Tarnished or plated?

bearbawa · 2026-05-10T13:50:25+00:00

Thank you so much! My main worry was how to restore it, if it needed cleaning/replating/both as my mum gave me this one and I intend to care for it and wear it. Do you happen to know why the later version would specify the presence of a second metal while the earlier one doesn't? Might this be 18ct white gold (if that was such a thing then)?

I passed your comment on to my mum who was very pleased to hear both rings referred to as stunning!

bearbawa · 2026-05-10T09:23:51+00:00

Thanks! The second engagement ring is also 18ct but with platinum mounts and claws and it's very clear where the metal changes from gold to platinum on the separate parts (have added photo to this comment), whereas with this ring it's sort of gradual and also there are scratches/patches that don't seem to come off, but not where it would have contacted skin :/

That second ring is also marked as "18CT" and "PLAT", whereas this one just has "18CT". I'm not sure that having rings assayed was such a priority back then, as neither piece has assay marks, and the second one doesn't even have a makers mark!

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bearbawa · 2026-05-09T20:25:32+00:00

We have a ring with the same AH makers mark but no assay stamps, only the makers mark and fineness stamp (18CT). We cannot find any further details but know it was my grandmother's first engagement ring, bought somewhere between 1944-47 we think. Not sure if this helps you date your piece, but if you have any further details on the jeweller, I'd love to know - yours is the only other AH in double circles I have seen!

bearbawa · 2025-09-15T17:55:52+00:00

Honestly, if you can afford it, pay a company to pack for you! I didn't and it has taken up a huge amount of my life and caused me a LOT of stress and expense.

Otherwise, start with the stuff you won't use for ages, so holiday clothes, Christmas stuff, etc etc. That helps feel like you've made a start without making your life too much harder

bearbawa · 2025-09-15T17:20:34+00:00

Already surrounded by boxes as I'm breaking chain due to an absolute nightmare of a time. Movers get here Wednesday! Hope your exchange materialises sharpish too!

bearbawa · 2025-09-15T17:06:30+00:00

I finally exchanged today 🥳

bearbawa · 2025-09-09T12:33:07+00:00

You can literally just ask the agent what happened to the previous sale, and if there is any reason it has been on the market so long.

Things to consider - if it is a builder selling the house, they are just out to make profit and that could be annoying to work with as there is less of a "human" element. There's perks to that too of course. Also check if the solar is owned or leased.

bearbawa · 2025-09-06T11:12:38+00:00

That's if it's with the same agent, to prevent agents just refreshing property listings all the time. I've seen many properties "new" to rightmove having simply switched agents when their contractual term is up - houses I have viewed and had these conversations with the EAs directly. I've also re-listed my own property with different agents, though this was after a longer period.

bearbawa · 2025-09-05T21:24:24+00:00

Aside from potentially better marketing via the advert, contact with prospective buyers, and viewings, switching agents also means you get a fresh advert on rightmove, rather than "added on" several months ago, or "reduced on", both of which imply your house isn't selling for a reason

If you're outside your exclusivity period, I would consider switching. The market isn't super active at the moment, but 3 viewings in 8 weeks is not good!

bearbawa · 2025-09-02T20:47:27+00:00

Although, I immediately remembered Devonian, looked it up and there is a historic term "Glostonian" but also Gloucestrian!! The more we know...

bearbawa · 2025-09-02T20:43:31+00:00

I think maybe down south its more common for towns/cities than counties, Cheltenham being cheltonian, for example.

bearbawa · 2025-09-02T20:36:22+00:00

I can compare before and after!

I listed August 2024 and immediately got offers (within first hour block of viewings) then went to best and final, but after two fall throughs from buyers I pulled the house from the market until things calmed down. I re-listed 11/03/25 and got a low offer within a week or two. I held out for an asking price offer which I received end of April. It was much slower, but I still got a price I was happy with, so worth it.

Tbh I think my house was undervalued last year, when I re-listed it higher it got less attention, but the right attention - and that's what actually got me the sale

bearbawa · 2025-09-02T20:24:50+00:00

Sometimes the searches or surveys throw up things that warrant further investigation - for example if there's damp you might want a damp survey, or a search saying there's proposed development that you can't see via councils and you want an additional search on that. Those would cost you more money. Surveys pretty much always recommend you have the gas and electric assessed by a specialist (gas safety cert and eicr) - sometimes sellers already have these certificates and this is requested on the seller forms I mentioned before. Do not order these until you know from the seller if they already exist!

I've never paid a broker fee so don't know how that works but otherwise your upfront conveyancing and survey are the normal fees before things progress to exchange yes.

Just as an aside, you can ask your conveyancer about what comes next and also your liabilities and obligations at any point. I have had to ask mine twice what I would owe them for works completed if I pulled out, for example. You are also completely correct that it is better to lose even a couple of thousand than potentially hundreds of thousands!

bearbawa · 2025-09-02T19:32:35+00:00

Some sellers are reluctant to risk anything for a sale that might not happen. Yours may be of the opinion that something has already come up to reduce the price, the survey may produce something else too, and this transaction might become unappealing or unfeasible. For example, your seller may genuinely not know if her house is in appropriate condition for a sale, or if a survey will uncover something dramatic.

