Owning your own home

Erm, he can get ocado delivered.

Part of the service charge is actually for the upkeep and development of the King's Cross area. Granary Square, Gasholder Park, etc

Dem fountains? My kids love dem fountains. Thank him from them.

upkeep and development

That seems like a very poor deal. Sure, I'll pay your bills for the development of your land from which you benefit and I don't. Right.

worth it to keep the pesky homeless away https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2017/jul/24/revealed-pseudo-public-space-pops-london-investigation-map

I've sent you what I have.

I've told him I'll text to say thanks whenever I'm round there.

His view is that the development of the area will boost the property value so is in his interest. My view is they're taking the piss a bit.

Looks good. Have you an idea of what you're hoping to get for it.

Is this a wardrobe/drawers? If so I like it

1 Attachment

Why aren't your radiators under the windows?
Won't people want to put furniture against those walls?

Pretty much anywhere else and they are in the way of something more useful

But agree it's not manditory

Would it be anything to do with condensation? My windows which have rads under never get condensation / mould, but the ones without them always do.

It does help the circulation of the warm air from the rad - typically under the window will provide more even temperatures

Looks very clean.

How many bedrooms does £1million get in Sands End then?

The top flat three doors down from us is having a loft conversion. This has set my mind ticking for future possibilities.
We are leasehold so that's an obstacle, but not impossible.

My thoughts are more about what the potential market is for a 3 bed maisonette without a garden, and how much would that add to the value of the flat.
If the project cost £60k (wild guess), then the uplift in value would have to be significant to make it worth the hassle.

It's not for kids as when we do that we'd want a garden. So it's investing for our future and the next place.
Which is sort of the point - if someone wants a young family then a top floor flat doesn't really suit. So then why would you need three bedrooms.
Having said that I've had a look on Rightmove and it seems to add up to £150k to the value of a flat around here.

I'm in the process of doing this. One thing I've discovered is that planning permission is more restrictive if you're a top floor flat than if you are a full house so it is worth looking into what you will be able to get away with in terms of size.

I found very few flats post-conversion to compare it to so it's difficult to see what the increase in value would be. I suspect it won't be hugely more than the cost of the conversion and I'm not convinced it would be worth it if you're just looking at financial return.

I went ahead with it for a few reasons. The roof needs some serious work so I'd be having scaffolding up and all the disruption anyway, this is what started it off. The increase in space will probably also mean I can get another 5 years plus of living in the flat comfortably (girlfriend will be moving in soon) and it will also give me the option down the line of moving the kitchen which is currently very small.

I won't be doing it if it's not worth it financially. I'll get a quote from the company doing the flat two away from us and have a think.
It'll be a ballache for quite a while so the sums need to add up!

The issue is more that if you own the house you can get it all done under permitted development so can push it to the max. If you have a flat you have to get planning permission and they appear to be generally stricter there.

House we are buying has a small extension, just found out no building control sign off... Vendor seems to this this should be our problem. I think they should be paying to get sign off. There's electrics and plumbing/waste but no gas to worry about. Should be fairly straightforward to get sign off no?

Its their issue. If you come to sell in the future it would be your issue/hassle. Get them to sort it.

Maybe.

If it's built to regs and the council can see that then they'll just sign it off.

If it's not then they'll make you put it right.

Did it have the first inspection, just not the last?

How long ago was it built?

So long as you don't tell the council you can buy an insurance policy in case they ever come knocking, probably about £2-300.

Obvs the seller ought to be sorting it since they fucked up.

Without either a sign off or indemnity it's unlikely a solicitor will consider it suitable for a mortgage.

If it's older than 12 months, just tell them to pay for an indemnity policy to cover it, you can't get it signed off and building regs will have changed since it was built. If it's new then they need to have it signed off. If they want to sell it to you it's their problem, whatever their solicitor says.

Thanks everyone! Does the indemnity policy stay with the house, or would we have to get one of we wanted to sell in the future, to cover the potential next buyer?

Stays with the house so make sure you keep it safe to pass to the next buyer after you.

It's an outstanding renovation, but £1M for a 2-bed flat without any outdoor space. Jesus wept...