Owning your own home

Postbox?

Especially if you haven't budgeted for it.

Not budgeted for it? WTF?

"Oh hai, check out my new house!"
"What are your repayments like?"
"Repayments?"

Fin.

Probably right thread but if not sorry , is it possible to get a 3 or 4 bedroom house and rent rooms to pay the mortgage ? seems like a great idea but there but must be a reason why everybody isn't doing it ?

Living with lodgers isn't for everybody.

Because a 3-4 bedroom house costs a packet so you need to be prepared with a big deposit and you need to be prepared to live with other people, which is one of the main reasons people move away from renting - to live on their own means.

^ This...

Thanks for the advice. I'll just mentally set aside what this month's payment would normally be, and make sure that it's there for this big, nasty first payment.

Also need to collar my neighbour and ask how the hell the heating/hot water works, and where my meter is...

You may have the deposit, but you will also need to prove to the bank that you can pay the mortgage on your own- you can't count the theoretical lodgers as income for the mortgage application (any more).

And you need to pay tax and do some paperwork etc...

Unless you only have one and charge under a certain amount.

And if you have lodgers you can't fill the spare bedrooms full of bikes.

Postbox?

Never heard of it

Removal firms. In and around Streatham. Anyone??

Slippery developer rant!

There are some new flats nearing completion on a site that starts literally 15' from our works premises. The closest block to us is designated for part rent part buy and the show flat is being kitted out ready for the launch days. The launch days are this Sunday and the following Saturday.

Why have they chosen these dates? Well, we work mostly Monday to Friday. We start at 7am and we make a fair bit of noise with anything from van doors being slammed shut, our metal doors rattling open, general metal working and loading scaffolding. Also Millwall are playing at home this Saturday and we're just around the corner from them.

So the poor punters are being invited round when the area is like a ghost town only to move in to find us as their early morning wake up call.

We've been here over 20 years but I'll bet that won't stop the council's environmental people slapping a 'shut up' order on us!

Think I'll prepare some posters to warn unsuspecting buyers.

Thanks for the advice. I'll just mentally set aside what this month's payment would normally be, and make sure that it's there for this big, nasty first payment.

Also need to collar my neighbour and ask how the hell the heating/hot water works, and where my meter is...

Yeah I think I budgeted around double for the first month but as we moved in around the normal payment date it was only a few quid above the normal amount.

As I said budget double spend leftover on yourself.

^^ Not sure that's exactly slippery. Having launch days on a weekend when people are available, and avoiding a clash with a football match both sound pretty sensible. If people are daft enough to buy without realising the Den is on their doorstep I don't have much sympathy.

After viewing the place we bought on a Thursday eve, and a Saturday PM we did get a bit of a surprise when the morning after we moved in we were woken by a scrap metal yard over the backway.
Should've spotted it.

Snot a big deal though, wouldn't have put us off if we had twigged.

Sound like a massive happy fun cutlery drawer.

Anyone know if management companies can change the service charge mid year?

We received an overview of the charges when paying our first half year in January which included buildings insurance in it.

We received a notice of the second half charges this week and they are the same amount (for another six months) but they've swapped out buildings insurance and have replaced the amount with "management fees". They're now trying to charge a separate, additional, amount of £186 for buildings insurance.

Assuming the charge is "reasonable" (they've yet to reply to my request asking for the insurance documents), can they actually do this?

Presumably you have some kind of contract with them under which they make these charges? If you do, that should specify whether they're allowed to do it.

My management fee increases are decided at an AGM and then all the owners are mailed with the details of the change. I don't see how they can just up them unless it was already decided and this is your notification? Are you part of the freehold/management group?

^^ Not sure that's exactly slippery. Having launch days on a weekend when people are available, and avoiding a clash with a football match both sound pretty sensible. If people are daft enough to buy without realising the Den is on their doorstep I don't have much sympathy.

Grrr.. the fucks that rezoned all around Calder Park Speedway as residential and then the speedway got noise complaints so now they can't run big drag racing there. Grrr.. fuck the councils, fuck the developers, fuck the pricks who moved there, fuck the pricks who acted on their complaints. Fuck 'em all!

Same goes for the cunts who moved to the roads around the Emirates stadium and put in the noise complaints against pubs having outside drinking areas. For three or four hours. Every two weeks. According to a strict schedule. With a close police presence.

Surely if you move in to a house virtually overlooking a football stadium you shouldn't be able to complain about matchday noise? The club has been in that area since 1913 ffs.

This is why some people don't deserve houses..

Noise complaints should be banned within Zone 2. To paraphrase Mr Wolf, "move to the sticks, gentlemen"