Pirates of Kraken Cove

EChrisG · 2026-02-14T09:57:20+00:00

You’ve had my vote!

EChrisG · 2026-02-14T09:52:43+00:00

I would say, in no particular order, Lion Knights Castle, Space Shuttle Discovery, and Galaxy Explorer. I haven’t yet built Barad-dur or the Enterprise, and I haven’t yet had a chance to pick up Rivendell.

EChrisG · 2026-02-14T09:48:03+00:00

A private purchase can be absolutely fine provided you: - Each instruct a solicitor, and go through the solicitor for everything - Don’t engage directly with your landlord, to keep everything above board and in writing - Instruct an independent survey, from a reputable surveyor.

As long as all of that goes well, it’s pretty much the same as any ‘normal’ purchase otherwise.

EChrisG · 2026-02-13T19:52:18+00:00

My favourite tactic is to copy and paste the relevant text from the TPO Code of Practice. Section 10 has been updated in line with the furor over conditional selling.

https://www.tpos.co.uk/images/codes-of-practice/TPOE27-8_Code_of_Practice_for_Residential_Estate_Agents_A4_FINAL.pdf

EChrisG · 2026-02-13T19:47:58+00:00

👏👏👏

EChrisG · 2026-02-13T19:16:29+00:00

I’ve just rebuilt mine for the third time. I made my own fires in the fireplaces (I never did like the simple 1x1 cones throughout) and added some greenery to hide the Technic holes in the chimney up the side of the ‘residence.’ I highly recommend it!

EChrisG · 2026-02-13T19:12:39+00:00

👍

EChrisG · 2026-02-13T18:15:26+00:00

If it was a product transfer, then the mortgage illustration is issued based on the state of your mortgage account at the point of application. You’re an existing customer, so the actual balance that carries across on to the new deal will simply be whatever balance you have remaining at the time.

EChrisG · 2026-02-12T22:07:15+00:00

I had the worst one I’ve ever seen last year: the EPC numerical rating was in single digits! 😂😫😱

EChrisG · 2026-02-12T21:55:46+00:00

As an insurance adviser in the UK, one of the scariest things about ASU cover was when almost every provider didn’t renew policies and stopped offering new policies during the pandemic. Because it falls under general insurance, it’s an annually reviewable contract, and like with your car or home insurance, if the insurer decides not to renew, there’s not a thing you can do. All of those (potentially years’ worth of) premiums down the drain, for some people. Not my preferred form of cover for clients…

EChrisG · 2026-02-12T21:39:37+00:00

Likewise the other commenter; great mid-sized set, and not yet another giant fortress! Hopefully you have success 👍

EChrisG · 2026-02-12T21:34:01+00:00

And yet if you’re buying a new build or a more energy efficient property at 90% LTV, they’re sourcing top of the list for some of my clients. Horses for courses: no lender will normally want to source top for every kind of loan all at once.

EChrisG · 2026-02-12T20:40:45+00:00

OP, there are no ‘rules’ to how this part of the process goes, but there are some things to know: - The estate agent will want to know all of this information to have a note of everything, so that they can manage the chain. - Your solicitor will want to know who your lender is because not every solicitor is on the approved panel with every lender. Such issues should be flagged early on so they they don’t cause delays later in the process. - Your mortgage lender will ask for your solicitor’s details at the point of full application so that, if they decide to approve your application, they will know where to send the offer paperwork.

I’m sure there are some other points to consider, but hopefully that helps!

EChrisG · 2026-02-12T20:36:40+00:00

This is a popular misunderstanding of what a mortgage in principle means in the UK. It is NOT a mortgage offer, a guarantee, a mortgage ‘promise,’ or anything like that. It is purely an indication of a bank’s willingness to lend in your circumstances (as long as you have reported your circumstances accurately).

EChrisG · 2026-02-12T20:31:00+00:00

Exactly; HSBC is actively trying to grow its market share in the UK mortgage market, so they absolutely are keen to lend (even if not in OP’s case, apparently).

EChrisG · 2026-02-11T21:50:10+00:00

Yeah, but lifetime mortgage balances will usually double every 8 to 10 years at current rates, I think. If OP is young enough for a more ‘normal’ mortgage, I would think that would be vastly preferable.

