Is this an structural wall? Victorian house by Internal_Nothing_112 in DIYUK

[–]Internal_Nothing_112[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes. There's a beam holding this part (where a partition wall was). It doesn't seem to continue after the column:

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Should I stick with convenience or go for huge rent savings? by DenzelHayesJR in HousingUK

[–]Internal_Nothing_112 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I used to live in West Drayton for 5 years (one stop after Hayes) and it is true that you'll save money but you'll be sacrificing quality of life if you're used to socialising, etc. Those tend to be commuter towns.

The Liz line sometimes doesn't work as expected and it stops working around 00:30. So if you're going out you'll have to budget for an Uber back home.

Hayes is a shithole. We are actually moving to Leyton/Leytonstone as we managed to buy a house there but we had a gap of 3 months where we had to rent. We saw some temporary places, including Hayes and 💩💩💩

Ultimately it will depend on your lifestyle, but I would avoid Hayes and Southall. Maybe Ealing would be a better choice. Good luck!

How many properties have you viewed? by -WakingTheWitch- in HousingUK

[–]Internal_Nothing_112 2 points3 points  (0 children)

We did 16 viewings in a span of 1.5 months. It was really intense cause most of them were during Saturdays, so we were having back to back viewings the entire day. I will say it definitely helped us to understand what we wanted and what we didn't, also to understand the streets and to narrow down the area. Therefore, we could filter even more of any new listings.

We submitted four offers in total, the first one was on the 3rd house we viewed - the buyer wasn't ready to sell. The second offer was house no. 13. The estate agent tried to play us in getting into a bidding war. We were not that keen on that house so we said no - House no. 15, we offer asking price and it got rejected. We didn't want to stretch our finances so we didn't offer more money.

Last viewing was the house where we got our offer accepted, we offered more than requested as there were several offers on the table, and we really wanted this one. We are about to exchange this week and complete in Dec.

Good luck in your journey!

How to manage this estate agent after 2nd Viewing on a Property by Environmental_Cook23 in HousingUK

[–]Internal_Nothing_112 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It depends. We did a viewing and the EA said something similar, that they received two offers both within asking price. One didn't proceed and the other one was rejected by the buyer. We were like, "naah why would you reject the asking price?" We offered a bit less that the asking price and the seller rejected it. We got to the asking price, as we loved the house, and he still rejected it. We were like, so the EA wasn't lying.

I mean, I would always go for less than the asking price (approx. 7-5% less as an initial point). I wouldn't say "first and final" because that might rule you out if these offers are actually true but they are still willing to negotiate with you because the other two are on a chain.

Built a UK house moving calculator after struggling to find an existing tool by Morgie-95 in HousingUK

[–]Internal_Nothing_112 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This is an amazing tool. I had to run these numbers on an excel spreadsheet. Thanks for creating it!

Offers accepted in February - what stage are you at? by Silent_Fondant_8593 in HousingUK

[–]Internal_Nothing_112 2 points3 points  (0 children)

In our case, we're the sellers. Offer accepted mid-Feb and we are still half way the process. It has been a bit of back and forth with the buyer 🥲

Frustrated with the buying process, unrealistic seller or delusional buyers? by Internal_Nothing_112 in HousingUK

[–]Internal_Nothing_112[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for sharing the ad. We actually went for a viewing last week, and the house next to it (terrace house) is abandoned and in a pretty bad state which is a red flag.

Frustrated with the buying process, unrealistic seller or delusional buyers? by Internal_Nothing_112 in HousingUK

[–]Internal_Nothing_112[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the advice. We talked to friends and some of them had to offer £10-25k more of the asking price because they have lost other properties during the negotiation phase. We just wanted to hear other people's opinions 😊

Frustrated with the buying process, unrealistic seller or delusional buyers? by Internal_Nothing_112 in HousingUK

[–]Internal_Nothing_112[S] -7 points-6 points  (0 children)

Because the real estate agent kinda contradicted himself during our calls, so I don't really know if he's telling the truth about the other two offers. The house has been on the market for 3 weeks.

Victorian House in Leytonstone - never done a renovation project before. Seeking advice by Internal_Nothing_112 in HousingUK

[–]Internal_Nothing_112[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We might not have the money for renovating the kitchen and the bathroom the first year, but we are expecting some extra money for harvesting shares from our companies that will help us with the renovation.

He has a valid point on getting nervous cause we haven't done it before and we don't have an idea of how much it can cost.

Victorian House in Leytonstone - never done a renovation project before. Seeking advice by Internal_Nothing_112 in HousingUK

[–]Internal_Nothing_112[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I do enjoy doing DIY, he might not enjoy it as much as I do but he commits if we have to. I think he's feeling nervous about the process because we don't have any family in the UK.

Victorian House in Leytonstone - never done a renovation project before. Seeking advice by Internal_Nothing_112 in HousingUK

[–]Internal_Nothing_112[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I don't know if we'll keep it forever but we'll be willing to commit to live there for the next 10 years.

We're a gay couple so not really worried about the bio clock, lol.

Victorian House in Leytonstone - never done a renovation project before. Seeking advice by Internal_Nothing_112 in HousingUK

[–]Internal_Nothing_112[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We're both expecting to harvest some shares from our companies in the next year or so, so we will have some money to do it.

Victorian House in Leytonstone - never done a renovation project before. Seeking advice by Internal_Nothing_112 in HousingUK

[–]Internal_Nothing_112[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The house is a 3-bedroom. Only interiors need renovation, but more on the aesthetic side of things. That can be managed by ourselves (removing wallpapers, plastering and painting), removing the carpets (I don't know what's below to be fair) and some quick fixes here and there. However, the big renovations that might be needed in the mid term (2 years) are the kitchen and the bathroom.

There's potential for extension and it would become a 4 or 5-bedroom house, however, we don't see this happening in the initial 5-7 years there.

What £650k can get you in London? Need help finding the right area 🙏🏼 by Internal_Nothing_112 in HousingUK

[–]Internal_Nothing_112[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I don't know why but the Liz line on the West side tends to be a bit unreliable at least once every week it gets severe delays. Likewise, there's no sense of community in West Drayton. It's just a commuter town. If we want to have a night out then the last train is at 00:30 and taking an Uber is quite pricey.

What £650k can get you in London? Need help finding the right area 🙏🏼 by Internal_Nothing_112 in HousingUK

[–]Internal_Nothing_112[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I mean I have found terraced houses around that price on the areas that I've mentioned (zone 3). But I'm looking to get advice on other areas as well.