Owning your own home

Nice one, thanks.

Used widely in the industry too...

How does one reserve the parking on a residential street for the removal truck?

We exchanged and completed in 6 working days and will have moved in 8 working days, and Haringey require 2 weeks for parking suspension and won't consider anything attempting to be booked in less time... I tried, and it's unavailable (they're just not interested).

The road we move to is single vehicle wide once you account for parked cars... so I imagine I'm just blocking the road for a few hours :shrug

But is there another way? Some trick to identifying who owns cars and asking them to move on the day and then somehow preserving that space until the truck arrives?

Builders often use traffic cones and "stuff" so reserve a convenient space. You could turn up in the morning with some cones and bag a space?

wheelie bins. the international language of removal men.

Knocking on doors and asking politely.

Combined with get there early, hope there's a space and stick wheelie bins, cones, etc there and hope for the best.

Obviously, your next part of the fun and games is trying to get a parking permit for the removal van before you move in. Haringey are keen on their parking fines.

I have been lurking in this thread for a while and its really useful information for me as a (hopefully) soon first-time buyer.

I found a flat I really like but the whole building is not connected to the gas grid. That means there are storage heaters in the flat and all hot water is heated electrically. There is a water tank in the flat and pumps on the hot water tabs.

As I have never lived in a non-gas flat, I would be interested if anyone has experience with these kind of circumstances? What do people think, would that be deal breaker for you? Does it affect resale value and mortgage availability? Will heating bills be crazy? It's a modernish build from the late 90s with double glazing so safe to say insulation is not the best.

Thank you in advance!

I've lived in a large warehouse-type space without gas heating - also a modern build from the late 90s with double glazing. The electricity bills were significant - probably around £300 a month rather than £100 a month I was previously used to - but I suspect that could be got around a bit more intelligently these days with a few oil radiators linked to smart plugs in key areas. It's not a deal breaker, it's a quirk. I'd prefer gas for sure but if I loved a place it wouldn't stop me buying.

Thanks for that. £300 is a lot! Current owners just emailed saying their highest heating costs were £85 last February- not sure how truthful they are.

Having lived in a warehouse space for a year or so, even with gas we were struggling to keep it warm- superhigh ceilings surely didn't help.

The flat I am looking at is a smallish two bedroom so it might be slightly easier to heat. Will definitely look into oil radiators.

I think they'd probably be right that the electric heating costs are only £85 or so. But that's just for heating and you have to add it to all the rest of the electricity you use. I'd estimate of the £300 electricity I was paying, probably only half of that went on heating, but it was still £300 a month in total electricity, and that's quite a shock at first.

All that said, the place I'm thinking of was enormous. Each room about 8m by 6m, and there were five or six rooms over two levels with huge high ceilings. I think you'll be fine.

I’m in a two-bed flat built in the noughties with no gas. I pay roughly £100 a month, averaged over the year. It’s not so bad.

I’m more of a put-a-jumper-on person but Mrs Sparky is a bit less so, so we’re probably an average sample.

Is it economy 7 electricity? Flat I had wasn't too pricey if you used the overnight storage heaters but it meant you were deciding the day before if you want the heating on.

You may be able to add gas and install a boiler. A friend did it and it wasn't too pricey.

I found a flat I really like but the whole building is not connected to the gas grid.

Ask around the other owners and see how they are managing - there will be ways to make it work and there are some advantages to leccy only.

Haringey require 2 weeks for parking suspension and won't consider anything attempting to be booked in less time... I tried, and it's unavailable (they're just not interested).

The council have to give a minimum of 2 weeks notice to the cars already parked there in case the owners are on holiday.

Speak to the neighbours and let them know when you need the spaces and everyone should sort themselves out.

One of the neighbours might also have a temporary permit you can buy off them (assuming they still use paper permits and those permits are valid for big vehicles like removal trucks...)

Thanks for all the replies, really helpful to get people's perpectives! The whole development isn't connected to the grid apparently. And yes the current owner is using economy 7. Will inquire with the neighbors, seems to be a good idea to get their view.

If you’ve got pumps driving the hot water the shower will be sweet!

Really sweet would be to have solar panels on the roof..

So lack of gas is not that much of a bargaining chip when making an offer?

I don’t think so.

Only thing I’d be wary of is if the leccy is paid for centrally by the freeholder.

Yeah, the bung - oops, I mean 'commission fee' - could get really intense.

@Howard is correct, i moor further out now. i spent about 2 years in central/east london as i was working in hospitals all along the river lea and i navigated from cheshunt to alperton. it was a fucking PITA and i also loathe the people of east and central london (ok, fine, all people) with the passion of a thousand burning suns so when we sold up and our new boat ended up getting craned in at watford, we just stayed that side of london. it's idyllic. mooring in country parks and aquadromes, passing marinas at least once a month to stock up on things like coal and kindling and gas and diesel and get the toilet emptied, good trainsport links from all 3 of the met line forks and national rail. well worth the extra time it takes to get in. the people are also nicer and there's fewer of them (east is just a rat race with no facilities and no space and everyone's bloody rude). i have no mooring fees, i just pay the licence on the boat annually, plus insurance. no biggie. as i've said before though, boating isn't for everyone, especially continuous cruising. the crt are far less of a ballache this side of london though.

oh, also, i'm hoping to sell up next year and move to folkestone, so.... anyone wanna buy a big boat next year? i got it built to spec especially to house lots of bikes... currently there's an omnium, a brompton, and two other bikes, and we also used to have three track bikes as well... jus sayin... #BUYMYBOAT

Sorry to keep asking questions, I am not sure I understand this. As a leaseholder, wouldn't I pay my own utility bills?

Is that a common arrangement that the freeholder (management company) pays the bills and then charges for it?

I don’t know how common it is - but it’s a thing.

So Aretha Franklin's Detroit mansion just sold at auction for less than we paid for our modest little house in the middle of fucking nowhere, Queensland... 😑

Yeah, but Detroit... Shooty dodging fun.