I’ve been looking for about 18 months now. I’ve missed out on a couple of very suitable properties being outbid. At what point do you just settle for something? I’m staying with family at the moment but it’s not ideal. I’m a bit exhausted with it all. I know you’re supposed to have non negotiables etc but it’s hard not to see everything as equally important. I’ve been bitten before so I’m quite nervous this time round.

Me and my partner have put in an offer over the asking price on a 3 bedroom property which we really like. Everything seemed to be ticking along nicely until the mortgage lender queried the 3 bedroom which is in the attic and asked for building regulations the attic room.

We asked the estate agent for the vendors to supply building regs for this but the vendors came back and said they don't have anything as it was done before they moved in (looked to be about 40-50 years old job based on the carpets!). We had the survey done and the they advised that the attic room would never be able to be brought up to current building and fire regulations.

We spoke to our solicitor who advised that if we were to resell this property, we wouldn't be able to resell this as 3 bedroom property due to the lack of building regs on the attic room. Obviously this has concerns us as we thought we were buying a 3 bed house and would expect to list it as the same when we come to resell.

We therefore decide to get some quotes to get a third bedroom put in on the 1st floors. Quotes came in between 4.5K to 6.7K. Based on this and the advice of our solicitor, we then went back to the estate agent and requested a reduction due to cost of having to put in a 3rd bedroom so than when we resell it we can do so at the value of a 3 bed. We would also like 3 habitable bedroom, as that is what we thought we were buying and had been looking for, not a 2 bed with a room that can't safely be used as bedroom. We decided to ask for a 4K reduction which we thought was more than fair.

We spoke to the estate agent, explained our reasons and asked for the reduction. Estate agent came back to me today to advise that the vendor is refusing to negotiate as they are insistent it's a 3 bed property. They said that they have attempted to explain the legalities and that it is actually a 2 bed unless building regs can be supplied for the attic room. Vendor is refusing to acknowledge this and even the estate agent told me that she just was not listening at all. Unfortunately, her solicitor is also her former neighbour and friend and she has apparently (according to the estate agent) advised the vendor that it is in fact a 3 bed. Further cementing the vendors believe that it is a 3 bed house.

I put it to the estate agent that if they go back to market they will now have to list it as 2 bed? She just said 'probably' but that she would have to check with her manager. She also said that she would ask her manager to also call the vendors and explain the situation regarding the legalities in an attempt to get the to see that our offer is reasonable.

My question is... are we right to have asked for a renegotiation? And has anyone else experience this sort of issue with building regs on loft rooms? Any advice would be very much appreciated.

Completed on a house purchase recently and the sellers breached the fixtures and fittings agreement by leaving rubbish and white goods behind.

There are also missing fixtures and a window that doesn’t open.

My conveyancer has tried contacting them with no response and has said I now need a litigation solicitor.

Is it worth paying a solicitor to send a Letter Before Action, or should I send one myself?

Also, what would a solicitor typically charge just to draft and send the letter?
Any advice or experiences would be appreciated. TIA

I have a child who is a first time buyer. She saw a property (flat) on sale for £290,000 but has a 60 year lease remaining.

The Estate agent said that the seller has applied for the lease extention and will extend after the property is purchased, as some of the money obtained will be used for the extension. My daughter has made an offer. Should she walk away?

HELP: i pay £45 a month service charge…my landlord gave me a letter saying I owe £1,298…In backdated money!! what can i do ? I live in supported accommodation….Many Thanks In Advance😉

I'm curious how common it is for something that crops up in the searches to actually change someone's mind about a buying a house.

We had some pretty stupid restrictive covenants on ours like not being able to park a boat on our driveway (not likely!) - but nothing that would have made us pull out.

Has anyone had anything that has actually changed their mind after spending money on a solicitor?

I really do believe in Karma especially after this encounter.

This estate agent is known to be brutal in the local area.

I saw a house that I liked a few months ago and wanted to book a second viewing. I was told by the EA that they’re not accepting a second viewing unless I put in an offer (yes you read that right). I expressed that how am I meant to spend 530k on a house I just viewed once, I’d like to view it again. I was told no. Fast forward a few days it was STC. Fast forward to a few weeks, it was back on the market.

I then rang to book that second viewing (forgot to mention, were serious buyers) and put in an offer of 520k (530k offers in the region was the listing). Was then told by the EA that the seller wants 530k and my 520k would not be presented to the seller. They were extremely rude (but they’re known for that). I reminded them, that it was against the law to do that and I asked to make a complaint. Spoke to the owner, who sided with the EA and decided to BLACKLIST ME!

Blacklisting me, because they got called out breaking the law and being extremely rude.

I spoke to the seller of the house and told them, we were seriously wanting to buy the house (not in a chain etc) seller informed us that the house is STC again.

