Owning your own home

This is the issue with the green tax, it’s highly costly and people I just don’t think have the money to upgrade everything.

This fustrasted me to no end.

Spend billions in making electric cars, charging station just to make a tiny difference but much harder to make our home green.

24m x 9m bunker?
Pretty sure that measurement is wrong, but what an amazing space!
The secondary bunker could have a 24m single lane heated pool...

Aren't the government grants artificially inflating the costs, given that you can only qualify for the grant if you use an accredited supplier / installer?

It does feel like a bit of a racket.

cf. community wireless broadband grants - £1,400 grant for broadband, from specific suppliers, who charge exactly £1,400 for £100 / £200 mast, receiver and modem.

The problem right now and I havent looked into it, is I’m guessing the total upgrading of a system.

The government grants thing is a shambles, it’s always cowboy firms getting in there first and taking the bite of the cherry first and lot of there work is substandard as no one checks the work they do apart from themselves.

As Howard said below these schemes always seems to be a ratchet!

So, we have damp because the previous owner being the cheapskate they are, use cement renders instead of lime renders.

This is going to be fun.

Converting from gas to electric centre heating, yay or nay?

Nay.

Thought about this when renovating the kitchen and changing boiler, plumbing, etc.

Electric boilers are still unwieldy, more expensive to run, less efficient, longer to heat up, etc.

We're pretty much at the peak of efficiency on gas, and it's probably a decade or so until major leaps in electric boilers get to a sweet spot on price and efficiency.

Like many other green tech at the moment, let someone else be an early adopter and if you can survive with what you've got then great otherwise buy what sees you through rather than the very best.

Where? On the external brickwork?

Like many other green tech at the moment, let someone else be an early adopter and if you can survive with what you've got then great otherwise buy what sees you through rather than the very best.

Im guessing you've been watching Pete Ward on youtube?

Me? No. No idea who that is. Just endlessly researched before my kitchen renovation.

I have no idea how that has happened, my reply was to Ed, about his damp..

You must have accidentally highlight his comment when replying, and no ideas who Pete Ward is, YouTube aren’t very accessible anyway.

@Howard yup, external brickwork because the cement pebbledash will damage the brick when removing (needed as it’s not letting building breathe), lime render is cheaper than replacing the damaged bricks.

I have a floor joist that’s a bit spongey/needs replacing what sort of tradesperson do I need? Joiner/carpenter?

the previous owner being the cheapskate they are, use cement renders instead of lime renders.

Welcome to the elite club of poor homeowners

I have to thank the previous owner for their negligence though otherwise wouldn't have been able to afford our place.

Builder with carpentry leaning I'd say. If a joist or two needs replacing it's a fairly heavy duty job, and might involve dwarf walls depending if it's ground floor.

In a similar vein: consulting on replacing a beam lintel with catnic or similar and opening up a window to be an external door: do I need to get a structural engineer involved? It's a 1 story part of the building

If items such as sheds are included in the estate agents description, must they be included in the house sale at the price agreed or is there nothing formal to say they must? I ask because we had our offer accepted on a house on the basis of what we read and what we looked at during a viewing. However now, 6 weeks later, the vendor has decided to not include items in the sale and added costs in the fixtures and fittings eg shed £250, bathroom cabinet £100, wood(!) £80. It doesn't add up to a vast amount but annoying when we have paid over the asking price and included everything in our own sale.

I don't know about the legal aspect, e.g. whether the description is binding, but I think they've probably just misunderstood the fixtures and fittings part, or they're absolute chancers.

I would suggest calling their bluff - tell them you don't want any of it and see if they think it's worth dismantling and removing their shed during a house move.

^ we did this buying our current (first) place, bookcase, custom blinds etc etc. Refused to pay but it was all left behind. Did insist they took the piano though as we had our own to install

That's going to be our ploy, can't think they will want to take a shed that probably fall apart, huge cabinets that will need dismantling.

How do you find out what happened with the bidding? Aren't the agents the only ones who know? They just reveal that information?

I've just made an offer on a flat (3rd place I've offered on) and I have no idea what I'm doing.

The asking price is 325k, but the agent reveals at the viewing that the seller is desperate and will accept as low as 300k, it's the first thing she says. That's a bit weird isn't it? It was music to my ears, but the more I think about it, it seems odd.

I've offered 305k. My absolute, stretched to the bone budget is 310k. I viewed as a long shot and there's very little on the market at the moment, but I think the agent's sucked me into thinking I can get it, when I've got no chance.

I never knew this could be so perilous. Even if you get the place you want for what you're willing to pay, you will feel like you've been done.

However now, 6 weeks later, the vendor has decided to not include items in the sale and added costs in the fixtures and fittings eg shed £250, bathroom cabinet £100, wood(!) £80. It doesn't add up to a vast amount but annoying when we have paid over the asking price and included everything in our own sale.

Rather than gambling that they'll leave it (they probably will, but there's a chance they might destroy the items too), you can go back to them and tell them that you expect those items included, and can they confirm back to you that those items are included. Don't leave wiggle room.

Unless you are in contact with the sellers directly you'd do this through the seller's estate agent.

The asking price is 325k, but the agent reveals at the viewing that the seller is desperate and will accept as low as 300k, it's the first thing she says.
I've offered 305k

How long has it been on the market? Have previous sales fallen through? It may have some major issue that you will discover after 6 weeks of legals.

Why didn’t you offer 300 (or 295 etc)?

I have to thank the previous owner for their negligence though otherwise wouldn't have been able to afford our place.

Ditto, gonna plan that for mid-2022, as well as the insulation.

From when I was buying I definitely had the impression that there were some clients/properties who the estate agents just wanted rid of.

That £20k may be worth £200 commission to the agent (or maybe nothing if it's a flat fee).