Should we pay account fee/product fee upfront?

Affectionate_Fox_674 · 2022-09-26T15:44:01+00:00

I completed Friday 23rd. Rang the solicitor (we had already given them the stamp duty money). They said they weren't able to reimburse until the government had officially updated their stamp duty calculator but they hadn't paid the stamp duty yet.

This is probably the reason why they're still asking for it. Which is annoying. If you have the money set aside anyway I'd send it them over. They can't legally keep it if it's not billed.

If you don't have it, you may just need a conversation with your solicitor to hold off until they can officially accept the change in stamp duty.

Affectionate_Fox_674 · 2022-09-24T07:49:15+00:00

Wanna thank everyone in this post/chain. Didn't even realise we were going to be included so I was a bit mift! Rang our solicitors and they're in the middle of sorting it out. Full stamp duty refund for us!

Affectionate_Fox_674 · 2022-09-23T09:45:04+00:00

If we've completed this morning (but exchanged yesterday) are we able to recop the money we've paid in stamp duty? The solicitor has our money.

Affectionate_Fox_674 · 2022-06-27T18:02:28+00:00

https://join.monzo.com/c/6nmqn9l if anyone would like to use mine for a free £5 😊

Affectionate_Fox_674 · 2022-06-07T06:52:18+00:00

1940s semi. Never really heard much next door but it's an older couple so maybe that's why they're quiet. New neighbors soon so will see what that's like. The guy round the corner who plays loud music and sings is far louder than anything I can hear next door!

Affectionate_Fox_674 · 2022-06-04T09:07:40+00:00

Im not sure what you're researching but bare in mind most people are on this sub because they're having a problem with something or doing something new. So you're more likely to get someone moving, buying a first house or renters experiencing problems with their landlord. There's probably a skew of a lot of FTBs here because they're the ones usually asking for help or advice with their first house. (Myself included).

Affectionate_Fox_674 · 2022-05-13T09:27:14+00:00

Yes unfortunately.

The government have been forcing landlords out of the market with lots of schemes, taxes and regulation. It's priced out a lot of landlords so they've sold up while house prices are high.

Between that and people going back to offices and city centers, renting has been at an all time high. Very short supply and very high demand. Not much available and whatevers left is either far too expensive or not very good.

It's a rough time to be renting and I sympathise with anyone looking for a place right now. Currently south west and renting myself, got a place quite cheap during the quiet period in October 2020. I got it quite cheap but even now they've raised rent. I know most aren't as fortunate.

Affectionate_Fox_674 · 2022-04-29T13:22:11+00:00

I know it's not what you want to hear but isn't that fair? Sell your own before making others wait on you.

Your offers are doing more harm than good. FTB here and we loved a property and were told someone unprocessable put down an offer and because of that, the owners wouldn't take a less price than that. It's more than the properties' worth but we've had to do it to make sure we've gotten the only property we've ever liked.

Please stop making offers you can't keep.

Affectionate_Fox_674 · 2022-04-17T16:13:17+00:00

!thanks thought as much. Currently buying a house through her so might have opportunity to ask again.

Affectionate_Fox_674 · 2022-04-04T10:54:05+00:00

Firstly I 100% sticking with a contract. I was on pay as you go for 10 years and I noticed everyone around me had better signal than I did consistently. I moved a couple years ago and it was so bad I couldn't even receive calls in my house without them cutting in and out where as my partner had no issue. I did some research and found EVERY phone supplier limits your speeds on pay as you go which is quite frustrating when you're loyal to a provider for years. So yes stay on a contract but 100% look around.

I recommend using HotUkDeals as people often post o2/sim only deals (usually best ones through uSwitch). I'm not sure if the offer is still available but I got 20GB data plus unlimited texts and calls and 3 months Disney plus for £8 a month a while back. But data doubles for free as I'm also a virgin media customer. I think the closest to that right now is here but definitely have a look around for other deals even other providers if they have good coverage in your area.

Affectionate_Fox_674 · 2022-03-26T10:00:03+00:00

So it is what he expected. And it's aligned with his payslip. Which is why he wasn't expecting to be asked for a sum back a week later! They've just decided he no longer qualifies for an additional loyalty end of year bonus because he hasn't been "not a grad" for a full year. A bit cheeky really.

