Owning your own home

I got one recently for around £800 for a 5-bed place so I'd say that sounds reasonable.

5 bed?!
You're moving quick up that ladder!

Put an offer in on a house we really like today, & after a bit of negotiation, it's accepted for a little under the asking price, am pretty happy with that!

Though I can't really enjoy it all that much, as the people who put an offer in on our flat haven't yet provided the docs they need to prove they can afford our flat, despite the estate agent saying that they were doing that last Sunday. Looks like they're getting their backsides in gear for next Monday now, so we're in limbo as we're not really proceedable yet, gulp.

Cheers for the window suggestions, I'm favouring the film, girlfriend is favouring blinds.

In the meantime we'll be recreating the plot of rear window.

Is she going to break your leg?

Depends whether I go with blinds or not.

Free wood and fence panel update.

Some has gone (Gumtree), photos of what is left.

The full wooden fence and posts are up for grabs.

2 Attachments

We've reached a bit of an impasse with our purchase, it seems.

The first electrician suggested a rewire would be necessary, and very expensive, which along with the damp works needed meant we couldn't afford the property.

The vendors responded by saying that they didn't think that much work would be necessary, but they would reduce the price slightly to cover the works they thought would be necessary. It was actually a really nice, and nicely worded, offer.

Another electrician is coming round to quote next week - if he gives a decent quote, great, we are pretty much ready to exchange. If he also says it requires a huge amount of work, then what?

The vendors can turn around and say they're going to remarket it anyway (at a poor time to be selling a house) knowing that the work will show up again on another survey. Then we'll lose our buyer and probably not move.

They could offer to meet half way again, but half way to a bigger amount, which we'd still struggle to afford.

They could just do the work, which would obviously be great for us. But that's probably not their preferred option.

I suppose it's better than Brexit, but I'm about as clued up about what will happen next.

which we'd still struggle to afford

Irrespective of everything else, if it's outside your budget, is it a wise move?

No.

That's why we wouldn't be likely to take them up on that offer, if that's what happened.

If it transpired that the initial reports were right that it's a house that needs £18-20k of work, and they didn't come down further or complete the work before the sale, I think we'd have to accept it wasn't for us.

Victorian tiling? Does anyone have any recommendations E7? I'm desperate to get the front garden sorted. It's not a big area about 2m from the door to the wall and 5m wide. I'm sure it's still going to be £££ in London's famous London.

I had my front path and front yard/bin area done by 2e and d 2 years ago. Roughly the same area as yours.

They were very good and others I know have also used them.

Nice one, I'll give them a buzz.

I have maybe 40 mixed slate/terracotta tiles you can have for free if you can pick them up from Hitchin, Herts by Saturday morning. Ebay is also a good source for these.

Thanks for the offer but I haven't decided on what I really want yet.

Who makes really nice modern wood front doors (with sidelights) which don't look like plastic? Had a Kloeber survey and may well go with them for windows, but the doors are so heavily stained and lacquered that they look plastic. Ta.

Bulb are doing £100 referrals again until Monday 15th April if anyone is interested...

Bulb.co.uk/refer/richardw0184

Landlady asks me to ask if anyone knows a trustworthy gardner winch’s replace some fence? South East London... she lives aboard so I said I’ll have a look for her... cheers

Trustworthy yes, efficient not so much.
Quality of the work just above average but ok for the prices, which can be bartered.

He's cut a tree for me and is coming to do the fence at the end of the month.

Charlie Gosden
https://www.checkatrade.com/LondonGroundsLtd/Reviews.aspx

Thanks. How much is he charging your for the fence and what sort and size you are having? Just to get a really rough idea before calling.

15 posts
15 panels
30 post mix
15 gravel boards
Labour
Waste removal
£1,950

That's about £135 per 2m length, give or take.

I have managed to get rid of most of the old fencing & gates on Gumtree for free so will be asking for a discount too. He just doesn't know about it

finally got an offfer accepted on a place.

Needs a bit of work, namely a new kitchen and new floors, then repainted.

Any advice for a first time buyer/house refurbisher?

Buy the appliances, taps, handles separately if you're getting a fitted kitchen (eg AO.com, Screwfix) - much cheaper.
Carpetright, Wickes and others often have 50% on carpets and flooring so worth waiting for a sale.
There are always loads of extras so plan at least 10% of your budget for contingency.

Nice tip about the extras and floors. Hoping that the wooden boards under the carpets can be restored for the bedrooms and living rooms. Will go for some vinyl for the kitchen.

Will be taking a home improvement loan likely for the place, so any extras can come out of salary which is ok as our monthly payments will be a chunk less than we're paying on rent right now.

If you're planning to strip the wooden floors back (which is brilliant and I recommend it - hard work but super rewarding) make sure you get a package that lets you sand right up to the edges. I hired from here, they collected and dropped off, and gave me money back on the sanding belts I didn't use. Recommended.

http://www.floorstoredirect.com/prices_machines.htm

If you can, do it before you move in. It's not the dust so much as the fact that the rooms really need to be empty.