Houses

[Tommy G]

39 minutes ago, Trumpet said:

The wind has knackered our fence, it’s currently propped up with a washing pole. Our neighbour’s not there at the moment, she’s been moved into a home and her daughter’s often over doing bits and bobs. I’m wondering if it’s on them to fix?

 

Attached an image of our title deeds. Our garden is 22. As I look out into the garden, the boundary that runs alongside the pavement and road is a wall.

 

One fence panel or the lot? If its causing an issue fix it yourself and try and get some £££ from your neighbour, rather than waiting....

[Trumpet]

Thanks for the replies. It happened today and my partners since popped a note through the daughters door as she’s local. Made sure it didn’t come across as passive aggressive.

 

Anyway, the neighbours son in law is out there as we speak fixing it in the pouring rain 

[brucey]

First time buyer and a bit clueless. Are guide prices generally a fair estimation of property value? Looking at a flat in Leicester city centre listed at 175k. One of the automated valuation websites is suggesting the value to be 125k. I can see the flat sold for 130k in 2016, but the last time a flat sold in this building was in 2019 so no idea how reliable the estimates are. Presumably I have to get an independent valuation (maybe as part of a surveyor report). Any recommendations? 

[Nalis]

1 hour ago, brucey said:

First time buyer and a bit clueless. Are guide prices generally a fair estimation of property value? Looking at a flat in Leicester city centre listed at 175k. One of the automated valuation websites is suggesting the value to be 125k. I can see the flat sold for 130k in 2016, but the last time a flat sold in this building was in 2019 so no idea how reliable the estimates are. Presumably I have to get an independent valuation (maybe as part of a surveyor report). Any recommendations? 

I dont know the local market but in general there are a few variables.

 

If the market is hot things might go for more than market value, if not then its the opposite. Different estate agents have different tactics (low guide price to incite people or high guide price in the hope might go close).

 

The only valuation you'll get will be via the surveyors report if you get one . I'd recommend you do this but your mortgage company will probably insist on it anyway.

 

Look at other flats recently sold in a similar area to a similar spec if you dont have a comparision in the same building. Everything adds up to the value. One might be in a higher spec but not have parking. One might have outside space or a balcony but not a lift if the building is particularly high.

 

If its a flat also consider how much service fees will be and how much they were, flipside on lifts is they add a fair chunk on. To top it off, had a mate who lived in a community of flats who had to pay service charge for lifts when his particular book didnt have any.

 

It all seems daunting but dont forget its exciting at the same time. Good luck with the search!

Edited 13 March 2023 by Nalis

[FoyleFox]

2 hours ago, brucey said:

First time buyer and a bit clueless. Are guide prices generally a fair estimation of property value? Looking at a flat in Leicester city centre listed at 175k. One of the automated valuation websites is suggesting the value to be 125k. I can see the flat sold for 130k in 2016, but the last time a flat sold in this building was in 2019 so no idea how reliable the estimates are. Presumably I have to get an independent valuation (maybe as part of a surveyor report). Any recommendations? 

As Nalis said, it can be variable depending on the current market. The automated valuation sounds very out, if one sold for £130k in 2016. Prices have increased considerably since 2019 too. The mad valuations of summer 2022 have calmed but, prices are still a lot higher than 2019. And the market is starting to move well again. The crash didn't happen and although interest rate are higher, they are slightly more stable.

Without knowing the details of the flat, it seems reasonable that something which sold for £130k in 2016 would now be £175k. Again, have a look for comparable property nearby and see the prices and sold prices (bear in mind, any sold prices for summer 2022 are probably a bit over the odds of reality now).

[Otis]

44 minutes ago, FoyleFox said:

As Nalis said, it can be variable depending on the current market. The automated valuation sounds very out, if one sold for £130k in 2016. Prices have increased considerably since 2019 too. The mad valuations of summer 2022 have calmed but, prices are still a lot higher than 2019. And the market is starting to move well again. The crash didn't happen and although interest rate are higher, they are slightly more stable.

Without knowing the details of the flat, it seems reasonable that something which sold for £130k in 2016 would now be £175k. Again, have a look for comparable property nearby and see the prices and sold prices (bear in mind, any sold prices for summer 2022 are probably a bit over the odds of reality now).

