Buying a home and don't know how anything works

[Puddy_Tat]

But not sure I want to have to drive a few miles to get anywhere

it's worth considering the what-if's here - what if your car is poorly / you have a minor accident and can't drive / the weather's bloody awful and so on.

and (if you're thinking about this being possibly your 'forever' home) what if you reach an age or health condition where you're no longer able to drive or can no longer afford to run a car once you're retired?

i think from another thread that you may not be at the latter stage of thinking yet, but i'm aware of people who have ended up regretting where they have retired to once they have reached a stage where they can't drive (or if only their partner could drive, then when they can't or when they are not no longer in a position to)

 

[moonsi til]

Elpenor previous advice I have been given when it was just me was ‘insure the person, not the property’ which is an avenue worth exploring. I currently have critical illness cover that will pay me my salary for 2 years which would enable me to keep paying my mortgage/bills & I have insurance that will pay off my mortgage on event of my death. The critical illness cover is the most expensive part of my policy.

 

[Elpenor]

Thanks all. I’m getting in a bit of a flap about this all aren’t I!

On the plus side I’ve got nothing to sell, so I just need to be patient and pick the right option.

You make some good points Puddy_Tat - thanks for the sense check

 

[Zapp Brannigan]

One place I came across last night - only been on market since Friday. Block-booked for viewings on Wednesday and Saturday - no slots available. It seems ideal, but fairly certain it will be gone before I have a chance to get inside it.

At least I know I have to be quick for next time

Lots of places seem to be doing this at the moment - more buyers out there than places on the market.

Block bookings on the Saturday after it hits RightMove (etc), 'overflow' day on the Tuesday or Wednesday. Offers taken but not responded to until after the second day. If there are multiple bids, likely as not the vendors will ask for "best and final offers", and one is accepted on the Friday.

If you think you're in a position to move, the morning (and noon, and night) refresh of RightMove needs to be your daily routine. Nothing hangs around anymore.

 

[Puddy_Tat]

If you think you're in a position to move, the morning (and noon, and night) refresh of RightMove needs to be your daily routine. Nothing hangs around anymore.

i think you can set up e-mail alerts from some of the property sites. since i'm still at a contemplation stage, i haven't gone for that yet.

 

[5t3IIa]

Rightmove does alerts. One can have several going. I unsubbed from them after I was satisfied that we had got the best gaff for our parameters. That’s doesn’t mean nothing else perfect has come up since but I gave it a month

 

[Red Cat]

Lots of places seem to be doing this at the moment - more buyers out there than places on the market.

Block bookings on the Saturday after it hits RightMove (etc), 'overflow' day on the Tuesday or Wednesday. Offers taken but not responded to until after the second day. If there are multiple bids, likely as not the vendors will ask for "best and final offers", and one is accepted on the Friday.

If you think you're in a position to move, the morning (and noon, and night) refresh of RightMove needs to be your daily routine. Nothing hangs around anymore.

Yeh, you have to be obsessive about it.

There will be houses that 'stagnate' if they don't get enough interest in the first week, and one of those might be good enough. 'Ideal' is going to be ideal for others too hence the above scenario.

We need to move house due to neighbour issues and its the worst possible time to be looking, I am thinking laterally i.e buy 2 bed and convert loft rather than pay 100k more for a 3 bed that has a small 3rd bedroom.

 

[Zapp Brannigan]

Yeh, you have to be obsessive about it.

There will be houses that 'stagnate' if they don't get enough interest in the first week, and one of those might be good enough. 'Ideal' is going to be ideal for others too hence the above scenario.

We need to move house due to neighbour issues and its the worst possible time to be looking, I am thinking laterally i.e buy 2 bed and convert loft rather than pay 100k more for a 3 bed that has a small 3rd bedroom.

This is probably the best way to avoid a scrap at the minute - find the ugly duckling house, do your search sorted by "oldest listed". Those that have slipped through the one-week-turnaround net may have some wiggle room on price and you can give yourself some time to think through (and price up) what needs doing to turn it into your nice house.

 

[shakespearegirl]

All properties have to come with an energy efficiency rating these days, which tbf doesn't say much. You can always ask what gas and electricity bills are.

