Jump to content
DOSBODS
  • Welcome to DOSBODS

     

    DOSBODS is free of any advertising.

    Ads are annoying, and - increasingly - advertising companies limit free speech online. DOSBODS Forums are completely free to use. Please create a free account to be able to access all the features of the DOSBODS community. It only takes 20 seconds!

     

IGNORED

Is buying now madness?


This Time

Recommended Posts

The current situation is that we're in rented in London with awesome landlords, right next to my husbands work. The problem is that I'm very ill, getting slowly worse, the NHS are being as useful as a chocolate teapot and I only leave the flat for useless medical appointments and pay the price afterwards. The current flat is split level and up three flights of stairs with no lift so I really am trapped here unless leaving is really important. We're really against the idea of moving into another rental since our landlords are so good and we'd have trouble finding one anyway since we have two cats. If we bought then we could get something ground floor, all on the same level and with some outside space but further from my husbands work (still walkable and with a direct bus route) and a slightly worse area (but still a nice area). I could then get an electric wheelchair which would mean I could get out more. I'm the independent sort so I hate not being able to do something as simple as pick up my own prescriptions or nip to the local shop if we've run out of something. 

We've got a very good deposit so would start out with about 67% LTV at less than 4x single salary and get a five year fix at 1.77%. The repayment would be about two thirds of the cost of our rent and we think with overpayments we should be able to clear about a third of the mortgage leaving it at 42% of the original purchase price so the price would have to drop more than 58% before we'd be in negative equity when it came to remortgaging after the five years. 

If house prices in London weren't so mental then this would be a no-brainer, I really do think that house prices in London are going to drop massively in the next couple of years though.

Would you buy in this situation?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 61
  • Created
  • Last Reply
One percent
2 minutes ago, This Time said:

The current situation is that we're in rented in London with awesome landlords, right next to my husbands work. The problem is that I'm very ill, getting slowly worse, the NHS are being as useful as a chocolate teapot and I only leave the flat for useless medical appointments and pay the price afterwards. The current flat is split level and up three flights of stairs with no lift so I really am trapped here unless leaving is really important. We're really against the idea of moving into another rental since our landlords are so good and we'd have trouble finding one anyway since we have two cats. If we bought then we could get something ground floor, all on the same level and with some outside space but further from my husbands work (still walkable and with a direct bus route) and a slightly worse area (but still a nice area). I could then get an electric wheelchair which would mean I could get out more. I'm the independent sort so I hate not being able to do something as simple as pick up my own prescriptions or nip to the local shop if we've run out of something. 

We've got a very good deposit so would start out with about 67% LTV at less than 4x single salary and get a five year fix at 1.77%. The repayment would be about two thirds of the cost of our rent and we think with overpayments we should be able to clear about a third of the mortgage leaving it at 42% of the original purchase price so the price would have to drop more than 58% before we'd be in negative equity when it came to remortgaging after the five years. 

If house prices in London weren't so mental then this would be a no-brainer, I really do think that house prices in London are going to drop massively in the next couple of years though.

Would you buy in this situation?

It's a difficult one. Living in London myself, I've seen the madness firsthand. My eldest daughter is quite annoyed with me as I've been telling her to hold off buying as it's all going to crash.  So, she has been saving for a couple of years and living at some. In this time, prices have risen much faster than she has saved. :ph34r:  however, I still think it holds true and that there will be a correction in London at least. 

However, you are in a different position and if you will have an easier life, then go for it. As long as you go in with eyes wide open, which you are. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

42 minutes ago, This Time said:

The current situation is that we're in rented in London with awesome landlords, right next to my husbands work. The problem is that I'm very ill, getting slowly worse, the NHS are being as useful as a chocolate teapot and I only leave the flat for useless medical appointments and pay the price afterwards. The current flat is split level and up three flights of stairs with no lift so I really am trapped here unless leaving is really important. We're really against the idea of moving into another rental since our landlords are so good and we'd have trouble finding one anyway since we have two cats. If we bought then we could get something ground floor, all on the same level and with some outside space but further from my husbands work (still walkable and with a direct bus route) and a slightly worse area (but still a nice area). I could then get an electric wheelchair which would mean I could get out more. I'm the independent sort so I hate not being able to do something as simple as pick up my own prescriptions or nip to the local shop if we've run out of something. 

