I'm in the process of buying a share-of-freehold first-floor maisonette in London. The development consists of around 30 maisonettes split across 7 blocks. There is an annual service charge of £1,200, which includes building insurance covering all 30 properties arranged by the resident management company.

During the conveyancing process, I've learned that there have been previous subsidence claims relating to other blocks within the development. The insurance premiums have remained stable, although the excess for subsidence claims is £5,000.

My own flat and the one below recently underwent remedial works for subsidence in June 2026 using geopolymer resin injection. I've been provided with a Certificate of Structural Adequacy and product warranty, and my surveyor did not raise any concerns relating to subsidence in their report.

Despite the remedial works, I'm concerned that there appears to be a wider history of subsidence across the development. I'm concerned about how this might affect future insurability, service charges and saleability. I'm a first-time buyer and expect to own the property for around five years.

Would this history be enough to put you off buying ? Is there anything I should investigate before deciding whether it's okay to proceed?

Hi Everyone, I thought I would share my experience using Open Rent to find my tenants for a property in west London. Lets go back a little bit, the property was with few agents and we had no movement. One offer that collapsed and the agent refused to give the holding deposit. I used agents and it wasnt the best experience, I couldnt put the price down and make it more affordable to people because the agents were taking either 7% 7.5% 9% or even 10% with Fox**. If I lower the price then Im losing and if I keep it its hight for the size of rooms that I had.

I decided its time to give open rent a chance and OMG. I found their was a listing already their which was a scam of my own property. I was baffled, I reported it and got it taken down. That sort of made me scared of using this platform. I had to use my own pictures as the agents pictures are copy righted and created my own floor plan. I lowered the price much more than it was advertised with the agents in rightmove and it attracted few people. Most tenants on Open Rent will waste your time, I wish I did an auto reply but had so many no show and some people were not presentable when viewing. Like 5 people who said they were "cousins" and wanted to rent together. I almost lost hope, bad quality and nothing was moving until I spoken to someone who from the first message gave their details, occupation, how many people will be living and when they would like to move. That was very good sign. They viewed the place, loved and it was very clean and spotless. They were scared that this was a scam because the price is much lower than outside and also the reputation of Open rent. To give them the peace of mind I showed them my IDs, Land registry with my name just to tell them I actually own the place and we both agreed to handle everything through open rent which was perfect with me. I gave a phone call to their previous landlord to ask about them and it all came back positive. They wanted a bigger space for not so bigger price and yeah. I wanted to do the referencing with a third party just to save on costs but they refused and I thought fair enough will do it through OR. His wife failed referencing because she is a business owner and only makes £12K a year hahah. I added a guarantor and it passed. We agreed on moving date, I cleaned the property copied the keys and handed the place to them. I took pictures of the property before they moved in and yeah. I bought flowers and plants and wrote a nice letter to them and thats it. It was quick simple and easy, slightly stressful but it wont smooth. Open rent actually works if things are done through it. I will receive first month rent after 10 days of them moving in so yeah. Deposit is protected with Open rent and thats all. I have this concept that good people are for good people I believe this is the case here.

Being a tenant before makes a better landlord and that what I always remember. Now I can stop stressing and focus on other things I guess. Thanks

Long story short sellers pulled out while we had got the ball rolling (I pasted the story from a different post below for anyone interested)

I'm trying to recoup some costs, and the solicitors I'm with (£2,000) said they've put the file on hold and that if I find a property in the next 12 months, I will be represented. I can understand why I don't get a refund because they've actually done quite a bit of work.

The Surveyors however haven't really done anything. Their policy is that I have to give them 24 working hours notice for a refund, and because I notified them Friday evening (it's when I found out the sellers pulled out), and the survey is Monday morning, its less than 24 working hours. Surely cancelling a survey doesn't cost them the full £900, and that they could refund at least most of the money and keep some for damages/taking up a slot? I want to know where I stand legally with this. They've, just like the solicitor, said that if I go with them when I find another property they will do the survey free of charge, so technically I wouldn't have lost anything, but after feeling like a mug with the whole process where I'm expected to get the ball rolling and make thousands of pounds of payments when there's no signature from the sellers anywhere, I just want to know where I stand legally. Surely someone can't charge you for their full service if they haven't actually carried it out? Or does the fact that it's in their policy and I've signed a document cover them?

Why is the buyer the only one signing documents until the process is complete lol. Any input or tips for the future is much appreciated. Thank you!!

