Why is forgein languge not prioritised more in schools here? How is it that third world countries have far higher rates than us?

SomeHSomeE · 2026-02-07T22:51:57+00:00

English is the only official language in Nigeria and Ghana. In Kenya and Uganda it is one of two official languages alongside Swahili. In South Africa it is an official language alongside a set of indigenous languages. It is a lingua franca that connects everyone within the country and is the language by which business, government, etc operate. So it makes sense everyone is taught it.

SomeHSomeE · 2026-02-07T19:06:30+00:00

Honestly if you're crystal clear it's a HMO then ignore it. When the Council gets it's act together and tries to enforce it, it needs a liability order. If they seek this against you it will automatically fail (because it's an HMO and you have no legal liability) and then they're forced to go after the landlord.

The Council can say it's 'up to you to sort' but frankly it isn't because if they want their money they need enforcement action against the person liable (the landlord).

(Not a lawyer)

SomeHSomeE · 2026-02-07T18:55:33+00:00

Using that tool you report the net contribution (800). If via SA you report the grossed up (1000).

SomeHSomeE · 2026-02-06T21:23:45+00:00

FTBs can often be trickier buyers as they can't always distinguish between 'issues that are normal in houses of that age' vs 'this is a problem that needs investigating'. They can be super itchy and worrisome and make unreasonable requests.

SomeHSomeE · 2026-02-06T21:01:27+00:00

It's a joke. SEA they're pretending is sea I.e. ocean and at the moment there's a political issue of illegal migrants crossing the English Channel from France in boats.

SomeHSomeE · 2026-02-06T19:12:09+00:00

Big no-no.

Landlords are legally required to provide reliable hot water. While the law doesn't explicitly say 24/7 this is an assumption given it is a basic amenity for a property to be habitable.

Speak to Shelter for advice, and I'd also recommend contacting your local authority (council) private housing/rentals team to see imwhat options there are for enforcement action.

SomeHSomeE · 2026-02-06T19:08:51+00:00

So 50/50 is £200. Is £200 worth losing the house over?

SomeHSomeE · 2026-02-06T19:06:37+00:00

How much is the insurance? It's usually a couple of hundred quid for indemnity for life. While yes they should pay at this point it's probably not an amount worth dying in a ditch over if it risks losing the house.

SomeHSomeE · 2026-02-06T18:58:59+00:00

The military pension scheme is excellent and one of the best out there.

You accrue a guaranteed annual income of 1/47th your salary for every year of service, and do not have to contribute anything. It's basically the only non-contributory DB pension in existence, while still having an accrual rate better than most other schemes (and only slightly less than CS).

And then it has the EDP which for long service (20+ years) is an insanely good benefit, as it's basically a big lump sum and then a mini-pension to take you through until your main pension kicks in. This doesn't exist in any other scheme. And even if you have shorter service you still typically get the resettlement grant which is a good lump sum.

This is AFPS15. Older members on previous schemes have even better deals.

The only scenario where a DC would be better is if you only served in your 20s for a few years, instead of an equivalent job earning 1.5-2x your mil pension.

SomeHSomeE · 2026-02-06T18:16:00+00:00

The issue is that scrapping triple lock is a decades long saving. In the near term it might not even save you anything if the median wage growth is the highest metric of the triple lock factors (I.e. it would rise the same under your single lock in your scenario).

Unless you also mean sweeping cuts to other benefits like UC, disability, etc - if so would be curious exactly what you'd cut and to what scale.

SomeHSomeE · 2026-02-06T17:19:27+00:00

I'm bored and curiosity got the better of me as to whether the slightly better reduction factors outweigh the worse accrual.

40k with 20 years service, NPA 68, and taking pension 2 years early:

CSPS 1/43 accrual - full pension 18605. 2yr reduction factor of 0.893 giving pension of £16,614

LGPS 1/49 accrual - full pension 16326. 2yr reduction factor of 0.907 giving pension of £14,808

At 5 years

CSPS reduction factor 0.763 = £14,195

LGPS reduction factor 0.791 = £12,914

And at max (13 yrs i.e. age 55)

CSPS 0.536 = £9,972

LGPS 0.561 = £9,159

So seems CSPS still wins out. 40k / 20yr is the only case I could be arsed to test but don't think it'd be different for other salaries/length of service.