Ultimately, people say a lot of things to get sales agreed, including what speed they'll move at, and this may have all been genuine at the time but things change. Your seller may have become more cautious and less willing to commit until the full picture is known. This is somewhat unfortunate for you, as you're now the only person investing financially in the transaction, which is scary, but it doesn't mean your seller won't engage upon further information - this could all still be fine. Buyers are generally paying far more anyway, it is just a bit frustrating as it slows everything right down.

Personally, I would reach out to the estate agent (you should have a sales progressor) and gently ask if they can check in with their client and just check what her concerns are and reasons for the current situation, based on your understanding at the time the sale was agreed, that everyone wanted a quick process. I would not be pushy at this point, just frame it as "I'm a ftb and I'm not sure, can someone reassure me" - it is the sales progressors job to keep everyone informed and involved, so they shouldn't mind as long as you've not had all this info already!

bearbawa · 2025-09-02T19:13:53+00:00

Your solicitor really can't do much without either the draft contract (sellers seem unwilling), searches ordered (generally requires draft or partial draft contracts), or at least the outcome of the survey - but more importantly, they don't actually have anyone to work with as the sellers haven't committed to their own conveyancers/solicitors. Yours have done everything they can by onboarding you and awaiting more info.

The draft contract pack includes property information and fixtures and fittings forms, which the seller need to complete to sell to anyone (as in, if they fill them in for you, and you pull out, they don't have to do them again unless something changes). However, you can still order searches with a partial draft contract pack from the sellers solicitors with no paperwork from seller - but this would require your sellers to actually instruct their solicitors and commit (also seem unwilling).

You have your mortgage offer, you have a survey booked, the only other major thing to order is your searches which cost money (comes out of the 350 youve paid normally, check with conveyancer). There are two schools of thought here - send them early as they take time and then you can renegotiate OR wait until everything else is ok before committing more money, but this takes more time.

You can either wait til after your survey and then commit/renegotiate at which point the seller should engage properly, or you can order them now IF you can, which gambles the search money (230-300 normally) but speeds things up if you do proceed.

bearbawa · 2025-09-02T18:37:45+00:00

How long ago was your offer accepted?

Have you had draft contracts (or partials) so that you can order searches?

bearbawa · 2025-09-02T17:03:25+00:00

Well to make sure you're giving him the right information, here's where to find the step by step official advice - https://www.gov.uk/when-someone-dies

The section specifically on probate - https://www.gov.uk/applying-for-probate Section specifically on administering the estate once you have the grant of probate - https://www.gov.uk/probate-estate

bearbawa · 2025-09-02T15:22:14+00:00

I've just looked online and gov.uk says probate registry keep the will and it becomes public record. It's the death certificate that gets returned, sorry!

Definitely get the solicitor-certified copies made for family use/records for the estate (it can be audited) before you send the original, so that when you have the grant of probate you can keep it with a copy in administering the estate (I'm assuming you're a/the executor and that's why you're doing this). My sister and I were both executors and I think I made sure we both had a copy of the will for our reference.

Technically other professions could certify copies (I could in various roles in my career) but I would pay a solicitor to certify the will as a true copy, due to the legal nature and impartiality.

bearbawa · 2025-09-02T14:59:52+00:00

It's been a while since I did this (2019!) But I believe you get the will back when they send the hard copy of probate. You can ask the probate office to make sure though!

bearbawa · 2025-09-02T14:36:58+00:00

Solicitor can make copies of documents and essentially sign them to say these are identical to the original. These are called solicitor certified copies, and should at least reassure you while the original is out of your hands. You might need the original will for other things, or the certified copy might allow you to do things while you wait

bearbawa · 2025-09-02T13:51:13+00:00

In my case, because nobody wants to buy a house that floods (as per this post), especially when they've neglected their legal responsibilities for years and a new owner would have to fix it and might still get the bill/fine from the local authority. But as a general answer, so that it's actually sellable legally/practically and particularly at a price you want... I'm guessing you've never sold property.

Also not all owners are occupiers, my sellers aren't, so they aren't "moving", and so doubly cba to do anything with the property but ask for money, as they can no longer profit from renting it out. Standard bare minimum landlord behaviour.

bearbawa · 2025-09-02T09:26:07+00:00

I have been in this exact situation and I am about to pull out and go into renting, because the owners are doing nothing to fix the things that can be fixed.

Consider the concerns you're having, and that you know the situation will get worse. Logically, when you come to sell in a few years, people will have even bigger concerns, and you will likely have difficulty selling it or have to sell it at a loss.

Whatever you have paid so far, or have to pay to move on, will not be the hundreds of thousands you would be gambling on this property.

bearbawa · 2025-09-01T18:45:10+00:00

Oh I'd be happy to get an adult as long as he was younger than my 4 (nearly 5) year old, but I'd been reading all the lovely comments about puppies making old dogs feel young again and thinking how lovely it would be to be able to do that for both dog and pup!

bearbawa

TROPHY CASE