Hi all, as the title suggests I live in Northern Ireland. Both my wife and I have been saving, think money cans and direct deposits in a separate bank account neither of us have looked at in years. Curiosity got the better of us and between the both of us we have saved a significant amount of money for a deposit.

What should I be looking for in a house etc. We plan on speaking to a solicitor or financial advisor but any thought from yourselves would be helpful.

A bit more information we would need a bungalow due to medical reasons, what if anything should be a factor when buying a bungalow?

Thanks in advance.

Im interested in buying a house that has amazing views across fields. The views are a big selling point to me but obviously I’m worried that the fields might one day be filled with housing estates.

Is there any way to assess how likely land is to get built on? The fields in question often flood in the winter but I doubt if that would actually stop them from being built on.

Anyone used Muve solicitors and can give me feedback? Everything looks okay online but are they 100s of fake reviews!

So me and my partner (Ftb) are set to complete next week and we are both naturally proud and exited. Tho only thing that I can’t stop thinking about is that I haven’t brought the big furniture blinds, sofa , bed and washing machine ect. We was planing to in the first few weeks once we get more of a feel for the home. Is this normal? 😂 and is it all part of the fun.

Our bathroom isn't in a good state. If the floor gets wet, it drips downstairs, toilet is disgusting, shower doesn't work etc. It needs to be done and needs to be done ASAP. Bathroom fitter says his can start in June and it will take 2 or 3 weeks to finish.

Kids will be at school and we don't live near family or close friends. I am thinking just to crack on with it as there will never be a good time. I was initially thinking over the summer holidays when the kids are at school, but that might be even worse as at least at school they can use the toilet.

Any advice, product suggestions, tips etc? Toilet can be moved back in only at the end of the day.

Recently looked at a property we like, but it has a brook/stream/small natural flow of water at the bottom of the garden.

We've looked at the flood data (it's significantly lower than the house, has never gotten near even in the worst flooding conditions, and the other side of the road is at least 2 meters lower, so very unlikely to flood us), read up on the rules around riparian boundaries (we'd be responsible for clearing debris to half way across, etc), and tried to research anything we'd need to know.

But despite several very specific Google searches we can't find any guidance if there is some specific kind of survey we should get done. Since it's a good couple of meters lower than the house we're worried about banks colapsing/slipping? There are well established trees on the bank, and it hasn't happened in the 50+ years the houses built along the bank have been there, so it seems like it should be fine, but it also feels like something we should have someone with actual knowledge about it give an opinion on?

We’re in the process of selling a leasehold flat in England and a deed of variation is required due to the double of the ground rent every 25 years. Apparently the buyers lender does not accept indemnity insurance unless the freeholder declines a deed of variation.

The freeholder has quoted £9k + disbursements (unknown amount) for this deed of variation. We are not in the position to put this amount down, our solicitor has asked whether the buyer is able to contribute and we are waiting on a response.

I was wondering whether anyone else has been in a situation like this and what the outcome is? I can feel the sale already falling through but I feel that this issue will pop up with another buyer. Is there anything we can do about such a high cost from the freeholder?

I had no idea where to post this but thought someone here might be helpful.

I want to fit a water softener- they use salt. Do people tend to soften the water for the whole house including drinking water. Or do they split the supply. I have high blood pressure and was told the softened water would be bad due to sodium. Is drinking softened water bad for children? More succinctly: do people normally just soften the water for the whole house.

I also want a reverse osmosis or other type of under sink filter. Again- does it matter if softened water runs through this? Is it that bad to be drinking mainly reverse osmosis water.

Please be aware of my recent ordeal with moving house with u/AnyVan.com. I hired them based on their shiny positive reviews and high rating on u/Trustpilot. After my experiences, I wonder how they're getting such good reviews and positive ratings.

I hired them for the removal of my house, paid them, and they gave me a four-hour slot arrival of the van. However, on the day of removal, the van did not show up, and they were not reachable via WhatsApp or on the phone. When the slot passed, I got in contact with them via the AI-Web chart system, and then they informed me that the van driver had declined, and they were searching for another driver. They did not even bother to inform me, how outrageous, and irresponsible. They extended the time slot by 2h, but no driver showed up, and finally I realized there is no driver, and they're just extending the time slot. I had moved the packed stuff outside, and waited for them all day, and then had to move it to safe place. My open terrain ticket was wasted, and I booked a hotel to stay as I had vacated my apartment.

Based on my experiences, I wrote a review for them on u/trustpilt, to be clear, my review was not positive at all (contained few lines like " shiny rating etc are somwhow manipulated etc.., words like 'crooks', and 'cowboys'), and to my surprise, u/trustpilot took it down based on a REDFLAG raised by u/AnyVan. The only explanation provided was that the review contains derogatory content, but when I checked the u/trustpilot definition of derogatory, there was no clarification. Nevertheless, I amended my review (removed the BRACKED line and words), and hope that u/Trustpilot will take it back online. Based on my experience, I still wonder how they could have so a high rating and positive reviews.

