Owning your own home

Both. it’s normal practice for our solicitor to withhold an agreed sum to cover the work of which there is just an estimate so you need to add 10-20% to that to cover any increase.
As soon as the bill comes in the solicitor pays us the correct amount to settle bill and the remainder gets paid to the seller.
they (seller) want their solicitor to have the money in their account (but likely not enough to cover the bill) have us pay the bill when it arrives which isn’t a small sum (8-12k) and then show them the bill which they then reimburse us.
Except that if it’s more than what they have on retention we make up the shortfall.

You say sneaky, they might think they are protecting their interests. From their POV, they probably can't entertain a situation where their liabilities are unlimited, for work that they won't ever enjoy any benefit from.

well no. they agreed to pay for the work as a condition of sale and that’s also a condition of our accepted offer. they are sneaky by going back on their word and shifting the onus on us to make up any shortfall.
Yes they could pull the plug but would you really want to go back on the market now when a sale was agreed back in the summer before the financial fall-out and you can have nearly half a million in the bank? they can try it on i guess but that could end up with them losing out big time with prices falling or flat over the next 6 months. all that for 2-5k?

Edit: looks like the bill is hopefully around 8.5k they have proposed 6k we want 12k but have proposed splitting it in 2 parts so the bigger bill (6-7k?) which should arrive soon is settled and then it’s just the smaller amount retained for work that nobody knows when is likely to start.

Keep in mind their solicitor will be telling them their way is the best as it protects their interests.

Both suggestions are arguably normal practice.

No one likes open-ended unknown costs. I’d try to agree a sum to just deal with it now. Maybe £8.5k is the number. Maybe it costs £8k, maybe £9k but if the risk feels fair to both parties you may be able to agree it.

Compromise is often the answer.

they are sneaky by going back on their word and shifting the onus on us to make up any shortfall

Lesson learned - specify the retention amount upfront next time and don’t rely on “normal practice” (because there’s no such thing).

For what it’s worth I would be less concerned about which solicitor holds the cash (assuming theirs is a reputable outfit).

“No one likes open-ended unknown costs.”
no but why agree to pay for them? they had an outline estimate for the work so they should have worded it as “we will pay xxxx towards the upcoming works”.

“Lesson learned - specify the retention amount upfront next time”

again that would be for them to outline, otherwise that means trying to get hold of all the consultation documents before you can even put an offer in, in this instance that was neither practical or necessary when they have stated
“the planned works will be paid for” i take that as saying they will pay for that work to be done, nothing more nothing less.
You can’t really agree a retention on day one but you can certainly agree a sum to cover the full costs they have said they will pay, we will not settle for anything less.

i take that as saying they will pay for that work to be done, nothing more nothing less

What they have offered is not inconsistent with their statement. If you want the extra credit protection you can fight for it but at no point have they tried to get out of ultimately paying this bill.

Yes they have. they have now proposed to pay some of the bill not all of it and we make up any shortfall.
even if it comes bang on the estimate it looks like there will still be something for us to pay, if it ends up 10-20% over then it’s not a sum for us to write off, and neither was it agreed to be our responsibility.

I probably didn’t explain it very well.

Ah sorry, missed that - thought that the deal was that you would pay excess over the retention and then they’d pay you back.

If they are so transparently retrading they are total shits.

Nah, you did. I just didn’t read it properly and came over all counsellor.

They’re at fault, you’re being reasonable. I’d agree a compromise because I like to avoid conflict and move on. Standing and fighting for the right outcome is just as valid!

yeah, the compromise it to come down from 12k to 10k and hopefully end up giving them 1-1.5k back when it’s all done and dusted.

We have a BT master phone line socket in an awkward place on the window sill - I’d like for this to be moved into the cupboard with electrics etc. we can then run some cable from here for wired connections in more sensible places. Do I go through BT or through my service provider (zen internet)?

Could DIY if the new position can be achieved with the existing amount of cable (external wall to slightly-closer-to-the exchange external wall). Long drill bit, few cable clips and repositioning of the internal box.

BT it done by the book I think.

Though it’s v easy to DIY it. I moved mine 10m at my last place from the lounge to the cupboard under the stairs by running some Cat5 under the floorboards and only terminating 2 pairs

You to through your service provider, you don't have a contract with BT Retail or BT Openreach. Expect it to be expensive and slow. I'd move it myself.

I got open reach to move all mine when we moved in (took contract with BT so we didn't need to pay). It was a month or so from booking to appointment, they moved/replaced stuff to where I wanted it, no idea if they are all this flexible or if I just got a good person on the day.

Put a Mastersocket 5c in when you replace it

We have a BT master phone line socket in an awkward place on the window sill - I’d like for this to be moved into the cupboard with electrics etc. we can then run some cable from here for wired connections in more sensible places. Do I go through BT or through my service provider (zen internet)?

This is called an NTE Shift. Your provider will charge you to do it, if they're sensible. If not you can get one by the back door by switching provider and requesting an appointment to move the NTE. And yes, get the latest version with the digital voice input as everything'll be going down taht route sooner or later.

I moved my own once before, but it was when I worked for a telecoms company and just borrowed punch down tool and crimps from one of the engineers and pinched a roll of cable from the warehouse. I'm sure those things are available online though for less than the price of an engineer to do it. I remember it being easier than anticipated. And when I later had an unrelated fault, I was shitting it that the Openreach engineer who came out would spot it was DIY and bill me for it. But either they didn't care, or because it wasn't just twisted wires and electrical tape, it looked like any other install.

DIY? I ran mine through the roof and down a new stud wall in the middle of the house.

Punchdown is built into modern sockets. Cat5 is cheap and jelly connectors are cheap on eBay as needed.

After all the hilarity of a few months ago my partner and I had an offer accepted on a place. Just had the survey back which identified slight subsidence. I’ve attached an image of the overall summary, the surveyor seems to consider it a “reasonable purchase”. This is the first time either of us have bought a house so would really value thoughts on this!

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This details it a little further

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Thanks all. I’ll speak with provider first and then builder. I won’t be doing it as I won’t be able to (not a diyer).

Is this a mortgage survey? If so has the surveyor valued the property at the purchase price and said it’s suitable for lending?

If not have you had the mortgage val done and does that value it up?

If it’s not mortgageable nothing else matters.

No it’s a RICS Level 3 structural survey.

We’ve already had the mortgage valuation and mortgage offer which agreed that the price we agreed with the vendor (the asking price) was correct

It's a big BUT at the end paragraph, and a large can of worms.

You need to get an engineer to look at it really, as fixing likely wouldn't be cheep if it needs it.

Then you'll have a quote for works and can chip the seller by that amount.

Got pics?