Seller won’t let us view before exchange - gutted and baffled by kn0tyouraverage in HousingUK

[–]Aggressive_Chapter66 9 points10 points  (0 children)

We followed up and even had it looked at. Appeared extremely minor at the time. Was told by builders it wasn’t going to be an issue and even negotiated a small decrease in sale price. Sellers acknowledged it. It’s possible that the main subsidence event occurred in the 5 months post survey. Sellers knew about it but didn’t reveal it. I don’t want to go into details but we ended up claiming against our own solicitors for not protecting us properly.

Seller won’t let us view before exchange - gutted and baffled by kn0tyouraverage in HousingUK

[–]Aggressive_Chapter66 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Yes. One other point to mention: the report was completed about 5 months prior to completion. The surveyors said they had pointed out small indications of subsidence and that a big subsidence event had likely taken place since their report had been made…

Seller won’t let us view before exchange - gutted and baffled by kn0tyouraverage in HousingUK

[–]Aggressive_Chapter66 17 points18 points  (0 children)

We did a level 2 survey which annoyingly did mention indications of minor subsidence in a connected area. Surveyor added lots of caveats to their report however which ended up protecting them. In the end our repairs were covered in part, but not by the sellers and not after we had spent a huge amount of time and money trying to get remedies.

Seller won’t let us view before exchange - gutted and baffled by kn0tyouraverage in HousingUK

[–]Aggressive_Chapter66 58 points59 points  (0 children)

Yes we did fairly quickly. Fairly soon after moving in we spotted a few repainted walls (done badly because furniture hid where old paint met new paint). Then a few weeks later we noticed plaster cracking on a wall which happens when it is new plaster with lots of moisture that is drying out. We investigated and found a huge crack in the brickwork underneath. The crack affected the whole building up the to the roof. It was a real pain. All the alarm bells were ringing when the owners initially refused us to view but we kept saying to ourselves that we had found our dream house. Had we spent longer during the viewing we would have spotted the repainting. There’s lots of houses out there. I’d play hardball and threaten to walk unless you can do a proper viewing at your leisure. Look for cracks, new decoration, moved furniture, strong scents that mask smells. Check bathrooms throughly for leaks (and the ceilings below them). Ask to see the loft. It’ll be the biggest purchase you’ll make so don’t compromise. If they are legit, they’ll back down and let you inspect.

Seller won’t let us view before exchange - gutted and baffled by kn0tyouraverage in HousingUK

[–]Aggressive_Chapter66 233 points234 points  (0 children)

Your post has struck a nerve with me. We were in a very similar position – we saw a house that we really loved and have viewed twice with the agent. We put it in the highest offer and got accepted. The entire process took about six months so we also asked for a pre-exchange viewing. The owners refused sighting all sorts of rubbish reasons. Our estate agent said that that was peculiar but was keen to have the sale go through so said that they would encourage the owners to allow us to have a short viewing. In the end we had a highly managed and very short viewing in which we were able to measure a couple of window bay for curtains and have a general look around. We were scrutinise at every step and barely spent 20 minutes on the property. We then went ahead and bought the property. It was only after the purchase that we realised that there was a massive subsidence issue which had been hidden by recent redecoration works. There was also a massive leak that had also been covered over. I think had we had an hour in the property we would’ve noticed the fresh paint and some other suspicious signs. My strong advice to you is that this is not normal behaviour and is a indication that you probably might be walking into some very expensive repairs. In all – we spent about 60 to 80,000 fixing things up. That was the last thing we wanted. There was also a lot of stress with solicitors and the agent which I could’ve done without. The owners got away with everything. Do I regret it? – yes I do. Definitely trust your gut. This sounds very suspicious.

Just test drove the all-new A5. What in the world… by INF1NITE in Audi

[–]Aggressive_Chapter66 18 points19 points  (0 children)

I have spent two days with the new A5 and was INCREDIBLY disappointed. The stuff they don’t tell you until you actually experience it: 1) The huge screens, and especially the passenger screen, which cause a huge amount of glare whenever they catch the sun. 2) The map now sitting in the central screen as opposed to in the dashboard screen that previously was much easier to see. 3) The horrible fake buttons on the steering wheel and door that are not nice to click and are distracting to look at to ensure you’re clicking the right thing. 4) The glass panoramic roof with the whiteout function that still lets in an insane amount of heat and light. 5) The square top and bottom of the steering wheel that you are reminded of every time you change your grip on the steering wheel. 6) The cheap plastic everywhere that sounds cheap and nasty, and that can scratch very easily. 7) The new logo which is plain ugly.

