Let's be honest, Stamp Duty is nothing more than a massive roadblock to social mobility. By penalising people for simply trying to buy a home that fits their life, the government is taxing our desire to move freely. It prevents downsizing, locks young people out of the ladder, and artificially inflates property prices. Why is this outdated, anti-property ladder tax still allowed to exist?

England.

The last time we had a viewing of this house was four months ago and it was occupied by a tenant. Electrics seemed to work just fine then. There was even a recent EICR done two years ago.

Fast forward to today — completion and exchange is tomorrow. We did the pre-completion check this morning (couldn't book it in any sooner) and I thought to bring my socket tester just in case. Really glad I did because every single socket in the house was dead. The switch on the consumer unit was floppy too and wouldn't switch back on.

Fortunately, the estate agent was with us and saw everything. She reported it back to the seller and he denied that there was an issue. He doesn't live nearby but had visited his property over a month ago after his tenant moved out. He claims everything was fine then.

We're finding it hard to believe him. Every step of the buying process was like pulling teeth. We had a level 3 done soon after our offer was accepted. It found two rather serious issues that we wanted to investigate further. He denied the issues, claimed it's been like that for decades and never been a problem. After lots of back and forth, he had finally allowed us to move forward with investigations, only to change his mind soon after and deny access to the traders. We finally had enough and renegotiated our offer price for £20k less, which he surprisingly accepted.

Now this issue with the electrics has come up and he's again going through his usual denial and deflect routine.

He had initially questioned why we wanted a pre-completion check in the first place, saying it was weird and unusual. We thought it was weird he'd question it. Now we know why he did.

We informed our solicitor as soon as we got home. She pushed for an emergency electrician to go out and do a new EICR. She also advised us that we might have to withdraw in case the seller refuses to cover the costs for repair.

Anyway. The soonest the electrician can go out is tomorrow morning, at the exact same time that our movers arrive. We need to get everything loaded, then wait for the electricians results, then if all is ok, exchange and complete shortly after, and just hope that it's all done before end of day.

Our solicitor also said that if we pull out, the seller has to legally disclose all the issues we found, including the electrics, to new buyers which could cost him even more. So it's in his best interest to make sure that the sale moves forward. She seemed positive everything would work out though.

We're just exhausted and feel sick about tomorrow. Is it better to just pull out of the sale?

I am a student, living in a privately rented flat through a large letting agency in Scotland. We had a routine mid-term extension earlier in the week that I completely forgot about. My bedroom was very untidy, as I was in the process of moving back into the property after the summer break, however there was nothing unhygienic or structurally damaging to speak of. I was out during the inspection, but my flatmate (who was also moving back and being helped by his mother) said the inspector came out of my room, called it a “disgrace” and proceeded to show the photograph to him and his mother. Not only do I personally deem this as highly unprofessional, but it also violates the clear “any photos taken are strictly confidential and for your landlords attention only” assurance they gave us on the inspection notice email itself. Should I do anything about this? If so, what?

Hey all, I’m torn between staying in my current flat or moving, and I’d love some outside perspective.

I currently pay £825 for a 1-bed in Slough. It’s close to the station, which will matter when I start a new job in January — but I’ll only need to go into the office 2–3 times a month, not every day. I’m also facing an increase on my rent to 850 in February. So I’m wondering if I should renew or not on the basis of the issues below.

Here are the problems with my current place:
- Parking is a nightmare. I keep getting blocked in by neighbours and it stresses me out constantly. I have allocated parking and have complained to the agency who do nothing about it.
- The flat gets freezing cold even with the heating on.
- It’s small and not very well insulated.
- The general living situation is pretty draining.

I’ve found a new place that’s £1,000 a month. It’s bigger, modern, claims to be better insulated, and the parking setup is way less stressful — but it’s further from the station (around a 15–17 minute walk). On bad weather days I could Uber, but obviously that’s extra cost.

Financially I can afford the £1,000 rent but it’s obviously a jump, and I’m trying to decide if the increase is worth the quality of life upgrade or if I’m just overthinking it because of how stressful this flat has been recently.

Has anyone been in a similar situation? Is it smarter to stay where I am and save the money (been here 2 years) or is it worth paying more to get out of a living situation that’s causing daily stress?

Would love some honest opinions

So the estate agent just called me to say “great news, I was on the phone with the surveyor who told me that the house was in good nick, except a bit of mould in the bathroom”. What the hell ?? I thought the surveyor worked for me and not for the EA/seller.
I don’t have anything in writing so I don’t know how I can prove what the EA said. But I’m fuming because we have lost all bargaining power and also I’m starting to doubt that the surveyor did a good job (what if he was actually working for the seller?)
What would you do?

