Ashley Posted April 8, 2022 Share Posted April 8, 2022 On 29/03/2022 at 10:44 PM, Will said: The insulation is also insanely good. When I was staying with my parents/sister we’d have the heating on to just about get comfortable and then we’d feel cold less than an hour later. Here we lose barely anything and it’s never got cold enough to feel even slightly uncomfortable. Yeah one thing I like about my place (in the winter at least) is it keeps the heat well. I've not had the heating on in over a year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimbob Posted May 25, 2022 Share Posted May 25, 2022 (edited) So, the Mrs told me this morning that her Mum and Uncles want us to buy the house their parents lived in (recently, her Grandad passed away so it remains empty). They want to keep it within the family. And, as it's just me and the Mrs, they eyeing us up for it. It's in a better location for getting to/from the railway station and for the Mrs to get to work than where we are now. And the electrics and boiler are all brand new, only done 3-6 months ago. However, that's probably where the positives end. It's on a flood plain, which last year flooded (river is literally a stones throw away). The bathroom is downstairs, and it's tiny. The Mrs and her Mum (on separate occasions) struggled to fit in the shower/bath. There's no back garden, only a front garden (but it's fenced around, so pretty private). Structure-wise, possibly needs a new roof. Needs damp proofing as there's mould inside in parts. Bathroom would need moving and a new one installed upstairs in a bigger room (pipes would need moving, electrics redone in that room). And a new Kitchen is needed, it's very dated and small at the moment. So with the bathroom being moved, the room at back would be knocked through for the kitchen to be fitted. The other factor is, the last time we listened to her side of the family, we got screwed financially with our bathroom installation and we're still waiting on the electrician to finish the work they started (he's no cost as it's being paid by her step Dad, but that's not the point). On the financial side of it, we probably couldn't afford moving again so soon. We'd need legal fees and all that to cover the costs. And as we've just moved, those costs would possibly be swallowed with what we'd get back so far. Then, have to factor in the structural and cosmetic costs too. If we were still renting and didn't already own this house i'd probably be more in favour of it. As it stands, i'm against it because it'll basically screw us over (the cost of living atm is insane). She is more for it because of the family connection. The other thing is, we'd be giving up super fast internet (which is great for working from home) where we are now for something with an average of 30-50mpbs (and reliant on old copper BT lines), whilst we currently have fibre with speeds upwards of 200mpbs Edited May 25, 2022 by Jimbob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nightwolf Posted May 25, 2022 Share Posted May 25, 2022 3 hours ago, Jimbob said: So, the Mrs told me this morning that her Mum and Uncles want us to buy the house their parents lived in (recently, her Grandad passed away so it remains empty). They want to keep it within the family. And, as it's just me and the Mrs, they eyeing us up for it. It's in a better location for getting to/from the railway station and for the Mrs to get to work than where we are now. And the electrics and boiler are all brand new, only done 3-6 months ago. However, that's probably where the positives end. It's on a flood plain, which last year flooded (river is literally a stones throw away). The bathroom is downstairs, and it's tiny. The Mrs and her Mum (on separate occasions) struggled to fit in the shower/bath. There's no back garden, only a front garden (but it's fenced around, so pretty private). Structure-wise, possibly needs a new roof. Needs damp proofing as there's mould inside in parts. Bathroom would need moving and a new one installed upstairs in a bigger room (pipes would need moving, electrics redone in that room). And a new Kitchen is needed, it's very dated and small at the moment. So with the bathroom being moved, the room at back would be knocked through for the kitchen to be fitted. The other factor is, the last time we listened to her side of the family, we got screwed financially with our bathroom installation and we're still waiting on the electrician to finish the work they started (he's no cost as it's being paid by her step Dad, but that's not the point). On the financial side of it, we probably couldn't afford moving again so soon. We'd need legal fees and all that to cover the costs. And as we've just moved, those costs would possibly be swallowed with what we'd get back so far. Then, have to factor in the structural and cosmetic costs too. If we were still renting and didn't already own this house i'd probably be more in favour of it. As it stands, i'm against it because it'll basically screw us over (the cost of living atm is insane). She is more for it because of