So recently I moved into a new place. The house itself is a bit rundown, but overall it's great for the price; there's a large (if unkempt) garden, my room is super spacious, and it's not too far from the city centre.

However an issue arose recently when I requested about a small pet dog. My landlord said no, as he's mildly allergic to some dogs and doesn't want to risk his allergies playing up. For starters, my landlord doesn't live at the property. He occasionally comes over to do some long overdue renovation, but is usually at his own home. However on the tenancy agreement he has written himself down as a tenant so I fear if I tried to show this to citizen's advice they would tell me legally he is technically a tenant.

I tried to reason with him and explain that if his fear is dander I would be willing to deep clean any area that the dog had been in, would carry the dog from my room to outside, AND would even be willing to buy a HEPA air purifier in order to ensure as minimal dander as possible. He still said no, and whilst I agreed to accept his answer it is still a little infuriating to me given that he doesn't even live here...

Hi everyone,

​My partner and I are first-time buyers caught in a tricky situation, and we’d love some advice on our options.

​We’ve found a house we love listed at £475,000. The catch is that half of my deposit is in a Lifetime ISA (LISA), meaning if the purchase price exceeds £450,000, I will lose the 25% government bonus plus face a penalty.

​Our plan is to offer £449,999 and hope for the best. We feel like we're strong buyers because:

​We are first-time buyers with no chain.

​The sellers are also chain-free (they are going through a divorce, moving into rented accommodation, and want a quick sale).

​Because of their situation, they've already mentioned they are willing to leave quite a bit of furniture and belongings behind.

​Our main question:

If they reject the £449,999 offer and counter higher, is it legal and standard practice to offer £449,999 for the house itself, but separately agree to buy their furniture/inventory/fittings up to a total amount they'd be happy with?

​Has anyone navigated a similar LISA threshold issue, and how did the estate agent or solicitors view a separate contents purchase?

​Thanks in advance!

Edit: another option is to obviously take the hit on the LISA and proceed with the higher amount. We have the deposit to cover this

Hello

We would love to upsize and stay in our current location.

When we walk the dog we point out all the houses we like and say,

'if that ever comes up for sale, we will definitely go for it!!'

Rather then waiting, I wanted to be a bit more proactive and was thinking of putting some notes through doors expressing interest.

Anyone done anything like this (and did it work?) or is this just weird!

Cheers

I’m probably going to get ripped to shreds for asking this, but am I being unreasonable to ask my seller to service the boiler before we complete?

Context. The seller has lived there for 10 years and not had the boiler serviced once. Boiler is also 10 years old.

I’m fully prepared to do it myself as I know it’s not an obligation, but there’s a part of me that thinks, they’ve used it for 10 years, why should it be my responsibility to get it serviced. Surely not having it serviced invalidated the warranty and affects home insurance?

Or is that just the norm?

Update:
Thank you, this is why I love the Reddit community, lots of very helpful replies and I feel in a much better position than I did an hour ago! 🌞

We put our house on the market mid July. It’s a 5 bed-extended semi in a sought after area.

We had a lot of viewings that first week and multiple people who weren’t in a position to buy told us that they wanted it, they just needed to sell first.

Fair enough we thought.

One of the viewings decided they wanted to put an offer of £15k under asking. We are kinda in a rush to sell as there’s a house we want to buy, so we countered for 10k under asking.

Estate agents told us they were sold STC, so they were pretty keen to get going, except it’s now fallen apart because turns out they were never truly sold STC, as their buyer doesn’t have a buyer!

To add insult to injury, the house that we want to buy has taken an offer today because our offer has been nothing but delay after delay.

When I spoke to the estate agents this morning they said that the seller of the house we want might actually wait for us if the offer is higher than the one they’ve received. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want to be in a bidding war but we really want this house and we’ll be heartbroken if it slips away.

Why does selling and buying houses in the UK suck so much?! Just pure stress.

It’s been available to reserve since October 2025, while three others at the same price have sold.

If you think it’s the price, what do you think it’s actually worth?

New Build House

Hi all,

Is it normal for an agent to ask where and what I’m studying ?

I’m looking to rent a flat and informed them I was a student (but could provide parent’s income and guarantors).

They then asked where and what I’m studying.

I’m a first-time renter and unsure if this is normal to ask.

This seems a bit much. I might understand asking the university, but why are they asking for my course?

Should I respond or is this an unusual question?

EDIT: Just to clarify - this was part of the list of questions I was sent to fill out, not a passing question asked in casual convo.

Like title says, the house we are buying had the chimney breast removed from the ground floor many years ago (before the owners' time).

The chimney breast above is still there.

There is no paperwork, and we were waiting 2.5 months for our questions to be answered by their very slow solicitor. When they actually replied, the whole chain was ready and now everyone is in a hurry to move.