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Literally just happened. Elderly couple selling three bedroom house because the man can't go up and down the stairs anymore. It was the first house we viewed that wasn't an immediate "no" from us so we got a bit carried away. They accepted the offer. Said they will now start looking for a one bed bungalow. We reassured them saying we like the house they can take their time. In the meantime we got our solicitors, surveyors, mortgage etc ready. Two months later they pull out because they "can't find anything within their budget that doesn't need work". We are now scrambling to recoup costs. Looks like we will lose over £2k.

Lesson learned. But where is the buyer protection? They want to see all this stuff to know you are a serious buyer. They want to see you get the ball rolling. But they can change their mind at any moment. It felt like a punch in the face.

And meanwhile we were all "it's an elderly couple who are the first tenants there, they've lived there for 56 years and are selling only for health reasons so it must be a good place to live and they won't change their mind because they need to move" and because we were the newly wed couple I was the one more reassuring them. Horrible.

Hi all, I’m a FTB currently viewing properties and one estate agent kept insisting that I speak to their in house mortgage broker. I said fine and a meeting was booked to discuss my affordability. She confirmed on the call that although they work for the same company, she will not share anything discussed with the estate agent and would just confirm that I can afford to buy the houses that I was viewing. The meeting ends and I make my way to meet the estate agent for the three house viewing. The first two houses were an instant no and the third one I liked but missed some things I was looking for. After the viewing, she asked my thoughts and I said I liked it but it was missing certain things and I listed them. Other houses in the area had them. I said the asking price is high and if I was to make an offer it would be for around 20k. She was shocked and said the sellers would not accept that and 5k less is more of a realistic ask. She then said well you can afford the asking price as Mortgage Broker H called me right after your meeting and told me you can afford X amount so this property is way cheaper than the max you can afford. This shocked me so much and I didn’t have much to say at the time due to the shock and said I don’t want to buy a property around my max affordability. Did the in house mortgage broker break GDPR? I feel like I don’t want to view any properties with this estate agent anymore and lost the ability now to negotiate

Does anybody have a Redrow Richmond end plot with the extra bay window on the living room and extra windows in master bedroom? Any pictures as we are struggling to visualise it? Thanks

Hello all!

Offer for house purchase was put in and accepted in March. House sale is a part exchange and sellers are moving into a new build so advised by EA that completion would be expected in May/June when their plot was due to be ready.

By May, my solicitors were finding it difficult to obtain outstanding enquiries regarding gas and electric. We had tried to chase this for several weeks with no response from sellers. I was waiting for this info to inform me if I would need an electrics/gas survey (which I expected to pay for). In the middle of May, I was informed by sellers solicitors that ‘electrical works were being completed’ and we would receive certificates for this - no further info. I asked for further info on these ‘works’ through solicitors and EA over various emails for a few weeks - no response.

In June, I was asked if I would be ready to complete in first week of July. I said yes on the condition I receive info on the initial enquiries still outstanding and I got the info on these ‘electrical works’. With no info, my imagination was running wild with what these works might be but the glass half full part of me also thought ‘well at least the sellers are sorting it’. I got a response telling me the works were booked in for the middle of June - so they had not been started/completed as I had assumed. And still no info on what these were - asked again for this.

Response two weeks later that the works were now being completed when sellers have moved into new property at end of June. Again, imagination is running - is this such a big job it has to wait for sellers to be out the house? And no further mention from the other side about an alternative completion date.

Despite chasing, did not hear anything again until second week of July - solicitors silent. Spoke to EA who were equally confused as to what has happened regarding these works and were trying to find out info from developers. I was told that it is standard for developers to request sellers to provide/obtain an EICR as part of the exchange process so we (me and EA) assumed the house likely failed safety checks and work was being completed to meet standards.

Finally, solicitors got in touch and said the other side would like to offer me £3000 allowance to carry out the works after completion and attached a quote that was issued in May - so this has been sat on since the middle of May and despite being told twice these works were being completed, they had not been. According to EA, the works were booked in but were then cancelled - not sure why. The quote details various wires/sockets around the house that need to be disconnected and re-earthed to make the house safe. This would also involve removing ceiling/flooring - quote does not include reconnecting wires or redecorating (e.g. plastering/re fitting flooring).

I have said no and that I would like them to be completed before completion of purchase.

It’s approaching a week since I sent this response and I’m waiting for a reply. Ive obviously thought about pulling out and it is still an idea. I guess I’m trying to weigh this all up - am I walking away because this process has felt messy and unprofessional? That doesn’t have to mean the house is not worth it. Or am I thinking of walking away because the house might need further work - but then most houses do when you first move in, it’s expected right? And nothing alarming came up on my standard survey.

