Owning your own home

My email was marked the specific guy I spoke to and someone pointed else picked it up, typed it incorrectly to start the whole shitshow off.

To be fair, I am still trying to work this one out so if your conversation went the same way.....

Realistically there's a 14 day grace period where you can own two properties without having to pay additional SDLT as that's how long you have to file the tax return for the SDLT.

estate agent who cocked up by bid left my a voicenote at 5pm yesterday asking to call him back. Called at 5:15 and he'd gone home. Today, despite chasing, emailing and ringing the office phone, not heard anything back from him ref what the vendors want to do. Nobody else in the office can help because it is sensitive and he is handling it...

That is a bit crap but get on the phone at 9am today. In defence of agents a lot of the job is out of the office - valuations, viewings, vendors, other things starting with v - and he might have been in the office early.

When agents have cocked up and know it they do tend to prioritise you... #askmehowIknow

Checked our Nationwide account yesterday and our old mortgage has disappeared! Phew.

The question now of course is whose fault it is. No update from the solicitors yet so I'll call the Nationwide today and ask if they're planning to charge us interest for the past month and can I have my last payment back please thank you. If we don't have to pay interest I'm happy to chalk it up as one of those things but if we're going to lose any money...

We're loving the new house anyway. After nine years of upstairs neighbours I'm already turning into a morning person now I can go to bed at whatever time I like. It's like finally at the age of 40 I'm a proper grownup.

Heard a rat running around under our 'kitchen' floor last night. It's got a few levels so it's pretty much a custom built rat hotel, what with that and some very bad drainage (with occasional whiffs of eau de toilette gas). So not exactly a surprise. First time we've heard that in four weeks so hopefully it was just passing through. We did move here to be closer to wildlife - @chrisbmx116 - so I can't complain.

Get the snappy traps out
And never ever ever poison

The Westie terrier rescue that visited yesterday would love the rats aspect of your new house!

Our boiler keeps loosing pressure. I should track it better, but at a guess a couple of times every couple of weeks now.

We previously had a leak and that engineer said we should have our system flushed. He didn't do it himself, didn't suggest anyone and generally seemed sound, so I'm inclined to think it was a genuine suggestion.
I think there is some sort of overflow that drips out the roof via a pipe into the garden. That has been dripping a lot recently.

I'm reticent to call someone out as I assume everyone's answer is going to be a new boiler regardless of whether that's true. Surely it's something they can knock out quickly, get good pay, low/no liability and probably commish on the boiler vs the opposite for a repair, right?

Any thoughts, suggestions or experiences?

Cheers.

Have you had it serviced recently?

May be worth a service (don't tell them about the drippy condensate* or previous problems if you're worried it would influence them).

Not sure where you're based but I've used this guy a few times before (as have others on here) https://www.full-flame.co.uk/ who doesn't fit new boilers so doesn't have that incentive to condemn it.

Cheers.

We haven't had it "serviced". But it had two water leaks, one of which showed CO leak. But then idk if there was any other general work.

Based in Borehamwood which is on the LDN / Hertfordshire border. Looks like we're out of the range of that guy, but if he works north London then he might be able to suggest someone else.

A routine service may well be cheaper than a call out, particularly if it's an easy fix.

Hi Hugo, my brother is a gas engineer and lives in Borehamwood coincidentally, if you message me your number I can ask him to give you a call

Cheers. Will PM.

1.5mil

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/106142885#/

The ‘kitchen’

1 Attachment

https://search.savills.com/property-detail/gbsvrsses180216

This is ace. Shame it'll be gone before I get ours sold...

Imagine heating that place though

Fuck that. Poison the shit out of them. It works.

Just make sure you know where they are going to go when they are about to die. The smell of decomposing rat is terrible.

Three bathrooms and thats the kitchen. Someones at the wind up!

If it’s a conservatory, shouldn’t really have central heating in it? Let alone a kitchen that would be too small
For a studio...

Just make sure you know where they are going to go when they are about to die. The smell of decomposing rat is terrible.

This a thousand times over

Have a close look at all of your radiator valves and drain valves for moisture / corrosion/crusty residue around the valve spindle or thermostat plunger

If there's a suspect one, you may be able to tighten the gland nut, or replace the valve

So ive seen your 2nd comment, how did the water leak show CO leaking?

In terms of loosing pressure a flush will do fuck all, so that engineer was a clown. You need to find the source of the leak first, it could be a rad valve but if your having to top it up that much it'll not be that.
There is a pressure vessel in the boiler, they tend to go flat and should be charged on a service, they do burst tho and that could cause it or there could be a leak in the Heat exchanger and its leaking into the condensate so you'd never find it. Could also be a leak under the floor too. If you have over pressurised it and the PRV has opened they close but usually never fully seat again and that could be another point of the leak.

We dont just go out and suggest new boilers willy nilly but depending the age sometimes your throwing good money after bad money and it can work to your advantage changing it.

Boiler age your looking at around 10-15 years for a boiler these days they certainly aren't built to last 20/30 years thats for sure. 15 if your doing really well out a combi.

People will change there car 5x over than change a boiler even though you probably use it more than a car.

Yeah but my boiler doesn’t project wealth + status to those around me

Clearly you bought the wrong model then. People see mine and know I'm to be taken seriously.