Owning your own home

We were obsessed with trying to buy this place for a while, to the complete despair of our parents. Unfortunately, it wasn't really for sale. The vendor had it on with eight estate agents over 6 months, and every time we tried to arrange a viewing it got canceled the day before. They claimed to get covid about a dozen times. I don't know what was going on - possibly a divorce? It got withdrawn from the market in the end.

i live in a newbuild maisonette styled like the neighbouring edwardian properties. there can be a happy medium........... i think

Like this example built in 2012 to match the original victorian properties (check the history on streetview)

These are directly opposite my house. The one on the left is about 20yrs old

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I think its a generation thing, numerous people the generation above us thought we were mad spending good money on a 60s house that they thought was 'outdated modern'. yet were totally fine with characterless properties from the 80s/90s

This and rogans comment below it balance up the opposite ends of a lot of 'modern' developments.

So many of the 80/90/00 properties I see seem to have no character, the wishy washy copies of Victorian (etc) property some vague hints a a style long past with none of the actual detail.

Box shape with a bit of timber framing
Box shape with columns by the door.

I'm sure it was done because it's too expensive to actually copy all the details now, which would be fine if you just accepted that and tried something else instead.

The property in that photo look like care and attention has been put into it to make it match.

In a way I don't mind some of the more wacky 80s stuff that was near where I grew up as at least it was trying to be its own thing.

Don't trust them for anything other than tiny pics. Maybe I should review that having looked at the range available though.

What was the inside like?

Needed some work doing!

https://www.zoopla.co.uk/property-history/40a-the-avenue/loughton/ig10-4px/59958919/

In the fantasy land where we bought it, the idea was to remove the wall between kitchen and entrance hall and make that into a single space, fully glaze the existing front door and panelling, move the front door down to the garage entrance, and a load of other stuff.

Oh that's cool, but I could understand why an older generation may not like that interior.

Yeah. This was inspiration:

https://www.themodernhouse.com/journal/jasmine-hemsley-nick-hopper-house/

@revenant how you getting on with the one you had an offer accepted on?

I am still 6 weeks off moving into herongate rd. the whole thing has been utterly, utterly awful in pretty much every single conceivable way.

Brutal. Why is buying and selling houses so hard?

We are stuck in a holding pattern. Offer accepted but the sellers need to find somewhere to buy. Keeping the faith for now, but we will pull the plug if it becomes clear we won't be in by September.

what you deffo want to avoid, is being in the chain from hell, full of miserable old people who dont give a fuck about anyone apart from themselves.

pretty much everyone involved in the process has acted like an utter cvnt - from my own estate agent who lost interest because it was taking too much of his time up (his comforting words to me 5 months into the process "i've written this deal off jack, its not going to work, just find another buyer, its taking too long", my buyer (who tried to chip me 10k a few weeks back because it was taking so long and because my house needed new windows apparently (spoiler: it doesn't)- had to give him 3.5k discount just to keep him on the hook).

I have agreed to sell mine 2 weeks early, and stay with my inlaws, just so i no longer have to deal with my idiot buyer, and then complete on herongate road at the end of march just to get it done and to save my sanity.

the last few weeks I have felt it take its toll on me actually. I've never had mental health problems (and still dont) - but i have felt quite low about it all. It brings out the worst in people. I have tried to be fair and reasonable with everyone involved, but i really have wanted to go and stove more than one persons head in with a spade on more than one occasion.

Oof - sounds awful.

When we completed and the money cleared into our account I felt like a different person. The stress eats away at you. I had developed a fairly visceral hatred of the buyers' conveyancer after nine months.

Or your own conveyancer. 4 months of me chasing nearly every day, asking if responses to questions about the searches were back, not realising the question I SHOULD have been asking was "Have the questions about things brought up in searches been asked yet?" "Oh, no. Now your searches are out of date, and you need new ones."

Clearly these architects aren't aware that it rains in the UK.

100%, problem is that newer flat are not even that much of an improvement.

We were careful in our search and found a 1901 terraced maisonette (rather than a house that was converted into flats), and cheap enough to be able to modernise it.

My partner’s brother old flat in the Squirrel (Lewisham) was shit, build in the late 50’s/mid century vibe, but no centre heating, lots of condensation, weird layout where only one room have a lots of light, etc.

So the option are much more limited beside the new build from the last 20 years but even that have risk that it’s not build properly (seer cladding).

We saw a nice new build in the same building as the small Sainsbury near Catford station, it was amazing and only need some paints and furnitures but it got the wrong cladding (!!!).

Lastly, most flats have services charges that eat up our monthly budget, so a shitty turned insulated late Victorian maisonette was the best we can find.

That's mad

I would like to open a panel that has been put over an old, hand-cranked lift that was once upon a time in use to take the rubbish out. I want to get in there because inside is a cable that I can use to run power to my garages.

I called the managing agent and he said "you can't do that as it's been sealed in accordance with fire regulations".

It's fire-resistant plasterboard, which I watched them fit.

Surely, if the managing agent provides the criteria, I can re-seal it in accordance with these?

i.e. it's not a reason for refusal.

On that note - do I have any option if they just refuse point blank to allow me to take the panel off and then replace it? Legally, that is.

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No way to get power from any one of those exposed conduits?

Within the lift shaft is the end of an armoured cable that runs under the road bed to the garages.

My flat shares a wall with the lift shaft - I can run a cable from my CU, into the shaft, connect to the armoured cable, and then all I need to worry about is running a cable through the existing run in the garages.

A response from the managing agent:

"Dear Mr Dammit,

Further to your email and attached photos, as already advised this morning by Dee, you are not permitted to use the riser cupboard as it will interfere with the integratory of the Fire Precautions within the building.

Regards"

Clearly fire precautions wouldn't be serious enough, but as they're Fire Precautions, that's alright.

In the buildings I work in fire blocking is often certified by expensive contractors with method statements and insurance. I think it would be reasonable for a landlord to require that.

Fire blocking is how the opening was sealed up, in terms of materials and method?

I would think that the cables you run would also need to be fire-rated and certified as well?

They won't let you dick with it. There's no upside for them, only hassle.