Buying a home and don't know how anything works
- Thread starter miss direct
- Start date
spanglechick
High Empress of Dressing Up
She’s a cash buyer. Not getting a mortgage.
There is very little architectural input on most new build housing as most of it is volume housebuilding on new estates. The developers will have 4 or so types of house which they just replicate over and over again on each estate they build. Not need for much architect input apart from landscaping and over view.
spanglechick
High Empress of Dressing Up
But an architect somewhere must have drawn up those original basic designs, right? That weird rear roofline didn’t happen by default.
cybershot
Well-Known Member
You've just reminded me theres still a few things I need to get my address changed with, electoral roll being one of them! Thanks
muscovyduck
Good IT skills and food hygiene competent
Back in the day (proper historical times) palaces and big houses were built so you start at the entrance and the further you went in, the more personal the space was. From what I remember at the end was the private chambers and a 'gallery' which was a personal collection of interesting items. It was a big social thing, how far into the building you were allowed and imo makes a lot of sense. I've lived a lot of different places and my favourites were when the living room wasn't viewable from the street. The architect might have been following this method because it sounds like they might have been a bit... creative
Presumably the slope thing could be about sight lines, I know London has them but idk about elsewhere
Sure, the buildings will have an original architect and the plans will be modified to small degrees for site specific requirements.
When it comes down to volume house building its hard to fully explain just how stripped back it is in terms of building costs. The roof features on that building are there simply to distinguish it from other buildings on the estate. It will be taken from a different house in the house builders portfolio and sort of bolted on because it only takes a few seconds of thought (all dimensions are known etc) and no additional onsite costs because the builders will know exactly how to build it with their eyes closed.
mao
I'm totally wired
Leasehold: Ground rent scandal: leaseholders in England and Wales get new rights
Homeowners get right to extend leases to 990 years with zero ground rents
www.theguardian.com
Homeowners get right to extend leases to 990 years with zero ground rents
Ground rent scandal: leaseholders in England get new rights
Homeowners get right to extend leases to 990 years with zero ground rents
hash tag
Books, not bombs
The weird thing about that place is the way it adjoins the property to it's left, it looks like they overlap.I really like this house that has gone up
Check out this 2 bedroom terraced house for sale on Rightmove
2 bedroom terraced house for sale in Woodspring Court, Grimesthorpe, Sheffield, S4 for £100,000. Marketed by haus, Sheffieldwww.rightmove.co.uk
As already mentioned, it looks tiny. One of the first things to do when looking at agents details is to check out the
square footage (and floor plan)- 589 Sq Ft is tiny. Tiny for a flat yet alone a house. The garage could be used for storage space although
you might be able to convert to a room which might limit future saleability. The bathroom would have to go.
equationgirl
Respect my existence or expect my resistance
She would need a bathroom though!
muscovyduck
Good IT skills and food hygiene competent
Hey does anyone have any opinions about buying leasehold
hash tag
Books, not bombs
There are many strong and divided opinions up thread about this. Don't ever buy a freehold flat, it is a definite no no.
by wary of buying a place with a short lease.
two sheds
Least noticed poster 2007
Have you thought of the benefits of leasehold? The law's changing apparently 
www.arla.co.uk
Disclaimer: just because this shower of cunts say they're going to do something doesn't mean they will.
Leasehold reform to save households up to tens of thousands of pounds
Housing Secretary, Robert Jenrick has announced that millions of leaseholders will be given the right to extend their lease by a maximum term of 990 years at zero ground rent as part of the biggest reforms to English property law for forty years, fundamentally making home ownership fairer and...
www.arla.co.uk
Disclaimer: just because this shower of cunts say they're going to do something doesn't mean they will.
moonsi til
worked it out now!
I’m a strong no but others posted on this thread are more positive.
When I bought my flat I had plans to volunteer abroad so shared with my solicitor. A few years later I discovered that my lease said I couldn’t let out my flat without their permission. Long story short via formal complaint the firm I used paid for my lease to be amended plus increasing the lease term. I then had to pay the lease company £300 for my consent to let each time I have a new tenant. I’m now re-mortgaging & delay in completing as trying to establish if I need to pay the leasehold company a fee to inform them of my new lender!
Leasehold fees vary, I pay £10 ground rent which covers keeping the area outside tidy & window cleaner once per month & £60 per month in ‘management fees’ with a percentage going into maintenance. Maintenance covers any external building work such as new windows , the roof, keeping the landings painted & clean. Any work inside the flat is for me to do. A leasehold flat can decrease in value depending on the years left, you need to ensure increase your years long before you get to 80 years because anything below this attracts something called ‘marriage value’ & it will cost you loads more to extend.