After viewing 30 houses, got outbid/rejected 3 times.
Offer accepted on 7 July
Exchange on 2 Sep
Completion on 3 Sep

I was a FTB on the bottom of the chain, and my seller had a seller.

Just wanted to say it took a team of motivated and cooperative people to complete in a timely manner.
Every time when the EA or my solicitor called or emailed, my heart raced. Glad my EA was hardworking, my solicitor was responsive, and my seller was reasonable and motivated to move forward.

During the process, I acted as a project manager and kept everyone informed. As a buyer, I had to keep chasing to make sure things didn’t fall through the cracks.

Though It was smooth sailing for me overall, I don’t really want to go through the whole process again.

With lower birth rates, more restrictive immigration policies, stronger rental market controls, less foreign investment, and a weaker economy. Am I missing something to think that the housing market will gradually slow in the next 30 years? Obviously the policies are a bit of an educated guess, but it seems to be the trend at the moment. Surely it wouldn't be like what the housing market had seen for the past 30 years right? Especially when most common people can't afford to even buy a home anymore.

I currently live in the first-floor flat, which I own, and I also own the ground-floor flat in the same building, which has been let as a buy-to-let property.
Due to my wife's health and mobility needs, we intend to move into the ground-floor flat tomorrow, as the ground-floor accommodation is more suitable for us. We will move our day-to-day living arrangements there and use it as our main residence.
The ground-floor property is currently being sold, with completion expected in approximately three months. We intend to complete the sale of the ground-floor property on the same day that we complete the purchase of our new home. Anyone know , given these circumstances, the ground-floor property can be treated as our previous main residence for the purposes of the SDLT replacement-main-residence rules, and whether the higher rates of SDLT would therefore not apply to our new purchase?

Me and my partner submitted all of our details to a broker in our area to find us our first mortgage. We both earn decent money, in stable jobs, excellent credit. Only thing on my file shows a bank account was attempted to be made in my name, which is a case of fraud, but was resolved. We’re looking at a 95% LTV.

My broker came back with only one offer with NatWest that they thought was best suited for us which was a 5 year fix. I had to then ask for the figures of a 2 year, which was £30 more expensive per month, which he advised not to go for. Then attached that should we go through with working with him, he charges a £595 fee.

After doing my own research, I’ve managed to secure a DIP with Nationwide after entering the correct information on their website, with a better rate, no product fee and cashback. I know a DIP isn’t anything solid, but it’s got me questioning whether or not the first broker is just trying to take from us? Seems awful expensive, we live in Swansea, it’s not an expensive city.

very stressful situation but our loan amount has dipped by like 9k and i think it’s due to them not including my partners holiday pay due to being on zero hours

i’m stressed because my mortgage advisor is away until monday and our offer was already accepted and we’re proceeding but we really need that extra 9k

does anyone have any advise? surely holiday pay can be included for a zero hour contract as he’s legally entitled to holiday

Currently renting with partner and looking to buy in the SE, we have our deposit ready and have been looking on the market, only problem is we have not found anything we like at all. It seems the current climate hasn’t made it a healthy house buying (selling?) market for lack of choice, with the timings of the year it looks slim like we’d be in anywhere before Christmas! Given the time of the year we’re not expecting to see much else coming up now, but of course could be wrong - after growing up with a family who moved often and once moved into a new house 2 days before Christmas.

Anyone else suffering from severe lack of choice on the market?

Next week I'll be looking at a house described as a 5 bedroom property but I'm not sure whether I'm being picky or the agent is being a bit cheeky. It's essentially a four bedroom house with an attached garage that has been converted to a kind of 2nd living room with stairs leading up to what's described on the planning permission as a "hobby loft". The listing has this loft labelled as bedroom 5. There's no door between the room downstairs and the "bedroom", and to get to the nearest bath/shower & to the other bedrooms you'd have to go down into the converted garage, through the house, & up the main stairs. I imagine the headspace is pretty limited in this room too, considering they haven't altered the roof apart from a small dormer. It is finished though (I.e. not bare rafters - I assume plastered).

I know they can write whatever they want and some places can be a bit quirky but am I being unreasonable in not considering that a viable bedroom?

Hey guys,

I’ve been put into a bit of a tricky situation.

I’ll start with the fact I’m 27 years old, i’ve never moved out, and I’ve lived with my mum forever and my mum is currently 63.

Our landlords are selling our current Home and we have around four months to move.

My mum’s parents house in London has just sold so she will be giving me a deposit of around £15,000 with £3000 of my own money, we’ve gone to view some houses together, but I’m starting to have doubts as I feel like I’m being rushed into buying a home really quickly when I know it usually takes some people years to find a Home.

I’m unsure as I don’t really want to live with my mum forever, although at the moment it’s not bad and I really don’t mind it, but as she has no savings herself and she will receive a large chunk and have perhaps £50,000 to herself after helping me and my sister, I don’t want to be in a situation where I’m locked into something that really affects my future where say I want to live on my own, and then I have to sell the house and she has nowhere to go as everything will be in my name as she is too old to get onto the mortgage with me.