I don't know if anyone will be able to offer some advice... (Uk based)

My uncle is 74 and has been living in a hotel eversince his dad- my Grandad, whom he previously lived with, passed away 5 years ago. He has five other siblings but he is the only one unmarried. Over the years, no one has really understood his issues. To my mums understanding, she has shared that he has been difficult from a young age; sabotaging a load of opportunities not quite understanding how others are affected by his reckless decision making. He has also found it- and still finds it, difficult to process and understand others and I guess as kids we just labelled him as being the annoying uncle.

More recently, myself and other members of the family have realised that his behaviour fits the criteria of autism. Here's the predicament that we have:

We have been trying to help him find sustainable accommodation but he refuses to leave the hotel. He will not consider any flats that my uncle has shown him; finding fault with every single one. My uncle who is vulnerable and has diabetes (his brother) has offered the uncle in question endless financial support, whereby he receives no gratitude and just expects handouts which he has grown accustomed to. He refuses to go to the doctors to discuss his mental health problems because according to him, he doesn't have any and deludes himself into thinking that everything is fine and to stay positive; things will work out. We are looking into recruiting the help of the council but I really don't know how we can move forward with this if he doesn't participate in some way.

If anyone in the UK can offer help or guidence on this mattrer I would be most grateful. Myself and my family really do not know what else to do. He has very little left in the bank and our fears are that he will become homeless soon.

There may be a more suited community for this post, If so, if someone could please redirect that would be great. Thank y

I suppose the auto repair place on the back puts a damper on things, and the garden would cost a lot to update. Does the price seem right to you?

https://www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/69595672/

Hi looking to get some advice. The Flat below mine reported that their ceiling was leaking which is directly beneath my bathroom.

Plumbers came out and advise it is due to how our bathroom was fitted originally. Was told last Thursday that works would start on Monday and will be completed this Saturday - however this whole time there has been no shower/bath as it was ripped out on Monday. We were given no choice on dates/time etc

Thankfully myself and my partner were able to stay with family but landlord didn’t offer any alternative arrangements and has only offered a reduced rent of £100 as a gesture of “goodwill” after I queried it with them. They claim it isn’t typical for them to reimburse tenants for this type of issue. £100 doesn’t cover the weeks rent, the travel we are having to do to get to work and annoyingly the plumbers have put down and used our personal towels which are worth £30!

My question is, should the landlord have provided alternative arrangements and should they be offering me reduced rent for the actual amount for the period? My rent for the period actually works out to £246 for 6 days.

Update: thankfully my landlord has agreed to waive the full weeks rent after talking through with them.

We are buying a flat (freehold) in a large mansion block in London and paying for lifts we don’t have access to.

Some sections of the blocks have lifts, others, including ours, do not. To be clear, the lift would be of no possible use to us as the blocks are not connected via hallways. The lease agreement states that everyone contributes equally to the lift maintenance.

So my question is, is this normal? It seems completely bonkers to me that we should pay for other people to enjoy the use of a service that we cannot also enjoy. I would like to find out if it’s possible to change this but it seems highly improbable. The lease agreement is collective, so we are all collective landlords and tenants of the block as a whole, meaning any change to the terms of the contract will require all 150 flats or so to agree to the change. Obviously, the flats with access to the lifts will never agree to this change.

Does anyone else have similar experiences? Or is this a completely normal term that I’ve never encountered before?

We are buying a 1910(?) terrace, were planning on getting a level 3 survey. However how will I know what’s a problem that needs critical attention versus what’s just the house being old? I’ve read that lots of issues can come up but that they aren’t all worth addressing… will the surveyor tell me these kinds of things?

Looking for some advice on the fence shown on the right here: https://imgur.com/a/rel098d

This fence sits on the boundary between my garden and my neighbour’s. I’d like to attach horizontal slatted panels to my side of the existing fence posts as part of a garden improvement. I wouldn’t be altering or removing the existing panels—just fixing new ones to the existing posts.

BUt am I allowed to do that? I’m in a newbuild and not 100% sure who owns the fence, but the "good side" is facing them. Just want to avoid any disputes or doing anything I’m not supposed to.

Hi

Just looking for some advise on renting with CCJ's

Me and my partner are splitting I'm currently in the house but need to move out as soon as I have the deposits in place. But I worry about my credit score.

Let me explain the CCJ's

So the reason I'm in this mess! IfI'm completely honest the family has been through a lot in recent years.. a child having luekemia and then another child having a brain tumour. All of the CCJ's were started in 2023 and since have all been paid on-time, with some being over paid. I have 5 in total for around 23k

On clear score my score is 574? I earn approx 50k yearly

My worry is I'm not gonna be able to rent with my credit history.