The energy assessor totally fucked out up, made loads of assumptions (and actually wrote assumed next to things) that were incorrect) so we got an e rating. Still trying to get them to fix it

 

[Elpenor]

I’m looking at RM every few hours don’t worry. The ideal house I would have seen as it was on the market but I looked at my budget again over the weekend and found some more money so searched a bit higher.

 

[Elpenor]

Ok - 2 viewings today in the same road

First one I really liked, virtually all I wanted except no driveway parking - due to the layout it’s approached via a pathway, and then some steps up to the house. There’s a parking space and a garage in a nearby block, and is 40 paces walk from start of the steps up to the house from the nearest parking space. It’s also got rear access which is 12 paces from nearest parking space. Spoke to some neighbours who said it was a nice area but they would I suppose

< URL removed >

Second one is a no.

I’m considering making an offer on the first one. Come on urban, please give me your views on it!

 

[Zapp Brannigan]

Ok - 2 viewings today in the same road

First one I really liked, virtually all I wanted except no driveway parking - due to the layout it’s approached via a pathway, and then some steps up to the house. There’s a parking space and a garage in a nearby block, but I’d estimate 20m walk from house to car.

< URL removed >

Second one is a no.

I’m considering making an offer on the first one. Come on urban, please give me your views on it!

Check if it has at least a part boarded loft, or at least an easily accessible loft hatch so you can do it yourself - there's decent enough storage (under stairs for hoover and stuff, plus the cupboard in bedroom 3) but there's never quite enough. Also, the back garden will be an absolute bugger to mow with that slope.

Apart from that, really nicely done out - nicely decorated, easy to live with but plenty scope to put your own stamp on it. I'd be tempted to put up a wall between the living and dining spaces, and turn the back of the house into a kitchen diner, but that's my preference more than necessity.

 

[baldrick]

Nice! I like that it has a porch where you can put coats and shoes, otherwise storage is always a pain in a house that opens into the lounge.

How awkward is transporting stuff from the car to the house going to be? (heavy shopping, new furniture from Ikea....). Agree that's the only potential drawback.

I like it. I would want to jazz up the kitchen though, it is very 90s. My mum had a very similar kitchen that got installed in the garage as storage when they got a new kitchen. Very solid to be fair! Still there now I think and must be 30 years old.

 

[Red Cat]

Check if it has at least a part boarded loft, or at least an easily accessible loft hatch so you can do it yourself - there's decent enough storage (under stairs for hoover and stuff, plus the cupboard in bedroom 3) but there's never quite enough. Also, the back garden will be an absolute bugger to mow with that slope.

Apart from that, really nicely done out - nicely decorated, easy to live with but plenty scope to put your own stamp on it. I'd be tempted to put up a wall between the living and dining spaces, and turn the back of the house into a kitchen diner, but that's my preference more than necessity.

Bet you it was like that when it was built and someone has tried to make it more 'traditional' by making a dining area and walling off the kitchen.

 

[hash tag]

I could live with it for now, but would certainly change the decor. Garage looks ok for a small car, not the average cars of today.
Looks a nice quiet road and on the surface of it a superb location, but I would check out the area at night time and weekends first
for noisy neighbours, local industry Etc. Neighbouring houses are not setting alarm bells ringing; no signs of rubbish and all look quite well looked after.
Structurally, it looks fine (roof windows, doors) relatively modern so electrics and plumbing should be ok.

 

[salem]

Wish I'd found this thread a while ago! A lot to catch up on so sorry if this has been covered already but we've got our homebuyers report through and it's very through but it's hard to know where to go from it.

It flags £30k worth of stuff needing fixing but most of it seems fairly minor (a front wall that could be rebuilt, some paving that's broken). The most significant thing is pebbledashing which is in poor condition and needs remedial work - £8k. But all of the work is marked as "level 2 - Defects that need repairing or replacing but are not considered to be either serious or urgent. The property must be maintained in the normal way."

For context it's a 1930s maisonette for £380k which is fucking madness as it's in the sticks but was still very nice compared to other places we've seen - however there's also another one come up for £10k less (interior isn't so good but it's a ground floor vs ours which is first floor). I'm quite happy with the place we're going for and we could probably cover a few grand here or there over the next few decades but a £30k bill would flatten us - but then would it even be a £30k bill or £15k because it's split with the other leaseholder?

