Houses

[FoyleFox]

25 minutes ago, Leicester_Loyal said:

Had an offer accepted on a house last week, chuffed to bits, praying that it all goes well

Brilliant news.

[TiffToff88]

11 minutes ago, Leicester_Loyal said:

Was that the newbuild in Barkby Court? I remember seeing that, nice house.

Which one? My 3 bed or my sisters 2 bed from last week? Either way, they were both on the new estates off Barkby Road. The 3 bed semi on Empingham Drive and her 2 bed semi is on the other side of barkby road, the nicer of the 2 estates

[Leicester_Loyal]

9 minutes ago, TiffToff88 said:

Which one? My 3 bed or my sisters 2 bed from last week? Either way, they were both on the new estates off Barkby Road. The 3 bed semi on Empingham Drive and her 2 bed semi is on the other side of barkby road, the nicer of the 2 estates

Yeah the 2 bed, Saxby Drive.

 

Decent houses round there tbf, lack of a garage/big driveway always put me off though.

[Wolfox]

49 minutes ago, Leicester_Loyal said:

Had an offer accepted on a house last week, chuffed to bits, praying that it all goes well

Hallelujah!!!!

[TiffToff88]

4 minutes ago, Leicester_Loyal said:

Yeah the 2 bed, Saxby Drive.

 

Decent houses round there tbf, lack of a garage/big driveway always put me off though.

 

Yeah that's hers on Saxby Drive. She just had a new £12k kitchen put in about 6 months ago too. someone's got themselves a right bargain there!

[Nod.E]

2 hours ago, Leicester_Loyal said:

Had an offer accepted on a house last week, chuffed to bits, praying that it all goes well

Congrats!!!

 

If you didn't like Estate Agents, you wait until you have to deal with the solicitors

 

Mine's going at a snail's pace and has been since our offer was accepted at the end of Jan. Now had building survey back and all sorts to get quotes for before going back to vendor to negotiate on price. The thought of at any point adding time to the process and having to engage our solicitor fills me with dread. 

 

Never thought I'd be worried about the end of June stamp duty deadline but feels increasingly that it'll be there or thereabouts.

[Unabomber]

3 hours ago, Leicester_Loyal said:

Had an offer accepted on a house last week, chuffed to bits, praying that it all goes well

I had one accepted today, happy days and congrats mate. 

[FoyleFox]

1 hour ago, Nod.E said:

Congrats!!!

 

If you didn't like Estate Agents, you wait until you have to deal with the solicitors

 

Mine's going at a snail's pace and has been since our offer was accepted at the end of Jan. Now had building survey back and all sorts to get quotes for before going back to vendor to negotiate on price. The thought of at any point adding time to the process and having to engage our solicitor fills me with dread. 

 

Never thought I'd be worried about the end of June stamp duty deadline but feels increasingly that it'll be there or thereabouts.

Agreed. The further along you go the more stressful it becomes. Our buyers and their buyers plan to complete in April but remain in their properties. Our buyer has today advised we have to agree to complete by 30th June or they aren't proceeding. If our purchase hasn't completed by then, we rent our house back off them until it does. It's an extra level of knobbing about we could really do without!

[Milo]

5 hours ago, Leicester_Loyal said:

Had an offer accepted on a house last week, chuffed to bits, praying that it all goes well

Great news, mate.

 

You'd better give us all your address when you complete, cos you're going to be hosting one hell of a fvcking party...!!! 

[Leicester_Loyal]

Cheers for all the messages! It's been a long 10 months or so!

[ketteringscott]

2 hours ago, FoyleFox said:

Agreed. The further along you go the more stressful it becomes. Our buyers and their buyers plan to complete in April but remain in their properties. Our buyer has today advised we have to agree to complete by 30th June or they aren't proceeding. If our purchase hasn't completed by then, we rent our house back off them until it does. It's an extra level of knobbing about we could really do without!

Are they having a mortgage? If so, their lender will not agree to this

[FoyleFox]

1 hour ago, ketteringscott said:

Are they having a mortgage? If so, their lender will not agree to this

No,they aren't having a mortgage.

[newfox1]

Congrats to those that have theirs accepted! Also put in an offer m'self today. First offer on the property too after 5+ weeks on the market . Let's see.

 

Also, is it worth going with the estate agent's recommend solicitors to make things easier? What are the solicitor's costs , a rough figure would be great or does it depend on  the value of the house?