We've got a very good deposit so would start out with about 67% LTV at less than 4x single salary and get a five year fix at 1.77%. The repayment would be about two thirds of the cost of our rent and we think with overpayments we should be able to clear about a third of the mortgage leaving it at 42% of the original purchase price so the price would have to drop more than 58% before we'd be in negative equity when it came to remortgaging after the five years. 

If house prices in London weren't so mental then this would be a no-brainer, I really do think that house prices in London are going to drop massively in the next couple of years though.

Would you buy in this situation?

Obvious question is can't you move out of London? Commuting isn't fun but the quality of life is way higher. Or do you use public transport ie no driving?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just now, spunko2010 said:

Obvious question is can't you move out of London? Commuting isn't fun but the quality of life is way higher. Or do you use public transport ie no driving?

I'm too ill to drive and the husband doesn't have a driving license. We could move out a few stops but once you factor in a season ticket we'd not really be saving any money but adding stress and commute time. I have tried persuading my husband to move somewhere where we could just buy a house with our deposit money but he doesn't like the idea - he likes his job and all of our friends are here. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, This Time said:

I'm too ill to drive and the husband doesn't have a driving license. We could move out a few stops but once you factor in a season ticket we'd not really be saving any money but adding stress and commute time. I have tried persuading my husband to move somewhere where we could just buy a house with our deposit money but he doesn't like the idea - he likes his job and all of our friends are here. 

I am surprised all his friends are there, my experience of Londoners who have moved down to kent say they don't know anyone in their old haunt any more due to... arrivals etc. 

Sounds like you're in a block of flats. Have you considered looking on eBay for an old Hotpoint fridge?

(sorry)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 minutes ago, spunko2010 said:

I am surprised all his friends are there, my experience of Londoners who have moved down to kent say they don't know anyone in their old haunt any more due to... arrivals etc. 

Sounds like you're in a block of flats. Have you considered looking on eBay for an old Hotpoint fridge?

(sorry)

Luckily they don't tend to clad Victorian buildings the firelighters!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm no expert but I would think that putting in a few low ball offers might be a reasonable strategy to safeguard against any serious drops in the housing market.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Wight Flight

If you were my wife, I would do whatever was necessary to improve the quality of your life, even if it meant making sacrifices myself.

My guess is that your husband is the same. What you need to do is let him.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, This Time said:

The current situation is that we're in rented in London with awesome landlords, right next to my husbands work. The problem is that I'm very ill, getting slowly worse, the NHS are being as useful as a chocolate teapot and I only leave the flat for useless medical appointments and pay the price afterwards. The current flat is split level and up three flights of stairs with no lift so I really am trapped here unless leaving is really important. We're really against the idea of moving into another rental since our landlords are so good and we'd have trouble finding one anyway since we have two cats. If we bought then we could get something ground floor, all on the same level and with some outside space but further from my husbands work (still walkable and with a direct bus route) and a slightly worse area (but still a nice area). I could then get an electric wheelchair which would mean I could get out more. I'm the independent sort so I hate not being able to do something as simple as pick up my own prescriptions or nip to the local shop if we've run out of something. 

We've got a very good deposit so would start out with about 67% LTV at less than 4x single salary and get a five year fix at 1.77%. The repayment would be about two thirds of the cost of our rent and we think with overpayments we should be able to clear about a third of the mortgage leaving it at 42% of the original purchase price so the price would have to drop more than 58% before we'd be in negative equity when it came to remortgaging after the five years. 

If house prices in London weren't so mental then this would be a no-brainer, I really do think that house prices in London are going to drop massively in the next couple of years though.

Would you buy in this situation?

Given the sums ie mortgage less than the rent and the improved quality of life for me it would be a no brainer; buy. If you wait five years you may make some money .... but equally you might not. Your landlords might change ... if I were in your position the certainty and defined future (as far as anyone can) is worth more than maybe making some cash in five or seven or ten years.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks everyone. I'm now convinced it's the right thing and he's having a wobble about just how bloody expensive flats are. He's been trying to convince me that we should buy for at least a year now and I've been telling him that house prices are insane! Gah!