Part of me is thinking the surveyor is just picking up every minor thing (I've lived in a lot of shit places over the years so my opinion on most of it was 'meh') but my partner is much more twitchy and probably rightly so. My side of the mortgage was just about passed and we're quite a chunk of time, money and emotions invested so I think I would have preferred to live in ignorance.

The people we are buying from have a kid and I don't want to go demanding discounts at this point but other people have suggested using the surveyors report to get something off. Do people build this sort of stuff into the asking price? Other advice is to get quotes for the work - I don't really want to waste the time of half a dozen trades to quote up on stuff they're not likely to actually get work on to help some annoying first time buyers get some money off.

As first time buyers it's such a bloody minefield, there are so many experts you're paying for but they only give you very guarded advice and only about their specific field no one to advise on the overall process! Anyway sorry I think this became a bit of a rant and it was good to get it written down and off my chest.

 

[Elpenor]

Check if it has at least a part boarded loft, or at least an easily accessible loft hatch so you can do it yourself - there's decent enough storage (under stairs for hoover and stuff, plus the cupboard in bedroom 3) but there's never quite enough. Also, the back garden will be an absolute bugger to mow with that slope.

Apart from that, really nicely done out - nicely decorated, easy to live with but plenty scope to put your own stamp on it. I'd be tempted to put up a wall between the living and dining spaces, and turn the back of the house into a kitchen diner, but that's my preference more than necessity.

Bet you it was like that when it was built and someone has tried to make it more 'traditional' by making a dining area and walling off the kitchen.

That was my thought. I’m happy with it as it is for now, but long term a kitchen diner would work if the stud wall was taken out, and a door put in between kitchen and living room.

I asked about the loft, but have forgotten what the agent said. I’ll email him now. The access was from the landing. From memory it was via a ladder / hatch and insulated but not boarded.

As for the grass it was fairly steep but only a small amount. I’ve got an old push me pull me one that would manage it probably

 

[Elpenor]

Double post

 

[Sue]

Ok - 2 viewings today in the same road

First one I really liked, virtually all I wanted except no driveway parking - due to the layout it’s approached via a pathway, and then some steps up to the house. There’s a parking space and a garage in a nearby block, and is 40 paces walk from start of the steps up to the house from the nearest parking space. It’s also got rear access which is 12 paces from nearest parking space. Spoke to some neighbours who said it was a nice area but they would I suppose

< URL removed >

Second one is a no.

I’m considering making an offer on the first one. Come on urban, please give me your views on it!

Looks v decent. You might want to update the decor at some point but it looks perfectly liveable with until you get round to it/get cash together/decide what you want to do.

 

[Thora]

Wish I'd found this thread a while ago! A lot to catch up on so sorry if this has been covered already but we've got our homebuyers report through and it's very through but it's hard to know where to go from it.

It flags £30k worth of stuff needing fixing but most of it seems fairly minor (a front wall that could be rebuilt, some paving that's broken). The most significant thing is pebbledashing which is in poor condition and needs remedial work - £8k. But all of the work is marked as "level 2 - Defects that need repairing or replacing but are not considered to be either serious or urgent. The property must be maintained in the normal way."

For context it's a 1930s maisonette for £380k which is fucking madness as it's in the sticks but was still very nice compared to other places we've seen - however there's also another one come up for £10k less (interior isn't so good but it's a ground floor vs ours which is first floor). I'm quite happy with the place we're going for and we could probably cover a few grand here or there over the next few decades but a £30k bill would flatten us - but then would it even be a £30k bill or £15k because it's split with the other leaseholder?

Part of me is thinking the surveyor is just picking up every minor thing (I've lived in a lot of shit places over the years so my opinion on most of it was 'meh') but my partner is much more twitchy and probably rightly so. My side of the mortgage was just about passed and we're quite a chunk of time, money and emotions invested so I think I would have preferred to live in ignorance.