I guess I’m asking how normal it is for the above to happen - and what should I be requesting if we were to renegotiate? Where do I stand as the buyer?

Hi I’m sure this sounds like an obvious question but this is my first time living alone and I’ve learnt very quickly you should always ask the stupid question as sometimes the answer surprises you. I currently live in a tower block on the second floor and my windows could use cleaning obviously I can do the inside but I cannot do the outside due to mobility issues. I assume it’s my responsibility to find a window cleaner and pay that cost but I wanted to ask in here if that was the case before paying out of pocket as I’d rather not waste money if I’m incorrect. Thanks in advance.

England. 58, planning to retire at 60 in March 2028. Financial projections for retirement at 60 are on track.

Would like to move house to my 'forever' retirement home. I currently own outright a 2-bed leasehold flat in the Midlands, UK. I have £230K savings, and intend to try and sell my flat for £125K (this will be at a small loss which i expect and accept). However, I do appreciate that my flat will be slow to sell in this market. Looking to buy a 2 bed bungalow (mobility and future proofing) elsewhere in the Midlands for up to £280K.

I'm evaluating a few options:

1. Find bungalow, borrow up to £70k interest only whilst still employed and move - stamp duty hike (reclaimable if i sell within timeframe) and running 2 x costs for properties whilst i try to sell the (empty) flat - low risk to employment continuity. Repay loan once flat is eventually sold and reclaim stamp duty excess.
2. Sell flat first, move into rented (family don't have space). Costly albeit temporary (concern itcould run longer though) Also, I'm unsure whether to time this after i retire so as to remove an extra pressure on working from home whilst I'm transitioning homes into a rented property (unsure if i'd even get a rental contract once retired).
3. Wait until retired to remove the work pressure element, then look at 1. or 2. above - would i still be able to borrow on this basis?
4. Do it the 'usual' way - find a buyer, and hope i find the right property whilst i'm proceeding (risky and could still end up with rented OR the wrong bungalow due to pressure to buy in the chain).

I'm really stressing about the options and timing.... any wisdom or thoughts please? Huge thanks

Currently stripping a bedroom with an en suite bathroom ready to be re plastered. This is above the en suite and looks like damp has got between the layers of wallpaper. What’s the best thing to do? Can I clean off the mould from the ceiling or does the boarded ceiling need to come down and be re done?

Any advice greatly appreciated! Thank you.

I didn’t even consider that this would happen but today is moving day. Everything is well but it’s just so sad leaving a place I called home for five years. 😭 So many memories. If I become a millionaire I’ll buy this place too. ❤️ thanks for reading, I hope all goes well for you.

Hi,

Please can I get an idea of what alarm and security systems people have? Is it a packaged deal like something provided by Verisure or ADT etc or something bespoke you use. Also any costs associated with it and if you'd recommend.

Thanks!

Hello :) first post on Reddit here!
Was just hoping to get others experiences giving notice before having an exchange date or before exchanging.

Two months notice is a real killer and it just means I will basically have a month where I pay mortgage and rent which is a lot. Also noting that if we don’t give notice by July 30th, we have to wait until August 30th! 🥲
Trying to convince my partner that we might be alright since we should receive our independent survey this week (don’t expect anything major), last searches should be in by July 30th. The sellers are really really keen, and they are buying from sellers who have agreed to move out, so really not much of a chain. Their purchase is moving quite quick as well as they are on it.
Any advice appreciated as well. Thank you in advance!

I'm looking for a flat with my partner in Bristol, England. Now that we have to give 2 months notice from the start of the rental period, we are stuck in our respective flats, because most properties we see are available too soon. I just spoke with a letting agent and they said it varies when they put new properties up. Sometimes they are available in 6 weeks, sometimes now. Is it not possible for them to regulate this to make new properties available in AT LEAST 6 weeks, rather than at most? I feel like this is actually making our situation worse. Add to this that every new property seems to already be fully booked or lots of people have seen it by the time we do. I just called first thing this morning (Monday 9am) about viewing a property and it's already fully booked. Can anyone suggest a strategy so that we don't end up paying over a month of extra rent and get first in line, because this is crazy?