Anyway, he's been to see a few places (the ones that I thought were best for us based on extensive Rightmove research) and has disliked all of them but one. The one he does like is ground floor, walkable to his work, close to transport, right size and layout, has a garden and has just been completely refurbished - brand new wiring, plumbing, boiler, kitchen, fitted appliances, bathroom, windows, wood flooring in living areas and carpet in bedrooms etc. It's also on for about 5% more than we wanted to pay but we could still afford it comfortably. I think this place is probably worth spending a bit more than we were planning since, assuming the work has been done properly, there should be very little needed in terms of maintenance for the next few years. Everything else is either more expensive, unsuitable or has been rejected by my husband and I think we might be waiting a while for something better/cheaper. I think the flat was either bought as a BTL and they changed their minds or to flip. With fees, mortgage payments, cost of refurbishment etc I think they're already looking at a loss even at asking price - hopefully this means they're willing to cut their losses and will accept a lowish offer.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

sleepwello'nights
1 hour ago, This Time said:

Thanks everyone. I'm now convinced it's the right thing and he's having a wobble about just how bloody expensive flats are. He's been trying to convince me that we should buy for at least a year now and I've been telling him that house prices are insane! Gah!

Anyway, he's been to see a few places (the ones that I thought were best for us based on extensive Rightmove research) and has disliked all of them but one. The one he does like is ground floor, walkable to his work, close to transport, right size and layout, has a garden and has just been completely refurbished - brand new wiring, plumbing, boiler, kitchen, fitted appliances, bathroom, windows, wood flooring in living areas and carpet in bedrooms etc. It's also on for about 5% more than we wanted to pay but we could still afford it comfortably. I think this place is probably worth spending a bit more than we were planning since, assuming the work has been done properly, there should be very little needed in terms of maintenance for the next few years. Everything else is either more expensive, unsuitable or has been rejected by my husband and I think we might be waiting a while for something better/cheaper. I think the flat was either bought as a BTL and they changed their minds or to flip. With fees, mortgage payments, cost of refurbishment etc I think they're already looking at a loss even at asking price - hopefully this means they're willing to cut their losses and will accept a lowish offer.

 

Seems to me that you should buy for the reasons already stated by other posters. We're only here once so make the best of it you can, if buying makes your life easier then go for it. A home is somewhere to live, if its price changes so be it, it will still be your home whether the price goes up or down.

I hope your illness is treatable and you can get some relief. Good luck. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 minutes ago, sleepwello'nights said:

Seems to me that you should buy for the reasons already stated by other posters. We're only here once so make the best of it you can, if buying makes your life easier then go for it. A home is somewhere to live, if its price changes so be it, it will still be your home whether the price goes up or down.

I hope your illness is treatable and you can get some relief. Good luck. 

Thanks, it's late stage Lyme disease which in theory should be curable with a long course of a cocktail of antibiotics (like TB) but the medical establishment has a major blind spot about it. I'm currently stuck with a ME/CFS/fibromyalgia diagnosis but I think they're probably going to try to diagnose me with MS once my MRI results come back. Private options in the UK are generally quacks and/or hideously expensive but there is a semi-retired doctor in Yorkshire that treats it on the cheap as a sort of charitable thing. Her hands are massively tied though regarding how much she can prescribe in the way of antibiotics so she prescribes one very powerful one. Unfortunately it's pretty hard on the liver and my liver enzymes are too high for her to give it to me. So I'm currently on zero alcohol, minimal painkillers, shitloads of supplements that are good for the liver and a strict low carb diet in the hopes that I can get my liver enzymes down enough before I die. 

That was all really depressing so here's a picture of a baby hedgehog:

d7edcbca97eb436baff95db7c882e62a--baby-h

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sorry to hear your situation. I am in a similar situation - except I am the working husband and we bought in 2011 after 7 years of renting and being "r9dicalised" on housepricecrash about the housing market, the economy, and finance. Now I am focussing all my energies on getting to the finish line ASAP by paying down the mortgage and building a passive income fund so I can reduce working hours to zip so I can care for the wife who has CFS.

I treat each day as a war to be fought each day, like the last stand at Stalingrad, and with patience I will win it.