Puddy_Tat
naturally fluffy
quite a few earlier in the thread, my thoughts on about the second page and others around there.
as two sheds has said, there are some rumblings about changing the law, but this would depend on parliament putting the interests of the average person in the street above the interests of property developers, landlords and the like. i have a vague feeling that the blair / brown government did float similar proposals and the whole thing got ditched.
Artaxerxes
Look out, he's got a gnu!
If it's a flat yes, no choice really.
It's something I would avoid as much as possible otherwise
hash tag
Books, not bombs
This is fun (all wrong)2 bed end terrace house for sale in Sheepcote Lane, Battersea, London SW11 - Zoopla
In this single agent entry this is described as a 2 bed end of terrace house, a maisonette and a flat!
The selling agents are at the higher end of the market so I guess they cannot really be bothered with
dodgy little places like this.
(In case you are not aware from pictures, it is a maisonette and it has a lease).
In this single agent entry this is described as a 2 bed end of terrace house, a maisonette and a flat!
The selling agents are at the higher end of the market so I guess they cannot really be bothered with
dodgy little places like this.
(In case you are not aware from pictures, it is a maisonette and it has a lease).
miss direct
misfungled
Back searching, as it looks like the house sale should go through in a few weeks. Somewhat dubious about buying in a city where I have no long term work or particular reason to be here, but I have no particular reason to be anywhere else either. Would it be daft to move back to Birmingham (that's where I grew up and there seem to be more opportunities there)? My money doesn't go as far there.
Seems like my budget could get me either a house in a not very nice area that may need all sorts of work, or a flat in a nice area. Tempted to go for the second option.
Seems like my budget could get me either a house in a not very nice area that may need all sorts of work, or a flat in a nice area. Tempted to go for the second option.
baldrick
hmmmmm
Second option sounds good.
If you need somewhere bigger in the future you could always get a mortgage. There's nothing wrong with a flat though really. I know people bang on about leasehold but if that's your budget then that's it really isn't it! I loved living in our flat when we had it. We never needed the heating on, ever. Council tax was relatively low. And with four rooms and hard floors the cleaning was done in a flash.
If you need somewhere bigger in the future you could always get a mortgage. There's nothing wrong with a flat though really. I know people bang on about leasehold but if that's your budget then that's it really isn't it! I loved living in our flat when we had it. We never needed the heating on, ever. Council tax was relatively low. And with four rooms and hard floors the cleaning was done in a flash.
miss direct
misfungled
That's a really good point. I could live in the flat for now, and then at some point if/when I get a normal job, I could get a mortgage on a bigger place and rent the flat out or sell it to help.
Puddy_Tat
naturally fluffy
only caveats about flats (which i think have been touched on somewhere within the thread, but maybe no harm in repeating)
flats will be leasehold, so there is going to be ground rent / service charges / maintenance bills arising from a flat, and you will also usually have to have your buildings insurance through the freeholder as part of the deal.
some are reasonable, some freeholders are a bunch of bloody crooks.
the bigger the block, the greater the chances of big maintenance costs at some point, e.g. more jobs will require scaffolding, there will be lifts to maintain / repair / replace. then there is the cladding factor post-grenfell.
if the lease is getting close to 80 years, then it's going to be hard to sell.
flats will be leasehold, so there is going to be ground rent / service charges / maintenance bills arising from a flat, and you will also usually have to have your buildings insurance through the freeholder as part of the deal.
some are reasonable, some freeholders are a bunch of bloody crooks.
the bigger the block, the greater the chances of big maintenance costs at some point, e.g. more jobs will require scaffolding, there will be lifts to maintain / repair / replace. then there is the cladding factor post-grenfell.
if the lease is getting close to 80 years, then it's going to be hard to sell.
SheilaNaGig
Break requested
I had all the worries about buying leasehold, was really dead set against it.
Then I found this flat and all those arguments paled into insignificance because I loved the flat so much.
So I bought it.
Lease has 87 years left, so either:
- I’ll die before it runs out and it becomes someone else’s problem (I don’t have children, and I’m not even sure who to will it to!)
Or
- I pay to extend the lease, which will ensure the value doesn’t drop and makes the flat more saleable... although that’s a theoretical benefit that doesn’t accrue to me if I continue living here til I die. Anyway, the size of the garden and location will always make it deireable. Even if the short lease impacts the value detrimentally, I reckon the market value of this flat will always be pretty good.
