Owning your own home

Just their desktop HPI valuation.

Probably. Still a strong price we felt. We need more space and I can’t face any more building work here, so onwards. We’d only just finished my horrifically extravagant bathroom, wasn’t really a planned thing. Could have saved quite a bit if we were doing it to sell instead of doing it properly :(

I'm going to have to buy a Mitre saw aren't I? Going to make a pigs ear of it with a hand saw...

I don't have a social life so thats fine.

EWS1 Update:
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government have said that lenders should be accepting evidence in lieu of EWS1 forms. So I have spent 5 weeks gathering the most comprehensive evidence Peabody has ever provided to anyone. Halifax responds within a day to say "The document supplied confirms there is a cladding system present therefore the building requires an EWS1 report before we can supply a valuation."

No shit you fucking fucktards.

Yes. I bought a Festool TS55 a few years ago. It's been doing the rounds between family as me, my brother and my sister have all moved recently. It's superb kit

Just their desktop HPI valuation

My fun the last month for remortgage:

• Different lender with the best rate sent a valuation surveyor and knocked the price down 15% which pushed my LTV up.
  
• Existing lender with an average rate has given a HPI that puts the price up 10%
  
• Got a surveyor for the hell of it to see what other nasties I might have in store and they've put the price up 15%
  
  

The range between these is significant. I asked my broker whether the first lenders valuation could be challenged, the answer was not really. Very little of that valuation is based on the property, yes the condition of the building, etc... but a lot is based on what has sold in your area that is equivalent (space and building condition, not the quality of finish)... and COVID has mucked up sales enough to reduce the number of data points.

I'm probably going with the existing lender but for only a 2 or 3 year just whilst I push my LTV safely into a region the rates become way more favourable.

Depending on which of the above is believed by a lender, I'm either below 80% LTV or above... and the rate difference is large at that 80% boundary.

Can you link this product, please? I can't seem to find what I need by googling!! we need to do this.... :(

yeah we went from 90% LTV to 55% following the improvements we made to the house and the notional* jump in rates was really substantial

(*notional because I was working for a bank at that time and on a staff mortgage so the rate I actually paid was similar to that for a low LTV mortgage)

we had one similar to this - if you google 'rubber shower on bath tap' you should find a range. godspeed and good luck
https://www.wickes.co.uk/Wickes-Bath+Shampoo-Spray-Shower-Head---White/p/207254

When we wallpaper'd the bedroom we discovered that the bedroom ceiling was dusty when wiping off excesss paste, we tried cleaning it up in one corner before doing some research and discovering the general advice is just to paint over the lot.

We never got round to doing that.

Buyers survey flagged a leak and damp patches on the ceiling in that exact spot and wants a quote for repairing the leak. Hope they don't think I'm bullshitting them 😂

Just got home to find the fridge/freezer making a very loud buzzing noise - compressor I reckon. Boo.

Any recommendations as to what I could do to reduce the load on the compressor to nurse it through to Friday when the engineer is coming?

Any recommendations as to what I could do to reduce the load on the compressor to nurse it through to Friday when the engineer is coming?

Turn off the heating and open all of the doors and windows.

If could have just failed to start. Switch it off at the wall for 10 minutes and try again.

(they can use very crude thermal starter systems, hence the 10 minute wait)

In the year that I have had it I get the feeling that my energy usage has gone down (I got a £300 rebate) but could not quantify that. Having a weather compensator fitted to the boiler today, this will enable the system to measure the heat loss of the house vs the external temps and the boiler & evohome will then start to preheat the heating to counteract. This helps as the boiler is ultra efficient at lower burn rates. So I should see a benefit long term in my gas usage.

Tado stuff has arrived already

maybe we can get tao to sell his naming rights in a forum-approved sponsorship deal

tado geoghegan hart

The toilet will be central to the window, yes!
It isn't bolted to the wall or floor yet but should be COP tomorrow

Tado stuff has arrived already

Almost ordered it but figured I should wait on the house before I go buying a load of stuff.

That looks dreamy- my tradesmen are not using copper, they are using plastic which seems to have a degree of flexibility so looked relatively easy to route without precision

Yes! Bora-esque adverts required, obvs.

Santander are asking for the below. I have an EWS1 form, but am now struggling to get this from my building's freeholder.

Cladding of a potentially combustible nature is thought to be present and the property cannot therefore, be assessed for mortgage purposes without further information. The building owner/management company (in their capacity as the legally 'responsible person' for the safety of their buildings) must provide answers to the following on a letter headed document -

1. Has a review of the building, including the external walls, in relation to fire safety been carried out in accordance with the latest Government advice? YES/NO
   
2. Did the review result in any remedial works being required to the building? YES/NO
   
   
   

If Question 2 is answered YES, Questions 3 and 4 must also be answered

1. Have the works commenced/been completed? YES/NO
   
2. Will any costs be passed on to the leaseholders? YES/NO
   
   

Please note we currently do not require any other supporting cladding documentation and any that is submitted will not be read.

Going to leave it in the packaging until everything is squared away, just in case.

I hate to be the one to tell you this but plastic pipes are crap. If you want it done properly, insist on copper.

Honest question - why?

Also looking for surveyor recommendation in North East (E11).