The people we are buying from have a kid and I don't want to go demanding discounts at this point but other people have suggested using the surveyors report to get something off. Do people build this sort of stuff into the asking price? Other advice is to get quotes for the work - I don't really want to waste the time of half a dozen trades to quote up on stuff they're not likely to actually get work on to help some annoying first time buyers get some money off.

As first time buyers it's such a bloody minefield, there are so many experts you're paying for but they only give you very guarded advice and only about their specific field no one to advise on the overall process! Anyway sorry I think this became a bit of a rant and it was good to get it written down and off my chest.

Our Homebuyers had loads of level 2 and some level 3 stuff - things like the roof, windows, asbestos. Can you speak to the surveyor? When we actually spoke to him none of it was that big a deal and he basically said it was a solid house and he'd buy it. It was more things like ^when^ you come to replace the windows, get ones which can be fire escapes.
We did have a roofer come and look at the roof and he said while there were a few slipped/damaged tiles the roof was still watertight and basically fine - from reading the survey we'd initially thought we were looking at a whole new roof.

 

[Elpenor]

Nice! I like that it has a porch where you can put coats and shoes, otherwise storage is always a pain in a house that opens into the lounge.

How awkward is transporting stuff from the car to the house going to be? (heavy shopping, new furniture from Ikea....). Agree that's the only potential drawback.

I like it. I would want to jazz up the kitchen though, it is very 90s. My mum had a very similar kitchen that got installed in the garage as storage when they got a new kitchen. Very solid to be fair! Still there now I think and must be 30 years old.

I liked the kitchen. But then I loved the 90s!

I’ve tried to mark where the route from the parking is here in red - shorter route via the back passage through the garden. The carrying stuff does concern me as I’ve not got anyone else to help! The front path / steps are also quite narrow.



i

 

[baldrick]

Wish I'd found this thread a while ago! A lot to catch up on so sorry if this has been covered already but we've got our homebuyers report through and it's very through but it's hard to know where to go from it.

It flags £30k worth of stuff needing fixing but most of it seems fairly minor (a front wall that could be rebuilt, some paving that's broken). The most significant thing is pebbledashing which is in poor condition and needs remedial work - £8k. But all of the work is marked as "level 2 - Defects that need repairing or replacing but are not considered to be either serious or urgent. The property must be maintained in the normal way."

For context it's a 1930s maisonette for £380k which is fucking madness as it's in the sticks but was still very nice compared to other places we've seen - however there's also another one come up for £10k less (interior isn't so good but it's a ground floor vs ours which is first floor). I'm quite happy with the place we're going for and we could probably cover a few grand here or there over the next few decades but a £30k bill would flatten us - but then would it even be a £30k bill or £15k because it's split with the other leaseholder?

Part of me is thinking the surveyor is just picking up every minor thing (I've lived in a lot of shit places over the years so my opinion on most of it was 'meh') but my partner is much more twitchy and probably rightly so. My side of the mortgage was just about passed and we're quite a chunk of time, money and emotions invested so I think I would have preferred to live in ignorance.

The people we are buying from have a kid and I don't want to go demanding discounts at this point but other people have suggested using the surveyors report to get something off. Do people build this sort of stuff into the asking price? Other advice is to get quotes for the work - I don't really want to waste the time of half a dozen trades to quote up on stuff they're not likely to actually get work on to help some annoying first time buyers get some money off.

As first time buyers it's such a bloody minefield, there are so many experts you're paying for but they only give you very guarded advice and only about their specific field no one to advise on the overall process! Anyway sorry I think this became a bit of a rant and it was good to get it written down and off my chest.

Unless it's stuff you wouldn't have reasonably been able to see when viewing I wouldn't bother trying to get money off. It's mainly an exercise in arse-covering but it's worth having in case the survey spots something really bad. I don't think you've listed anything like that, just normal maintenance. It's not a surprise to anyone that that a 1930s maisonette will needs bits and bobs doing occasionally.

 

[Elpenor]

Wish I'd found this thread a while ago! A lot to catch up on so sorry if this has been covered already but we've got our homebuyers report through and it's very through but it's hard to know where to go from it.

It flags £30k worth of stuff needing fixing but most of it seems fairly minor (a front wall that could be rebuilt, some paving that's broken). The most significant thing is pebbledashing which is in poor condition and needs remedial work - £8k. But all of the work is marked as "level 2 - Defects that need repairing or replacing but are not considered to be either serious or urgent. The property must be maintained in the normal way."