--

Your husband will know if he can afford the payments if you wish to buy. There is no easy answer whether or not to buy. For us the time was right, and the location was right, and everyone was holding off buying (like now, pre-Brexit) as the banks weren't lending after the financial crisis of 2008. We had no one else bidding, and the vendors were keen sellers as the house had been on the market for a little while.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The Idiocrat
3 hours ago, This Time said:

Thanks, it's late stage Lyme disease which in theory should be curable with a long course of a cocktail of antibiotics (like TB) but the medical establishment has a major blind spot about it. I'm currently stuck with a ME/CFS/fibromyalgia diagnosis but I think they're probably going to try to diagnose me with MS once my MRI results come back. Private options in the UK are generally quacks and/or hideously expensive but there is a semi-retired doctor in Yorkshire that treats it on the cheap as a sort of charitable thing. Her hands are massively tied though regarding how much she can prescribe in the way of antibiotics so she prescribes one very powerful one. Unfortunately it's pretty hard on the liver and my liver enzymes are too high for her to give it to me. So I'm currently on zero alcohol, minimal painkillers, shitloads of supplements that are good for the liver and a strict low carb diet in the hopes that I can get my liver enzymes down enough before I die. 

Sorry to hear about your illness. Are you sure it's Lyme disease? Have you explored fluoroquinolone toxicity? Have you ever taken ciprofloxacin? (common antibiotic developed to combat anthrax but nasty stuff and seems to be prescribed far too freely). I say this as I thought lyme disease was to blame for my illness and was similarly diagnosed with ME/fibromyalgia but the doctors seemed to have little real clue. After lots of research I'm sure it was an allergic reaction to ciprofloxacin, which effectively meant fluoride poisoning. Fatigue, brain fog, joint pain, anxiety, weak ligaments (especially the achilles). Since this discovery, which I was tipped off by someone on ToS some years ago, I have managed to recover almost completely following a regimen which would never have occurred to my doctor (magnesium in particular), even if she'd managed to diagnose it - several doctors refused to consider it despite my pointing them to the possibility that an antibiotic made me extremely ill.

Wish you all the best - seems obvious to buy a place to improve your quality of life, which will then inevitably also improve your husband's even if it's a slightly longer commute.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 hours ago, The Idiocrat said:

Sorry to hear about your illness. Are you sure it's Lyme disease? Have you explored fluoroquinolone toxicity? Have you ever taken ciprofloxacin? (common antibiotic developed to combat anthrax but nasty stuff and seems to be prescribed far too freely). I say this as I thought lyme disease was to blame for my illness and was similarly diagnosed with ME/fibromyalgia but the doctors seemed to have little real clue. After lots of research I'm sure it was an allergic reaction to ciprofloxacin, which effectively meant fluoride poisoning. Fatigue, brain fog, joint pain, anxiety, weak ligaments (especially the achilles). Since this discovery, which I was tipped off by someone on ToS some years ago, I have managed to recover almost completely following a regimen which would never have occurred to my doctor (magnesium in particular), even if she'd managed to diagnose it - several doctors refused to consider it despite my pointing them to the possibility that an antibiotic made me extremely ill.

Wish you all the best - seems obvious to buy a place to improve your quality of life, which will then inevitably also improve your husband's even if it's a slightly longer commute.

I'm 99% sure it's Lyme - I had a text book bullseye rash back in 2003 which is when all my symptoms started which unfortunately wasn't seen by a doctor plus my symptoms match - all CFS symptoms, heart palpitations, frequent episodes of bradycardia and several neuro symptoms including dysphasia and parasthesia. Unfortunately it's tricky to test for, the NHS test isn't very sensitive and they won't accept any others so there's not much point shelling out hundreds of pounds for tests unless a private doctor requires them. You probably know all this anyway.

I don't think I've been on ciproflaxacin, although I did take an antibiotic in December 2012 for a chest infection which I can't remember the name of. I'll check with the surgery next time I talk to them. The timing does sort of fit with the start of this bad period - does it cause a sudden onset of symtoms or is it more drawn out? Mine has been a very slow decline. What was your regimen out of interest?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 hours ago, 201p said:

Sorry to hear your situation. I am in a similar situation - except I am the working husband and we bought in 2011 after 7 years of renting and being "r9dicalised" on housepricecrash about the housing market, the economy, and finance. Now I am focussing all my energies on getting to the finish line ASAP by paying down the mortgage and building a passive income fund so I can reduce working hours to zip so I can care for the wife who has CFS.

I treat each day as a war to be fought each day, like the last stand at Stalingrad, and with patience I will win it.

--

Your husband will know if he can afford the payments if you wish to buy. There is no easy answer whether or not to buy. For us the time was right, and the location was right, and everyone was holding off buying (like now, pre-Brexit) as the banks weren't lending after the financial crisis of 2008. We had no one else bidding, and the vendors were keen sellers as the house had been on the market for a little while.

