Owning your own home

A mixed day for us today: cash offer at rather a large amount of money over asking, but missed out on the place we'd made an offer on despite our offer being on the money because of a cash buyer.

Who are these people with £700k in cash?!

We only put our place on at the weekend so it would have all been too perfect to be fair.

My house decided to drop a piece of it's moulded external coving and railing from above the window frame onto the garden below 🙄

There is always something... this one is thankfully just cosmetic.

Getting quoted 3 weeks till next slot then week to write up.

The 'week to write up' thing is especially funny given it's mostly cut and paste.

(but yeah, obvs. they don't spend a week on each one)

The 'week to write up' thing is especially funny given it's mostly cut and paste.

They'd save loads of time if they used copy and paste.

My MIL is looking to get a new bathroom installed by Wickes. Payment terms seem to be payment upfront or 10% deposit and interest free 12 month loan (so I'd assume this technically equates to payment up front in terms of Wickes getting their money).

Anyone used Wickes for such a thing? Payment upfront seems to remove all leverage in terms of snagging, doing a shit job, etc. Is this usual?

Who are these people with £700k in cash?!

you in 2 years

Ive had a quick search and quite a few of you are affected. Turns out my girl friend now needs an ews1 form for her building which is a new build (2018) which is under 18m according to the buyers surveyor. Does anyone have any articles of the latest info or information, this is a nightmare which has put the sale on hold.

Does anyone know how much it costs to pay for one to get one, the directors are dragging their heads a bit and it might be worth them just paying for one. The building doesn’t even have cladding but does have wooden decking on some balcony’s.

I'm in the same situation, selling currently without one is not happening. But getting one also seems difficult and costly, and given it's not a legal requirement feels like a sunk cost fallacy.

I've decided to wait it out for the moment and hope some sense prevails soon, totally fucked my plans though.

Shit innit! What kind of cost? She is currently paying mortgage on it but living in Manchester so there’s quite a costly sunk cost at present.

Ha, lol, no.

You can't get an EWS1. Only the freeholder can.

There's no end in sight unfortunately.

Ha, ffs, gotta laugh or cry I suppose. I appreciate the honesty.

My impression talking to the management company was - happy to organise one but obviously there are 7 owners who would be changed for it.

Turns out my girl friend now needs an ews1 form for her building which is a new build (2018)

Is the buyer's mortgage company demanding one? If not, then ignore. If so, then suggest buyer changes mortgage company or find new buyer.

Are the management company the freeholder? I guess it depends on your building as to whether you want to do it or not. Over 80% of EWS1 reports are returning failures which then have to be paid for by the leaseholders.

I’m not too sure to be honest, only found out this evening, we will investigate tomorrow. As far as I know it’s the surveyor which has the issue apparently.

Its slightly complicated that they built it and sold on the freehold but i have suspected for a while it's all one and the same.

The 80% thing is why my sense is to wait, but there are two of us on the market and a third intending to sell, so there may be a point we decide to do it.

The building is block and render, so feels low risk but who knows.

You need to find out if

• the buyer's mortgage company will not lend on it because of the lack of EWS1*, or
  
• the buyer's solicitor has shit the bed on it
  
  

If it's the later you can - somewhat optimistically - request the buyer 'take a view' on it if their mortgage company is still willing to lend, on the grounds that the fiasco may be resolved by the time they get round to selling in five years time or whatever.

If it's both obvs. sale is a bit fooked

* assuming it's not a cash buyer

Cheers for the advice, I’m optimistically hoping that it’s just because the surveyor said it, could we get a lore sympathetic surveyor, the building is brick...

Will find out tomorrow. The estate agent has said all along they don’t need one, what a nightmare this all is. It’s on help to buy as well so they will struggle to rent it out (she owns it with her sister).

Think that was me? If it wasn’t then Ive also used him three times and is very good.

@Fox will you build a sento in the next place? Can a man go from sento to no sento? If anything it’s better to not have known sento to begin with.

Isn't it better to have sentoed and lost than to have never sentoed at all?

I am so jealous of that bath, it looked amazing. I'm looking forward to seeing what you do with the new place. Is it in Walthamstow that you're looking @Fox?

Nah, better to remain sento ignorant. Knowing what you’re missing out on is worse.

Might be late to the party but I used Grant Barnes last year and thought he was good.

Prepared by
Barnes and Barnes Surveyors
Bon Marche Centre
241-251 Ferndale Road
London
SW9 8BJ