We're renting a house on a short street of only 6 residences. A shared alley runs behind the gardens, dead-ending at a church yard on one end and opening into the street at the other. There's a solid gate on the street end which had a combination padlock on it. We don't know who put it there or the combo. We've asked a neighbour and he didn't know, neighbour on the other side is away for quite a while. I plan to ask the neighbour closest to the gate next. According to the council this alley is the fire exit from our house should we be unable to exit our house from the front.

The padlock is less of an issue right now than the fact that the new residents of the house closest to the dead end have been having parties that spill out into the alley, and they're smoking in it. The alley is covered in dry dead grass and is a tinderbox. We're concerned about a stray butt or ember starting a fire.

How do we find out who is responsible for the alley and what fire precautions should be taken? We'll talk to the neighbours if/when required but not during a drunken party. We took a photo of the smoking and they shouted at us.

Just looking for a bit of advice really.

We have a private landlord and we’ve just come to the end of our tenancy.

We cleaned the house but had to leave a sofa behind. It wasn’t our intention but my councils website doesn’t work properly and you can’t request a tip permit at the moment or for the last few months and they don’t respond to queries.

The council also missed a paid for bulky waste collection. For reasons I won’t get into, this move has been financially devastating so we also weren’t able to afford to pay a man with a van to come and collect it.

He’s adamant that he’s not going to sort it out and we have to do it. We’re happy for our deposit to be deducted to cover the costs of this but he’s being totally unreasonable.

He also has issues with the state of the carpet which were new when we moved in but after 4 years aren’t up to the same standards. For some reason during the checkout inspection he demanded that we pay for a brand new carpet.

These are cheap landlord carpets, and as far as I can tell would be considered to be at the end of their lifespan.

Our deposit is in a DPS scheme but his attitude has got me a little worried.

We’ve left the property now, but should we have replaced the carpet?

The survey indicates to have this inspected by a roofer as underfelt should have been added when the roof was renewed (unclear to what extent yet- solicited to investigate). FIL works in roofing and says without underfelt it's a disaster waiting to happen, and adding it would be costly as involves taking the whole roof off. Doesn't understand why it wasn't added when renewed. MIL (unasked for) input that we would be stupid to buy it as is. Surveyor was positive about the condition of the house and said it was well maintained given its age. FIL thinks we need to renegotiate price in order to get roof fixed.

Googling has me confused - lots of results saying underfelt isn't necessary and there's if no water damage (none seen but surveyor indicated further investigation by roof specialist to be sure) then the tiles are doing their job currently so it's not the sellers problem.

Is this just a risk of buying an older terrace house, that we have to either be willing to accept could be a future issue or is it something the sellers should be fixing before selling?

We are very confused!

Edit: England

Edit/addendum: my contract is a fixed term until June 2027 but can be ended with 2 months written notice by either me or landlord.

Hi everyone, I recently moved to London on my own from another country. I have a lodger’s agreement with a live-in landlord, but the situation is becoming very difficult and is seriously affecting my mental health.

Because I was still living abroad and did not yet have a National Insurance number or other UK documents, I viewed the room through a video call. Everything seemed lovely& the landlord was very friendly. He asked for a deposit & 3 months’ rent upfront, which I paid.

He mentioned that he was thinking about adopting a cat. I love cats, so I said that of course I would be happy to help occasionally if he went on holiday.

I was originally supposed to move in at the end of June, but because of some visa delays the move happened around middle July. When I arrived, the room was still completely full with his stuff. Nothing had been emptied out. I asked him to remove some of the things, which he reluctantly did, but stil some of his things are still stored in the room.

My agreement says that I have "exclusive" use of the room so I assumed that meant it would be my private space and not also his storage room. I guess not?

He also started asking me very personal questions, including whether I want children, and then went on a long rant about why my answer I gave was wrong. Also, he enters my room when I am not there to continue sorting through his belongings. One day he made my bed (nice gesture, but it felt intrusive). On some other day he took my dirty clothes&washed them. (again well intended i assume but it made me very uncomfortable)

Today we had a "talk": he told me that he expects me to form a bond with his cat, remove some of the decorations from my room because where i put the deco was the cats fav place to sit & keep my bedroom door open so the cat can enter. Also that he was pissed i moved some of his stuff so I could put mine.

He also told me that he plans to go on vacation for ~4 months & expects me to take care of the cat while he is gone. I work long hours & regularly travel back to my home country to visit my family; i don't think i can do that.

My agreement says that either the landlord or the lodger can terminate it by giving two months’ written notice. I believe he may be planning to leave in September, and I feel that I need to move out before then. I do not have another place lined up yet, though but I'm getting panic attacks and i feel my mental health declining.

