Owning your own home

Fair play. You said you're putting the bearers at right angles to the floor joists, any particular reason you chose to do that rather than have them parallel?

I'm not doing anything to he floor joists, they will come as part of the pre-made floor section/panel. I'm planning to run the bearers at right angles to those to minimise the contact area between the two (where moisture would be transferred).

And as if by magic the asking price for the house we want dropped today by AU$30k, I just checked the listing again after posting here... I think we'll put in the offer tomorrow...

Ah, good point. What size bearers have you gone with?

(Yeah, I noticed I'd put those two the wrong way around, I changed it...)

So im signing the contract and the solicitor has asked for 10%.

Is that my money i give him? Or is that the part the mortgage provider provides? Im confused.

And he says the mortgage deed... Is that the TR1 form? nothing says mortgage deed.

That's part of the total deposit. He gives it to the vendor's solicitor and the rest goes through on completion.

These are probably excellent questions to ask your solicitor...

Also, for lulz: you can live in someone's garden in Walthamstow for £260,000
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-51144244.html

Ah sorry - I meant is the shed the 'house' you would live in or is it in the garden of a house.

Yes, but Martin seems rather shy on answering noobs. Not sure what youve done to scare him like that....

Meanwhile in Sheffield £250k gets you this
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-53783453.html

The shed is in the garden of a house. I suppose i could live in it for a bit if I had a falling out with the missus.

You're paying him to answer questions...

Jesus. And so much good riding (road and MTB) around there, too. Does anyone in Sheffield want to give me a job?

Ah cool, I'm dreaming of something similar (not the falling out)!

Good luck Jeanstain!

10% is what you pay if after exchange you fail to complete so most sales require the buyer to put that amount with their lawyer. The seller can waive this requirement and often does if the buyer already has the mortgage stuff in place. If they insist on 10% and you don't have it then ask your lender for a bridging loan to cover the time between exchange and completion.

Oh and watch out for your bank putting you into some kind of fraud control when you try and transfer the money. I had to show the letter from the lawyer asking for the funds and a copy of my mortgage offer as evidence I was buying a house to release my deposit from fraud hold. Fucking AML tossers and their stupid rules.

That was originally on at 275 I think and was the first place I remember being offered at west end prices (£1000+ /sq ft). Joke

@bashthebox get the loft done it's well worth it. We did after needing the roof replacing

I'm buying a flat as a cash buyer but I'd like it to be mortgageable for future resale. I know full concrete builds will be hard/impossible to get mortgages but does anyone know if this is the case with buildings made with brick walls but concrete slab floors.

Looking at property listings I can find very few properties that look 100% brick/standard construction. Is it really the case that nothing with any concrete (not including recent builds) is mortgageable?

Most stuff built since the 50s has a concrete floor somewhere.

What do you want the floor to be made of?

I don't really care, I'm trying to work out how much mortgage providers care and how far the definition of 'no concrete' stretches.

Not to the floors. Concrete floors are standard construction. Mostly.

If it has brick walls it's mortgageable. Mostly. Unless the bricks are just cladding and the main structure is non-standard.

If in doubt ring an established local surveyor. If they're experienced they will probably be aware of the non-standard buildings in their area. Of course an estate agent should inform you in their marketing info, as they're supposed to advise of anything material that might affect your purchasing decision, which would obviously include non-standard construction. And they absolutely must tell you if you ask. But good luck with that.

If you get really bored the Housing Act 1984 has a list of the construction types considered defective. The act was repealed quickly, but the list is still a bit of a thing for lenders.

Some non standard construction, my personal favourite being Wimpy No-Fines, is perfectly OK with many lenders. Some will even lend on very questionable looking steel frame post-war BISF stuff, but I agree with your stance in only wanting standard, it's the safest option.

Thanks Hefty, just what I needed to know.

Annoyed....