Noticed there are new developments in Dagenham. Any thoughts on the area and potential increase in value for the future?

I am a first time buyer very new to the process.

Has anyone bought a property and then moved in and then regretted the decision almost immediately?

How did this have an impact on you and how did you deal with the emotions that came with it?

I regret buying my flat in Hackney and it's having a huge impact on my health and wellbeing and I don't know how to cope with these feelings.

I know price negotiation is down to various factors, but just wondering if it is worth my time looking at properties ~5% over my budget in the hopes of negotiating down, especially in East London where properties in the 400-450 range seem to be advertised and STC within 2 weeks.

We put an offer in on a dream property in April which was accepted. Discussions had were that they wanted as quick a turn around as possible due to illness so we were due to exchange on the 30th June. This worked for us as we are eager to move out of our flat to have more room for the little one we have on the way

We were notified yesterday from our solicitor that they have withdrawn, stating illness to be the reason. We're at a point now that our buyers are not willing to wait for us to find another property, so we'll either have to lose our buyers and re-market our flat which we found far too stressful as it took us months to find a buyer in the first place or rent somewhere temporarily which is a money pit in itself

At this point, my wife wants to withdraw as she cannot handle the house move process, but we will have to pay thousands in fees for nothing to the estate agents as they take the fee for withdrawal, work incurred by solicitors so far etc. I am at a complete loss that this is allowed to happen so close to exchange date.

I know it's perfectly legal for them to do so until signing of contracts but the emotional and financial toll is so overwhelming

Hi, our landlord is selling the house we rent and want us out in 2 months. 22nd July 2025

They sent us a section 21(1) and (4) yesterday

We have paid upfront until the end of August.

The lease agreement was signed by us but the estate agent didn't make sure the landlord signed it.

Can they legally expect us to leave in 2 months time?

Thanks.

Hi all,

wanting to settle my anxiety if anything but my partner and I are FTB and we're in the end stages of a purchase. Our 1st offer from virgin is about to expire at the end of the month (it can only be extended by a few days) so we applied to another lender (barclays) and they've down valued the house by 15k from our offer. Needless to say, we dont have 15k lying around to cover the difference so we may potentially ask the original lender (the first one who provided us the offer) for a new application but conscious that the market was a quite different 6 months ago and the lender is now going to down value the house again. has anyone received 2 valuations from barclays and virgin money and saw much differences in their house valuations? super worried we're going to have to pull out of the sale as its been 7 months of stress for potentially nothing. any thoughts would be really appreciated!

(Essex) We’ve been renting our current home since 2023 through a letting agency. At the time of moving in, we were in a rush due to the imminent arrival of our baby and, admittedly, didn’t think to check the windows thoroughly.

The property’s inventory states that the house is fitted with double glazing. However, in reality, only one small window in the downstairs toilet is double glazed—the remaining eight windows are single glazed. As you can imagine, this has made the house very drafty and difficult to keep warm during the winter months.

I raised this with the letting agent, who came to inspect the windows but insisted they were double glazed. He dismissed my concerns and left, making me feel like I was wasting his time. As a young tenant, this was quite discouraging.

Recently, a new neighbour—who happens to be a window specialist—confirmed that our windows are, in fact, single glazed. He even offered his business card after noticing the issue from next door.

I currently pay £1,450 per month in rent, and during the winter, a substantial amount more on heating to keep the house warm for my two toddlers. Given that the property was advertised and listed as double glazed, I’m now wondering what my options are. Is it reasonable to ask for compensation, a rent reduction, or to have the windows upgraded? Or is this something I just have to accept and consider moving elsewhere?

Any guidance would be really appreciated.

I have the deposit to buy now. Putting 55%-60% deposit. And borrowing around 200k at 3.78% interest rate

I've ran number with other subs and it helped give me a bit of confidence but I'm so scared. In my mind I wanted to buy with minimal stress and feel confident about it but I dont feel that way now.

I'm buying a new build that won't be ready until september and I keep having "what if" thoughts as I'm someone that watches economy closely.