As it happens, the lease agreement on this flat is pretty good. I pay £50 per annum ground rent, and I pay £500 annual insurance, which is sorted and managed by the freeholder. I could maybe buy cheaper insurance, but this way I never have to think about it and the details aren’t my responsibility, which suits me but might not suit you. It also means that if a claim ever needs to be made, again it’s not my headache, it falls to the freeholder to do all the admin etc.
Granted, they could increase the ground rent significantly but there are certain checks and balances in place that - hopefully! - would protect me to some degree at least.
It’s not a big block (only one upstairs neighbour) so that also makes things simple. A leasehold flat in a block or in ex local authority housing is a much more precarious proposition.
This lease makes me responsible for keeping the foundations in good repair, and my upstairs neighbour is responsible for keeping the roof in good repair. This is unusual, and obviously works in my favour (roofs being much more liable to damage than foundations). There’s a weird clause that says I’m not allowed to build a shed or any other structure in the garden; my solicitor said that’s probably because the insurance doesn’t cover exterior buildings. I may accidentally forget that I am aware of this clause, especially since they never send anyone round to check : they just collect their money. I know this because the paintwork and guttering for the upstairs flat is in a shocking state, which is technically an eviction-worthy offence, but my neighbour will not be evicted, of that I am certain (she is elderly, she had dementia, she is immobilised with rheumatoid arthritis). Her grandson and I are collaborating to fix up and mend.
Anyway, my point is that I’m glad I didn’t reject this place on the basis of it being leasehold. Had I vetoed this place on the basis of the lease thing, I’d not have my lovely warm sunny flat with a beautiful private sunny garden on the corner of a little local high street surrounded by good neighbours.
Then I found this flat and all those arguments paled into insignificance because I loved the flat so much.
So I bought it.
Lease has 87 years left, so either:
- I’ll die before it runs out and it becomes someone else’s problem (I don’t have children, and I’m not even sure who to will it to!)
Or
- I pay to extend the lease, which will ensure the value doesn’t drop and makes the flat more saleable... although that’s a theoretical benefit that doesn’t accrue to me if I continue living here til I die. Anyway, the size of the garden and location will always make it deireable. Even if the short lease impacts the value detrimentally, I reckon the market value of this flat will always be pretty good.
As it happens, the lease agreement on this flat is pretty good. I pay £50 per annum ground rent, and I pay £500 annual insurance, which is sorted and managed by the freeholder. I could maybe buy cheaper insurance, but this way I never have to think about it and the details aren’t my responsibility, which suits me but might not suit you. It also means that if a claim ever needs to be made, again it’s not my headache, it falls to the freeholder to do all the admin etc.
Granted, they could increase the ground rent significantly but there are certain checks and balances in place that - hopefully! - would protect me to some degree at least.
It’s not a big block (only one upstairs neighbour) so that also makes things simple. A leasehold flat in a block or in ex local authority housing is a much more precarious proposition.
This lease makes me responsible for keeping the foundations in good repair, and my upstairs neighbour is responsible for keeping the roof in good repair. This is unusual, and obviously works in my favour (roofs being much more liable to damage than foundations). There’s a weird clause that says I’m not allowed to build a shed or any other structure in the garden; my solicitor said that’s probably because the insurance doesn’t cover exterior buildings. I may accidentally forget that I am aware of this clause, especially since they never send anyone round to check : they just collect their money. I know this because the paintwork and guttering for the upstairs flat is in a shocking state, which is technically an eviction-worthy offence, but my neighbour will not be evicted, of that I am certain (she is elderly, she had dementia, she is immobilised with rheumatoid arthritis). Her grandson and I are collaborating to fix up and mend.
Anyway, my point is that I’m glad I didn’t reject this place on the basis of it being leasehold. Had I vetoed this place on the basis of the lease thing, I’d not have my lovely warm sunny flat with a beautiful private sunny garden on the corner of a little local high street surrounded by good neighbours.
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bellaozzydog
rolling turds in glitter
this
Big block freeholders from experience are profiteering douche knozzles. They look at loads of flats as more people to take money off. The service charges never go down and it’s a licence to print money
I’m currently swapping solicitors letters with a freeholder on behalf of 80 flat owners
but
I’m breaking my own rule and buying a leasehold flat, difference is the freehold consists of a flat and a shop. So it’s all fairly transparent and split two ways.