[Nalis]

1 hour ago, newfox1 said:

Congrats to those that have theirs accepted! Also put in an offer m'self today. First offer on the property too after 5+ weeks on the market . Let's see.

 

Also, is it worth going with the estate agent's recommend solicitors to make things easier? What are the solicitor's costs , a rough figure would be great or does it depend on  the value of the house?

At the minute I've heard of some solicitors refusing new work from non existing clients on conveyancing at the minute as they are at full capacity, probably due to the stamp duty deadlines. So a solicitor with a relationship with an estate agent might be more responsive than one you approach yourself. Saying that its still worth taking their name and vetting the solicitors via reviews etc yourself.

 

Costs vary regionally so not sure about Leicestershire but its more expensive if you are buying a leasehold property than a freehold property.

[Nalis]

14 hours ago, Nod.E said:

Congrats!!!

 

If you didn't like Estate Agents, you wait until you have to deal with the solicitors

 

Mine's going at a snail's pace and has been since our offer was accepted at the end of Jan. Now had building survey back and all sorts to get quotes for before going back to vendor to negotiate on price. The thought of at any point adding time to the process and having to engage our solicitor fills me with dread. 

 

Never thought I'd be worried about the end of June stamp duty deadline but feels increasingly that it'll be there or thereabouts.

What came up on the building survey that steered you toward renegotiations with the vendor? What is something non obvious when you put an offer in?

[rachhere]

3 hours ago, newfox1 said:

Congrats to those that have theirs accepted! Also put in an offer m'self today. First offer on the property too after 5+ weeks on the market . Let's see.

 

Also, is it worth going with the estate agent's recommend solicitors to make things easier? What are the solicitor's costs , a rough figure would be great or does it depend on  the value of the house?

The solicitor recommended by our estate agent was SO bad I ended up sacking them! Definitely the right thing to have done - if we had persisted with them I am convinced our sale would have fallen through as it was progressing so slowly. Just be careful - have a look at reviews and get a sense of their level of service. 

[Nod.E]

2 hours ago, Nalis said:

What came up on the building survey that steered you toward renegotiations with the vendor? What is something non obvious when you put an offer in?

Yeah, roof may need replacing.

 

We need to get a structural engineer to check some movement. Hopefully nothing but could require underpinning.

 

New boiler needed.

 

New consumer unit needed.

 

Also a damp issue relating to issues with the chimney stack.

 

We anticipated it would need some work as it's an Edwardian terrace which has clearly had an old dear in it for ages without any upkeep. But there's a bit more than we bargained for and the surveyor suggested we're well within our rights to ask for a bit of leeway.

[Footballwipe]

19 hours ago, Leicester_Loyal said:

Had an offer accepted on a house last week, chuffed to bits, praying that it all goes well

Oh my lord, this is AMAZING. Honestly, you've been looking for as long as my house sagas took place. If anyone deserves a stroke of luck and smooth process it's you.

 

Hoping for updates so, like, don't let us down.

[Nalis]

35 minutes ago, Nod.E said:

Yeah, roof may need replacing.

 

We need to get a structural engineer to check some movement. Hopefully nothing but could require underpinning.

 

New boiler needed.

 

New consumer unit needed.

 

Also a damp issue relating to issues with the chimney stack.

 

We anticipated it would need some work as it's an Edwardian terrace which has clearly had an old dear in it for ages without any upkeep. But there's a bit more than we bargained for and the surveyor suggested we're well within our rights to ask for a bit of leeway.

Ah I see, hope it works out in that case

[Wolfox]

Bloomin’ heck I like to put myself through it

 

i am getting quotes for a loft conversion and an extension 

 

Extension is a reasonable size, but, basic box…. No big steels as back of the house needs a very simple door knocking through to join the extension…. No major access issues as you can get a mini digger through and services / drains are relatively easy to access…. I was just quoted £2,300 per m2…. I nearly fell off my chair and then they added…. Didn’t include kitchen or fitting of kitchen…. Didn’t include flooring or fitting of flooring and also didn’t include anything on the patio i had asked for or the underfloor heating…

 

that is just incredible…. Are builders really quoting £2,3k per m2 for a basic shell and core on an easy extension???

 

i was expecting anything between £1200-£1400 per m2…. Is that way off?  I know materials are up, but, the 70% of this kind of work is always on labour…

[kingcarr21]

Deposit is now paid and Contract signed and sent back to solicitors who will receive today. Still pushing for a move on Monday but i doubt it. More likely going to be later next week. Hopefully before Thursday with bank holiday coming up.