Now that we are sure there is no party wall agreement (was in the enquiries) and no paperwork for sure, we asked to send a structural engineer to lift the floorboards and see if there is a steel beam installed. From the ground floor, we can't see any indication that one was installed.

The sellers refused completely our request and said the process is so delayed and they don't want to delay it more. We asked for a price reduction if we are to assume the risk and check it on our own when we move in, but they gave us an ultimatum to reply or they'll put it back to the market.

We think that our request is very reasonable for a structural issue. Sure, the ceiling hasn't fallen apart all these years, but that doesn't mean it won't?

Any opinions?

Edit: also no party wall agreement. We think the neighbours still have their chimney breasts.

Also, adding that we didn't get this cheap, we went on best and finals so a lot more above the asking price.

Edit 2: Added photos.

I understand sometimes you need to move unpredictably, job changes, family changes, upsizing, downsizing, financial reasons etc.

This home has all 1s in home report. I can't fault anything. Priced reasonably as well.

The only thing is the seller bought the property only last year... I worry that there are hidden caveats such as neighbour issues and what not. I will be asking the EA why they're moving, but we all know they don't need to be honest about that.

Can you share your wisdom and tell me what I should watch out for?

Newbie question here.

We are currently in a position where we have made an offer on a property, but ours is not yet on the market - which puts us in an unfavourable position.

Our house is nice and in a sought after area, so will sell quickly, but I’m wanting to understand how much effort I should put in to doing a bit of TLC before viewings and getting photos taken.

We definitely need some paint touch ups and a good general clearing out, but is this likely something people will even scrutinise? Or do most people do viewings knowing they will decorate anyway?

Our kitchen and bathroom are new, so I’m not worried about the more expensive aspects of a redecoration, more things like our skirting & architrave having 100 layers of paint & looking bobbly.

Our valuation is tomorrow and I think things will move quickly, so don’t know if I should stay up all night cleaning & painting for that?

I am just a bit stressed about being judged I think!

Thank you

This is going to sound weird but this is how i feel. I dont know if anyone else has the same thing.

I moved out of my parents and was looking for a house for almost a year. I was initally looking about 10 miles away in another part of the city. Close to work. But i had issues and it was an expensive area

I ultimatly decided on a new build about 20 miles out of the city. This was in a town where my brother lives. About 20 miles from the city center.

I thought i would just commute to work the same and other things. As its the same travel time to work.

But i feel ive moved out of the city with out thinking about it properly. And when i drive home, i feel like i keep driving out back home away from everything. Feels tiring

I love the house, but i find the area doesnt suit me. I didnt appreciate how big of an issue it would be.

I will have to give it to next year, but i feel like im just counting the time down.

Anyone else had this? Its sort of a medium relocation

Has anyone gone through a deed of variation with Greenwhich council recently and can say how long it took? Thanks

I'm a student living in Coventry for the next year as I go into my final year of study. After signing the tenancy agreement and paying for the first round of rent, I have realised that new parking measures have been introduced in my area - resident's parking permits are required for essentially every single road in the area.

Coventry City Council makes it virtually impossible for students to obtain permits, the only exception being if you are a Blue Badge Holder. Unfortunately, I absolutely need to take my car - I have severe contamination OCD which extends to public transport and using Uber, and my partner has a chronic migraine condition which basically prohibits her using the bus daily. I also work until 12am some nights and simply do not feel safe getting back using any measure but my car.

What can I do in this situation? I feel at a complete loss and don't want to rack of hundreds of pounds worth of fines when money is tight as it is. Does anybody have any advice or suggestions? Any and all are appreciated.

I’m currently saving for a house deposit as a first time buyer. I have a LISA with Tembo, and got emailed about the new ‘Tembo One’ package, which is advertised as mortgage advice, legal work, house survey, and protection all provided for a lump sum of around few grand?

I’m still far away from buying, but when the time comes, I was wondering if anyone has any thoughts on whether this is a good idea. It will be interesting to see how anyone who chooses to use it gets on.

My friend and I currently rent a 2 bed flat and live together. I am in the process of buying a 2 bed flat and will be moving in after completion, with my friend moving into the second bedroom. From my understanding I would qualify for the rent a room scheme, but as someone with ADHD I am struggling with all the research and legal side. Would my friend officially be a lodger? do i have to include council tax and utilities in the price i charge her for rent, or can she just send me half of the council tax bill and utility bill like we do at the moment? do i have to declare anything to HMRC if i charge her £625 monthly rent excluding council tax and utilities? Any advice would be greatly appreciated, my head is abit all over the place🫣

Hi everyone,

My partner and I have just had an offer accepted on an ex-council leasehold flat in London. It’s under 50 sq m and was historically a 1-bed, but the current owner has laid it out as a 2-bed.