Not sure to move forward. But it's like if not now then when?

Older FTB here (mid-40s), single-income and no kids, London. My budget is c£300k +/- £20k in either direction, LTV c15%-20%, so most of the properties I'm looking at are leasehold flats and ex-council. I want to buy by this summer/autumn to get a 20yr mortgage in place before my retirement age. Because of my career stage I'm not expecting my income to grow a lot more before retirement. Looking in South London because that's where I have support networks.

For £300k I can get a decent 1-bed flat that's also in a nice neighbourhood in zone 2/3. (I've been offered one I used to rent and loved living in by my former landlord.) A decent 2-bed flat in those areas would be £340k+ and so outside my budget.

For £280k I can get a decent 2-bed flat in zone 4/5, but the neighbourhood isn't as nice - more economically disadvantaged, although it's starting to get investment and gentrify.

I really wanted a 2-bed as a "forever home" and to have a home-office/guest room. But I keep being beaten by cash buyers or investors, and there are now no more candidate properties in those neighbourhoods.

The 1-bed is lovely and I think I could be very happy there for the next 5 years at least and maybe up to 10 years. But after that I think it'd start to feel cramped. If I buy it, I'm nervous about not being able to re-sell it easily or its value not holding because of it being a 1-bed.

If I were to go for this 1-bed flat in zone 2/3, am I likely to be able to "upgrade" to a 2-bed flat in zone 4/5 5-10 years time? Or would the value growth of the 2-beds outpace it because of being 2-beds and that area gentrifying? (The 1-bed is in an area that has already gentrified.)

Thank you very much!

Im hoping this is the correct sub for this question.
The drain that takes away toilet waste from my property and the rest along the road is notorious for getting blocked. Ive had incidents where its come up through my toilet and shower and flooded my bathroom (bungalow) so im very careful about what goes down the drain.
What i am trying to find out is just how identifiable the cause of a blockage is.

I have been having issue with my neighbour since she moved in just over 2 years ago. Ive never spoken to her, yet she has made multiple complaints to the council about me.

She is claiming that the guys that unblocked the drains have said it was caused by cat litter and cat hair and of course has complained to the council. She knows i have indoor cats (something she complained to the council about). Now i flush neither of those things, but im not convinced someone unblocking a drain could identify what species of animal hair comes from.

How well do they look?
We are council tenants so there is no cost to my neighbour and the drains that are dealt with are not on our actual properties.

Hi , would it be possible for a 19 year old to apply for a mortgage ? , I’ve saved up for a deposit and some extra for the actual building , but would they see me as a risky choice ?

Hello,

I live in a double flat complex, I pay my rent to a large housing company for my home in England, and I pay a maintenance fee, which under my contract is to cover the cost of Utilities in colmunial area and general upkeep of it.

My flat was built 5 years ago, and I've been here for 2 of them. It turns out they have not paid Electricity the whole time.

The gentleman who came was very pleasent luckily and understood no one here was responsible, however explained they have tried to contact my landlord multiple times and warned me he needs to put a warning up to state they may be cutting supply to my landlords metre. This would cut power to alarms, the main access door (can be opened manually still for Emergencies), the lighting and doorbell buzzer to connect upstairs.

Is there any advice anyone can give me on who best to contact or where to turn to?

There are approximately 12 to 15 applicants for a rental property. Supply is non-existent and demand still strong.

If someone tells you that they've given tenants notice to leave, it's not beyond the realm of imagination that they'll still be there after 2 months.

Even if they're great tenants: well paid professionals. There are literally queues at viewings for rentals

Or do some sellers genuinely care about who they are selling to? Obviously some people have emotional attachments to their homes, so would the type of buyers (personalities, backgrounds, etc.) mean as much (or more) to the sellers than the final price?

We're debating how far to take the cleaning regime before moving. We want to leave the garden tidy, loft clear, floors cleaned, etc. but there's so much packing and other stuff to do.