the family connection. The other thing is, we'd be giving up super fast internet (which is great for working from home) where we are now for something with an average of 30-50mpbs (and reliant on old copper BT lines), whilst we currently have fibre with speeds upwards of 200mpbs I don't want to sound too rude here, because I do understand the need to keep things "in the family". I've recently dealt with a similar thing with both my parents and grandparents properties. However, there's literally no reason for the family to keep what is effectively a run down property in the family. Why can't they purchase it? They surely know your situation right now. It would be from the sounds of it, much better to do it up as a group effort, sell it to someone who will ultimately appreciate it and the proceeds go to all of you who worked on it. Yes you'd lose the property to someone you don't know (as I've come to terms with myself) but would anyone really benefit from you both owning it? Except to say that it's still part of the families property(ies)? ------------------------ I've been keeping an eye on house prices recently, because we've been here now for gone 8 months, neighbour is selling their current property which is a match for ours and needs a lot of work doing for 10k more than we originally bought ours for. I almost want to say what ours would be evaluated at now we've done some work and repairs too it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashley Posted May 25, 2022 Share Posted May 25, 2022 Yeah it does feel a bit like "well you buy it then?" I know it will be an emotionally tricky conversation but if there's no great benefit to you buying it you shouldn't be essentially guilt tripped into doing so. Maybe see if there's specific things from the house that they feel sentimental about and seeing if you can remove those, but if it's just "memories" then hopefully you can convince them that they will remain even if someone else has the house. @nightwolf for a moment I thought you were going to buy the place next door and have two houses 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nightwolf Posted May 30, 2022 Share Posted May 30, 2022 Imagine, if it were actually next door, we have about 2 feet between the walls, I'd just make a mega mansion Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashley Posted May 30, 2022 Share Posted May 30, 2022 4 hours ago, nightwolf said: Imagine, if it were actually next door, we have about 2 feet between the walls, I'd just make a mega mansion Think of all the house plants you could buy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob Posted May 31, 2022 Share Posted May 31, 2022 Think of all the house plants you could buy!I think the plural in this case would be 'houses plant' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimbob Posted June 8, 2022 Share Posted June 8, 2022 On 25/05/2022 at 9:20 PM, nightwolf said: I don't want to sound too rude here, because I do understand the need to keep things "in the family". I've recently dealt with a similar thing with both my parents and grandparents properties. However, there's literally no reason for the family to keep what is effectively a run down property in the family. Why can't they purchase it? They surely know your situation right now. It would be from the sounds of it, much better to do it up as a group effort, sell it to someone who will ultimately appreciate it and the proceeds go to all of you who worked on it. Yes you'd lose the property to someone you don't know (as I've come to terms with myself) but would anyone really benefit from you both owning it? Except to say that it's still part of the families property(ies)? ------------------------ I've been keeping an eye on house prices recently, because we've been here now for gone 8 months, neighbour is selling their current property which is a match for ours and needs a lot of work doing for 10k more than we originally bought ours for. I almost want to say what ours would be evaluated at now we've done some work and repairs too it. On 25/05/2022 at 9:49 PM, Ashley said: Yeah it does feel a bit like "well you buy it then?" I know it will be an emotionally tricky conversation but if there's no great benefit to you buying it you shouldn't be essentially guilt tripped into doing so. Maybe see if there's specific things from the house that they feel sentimental about and seeing if you can remove those, but if it's just "memories" then hopefully you can convince them that they will remain even if someone else has the house. @nightwolf for a moment I thought you were going to buy the place next door and have two houses I had a walk around the house the other day, was allowed to raid the garden for plants to move over to my garden (it's our garden, but the Mrs doesn't care too much (if at all) about gardening). We also "borrowed" the TV as ours broke. I had only seen the downstairs, but ventured upstairs. It's worse than i thought it was. Two internal walls (luckily, not supporting) are like jelly if you remotely touch it with your hand. The ceilings