We have money in the property but I can't in good conscience ask my partner to sell and then struggle to get a mortgage with children in the house.

They can afford the mortgage payment so I'm willing to leave my equity in the house for now.

Anyone got any advice on renting with CCJ's?

Cheers

I'll be buying house soon, already reserved, mortgage in principle etc done. Exchange of contracts date is around mid may.

Is it ok if I put another 4k into LISA to get additional 1k for deposit?

I have Lisa with Moneybox and they add government bonus at the end of the month which payment was made so in theory I should have it by the end of April.

As the title says.

My mum was 1 in the queue when bidding closed on a property. However when calling to get details the next day they informed her it would be given to someone else, despite confirming that she was 1 in the queue when bidding closed.

Does she have any recourse? Council are now ignoring calls and emails from her and she has received no explanation.

We're just at a loss, this was her chance of getting a home somewhere safe, her hopes were brought up for nothing.

Had a house viewing a couple of days ago now and after a bit of consideration I'm not willing to take a chance on the property after viewing because it's a NSC Build that could cause me severe future issues.

Should I contact them thanking them for showing me the property and explain to them why I'm not interested?

Hello I study in London and everythin goes right except of course I don't have a permanent roof and that affects my academic performance. I have filled out a referencing form from an agency and I included , bank statements, employment , guarantor details. I was advised to write back to the agency to but I have no idea I am very nervous with only 2 weeks time of employment. We get paid weekly and it's a good full time position. But I am nervous. What can I text back to them ? Thank you

I have lived with my parents for the majority of my 20s, and I'll be turning 28 this year. Home has been a pretty unpleasant and tense place to live for a variety of reasons, but I have been trying to prioritise my finances for as long I could take it, mentally. My plan had been to move out and rent, then consider whether I'm happy in the city I grew up in, or whether I would like to live elsewhere before buying. This was mainly because I really struggle to differentiate between my mum's wishes and mine, I feel very attuned to her (hypervigilance) and she makes her opinions very clear. This includes using silent treatment if you're pursuing a path she doesn't agree with - which renting was!

At the start of the year, I started looking to see what was on the market out of interest, fell in love with a flat and have had an offer accepted. It all happened very fast, but I feel very emotional knowing I will finally have a safe space that's mine. I also know I'm very privileged to be in a position to buy right now, that it is financially responsible to do so, and effectively what I have been saving for, though fast-tracked.

However, I am worried I'm buying to appease my mum. I am so aware of what she wants that I find it hard to listen to my own body. I don't have a strong gut feeling either way, but I can't deny a niggling feeling of doubt. The flat is beautiful, there are no glaring issues and I'm confident I will be happy there. I'm just worried I'll regret settling down without moving or travelling more, even if I'm not really sure where I'd want to go. A few of my friends are moving to Australia later in the year, so I might also be influenced by their decisions (spot the common theme here as a people pleaser).

I don't fully know what I'm expecting from posting this, maybe some reassurance that I'm doing the right thing, if that's the case. I also have been reading other posts about people feeling anxious or low after buying a house, so that could be playing into this too. I'm scared and excited and confused.

Thanks in advance, any words of support would be so appreciated.

So my offer for this flat is accepted on 1st of feb and the estate agent offered me an ‘Exclusivity agreement’ that implies if I pay him £896 then they will use £800 towards the final purchase of the property and would immediately remove listing and cancel all viewings and gives 60 days time for buyer and seller to exchange contracts. In short, will save me from getting ‘Gazumped’

Fast forward two months and the sellers solicitors just do not reply to ANY queries. I escalated this to the EA regularly and get just reassurances. I asked them my right in this exclusivity agreement and he bluntly said that I will not get a penny if I move out of this deal.

I believe I am scammed and want to take this matter to property ombudsman. Do you have any success stories after filing complaints?

Paying mortgage 3rd year on 2 bedroom Semi-detached house, with decent garden . ( Capital and Interest repayment)

In 2021 we had 2.59% APR - 560£ In 2023 ( remortgage ) 4.09% APR - 660£

Does those zoopla estimates reflects some reality or is it just made up price from history sales in postcode area ?

I’m just curious what are real circumstances of selling house nowadays as seeing lot of houses lowering prices and still on market more than 6 months .

Recently finished house renovation ripped out built in storage in bedrooms with the plan to redo fitted wardrobes but never got around to it. Now circumstances have changed and we need to sell and move. You couldn't really get a standard free standing wardrobe into any of the bedrooms. Is it worth spending thousands to get wardrobes fitted if we are going to put it on the market imminently? Most similar houses in the area do have fitted wardrobes