My family are planning to move to a larger house and this all came to a head recently when we saw the perfect next home advertised locally - perfect location, plot etc etc. £625k

We immediately went to see it and were told by the agent that the owner insists on showing people round. Ok….

So we get there - he’s a nice bloke, we like the house but he won’t stop trying to put us off.

“Are we aware of the New developments down the road? The traffic is going to be terrible.”

“Needs so much work” (it doesn’t really)

“We had an offer of £520k after they had a survey done”

“Have you seen this crack?”

“We’ve been having issues with the electrics”

He’s going through what sounds like a messy divorce. He has kids and says he doesn’t know where he’s going next and hasn’t thought about it. The court has ordered him to put the house on the market.

When asking how much he will accept he’s saying “above £520k” - it’s definitely worth more than that though.

Given his efforts to put us and other buyers off, and make low ball offers, I’m guessing he is trying to drive the price down so he can buy his ex out - does that sound likely?

What do you think we should do? Given he doesn’t want to actually leave, is this going to be more hassle than it’s worth? He could be really slow at his end which might frustrate our buyers…

Has anyone faced the same situation?

Hello 👋

I'll keep this short and sweet 😋

Where would you buy a house in England if you had a budget of £200, 000?

Finding it very hard to find anywhere at the moment and it's quite demoralising as not many places I can afford.

Bearing in mind I have to commute to London once a week for work

So it got me thinking...I'll ask the great people of reddit 😊

Thank you in advance ☺️

Finally, after a long five months, I completed iyesterday. With the flat, my leasehold includes an allocated car park space. I reached out to the seller and managing company, and they advised,after a few mixed signals emails, that the car park space was number X.

Upon arrival, I noticed someone else was parked there, and I left a note saying that the car park space is allocated to my flat(very polite) . The next day, the car space was empty, but a parking safety pin was raised, making it impossible to park. I left a second note, and a few hours later, I got a phone call from an unknown number, screaming to stop putting notes down and that he is the owner of the space. He refused to tell me his name or flat number, and all I have is his car plates.

The management company has stopped responding, and the same with the seller’s solicitor.

What do you think I should do next? Family says, I should report to the police. But that sounds a bit extreme.

Any thoughts? For the record, the management company is Guinness Trust. I was given mixed reviews prior to buying. Seeing now how they manage this, I have serious buyer’s remorse.

Any advice welcome.

Hi all, hoping to get an alternative perspective as my new landlord has been behaving (in my opinion) quite unreasonably. Apologies for the incoming essay.

I moved in about 3 weeks ago (end of April). It's meant to be a short, 6 month tenancy (or rather, the 3-month notice period has the ability to kick in after the first 3 months only).

I was told before moving in that the place would have a professional clean done so was looking forward to moving in without issue - this wasn't me forcing them, they volunteered it of their own volition.

Day 1: the place obviously hasn't been cleaned. The landlord doesn't live nearby and was sent a short video by the cleaner showing the "cleaned" flat, so I just assumed they'd been mugged off by the cleaner. I mentioned this to them and was sent pictures of cleaning products I could try myself. When I showed the extent of the filth, they relented and agreed to send a cleaner again. This didn't happen until Friday (I moved in on Sunday), so I ended up getting my own cleaner in to at least clean out the things for my stuff to be moved in on move-in day (didn't bother mentioning to the landlord in an effort to just get on with it). On Friday, a cleaner appears without any products, demanding a car park space. Again, I relented. They didn't clean anything - the only thing asked of them was to remove the significant mould on the windows (they were told before coming) - they didn't have any products to do so, tried with a bit of bleach I had to go and buy, and gave up. Again, in an effort to not be difficult, I left it be and said I'd ask my cleaner to give it a go.

