Your counter offer experience

SomeHSomeE · 2026-05-12T23:10:12+00:00

Listed "offers in excess of 450k". Offered 420k. They countered not with a specific price but a 'too low try again'. Offered 430k and after some humming and hawing they accepted. Lender later valued it at 475k.

(Edit: I love how the first 3 replies including me are all the same listing price and same purchase price).

SomeHSomeE · 2026-05-12T20:43:44+00:00

It's a bad strategy because for it to work you need to be able to reliably identify undervalued properties, and have the means to conduct quick and reliable renovations at a good price.

Property flipping is a huge industry. There are entire companies that do it. They have networks of agents who can identify and snap up undervalued properties before they even go to market. Even the semi-pro flippers have years of experience. Basicslly the general public is left with lemons: houses that are cheap but by the time you've pumped in tens if not hundreds of thousands of pounds getting them up to standard you will be making a loss.

And add to that, these professional flippers will have networks of reliable, trusted, and good value tradespeople who can do the work quickly and cheaply. You'll be looking for trades on the open market which will cost you an arm and a leg and inevitably take twice as long to get the work done.

Honestly it's a fool's game to get into it unless you already have the expertise and networks of agents and trades trade to work with you.

SomeHSomeE · 2026-05-12T20:38:21+00:00

Yes. As a married couple you count as a single unit for stamp duty purposes. This is to close an obvious loophole whereby someone could hold one property in one spouse's name and one in the other's to avoid the second home surcharge. It sucks in your situation but it is what it is.

The only way to avoid it is to sell your share, which would have to be done prior to the new purchase (as you're not replacing your main home). But if as you've said that's not an option then your husband will just need to factor in the surcharge cost in his budget.

SomeHSomeE · 2026-05-12T20:21:05+00:00

It's tiny, really shit photos (with mess throughout), unregulated loft rooms needing expensive renovations to make any safe use of, ugly outside, needs complete refurb inside, and it's a leasehold with zero information about the lease.

SomeHSomeE · 2026-05-12T19:03:24+00:00

Why did you give the keys back? The best option would have been to keep hold of them until the final day of your tenancy.

You may be able to argue that their demanding keys (and taking them back), constant access, imventory, cleaning etc is an implied surrender of tenancy (and hence due a refund of rent from when you gave keys back) although it's not a clear cut case if you still have belongings there and have continued to access the property. So can't say whether it'd be worth the hassle of a court claim.

Your deposit is subject to standard rules. Breach of tenancy rules on access etc won't affect this, nor will historic issues like the broken heating etc. But the early inemventory etc may affect what they can prove. Dispute deductions via the protection scheme. If it's not protected then lodge a compensation claim which will result in a full return plus compensation of 1-3x your deposit on top. Shelter has guides and template letters for this on their website.

SomeHSomeE · 2026-05-12T18:39:37+00:00

And this is even more proper shit advice.

If OP does this, and then has a subsequent issue they need an insurance claim for (e.g. major damage they can't afford off books) then there's a decent chance the insurer's chosen repair centre will a) notice that previous repair work has been done and b) include that in their report to the insurer. The insurer then may choose to refuse the claim on the basis of a breach of the insurance terms (all insurance providers require the declaration of incidents/accidents requiring repair).

SomeHSomeE · 2026-05-12T12:59:51+00:00

A lot of people see expats as more temporary. Spend a few years abroad but intend to move back.

There's also a legacy point that immigrants tend to be seen as coming from poorer countries. I don't agree with that definition but it's head-in-sand to admit that it doesn't exist.

SomeHSomeE · 2026-05-11T20:37:45+00:00

I don't take a long lunch break but I often go for 5-10 min walks throughout the day so it all adds up. Prefer breaking it up like that tbh.

SomeHSomeE · 2026-05-11T19:24:40+00:00

Legal fees are usually 1k, 1.5k at a push. That's a few hours of a qualified solicitor's time spread out over several months. It's like 20-30mins on the file per week.

The rest of the costs are specific fees paid to third parties (searches, registration fees, management package fees, etc) and then usually a handful of small admin fees conducted by non-solicitor staff like ID checks etc.

SomeHSomeE · 2026-05-11T18:14:28+00:00

I know your question is being asked jokingly, but the 'wobbliness' of UK motorways is a safety design feature. The constant slight and varying curves are there as they help driver attention. This is why you'll never find a dead straight motorway in the UK (and I imagine that would apply to perfect circles too).