Yes, Houses would have increased considerably. Flats are a different kettle of fish. I know of some Flats that valuations have barely budged in 15 years. 

[Leicester_Loyal]

I’d avoid a flat completely if possible, just my opinion though. 

[lcfc278]

Has anyone on here had a double storey extension done to their house before?

 

How do you go about enquiring about having one done? Do you need to get a builder round to do a quote or do you need to get drawings done first by an architect?

 

Can't see us being able to move for a few years but need some more space and think an extension might be the way to go, but not sure how to go about starting the process. Any recommendations for the best approach?  

[Tommy G]

30 minutes ago, lcfc278 said:

Has anyone on here had a double storey extension done to their house before?

 

How do you go about enquiring about having one done? Do you need to get a builder round to do a quote or do you need to get drawings done first by an architect?

 

Can't see us being able to move for a few years but need some more space and think an extension might be the way to go, but not sure how to go about starting the process. Any recommendations for the best approach?  

Yes - We had quotes in 2019 which ranged from 70-90K plus VAT so embarked on project managing the whole thing myself, ordered every single brick and block from EH smiths and wheelbarrowed them round my back myself or with mates/family. Organised every tradesman we needed and paid them myself. It took 9 months, would I do it again? Absolutely not. I saved about £30K but it was a long old slog, painting beyond midnight and labouring for bricklayers etc. We had 14 skips in total all self loaded.

 

Bets of luck getting quotes from a one stop builder, I think you might be surprised how much it costs. My bricklayers went from £165 a day to over £200 at the start to end of the project.

 

If you want any info or contacts I have a great black book. All the best

 

Architect then builder, as the architect will determine what you can have from a planning perspective.

Edited 21 March 2023 by Tommy G

[lcfc278]

4 minutes ago, Tommy G said:

Yes - We had quotes in 2019 which ranged from 70-90K plus VAT so embarked on project managing the whole thing myself, ordered every single brick and block from EH smiths and wheelbarrowed them round my back myself or with mates/family. Organised every tradesman we needed and paid them myself. It took 9 months, would I do it again? Absolutely not. I saved about £30K but it was a long old slog, painting beyond midnight and labouring for bricklayers etc. We had 14 skips in total all self loaded.

 

Bets of luck getting quotes from a one stop builder, I think you might be surprised how much it costs. My bricklayers went from £165 a day to over £200 at the start to end of the project.

 

If you want any info or contacts I have a great black book. All the best

 

Architect then builder, as the architect will determine what you can have from a planning perspective.

Thanks for your reply! Out of interest, what kind of size was your extension in sq/metres? I think mine would be relatively small about 25-30 sq. metres footprint. I was thinking architect first would be right as I'm guessing we'll need plans for planning permission etc.?

 

Is it difficult to get a builder that will do the whole lot? I know a couple of brickies who I could speak to about the actual build but suppose it's all the groundworks at the beginning and then everything else.

 

Fair play managing it yourself though - the whole thing seems really daunting with everything that needs to be considered - not being the most 'handy' it would deffo be easier to just hand it over to someone else to manage.  

[Tommy G]

19 minutes ago, lcfc278 said:

Thanks for your reply! Out of interest, what kind of size was your extension in sq/metres? I think mine would be relatively small about 25-30 sq. metres footprint. I was thinking architect first would be right as I'm guessing we'll need plans for planning permission etc.?

 

Is it difficult to get a builder that will do the whole lot? I know a couple of brickies who I could speak to about the actual build but suppose it's all the groundworks at the beginning and then everything else.

 

Fair play managing it yourself though - the whole thing seems really daunting with everything that needs to be considered - not being the most 'handy' it would deffo be easier to just hand it over to someone else to manage.  

I'm not handy at all but I can lift bricks up some scaffolding on a saturday morning!

 

You can get a builder to do the whole lot but you will get that reflected in the price, you could get them to quote a watertight quote then find a plasterer, sparky and a plumber. It was 25m2 downstairs and we had a 10m2 bedroom on top. All open plan downstairs so had steels too which were £2.5k alone. Bi fold doors were £4K as an example of some bigger ticket items.

 

You will need plans unless its a permitted development.  

