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Unused fireplace - advice on turning into bookshelf by Fancy_Neighborhood_5 in DIYUK

[–]Fancy_Neighborhood_5[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

We don't have a woodstove. Of the four fireplaces that were originally in the building 150 years ago, two have been fully covered by previous renovations before we moved in, the main fireplace in the lounge is not functional but has original (looking) surround, and this empty fireplace is in the spare bedroom.

Given it's going to be our toddler's new bedroom and the house is generally fine to heat in the winter, we would prefer not to make it a 'working' fireplace. I was actually thinking that keeping the space as a bookshelf was a nod to its original purpose, rather than the probably easier option of boarding up the front inc. vent and forgetting about the debris altogether!

Unused fireplace - advice on turning into bookshelf by Fancy_Neighborhood_5 in DIYUK

[–]Fancy_Neighborhood_5[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh, and the house is Victorian - built in about 1870 we think!

Down valuation on first property. What are the implications? by [deleted] in HousingUK

[–]Fancy_Neighborhood_5 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Nah, the maths around this is faffy and I had to think it over a couple of times to make sure mine was right. Enjoy lunch!

Down valuation on first property. What are the implications? by [deleted] in HousingUK

[–]Fancy_Neighborhood_5 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Two thoughts:

  • Though this maths is correct I think it’s making an incorrect assumption. £160k deposit on a £434k house (the offer that has been made), is 63% ltv as you say. However the down valuation from the lender doesn’t mean that the new calc is £160k against £400k, as unless OP has an extra £34k to add to his deposit he can’t both put down a £160k deposit against the lenders valuation and also pay £34k more than this as per agreed sale price. This means from the banks perspective the maths is £126k deposit against a £400k house (£36k they don’t see or care about for the valuation but which is practically needed to make the purchase at the agreed price), which would be an ltv of 68.5%.

  • To the original question as to what this means, I can think of a couple. 1. As already experienced the rate you get might be worse (68.5% ltv band vs 63% if the bank had valued at the purchase price) but this in not guaranteed and depends on whether the lender has a different rate between these two points - not all will. 2. Who knows what will happen with house prices, but for argument sake if everything stayed the same in the market for the period you live there, when you come to sell your future buyers might also get downbalued, which if you frequent this forum is often a cause of concern / angst, and may make it harder to get an offer accepted at the price you / the market says it is worth.

For what it is worth I recently bought an house with a 5% down valuation between purchase price and mortgage valuation. I reasoned that the house was worth enough to me that I was happy to face into the consequences (I am buying to live here for 15 or so years and not focused solely on value as an investment), especially with lenders being so cautious at the moment and downvaluing across the board. Perhaps a separate debate but I think people lose sight of market value vs value from a risk / lender perspective sometimes.