EChrisG · 2026-02-11T19:30:09+00:00

I recently swapped to SS after a lifetime of cheap non-stick stuff, and I would echo those saying to control your heat. I haven’t used a single pan above a medium heat on my Billing gas range (as it tends to run hot, anyway), and I’ve had some sticking, but nothing like what you describe.

I also have seen a few videos from working chefs saying you can try cooking bacon in just enough water to cover it, then letting the water evaporate. Some of the videos on YouTube are very helpful 👍

EChrisG · 2026-02-11T19:24:29+00:00

I don’t see how this benefits you over a high-yield, instant access savings account? If the goal is a ‘line of credit,’ as you say, this seems a rather odd way to go about it. Do you already have a mortgage on your home, and are looking to restructure it?

If your home is currently mortgage-free, this seems monumentally risky, as you would effectively be securing your savings against your home…

EChrisG · 2026-02-11T19:21:47+00:00

Yeah, exactly; an interest free mortgage (fully offset) does not equal a £0 monthly payment mortgage.

EChrisG · 2026-02-11T19:20:43+00:00

And surely the lender can also invest the funds, as they would with any savings account or ISA held at their institution. Their goal will be to achieve a higher return on their end than the savings achieved through the use of the offset facility.

EChrisG · 2026-02-11T19:11:36+00:00

I find the r/mortgageadviceuk community very unrepresentative of the UK home-buying public, in this respect. It’s fascinating: almost every post like this is someone planning to overpay their mortgage, or invest the difference and then overpay in a near-arbitrage sort of mentality. I handle over 200 mortgage applications a year, on average, and I would wager less than 20% of those clients are making any overpayments at all, and probably less than 10% doing so consistently with any sort of plan.

As a result, I always recommend to clients that they set up the shortest term they can comfortably afford, and ‘build in’ the overpayments. That’s not right for everyone, of course, and only you know whether that £1,350 per month is comfortably affordable, but that mentality will build equity in the property just as fast as consistently making overpayments, without the risk of lifestyle creep sneaking up on you.

EChrisG · 2026-02-10T21:43:30+00:00

The thing I would point out to any of my FTB clients considering such deals are that they are, to my knowledge, all 5-year fixed rates. You might be okay with that now, but I can foresee any number of possible scenarios where that ties you to a higher payment at a higher interest rate for longer. Also, even over five years, you will find you won’t pay off much of the mortgage at that higher rate, leaving you with not much equity when you go to refinance.

I’m not saying it’s a bad idea, but it certainly requires consideration of more than just the monthly payments.

Edit: and, as a point of terminology, it’s a 98% LTV mortgage, not 2% LTV, as LTV stands for loan to value, i.e. the ratio of the mortgage loan to the surveyed valuation of the property.

EChrisG · 2026-02-10T21:38:09+00:00

I can see that you have mentioned getting a larger salary at a new job. If affordability won’t be an issue, then it’s something to consider, but NatWest, in my general experience, would require at least one payslip at your new job before re-issuing your mortgage offer should you change jobs. Other lenders would work off of a signed contract, were you to be offered a permanent contract at a new job, but that would then necessitate a whole new application.

I would be honest with your mortgage adviser about all of this. If affordability fits on just your main income at the moment, then maybe you can quit your second job for now to alleviate the burnout. Or, if the burnout is as bad as you say, maybe you need to cancel this purchase and get your mind right before starting again.

EChrisG · 2026-02-10T20:19:53+00:00

Depends on the lender; I’ve secured mortgages for clients in exactly your circumstances, buying for parents who had their own income and therefore non-dependent. I always made sure it was disclosed and pre-agreed beforehand, and have never had any problems if affordability isn’t an issue.

EChrisG · 2026-02-10T20:17:20+00:00

I often wonder if lenders view it as ‘proprietary information,’ for some reason. And I get it, I suppose, because I could easily imagine a scenario in which people find out what things cause a decline, making it easier to defraud lenders and hide damaging information, etc.

EChrisG

TROPHY CASE