Houses

[FoyleFox]

9 hours ago, The Blur said:

 

The answer is probably obvious but I would be interested to know why there are partial mortgages as it is the first I have heard of it!

There isn't such a thing as partial mortgages but your mortgage could be in two or three parts. If you took out the original mortgage to buy the house, it's one but then add an additional mortgage for home improvement or extension, it's another one. The dates of your fixed rate may then be different. 

[DennisNedry]

On 25/07/2025 at 20:05, RobHawk said:

Our house goes on the market tomorrow. 

 

Viewed a house tonight and it's bloody perfect, just need to sell my house and hope nobody else buys it in the meantime. 

 

He did indicate somebody had put in an offer but hadn't sold there house yet so it wasn't proceed able. Anybody with better knowledge than me know if that sounds legit or if he's just bullshitting? Doesn't help he was a proper salesman, talked a load of shite the whole time we were there and was actually the worst bit about the viewing. 

We were told this on the house we have just bought (STC).

 

The Estate Agent told us the vendors had had an offer of asking price from an unproceedable buyer (basically they hadn't sold theirs). 

 

Because the vendors were in your position (i.e. had a house they really wanted to buy so we're keen to sell quick smart), they accepted our offer of £5k less, just to get it done. 

[RobHawk]

23 minutes ago, DennisNedry said:

We were told this on the house we have just bought (STC).

 

The Estate Agent told us the vendors had had an offer of asking price from an unproceedable buyer (basically they hadn't sold theirs). 

 

Because the vendors were in your position (i.e. had a house they really wanted to buy so we're keen to sell quick smart), they accepted our offer of £5k less, just to get it done. 

We made 2 offers, were told they had this unproceedable offer £20k above the asking price but would go with us if we matched it. 

 

We walked away, couldn't afford £20k above the asking price and absolutely stunk the way it was handled. I still think it was bullshit. 

[DennisNedry]

2 minutes ago, RobHawk said:

We made 2 offers, were told they had this unproceedable offer £20k above the asking price but would go with us if we matched it. 

 

We walked away, couldn't afford £20k above the asking price and absolutely stunk the way it was handled. I still think it was bullshit. 

 

20k above asking price! Our experience from the last 6 months trying to buy and sell is that very few properties are selling at asking price, let alone above.

 

Sounds like you made the right call walking away.

[Sol thewall Bamba]

1 hour ago, Unabomber said:

I had a mortgage on my first house then when me

and my now wife bought our current house together the outstanding mortgage on the first house got ported over. We then took out a second mortgage to cover the balance owed on the new house (once deposit had been taken into consideration).

Me and my wife also did this. Piece of cake really.

[Unabomber]

1 hour ago, Sol thewall Bamba said:

Me and my wife also did this. Piece of cake really.

Yeah easy as they just total them up anyway so you don’t notice any different. Besides now where one ended and jumped up 2.5%! Although that could’ve been worse I guess. 

[HighPeakFox]

I will soon be having to sell my (recently deceased) mother's house in Oadby - anyone with any experience of local estate agents or with any good advice would be very much appreciated.

[RobHawk]

26 minutes ago, HighPeakFox said:

I will soon be having to sell my (recently deceased) mother's house in Oadby - anyone with any experience of local estate agents or with any good advice would be very much appreciated.

Don't live local so can't comment, but in 2 weeks of having my house on the market I've already seen two very different ends of the scale. 

 

My estate agent sold my house in less than a week, great communication, honest not pushy, great photos and from the moment he set foot in the house he was enthusiastic about it. He did a great job of selling it.

 

I then viewed a property, this estate agent knew nothing about the house, but rather than admit it he bullshitted. Came across as a sleazy salesman and had no real interest in us. He never followed up the appointment to see what we thought, then as soon as I made an offer got passed onto his boss who I'd never met who had no personal interest in me or what I was looking for and general communication felt forced. I didn't buy that house for reasons discussed above but I would now avoid viewing houses if they were on with that estate agent, they were that bad. 

 

2 local companies, very different experiences. So do a bit of due diligence and don't just go with the highest valuation.

