Owning your own home

I have quite a few Brushed Stainless Steel Hamilton Hartland CFX double sockets / switches (slim plates). Brand new still in packaging.

9 x Double Sockets
2 x 1 Gang Switch
1 x 45a Oven Switch

£50 + 5£ postage.

Will send photos via DM.

There is a thread of forum approved trades - what you looking to get done?

Also interested. Looking to have ground floor side return extension built.

Has anyone had a double garage built from scratch? Preferably one with eaves storage. Any ideas on cost?

We are looking for a new house at the mo. And weighing up the costs of building something in the garden of a house with no garage.

Thanks

First coat (primer - Zinsser 123) on in the smoker's room. Be gone foul tar!

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any recommendations for builders in the east end, i know there are a lot of people in the forest gate east ham walthamstow leyton mile end bethnal green hackney areas on here

some of you must have had work done and found a great builder.

looking for a recommended builder to do some interior and exterior work at my house.

You should do a couple of things:

1. Check the terms of your current mortgage; considering the potential of negative interest rates soon, you could be better off leaving your mortgage to lapse past the fixed term and into base rate + x%
   
2. Get a valuation on your house, especially if you think you're near another LTV % band (ie on the border of 75% LTV vs 80% LTV) - this will get you access to better deals if your LTV has changed
   
3. Shop around for the best deal
   
4. Chat to your bank / a mortgage adviser about increasing your mortgage to borrow for the works - it's likely the lowest interest rate loan you'll get
   
5. Make a spreadsheet :)
   

It's a bit of a terrifying prospect.

That seems like a total renovation job. Wouldn't consider it myself unless I was making significant living space improvements to the house, i.e. rear extension & loft conversion. Otherwise you won't get any of the money put down towards it when you sell.

Here's someone having a go on a Victorian Terrace;

https://jimmillerdesign.co.uk/category/victorian-enerphit/

Thanks :)
Are neg interest rates really a possibility? I think the rates now are better than they were 2 years ago and I think I like the certainty of fixed rates.
Is it worth getting an independent valuation? (I did this a couple of years ago when changing names on the mortgage).

What if I'm honestly not planning on selling? (When my dad needs more care I'll likely move back there temporarily. I might need to downsize in 30 years or so. But I feel like there are so many unknowns on that kind of timescale. )

The heating leaks out of the house and into the sky, I'm burning fossil fuels just to heat the place and cook, the ground floor is uncomfortably cold in the winter. These all seem like good reasons to do the work.

I want to do a semi-conversion to the loft - move the insulation to the roof line, board it all out. Maybe a velux. I don't have any plans for the space but it's currently unusable.

BoE put out some feelers on negative rates in mid Jan (lots of markets in the EU are implementing or discussing). Seems like it was a done deal.

In the last couple of days, a few 'sources close to the government' have been briefing their favourite papers on raising interest rates so it's anyone's guess right now...

Forum's own @grog specialises in stained glass, makes/restores leaded panels etc, and could prob give you a quote for D).

Good intel.

@grog - if you're interested, let me know!

Does that mean it's also a good time to get low fixed rates?

Hi would be interested in this please.

Probably. Very hard to tell if the future will bring drastically different rates. Some mortgage providers in Denmark are paying customers to take mortgages with them (negative mortgage interest rate) but they have a different lending system which means it's super unlikely here.

I would be looking for a long fixed term (5-10 yrs if you're not interested in moving) but don't forget that, if your base rate terms in your current mortgage are favourable, you're not locked into them. If things change, you can move your mortgage to another supplier immediately & without penalty.

Does that mean it's also a good time to get low fixed rates?

We are remortgaging at the moment and getting 5yr fixed @ 1.24%. There is also a 2yr fixed @ 1.09%

Could go lower, but for us the prospect of locking that in for that period is better than; a) the possibility of what? 0.80? 0.5%? at some point for a few years. and b) the hassle of remortgaging in the next couple of years.

Yeah it's just that I've hardly got my finger on the financial pulse, so I worry about staying on the tracker now and by the time I realise it's good to remortgage, the fixed rates start to go up. I may have to wait a bit anyway, as since I've moved jobs my current salary is only 1 month in (took a drastic pay cut for 3 months but it's gone back up), I'm on the wrong tax code etc so it might be a good idea to sort all that out first.

Does anyone have an idea of a rough cost installing a bathroom upstairs (ignoring the cost of the suite)?

Water is available, and mains/waste pipe is just below.

We are so close to the end of our house purchase but at the same time hanging in limbo. Latest from my solicitor this morning:

"Good Morning, I have chased the Seller's Solicitor repeatedly. They have this morning confirmed that the 19th February for completion is agreeable to the Seller, but they are awaiting confirmation from the remainder of the chain. I will continue to chase until the date is set in stone."

FFS

Potentially got rats out our back, we dont leave food or anything but they ave been in at the compost bin and dug under a couple of shed.

Gonna put down poison any suggestions for what is best to go for?

It really depends how long it takes plus all the materials. Doing a full bathroom can take a week depending on what your doing or is it a just connect everything you've done all the other work?

I know so many buyers and sellers in the same boat.

There are some shocking solicitors out there and sadly a lot of people are seduced by saving £200 by using the firm recommended by the agent. Never ever use them. They make about £400 per deal so it’s not at the

On that note - I was wondering what the odds were of a stamp duty holiday extension for people who’s deals are being held up by a legal/searches backlog? I suppose there’s always going to be a cliff edge but people who agreed sales in December are now running out of time.

At present it's currently a fourth bedroom but with pipework under the floorboards capped.

Would be installation and plumbing in. Would be looking at sorting the tiling etc myself.

For something like that I would be charging hourly as there will be a lot of coming and going.

Roughing it, you tile and then final fix.