For context it's a 1930s maisonette for £380k which is fucking madness as it's in the sticks but was still very nice compared to other places we've seen - however there's also another one come up for £10k less (interior isn't so good but it's a ground floor vs ours which is first floor). I'm quite happy with the place we're going for and we could probably cover a few grand here or there over the next few decades but a £30k bill would flatten us - but then would it even be a £30k bill or £15k because it's split with the other leaseholder?

Part of me is thinking the surveyor is just picking up every minor thing (I've lived in a lot of shit places over the years so my opinion on most of it was 'meh') but my partner is much more twitchy and probably rightly so. My side of the mortgage was just about passed and we're quite a chunk of time, money and emotions invested so I think I would have preferred to live in ignorance.

The people we are buying from have a kid and I don't want to go demanding discounts at this point but other people have suggested using the surveyors report to get something off. Do people build this sort of stuff into the asking price? Other advice is to get quotes for the work - I don't really want to waste the time of half a dozen trades to quote up on stuff they're not likely to actually get work on to help some annoying first time buyers get some money off.

As first time buyers it's such a bloody minefield, there are so many experts you're paying for but they only give you very guarded advice and only about their specific field no one to advise on the overall process! Anyway sorry I think this became a bit of a rant and it was good to get it written down and off my chest.

It’s horrible - as you don’t want to be cuttthroat and if you post on urban you’re almost certainly not that kind of “sell your grandma to get the house” mentality. But house buying is one of those things where you unfortunately need to be as otherwise you’re costing yourself thousands - or to look at it another way - giving the vendor thousands

 

[Red Cat]

That was my thought. I’m happy with it as it is for now, but long term a kitchen diner would work if the stud wall was taken out, and a door put in between kitchen and living room.

I asked about the loft, but have forgotten what the agent said. I’ll email him now. The access was from the landing. From memory it was via a ladder / hatch and insulated but not boarded.

As for the grass it was fairly steep but only a small amount. I’ve got an old push me pull me one that would manage it probably

You can use a strimmer, so long as you keep on top of it and it doesn;t get long.

 

[Elpenor]

I could live with it for now, but would certainly change the decor. Garage looks ok for a small car, not the average cars of today.
Looks a nice quiet road and on the surface of it a superb location, but I would check out the area at night time and weekends first
for noisy neighbours, local industry Etc. Neighbouring houses are not setting alarm bells ringing; no signs of rubbish and all look quite well looked after.
Structurally, it looks fine (roof windows, doors) relatively modern so electrics and plumbing should be ok.

I spoke to a neighbour who had lived there since it was built (early 80s) and a younger couple who were doing gardening. They all seemed ok. I thought the decor was ok - I’d have a lot of bookcases and art up anyway. Garage - well it’s never going to have a car in but handy.

Looks v decent. You might want to update the decor at some point but it looks perfectly liveable with until you get round to it/get cash together/decide what you want to do.

That was my thought too.

Hopefully all these posts are not confirmation bias

 

[clicker]

Ok - 2 viewings today in the same road

First one I really liked, virtually all I wanted except no driveway parking - due to the layout it’s approached via a pathway, and then some steps up to the house. There’s a parking space and a garage in a nearby block, and is 40 paces walk from start of the steps up to the house from the nearest parking space. It’s also got rear access which is 12 paces from nearest parking space. Spoke to some neighbours who said it was a nice area but they would I suppose

< URL removed >

Second one is a no.

I’m considering making an offer on the first one. Come on urban, please give me your views on it!

I don't mind the slope on the grass, it looks quite a comfortable incline to lounge on.
The house next door is casting deep shadow on the front of your house, is that just part of the day and would it be a problem?
Other than that it looks really good and ready to move into and make your own.
Eta I like the tree and daffs too.

 

[Zapp Brannigan]

Wish I'd found this thread a while ago! A lot to catch up on so sorry if this has been covered already but we've got our homebuyers report through and it's very through but it's hard to know where to go from it.

