Owning your own home

Net £400. Agree that it's swings and roundabouts. I quite like seeing the lower monthly figure.

I haven't bothered to do the calculation. Money in the bank doesn't actually generate anything so arguably 0% discount rate is fair.

Yes, that was the idea.

However Nationwide have now decided to give me the lower rate with no fee, and chuck in £100 into the bargain.

Happy days.

Just made an offer and had it accepted. In Plymouth. House is pretty astonishing tbf coming from a tiny place in Brighton. Also knocks off about 15 years of mortgage repayments...

As it's in a different area, should we be looking at solicitor local to us in Brighton or in Plymouth?

Brighton if you plan on popping in to sign stuff.

Brighton if you plan on popping in to sign stuff.

damn. wish i'd thought of that.

I've used a solicitor on the other side of the country twice now and it's been fine.

How often did you have to travel to sign things?

Never! Just use scanners or post for anything requiring signatures. For ID checks you can just have someone who is a member of a professional institute certify that they are a true copy of the original. I just asked the chap I sit next to at work to do it...

Any personal recommendations for an all-in-one domestic renovation firm? Insulation, new walls, bathroom, levelling floors, plaster, decorating etc.

Whereabouts are you? If West I have a good builder I would recommend who has covered all that for me the past couple of years.

East 4 lyfe

5 months since offer being accepted and we have now exchanged. Yeah bitches.

aw yiss

Noice. Eventually

Sealed gas fireplaces - who makes good ones? Like this, remote/ app-controlled obvs.

Need to replace a deadlock for a front door. Do euro cylinder's offer something more than a mortice?

How long is reasonable to wait before going to a local authority to try to get enforcement for an emergency repair to a freeholder owned residential building?

block of flats, roof broken, rain water draining on to our floor, following through the three floors below it to ground level

TMO is saying they won't even look at it until 23rd March

@danstuff might know?

Immediately, if the local authority is the landlord. The TMO might have assumed responsibility for managing the building, but ultimately liability for a failure to comply the the landlord's repairing obligations will still rest with the landlord.

Ta. Next stupid question - if I want to bypass the feckless TMO which department at Westminster would I talk to? Building control?

No idea I'm afraid. The department should have a name like property management but I've no idea what Westminster call theirs.

Environmental Health seem to be the only ones our council are scared of.

Cheers guys. Wish me luck!

Bought a vacuum cleaner yesterday. It was one of the most meaningful and rewarding experiences in recent memory.