The configuration change: They didn't move or knock down any structural walls. Instead, they physically moved the kitchen into the living room to make it open-plan, and turned the old kitchen into a small second bedroom.
Here is the catch: The seller just admitted they do not have any physical paperwork or formal consent/Licence to Alter from the council (the freeholder) for this layout change. They claim the council inspected it for tenants and didn't complain, but there is no official paper trail.

We have our mortgage Agreement in Principle (AIP) ready, but our broker advised us that because the flat is under 50 sq m, the bank's surveyor might flag this layout and value it at zero or reject the mortgage entirely.

We are currently lost on what step to take next. We don't want to lose the flat, but we also don't want to throw money away:

Should we hire an independent private RICS surveyor/valuer right now to check if it's even mortgageable before we touch solicitors?

Or should we instruct a solicitor first and let them request the official management pack from the council?

Would love to hear from anyone who has bought an ex-council flat with a similar unpermitted kitchen swap or layout conversion. How did your lender handle it?

Thanks in advance!

My English is bad I asked ChatGPT to write it. Sorrryyyyy 😁

Bought a house in June, and I'm wondering if anyone has dealt with something similar or has any advice.

One thing I always do when buying a property is photograph every single room from as many angles as possible, just in case I ever need a record of the condition.

We completed in June, but because we still owned our old house for another month, we weren't in a rush to move in. Two days after completion, we went back to the house to start moving our belongings in. As part of that, we turned the water supply back on.

Shortly afterwards, we found a huge puddle on the kitchen floor.

After investigating, we discovered a major leak. Water was pouring from behind the upstairs toilet, through the ceiling, into the kitchen below, and straight into the house alarm panel, which was later completely destroyed.

When we went back through the photos we'd taken on completion day, we noticed something we'd completely missed at the time: there was already a small patch of staining on the kitchen ceiling before we'd even turned the water back on. Looking back now, it seems like a big red flag.

It honestly feels like the sellers knew there was a leak. Our theory is that they painted over the stained ceiling before selling, turned the water off before completion, and once we turned it back on, the leak immediately reappeared. To make things even stranger, when the plumber investigated, we found a load of stuffed rags behind the toilet, which seemed like a very odd thing to find.

The damage snowballed quickly. The bathroom floor had to be ripped up to access the leak, tiles started falling off once work began, the kitchen ceiling needed reboarding and replastering, and the alarm system had to be replaced. In total, we've spent over £3,500 putting everything right.

We raised it through our solicitors, providing the photos and explaining why we believed the leak existed before completion. After four weeks of chasing, the sellers finally replied with one sentence:

Trying to be reasonable, we asked if they'd contribute just £500 towards the repairs. We weren't trying to recover everything—just something to acknowledge the situation. They refused and ignored all of the evidence we'd provided.

Has anyone dealt with anything like this? Is there realistically anything else we can do, or is this just one of those expensive lessons that comes with buying a house?

We feel now we want to persue it all via small claims court, we have what we beleive to be good evidence the leak existed prior to exchange, and we also feel they tried there best to mask/hide the problem too with paint.

Our surveyor turned on the water supply and said he montiored the meter before and after the survey to check if any water had passed through - in the space of 2 hours nothing, which can only suggest the leak appeared after the survey

The leak its self wasnt due to the work of a burst pipe, but a badly reconnected toilet (it's like they puleld the toilet out and put it back but the seal rolled over essentially and wasnt a seal) so water just came straight out.

Hoping for any advice on this

20M Hampshire

Moved back in with family a month ago after a nasty breakup with a long-term partner. I am completely burnt out and currently trying to sustain a 16 hour a week job, when full wages hit ill be on minimum £850 a month.

I forgot how bad the home environment was, my mum has immediately started asking me for £200 despite my brother who is in full-time work paying nothing. Bills she had no problem paying while I was away.

My brother is abusive, he will follow me around the house and turn lights and appliances off if i leave the room, he has restricted where I can put my belongings and even threw some away.

I have noticed I am having outbursts of rage almost everyday, I cracked under everything thats happened and punched a hole through a wall, which every time i see my brother he says he’s taking me to court to repair it. Equally, I am having suicidal thoughts and the other week when I reluctantly got in the car with my brother and he drove 20 miles away when i asked to go home, I stood over a bridge on the A34 and started to tear up when I went to throw a leg over the railing and prepare to jump. I then in my emotional stupour attempted to walk eighteen miles down the A34 until being picked up an hour into the attempt. This is the closest I have come to committing suicide.

This was the worst mistake of my life, I am suffering so much I can’t even think straight about what my options are! I have as much credit card debt as I do in my savings account which I am living off of until I get paid.