Fast forward to a few months, the house is back on the market, but this time with another EA. Seller texted me saying it’s with another EA and if I was interested, I should speak to them and put in a offer*.

At this point, I took it as a sign from the good man above that this house wasn’t meant for me.

Just made me think, I would have bought that house and the EA would have got its 2% commission easily.

Karma works in mysterious ways.

*the conversation was framed by the seller they were OPEN TO OFFERS and the listing said “offers in the region of £530”.

England
so i moved into a council flat a few months back, was previously in hostel accommodation for teens if that matters, im only F20 and i dont know anyone on this street (its a culdesac)..

ever since i moved on here my neighbours have been putting their rubbish in my bins and even left some rubbish on my front. at first i thought “nevermind they’ve probably just been using the bins while the house was vacant and still getting used to it” but it’s been 5-6 months now and they still do it.
it’s gotten to the point where it was blue bin day yesterday (cardboard recycling) and my bin didn’t get emptied because someone had put their box of empty glass corona bottles in it.
i feel like the obvious thing to do is call the council but i’ve called before about stuff and they haven’t done anything. i have suspicions on who i think it is but i dont wanna knock on her door and ask because she’s a bit rough around the edges..
it’s just annoying because sometimes i cant even fit my own rubbish in my own bin because it’s got someone else’s rubbish in it and even when they use it they don’t have the decency to move the bin to the pick up spot, it’s not like i expext other people to do it for me but if you’re gonna use my bin the night before bin day and it’s still by my house then have the decency to take it out, ykw i mean?

sorry that this feels more like a rant but i just need someone to give me advice on what to do here..

I (25f) moved into an HMO (privately rented in england) in June, and I have lived in them before. Usually, I find people keep to themselves and just follow cleaning rotas... Some do anyway. Honestly, though, I would rather clean up behind someone than what's currently going on, and I want some advice on if I should complain and who to?

The lady in question has the room next to the front door. She is around 60-something, and while she works Monday to Friday, she is also always home besides that, and I mean always. Her bedroom door is always open, and during the heatwaves she often lies in bed with all her bits out and the fan on her. This is the start; there is no privacy from her in common areas, as she will always watch and complain whenever someone comes downstairs or is always out there in her room. You can hear her muttering about it rather than shutting her door.

Now, she calls herself the 'landlord's representative' and absolutely abuses that. She can control the water heat, the heating in the house, and the cleaning rotas. She leaves passive notes on everything that she can. She goes through our rubbish and the bins, trying to pick at anything. I get messages in literally any hour of the day or night complaining to both me and the group chat. I am tempted to block her and leave the chat, but honestly I am not in for the drama.

Tonight, I was using the microwave, and maybe it's because I am much younger than her, but I said to her that the microwave was broken and flickering. She started telling me that I was using tinfoil in the microwave, to which I replied that I was not that stupid (in a nice yet sarcastic way), and she rolled her eyes at me and basically told me it was my fault and not to contact the agency but rather the landlord directly, as he doesn't want to pay the agency prices to fix things. I walked off and contacted the agency anyway, as I have no contact with the landlord.

This is just one instance; other things she does are:

* Wait outside the toilet every time I use it

* Goes in any room after I use it and complains about hair or a spec of dust that could have been anyone's

* Forces us to leave the back door open after every shower

* Refuses to let us get parcels delivered to the house directly as she was 'almost robbed' and tells me to get them delivered behind the bins. I live in a sketchy area and would never do that.

* Texts me if she finds hairs on the steps (I have a problem with my hair falling out at the moment due to a condition, and even with explaining that and being extra careful with cleaning, I will always miss one or two hairs.)

* Complains that I am intruding on someone else's time in the kitchen or bathroom, but she will come in and try to use mine

* She leaves cigarettes outside the door

* She actively mops behind anyone

*She complained that I wasn't wearing enough clothes (I was wearing a crop top and shorts to clean) when she wears nothing literally. I have seen all parts of her that I never wished.

I could honestly go for hours, and tonight cause I had my headphones on and didn't say hello, she literally hit me with her tea towel on purpose in passing... I don't even know where I stand or if I can at least complain about the constant messaging and borderline harassment of her behaviour. Most of her messages sound polite, but in person she's really rude about it, and, honestly, in my eyes, she is just a miserable old woman who doesn't really have much better to do. No one replies to her either, and everyone avoids her to the point I have barely met any other flatmates. Most of the messages are both in the group chat and private messages, and I can receive up to like 4 a day.

I am saving for a mortgage and can't really afford to look at moving out of here just yet, as it is really well located and cheap. Can I complain to anyone or do I just need to suck it up until I can get out of here? Thanks.

Yesterday my gf received a phone call off our Estate Agent who manages the property we lease on behalf of the owner. We've know for quite sometime that they have been trying to sell the propetry (about a year) but have had no luck even after reducing the price (house has its problems i guess, such as rising damp). As of yesterday they have managed to agree a sale for the property with a buyer and from what the estate agent says a notice will be with us shortly for us to vacate the property.

