Owning your own home

Considering plumbers are usually about 40-60 quid an hour I think you'd be looking at a lot more than 100 quid per room.

Electrics wise, you could pull off the skirting boards and replace them with ones that are designed to hide wires then you'd have a lot less on show...

I think they are getting pretty good value for money, apart from my obvious expansive skill set I'm like a ray of bloody sunshine every day in the office with an apparent never ending amount of hilarious anecdotes and jokes.

Sorry - I didn't make it very clear... The trunking in the picture is just an example of what's been used on the ceiling to carry the cable from the light fitting in the centre of the ceiling to where the wall/ceiling meet.
You wouldn't need a plumber to box in either though would you?
To be honest I'd probably have a good crack at it myself but worth knowing what it might cost if I chose not to/messes it up...if anyone could give a rough idea?

Yeah that kind of thing is better saved for when you do other work at the same time ie new kitchen / bathroom.

Accept the offer, shirley

Ended up accepting an offer at 0.8% below asking. To be honest we were really pushing our luck at the asking price :)

Word of advice to parents - If you let your children draw on your white external walls in chalk, wash it off. Don’t leave it for 8 months - On my 4th coat of paint now...

Well done!

For Victoria park houses like this are pretty good value at the moment

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-64277902.html

The startling thing now is that these houses were below 400k 6 years ago.

Oh and Chris coz I'm nosy I found your proposed gaff on Rightmove. it's a real nice house , but my only concern would be given the size , would you outgrow it quicker than you anticipate? They've made good use of the space and it's finished to a high standard but I'd probably want to do the extension which would cost 50k at least. And given its in the conservation area I don't think you would get permission to do any sort of loft conversion...

Ha, no worries, I think you may have a point, I'm going to see it but I have concerns over the size and the cost of repayments leaving us with little free money.

I saw a house really close to the one you linked to, it may have been on for less, but that area is hellish, a rats nest of estates which I would not feel comfortable living near. After checking the place out with my folks we passed a shrine to some murder victim, noped the hell out of there...

TBF there have been 4 stabbings outside my flat in the last couple of years so it happens anywhere, but still...

I'm thinking Walthamstow may be the better option as its more residential and more chilled out. I'm on the bit of Grove road next to the park and the amount of sirens is crazy, plus the area is getting more and more popular its becoming London Fields Mk2.

I also looked at a place on Old Ford facing the park, 2 bed weird flat, the guys who owned it said they bought it for their mum about 30 years ago for 40k... they were asking a fair bit more than that.

E17 has come off a bit lately and some reductions have come up with the more sensibly priced houses

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-65030806.html

(I know this road very well and you would be living next to a fellow lfgsser)

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-72280178.html

This would have been 10pc more 18m ago

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-53673441.html

Same with this

Space is king imo - don't be drawn in by the fisheye lens...

but that area is hellish, a rats nest of estates which I would not feel comfortable living near

It’s not that bad, but yeah, as an area it doesn’t have a whole lot going for it.

I'm sure it's fine if you live there/are used to it, I prob went on a grim day which doesnt add anything positive to the ambiance.

Ha, I've seen 2 of those before... I dont really want to buy a place thats been renovated (ok, so the Bow one had been but more inline with my taste) as I never really like what they have done and I would have pretty much rip everything out and start again, which is a waste.

I have a list of about 5 streets near St James station that I'm waiting for the right property to pop up on. I'm also planning on selling my flat myself, which may or may not work...

Strictly speaking you shouldn't do this. Skirting that's designed for wire is only designed for data cables, telephone wires etc.

If you have no access from above you need to know if the construction of the ceiling/floor is wooden joists or something more solid. The age of the building should tell you this. If it's joists you can get the cable under the wall/ceiling but not without disturbing the wallpaper. It depends on the direction of the joists how hard/easy the job will be. It could easily cost you a days money for an electrician and then the making good which takes a small amount of work over a number of days to allow drying times.

You are not allowed to simply notch out under joists so you need fairly large holes in the ceiling to get a drill in to cut a hole in the joist. In short the whole job is a pain in the ass, it's a lot of fuss for little practical advantage but once you've done it you feel better for the rest of your stay. Fixing the problems you've got there could easily cost £2k, long runs of well made boxing for the plumbing is not trivial.

https://www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/47307993#LsJAFKicpukXIUYz.97

One for the souf easters

And dreamy 2nd home lyfe

https://www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/photos/47238779

Going to see a house on Saturday - fave location round these parts but but toppy I think

Reasonable chance it's a share of freehold I'd guess and a fair few of them have ground floor responsible for ground floor, upstairs responsible for upstairs rather than a split of all costs.

And dreamy 2nd home lyfe

https://www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/detail­s/photos/47238779

Nice. Stunning views.

2nd home

On Eurostar/LCY flight in a sunny location pls

https://www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/detail­s/47307993#LsJAFKicpukXIUYz.97

If that was nearer to where i am now...

Croydon >>>>>>>>>

https://microcosm.app/out/2cwCh

Anyone know what sort of costs are involved in open-planning the ground floor of a property like this?

Ours is very similar to this and we’re keen to explore options for knocking through the ground floor and getting a new kitchen, plus a loft conversion with ensuite.

I guess I’m looking at £75k+ and months of disruption, stress and arguments? I’d even consider living with family on the other side of London for some of the work, if that would be better for everyone’s mental health.

https://www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/detail­s/47307993#LsJAFKicpukXIUYz.97

One for the souf easters

I love this.

Knocking through the the two ground floor reception rooms is not a massive job; biggest part of that will be clearing up the mess and probably re-plastering most of it afterwards.

The one linked above looks like it has a back extension on the ground floor as well - add £30k for that. Add a fair bit for a new kitchen.

£50k ball park for loft extension including bathroom etc?

We did a side extension on the ground floor and knocked into rear reception room; ended up being £80k+ but could have saved a fair bit on the kitchen. Moving out would have been a good option had it been available.

Yeah I thought it might be up your street - but far out?