>>454899 I'm gently stalking my old house on rightmove. It's now going round for the fourth time, sold STC three times so far. Perhaps it's not really going to go for £100K more than they paid five years ago?
Talking to an intern at work, he's paying £900 a month for a room in a shared house. A quick check of the maths, and even that isn't enough to cover the mortgage, running it as an HMO. Fuck's sake, world's gone mad.
>>455302 I was outbid on a house in 2015 that ultimately went for £185k, which was well over the asking price. A similar house on the same street sold for £160k that year, which has just gone back on the market for £260k, so they're hoping for growth of about 63% in seven years. I can't see them getting that much, especially as the estate was built over a former mining pit and I've heard that recent soil testing detected poison across the neighbourhood.
I might have said this before because I discovered it months ago, but today was the big day when I finally moved into the house I bought. I paid £178,000 for it. In 2001, it sold for £10,400. So its annual increase in value for the previous owners is pretty close to its entire value when they bought it.
Pretty sure we started buying around the same time, only I'm still arsing about getting the solicitors to pull their fingers out. Had to get an extension on the mortgage offer, and if we're not done by Christmas I think it's just going to fall through entirely frankly.
Such is life. But if the two of you could try and will me some luck I would appreciate it. I am becoming very disheartened.
>>456628 >Also also, has housebuyinglad moved yet and fucked his garden over?
Probably ran out of money due to vet bills after his girlfriend insisted on buying one of those French bulldogs. You can't complete the new build aesthetic without a dog that can't breathe properly.
>>456628 >Also also, has housebuyinglad moved yet and fucked his garden over?
There were two of us. Mine wasn't a new-build house, but was instead a former council house inhabited by an old lady who'd died. According to the neighbours, and indeed other evidence that has since become apparent, she died at any time up to four years ago, and the house was empty between then and when I moved in in December. I haven't fucked my garden up, but it looks horrific and it has a monumental pile of rubbish in it because I haven't paid for a skip yet. I made a point to insist on the rubbish being left, because it had some very useful tools in there, but the fuckers took all those and just left the paint cans and rolled-up carpets and other shite. So it could be argued that I might have fucked my garden up, indeed.
I'm the other one, but mine doesn't have a garden because it's an ex-council flat. However I am going to get some bamboo and fake leaves and all that, and decorate the balcony like a faux tropical cocktail bar, for the summer. My partner bought me a little lime tree to grow, also.
In fact to me having a balcony is posher than having a garden. It feels like being on holiday, because at all other times in my life I've only ever had a balcony on holiday, and there's zero maintenance.
>>456630 Going by what they've done to the garden it won't be the only thing underwater about that house.
>>456631 >>456632 There were 3 of us. I ended up whinging about how expensive it all is but as it turns out once I finally got to the position of buying a house I've not been arsed. Worried about finding a partner outside of the M25 now I'm in my 30s, I'd have to mess about getting a car and the thought of selling off my investment at the moment makes me angry.
>>456632 Did you get one of those ultra-rare freehold ones or go up to Scotland?
Nah, it's a leasehold, but the term is still for another 100 years, and it was so cheap relative to a house of comparable interior space that I don't give a fuck. I spent a while looking into it before I pulled the trigger and really, there's pros and cons like with anything. There's a service charge on top of the mortgage, which means you pay a bit more each month, but on the upside that money goes into a communal fund which covers structural repairs and upgrades etc so you're never going to suddenly out of pocket for a leak or something. Ground rent is apparently a thing of the past now.
If it wasn't ex-council I'd be a bit more apprehensive because you'd know the management company are going to be robbing bastards who are just out to gouge you on everything, but when it's a local authority or housing association, I reckon it's a pretty safe investment. And also it's not a massive tower block thing, I definitely wouldn't buy one of those, it's one of those low-rise blocks full of pensioners.
>>456634 >If it wasn't ex-council I'd be a bit more apprehensive because you'd know the management company are going to be robbing bastards who are just out to gouge you on everything, but when it's a local authority or housing association, I reckon it's a pretty safe investment.
