Owning your own home

Yeah just west of the station before PC World

That’s them. Lovely places. Though as you say next to the PC world superstore and others directly on Mile End. No wonder they grow out the front foliage .

These ones on Castle Lane in Westminster are all empty too. The developers apparently had approval from Westminster Council to renovate them but haven't yet - I think because they are designated as much-needed social housing but they're going to try to sit on the land till the value has increased even more then sell them.

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Totally backward way to view buildings . Maybe (possibly) not even the councils fault. Hackney sold off so many places to cover holes in budgets. I lived in broadway market in middle of 2000’s and they sold off so many shops and buildings round there at the time, they’d obviously never own again.

Here's the story, which I read a while ago after walking past them:

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/sep/26/developer-leaves-central-london-housing-block-empty-for-seven-years

Frustrating but not unbelievable unfortunately.

On the way to the Holly Tree Pub lots of posters in windows for this

https://twitter.com/saveourpastures?s=21

You might know it?

Totally backward way to view buildings . Maybe (possibly) not even the councils fault. Hackney sold off so many places to cover holes in budgets. I lived in broadway market in middle of 2000’s and they sold off so many shops and buildings round there at the time, they’d obviously never own again.

It was a deeply frustrating time, with the sell-offs imposed on Hackney by the then Government (when the sales didn't raise all that much and they could easily have extended the bailout--completely corrupt), and of course you know what happened on Broadway Market. It was the start of the damaging acceleration of the housing 'boom'.

I think I missed that completely. What a scandal.

edit. Seems I was wrong. Still very cool though!

Flat transaction is progressing nicely i think. Can't get full survey until 8th sept, tenants leave on 17th and hopefully be in by end of sept.
Viewed it again yesterday with my dad and a sash window guy.

Not that deep because will be getting the windows restored but one of the four lounge windows had a broken pane that I swear wasn't there when I viewed it. The kitchen one definitely had a broken pane.

Stained glass window is going to be a huge pain/bill to sort. It's next to the bath with a metal frame so is all rusted. If a quote comes in at ££££ do I mention it?

The kitchen and bathrooms extraction systems being holes in nice windows isn't great. Would rather them be restored and have a proper extractor fan in each one

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Floorplan wise probably worth am architect telling me how best to use space but plan would be:
remove kitchen door, redo the stud walls so they're where the red is and remove the dot bit, shower into the square bit of the bathroom, toilet and sink where the bath is and have no bath.
Permission side of it to think about but also they're definitely stud walls and wjls going to know?

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While restoring sash windows we've broken a pane and it was pretty easy/cheap to replace it.

Have you restored them yourself?

There are people who specialise in doing them, reasonably easy to find. DIY is possible but if that's not your bag it should be quick and cheap to pop it out and replace the glass.

I'd definitely recommend getting a moving company to do the packing for you. Makes a move way less stressful and saves loads of time. Also, have them put up the beds, sofas, etc at the new place. Moving in and not having to start building furniture instantly is much more pleasant.

Are there any pitfalls if you want to raise a mortgage on a place (that was bought with cash) after you've bought it? I've seen advice that you may need to leave it 6 months after completion, but is there anything else to be aware of?

They most likely will ask you why you need the money so worth having your explanation ready. Eg X improvements which will cost this much etc. Some banks don't lend on one property if the cash is to be used to fund another one.....

Yes restored them ourselves, stripped, replaced rotten wood, re-weighted, draft proofed, sand masticed (previous owner had an affinity for silicon sealant and everything was painted shut)

Panes of glass are cheap, looking at the quote I had for sash window refurb I was paying ~ £325 for a window refurb including minor repairs and replacing cracked panes was an extra £50.

For the really knackered ones I paid about a grand which involved replacing the existing rotten sash with a hardwood, double glazed replacement.

I would agree with getting those fans out of the window, you'll probably need permission from the freeholder to cut holes in the wall for fans though. I'd go with no fans if necessary rather than window fans though.

This is the one on Dawlish Rd which I got vaguely far down the road of enquiring about. Guy owns it and trying to turn it into flats been sat on it for years now

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Bike/ bin stores in front of houses, I see these around, more so in Bristol, but aren't they forbidden under 'outhouse' permitted planning laws?

I guess you'd need proper planning permission right? In which case I'm likely to fall foul of 'right to light' in a Victorian terrace.

Normally you'd need planning permission, yes, although some local authorities have a policy of allowing them without. If it blocked light to a basement flat then there may well be issues of interference with a right of light, yep. Rights of lights are an exception to the general rule that lessees can't acquire prescriptive easements against the lessor.

Captain Cook lived in one of them iirc.

Rights of lights are an exception to the general rule that lessees can't acquire prescriptive easements against the lessor.

Thanks. I have no idea what this means but it sounds like it's probably not a relevant issue to my question.

My local authority (Waltham Forest) published this guide to bike sheds - https://www.walthamforest.gov.uk/node/6413

There may be a similar thing for your area.

In short:

• 2m x 1m x 1.5m max
  
• perpendicular to highway, ie side boundary
  
• non-obstrusive colour