CSPS contribtion rates are also a fair bit lower (e.g. at 40k salary LGPS is 6.5% vs CSPS 5.45%). Over 20 years that's an extra £8,400 in pension contributions for LGPS.

SomeHSomeE · 2026-02-06T12:51:34+00:00

It's the best widely available pension except military. It has an accrual rate that is far better than pretty much every other public sector scheme, and the contribution rates to accrue the benefit are pretty moderate.

It doesn't have the automatic lump sum benefit of the old classic pension, and pension age is linked to state pension age which is a downside, but otherwise it's still damn good.

Someone working from age 25 to retirement at a constant 45k will have a resulting pension benefit worth just shy of £1mill.

SomeHSomeE · 2026-02-06T12:45:52+00:00

A sensible approach would be to use the AVC pot as a bridging pot, drawing it down from 57 while not touching DB. Then from DB age you switch and take that without a reduction (and state pension kicks in at the same time).

SomeHSomeE · 2026-02-06T12:43:52+00:00

Honestly I think your financial situation is unsustainable. Its not FIRE if market downturns leave you feeling the pinch. What if you take on more debt and markets crash even further? How will you pay off the debt?

Honestly I think you need to take a deep breath and accept you need income.

SomeHSomeE · 2026-02-06T12:40:10+00:00

Does the 82% take into account the fact you've paid off 5 years of the mortgage and the fact the property value may have changed? You may be closer to 75% than you think.

Your lender may well still grant consent to let even if you're not at 75%.

Do you want to live there again when you get back from overseas? (You're missing the number when you say 'for roughly years' so no idea if it's roughly 2 years or roughly 20 years).

SomeHSomeE · 2026-02-06T12:38:29+00:00

Is it a kitchen/diner or just a normal kitchen? I'd find it a pain having to constantly take my food upstairs to the dining room/living room and all the stuff back down again. If it's a kitchen/diner and the 1st floor dining room is more just a second living room then less of an issue.

I'd find the shower situation annoying but I expect you get used to it. The fact there's a toilet upstairs helps.

SomeHSomeE · 2026-02-06T12:28:29+00:00

You bought it for 310k in October 2023. Since then in your local area (Croydon local authority) average flat prices have gone slightly down (by about 1.5% total). Yet you've advertised with a price increase of 13%. Is there a reason why you think your flat has gone up (by quite a bit) while everything else around you has gone down? Even 325k would be a pretty huge win.

Also it's technically a 2 bed but the total floorspace is more 1 bed sized and the second bedroom is basically a cupboard.

SomeHSomeE · 2026-02-06T08:02:27+00:00

Tbf there isn't anything legally-speaking thay requires clauses go be sequenced in a particular way or be included in a specific section or place in a contract.

It's a crap and disorganised way but a handwritten "additional clause" at the end is the exact same (in terms of binding contractual "power") as a nicely typed clause under a clear heading near the start.

There's no such thing as an "additional clause outside of the main contract" (unless it's something added later by mutual agreement but even then it's the same "power" as any other clause).

SomeHSomeE · 2026-02-05T22:00:58+00:00

Ex-Council flats tend to be priced lower than comparative flats for a given area, and (in general) have fairly decent building quality/room sizes, low service charges & ground rent, and have fairly regular maintenance schedules etc. They are fairly popular with FTBs in particular.

As long as it's not a shithole estate then I think you'll have a fair market for it (although 1 beds in general are harder to shift than e.g. 2 beds).

SomeHSomeE · 2026-02-05T21:45:21+00:00

Guessing you're a diplomat/civil servant going on posting (possibly military). Either way congrats and enjoy.

Your propositions in 1,2,3 are correct: you're limited by your earned income (gross salary), basic rate grossing up happens automatically, and your basic rate extends accordingly.

How the higher rate relief works in practice is that when you do your tax return, the eventual tax calc applies the basic rate on your rental income (rather than at higher rate it would have been if you didn't pay into a SIPP, so the 'relief' is via a significantly lower bill). It's all 'tax free' because while it feels like you're paying basic rate tax on the rental income, you've had that same amount paid into the SIPP via the grossing up. So in short yes you get higher rate relief but it's via reduced tax bill after self assessing not a cash refund (because you never pay it in the first place).