Sorry to burst your bubble ladm8 but I've definitely heard of flat owners having to fork out decent chunks of money for their share of repair work the council are doing as freehold owners.
That is a seven year old article and legislation has, believe it or not (and I know it's fucking shocking considering our government, but it has) been introduced to stop, or at least mitigate, such practice- That's why the service charges now go into a shared fund, which the management are obligated to give you fully transparent accounts for, and there's no such thing as ground rent any more. I believe it was a Michael Gove pet project, and discovering that made me rather rethink my assumptions of him.
On mine there's work to be done on the cladding but they sent through all the plans and estimated costs and showed that it was to be paid for out of the reserve fund. They're also obligated to consult with leaseholders on who does the work, so if they do try to pull a fast one with some money-pit contractor, the tenants can collectively tell them to do one and hire somebody else.
I'm not too worried, frankly. A step on the property ladder is worth the risk, better than continuing to piss my money up the wall to a private landlord.
>legislation has, believe it or not (and I know it's fucking shocking considering our government, but it has) been introduced to stop, or at least mitigate, such practice
This is cynical but I'd imagine it was done for the benefit of investor landlords not to have massive unforseen bills suddenly spoiling their cash cow portfolio, and the fact it benefits owner occupiers is just a happy accident.
I don't know if it's specifically a newish build estate thing, but I've noticed a lot of houses round here have started putting coloured LED strips in their bedrooms. On my street there's at least three houses with rooms glowing red, two glowing blue, one purple and one which changes colours.
I think you might be partially right. This has become a trend for themed rooms, e.g. gaming, collection, or hobby rooms. Doubly so if that person takes videos or pictures in that room for social media.
I do hate plastic lawns. Just imagine how foetid the whole estate will smell in summer when there's no natural biodegradation. You just have everyone hosing dog shit off their astroturf in the baking heat of the sun, with nowhere for it to go.
I assume that dirt will accumulate on it, weeds will grow on that and through the fabric, and you'll have to spray it with roundup (or fire) after a couple of years. Yay.
(I have some offcuts here that I use as pathways over gravel to stop horse hooves picking up so many stones, so I'm probably a cunt, too, but at least I'm not pretending it's grass, or anything other than a reasonably sturdy fabric. )
>The number of homes available to rent in the UK has fallen by a third over the past 18 months.
>The sharp drop in the number of listings has helped drive up rents for new tenants by 11%. Lettings agencies typically have 10 rentals compared to over 16 before September 2021, figures shared with the BBC by property website Zoopla show.
>The number of rental properties UK hasn't actually fallen. In fact, it has barely moved since 2016. But people like Ruth are finding it difficult because they're competing with far more other people in their search for a home. Demand for rented accommodation has risen to more than fifty per cent above normal levels, Zoopla's figures show.
>Zoopla draws its information from listings on its website, which cover 85% of UK properties listed for rent. People who want to move but can't find anywhere new are having to stay put. That means their old place doesn't become available for someone else to move into. And with people unable to move, fewer properties become vacant and appear in the estate agent's window. And even if people are lucky enough to find somewhere suitable, they're likely to have to pay much more than they did before.
>"We've seen a big increase in demand for rented housing from record high immigration, the economy reopening [after the pandemic]," said Richard Donnell, executive director for research at Zoopla. "But at the same time, we just haven't seen much new investment by landlords in rented housing. And that's creating a real crunch in availability."
>Though the number of people needing a rental property has soared, landlords haven't able to meet that need. Higher mortgage rates, tax changes and new regulations for rented properties have made it more difficult and less profitable to buy houses and offer them for rent.
>Large numbers of landlords are leaving the market - 11% of homes for sale on Zoopla were previously rented. For others, short-term lets such holiday lets or Airbnb offer better returns than long-term tenants. Zoopla has seen a three-fold increase in short-term lets since 2019. But with private renters spending on average almost a third of their income on rent, Mr Donnell and other experts believe rents can't go on increasing, as people simply won't be able to pay any more.