[Raj]

8 hours ago, HighPeakFox said:

I will soon be having to sell my (recently deceased) mother's house in Oadby - anyone with any experience of local estate agents or with any good advice would be very much appreciated.

 

 

I sold my dads house through these lot.

Decent...for estate agents anyway!!!

 

Guy called Iqbal.

 

Seths Estate Agents
265 Uppingham Road, Leicester, LE5 4DG

👍🏾

 

 

Also get a good conveyancer.

I wouldn't recommend the one I used as I had to keep pushing them constantly.

Edited 6 August 2025 by Raj

[brucey]

15 hours ago, HighPeakFox said:

I will soon be having to sell my (recently deceased) mother's house in Oadby - anyone with any experience of local estate agents or with any good advice would be very much appreciated.

From my own experience as a viewer when buying, James Sellicks and Oliver Rayns were good, Haart was awful. 

 

Would also avoid any agents that have a reputation of forcing buyers to use their internal mortgage advisors/conveyancers, as it puts off potential buyers. I think Connells is one, but you can probably find out with a quick Google of reddit threads. 

[Alf Bentley]

15 hours ago, HighPeakFox said:

I will soon be having to sell my (recently deceased) mother's house in Oadby - anyone with any experience of local estate agents or with any good advice would be very much appreciated.

 

My experience of selling in Oadby is 20+ years out of date, so I won't make recommendations - except to suggest that it might be worth asking multiple estate agents to come and do a valuation. That way, you can quiz them about their approach, compare their terms and valuations, and form a general impression of them.

 

There can be big differences not only between different firms, but different branches and different individuals.

When I sold my parents' London flat in 2017, I got 3 estate agents to do valuations. One didn't turn up for their appointment, one massively under-valued the flat (based on eventual selling price) while the one that I used massively over-valued it and turned out to be chaotic and uncommunicative. With hindsight, I wished I'd asked more than 3 firms to do valuations and had researched local estate agents more thoroughly.

[kenny]

1 hour ago, brucey said:

From my own experience as a viewer when buying, James Sellicks and Oliver Rayns were good, Haart was awful. 

 

Would also avoid any agents that have a reputation of forcing buyers to use their internal mortgage advisors/conveyancers, as it puts off potential buyers. I think Connells is one, but you can probably find out with a quick Google of reddit threads. 

Oliver is nice.

 

Sam at Carltons in Narborough is also excellent.

 

Funny how its all independents rather than chains getting the positive reps.

[HighPeakFox]

1 hour ago, brucey said:

From my own experience as a viewer when buying, James Sellicks and Oliver Rayns were good, Haart was awful. 

 

Would also avoid any agents that have a reputation of forcing buyers to use their internal mortgage advisors/conveyancers, as it puts off potential buyers. I think Connells is one, but you can probably find out with a quick Google of reddit threads. 

Thank you, that's very helpful. I was boning up on James Sellicks earlier. I suspect the independents will be the way to go. 

[Grebfromgrebland]

On 05/08/2025 at 22:09, HighPeakFox said:

I will soon be having to sell my (recently deceased) mother's house in Oadby - anyone with any experience of local estate agents or with any good advice would be very much appreciated.

I know the Oadby market inside out having bought and sold in the area a few times recently. 

 

There is no one good estate agent, each seems to have their niche.

 

Let me know the street the house is on and I'll give you my 2p worth. You can DM or give a similar street if you don't want to divulge the actual street.

[Ian Nacho]

My partner and I are looking at some Taylor Wimpey new builds where they're offering £14k savers from a 3-bedroom, 2-bathroom end terrace priced at £280k. I've only been at my current mortgaged house for just under three years (still on my original fixed term) before I met my partner, but since then we're now looking for somewhere that's suitable for the both of us. Does anyone have any words of advice?

[Zear0]

35 minutes ago, Ian Nacho said:

My partner and I are looking at some Taylor Wimpey new builds where they're offering £14k savers from a 3-bedroom, 2-bathroom end terrace priced at £280k. I've only been at my current mortgaged house for just under three years (still on my original fixed term) before I met my partner, but since then we're now looking for somewhere that's suitable for the both of us. Does anyone have any words of advice?