[brucey]

Offer accepted 

 

Now to sort a conveyancer... Got a couple online quotes which range from 1k - 1.8k. Is there much difference between them or should I just go for the cheapest among those with half decent reviews? My purchase should be a fairly straightforward one, no chain or mortgage involved with either party. 

[Raj]

3 hours ago, brucey said:

Offer accepted 

 

Now to sort a conveyancer... Got a couple online quotes which range from 1k - 1.8k. Is there much difference between them or should I just go for the cheapest among those with half decent reviews? My purchase should be a fairly straightforward one, no chain or mortgage involved with either party. 

Congratulations.

Definitely  read the reviews for conveyances.

I settled for a local firm when I sold my dads last year as they were comparable in price to online quotes I received and they had decent reviews.

 

 

[Spudulike]

On 21/03/2023 at 11:59, lcfc278 said:

Has anyone on here had a double storey extension done to their house before?

 

How do you go about enquiring about having one done? Do you need to get a builder round to do a quote or do you need to get drawings done first by an architect?

 

Can't see us being able to move for a few years but need some more space and think an extension might be the way to go, but not sure how to go about starting the process. Any recommendations for the best approach?  

Be prepared for chaos and mess whilst they do it. You have to tough it out especially if you plan to live in the house. It took 10 months for our single storey extension (about 30m) to be completed (delayed by floor levels and shit). Oh, yeah and an effing tree with a preservation order. 

 

We went... 

Architect (staged payments) :

Planning consent if needed (check on Planning Portal or ask the planning department (good luck with that!) :

Structural enginer:

Building control:

 

Then hand over the package to a builder. Get several quotes but don't necessarily opt for the cheapest. Look at previous jobs and get references. And never pay up front but agree payments after each stage of the build. 

 

I questioned my sanity several times during the build but it's worth it now it's  finished. I'd never do it again though. 

[vandamman]

On 21/03/2023 at 11:59, lcfc278 said:

Has anyone on here had a double storey extension done to their house before?

 

How do you go about enquiring about having one done? Do you need to get a builder round to do a quote or do you need to get drawings done first by an architect?

 

Can't see us being able to move for a few years but need some more space and think an extension might be the way to go, but not sure how to go about starting the process. Any recommendations for the best approach?  

It would be a good idea to get plans produced as spending a bit of money upfront could save you a lot of money and time during the build. Plus any good builder won’t be able to give you an accurate price without plans and you will need for building regulations anyway.

 

I’d say get some quotes for plans from local architects and architectural technologists and take it from there. 

[FoyleFox]

5 hours ago, brucey said:

Offer accepted 

 

Now to sort a conveyancer... Got a couple online quotes which range from 1k - 1.8k. Is there much difference between them or should I just go for the cheapest among those with half decent reviews? My purchase should be a fairly straightforward one, no chain or mortgage involved with either party. 

I got a recommendation from a friend who'd just moved. Solicitors did absolutely everything online and via email, which was great. 

[Raj]

Weekend looks grim so decided to regret the ensuite which no matter what I've tried to use the grout still looks shite.

Watched a few youtube videos and bought all the kit from screwfix.

Looks okay enough yo do, but no doubt I will make a complete ballad up and after a few hours wish I hadn't started!!!

[LCFCJohn]

On 27/03/2023 at 18:00, brucey said:

Offer accepted 

 

Now to sort a conveyancer... Got a couple online quotes which range from 1k - 1.8k. Is there much difference between them or should I just go for the cheapest among those with half decent reviews? My purchase should be a fairly straightforward one, no chain or mortgage involved with either party. 

Congratulations!

 

In my experience, you will see a difference with the conveyancer/solicitor. When we bought our house, the estate agent who had marketed the property said they can’t advise but that a lot of clients used one across the road so we went to them too. The vendors we were buying from for some reason, used one in Norwich (the house they were selling to us and moving on to were both in South Yorkshire) so not sure what the link.

 

Anyway the one in Rotherham that we were using were excellent and very communicative by solicitor standards. It was the one in Norwich that held things up and made mistakes.

 

So I’d say local is good, if there’s a recommendation is good too or if there is one you know the estate agent you are dealing with have a link to. Those things if they can give you a better service and less stress are worth a small extra cost if that’s the case!

