Owning your own home

Walthamstow beats Pimlico as property hotspot, Foxtons says

Way to go Walthamstow
For those who bought there congrats

I preferred it before.

Our flat in Brockley recently sold for 67k over asking. I hate to be part of the problem but I'm off to snort some powdered money in my gilded money-snorting room.

Coincidentally we're looking at Brockley instead of Bermondsey now. You bastard.

brockley is fucking ridiculous. it must stop soon...

Still loads cheaper than comparable parts of SW London...

https://youtu.be/dRyOTxyIvZg

It is a wonderful part of London with a genuine community, great schools, and brilliant transport links. Furthermore, it is chock-full of the sort of housing stock beloved of the aspirational middle-classes. But prices are completely fucking stupid now, and there is no way on God's green earth that we could afford to live there if we were buying now. Sad to be leaving but we could never have 'traded up' into the sort of family home we wanted. I can't believe it will go on, but then demand still massively outstrips supply, there is only a certain amount of period property (see aspirational middle-classes comment), interest rates are frighteningly low etc...

I only bought 2.5 years ago, a period 3 bed overlooked by the A102. Whenever I look at the price of anything that isn't underneath the busiest road in the world I've no idea how I'll ever move.

And then I realise I sound like a prick complaining about a 3 bed in SE10

...insert 1st world problems meme...

lines starting with a 'greater than' denote quoted text

Sidcup's the way forward....Grammer schools still, and good transport links. Compared to Brokley prices are sane

Fingers crossed everyone buys and prices go up..

It looks brutal now but it'll bounce back. Once we've finished the extension, patio, painted the workshops, levelled the garden, etc

@Sparky We do! Unfortunately there's a fox living under it, might explain the bullets we found in the house.

Stumbling distance from the Pelton and the Cutty though, so...

the Pelton, had many a lock-in there when I worked at (sadly demolished) Tunnel Refineries

Know them well, used to rent on the same road as the Pelton. Prices about doubled in the time since I moved out. Still, only 10mins away

"Dear LFGSS hive mind - I need to check what is 'normal procedure' during a purchase.
I've had an offer accepted on a property. It was a tight bidding war with another possible buyer, but eventually we just tipped the balance. Our mortgage provider asked for a Timber & Damp report and a roofing report. It's come back at £11K to make good.
Is it standard practice to ask for this amount to be taken off the agreed purchase price?
The reason I'm nervous about doing this is that we don't want the seller to ditch us and take the other persons offer, which feels like they may do at this stage (they were pretty fucking unscrupulous during the bidding war).
Any experience / advice gratefully received."

An update on the above; the final bill for repairs came in at £16,400. We've haggled £7,500 off the asking price. We'll find a cheaper company to do the repairs and swallow the rest.

Mortgage was approved today after a two week wait. Phew!

Good work

good news Iain, glad to hear you got it sorted

We own a house (technically a maisonette) as of today. It took long enough. Unfortunately I am in Texas, so can't actually enjoy the fact until Thursday.

The transport is the main difference. I am in between Brockley, St. John's, ladywell and crofton park, so all of the major stations along the river are options for commuting. Normally less than 20 mins.

I also used to rent on Pelton Rd.
We may well have been neighbours...

Loft extensions. 17 m^2 dormer extensions shouldn't be that spenny, right?

The quotes that we have received are nuts, and one is in 6 figures.

Had a double dormer put on our terraced house last year for £35k...

6 figures?!?!

U MAD BRO

Oh good, not just us then, we're getting quotes for a side return & external insulation at the moment, and the first one back is in the crazy 6 figures too.

interesting. i have just spotted that a neighbour has got planning permission for a loft conversion in our conservation area. two rear facing dormers for a bed/en suite. we are going to consider it.