are dire (we're talking holes big enough to put your head through). Few missing floorboards and one of the supporting walls needs fixing. However, the Mrs Mum is offering to pay for all structural work to be done if it means we buy it and move in. There is a small catch, only if it's not stupid costs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nightwolf Posted June 9, 2022 Share Posted June 9, 2022 On 08/06/2022 at 5:06 PM, Jimbob said: I had a walk around the house the other day, was allowed to raid the garden for plants to move over to my garden (it's our garden, but the Mrs doesn't care too much (if at all) about gardening). We also "borrowed" the TV as ours broke. I had only seen the downstairs, but ventured upstairs. It's worse than i thought it was. Two internal walls (luckily, not supporting) are like jelly if you remotely touch it with your hand. The ceilings are dire (we're talking holes big enough to put your head through). Few missing floorboards and one of the supporting walls needs fixing. However, the Mrs Mum is offering to pay for all structural work to be done if it means we buy it and move in. There is a small catch, only if it's not stupid costs. "Small" you know it's going to be a pretty penny given what you've said. Run! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashley Posted June 10, 2022 Share Posted June 10, 2022 Could try and force their hand by getting some quotes now and hope it'll scare them off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimbob Posted June 15, 2022 Share Posted June 15, 2022 On 10/06/2022 at 6:55 AM, Ashley said: Could try and force their hand by getting some quotes now and hope it'll scare them off. We've had 2 builders in to look at what needs doing, and her Mum had one in to give a quote. So we'll have 3 in (hopefully) in the next week or so. I'm estimating £15-£25k to fix everything. On 09/06/2022 at 11:20 PM, nightwolf said: "Small" you know it's going to be a pretty penny given what you've said. Run! I plan to, once the quotes have come in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr-Paul Posted August 24, 2022 Share Posted August 24, 2022 Exciting news is that after a couple of months of house hunting, I had an offer accepted last night on what I hope will be my first flat! The 36 hours I waited between submitting and hearing back was agony! I was hoping for a ground floor place with direct access to a garden, but I've compromised and gone for a first floor place with a garden, because the property is absolutely immaculate and the garden is lovely. Appointed a solicitor this morning, been in touch with my mortgage advisor so he can present me with my options... Hopefully all the legal stuff goes smoothly from here! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob Posted August 24, 2022 Share Posted August 24, 2022 50 minutes ago, Mr-Paul said: Hopefully all the legal stuff goes smoothly from here! *Gestures at the thread title Good luck though! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr-Paul Posted September 1, 2022 Share Posted September 1, 2022 (edited) On 24/08/2022 at 1:00 PM, bob said: *Gestures at the thread title Good luck though! Thanks! It's going mostly smoothly but there's been one big stress today... Solicitors: all good so far Survey: booked for next Monday Seller: has had an offer accepted for their next home so the chain is linked up Estate agent: says they should have draft contracts ready next week The one bump in the road so far is with the mortgage. Using a broker, thought we were going with Nationwide as they would lend me more, but they found a better deal with Halifax, with a lower interest rate. Great, I thought. Provided me with the illustration, all good. However, the interest rate went up over the weekend before we applied. These things happen, it is what it is, go ahead. Today had a call saying that Halifax don't want to lend me that much because I spent £1600 on hotels (for a work trip) on my credit card in July. This is now fully paid off, but apparently they can't see this yet on my credit score. So they want me to find £4000 more deposit and accept a longer term on the loan. There are benefits to this - I'll have lower monthly payments. But I'll have less money now for furniture etc. and a higher remaining balance after the 5 year fix. So I've asked to go back to Nationwide if possible. Nationwide will cost me more over the 5 years overall (by about 3k), but I will have more money now for my moving in costs, and my remaining balance will be about £2500 lower. Think I'm doing the right thing - I can definitely see the argument for the lower monthly payments - but that 4k I think will be more useful for me for other things now and I will have a lower remaining balance when remortgaging or selling. So yeah, fuck Halifax and credit scores for not knowing I have zero balance on my credit card and therefore making my life more stressful and expensive! Edited September 1, 2022 by Mr-Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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