I'm sorry to hear about your wife. How thouroughly was she tested before she was given the CFS diagnosis? I wasn't tested for a lot of pretty obvious stuff. I think that CFS probably always has an underlying cause, it just hasn't been found yet. Apologies if I'm preaching to the choir but here's a list of some of the more obvious things that probably haven't been tested for adequately - some are curable, most are treatable.

Deficiencies:

Vitamin D3 (you want to be in the upper end of the range)

Vitamin B1

Vitamin B12 (test unreliable as there could be an uptake problem, lozenges and sprays are better than tablets but worse than injections).

Magnesium (make sure to pick a bioavailable version, a lot of magnesium supplements are crap)

Iron

Autoimmune:

Any of them will cause fatigue - coeliac, MS and lupus are often missed plus several of the rarer ones.

Endocrinology:

There are about five different types of hypothyroidism, the standard NHS tests will only pick up Hashimoto's.

Adrenals - Cushing's and Addison's both cause fatigue.

Pretty much any hormone will cause fatigue if they're out of whack.

Heavy metals:

Lots of heavy metals can cause fatigue: https://rarediseases.org/rare-diseases/heavy-metal-poisoning/

Genetic diseases:

Haemochromotosis - inability to process iron properly so it builds up in various tissues.

Wilson's - inability to process copper properly so it builds up in various tissues.

Viruses:

Most of the hepatitis viruses

CMV

Epstein Barr

Cocksackie virus

Bacteria:

The following are all transmitted by ticks amongst other routes - should definitely be considered if there is any history of tick bites (and even if there is not as ticks are often missed - you don't need to have spent time in the countryside to pick them up).

Lyme (more common than most people realise, only 30% of people get the bullseye rash, the NHS test is shit)

Anaplasma / Ehrlichia

Bartonella henselae

Babesia microti

Chlamydia pneumoniae

Chlamydia trachomatis

Mycoplasma pneumoniae

Yersinia

Other:

POTS - http://www.potsuk.org/

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The Idiocrat
6 hours ago, This Time said:

I'm 99% sure it's Lyme - I had a text book bullseye rash back in 2003 which is when all my symptoms started which unfortunately wasn't seen by a doctor plus my symptoms match - all CFS symptoms, heart palpitations, frequent episodes of bradycardia and several neuro symptoms including dysphasia and parasthesia. Unfortunately it's tricky to test for, the NHS test isn't very sensitive and they won't accept any others so there's not much point shelling out hundreds of pounds for tests unless a private doctor requires them. You probably know all this anyway.

I don't think I've been on ciproflaxacin, although I did take an antibiotic in December 2012 for a chest infection which I can't remember the name of. I'll check with the surgery next time I talk to them. The timing does sort of fit with the start of this bad period - does it cause a sudden onset of symtoms or is it more drawn out? Mine has been a very slow decline. What was your regimen out of interest?

There's little initial symptoms to the allergic reaction - all I can say is tingly head/joints and often achilles tendon pain or even rupture. The real symptoms kick in a few months later - exhaustion, joint pain, lower back pain, anxiety, forgetfulness, digestion problems. It sort of builds up slowly but there are people in wheel chairs because of it. It's worth asking just in case - any antibiotic which is a fluoroquinolone can cause it - Ciprofloxacin, Levaquin, et al. And lots of rest, building p exercise slowly. An no NSAIDs (eg. ibuprofen) as they can kick tings off again.

In terms of regimen, it seems that sufferers must taylor to suit them but magnesium and calcium are top as they are vastly depleted by fluoride poisoning, vitamin D3 too.

Sound slike Lyme from what you say and good luck with your recovery. I've certainly learnt to disgnose and prescribe myself without the NHS.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

11 minutes ago, The Idiocrat said:

There's little initial symptoms to the allergic reaction - all I can say is tingly head/joints and often achilles tendon pain or even rupture. The real symptoms kick in a few months later - exhaustion, joint pain, lower back pain, anxiety. It sort of builds up slowly but there are people in wheel chairs because of it. It's worth asking just in case - any antibiotic which is a fluoroquinolone can cause it - Ciprofloxacin, Levaquin, et al. And lots of rest, building p exercise slowly.

In terms of regimen, it seems that sufferers must taylor to suit them but magnesium and calcium are top as they are vastly depleted by fluoride poisoning, vitamin D3 too.