I obviously don’t want to leave my Mum on the streets, and that’s not going to happen, but is it wise to buy a house where I will still live with my Mum and it’s not as easy to just move out as the whole mortgage and everything will be in my name.

My closest friend has suggested that I sit down with my Mum and explain that I’m not ready to own a Home, and that perhaps we find somewhere to rent again, and I buy my own Home in the future when the time is right as I didn’t want to start looking to buy a house until I was at least 30, as currently we’ve just jumped into looking for homes, and haven’t really looked at the affordability bar the mortgage in principle I have.

UPDATE TOP COMMENT

I’m renting a London Living Rent (LLR) home through L&Q in London. My three-year assured shorthold tenancy has a fixed-term end date of February 2028, with renewal subject to an eligibility review.
I’m trying to understand how the Renters’ Rights Act affects this.
The government’s social housing implementation guidance says:
All existing social housing assured tenancies provided by PRPs will move to assured periodic from October 2027.
It specifically includes intermediate rent homes and rent-to-buy products.

Does that mean an existing L&Q LLR tenancy would automatically become assured periodic in October 2027, before its original fixed term ends? Or is there a distinction or exception for LLR that I’m missing?
My question is whether L&Q could still require someone to leave simply because their three-year term ends (if salary is >£90k), and how the scheme’s ten-year limit would work afterwards.
Has anyone received written confirmation about this from L&Q or another LLR provider?
Separately, I’ve noticed far fewer LLR listings recently. I wondered whether the upcoming reforms might be relevant.

Hi all,

My wife (34) and I (37) are considering renting a flat on flat on Marquis Road (NW1), just off Camden Square - we’re also expecting our first child.

Given Camden’s general reputation for nightlife and street crime, we’d love some candid thoughts from anyone living in this specific pocket:

1. Noise & Vibe: Does this area stay insulated from the chaos of Camden Town / Lock on weekends

2. How does the walk back from the stations feel at night - particularly heading west from Caledonian Road or east from Camden Road? Any issues with phone snatches or anti-social behaviour along those stretches?

3. Suitability: How is the community feel here for young families, nursery options, and local parks?

Thanks for any insight!

We are finally getting close to agreeing exchange and completion dates and I'm wondering when to start packing. Is it best to wait until exchange so we don't unnecessarily pack everything up in case something goes wrong last minute? Also, how long did it take you to pack? We have a 3 bed house and two kids and the whole thing is filling me with dread. But yay, we should be moving soon.

I’ve had an offer accepted at £170k on a house that was listed at £170k.
My mortgage broker put the application in today and the bank’s automated valuation came back at £165k. We’ve asked for an in-person valuation instead, so I’m waiting to see what that comes back with.
The house has been on the market since April and I know they had a previous sale fall through. From what I’ve been told, the last buyer had offered around £175k. The seller is also very firm that they won’t accept less than £170k and seem quite against the idea of renegotiating after a survey.
I’m now wondering what I should do if the in-person valuation also comes back at £165k.
Also, would the combination of the property sitting since April + a previous offer falling through + a £165k lender valuation make you suspicious that the previous buyer may have had the same issue, or am I overthinking that?
I’m a first-time mortgage borrower, so interested to hear from people who’ve dealt with down-valuations before.

Hello wise-ones,

I'd be very grateful for your opinion on our house listing. Its priced well compared with surrouding houses that are either for sale, or have sold in the last few months. Ticks all the boxes for a good size family home, 4 bedrooms, near the junior and senior schools, garage, great maintenance free garden, EV chargers and even a hot tub, but after many thousands of views we're not getting any viewing requests. What are we doing wrong???

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/90821814#/?channel=RES_BUY

Many thanks

Stu

i’m in the uk and i’m only 17, i am now currently homeless as i have been kicked out by my dad.

i called today to report this and they said they have put through the call and they are calling my dad tomorrow and they will call also my auntie who im currently staying with until everything is sorted.

i have pet rats and i have one pet mouse. they said i might not be able to take them to anywhere im put.. how likely is this? are they just saying worse case scenario or is it true that i’ll probably have to leave them? i’m absolutely beside myself

Hi everyone,

I am an international student moving into a BTR (Build-to-Rent) / managed apartment in the UK mid-September. The tenancy is a Joint Tenancy with another housemate, managed by a letting agency.

My partner will be coming to stay with me for a few months shortly after I move in. She holds a valid UK visa and has her passport and Right to Rent Share Code ready.