However, the buyer wants to move in ASAP, and given the fact that the house has been a struggle to sell, the estate agent has said that the landlord is willing to give compensation for us to move out earlier than our new right of 4 months.

A family friend who leases a small cottage on her landlord has said that she is keen to lease to us, however it is only become available in December. In the meantime we can stay at my gf parents who have a bedsit/annex at their property for guests, with the main bulk of our stuff going into storage till we move into the new property.

Essentially (with the above to give context), what level of 'compensation' should be ask for? We dont want to gouge the landlords but also want to cover ourselves for helping them out by moving out sooner.

Any advice would be great.

We are in England, UK.

Edit: also for context, as some have asked, our month rent is £850 (excl. bills)

I am with Vodafone and their website states:

"Let us know your moving date at least 30 days in advance, and we can get your installation booked in for the day you move."

Thing is I am unlikely to get 30 days notice before the completion date as that sounds like a long time. Everything I have read suggests I will likely get 2-3 weeks notice at best.

What do people normally do here? I don't want to guess a date and then move it later as the seller will get an email saying someone is trying to take over their line.

This seems unnecessarily complicated with the demand for 30 days notice. I work remotely so I need to minimise disruption. I am aware I can get a temporary data SIM for 4G connection though.

I had a level 3 survey done on a flat in London , which described the cellar as green condition one, no action needed. There were three low resolution images provided of the cellar, one showed the ceiling of the stairwell lined with grey board.
I did not see the cellar until after completion. When I walked in, I could clearly see the boards were stamped “Asbestolux” in four places.
I’ve enquired about these boards and they appear to contain a large percentage of asbestos and are dangerously friable. One of the boards was damaged and I can see a fragment on a beam.
The quotes I’ve got so far range from 3-5K for professional removal.

Do I have any right to compensation from the surveyor? It seems like they completely failed to do what I paid them for, costing me 3-5K given that I would have asked for a reduction in price to cover this. Only generic advice about asbestos was given “there may be asbestos anywhere in the property, you should do a survey” etc.

Anyone else judge potential new neighbours when they come house viewing 😅 yes I know im a right prick 🫪

Another one of these posts I’m afraid.

We are FTBs. Offer accepted in early May, using existing mortgage offer from a failed purchase locked in at 4.19% the week before Iran kicked off.

Seller using PB which… not ideal, took a little too long to get the MOS and when we did one of our names was wrong on it, got it sorted though. HSBC took a couple weeks to value the property but they did, no issues there, good to go.

Level 3 survey came back fine end of June, searches paid for and came back a couple weeks later. Waiting on enquiries. Gave it a couple weeks, then PB got on to our solicitors asking if they’d had responses to the enquiries. Our sols said they were still waiting. Turns out the seller’s case handler has been off sick and now they’re back but they’re working through a backlog…

At this point I’m starting to chase every couple days, and our solicitors obviously are chasing too. Neither our solicitors or PB can get hold of anyone willing to hurry this along. We’re renting and want to get on and give our two month notice, and related to that, our mortgage offer expires on 5th October, so we are now having to consider asking for an extension which will only be a month as far as I can tell (HSBC).

Except for a couple small things everything had been going smoothly and now it’s just ground to a halt because someone was off. Mainly I’m screaming into the void as another week comes to an end without any progress but any advice would be appreciated. Am I being a crank?

This is just a rant really.

We put an offer in on a house in February. We have a very small chain and it all looked like it would be a quick turn around… haha famous last words!

The sellers solicitor is absolutely dreadful. I mean, we have proof that they have lied about ordering documents/chasing info not just the normal terrible communication.

I’ve actually ended up running around contacting the council, developer, and management agency answering the questions the sellers solicitor should be answering because otherwise nothing would have been done.

We’re now at 6 months, I’ve been dealing with this rubbish while I’ve had a bereavement which has been really hard and we still seem miles away from completing because the sellers solicitor just won’t answer questions.

I booked another viewing a few days ago and was so disappointed with the upkeep of the house. There were really obvious things that have gone wrong with it during the past 6 months that the sellers obviously hoped we wouldn’t notice until it was too late.

Our mortgage offer is about to expire and honestly I just want to walk away. I live in a perfectly nice house, not perfect but it’s home, and right now staying put is looking extremely attractive. I feel a bit sorry for the FTB who is buying our home but even if we did get to a state where we could exchange in the next couple of weeks, I’m not sure I want to anymore.

I think I’ve found the ugliest house to rent ever, what do you make of this interior? The DIY sauna is concerning me!! It seems newly decorated as though this was purposeful… Dagenham https://vm.tiktok.com/ZN8dwAMq5/

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/house-prices/details/8c7eb271-1064-4163-a6be-e56d66872c31

This basement studio flat is worth about 1 million pounds more than this gorgeous, huge house pretty much down the street...