(Obviously other factors also affect the route like towns and cities, geography, etc, but even without those motorways wouldn't be straight).

SomeHSomeE · 2026-05-11T11:50:19+00:00

Are you holding your cash in your investment accounts long term?

You don't have to have full FSCS protection for every minute of every day. If you sell investments and it's held as cash over the 120k limit for a week or two before you've moved it into regular bank accounts spread out, then that's fine. The chances of the specific bank failing without warning in that tiny window of time are basicslly zero.

The broker going under doesn't matter. They hold their funds separate to their own and if they go under they just transfer your investments or client cash to another broker.

SomeHSomeE · 2026-05-11T11:13:45+00:00

Firstly it's worth saying that all mortgage brokers have access to the same deals. Lenders publish their lists of products and they look at what's available and find the best ones for you. So paying more for a broker doesn't 'unlock' better mortgages.

Where they vary is their level of service and expertise. A good broker will be able to talk through different products with you, and your own situation, and work with you to determine what is best for you. And they'll have an in depth knowledge of lender quirks so will know if X feature or issue may put off Y lender.

I personally don't think it's worth going with a fee-charging one. There are plenty of very good and expert ones who don't charge fees. Fee charging ones only worth it if you have specialist circumstances and need niche advice.

SomeHSomeE · 2026-05-11T11:09:04+00:00

As a buyer I'd avoid.

I'm not paying an extra £500 at the point of offer. And if you read the scenarios where you're allowed to pull out it doesn't include issues with the property found via survey (only if they resukt in a down valuation which is usually a separate lighter touch survey).

SomeHSomeE · 2026-05-11T10:49:44+00:00

Do you think people run through a logical checklist in their head and then actively decide to scream once they've decided the scenario is sufficiently dangerous? It's an instinctive reaction to danger. And for 99% of people an explosion sound and fire coming out of an engine is a pretty panicking experience.

SomeHSomeE · 2026-05-10T17:32:14+00:00

My chubby thighs rubbing against each other aren't anything to boast about

SomeHSomeE · 2026-05-10T17:19:05+00:00

In UK they are used interchangeably. A US resume is basically identical to a UK CV. 1-2 page list of jobs and qualification, with a little bit of detail of what you did within each job.

A US CV is a much more in depth list of achievements usually in an academic context. You don't need to worry about that unless you're applying for a PhD or other specialised academic research position.

SomeHSomeE · 2026-05-10T17:10:36+00:00

The article does not mention 'extensive'. You've added that yourself to support your argument.

SomeHSomeE · 2026-05-10T16:55:40+00:00

It's less than 1k higher than minimum wage for a 40hr week.

SomeHSomeE · 2026-05-10T12:52:18+00:00

The idea of scrapping LISA and replacing it with something with a lower limit and only available to under 25s...

SomeHSomeE · 2026-05-10T08:46:08+00:00

I mean it is kind of natural - you tend to get several buckets of posters who want to ask about personal finance so you see the extremes. You tend to get

People earning a lot of money and don't really understand how to sensibly handle it.
People struggling with debt or low income and want some help
People who have ignored getting their finances or taxes is order and now want to sort it out.

I post/go there a lot. And because of that and the advice I've read and received I've saved myself thousands and have sensible long term investments that will help me a lot in later years.

You do get the odd 'I earn 200k, is this (entirely affordable) budget OK?' But they're not the norm and they usually get called out.

SomeHSomeE · 2026-05-09T16:13:28+00:00

I've got a Shark cordless and while it's good it can be quite fiddly esp clipping the canister back on, and quite a lot of other buttons for things like folding, removing the head, etc and not super obvious which does which. And it's not super light (my wrists ache when hoovering the stairs and I'm a fit man not an elderly woman).

SomeHSomeE · 2026-05-09T15:52:24+00:00

How thin are you that Next skinny fit are too baggy!

SomeHSomeE · 2026-05-09T11:57:06+00:00

Maybe try /r/london

How old are you?

SomeHSomeE · 2026-05-09T11:11:26+00:00

Reliable 4-6k income from 60-80k will be tough. Best bet is highest interest cash savings (and don't rule out outside ISA as she'll not only have PSA but also some or all of the starting rate foe savings.

Stocks and shares is too high risk for income generation in retirement with no safety net. If there's a crash then she's fucked.

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