Owning your own home

Scheduled works, ex-LA property.

17K is such a huge amount to find. I imagine the current sellers are trying to get out before then so their threats to stay may be hollow. I don't think the questions are pedantic.

Thanks for your read on the situation.
The bill for works was revealed in November, we placed a bid in September. The paperwork shows they were aware of the bill in September.

It's all a bit of a farce.
"oooh let's reveal this at the last minute"

Our mortgage offer runs until april/may. I'm certain Lambeth will want their money from the sale of the house before the transfer can take place.

I realise that there are other factors at play here, but if you were buying a bike from someone and they pulled this sort of crap, you would tell them to do one, and you would walk away.

As long as you feel that not taking the flat is an option you seem to be in the stronger position. It may be that they are hoping you panic. They have offered you 2k, is there a reduction £ that would make you feel happy to go ahead? You could go down that route.

dirty protest?

In a nice normal world, you would say "let's split the bill 50/50".
I'm going to talk to the estate agent again at the end of the day. However, I'm under the impression he's already said to my solicitor "they don't want to pay the 17k". My solicitor said, "that's fine. Understand. However. If they're legally obliged to, it doesn't really matter what they want to do".

However the question I would ask is how sustainable is it to ignore the rest of the UK and keep focussing on using London to run practically the whole economy.

Especially given that it seems to be underwater at the moment.

London, do you even float?

If I had to work anywhere else in the UK I would leave the country and move somewhere nice.

Another couple of years here then I'm moving to Majorca to run a B&B.

Re above issue on ex LA flat purchase, Our flat in Camden is ex LA, have works been done and this is the invoice or is it start of consultation about intention to do works? if latter then sellor will argue that price agreed reflects condition of building ie poor ? and hence your cost, if works done then more like his liability, but at the end of day it's a flat purchase so the negotiating isn't done til you sign. If he doesn't sell then his cost anyway and back to trying to sell with scaffolding etc. I'd also want to know was work done properly needed etc. is it a big block of flats or converted house. Some of the ex LA blocks have huge hidden liabilities given lack of works in past, some of the ones in Camden are £30-40k per flat

shit I think this is happening :/
or not. but we have no idea what to ask, what to do. we are at the mercy of a bunch of estate agent sharks to "hold our hands". terrified...

Fuck.

I need some advice on mortgage deposits, not sure if anyone here can help, but anyway...

My wife and I have been accepted for a part buy part rent property and I had a chat with their financial advisor on the phone earlier. All was going well and we were just about to book an appointment for our financial interview with them when I told her that our deposit was being gifted from my mother in-law in Japan.

We had been told a 5% deposit would suffice, we even would've had enough to cover 10%, but I was told that no one would offer us a mortgage with less than a 15% deposit. That has completely fucked us. Does anyone have any experience of this situation?

I was told that no one would offer us a mortgage with less than a 15% deposit.

Rubbish:

http://www.money.co.uk/mortgages/5-deposit-mortgage.htm

Yes, but will they take gifted deposits from overseas? I've managed to google-fu some answers but have no idea where she plucked this 15% figure from.

It's none of their business where the deposit comes from, unless a charge on the property by the family member is insisted upon.

Ok, this is good to know. So I can ring her tomorrow and ask her to provide me with some facts. The whole thing was a complete shock. No one had mentioned anything to us about it being a problem before. Mrs roboto is still reeling from the news and is pretty upset at the moment.

I may be wrong, but money is money- it has no provenance, as it were.

Just as long as you are not trying to pay in blood diamonds, racehorse semen and fur coats what fucking difference does it make where the cash comes from?

There may be a misunderstanding that the Mother In Law is going to be the holder of the mortgage maybe?

Yeah, unless the MiL is on the mortgage or insists upon a share of the property the financial adviser is talking bilgewater, tell them to go and boil their head.

Thanks guys. I don't want to give up on this. I've been trying to find as much info as possible. We may even be able to setup the money as an interest free loan with repayment plan if that makes anything clearer.

I think the main stumbling block is that the money is coming from overseas and this is seen as a risk to mortgage lenders.

It's none of their business where the deposit comes from. All they need to know is that you have the money.

shit I think this is happening :/
or not. but we have no idea what to ask, what to do. we are at the mercy of a bunch of estate agent sharks to "hold our hands". terrified...

Plenty of forumites have been there, so share your concerns and we'll try and help.

It's none of their business where the deposit comes from. All they need to know is that you have the money.

Pretty much this.

I'd hold back any info like that going forwards. Just tell them what they need to know, and keep schtum about the rest

I may have missed something, but why not transfer the money to Mrs Roboto, then it's hers?

The money is/will be transferred to her. The more I think and research about it. The angrier I get that this "independent" adviser has plucked some bullshit out the air and tried to feed it to me. This is the broker that the property developers require us to use though...