Owning your own home

I've got a load of cardboard boxes from a recent house move!

Please come and take them (East Ham, E12)

Yeah you’re probably right

I’ve just had the searches back so I’ll need to read through it again

I am yet to see a condition survey that has not been so heavily caveated to the point of being redundant.

I would expect there to be ceiling lights. I think they are considered part of fixtures and fittings (in the UK, that is).

Oh ok, that is a bit more understandable - over here lights are mostly hardwired so just to remove the bulb is extreme!

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To be honest I went and got him some ikea lamps to plug in. Just something I hadn't even considered. A very mild culture clash.

Is pretty much feedback I’ve got from the forum hence my hesitation to pay for one.

Getting a good builder in I’m sure can work?!

Unless you are a cash buyer it is largely a moot point because the vast majority of lenders would want a RICS surveyor’s report before loaning you any money and to help best ensure their asset.

Where the frustration lies is that the reports generally are so wooly and noncommittal that in order to negotiate the sale price down you will likely either need to get a more specialist survey (ie: asbestos) and/or get a builder to quote for obvious works (ie: damp), and then insist the seller undertakes the necessary works, or offer that amount less.

It is a stagnant-paced buyers market so you have nothing to lose from the above but don’t expect the survey alone to give you huge amounts of negotiating power. If you are friendly with any contractors/architects/structural engineers, it might be worth inviting them along for a visit and gauging their opinion.

Well it is not a condition for our bank. There’s carried out there valuation already.

It’s mainly for my sanity and whatever negotiating power I have left.

So my options are to get a full building survey or do the latter you suggest

Yeah, you don't get them in Spain, or Japan, either. Both countries do have standardised lighting fixtures though - way better than the stupid ceiling roses we use in the UK.

When we rented our place in Tokyo we spent the first night living off the light over the bathroom sink. Luckily our apartment was so fucking small it did the job!

Can anyone recommend a reasonably priced tree surgeon? The tree outside our house needs doing again. We're in Hackney (Clapton).

Last time I paid £130, although that was 3 years ago. Upstairs neighbour had one round to sort out the trees in his garden and their quote for doing the front was nearly a hundred quid more than last time which seems keen. It's a small tree but not as small as it should be...

@edmundro might know someone if he can't do it himself?

Could anyone point me towards a good person/company to speak to about getting a first mortgage? I'd rather speak to an independent rather than a bank to get an accurate (more so than an online calc?) idea on how much we'd be able to borrow based on current circumstances, and what change in circumstance could result in.

This seems like a question for a mortgage advisor, or is there a step before that for someone as green as me?

Thanks, good shout. If you do know anyone @edmundro would appreciate it.

John Charcol were very good for me.

London and Country have been fine when I've used them. Although you may want someone you can meet face to face if you're in a more complicated situation (I'm just employed/salaried so nice and easy).

We just used cornerstone mortgages, both of us were in slightly unusual situations. My contract at a university runs out in May and my girlfriend was about to move jobs with a 2 month gap in between.

@Stonehedge and I have both used Lee Fisher more than once, and I've certainly used him for more than standard circumstances.

As @TW said, Lee Fisher is awesome. He has helped with a fair few non standard mortgages for us but has also helped several friends as first time buyers. He takes great pride in his work and has been our go to mortgage advisor for over 20 years.

If you can research, and do relatively basic maths / excel then you can a probably do it yourself by identifying 1-4 appropriate lenders and calling them.

There is a lot of smoke and mirrors in terms of products and fees, but honestly it really is going to be x4 your combined income.

However, mortgage broker is really good when either; a) you don't want/can't do it yourself, or b) have non-standard circumstances. But if you and your partner are employed PAYE then all the broker is going to do is use an app that filters providers by eligiblity and compares the real net cost of each of them. In a sellers market they often have an additional edge as their relationship with the lenders means that they can get things done more quickly than an individual.

is there a step before that for someone as green as me?

1. Work out the range of what you want to pay p/m (now and if your circumstances change) - ie what would be ideal, what could you push yourself to. Whatever number you think you can borrow, being able to afford your monthly payments is the most important thing.
   
2. Work out with your partner what your plan is for the next 5yrs.
   
3. Work out the rough fees (solicitors, SDLT, mortgage fee) and subtract this from your savings to work out your deposit.
   

Note that brokers will be often be quoted lower rates than individuals for the same risk profile.

Natwest, for example, quoted me .75% higher for the same deal that I got through the broker.

If you can research, and do relatively basic maths / excel then you can a probably do it yourself by identifying 1-4 appropriate lenders and calling them.

Why bother though? It's not going to cost you anything and you won't get the commission from the mortgage companies if you do it yourself so I can't see a reason to do it.

We noticed the same thing. Barclays offered us 0.5% higher than the same product that Lee Fisher arranged for us last time round.

Because you're suspicious of commission led individuals so you spend ages duplicating all the work, only to end up with the same result. (what we did).

Or because the broker you were looking at charges an upfront fee.

Note that brokers will be often be quoted lower rates than individuals for the same risk profile.

On the flip side, often you'll get cashback / fee discounts that a broker won't get. For eg we would* have got £500 cashback for going direct to NW and my colleague got £1k of fees back from HSBC which made a 2yr fixed cheaper than a 1yr.

Just to be clear, I'm not at all against using brokers. It's just worth pointing out that if you don't have special circumstances then they aren't doing anything you can't do yourself fairly easily and you should double check there recommendation.

*NW actually gave it to us anyway, only made out to us jointly forcing us to get a joint account.