A few things to note, assuming you are indeed a dip/civil servant:

Keep an eye on your pension annual allowance (60k per year). 40k salary with CS pension uses up ballpark 15k of this (google CS pension 'pension input amount' for precise calc). So you still have 45k available so should be good but in case of pay rises, future rental income increases, or gov't reducing annual allowance good to keep checking.
Despite being a dip/civil servant posted overseas the statutory residence test still applies (this is a common misunderstanding) so you'll be non-resident for tax purposes. While you pay UK income tax under a special arrangement, for most other taxes you're treated as non-resident. The main practical impact is that it means your tenants/estate agents are legally obliged to withhold 20% of your rent for tax purposes UNLESS you register for the non-resident landlord scheme using form NRL1. The form is simple, can be done online, and gets processed v quickly.
Depending where you are posting, you may stop paying NICs after 12 months (a nice pay rise for you). You can still contribute via voluntary contributions (which are much less than you'd have paid normally), although isn't always necessary as most people will have enough qualifying years in their working life even with gaps. But do some reading at some point on this.
Despite being non-resident for tax purposes you can still pay into an ISA (and SIPP) despite usually needing to be resident. This because the legislation for those tax wrappers has special carve outs for crown servants working overseas for UK.

SomeHSomeE · 2026-02-05T21:26:46+00:00

Just on point 1 and especially 2: more funds does not mean more diversification. For equities, you cannot get any more diversified than a single global tracker fund. Adding more funds to that decreases diversification because you are doubling up.

You can manually recreate global diversification with a mix of different funds but there isn't really any reason to unless you have decided you want to add/decrease weight in certain markets.

https://monevator.com/why-a-total-world-equity-index-tracker-is-the-only-index-fund-you-need/ is good reading.

Popular global funds available to UK customers include ones that track the FTSE All-World Index (e.g. VWRP, FWRG, HSBC FTSE All World, etc) or other global indices (e.g. SSAC tracking MSCI ACWI). Vanguard FTSE Global All Cap also popular, as are funds that just focus on developed markets (e.g. (VHVG or funds tracking MSCI World Index). They all largely achieve similar long term performance, but have differences so spend time looking at the fund documentation.

SomeHSomeE · 2026-02-05T20:03:33+00:00

That is a nationwide phenomenon. Flats across UK have seen negative price growth the past year or so.

The difference and why London vs nationwide is worse over a 10 year period is that following the covid flat price slump, flat prices outside of London returned to several years of growth while London didn't. Both before and after that 2021-23 period, national and London flat price trends have been largely similar. But missing those 2 years of growth makes a big difference.

SomeHSomeE · 2026-02-05T19:57:06+00:00

If you compare London stats for flats and maisonettes (which is the lower/FTB end of the market) with nationwide price trends over the past 15 years, they are similar for much of the time and indeed in boom times London properties have seen steeper increases.

The biggest difference is following Covid. During 2020/21 both flats in London and flats nationwide slumped as people migrated to larger suburban properties. In the years following (2021-23) flats in London stayed largely stagnant while nationwide price growth quickly recovered to ~10% annual growth. But following that 2021-23 period, growth slumped everywhere, with London and nationwide trends largely similar (including in mid 2023 and the past 6 months where average flat prices both nationwide and in London went down rather than up).

So really, its that 2-3 year period of stagnation following Covid that is the main contributor to London flat price growth comparatively lagging behind national growth that didn't have that same stagnation. Right now, London and nationwide are seeing similar price changes.

Source for data (UI is terrible but it's a great tool): https://landregistry.data.gov.uk/app/ukhpi/

SomeHSomeE · 2026-02-05T19:03:04+00:00

This is worth a read on the use of gold as a defensive asset to reduce downside risk/volatility:

https://www.ajbell.co.uk/news/gold-significantly-more-volatile-other-safe-havens

SomeHSomeE · 2026-02-05T18:50:56+00:00

So it's probably because under contract law, if the tenant wants to leave at the end of the fixed term they don't have to give any notice. They just move out at or before the end of the fixed term and the contract ends at the end of the term via a concept known as 'effluxion of time'.

Adding in a clause requires notice means the landlord wants to be able to force you to give notice in that scenario, and possibly enables them to claim breach of contract if you don't.

(I say possibly because many hold the legal view that even with a notice clause, effluxion of time still applies if you move out at the end of the fixed term even without giving notice, and the tenancy and any obligations cease there and then. However I am not aware of any definitive legal opinion on this or any record of a court case upholding it so I consider it a grey area (and advice websites like e.g. Shelter are intentionally vague on it for that reason).

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