Owning your own home

Ha, proceedable is such an estate agent word. Sound advice :)

My most favouritist is 'unoverlooked'.

Which seems to mean the same as 'not overlooked' to an estate agent but to anyone else isn't even a fucking word.

Wtf. That "word" is actually used?

This might mean nothing but I am on the periphery of maybe 8 or 10 cash sales a year and almost every time the cash buyer gets preference over the mortgage buyer.

I don't get to find out why that is. I assume it's time related though as the accepted bids tend to be around ~5% below asking price.

Cash isn't in a chain right?

Neither is every mortgage based buyer.

But chain free is always better than chained.

Top Trumps of homebuying.

God it's like a game of one-upmanship here. Forget I spoke.

No chain.

Estate agents seem to keep a list of known local cash investors and give them first shout on possibly suitable properties coming on the market.

This has been up before, but any recommended surveyors, south london based. Friend needs deets as he's looking to get a survey done this week. Not sure how feasible that is but its what he needs..
Many thanks

Page 666 (for those who aren't ignoring people)

The perfect page to celebrate all our favourite professionals involved in the property industry.

A couple of cracks have appeared in the wall we share with our neighbours who have had a recent loft conversion.

They look like settlement cracks but just wondering what I might be best placed to do here.

@Tenderloin, did you have a proper party wall agreement, i.e. two sruveyors inspect and document before their loft started? If so get your surveyor back to advise.

No we didn't

:/

I'm currently on page 644, so you may have to give me a link to the post in question..

You must have a lot of users on ignore!

We need to replace our windows (and a bunch of other tidy-up-the-front-of-the-house stuff).

It's a Victorian terrace but the original sash windows are long gone. current windows are metal framed double glazed casements.

I wouldn't think twice about getting Victorian sash windows restored but it's not an option here. Whatever we get will be a replacement and therefore has to be double glazed. I'm trying to choose now between timber casements, timber sashes or possibly metal again (because thinner frames).

Heart says sashes but all the pictures I can find of modern sashes are chunky and ugly due to the mandatory double glazing, to the point where I don't see any aesthetic advantage over casements.

Has anyone seen any new timber sashes that would change my mind? Pics and N London recommendations very welcome

Has anyone seen any new timber sashes that would change my mind? Pics and N London recommendations very welcome

I've seen quite a few and they are all a compromise due to the thickness of a double glazed unit. Some look ok, but the decent ones are big £.

I had a couple of cheap timber sashes put in to replace a couple of uPVC windows in my house and they are already trashed, less than 15 years later so don't recommend that option.

The best window I have is Jeldwen timber casement, factory painted. Went in the kitchen extension - still looking good 6 years later and it keeps the cold out too.

http://www.jeld-wen.co.uk/products/windows/products/

Thank you. Are the Jeldwen windows softwood?

Mine are softwood - excuse the mess:

Alternatively - polyfilla, paint, move on to the next thing.

This. We have cracks from settlement below my neighbours loft conversion. No biggie. Just cosmetic. Fill it and get on with life.

I agree with @ChasnotRobert that modern sash windows are a big compromise, both aesthetically and financially.

If I was you I'd seriously think about ripping out the current windows and replacing them with some nice modern aluminium framed windows and make the openings bigger while you're at it if you can. I can highly recommend Shueco as being a good balance between thinner frames, good value and build quality:
https://www.schueco.com/

Does take some balls to do this but it can look really good and the cost of making opening bigger plus those sort of windows would be less than decent sash windows...

Streetview example in the road next to mine:
https://goo.gl/maps/fFd3pMX1Fnp