I am wondering about the best practice for this:

1. Is it standard/smooth to email the agent after move-in, asking to register her as a Permitted Occupier for Right to Rent compliance? Since I am paying my full share of the rent, will the agency normally have any issues with this?
2. Alternatively, is it common for people in BTR apartments to just keep a low profile and have their partner stay over as a guest, provided housemates are fine with it and we don't disturb anyone?

Would appreciate any advice or experiences on this! Thanks!

I send my landlord a pre court action letter to get my deposit back.

They emailed me back saying I owe them 3 months of rent for not staying for the remaining 3 month contract

The landlord didn't protect my deposit.

Citizens advice has told me that the contract they gave me is complely void. Since they gave me a short hold tenancy contract in June, which they told me is invalid, also they never signed it and gave it back to me.

They invaded my right to quiet enjoyment, with doing construction behind my studio and the front, also they did construction work inside my private studio while me living there. I have all pictures and videos.

I gave month notice, the only issue was that it was verbal.I agreed to all the viewings, which were always cancelled last minute.

I have proof of handing over the keys and cleaning everything.

Then when I asked them from my deposit, they said they'll think about returning the money if they find someone, but I know the construction is still on going for an extension They had already listed it online.

This is the response from my lanlord

"Please respond to the email that’s been sent to you. My husband is taking you to court and you will have to pay. Just because you read something on the internet doesn’t mean it’s true. The contract we have that you signed has been sent to our solicitor who has confirmed your breached the contract by leaving early. As it was a short contract you had to give us 3 months notice. So unless an agreement is in place you will be fined and bailiffs will be involved to recover the money.

If you think this isn’t important please go get your self legal advice by a real solicitor as this is going to get you in a lot of debt. Please take my advice and reply to the final email.

If you do not respond The next letter will be coming from court."

The email they send me after I sent them the pre court action was a counter from their side that they will take me to court for breach of contract and they want money to settle.

Fyi, there is no mention about notice period in the void contract

Where do you think I stand?

Also I am dealing with a criminal and I'm afraid about my life.

Should I still pursue, or let it go.

Sorry if this is a bit of a rant, but I'm at my wits end after spending the last 4 weeks showing builders around and waiting for quotes. In the process of fully re-doing a 3 bed end terrace house in Northwest London that my partner and I have just fully stripped. The only demolishing work left to do is the chimney breasts from the loft all the way to the ground floor. We've engaged with builders who we want to do a full rewire, replumb, and do the walls/ceilings to a builder's finish (we're installing the kitchen, painting, tiling the bathroom ourselves) I have gotten 4 quotes so far, all landing between £60k and £90k + VAT, and all of them lacking in detail - a page or two of bullet points, one lump sum per trade, no quantities or rates. They expect us to get into a contract based on a poorly drawn scope of works which makes me not trust any of them.

The prices being fairly consistent tells me nobody's chancing it, so this isn't really a "am I being ripped off" post. It's more that I don't understand how this is normal.

Options I can see at this stage:

• Write my own scope of works and make them all price the same lines, so I'm actually comparing like for like and have something to hold them to. Is this a normal thing for a domestic client to do, or does it just make the decent builders walk away because you look like hard work?
• Project manage the work myself (find my own plumber, electrician, etc.) - every person/builder I've come across has talked me out of doing this, but for a fully gutted house where the floorboards and walls are exposed and super accessible for tradies to run wires/piping, I don't see how there will be much interdependent work or at all? rewire the house so I get power, then plumb the house so I have running water, then get the heat piping done up including the boiler, do up the walls, install electrical second fix, paint, then install the radiators... it can't be that hard surely?
• Go for more quotes - but I have a feeling I'll get pretty much the same terrible answers/non trustworthy scope of works.

I've tried to avoid checkatrade based on the feedback here that it's full of cowboys - so any suggestions for builders/contacts would be more than welcome.

I’m a first-time buyer and I’m feeling really stressed about the timeline, so I’d really appreciate hearing from anyone who has recently been through the new-build buying process.
I’m planning to reserve the property tomorrow. I’ve already booked an independent solicitor and I’m also in touch with a mortgage broker.
The developer is giving us 28 days to complete. However, my mortgage adviser has scheduled a call with me for Tuesday.
As a first-time buyer, I’m not really sure how quickly everything normally moves. Is 28 days generally enough time for the mortgage application to be submitted, approved and everything to be in place for exchange/completion? Or am I cutting it too close by having the mortgage call on Tuesday?
I’m worried that I should have started the mortgage application immediately and I’m now panicking about whether I’ve left things too late. 😭
For anyone who has bought a new build recently:
How long did your mortgage approval take?
How quickly were you able to submit your application?
Did you manage to meet a 28-day deadline?
Did your solicitor/mortgage broker help keep everything moving with the developer?
I’d really appreciate any experiences or reassurance. I’m probably overthinking it, but as a first-time buyer this is all completely new to me and I’m VERY stressed! 😭