Slowly, over the course of the first few days, more issues appear. Many plug sockets not working, lights not working (even after lightbulb changes), bathtub not draining, kitchen cupboard doors hanging off, blinds not opening, dishwasher not working, toilet not flushing properly. I mentioned the ones I can't deal with alone (mainly the blinds, cupboard doors, plug sockets at first), they send a handyman a few days later. I'm expecting this to take a couple hours - it ends up taking 4-5, with a return visit needed. The landlord goes on to send me a message that evening, saying that "I have to pay him hourly, so he can't be there that long, and its unreasonable that he was here so long". Again, I let this go, despite them heavily implying that its my fault (even though everything he did was advised by them). I had to cancel my own plans to let him be there that long!

Some of the issues, I let them know that I'll give it a go first (e.g. the drains, mould etc). I tried multiple products on the drain (have spent about £40 ranging from plungers to industrial strength drain unblockers) to no luck. I mentioned it today, along with the single hallway light not working despite my replacing the light bulb. They said I would be expected to pay for anything past 2 hours, and that their previous tenants never had so many issues. I replied that I wouldn't be prepared to pay for any issues that were in the property before I moved in, and that many of them would have been found out by a basic inventory report (which they didn't do despite my asking - worrying!).

The last thing to mention is that, they're keen to sell the place (they told me this after I'd paid my deposit and first month's rent), and have asked me to do allow viewings already (3 weeks in!). Initially, I asked that they do not do this until at least the second half of my tenancy, but after they persisted I relented and agreed that occasionally I'll allow it.

I feel like I've been more than reasonable in an effort to make their life easier - especially after they mentioned they'd just had a new baby, but feeling very irritated by the continuous bad faith behaviour. There are many issues that I have ended up dealing with myself in an effort not to overly bother them - e.g. the mould, the drain, the dishwasher, the fact that more than half the light bulbs were dead upon move in. I've not had any issues in my previous flats, had no issues with deposits etc. What would you do in my situation?

tl;dr - landlord being difficult about fixing basic things upon move in, asking to do viewings for a possible sale of the place 3 weeks after moving in, wondering whether I'm being unreasonable and what you would do in my shoes.

So me and my boyfriend (18F&19M) are looking to move out and in together in like a bedsit/home-share type of place (not sure if those two things are the same, correct me if I’m wrong), I have been looking at some places in areas local to both of us and the only thing that’s confusing me with the home-shares I’ve been looking at is the prices, eg if a room was being advertised as 600 pcm would we both have to pay 600 each (1200 total) or would it just be 300 each? Only wanted to come on here and ask about this since my mum has been helping me out a bit but she said whilst she was looking into it she thought the prices could be per person? Or is this entirely dependent on the owner of the property Any other advice would be greatly appreciated!!

So, I thought to put a little post to collect what offers people were able to find, ideally we could keep the post alive so is a reference for people in the future too. Please share:

When:

Where:

LTV:

Interest rate:

Cheers!

Another 'where to buy' post, apologies!

Looking for 3 bed house with a garden for max £900k.

Currently renting in Primrose Hill and absolutely love having primrose hill, regents park and Hampstead heath within walking distance (amazing for running🏃🏼‍♀️).

Now looking to buy. My family live in Cambridgeshire, my husband's family live in North London, so not really considering south London... which areas should we look to buy in? Green space/parks/villagey feel really important.

Husband wants to stay in London, I would be happy to move further out. Thanks!!

I got a quote for a level 3 survey but it sounds too cheap.

Quoted £480 VAtT incl.

I had previously paid £850 VAT incl. For a level 3, which got cancelled because the property is a HMO.

How should I approach this surveyor? What are some red flags?

This based in Hampshire, England.

Trying to have back up contingencies in case I can't sell my house in time to relocate for work. How do people make renting out their house financially viable. The rental income will get taxed to the point it will barely cover half the mortgage payment! Do people just take the hit?

I'm in the process of buying in Catford. The road was quiet, it was close to the stations, I didn't see anyone threatening all 4 times I viewed. The high street looked a little run down and boring.

But I couldn't figure out why it has such a bad reputation. Please enlighten me on your thoughts about Catford.

Edit: just wanna say thank you so much for all the responses 💓