Stay single

[Ian Nacho]

8 hours ago, Zear0 said:

Stay single

I knew someone would say this

 

[The Hitman]

We went to view a house Saturday and we love it. 
 

The only concern is it’s on a main road and the traffic noise is noticeable inside upstairs. There is carpet but not furniture or curtains in the two rooms affected, so I know they’d help if we bought it. 
 

Has anyone got any history with trying to soundproof windows? It’s double glazed now, I’d be happy to pay to upgrade to triple or sound limiting glass but I’d want to know they actually work before committing to the house and throwing money at the windows. 
 

I’ve been advised that you soon get used to it but it’s not something that I want to risk. 

[ajthefox]

3 hours ago, The Hitman said:

We went to view a house Saturday and we love it. 
 

The only concern is it’s on a main road and the traffic noise is noticeable inside upstairs. There is carpet but not furniture or curtains in the two rooms affected, so I know they’d help if we bought it. 
 

Has anyone got any history with trying to soundproof windows? It’s double glazed now, I’d be happy to pay to upgrade to triple or sound limiting glass but I’d want to know they actually work before committing to the house and throwing money at the windows. 
 

I’ve been advised that you soon get used to it but it’s not something that I want to risk. 

Triple glazed will be a noticeable upgrade on double acoustically. The acoustic benefit of triple glazed is likely to be more of an improvement proportionally than it will be thermally.

 

Worth thinking about the orientation of the windows and how long/when you'll want them open I.E south facing you're probably more likely to have open in summer when it's warmer

[danny.]

On 07/09/2025 at 13:06, The Hitman said:

We went to view a house Saturday and we love it. 
 

The only concern is it’s on a main road and the traffic noise is noticeable inside upstairs. There is carpet but not furniture or curtains in the two rooms affected, so I know they’d help if we bought it. 
 

Has anyone got any history with trying to soundproof windows? It’s double glazed now, I’d be happy to pay to upgrade to triple or sound limiting glass but I’d want to know they actually work before committing to the house and throwing money at the windows. 
 

I’ve been advised that you soon get used to it but it’s not something that I want to risk. 

Unless you soundproof everything the noise will still get in. With windows most installers will leave a 5-10mm gap (more depending on how good/bad they are) and fill it with trim and foam. So even if you had quadruple glazing, you still have this gap area, the frame, and trickle vents were noise will come in.

It might improve the noise though, depends on the structure of the rest of the house (i.e. if you have vents or other openings) and also how sensitive your ears are as to whether it's a solution or not.

[Greg2607]

I used to live in a house on a relatively busy main road through a village.  I absolutely DID get used to the sound.... however... when large lorries or tractors went past, the house used to shake/vibrate and you didn't get used to that at all. if you were relaxing, it used to knock you out of that relaxed state a little. 

 

As such, I've never lived on/near a main road again. 

 

some of that will depend on how close the house is to the road I guess.  For me, there was a pavement width and then probably the same space again before the front door. so no doubt that was a large contributing factor.  If you have a decent sized front garden, literally everything i've just said is a moot point! 

[Raj]

I used to live on Wakerley Road (General Hospital to Oadby main road)

It was HORRENDOUS!!!!

 

Like Greg said the house would shake when articulated lorries went passed, never again!!

[Chris_OGrady]

Can anyone recommend architects in Leicestershire/East Midlands for a two-storey house redevelopment/extension?

 

I did a bit of work on my old house, but I'm fairly clueless going into the process and I'm sure plenty of mistakes will be made... 

[kenny]

23 minutes ago, Chris_OGrady said:

Can anyone recommend architects in Leicestershire/East Midlands for a two-storey house redevelopment/extension?

 

I did a bit of work on my old house, but I'm fairly clueless going into the process and I'm sure plenty of mistakes will be made... 

I would recommend https://www.haywardarchitects.co.uk/

 

I know plenty of others if you need any other recommendations.

[Mickyblueeyes]

On 05/08/2025 at 22:09, HighPeakFox said:

I will soon be having to sell my (recently deceased) mother's house in Oadby - anyone with any experience of local estate agents or with any good advice would be very much appreciated.

Use Knightsbridge - they know the area and good people working there. Good local business.