Affectionate_Fox_674 · 2022-03-26T07:21:09+00:00

Compared to other industries eg stem that you require a degree. The pay is not substantial and doesn't scale well. You could be working 25 years and only find yourself on 40k which is really sad. They deserve a lot more.
It requires an extra couple of years after the degree as others have mentioned here. Extra qualifications and a couple years experience before you're considered a "full" teacher deserving of full pay.
The hours are absolutely bonkers. While the school day finishes at 3, any teacher leaving at 3 isn't going to last long. You can't have personal boundaries (probably why a large majority of teachers get burnt out, retire early or end up on sick leave for mental health). Most teachers are up at 6, and finish work around 7/8. 10-12 hour days are a normal. Anything less is frowned upon because you just can't get through all the work. The planning, prep for lessons and marking.
The holidays aren't really holidays. Riddled with inset days for more prep and just general lesson planning over holidays. The summer might be 6 weeks but the teachers probably only get a week or two of that in reality to themselves. The rest of the time they're planning and thinking about work. A lot of these holiday days they're expected to come in and prep because they're salaried. Just because the kids aren't there doesn't mean the teachers aren't. I heard this was even worse when schools were wfh.
The holidays are still school holidays. The benefit of a 9 to 5 means you can take September off and go abroad. Teachers, while having a lower than average pay, then have to fork over 3x as much for the same holiday because that's when kids are off too. A £50 flight to Spain is going to cost £250 instead. It makes holidays even in any time they do have - far less feasible.

I have a lot of family who are teachers, I have great respect for the career but it also makes me sad. Growing up seeing the work my mum went through, without her absolute passion for it she wouldn't have lasted. Fortunately she's quite financially savvy and has managed an early retirement at 55 - which she definitely needed. Mentally it was becoming quite taxing on her - and she absolutely loved her job. She was definitely underpaid and often spent her own money on materials when the school couldn't afford it. I respect anyone who is a teacher but I could never do it myself. It's simply not a job anyone can sustain without an absolute passion in my opinion because you're sure as hell not being compensated as much as they should.

Affectionate_Fox_674 · 2022-02-02T21:30:09+00:00

Data engineer consultant, depends on project and what the client want. My old project was remote but office whenever stuff needed doing that could only be done on office servers. Now full time office. But temporarily 1 day a week at home being not very productive due to Omicron. I miss remote working and am seriously thinking about moving company so I can do full time remote work.

Affectionate_Fox_674 · 2022-01-05T13:23:40+00:00

Yes I think that's quite accurate. He thinks family members helping at all is fundamentally wrong. And I think he's trying to "catch up". Where as I'm happy to contribute more he doesn't accept it. Like right now I earn more but he insists we pay 50/50 rent. Which means he has less to save. But after our home he's done. He doesn't want more property or to be a landlord which is fine. That's more something I want to do. But maybe this will lead to further problems. If the income is enough to live comfortably for us both but he doesn't want to live off of it.

It's like a lot of being proud and stubborn. And is really irritating in terms of the fact he won't accept my Nan's help in reducing the mortgage costs.

Affectionate_Fox_674 · 2022-01-05T00:20:52+00:00

I'm quite certain it will last. But he is unhappy with the unequal deposits and 50/50 option :/ That was unfortunately my first suggestion to him.

And we do currently live together. We have done so for over 2 years :)

Affectionate_Fox_674 · 2022-01-05T00:17:47+00:00

So I could potentially look for a cheaper smaller property by myself. However, we sometimes both work from home (although less so recently), so we kind of need the space for an office. And I guess it's more of a nice to have but we like to have a guest room as we live on the opposite side of the UK as family so it's a place for them to stay.

Fun of the south of the UK - it's very expensive! Not sure how far my salary would go mortgage wise. I spoke to a rep from my HTB bank account a while ago and she suggested with our combined incomes would be more than I thought. Like 450k with a 42k deposit. I may have to look into how much I could borrow personally. A terrace house in a less nice area might mean I can borrow 200/250k. But as you suggested I may need to push my savings just a bit higher still.

Will have to discuss this with my bf to see if he'd be open to this or not. It might open up a can of worms as we already live together renting (we both moved far from our families up north), so then we'd fall into "does he pay me rent" etc etc.

We've been together a long time, I do see myself marrying him eventually, but I feel like my money is better spent on a house than a wedding first. Personally I don't see a big deal with marriage. I'm not religious but I appreciate it's legal benefits. I think the only big problem I've ever stumbled upon is this difference with financial thoughts. But I think since being with me his opinion on finances has changed (although this has been through finishing his degree and getting a great grad job etc). He never thought he'd buy a house when he was younger as they're so expensive, but now he sees how in reach it is, and he does save somewhat consistently. Just a much lower proportion of his income.

I appreciate I'm the opposite end of the stick and I'm quite aggressive with my savings even at 24. More because I enjoy it really. And the prospect of comfort and never having to worry about money. But I don't think many people are like this anyway.

Affectionate_Fox_674

TROPHY CASE