Puddy_Tat
naturally fluffy
understand some mortgage lenders and / or insurers are reluctant to handle flats above shops so again may be difficult to sell
there's also the question of what sort of shop is it now / what sort of shop it could become in the future - is it likely (at some point) to get metal shutters that will rattle in the wind? or be the sort of place that is open really early / late? or have noisy refrigeration units? or turn in to a fast food place?
depends on the local authority. my place is ex council and i pay about £ 300 a year which is ground rent, service charge and buildings insurance. the block is only 4 flats so possibly a different ball game to a high rise. personally i think the 90 quid service charge (i.e. sending me the bills and having the grass cut badly a few times a year) is steep for what i get for it, but having seem some flats where it's a 4 figure sum a year for goodness knows what, it doesn't seem quite so bad... i haven't had a situation involving major repairs or any sort of emergency so can't comment on their abilities in that sort of situation.
I don't think I've got the option to arrange my own buildings insurance, it comes as part of the deal, and it did go up in a big way a year or so ago. contents insurance is of course my responsibility.
may be worth making enquiries some time in the next few years (from memory, think you have to have lived in a place for 2 years before you can seek a lease extension - have a feeling you've moved fairly recently) but there's something of a threshold (i don't understand all the detail) at 80 years.
government is consulting on changing leasehold law, although i'm not entirely optimistic that this bunch of twunts will act in the interests of individual leaseholders rather than rich freeholders...
Home - The Leasehold Advisory Service has more on all things leasehold.
SheilaNaGig
Break requested
Oh yes, I’ve been thinking about extending the lease since before I even bought the place (Oct 2019) Puddy_Tat .
As of today, I have £3.60 in my account and another whole week before £350 of UC hits my account, so thinking about extending the lease is the limit of my endeavours in that quarter for the the time being...!
(Thank Christ I stretched to the fullest extent of my budget and bought it without a mortgage. I’d be deep into arrears by now and utterly fucked otherwise. Matey left me with just enough to do this after fleecing and eviscerating me like a newborn lamb to the slaughter. Small mercies etc.)
As of today, I have £3.60 in my account and another whole week before £350 of UC hits my account, so thinking about extending the lease is the limit of my endeavours in that quarter for the the time being...!
(Thank Christ I stretched to the fullest extent of my budget and bought it without a mortgage. I’d be deep into arrears by now and utterly fucked otherwise. Matey left me with just enough to do this after fleecing and eviscerating me like a newborn lamb to the slaughter. Small mercies etc.)
hash tag
Books, not bombs
I am very happy living in a flat and letting someone else worry about boundaries, common parts, lifts Etc.
If you want an example of potentially crippling costs just take a look at the many stories in the press at the moment about fire risk and cladding. Some people have been hit with outrageously large insurance premiums due to the perceived increased risk and many are being hit with astronomical costs to remove the cladding.
Obviously don't by a place where cladding might be an issue, but who knows what other unexpected expense could be waiting around the corner.....
If you want an example of potentially crippling costs just take a look at the many stories in the press at the moment about fire risk and cladding. Some people have been hit with outrageously large insurance premiums due to the perceived increased risk and many are being hit with astronomical costs to remove the cladding.
Obviously don't by a place where cladding might be an issue, but who knows what other unexpected expense could be waiting around the corner.....
Cid
Proper break this time
My one bed (not studio) in the city centre (well, between centre and kelham island) cost a bit over £100k 4 years ago... similar seem to be £110k at the moment. In this area prices tend to be stable just because 2 universities a major teaching hospital, lots of government offices etc.
The monthly costs; ground rent, services have to be considered, but aren’t too bad... and there are huge advantages in terms of insulation,
maintenance etc. Just do bear in mind that initial fit outs aren’t always great quality. Still, usually serviceable (and obviously this holds true everywhere). My neighbours all seem to be professionals late 30s/early 40s... we have a WhatsApp group, since lockdown 1 anyway. And of course location is good.
I don’t think I’d leave for a house without a decent contingency fund, or a very good reason.
I rented it out for a year when I was in China, there will always be tenants (again, uni, hospitals, jobs). I used an agent (don’t, they are fuckers, but I was in China, so...).
Oh, noise can be an issue, depending on build quality... but generally hasn’t been bad in this place.
Oh, and following from hash tag above there are quite a few with brick cladding systems unlikely to be affected by changes. Also many have been redoing their cladding systems judging by ongoing works, but yeah - check what implications that might have.
