Owning your own home

Darkroom in the cupboard

Nope thats where this guy hides:

is / was being used a YWAM ministry apparently.

Proof that good taste is not for sale.

i dont understand listings like this. is someone actually living there? it doesn't look very lived in at all.... if not - then they have hired in "stage" furniture or whatever they call it. why would they then choose the shittest furniture? so odd

Reminds me of this house in some industrial wasteland in the north. I guess that's what happens
if you make millions but only know B&Q.

I think it was used to house instructors for some religious cult / sect thing (see ^^)

IR panel heaters work pretty good, as already pointed out you can disguise them as other things!

Kick board electric heater (1-2kw) do a good job of just belting out some heat but noisey, get knocked and collect dust and filth like you wouldn't believe. Also dropping 5 litres of pasta on floor into it tends to make a hell of a mess.

Gas hob on to heat the place up is literally what us northerners do, kitchen already has it so why not use it? If you don't have a wet heating system that you can just tap an extra radiator into that room then a panel IR or a oil filled skinny electric wall radiator is pretty ideal. Rointe make some nice looking ones. Just beware, all electric heaters are basically 100% efficient, but electric kwH cost 3-5x more than gas kwH cost. So will always be more expensive to run vs output, compared to a wet gas heating system.

Any reason not to accept an offer from someone with 10% deposit? They have an AIP (which of course may as well be toilet paper) but as long as banks are giving 90% mortgages they aren't ostensibly any less proceedable than someone with a larger deposit right?

Aside from obviously potential access to capital should they suddenly decide the house wants money throwing at it but can't really account for people getting fickle either way.

It could become an issue if the mortgage lender doesn't support the valuation. If you think the offer is toppy, you might be better going with your next best offer, assuming the LTV is much more favourable.

nah, no reason really. I think I sold mine with 5% - which was dropped from 10% on the day of exchange (not nastily, just solicitor asking if I'd be ok with it)
Once contracts are exchanged then it doesn't make much of a difference - they'd be on the hook for losses up the chain, and before contracts are exchanged it makes no difference at all.

It’s 10k over asking, but asking was what 3 agents valued it at. (Again, I know that’s for the birds a little bit, but common sense dictates it’s within the realm of reasonable - especially with local comparisons)

They might have more than 10% in cash but want to keep some back for improvements. If they can get a mortgage for 90% that is quite sensible borrowing.

Sounds like you would be fine. As has been said up thread, lenders seem to like Zoopla estimates, so you are probably fine in that range.

I'm selling my 90's end of terrace and the surveyor has flagged an issue with cavity wall insulation in a timber frame house.

How much should I be shitting it?

Edit: apparently not that much as it's not too bad to have removed. Phew!

Also great points. Thanks very much all, will give it a ponder. Only been in the house a week so will live with things for a bit and see!

keep some back for improvements.

No chance my house is beautiful and perfect /s

Thanks all above. Thought I'd be calmer second time round but turns out now I'm just stressing in two directions!

No chance my house is beautiful and perfect /s

Someone posted a picture of part of their house before and after they improved it. I preferred the before :)

I hope you did this the proper way, that way being the one where you end up standing in a corner staring at a freshly painted floor wondering how long it will be before you can try and walk across it to escape.

Or painted yourself away from the paint tray and stood on your unpainted island with an empty paint roller swearing at everything barring your own incompetence.

Yes, instagram is full of these, where an attractive older house has had k-rend spaffed all over it, “mansion-style” external uplighting, plastic windows and grey carpets throughout.

Worst still; the bathroom in the back of the flat, and it’s through the kitchen.

Visited a flat a client was thinking of buying in Brixton 20 years ago with a shower in the kitchen. Estate agent reckoned it was a convenience as you could have your shower and breakfast more easily!

Developer has offered a year of snagging guarantee in a house we are thinking of buying and lawyer is happy to ask for this to be included in the contract. This is a first time dealing with a snagging clause, is there anything we need to make sure is definitely included or mentioned so we are covered properly?

One thing I would be asking is, what happens if developer goes out of business? Who is in giving the guarantee then? That has certainly been an approach used by the more nefarious end of the market in the past.