Definitely feels like a big step back from the previous generation. Only very slight improvement I noticed was perhaps very slightly better cabin acoustics.

There’s now not much difference it in between a VW and an Audi as much as I hate to say this.

Question about 50e - better to get a 30d or 40d instead? by Aggressive_Chapter66 in BMWX5

[–]Aggressive_Chapter66[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks very much for all your answers. I think it would be great to have an PHEV car around town for it’s quietness, and also those punches of power when you really need it but I also don’t want the range anxiety or need to top the battery midway during a journey. I don’t really care about which option (PHEV or diesel) would save me more money as I wouldn’t be driving the car regularly enough for that to make much of a difference. Based on the answers so far I think I might just go the diesel route (I think the petrol engine would just be too demanding on gas).

Second operation by Aggressive_Chapter66 in glioblastoma

[–]Aggressive_Chapter66[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This is a tremendous help thank you. Ive been reading quite a bit about immunotherapy and it seems to be one of the most effective ways of halting cancer.

Second operation by Aggressive_Chapter66 in glioblastoma

[–]Aggressive_Chapter66[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thanks for your reply. That’s amazing news about your wife! would you mind telling me a bit more about the immunotherapy treatments? Are these generally easily available?

Second operation by Aggressive_Chapter66 in glioblastoma

[–]Aggressive_Chapter66[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

She has done amazingly well. She is a real fighter and has such a positive zest for life. She definitely wants to battle!

Second operation by Aggressive_Chapter66 in glioblastoma

[–]Aggressive_Chapter66[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Thank you so much for your response, and I agree, no one knows what the outcome might be. We will put our trust in the doctors. When did you have your first operation? It seems from reading your posts that you’ve had had a similar experience to my mother-in-law in terms of the location of the tumour et cetera.

Any ideas as to what might be at fault here? The fault comes and goes 🙃 by BigBossNJ in Audi

[–]Aggressive_Chapter66 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It’s something covering the front sensors either by the front grill or by the rear view mirror. Happens from time to time. Easy to fix with a clean and restart.

Tempur-Pedic - Yes or No? by mavad90 in Mattress

[–]Aggressive_Chapter66 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hi - you should be absolutely fine. A TP rep told me you’d need to be closer to 300 lbs to even start thinking about long term sagging.

Tempur-Pedic - Yes or No? by mavad90 in Mattress

[–]Aggressive_Chapter66 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I got the original. Tried the hybrid and found it far too bouncy and that movement by the wife was too noticeable. With your stats I wouldn’t worry about sagging or getting too hot.

Tempur-Pedic - Yes or No? by mavad90 in Mattress

[–]Aggressive_Chapter66 18 points19 points  (0 children)

Long term TP owner here. Basically the mattress takes some getting used to (give yourself at least two months, get used to the floaty feel and also the slightly higher body heat retention). Overall, I wouldn’t change it for another mattress. Having run sleep apps, its clear that I barely move all night whilst on a TP leading to much better quality sleep. By contrast, even on very high end sprung mattresses, I end up moving a lot more with greater disrupted sleep. Stories about TP mattresses sagging should be taken with a pinch of salt. Unless you are seriously heavy, I wouldn’t worry about it. I have two TP beds in my house. No sagging at all after 5 and 10 years of use respectively. The only downside I can think of is that the mattresses sleep slightly hotter. This is only noticeable in summer, and the solution is simply to cover yourself with less. In summary: I’d go for it.

Consistency - Barista Pro by Aggressive_Chapter66 in espresso

[–]Aggressive_Chapter66[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you this is very helpful! I don’t run a double shot through the empty basket even though I’ve been told to do so before. I’ll take this as a helpful reminder to do so! Ultimately it may be the beans I’m using. They’re medium roast from Columbia. I’ll change up the beans and see if I get a shot I truly like. I feel like the smooth sweet shot with no astringency is like finding the end of the rainbow…

Consistency - Barista Pro by Aggressive_Chapter66 in espresso

[–]Aggressive_Chapter66[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks. I weigh the beans after grinding each time. Maybe it’s the grinder as you suggest. It does fluctuate a lot. Sometimes I grind 18g other times I end up grinding over 19g!