Owning your own home

Listing for our flat goes live tomorrow! Now the waiting game.

@Tenderloin looks like the new people in your place deffo didn't like your bath or the wooden flooring as they've ripped it all out today. Which seems a bit odd.

Christ. No accounting for taste.

That bath could probably tell some right sordid stories. I'd get rid of it too.

Especially when you've got a 500k+ mortgage. Id have probably kept the bath a few more years myself and concentrated on paying that down but hey good luck to them.

Just been told that 7 days from exchange to completion is looking unlikely as there is a backlog at the mortgage company and it can be anything up to 28 days to release funds.

Has anyone had similar recently? How did it actually go?

Can you opt to complete earlier after exchange?

Has anyone used a solicitor/conveyancer recently that uses electronic signatures?

New kitchens.

Is a built in oven and hob more worth it than a standalone unit?

Standalone means it's easier to replace, built in looks nicer but you have possible issues down the road.

How much difference does it really make on buying decisions?

I'll just get the mister installed. No point fucking about with the safety of your family for £4k

This reads like a Tynan meme.

Built in ovens are easy to replace. Gas hobs can’t be diy’d for obvious reasons but electric can which is fortunate because they can fail whereas gas ones can’t really

making offers, and being lied too

On the receiving end of this today. Sweet!

I should be more specific. Does inbuilt mean more money on house price than replicable?

Gas or electrical connections aren't a problem I can do both.

Free-standing looks a bit naff to me, like a student house.

@spindrift - huge statement! Spend some time on the Modern House mate...

All those student houses with Agas...

It's not really possible to answer this, imo.

In general, house pricing doesn't come down to "does it have a a free standing cooker or built in?"

Maybe, "does it have a recent, high quality kitchen?" will put on a few k but even then, it's surprising how many of the previous owners "value adding" additions end up in a skip in the first week.

It'll have a brand new IKEA kitchen. This is not a 6 figure house

It's a two bedroom, terrace with space out back and to the front. No driveway.

I am in no illusion that spaffing cash is any worthwhile investment. It's more getting rid of shit kitchen and bathroom, horrible wallpaper and artex. Repaint and sell.

I'm in your camp that it doesn't really matter but kinda looking for comfermation.

I've just replaced a standalone in one house and built in in another and found replacing the built in easier.

Seemed to be more options and a lot more crap looking stuff in standalone.

This was at the lower end of the budget. If you're buying range cookers and stuff then probably not the same issue.

Just to re-enforced what @aggi says, in my experience it's much easier to get cheap built in stuff that looks good than it is with standalone. I find that with standalone you have the square white box type things that are cheap and haven't changed much design-wise since they were introduced in the 50s, then there's a gap, then range style units that have premium price tags. With built ins there are companies like beko and zanussi who make decent products that look good and do the job.

I think they're converting the bathroom back into a bedroom or something - are they wooden floorboards? We had a ply floor throughout so must mean they've taken that up to. That bath has been used to wash jeans as many times as humans.

Tbh things got pretty fractious with them. Our lovely nextdoor neighbours are selling up and moving so I'll just forget about it.

Agree with this. For a decent free standing you'll be pay a bit more.

I went with freestanding rangemaster. But now I'm looking to sell would I do it again, probably not. The wok hob has been used a total of 4 times.

However having 2 ovens is nice.

It'll have a brand new IKEA kitchen. This is not a 6 figure house

It's a two bedroom, terrace with space out back and to the front. No driveway.

It's more getting rid of shit kitchen and bathroom, horrible wallpaper and artex. Repaint and sell.

Ah, ok - didn't really understand your question then.

I guess you want to think carefully about buyers' expectations of that kind of house. If you are asking proper money for it well beyond what you paid then I'd absolutely fit built in oven units in an economic but well designed kitchen. Not sure what kind of cost this would add to your renovation but I would imagine seeing a basic freestanding cooker will put potential buyers off. Probably wouldn't do built in fridge / freezer but make sure there's an obvious and sensible place for a free stander.

Comedy moment the other day checking out the modern kitchen that owners had put in a very spendy semi and realising that the only place you could put a full height or double fridge freezer was in the hallway under the stairs. A family home that won't take a proper sized fridge / freezer and it's 2200 sq ft! And the money they'd have wanted for it would make it the most expensive place on the street. Le sigh.

If I look at a house that has a cheap kitchen that I don't like, I consider that a negative. I spend so much time there that I want it how I want it so would likely make changes whatever. I'd assume the owners are charging a few extra bob for the pleasure and I feel bad about gutting a new perfectly serviceable kitchen.

Maybe now isn't the time, but I've had an idea kicking around in my head for a forum ride - the posh houses tour.

I was thinking something along the lines of

• Broad Walk, Winchmore Hill
  
• Hadley Wood
  
• Brookmans Avenue, Brooklands Park
  
• Radlett
  
  

finishing up in Highgate or Hampstead after taking in the sights of Bishops Avenue, etc. As you can tell, it's not very well thought through yet