Owning your own home

boiler EOL

I tend to think with these that if it passes a service you don't have much to argue on.

I have always asked sellers to get a service pre-exchange and, if they refuse, get their permission to arrange one at my own cost. Never had a boiler fail but if it did that would be a good starting point for a negotiation.

theres an asbestos chrysotile sheet lining the ceiling in a void between kitchen and bathroom on the flat we still haven’t completed on and i know we will be exposing this and a bit of studwork will need to be fixed to it.
i just expect the builder to mask up and clean up when fixing the studwork then it will never be seen again until somebody else decides to redo the bathroom.
not worth making it an issue, especially as it’s not visible or testable as it’s not yet exposed. i only know it’s there because there was a hole in the wall of the bathroom in another flat i viewed and i poked my phone in to take a pic.

theres also a 50’s metal door to a drying cupboard which likely has it inside, i’ll unscrew the door from the hinges and leave it at the back of the garage, problem solved and nobody gets lung disease.

not worth making it an issue, especially as it’s not visible or testable as it’s not yet exposed. i only know it’s there because there was a hole in the wall of the bathroom in another flat i viewed and i poked my phone in to take a pic

I don't know much about these things, but does it present a risk to the next buyer of your place that doesn't know it's there and takes a sledgehammer to the wall without wearing PPE?

the walls are either brick/blockwork or stud/plasterboard.
they might reveal the ceiling board if they remodel the bathroom but knocking down walls isn’t really going to reveal anything and a tradesman would know if anything untoward gets revealed.
theres no asbestos reported in the communal area report apart from an encapsulated door of a store room and a ceiling panel in a bin store. it’s the not so dangerous type with the recommendation of ‘do not disturb’ and ‘monitor for deterioration’. Its better to just leave it in place than remove it.

https://www.lfgss.com/comments/14972930/

This house is back on the market and am conflicted.
Wife is now remote full time.
I have to be in Old st 2 days a week
We have a 6m old
We’re 4m away from starting a renovation project on our place

Seems like a no-brainer on that basis.

If it were me, I wouldn't even commute 2 days - just head in very early morning day one, overnight in whatever digs your employer has a deal with (or just a travelodge, if they're penny pinchers), put in a silly long day, and a silly early start day two, then head back in time for kids.

This was my go-to plan pre-covid.

This house is back on the market
Dare I ask how much of a mark-up the sellers have added since 2019?

We’re 4m away from starting a renovation project on our place
Everything I hear says that it is a truly terrible time to renovate (costs, labour availability etc). Stories of people paying 2-3x what their architects thought the project should cost.

We moved into our current place in Dec-20 with the intention of doing a reasonably large project. The way things have gone I wouldn't be surprised if we end up putting the project cash into buying something "done" instead. And we don't have a 6m old!

Well I’ve actually just looked at the new and old listing. Price is 200k above what it sold for in 2020 and one of the attached barns has been removed from the sale and added as available for separate negotiation. Which would be a pretty handsome return for them but would totally put me off.

And yes you have largely described our experience up to this point 😂😂😂 one of the reasons I like this place is it’s pretty much done to our taste with only some minor alterations

Get it bought.

Only decision is whether you want to take the risk that they get planning on the barn and you have to live through construction and increased density... get professional advice

We’re planning our extension this year. Don’t really have a frame of reference for pricing, or comparison to pre-covid-global-supply-chain-war-shitstorm. I suppose as long as we don’t exceed the road “cap” then we’re still ok, just won’t make as much profit when we sell. Tbh I’m just making a sick pad to live (laugh & love) in rather than try to make money so meh. Whatchagonnado.

Will the prices ever go down? Will there be a “better” time to do work?

I guess availability might get better, but then it’s probably like weddings. All delayed by covid so now there’s a year or two backlog. Guess some people will break up / decide not to sink 40k on a kitchen in that time. Suppose we should do the work before either of those happen.

Two different questions - I think the answers are in turn “no” and “yes”. It’s not just about the cost of materials and labour, it’s about the risk that unpredictable supplies of both pose to your project.

If your builder goes bust during the job, for example, you basically write off the expenditure to date and start again from scratch.

I’m also trying to create a nice place to live rather than profit - but if the cheaper way to do that is to move then I’m glad to avoid the headache and risk of a project. If my place was more special / unique than a Victorian mid terrace it would be a less mercenary decision.

Edit. Found the house. It is nice. But from the little I know, you seem like London people. You would die of boredom within a month. As far as I am aware, there isn't even accessible countryside round there.

Location > house.

This was the house out in Buckinghamshire wasn't it ?

As an asides I can't start my loft until August or September but I have all the materials delivered and on my patio right now. All the structural timber, osb, cladding, insulation, the lot.

Everything is getting repriced monthly and it was the only way to secure the price. My wife ain't happy about it tho.

Must have been quite the pallet they delivered it on!

Bedfordshire

Yes I remember it now.

has an aga. avoid

no samsung serif either

This is true, in France, when you get older/retired, you move into a flat in a city, the French cannot fathom why we would retired in the countryside with big house to look after, miles away from local shop, and expensive to run.

This is absolute bollocks. Fucking loads of French people retire to the countryside.

55yo are still perfectly capable of driving to the shops.

Gardening culture and the amount of land dedicated to houses are two things that are not so common in the continent

But yet France is covered in burbs with houses in massive plots and country houses with huge gardens. Covid WFH has also seen a load of people move out. I think the difference is that when people live in the centre of cities they expect/accept apartments. But that is also because they rarely ever have houses with gardens in cities.

Fwiw I can't think of many other countries that fetishise the peasant farmer like they do either.

retire

55yo

Ahahahahahah I fucking wish

Most suburban developments in france from the 80s onwards have small plots, ie 300 sqm roughly. not saying there aren't large gardens, but the tendency is that it is shrinking.

the fetishisation of the peasant farmer is real here, but it is also understandable, as generally the peasant farmer lives a better life than in france. To simplify, he has more land.

I have to be in Old st 2 days a week
We have a 6m old

Depending on your work hours that may be two days a week of barely seeing your child for a couple of years, very possibly missing out on bathtime and bedtime (and your other half having to do it solo).

Obviously also depends on how much you see them on the other days but worth bearing in mind.

Depending on your work hours that may be two days a week of barely seeing your child for a couple of years

But what about the negatives?

lol