It flags £30k worth of stuff needing fixing but most of it seems fairly minor (a front wall that could be rebuilt, some paving that's broken). The most significant thing is pebbledashing which is in poor condition and needs remedial work - £8k. But all of the work is marked as "level 2 - Defects that need repairing or replacing but are not considered to be either serious or urgent. The property must be maintained in the normal way."

For context it's a 1930s maisonette for £380k which is fucking madness as it's in the sticks but was still very nice compared to other places we've seen - however there's also another one come up for £10k less (interior isn't so good but it's a ground floor vs ours which is first floor). I'm quite happy with the place we're going for and we could probably cover a few grand here or there over the next few decades but a £30k bill would flatten us - but then would it even be a £30k bill or £15k because it's split with the other leaseholder?

Part of me is thinking the surveyor is just picking up every minor thing (I've lived in a lot of shit places over the years so my opinion on most of it was 'meh') but my partner is much more twitchy and probably rightly so. My side of the mortgage was just about passed and we're quite a chunk of time, money and emotions invested so I think I would have preferred to live in ignorance.

The people we are buying from have a kid and I don't want to go demanding discounts at this point but other people have suggested using the surveyors report to get something off. Do people build this sort of stuff into the asking price? Other advice is to get quotes for the work - I don't really want to waste the time of half a dozen trades to quote up on stuff they're not likely to actually get work on to help some annoying first time buyers get some money off.

As first time buyers it's such a bloody minefield, there are so many experts you're paying for but they only give you very guarded advice and only about their specific field no one to advise on the overall process! Anyway sorry I think this became a bit of a rant and it was good to get it written down and off my chest.

Solidarity fistbump, our survey also came back with a few "level 2" issues that fair put the wind up me. Good solicitors are important at this point; they'll have seen most of this stuff before and will know what will be your responsibility, what's a case of chasing their solicitors to provide info (e.g. gas safety certificates, building regs approvals, boiler service docs), and what you can reasonably expect the vendors to look out for. Remember, you want the purchase but they also want the sale so it doesn't hurt to ask if there are things they can take care of before exchange.

Bear in mind that many of these are a worst case, belt and braces scenario. As an example; ours has a timber deck running up to patio doors in the back garden - survey flagged it as joining the house above the permitted level, too close to the level of the damp proof course giving potential for snow or rainwater to cause damp. Their solution; retro fit a deeper DPC; cost thousands. My solution - remove the single slat of deck butting up to the house, retro fit with pea gravel; cost negligible.

 

[baldrick]

I liked the garden. But then I loved the 90s!

I’ve tried to mark where the route from the parking is here in red - shorter route via the back passage through the garden. The carrying stuff does concern me as I’ve not got anyone else to help! The front path / steps are also quite narrow.

View attachment 314497

i

It's tricky isn't it because that's the sort of distance I've had to carry heavy stuff from the street into the house sometimes (terraced housing, no allocated parking) and I've not paid an additional 30k for a garage/parking space. Sometimes I even get to park immediately outside the house. On the other hand it's not that often I have to manoeuver things into the house from the car but it's a daily lottery about where I can park.

 

[Elpenor]

I don't mind the slope on the grass, it looks quite a comfortable incline to lounge on.
The house next door is casting deep shadow on the front of your house, is that just part of the day and would it be a problem?
Other than that it looks really good and ready to move into and make your own.
Eta I like the tree and daffs too.

The front of house orientation is approx 220 degrees. So I guess the shadow follows over the front of the house as the day progresses

 

[Artaxerxes]

Ok - 2 viewings today in the same road

First one I really liked, virtually all I wanted except no driveway parking - due to the layout it’s approached via a pathway, and then some steps up to the house. There’s a parking space and a garage in a nearby block, and is 40 paces walk from start of the steps up to the house from the nearest parking space. It’s also got rear access which is 12 paces from nearest parking space. Spoke to some neighbours who said it was a nice area but they would I suppose

< URL removed >

Second one is a no.

I’m considering making an offer on the first one. Come on urban, please give me your views on it!

Is that room with the table and chairs in picture 6 the dining room or third bedroom? As a slightly tall fat bloke it gives me fear. Looks tiny.

Gardens small but gets decent light.


It's not bad, bit of a spruce up and sure it's fine.