>>457196 >short-term lets such holiday lets or Airbnb offer better returns than long-term tenants
Do people even use Airbnb anymore? I'm willing to bet Mr Zoopla has a vested interest in rolling back some of Gove's new tenant rights more than anything else.
>>459010 It's interesting when you think of how humans are hardwired to prefer landscapes that project feelings of security and plenty. The classic tree of a hill surrounded by woodland. But this, this just fires all the neurons in your brain about getting out because you're going to be cornered in one of those boxes.
You'd think if you were going to take a picture like this you would sort out the garden first or at least move your makeup kit.
I've always had this fantasy that I'd be successful enough to own multiple properties globally.
It would be a bit shit to buy somewhere, do it up and then realise the locals think you're a cunt.
How do I avoid being a cunt? Is it as simple as just not buying anything in areas already struggling with housing? What about places that have largely been abandoned, am I a soulless opportunist if I buy a near-ruin in a lovely bit of Italy then pour money into making it nice?
>>460952 I don't know if you can be a landlord without being a cunt but if you wanted to try, I'd suggest buying properties that don't fit the local aesthetic, either because they're run down or the previous owners had shit taste. Use local contractors to do them up to not just be nice but look like they belong there; their original styles of you can. Then rent them out to locals at rents they can afford, don't price them out or make it holiday lets.
Is this Britain's tackiest garden? Homeowner slammed for ripping up family's 'beautiful' lawn and laying fake grass but says he had 'no choice' because it was 'a jungle'
>>462754 >>462755 And I thought my neighbour pulling out the wall growing plants and mowing the lawn too close was bad. It's an absolute shame to think the ammount of wildlife lost to that - not just bugs and insects but birds and small mammals too.
Someone should print and post this image through their doorbell.
It does make sense that the bloke doesn't want to keep up the garden - it would take a lot of time especially if you've no interest in doing so .. but this is a travesty.
>>462758 >It does make sense that the bloke doesn't want to keep up the garden - it would take a lot of time especially if you've no interest in doing so .. but this is a travesty.
How much does a gardener cost anyway? Putting myself in his shoes I'd definately feel overwhelmed to take on maintenance for a garden that has taken decades to cultivate and which has the neighbours peering over the fence and tutting. I bet the garden isn't the only thing they talk about either, I hear that sometimes he doesn't bring his bins in until the next day and seems to know a thing or two about computers too. No wife either which I'm not too surprised about, if you know what I mean.
Anyway, what I'd so is a slow conversion that turns it into mostly meadow with a small plot for things I'm messing about with. I'd keep a gardener to maintain what I've inherited while I slowly turn it into my own garden, year-by-year more and more meadow so that the neighbours gets used to it first instead of chasing me out of the community. Although I probably wouldn't buy a 3-bed for myself in the first place as maintaining even a small property by yourself has enough odd jobs to keep it ticking over.
A new family moved onto the street last year, with the man working some form of trade. So far they have replaced the entire back garden with decking, bought a hot tub, replaced all of the windows/fascias grey and installed LED lights inside their rooms. They are currently in the process of digging up the lovely front garden they inherited and paving it over so they have a second parking space.
The house next to mine was bought by a Persian family two years ago. It had been suffering neglect because the person living in it became increasingly frail and then went into a home, and her children spent a long time bickering over what they wanted to do with the house, without anybody living in it or even looking after it in a meaningful way during that time. And naturally, when they finally sold, there were signs of neglect all over the property, from unmowed grass and out of control weeds and bushes to roof shingles falling off.
The Persians have been doing the house up nicely, but at some point they went and covered the lawn and flower beds in front of the house with coarse gravel and concrete tiles. They left a few bushes standing to keep it from looking too barren, but it really looks a bit soulless. Apparently they are both very busy business owners and don't have the time, but if your business is doing well then surely you can hire somebody to do your gardening for you.
I've gone the other way and there's a handful of well looked after tall trees and bushes in front of my house. It's a real front garden that deserves the name. And it's a lot more eco friendly these days than my neighbours' polar landscape.
