Owning your own home

Not in London, but 26% for me. Not a particularly well paid job (however 35hr week, relatively stress free and don't have to fly to US on weekly basis) and wife works part time. 3 kids (so much food!) but no childcare costs though

I'm on 27% but that's just on my basic PAYE salary. On average with my freelance earnings that comes down to around 22%. Obviously that isn't happening this year.

However my other half is paying the same as me. I don't know if that's the same situation for you?

Given that (a) some proportion of that 36% is principal not interest and (b) lots of people pay more than to rent it doesn’t sound crazy

22%, apparently.

edit - 44% without the memsahib

I’m paying 37% of my take home salary since wife was made redundant in September and it’s been manageable, we haven’t really had to readjust our life all that much. I’d like it to be a lot lower though.

We bought in Camberwell 2 years ago and have no kids or privately educated cats.

I'm on 27% but that's just on my basic PAYE salary. On average with my freelance earnings that comes down to around 22%. Obviously that isn't happening this year.

However my other half is paying the same as me. I don't know if that's the same situation for you?

My calculations are based on me paying all of the mortgage, Me Julie will be able to pay something toward it but as part of stress testing my own finances I've left her contribution out for now.

Not in London and I think 5x my salary is less than 1x yours but with Mrs Hammer on the unpaid birthday of maternity leave I’m paying 28% of take home, which is doable but awkward.

48% of my take home salary but my wife was recently made redundant, otherwise it was closer to 30% of combined take home salaries. SW15 so London's famous London.

In reality it's an interest only mortgage so it's only 9% of my take home salary and when both of us are earning we make over payments to treat it as a repayment mortgage. Only 8 years left on it (by which time I'll be 51) so no problem if I have to extend it for 5 years or so to pay the rest off (although that would then overlap with our daughter going off to Uni if she chooses that route).

I'd need this to be cheaper than it is currently, but I like the look of it, the size of the garden and the location: https://www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/52632933?search_identifier=9dc3c2d5e736484a9e081106d5a70278

How terrified should I be of that roof on a grade II listed cottage?

How terrified should I be of a grade II listed cottage?

From a friend's experience, I'd avoid.

I'd be afraid. Not just of the roof, of the whole place.

Especially if I were someone who likes things to be just right.

What's the worst that could happen?

Everything that needs doing will cost at least three times as much and you're at the mercy of your local representative of Historic England and their definition of 'infitting with the building's character'. Because of this there's probably a list of things as long as your arm that need doing.

What's the worst that could happen?

Damp, electrics, plumbing, ceilings, plastering, windows, wood worm, roof...

One thing I imagine could be the case

Those timber frames that have been painted with impermeable black paint to appear "traditional" have held onto moisture for years and are actually so rotten inside you could poke them with your finger.
Coupled with the heavy random stone work used to fill in the panels instead of a lighter wattle and daub that may have been there originally now puts it structurally at risk of collapsing.

Or you're plagued by damp issues for years due to the interior walls being "tanked " with modern cement render instead of lime. And you get so pissed off you pay someone to reskim and paint and sell it on to the next fecker cursing traditional houses as you leave

Of course this may not be accurate to this house. You might get a professional survey from a specialist in period homes and they give it a clean bill of health. But I wouldn't go near it until I did.

I like the roof!

Although those patches of moss are not a healthy sign, got to have stagnant moisture and damp conditions for it to grow

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Isn’t it supposed to be a third of your wage on rent or mortgage?
Or is that engagement rings?

Yes, I should have included wet and / or dry rot on my list.

you're at the mercy of your local representative of Historic England and their definition of 'infitting with the building's character'.

Out of interest, what happens if such a place was to be destroyed through fire or a car hitting it at high speed (not beyond the realms of the possible given its location).

Presume it has to be re-built using whatever materials / techniques were used in initial construction?

Go on Neil, go for it! We are in a grade II listed timber framed cottage, half thatched and half tiled. Some bits made of mud. Cruck frame. Heritage officer from hell. We can’t afford to do what needs to be done - but it’s not completely falling down, it has a great garden and I am so glad to be locked down in HP18 rather than SE23!

Mine's currently 36% of my take-home, but will rise to 44% in December unless I can remortgage.

I'm a bit wary of this, this is my flat and so I cover all of the mortgage and it's a 20 year repayment mortgage (I'm old and could not get longer). But the worry comes from the housing market taking a rather steep nose dive as my LTV was 85% so it's plausible (albeit still unlikely) that a steep dive in the market could lead to difficulties for me to remortgage, which in turn will mean that the end of my fixed rate will see the sudden rise in my payments.

I figure there's not a lot I can do about this until November / December when the fixed rate expires.

Apparently so

Sorry I'm a bit late here but even as a layman I can see that this is wrong.

There is no 'lease breach' until a first tier tribunal says there is, or until you admit it. At that point they can take it to county court to recover the funds.

If neither of these things have happened, it is utterly inappropriate to attempt to issue a CCJ against you. The county court will refer it to the First Tier Tribunal, which is shut down.

Sorry you're going through this mate. I think it might be time to make a telephone appointment with https://www.lease-advice.org/- if you're not getting the info you need I have an excellent barrister and solicitor I can recommend who have experience fighting these sorts of twats.

Hah, yeah.

As I said,

Pricks

There is no 'lease breach' until a first tier tribunal says there is, or until you admit it.

Not correct. A breach of covenant occurs as soon as the relevant term of the lease is breached. Section 81 of the Housing Act 1996 only prevents landlords from seeking to forfeit a lease for non-payment of service charges unless the arrears are admitted by the tenant or 'finally determined by (or on appeal from) the appropriate tribunal or by a court'. The Act refers to 'the appropriate tribunal' because in England there is the FTT but in Wales they still have LVTs (Leasehold Valuation Tribunals) as this is a devolved matter.

Section 168 of the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002 applies to other breaches of a lease other than a failure to pay service charges, but again only restricts a landlord's right to serve a section 146 notice as a prelude to forfeiting the lease.

At that point they can take it to county court to recover the funds.

Not correct. There is no requirement for a landlord to issue proceedings in the FTT before bringing a money claim in the County Court. Hence the reference in the HA96 to determination 'by a court'.

If neither of these things have happened, it is utterly inappropriate to attempt to issue a CCJ against you.

Solicitors can't issue a CCJ. CCJ stands for County Court Judgment. Only judges can make judgments and grant orders. What the solicitors can do is to issue proceedings in the County Court, and there is nothing to prevent landlords from issuing County Court proceedings to recover service charges. The FTT and County Court have concurrent jurisdiction in this area of the law, as is made clearly by section 27A(7) of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 which provides that 'The jurisdiction conferred on the appropriate tribunal in respect of any matter by virtue of this section is in addition to any jurisdiction of a court in respect of the matter.'

If a landlord does so, and the tenant disputes their liability to pay the service charges in question, then the County Court will often transfer the case to the FTT for a determination of liability, under the power to do so in section 176A of the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002, but the jurisdiction to transfer is discretionary and it is up to the court whether or not to make such an order.

The county court will refer it to the First Tier Tribunal, which is shut down.

The FTT is not shut down. It is not holding face-to-face hearings, but new applications to the FTT can be made by email and while hearings up to the end of May have been adjourned, existing matters can and are being dealt with remotely either by written submissions or video link. The latest guidance (19th March) from the FTT Property Chamber can be found here.