Owning your own home

Look for somewhere (that maybe doesn't tick other boxes) that is share of freehold. Fuck leaseholds. When I bought my flat, being a shared freeholder was the first thing I wouldn't compromise on.

Okay so it’s depending then, partner’s brother’s service charge includes gas/electric as well as council tax, about £2,900pa.

Our agreement literally have “Feudal” written in our mortgage (upstair is freeholder, we downstairs is leasehold with £5/years ground rent).

Feudal

Sounds about right. Have to ask the lord upstairs if you can do anything...

Yeah like getting rid of their old outhouse that cause a weird 2 by 2 wall inside our flat that they use as a shed, they decline a shed that we’re happy to pay for Sheen we want to get rid of that weird shape making our bathroom tiny.

Least the lord of the fief we are in are nice.

Most service charges includes water and gas don’t they?

Electricity for the common parts, yes. Otherwise, no.

Any building with a lift is a potential moneypit. When they go wrong, and they do with depressing frequency, especially on new builds built as cheaply as possible, it can cost a fortune to put things right. Not unsurprisingly, there are a lot of rules and regulations about lifts.

Annoyingly in our old flat we had to contribute equally to the lift despite being on the ground floor.

So I'm remortgaging, fixed term coming to the end, coulda woulda shoulda did it before Kwasi I've ballsed this up announced his budget but didn't.

Could have read up the past few pages but didn't.

What's everyone doing about it now? Stay with current provider with a tracker or fix it for a couple of years and take the pain?

Seems similar to that block off Peckham Rye, also irreparably badly built. Incredible really.

I think I'd be white knuckling a tracker rn and see how things progress into Autumn with maybe looking to fix if rates are starting to come down.

We recently went for a 3 year fixed. Bit of stability and hopefully things will have settled by then.

Any building with a lift is a potential moneypit. When they go wrong, and they do with depressing frequency, especially on new builds built as cheaply as possible, it can cost a fortune to put things right. Not unsurprisingly, there are a lot of rules and regulations about lifts.

My employer has 4 lifts, 2-3 of which have been in a state of repair for the past 5 years. And this is a large building society who can afford decent equipment and contractors...

I'm leaning towards a 2 year fixed.

Also, not shopping about and staying with Nationwide.

+Tenderloin was looking at a tracker too, no ERC but £100 more compared to the fixed 2 years.

Technically fixed for 18 months since ERC doesn't apply for final 6 months.

Hey, I'm just curious if any of you consider that rates are finally getting back to normal? It feels like a risky time to be taking a punt on them going low again. I imagine there will be a pivot at some point but i'm not sure how long it will last and you might be lucky to catch it.
History tells us inflation nearly always comes in two waves so IR's could go much higher at some point.

if any of you consider that rates are finally getting back to normal?

Initially misread your post and was going to say they probably are "normal". However, I think one of the key issues hasn't been the 'return to a normal" but the jumps as a percentage increase.

I've just signed with existing provider to move to a tracker in July. Have reasonable ability to weather further interest rate rises but obviously betting on things turn sooner rather than later.

fix it for a couple of years and take the pain?

We're going this option. 2 year fixed. Slightly more expensive than a tracker, but managable on our limited income and with a tracker another rise would hurt too much to risk it.

Will almost certainly regret some part of it.

Same as us having to pay for the upkeep of the garages even though we don't own one.

I think that unless you can swing a big discount it's not going to be worth it.
The increases in GR are going to make it hard to sell in the future and the longer you hold on to it the bigger an issue it becomes

There was a forecast from 'the markets' the other day that because inflation isn't dropping as fast as forecast, rates are likely to top out at 5.5% - so a couple more rises to come. IANAFA but I'd expect them to drop back a bit after that but imagine we'll be around 4% for some time to come. So, yes - back to long-term normal - can't see 1% happening again.
I bought my first flat in '92 (a month before the ERM bollocks) - quite the change since then:

Historically 4.5% to 5% has been seen as a zero-risk return on investment, on the basis that's been the ROI on government gilts. If the base rate was significantly lower than that then you'd effectively be allowing everyone to have free money by borrowing money and buying gilts. Apart from 2008 to 2021 interest rates have very rarely fallen below 5%. IANAFA either, but I'm not convinced they're going to fall much below 5% in the short to medium term, if at all. Thanks primarily to Brexit I can't see much of an increase in supply-side, due to the UK economy becoming increasingly isolated both in terms of the importation of raw materials and the export of goods and services. That means the BoE will have to keep a lid on demand, in order to prevent more hightened inflation. And the only tool they have to do that (because negative QE doesn't really exist) is keeping interest rates high.

As someone with no debts and significant savings, I'm entirely relaxed about that. Anyone for a large one at the 19th hole?

If the base rate was significantly lower than that then you'd effectively be allowing everyone to have free money

Between the base rate and QE that basically exactly what they have done... if you hold assets, right?

Another example of what happens when you move building control private

Well that's all changing soon. Anything over 8m will have to go through HSE. Oh, except they don't have the staff and are offering salaries half that of the private sector so... It'll probably get farmed back out in the end, or more likely just a clusterfuck of delays.

I went for the same, locked in this evening and pending me signing the papers.

That said, the tracker was a bit more than the fixed with Nationwide, so the opposite of both you and +ElGonzo.

Possible to share what your tracker rates are?