Owning your own home

wouldn't have had :-)

It's true that I will have made about £200k in equity. If I owned the rest I would have made £400k. I would also have been able to rent it out, get a lease extension and sell it when I wanted to whom I wanted.

I've been paying enough rent on the other half over the last 17 years to have bought it at the original price.

Ha, fuck.
But yeah.

Meh, SO is OK as long as you do make a hefty gain on the equity and you consider it as long term ultra stable rental and factor in the value of having a highly regulated land-lord.

Sounds like you've done OK, maybe should have staircased earlier but I guess other things were more important.

It's long term rental, but it's not ultra-stable. Fall behind on the monthly rent and they will take your flat or house off you, and you lose your capital investment as well as your home. Then you're homeless and saddled with a mortgage.

Then there is the fact that as well as paying rent all works must also come out of your pocket.
But basically I am pissed off because the landlord has the ability to completely fuck you over at many stages and there is nothing you can do about it.

Say you want to sell and like me you 'own' 50%. The landlord insists that you pay for their person to value the property. If you don't complete in 3 months then you have to repeat this. Then on completion you have to pay them 50% of whichever is higher - the actual sale price or their valuation. There is no disincentive for them to overvalue.

If you want to buy the other half then, again, you must pay their valuer to do the valuation.
If you want to extend your lease then, again, you must pay their valuer to do the valuation.
If you disagree with their valuation then you must pay to appeal.

If you get a name and number could you let me know, I need a quote/work in our bathroom too

Awwwwwww JEAH...

Needz moar flamez.

A friend had similar issues. Being a forensic accountant he got revenge by auditing all the service charges and hitting them for a significant chunk of money as the amounts allocated to his building were unfair.

I would love to..
But you are only allowed to burn tiny little kindling fires for the first 5 or so time to temper the metal and cure the paint.
If you go to hot to quick it ruins it, and I love it too much to ruin it.

Well I'll be out of it in a few or so. I'm buying the other half and possibly extending the lease.
Then it's all mine on a bog standard lease. Three months need to pass and then I'm selling it and buying a nice freehold house with my girlfriend.
I had hoped to do this in January but thanks to the landlord reneging on what they had agreed last summer, now I have to do it the hard way.

Nice! Who installed your flue? Can you recommendz?

We bought the woodburner from the place on Lee High Road (Westombes) and y'man who runs the place gave us details of a couple of installers he uses.
£660 plus materials for chimney prep, lining and stove fit.

Didn't meet him myself but our lass really liked him and his work is neat.
PM me for his number if you want.

Just signed an order for some new windows. Christmas is getting pricey. ~£5k for 2 bays, 1 bathroom and a french door.

Plastic

To be honest this thread should be renamed "mortgaged up to the hilt property thread" as not many really "own" the properties they have.

Yeah yeah whatever. It'd be a dull thread of those that truly own their own home.

#30%ltv

Yeah yeah whatever. It'd be a dull thread of those that truly own their own home.

What? All the Silver Surfers who have enjoyed free NHS cover, free degree and post degree education, a booming post-war economy, real pensions and massive house price increases?

Tory Party Thread

Feeling slightly Socialist tonight...

http://www.theguardian.com/society/ng-interactive/2015/sep/02/unaffordable-country-where-can-you-afford-to-buy-a-house

Where I grew up (LA18, Millom, South Cumbria) the median house price was £89,500 and most expensive was £300,000.

Was that aimed at me or dst?

Still haven't exchanged. Council are buying our place (so they can demolish it/social cleanse the area) and part of the deal is the reimbursement of reasonable moving costs. They have had to refer some of the costs to a board for approval so now we are waiting for them to say yay or nay. Please let this happen before Christmas!

fingers crossed for you!

Having terrible problems with my solicitors - they're trying to tidy up some conveyancing they did a couple of years ago but don't return calls.

I've started keeping a log, and they've not returned 8 calls to them this week nor responded to a letter to one of their senior partners about my dissatisfaction with this.

I know you can complain to the Law Society, or raise a complaint to the solicitors. My question, is this a good idea, and is not returning calls sufficient grounds for a complaint about them.

I'm a bit worried that if I complain they'll treat my case even worse...

Cool, they're not sash though - just regular 1930s bays

Quote was for those 3 windows and a french door at the back

Where's the trench gone?

That's a photo from a different era

https://www.lfgss.com/conversations/278408/#comment12664466

New free radiators