Owning your own home

dat bidet...

I suspect it's the closest I'll get to a castle, it's got a spiral staircase (I love a bit of spiral staircase).

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/houseprices/10839376/House-prices-jump-10000-in-five-weeks-as-Bank-threatens-to-cap-mortgages.html

the govt said they would cool the housing market by dropping the help to buy assistance
somewhere on here i read that 250 help to buy mortgagaes were issues in london which isn't really a lot

hmmm thats gonna slow it all down .. blocking 250 mortgages on the cheap end of the market

£10k a month
would be nice to earn that as a salary

I don't get out of bed for £10k a month.

I don't get out of bed for £10k a month.

Same here. I do it for a LOT less.

Could take out a £600k mortgage with that

It's hideous.

+1 Church conversions always make me feel a little uneasy. Would rather live in an abattoir conversion

they just aren't the right shape for houses are they
any conversions i've seen have had odd windows that sit between floors and wierd shaped rooms with proportionally wrong ceiling heights
i've yet to see a good one

and the bleeding crosses and lumbering reanimated corpses of the damned mean quality carpeting is a no no.

Think about it though- where would be safer come Zombie Apocalypse?

Think about it though- where would be safer come Zombie Apocalypse?

The Winchester

The Winchester

lols

http://www.buzzfeed.com/mjs538/houses-to-survive-a-zombie-apocalypse-in

Has anyone here gone through with Right to Manage? I live in a conversion of 5 flats and we're all up for doing it, I was just wondering if anyone has any experience? These people are very helpful http://www.lease-advice.org, but would be nice to hear any other advice.

+1 Church conversions always make me feel a little uneasy. Would rather live in an abattoir conversion

I used to live in a flat in a converted church. It was the worst.

And buy a one bed flat if you're prepared to compromise on the part of London you want to live in.

You can get a decent semi for £600k around here.

^ Not sure if joke thread or real...

Family house in N20 just went up for sale, parent's bought it for 80k in 1981, bought by a head teacher and payroll manager, I think you would have to be footballer to be buying it now, it is going for an extortionate price, utterly gob smacked.

new bike time ?

Hi,

Just looking for a bit of reassurance. We are in the process of acquiring a share of the freehold. It is being handed to us free of charge as this is what was promised when we bought. The previous freeholders lived in our flat but held the entire freehold. Now that the person downstairs has extended their lease they are honouring their word and giving us half.

The paperwork has come through and we are being asked to sign a Declaration of Trust. Is this standard for a 50% share of freehold and are there any negative implications?

I'm just slightly nervous because the other future freeholder doesn't live below and I believe she owns a few flats and it is her solicitor we are using. He has not been very communicative with us and we are feeling a bit in the dark. The freehold is being split so that myself and my wife own 50% and this other lady owns 50%.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

None of this matters -

Whether you are knowledgable about prices or ignorant
Up to date or behind the times
Looking at a cheap and nasty area, a middling one or an expensive one

If you look at London prices you will be utterly gob-smacked, constantly and repeatedly. I never ceased to be amazed despite spending big chunks of my working life looking at the prices of different things in different bits of London.

I've recently bought in Aberdeenshire, which is slightly inflated by the oil industry, however, london is on a different planet. My parents are downsizing so will still have to spend a fair chunk of change to get somewhere they are happy with but it's all relative I suppose!

You are being asked to take on an interest in property which will come with obligations* as well as rights. IMHO you should take legal advice from a solicitor who is acting for you and you alone, and not for the other party in the transaction.

• which could, unlikely but could, be massive and expensive.
  
  

edit - apologies for the fact that this post is not that helpful, but I advocate being pretty damn cautious when it comes to property.

I appreciate your input and this is also my fear. We initially wanted to have our own solicitor deal with our half but everyone we spoke to said that it is much easier to do a transfer of freehold using the same solicitor.

I am reluctant to spend a load of money on an independent solicitor but am aware that we could live to regret it. The current sol assures me that it is standard but I'm wary of the fact that we're signing something without knowing any actual detail of what we're entering into ie. whose responsible for what when/if something goes wrong.

It was issues regarding the sharing of freehold between owners that made my solicitor advise me to back out of a purchase a year or two ago. I was basically being put in a position where the actions of three strangers could have had serious repercussions for me, and there were no guarantees that they'd be reliable, trustworthy or solvent, so he told me to pull out.

The thing is, we always wanted a 50% share of the freehold and got the current freeholder to peppercorn the rent until he was in a position to hand over the 50% to us and sell the 50% to the person who currently owns the leasehold of the downstaors flat (she rents it out to tenants).

My main concern is that the Declaration of Trust is the best way to go about splitting it. The sol advised that in the instance of only 3 people being involved (myself and my wife as 50% and the other person as 50% holders) it is the least complicated means of splitting it. He explained it as being a means of ensuring that if one of us dies then the other will maintain full control over our half. I just wondered whether there is anything else I should be aware of as the form does not stipulate responsibilities and I'm not sure where I would agree/find this.

Does the DoT relate to the relationship between you and your wife only, or the relationship between all three of you?

What is in place to resolve disputes if you two and the other freeholder can't agree on something (eg you vote 50/50 on whether to replace the roof)? What is in place to ensure that the other party acts in a reasonable and timely manner in dealing with issues / disputes? It is that side of things that I'm most concerned about.

Please note - this is really not something I know loads about. I'm no lawyer. I know a little bit and I know to be cautious!

It stipulates that myself and my wife will have 50% share and the other party will have 50%.

There is nothing else said on the form regarding anything else of that nature and this is what I'm concerned about. I am unsure where it is that this will be stated and if anything does need to be sorted I am not sure where we will look to to decide responsibilty etc.

Can anyone recommend a painter for the western suburb of southall?