 

Will keep you all posted.

[FoyleFox]

13 hours ago, Wolfox said:

Bloomin’ heck I like to put myself through it

 

i am getting quotes for a loft conversion and an extension 

 

Extension is a reasonable size, but, basic box…. No big steels as back of the house needs a very simple door knocking through to join the extension…. No major access issues as you can get a mini digger through and services / drains are relatively easy to access…. I was just quoted £2,300 per m2…. I nearly fell off my chair and then they added…. Didn’t include kitchen or fitting of kitchen…. Didn’t include flooring or fitting of flooring and also didn’t include anything on the patio i had asked for or the underfloor heating…

 

that is just incredible…. Are builders really quoting £2,3k per m2 for a basic shell and core on an easy extension???

 

i was expecting anything between £1200-£1400 per m2…. Is that way off?  I know materials are up, but, the 70% of this kind of work is always on labour…

That does seem steep. I'd be getting some additional quotes.  A couple of years back I asked a builder mate for ballpark costs for a house build, he said £1k -£2 per m2 depending on the finish, so including the fittings and install of them. We were researching the cost of extensions last year and the costs were nowhere near that - based on quotes for Leicestershire, regional variations do apply. That said, I'm sure someone recently posted they were part way through an extension and material costs, the wood IIRC, had increased by 50 or 70% due to Covid or Brexit..

[Wolfox]

1 hour ago, FoyleFox said:

That does seem steep. I'd be getting some additional quotes.  A couple of years back I asked a builder mate for ballpark costs for a house build, he said £1k -£2 per m2 depending on the finish, so including the fittings and install of them. We were researching the cost of extensions last year and the costs were nowhere near that - based on quotes for Leicestershire, regional variations do apply. That said, I'm sure someone recently posted they were part way through an extension and material costs, the wood IIRC, had increased by 50 or 70% due to Covid or Brexit..

Yes - it was me who said that regarding material inflation…. The overall cost of wood for the beams in an extension isn’t that dramatic anyway - more of an impact on the loft conversion…

 

The £1-2k for a new build includes all sorts of additional costs planning etc.  I’ve a mate who’s a commercial builder (small high end estates) and with sites offices  / pre lims / all sorts of other stuff they charge at £1.8k m2

 

Having slept on it I now feel annoyed as it would be abundantly clear on meeting me that I’m neither a novice when it comes to these things or a complete mug…. I can’t believe I was so polite when shooing him out of the door!

 

in the current climate I’d be happy with around £1.5k per m2 and then add the cost to acquire kitchen / appliances and tiles (I do hope it’s cheaper though!)

 

Will be using DIY kitchens - gets great reviews and for a mixture of units and quartz worktops there quote tool was coming out at £5k - pretty good !

 

I have contacted three more builders now and expecting quotes back from one on Monday…. Nobody good is available for a few months, so, happy to wait for the right person and of course price!!!

Edited 25 March 2021 by Wolfox

[FoyleFox]

7 minutes ago, Wolfox said:

Will be using DIY kitchens - gets great reviews and for a mixture of units and quartz worktops there quite tool was coming out at £5k - pretty good !

 

 

Assuming our sale/purchase goes through we'll need to refurb the new property, including the kitchen. We'd seen very good reviews for DIY Kitchens too, competitively priced, but typically it doesn't look like they do the handless kitchen we're wanting.

[Big Dave]

On 24/03/2021 at 05:49, newfox1 said:

Congrats to those that have theirs accepted! Also put in an offer m'self today. First offer on the property too after 5+ weeks on the market . Let's see.

 

Also, is it worth going with the estate agent's recommend solicitors to make things easier? What are the solicitor's costs , a rough figure would be great or does it depend on  the value of the house?

Many solicitors will have similar charges, but ring around for 2 or 3 quotes for comparison.

 

Do not go with one of the cheap ones from a comparison site - they rely on volume for their business, and their service is dreadful (speaking from experience here).

Go either for the one in the estate agents office, or one in your local village / town that you can go and visit.  It makes it much easier for signing documents, etc, rather than having to get copies, post them off, chase them to see if they have arrived, etc.

 

We sold a house recently (simple sale only) and it took 3-1/2 months until completion.  There are COVID delays with local searches.