[Wolfox]

On 21/03/2023 at 11:59, lcfc278 said:

Has anyone on here had a double storey extension done to their house before?

 

How do you go about enquiring about having one done? Do you need to get a builder round to do a quote or do you need to get drawings done first by an architect?

 

Can't see us being able to move for a few years but need some more space and think an extension might be the way to go, but not sure how to go about starting the process. Any recommendations for the best approach?  

Had major work done 18 months ago 

 

Architect first…. Make sure they do the technical requirements (I’ve seen some that don’t)…  you won’t get any meaningful quote otherwise 

 

Ask your architect to recommend building control

 

Stick to permitted development if you can

 

Similar to @Tommy G I project managed mine to a degree…. My builder quoted the labour (all trades) and I did the sourcing…

 

Yes it was a little painful at times, but there is no way I could’ve got all the work done and kept the budget in check…. 
 

My top tips are be prepared for dust and mess…. 
 

Spend on the core of the house - flooring/ windows etc.   and try and get a deal on everything (be prepared to research and haggle)…

 

I wrote an 8 page schedule of work document on everything I wanted doing in order to avoid conversations over what was and was not included…

 

I had an amazing builder, who kept to his word and his price…

 

i was getting quotes for >£50k more than I actually parted with, so was worth the pain and made sure I kept on top of the quality and requirements…. 

[Spudulike]

My other tip would be don't have it done in the winter if you can possibly avoid it. We scheduled ours in to start in April and fortunately we had that heatwave summer which was just as well given that we had no gas boiler for 3 months! Not sure how we would've coped otherwise, so grim. 

[FoyleFox]

11 minutes ago, Spudulike said:

My other tip would be don't have it done in the winter if you can possibly avoid it. We scheduled ours in to start in April and fortunately we had that heatwave summer which was just as well given that we had no gas boiler for 3 months! Not sure how we would've coped otherwise, so grim. 

I concur. We had building work going on from mid-Nov to mid-Feb last year, and it makes the experience a lot worse.

[Tommy G]

44 minutes ago, Wolfox said:

Had major work done 18 months ago 

 

Architect first…. Make sure they do the technical requirements (I’ve seen some that don’t)…  you won’t get any meaningful quote otherwise 

 

Ask your architect to recommend building control

 

Stick to permitted development if you can

 

Similar to @Tommy G I project managed mine to a degree…. My builder quoted the labour (all trades) and I did the sourcing…

 

Yes it was a little painful at times, but there is no way I could’ve got all the work done and kept the budget in check…. 
 

My top tips are be prepared for dust and mess…. 
 

Spend on the core of the house - flooring/ windows etc.   and try and get a deal on everything (be prepared to research and haggle)…

 

I wrote an 8 page schedule of work document on everything I wanted doing in order to avoid conversations over what was and was not included…

 

I had an amazing builder, who kept to his word and his price…

 

i was getting quotes for >£50k more than I actually parted with, so was worth the pain and made sure I kept on top of the quality and requirements…. 

Looking back I managed to get my entire roof insulation off a guy round the corner who had it left over, I gave him a case of Peroni. I managed to pay my kitchen 18 months after it was installed too, pretty sure you couldn' get that deal now. So many examples of haggling and sourcing stuff, depends how confident you are in that arena will be how successful you can be in getting what you need.

[Ian Nacho]

Any ideas to what may be causing this damp around my fireplace? My house is early 1900s so solid brick wall construction and I’ve been getting this weird damp area around the fireplace since I’ve moved in. Whenever I put a dehumidifier on in the room for a few hours it 90% dries up but within a few hours it’s back, seemingly getting worse when I put my heating on. From what I’ve researched so far it may be caused by the fireplace not being sealed up properly as there is no external ventilation external to the chimney but I just wondered if there was anyone on here with any expertise as I don’t really fancy getting ripped off by some so called damp expert injecting stuff into my walls which does nothing. 

[Otis]

1 hour ago, Ian Nacho said:

Any ideas to what may be causing this damp around my fireplace

Just to rule out a leak. Is your water meter still ticking over with all taps off?

[Ian Nacho]

30 minutes ago, Otis said:

Just to rule out a leak. Is your water meter still ticking over with all taps off?

Water meter is fine. No leak.