Owning your own home

So how is it that when you fill out the online mortgage calculator on the bank's website you get one number and then you talk to a human being at the aforementioned financial institution and they suddenly want more? Infuriating...

depends how many details you're asked to provide on t'internet. most of these online calcs exist merely to get you in the door, so in that regard, it seems to have worked.

Then if you're a drug addled, alcoholic they can up the costs a bit to cover their risk.

Oh.

Or an immigrant Pom.

Pommigrant?

if you know the market...

Put the London zone (if it helps)/and also commuting distances by bike to a couple of locations. If you do sell it on here, then whether a donation makes sense

Ha... I only wanna borrow AU$265, I've already been offered AU$500k+ by another lender... Crazy...

Offer accepted, contract signed... Now we wait for the building and pest surveys...

Actually laughing at the pest survey. Termites and dry rot are two things to look out for in timber frame houses. What are they looking for? Death snakes? Spider colonies?

It is odd, isn't it? We pretty much live in a jungle, all kinds of nature's nasties out there... It's mainly for termites tho'... 😊

Our only worry is whether the attic can take the weight of my art/music studio... Building survey will need to verify that, there's a bit of a bow in the supporting joist so could be a deal breaker... Fingers crossed its OK...

Attic? Fook that'll get toasty. Build a studio annex. Do you have the land for that?

We'll manage, can't be any hotter than my studio at our rental has been... I'll Just put an air conditioner up there if it gets unbearable...

Nice one, Joe. Fingers crossed.

I might have asked this before following our break in last year, but do forgive me if I did... any recommendation of security system? I don't care if I have to pay in full but landlady is likely to pay so... It's only a 1 bedroom flat so a couple of sensors linked to an alarm system and I want a CCTV cam outsisde the front door... You have no idea what I saw yesterday that I can never unsee... they weren't trying to break in or anything, but it's things like that I want to record so I can name and fucking shame on YouTube.

Would recommend Y-cam for both alarm and CCTV: https://www.y-cam.com

Prices are looking good... cost to install and who exactly does that? My electrician wouldn't do it as he says it's a specialist job...

All the sensors come with 3M double sided tape. The alarm box/internal siren connects to your router/internal switch. If you went with an internal camera you just need it close to a socket, external cameras obviously would require drilling for mounting and then power supplying.

so me and an electrician then?

Yes, from opening the parcel to having a full functional alarm system will take less than 30 mins. Electrician installing the camera should take no more than another 30mins.

Thanks, I might just pay for the system and take it with me when I move... landlady would pay but she is deciding what to do with the property... if it's just 3M patches and a couple of wires, I would rather own it...

That just leaves the sensors and the cat... on their website there is no mention of pet friendly sensors... do you have any 4 legged family member?

We only use the door sensors in the house and motion in the garage so can't say wether a cat triggers a motion sensor.

Sorry for so many questions, but the break in we had last year was violent to say the least and I am still mental recovering from it...

I will give the company a bell this week to get advice, but do you think with a CCTV watching over the front yard / front door, a door sensor by the front door and garden door is enough? Come to think of it, I don't really see the point in motion sensors or indoor cameras... I am intersted in what my cat is up to during the day, but I am not THAT interested... and what exacty is the point of motion sensors if they outdoor CCTV will either capture or not capture the faces of the intruders?

We are only taking about a small 1 bedroom flat...

Front door, the back garden is fine TBH, they are gardens back to back anyway. I know nothing will stop them unless I pay a security company and have alarms linked to their system... even then I question how effective they truly are...

I had 3 locks and 2 doors... Now I have an extra lock making a total of 4 locks. They kicked the door frames completely broken. I also had a london bar, or whatever they are called on the door drames... nah... they still broke both of them. Truth be told, as I am writing this, I am starting to not see the point on any CCTV or alarm...