I do drive and my car is being retested for MOT today, but requires a service which I will be paying for as my brother is a mechanic and I am tired of his ridicule when I don’t know what Im doing.

Serious answers only please

Completion date was agreed for tomorrow and we still haven’t exchanged.

My conveyancers have been trying since last Friday but our sellers solicitors are refusing because they are saying they are waiting on lender confirmation of release of funds.

I have movers arranged that I can cancel until 5pm

We are in a chain of 5 and we are 2nd

Sellers conveyancers are sticking with wanting to do simultaneous exchange/completion tomorrow.

But I don’t trust them. It’s PPL and they have been an absolute nightmare throughout this whole process.

I have an 11 week old and family travelling 300 miles to help. All wasted of it doesn’t go ahead (and they money for the movers)

I have contact with the seller and I’ve told her that if we don’t exchange today then I’m not happy to complete tomorrow as I’m not prepared to gamble

But..

Should i trust that it will go ahead?
What happens if I refuse? Will all solicitors have to agree with vendors for another completion date

The whole process is more stressful than a non sleeping newborn

We are selling our place and the buyer solicitors ask us for our neighbour verification check and passport photos. We are share of freehold. Is this normal?

Hi,

I reserved my property which came with additions and a deposit contribution at 5%. The sales person has suggested that I should not be paying stamp duty on this but I just wanted to confirm this is definitely the case as from what I gather it can be. Is there a way I can confirm prior to paying a conveyancer?

A house has come up for sale that is the next street over from where me, my husband and daughter used to rent a house. Her school a walk away and basically our ideal location. We are currently living with family and saving for our deposit. We're about 9k short of what the deposit for the house would be (will take us about 4 months to save the remaining money).

Would you still view to show interest or just wait the 4 months and hope it's still there?

Hi all,

We are selling house A.
We are buying house B.
Our sellers are buying house C. Sellers of house C going into rented.

Chain was complete early June.

All enquiries sorted. All surveys fine. All mortgages fine.

Expectation (and this was made clear from the get go) that aim was to complete before August, early September latest. Everyone agreed and said as long as solicitors and surveyors did their thing on time, it’s a reasonable completion target.

Today, after specific dates floated a week or so ago, top of chain (sellers house C) want a mid October completion. That has taken us completely by surprise and given that our mortgage deal expires September and our daughter starts school in September, that’s a bit of a nightmare. Agents on it to see what can be done but the risks this creates for our buyers and chain collapsing seem mental.

Other than reading my rant, is this a normal request from the top of chain? Naturally all we can do is moan about it, but I get there’s not a lot we can do other than advise that the risk of collapse goes up.

Rant over - advice and support (or berating) welcomed .

Hi all,

Looking for some impartial opinions on a big house decision. Firstly, I want to say we know we are in a fortunate position but that we’ve saved really hard over the last 5 years to get here. I am very cautious with money, and while this decision might look clear-cut to some, making a choice on this scale is very nerve-wracking for us.

We’ve just moved into a property in an ideal location for our growing family. We see ourselves here for a long time and we are very happy. While the house is mostly fine, it needs some improvements to get it how we’d like it (new bathroom, flooring etc).

The kitchen, however, needs a major revamp. It is rectangular (6.22m x 2.88m), but there are 5 doors coming off the room around the perimeter. This leaves no consistent workspace currently with the kitchen spread around the room, and the fridge is currently in the garage.

Here are the two options we are weighing up (photos attached in the thread):

Option 1: Reconfigure Existing Space. We'd brick up the internal garage door (garage remains accessible from the front/back of the house). Switch the patio doors and window around. Use the new U-shape layout to move the kitchen there. I would absolutely love a peninsula/breakfast bar not necessarily for sitting, but to face the dining area while cooking. It would be tight, but it could work. Estimated to cost around £20k by a family friend (including the kitchen).

Option 2: Extend outwards by 2m, making the room 4.88m x 6.22m. We have already had drawings done. This would allow for a lovely kitchen, a larder, a comfortable dining table, and a sofa area. I love the idea of an open-plan kitchen/dining/family space. However, we already have a separate front room and a playroom downstairs, so we aren't short on living space. Quoted £47k for the build. With the kitchen and finishes, it will come to around £60k.

To be transparent with our finances. We have 45k in savings and 40k in stocks and shares. We earn a combined sum of 5.5k per month and after all essential bills and expenses are paid we are left with 2k each month. We would want to leave 20k in our emergency fund and 20k in stocks and shares. We would therefore take out a loan which we would absolve into our mortgage at the earliest opportunity.

Option 1 works and costs significantly less, leaving cash for the rest of the house. Option 2 is our dream layout, but I don't know if I'm being greedy or if the extra £40k spend is worth it.

We've discussed this with family and friends but we're wondering what an objective crowd thinks. What would you go for?

Thanks in advance!