had an extension about 15 years ago, I have checked the local council website and have found the planning permission which was accepted. Despite this, when I check the government website the property does not show an improvement indicator but I can't see how this wouldn't…
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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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Paying balancing service charge
I live in a purpose-built block of retirement flats. As with all such properties, we pay an estimated service charge that requires a balancing fee at a later date when the accounts are completed. I have just received a bill for the balancing charge. I agree that the amount is payable in due course. The trouble is that for…
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Splitting CGT on property in sole maiden name
We are planning to sell the flat I bought pre marriage and have rented since marriage . We have always split the rental gain on our self assessments and wonder if we actually need to do a deed of assignment in order to split CGT liability on selling, given that HMRC have always allowed us to split the rental tax liability.…
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Potential to buy a share of Freehold in 2 flat property?
If one has a leasehold flat in a block of 2, where the freehold is owned by a housing association - with the other flat being rented out, are there any rights to get part ownership of the freehold? My understanding is not, but I don't know if changes might be in the pipeline. The interest is because we'd like to make some…
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Kitchen sink has detached. Should the surveyor have noticed issue?
Hi, For the house I recently bought, I had a Level 2 survey done, and this is their quote for the kitchen: "Fitments consist of kitchen and utility fittings to a modern good standard, the usual blemishes noted, although much storage noted also. However, no serious issues were noted and the usual maintenance is advised.…
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Whether to Buy/Rent Advice Please
Hello, I’ve just returned to the UK from the Middle East for 8 years. I will start working in London but currently based in Manchester with family for the short-term (need to be in London 2-3 days/week). To reduce the commute the plan is probably to be based closer along the train line (Crewe, Stafford) either renting or…
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Chimney removal certificate
Hi all, I’m a first-time buyer and would really appreciate some real-world advice from people who’ve been in a similar situation. We’re in the process of buying a semi-detached house in London. A survey has just been carried out, and it’s confirmed that the chimney has been removed on all floors. The seller says this was…
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Estate agent overcharged commission fee
My estate agent has been overcharging me commission for their property management and tenant find service as a landlord client. I just noticed the discrepancy when filing invoices and comparing it to the signed terms and conditions. It stretches back to the first invoice in May 2024 when the first tenant moved into the…
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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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buy to let landlord tax saving scheme question
does anyone have any contacts for reputable tax advice for landlords and tax restructuring.? im looking for regulated professional companies only please , i had been in talks with property118 in recent months but they are very sales pushy and the fees are really high , whats confused me greatly is a recent article by dan…
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Guardianship Schemes?
Does anyone know anything about rental properties under guardianship schemes? We are considering a short term rental between houses and a couple have come up listed as guardianship properties. Rolling 28 days notice for both sides. This makes us a bit nervous. Typically how long can these tenancies last? Could we be faced…
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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…
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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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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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New "Have a Look at This" thread
The other one has disappeared and any posts I have made are not listed in either my posts or thanks. This thread is for things like: . Spotting pets in properties . Anything awful - decor, extensions etc . Quirky properties . Timewarp properties . Properties in serious repair and anything which is different and of interest…
