Owning your own home

Obvs Leytonstone is where it's at.
Forest Gate is OK
Walthamstow - you might get something

You can acquire the freehold under the Leasehold Reform Act 1967 even if you can't find the freeholder, provided you've made all reasonable efforts to do so, by paying the money into court. That, combined with an insurance policy, may well be the best way forward. If it's got 880 years left on the term and it's a peppercorn rent then the cost of acquiring the freehold should be minimal, although you'll probably need to incur the costs of valuers and bloody lawyers.

Keep your eyes open 👊🏻

I’m not getting fake grass.

https://www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/48974071?search_identifier=d4ac5d22a5744da585d3ef2900ea89cf

Cant tell if it already has fake grass...

Ercol blonde elm coffee table though.

West is best.

#sadface

Bye.

When's the housewarming?

When we move in I guess.

Our methodology amused people. We didn't specify an area, just applied a variant of optimal stopping theory (secretary problem, a.k.a. marriage problem), and used math to determine where we live.

We've only been looking for 10 days... and it turns out this Crouch End place is lovely.

We didn't specify an area, just applied a variant of optimal stopping theory (secretary problem, a.k.a. marriage problem), and used math to determine where we live.

Wut

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secretary_problem

Nerd nerd is nerd.

Yeah.

Methodology:

1. Define a criteria to score a property
   
2. Visit three properties with no intent to offer, and score them to produce an average
   
3. For each subsequent property, score it and if it's more than 10% above average make an offer
   
   

We literally did not define an area, just got on the mailing list of a couple of chain estate agents and looked at their new instructions or reductions that they emailed out.

We are very happy bunnies as this place is a dream place for us in an area we do like a hell of a lot, and at a price we could afford.

We would not have seen it using the original area based approach as it wasn't a first choice area and we would've been looking elsewhere.

I figured that our inexperience could be supported by some math, and chose https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Optimal_stopping as the primary way to approach it.

Yeah yeah I know I can duckle too!

I'm more interested in the perceived advantage to that approach.

The intriguing bit is that with the secretary problem you have to decide after 'interviewing' each candidate (house).

In reality, you don't have to do that. You can 'collect' as many as you like then review them together. You can even reject then re-include.

We are very happy bunnies as this place is a dream place for us in an area we do like a hell of a lot, and at a price we could afford.

I now have the problem of what I do about my £15k shortfall in funds to actually close this... but I feel that this is how these things work, and that something will magically happen.

I'm confused by this

£15k is like loose change you find down the back of the sofa m8

Well if he finds that usb stick with a couple of bitcoins he lost down there i guess it's possible

I'm confused by this

Not having enough money and not having family to lend it?

Yeah... I am confused too.

However... I made the offer, have been socialising that fact and that I'm now amused by this shortfall, and since writing that comment have been offered a loan of £15k for 7 months should I need it.

So I am now covered.

I think this is how the universe works.

I need richer friends

Acquaintances, but yes.

I'd agree that properties are overpriced, I'm just not convinced that Brexit will break the market that much. As it says, even the BoE stress test scenario is only predicting a 35% drop in prices.

My understanding is that the 35% drop is not their prediction - it's what they tested the banks as being able to survive. It's a mix of 40% off commercial and 33% off residential, making that 35% figure, and the test is if that's written off each banks asset balance, can they survive it.

If prices go back to 2010 levels then that stress test is obviously inadequate, if prices only drop 20% then the banks will be fine - theoretically.

On another note, Crouch End seems less pricey than I would have thought, presumably due to lack of tube / train.

I don't quite believe you knew nothing of crouch end.

Thanks for that. Trying to sort all this from abroad while I’m on a work trip and it’s a fucking pain in the aris.

Solicitors are a nightmare.

Too many yummy mummies.

The only downside I felt was "these are not my people".

Yeah me too! Trying to remember why I haven't considered it. I've always thought it looked good when cycling through it.

there's a Gail's there now. Torytastic!