Sound slike Lyme from what you say and good luck with your recovery. I've certainly learnt to disgnose and prescribe myself without the NHS.

 

If you've got something a bit rare then the NHS is only good for running tests and it's not even particularly good at that. They can't prescribe B12 shots for CFS anymore because there's not enough evidence for it despite there being several papers on Pubmed saying that it improves fatigue in a large proportion of cases and sometimes to a great extent. They can, however, give you CBT and graduated exercise therapy on the back of one deeply flawed study in the same journal that linked the MMR vaccine with autism and that has been equally discredited - they counted some patients as recovered when they were actually worse than at the start of the study for fuck's sake. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 04/08/2017 at 17:29, This Time said:

Would you buy in this situation?

Sorry to hear about the difficult health ailments in this thread and good luck in getting the correct diagnosis and treatment.

That aspect aside, we are in a similar situation to you, WRT being in the process of regtetfully giving up on waiting for the HPC*, looking at similar LTV ratio and IR % on a 5 year fix.

Not London, but the nice areas of Manchester we were searching in have seen crazy rates of HPI over the past few years and I'm very nervous about whether we'll come to regret this in years to come.

Not illness, but having two young children, the elder needing to register for a school place by January, schools near us not ideal and need to show a two year rental agreement for a place in the recent one and with no decent affordable rentals in that area!

Like you, the repayment mortgage will be less than two thirds of our current rent, and we will be looking to overpay to get the principal down asap to mitigate risk. We felt we couldn't wait any longer for something that may not happen for a few more years...

Best of luck, pray for massive HPI**

:)

 

* I feel your pain, and laughed at your description of bring indoctrinated by TOS, felt familiar!

** Only joking, of course

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 minutes ago, LC1 said:

Sorry to hear about the difficult health ailments in this thread and good luck in getting the correct diagnosis and treatment.

That aspect aside, we are in a similar situation to you, WRT being in the process of regtetfully giving up on waiting for the HPC*, looking at similar LTV ratio and IR % on a 5 year fix.

Not London, but the nice areas of Manchester we were searching in have seen crazy rates of HPI over the past few years and I'm very nervous about whether we'll come to regret this in years to come.

Not illness, but having two young children, the elder needing to register for a school place by January, schools near us not ideal and need to show a two year rental agreement for a place in the recent one and with no decent affordable rentals in that area!

Like you, the repayment mortgage will be less than two thirds of our current rent, and we will be looking to overpay to get the principal down asap to mitigate risk. We felt we couldn't wait any longer for something that may not happen for a few more years...

Best of luck, pray for massive HPI**

:)

 

* I feel your pain, and laughed at your description of bring indoctrinated by TOS, felt familiar!

** Only joking, of course

That school obviously aren't interested in taking on renter scum (unless they only want council tenants in the hope that they'll come with the pupil premium). Two year rental contracts are like hens' teeth. I think it's important to have security on tenure when the kids are at school - you don't want to have them moving schools every year or two or having long commutes to get there. The school system in this country is fucked up enough without having to deal with that. 

TOS are right that either house prices need to come down by 50% in large parts of the country or wages need to double. It's been a decade now though and sometimes you've just got to get on with your life. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We've now got an agreement in principle for more than we're willing to actually spend (but less than our offer would be). We're going to see the place tomorrow and put in an offer if we like it.

Would they think I was a complete nutter if I brought a spirit level? The flat we're currently in was just refurbished and looked lovely when we moved in but was a complete bodge job. Poor plastering around some of the light fittings, slightly wonky plug sockets and a double light switch where only one of the switches does anything are the signs of bodginess that we could have picked up on here before we moved in. Anything else to look out for that might hint that the builders might have done things like not bother to screw (or even nail) down the floorboards so all the tiles break or have used plaster meant for internal walls on the external walls causing major damp problems?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Wight Flight
19 hours ago, This Time said:

Two year rental contracts are like hens' teeth

I bumped in to an old friend's son at the weekend who is currently working in lettings for a smaller independent firm in London. Was interested to hear that he actually gets a bigger commission for longer lets and is always trying to propose 2+ year leases.

So maybe something is changing?
 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Trying to negotiate buying the flat now. First offer refused so we've put in another one of a few K more and asked them to do a couple of repairs.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

No conclusion, we feel like the estate agent is dicking us about. Owners are considering our second offer over the weekend, there are people seeing it tomorrow apparently. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.

×
×
  • Create New...