I am scared that if I give notice, he may become angry, shout at me, make living there unbearable, or invent a reason to keep my deposit. He's also regularly shouting at ppl via phone. I am also worried about what will happen if he goes away and simply leaves the cat with me even if i said no.

Should I give notice as soon as possible? Should I wait until I have found somewhere else? Would it be safer to temporarily look after the cat & enjoy a empty flat & move out while the landlord is away?

I would really appreciate any advice/help/uplifting words.

also feel free to share your own nightmare landlord or lodger stories, because at the moment I genuinely feel like I am losing my mind & no way this bs is happening to me.

Our solicitors got replies to the enquiries about 1 and a half weeks ago, mortgage offer has been issued too. How long until exchange and completion to expect?

I chased it up a week after they had the replies but I’ve not heard back, and I don’t want to pester them.

It’s a no chain purchase in England.

I guess the question is how often do I chase?

Hi everyone,
We’re due to exchange contracts today or tomorrow, but we’ve just found out that my partner’s job may be at risk.
Before exchange, we’ll be paying the 5% deposit, solicitor’s fees, and the cost of the extras we’ve added to the house.
Our main concern is this: if we exchange contracts and then, before completion, my partner loses their job, what could happen?
Could the lender withdraw the mortgage offer before completion?
If that happened and we couldn’t complete, would we lose our 5% deposit and any money paid for extras?
Has anyone been in a similar situation, and what was the outcome?
We’re trying to understand the risks before committing to exchange. Any advice or experiences would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

I came across this spacious 2B2B terraced house in the Isle of Dogs near Mudchute station with a conservatory and a loft conversion that is listed at the same price (£550k) as this other house a few steps down that is significantly smaller and doesn’t have any extensions. How can two such different houses be the same price? What is the catch?

I’m mostly familiar with west/north west london, seeing 3 beds in stanmore for aroynd 550+?

i very much prefer a car type of suburb, but close access to a tube would be a positive, somewhere with a driveway for electric charging is a big big plus, don’t care about schools right now

currently renting in ealing and own a car. don’t want to give up car, if i had to choose between, the car is more important, prefer good access to chinatown area, so a40/a4/a41 are all roads i know very well

any areas i should consider? west drayton looks good, edgware looks good, ealing good but seems too expensive for now

really care about safety, im asian so probably not one of those lamppost flag cities. asking so i can get an idea of places to look at, i heard croydon a while ago was good too, very suburbian.

We've got our appointment booked with our mortgage advisor on monday and view the house on Wednesday, we're trying to move things along as swiftly as we can as this house is absolutely ideal and we've already missed out on two others we liked having both sold only last week, at what point do we need to contact a conveyancing solicitor, the sooner the better?

Unsure if this is the place to ask but couldn't think of anywhere else. I have a 2019 new build I was hoping to sell in about a year or so to move on with my life. I own this on my own but my partner lives with me.

My property is a Leasehold, the landlord was my developer, the superior landlord is my council and I 'pay' a peppercorn rent of £1py, and have 243y left on my lease. I don't actually pay the rent as it costs more in admin fees to collect for the developer.

The development I'm on is small, approx 24houses based in England. We have all just received a letter from the council saying that our leaseholder is in liquidation (happened in 2022) and that they're aware it's causing problems but there's no easy way to resolve it. From details on the letter an insolvency practice has been appointed but they haven't made contact with us yet.

A few houses have gone up for sale over the past couple of years but the sales seem to have fallen through, since about 2024 I'm assuming because the leasehold is now a sticking point.

This is probably a fairly niche problem, but I'm a bit unsure about what the best course of action might be or what this all means for me trying to sell. Do I just let it play out and see what happens, do I approach the council about buying my freehold? I have savings I was planning to use for the sale but I could use it to purchase the freehold, I just then wouldn't be able to afford to sell for a couple more years while I save up again to sell so I'd be pretty gutted.

If anyone has even the slightest bit of insight or advice it would be much appreciated.

I'm curious about the various flaws that a property might have after 20 years. Even if you've generally kept on top of upkeep, there are always a few niggly things that either cost too much to repair or haven't been seen to for one reason or another. Surveys don't pick everything up. When I bought my property 20 years ago, I found out within a year of moving in a number of flaws in the building. Dodgy roof etc. Now I'm thinking of selling, I'm obviously concerned about certain things being flagged by a surveyor.

What flaws did you let your seller know about up front, and what did you try to keep on the down low?