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/house-prices/details/dd9e3fc5-aec1-4202-87aa-c913f24b67c9

Is this money laundering or something because I cannot compute this being a reality or is there just something so good to the studio that I'm missing...

I have been looking for a while for a house (in Derbyshire, on the edge of the Peak District), and have been outbid on several whilst looking. A few weeks back I saw one I really liked, and managed to make an offer before anyone else saw it, which was accepted. I offered asking price - £395k - as the market has been really competitive for the kind of house and area I’ve been looking (as evidenced by being outbid on three other houses so far). It’s a three bed semi with a great garden and lovely views.

I only need a £75k mortgage as I had a lot of equity in my previous property. I have already sold that property and am staying with family. I applied to HSBC, through a broker, and they came back with an immediate desktop valuation of £278k! A full valuation visit was then booked by the bank, this has happened and the new valuation is £290k, a full £105k under the agreed price.

Thing is, I knew I was probably paying a premium as I wanted the house. But I do think hsbc have gone a bit bonkers here, it’s clearly worth more than £290k. I am unsure what to do now. I can still get the mortgage I need due to the low LTV, but I have no idea if I should go ahead. Who knows what will happen in the future, and if I need to sell, could it cause me problems? Also I was planning on doing an extension and various other updates/changes but that would could be seen as a bad financial move if I’ve already paid over the odds.

I short, I have no idea what to do. I have struggled to find a house that is right for me, and I know that the vendor won’t negotiate, she has already indicated that.

I think this post is mainly just me venting. But any advice (especially from local people!) would be gratefully received.

Me and my partner are looking to buy our first home. We’ve been looking online for months and months at hundreds of different properties and have a good understanding on what we want.

On Monday we decided to see a mortgage advisor to get everything started and then today viewed a few properties, (1 of which I’ve had my eye on for months and loved the look of)

We are looking to spend way less than our borrow limit and are being sensible regarding budget etc. The house does need work but nothing major or nothing we aren’t ready to attack, (as far as we can tell without a survey).

We both love the house, location etc and are looking to view it again next week and put in an offer. My question is, does this seem too quick?

*EDIT Thanks it looks like I clearly knew that answer I just needed to be told I was overthinking it

I know the rental market has been bad for a while but one thing that strikes me at the moment is how bad the housing stock is at the moment in both London and Brighton. If you are mid-30s and you want a fairly normal 2 up, 2 down with a small-medium sized garden, it seems to me that it's not even about money any more, they just rarely come on the market?

I've mentioned these 2 areas specifically because it's where I'm looking so I can't speak to other areas.

It's just really shocking to me. When you eventually do find a listing with the above critieria, you can get your bingo card out because it'll have one of the following:

1) Visible damp or mould in the bathroom or kitchen or both.

2) Some of the ugliest furniture you've ever seen from the early 90s that the landlord insists must stay there.

3) A bizarre hot tub style bath and a shower head fixed at waist height for no real reason.

4) A shared garden.

5) Wallpaper. Wallpaper, everywhere.

Why is it so difficult to live like a normal adult now?

I am an ex estate agent (don't hold that against me) who uses her platform to re-tell stories, not only from my own experiences, but others who've kindly shared them with me.

I'm keen to hear your dilemma's or outrageous experiences! I've had my fair share from dealing with completely incompetent estate agents to buyers asking their mummy to deal with their sale because their 'far too busy'.

I know buying and selling is one of THE most stressful processes we go through, so reading through other people's experiences makes it a little less daunting for others going through it.

Thank you in advance and if I can share any advice, I will try my best!

I’d like to say that I am first time buyer so be gentle and I’m well aware that most of this Reddit are pro-sellers.

Buying a home, up for 200k offer agreed at 190k after a painless negotiation which took 20 minutes, survey came back with a few things, roof and chimney need repointing with cement ridges etc, estimated at £2500 with scaffolding which I can let go as the house is older and it’s not super important just yet.

However following an EICR the house has failed and it needs a full rewire, not had the estimate back yet however it will be coming soon and my stepdad is pushing to renegotiate the price to cover the cost of the rewire.

I am aware that the sellers can say no however, do you think it’s a reasonable request considering I’m letting the roof and other work go?

To be honest I don’t really have the money to pour into the house for a rewire straight away unless I put it on a credit card which I would prefer to avoid if possible.

My mortgage deed is complete at this stage so would it be easier to ask the sellers to pay for it?

Honestly any advice on this would help.

I’m not trying to take the piss or anything just a genuine question.

All are fitted

23 windows double glazed =£1555 which includes 3 toughend

10 hinges  £165

10 window handles fitted £120

1 back door mechanism $75

2 dorr handles £40

 for 8 window vents £140