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ttparsons

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Everything posted by ttparsons

  1. Well done elderly neighbour! Probably some sort of scam even if the is a grant available.
  2. It’s generally a good idea if he has relatives he can trust. It is relatively more difficult to get control of someone’s affairs when they are no longer competent if they have not already created a power of attorney.
  3. Damp proofing specialists have a vested interest in selling you their solution (e.g. injection). They can be hard sell. There may be specific causes and solutions such as external ground level having been raised above the DPC, lack of membrane under old solid floors, chimneys capped off without putting in ventilation, leaky drains etc. Get a reputable builder to have a look; it may save you money.
  4. Try setting your camera to take image size 2272 x 1704 (3.9 MP, 4:3). Alternatively load your 8MP images into photo editing software and export as JPG at a smaller size and/or with higher compression. Don’t try to load a large number of files in one batch. I hope that works.
  5. The best you are likely to get just now is to transfer your existing deal with your current supplier at your old address (if they will let you) or the standard tariff with the existing supplier at the new address. Standard tariff is the one with the government cap and is the cheapest available at present unless you already have a better fixed price deal that you can transfer. Compare the market when things settle down or your deal comes to an end.
  6. High Green is Ok but a long way out. Lived there for a year without any problems, but not living in a council house.
  7. Get more than one opinion/quote. If they come round and start pressure-selling get someone else.
  8. Wadsley Bridge Table Tennis Club is resuming junior coaching, starting with a free launch session at 5.30 to 7pm on Friday 10th September at Stannington Community Centre, Myers Grove Lane, S6 5LA (sat nav use S6 5JH, go to the end of the road and left through the barrier). The sessions are for 10 to 16 year olds, and led by a qualified Level 2 Table Tennis England licenced coach. Weekly sessions will be run on Fridays and there will be opportunities to play in the Sheffield Junior League on Saturday mornings about once a month. Email wadsleybridge@hotmail.com for further information.
  9. See https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2006/372/pdfs/uksi_20060372_en.pdf.
  10. Agreed. Go to a Dulux paint centre or some other trade outlet/decorator centre.
  11. Had a similar issue trying to identify the owner of a field sold a few years ago. Gave a precise grid reference for a point well inside the field but ‘not sufficient information’.
  12. I agree auction is a good idea. Don’t auction anything that is only worth a few quid though as you won’t make anything after listing fee and commission. PA jewellery give a fair price for gold - likely to be better than auction where you have to allow for sellers fee and bidders will allow for buyers commission. You can get rid of a lot of cheap stuff at car boot sales when they start up again.
  13. Flats are usually leasehold as more than one property is on the same patch of ground. It’s only a problem if the lease is too short or if the ground rent can be increased substantially by the freeholder. Also make sure you know what the service charges are, and what fees the Management Company charge every time you need permission for something (e.g change of tenant), need a copy of a document (e.g. to buy/sell the flat) etc. These can be surprisingly high. Read the lease carefully.
  14. Assuming I have the cash available I would pay off the loan and continue to rent it out for the income. You are not going to outlive the lease so let your beneficiaries decide what to do when the time comes.
  15. Normally the roof of a flat is the joint responsibility of the owners or the management company if there is one. Find out what the position is and the attitude of the other owners/management company to the issue. Best case scenario is Management company willing to do it from reserves. Worst case, no-one is prepared to chip in. Also, if you are doing it up you will need Management Company’s permission to make any changes. Check the lease.
  16. You might pay £50 a m2, say, for building land. Check auction results or asking prices for any plots in your area. The land you are buying presumably has no commercial value on the open market, only to you and the neighbour. Therefore you and your neighbour just need to be happy.
  17. If you are going for a flat in a block do be sure to check out the lease, service charges, ground rent and also additional fees they may charge, e.g. extra charges when you rent it out. Find out what people think about the management company. Do they do repairs promptly? What are the arrangements for parking. And if a parking management company is employed might you or your visitors fall foul of astronomical parking fees? My experience of Riverside in Sheffield city centre is not great. However, Greenacres in High Green S35 has a decent management company that works with the residents association and service charges were a fraction of those at Riverside. Bear in mind that if you buy a freehold house you will need to do the maintenance and it would be rare to find a house that needed no immediate work unless a builder has just refurbished it for sale. Therefore you would need to keep something aside for repairs. Think about how safe you would feel walking home at night - go at night and get a feel for the area.
  18. Although you should apply, the infringement is minor. Unless a neighbour reports the gate to the council it’s unlikely to be a problem. Even if they do you can apply for retrospective approval.
  19. See https://www.mybuilder.com/pricing-guides/repointing-and-bricklaying-costs
  20. There should not be any need to temporarily transfer the title if the property is to be sold. Suggest the Executor and beneficiaries talk to the conveyancing solicitor to be used for the sale.
  21. Reality check. Is the landlord going to make an unexpected visit to see if you have done any unauthorised work? Probably not. Is it work the landlord would be likely to object to? Doubtful. Is it going to upset your neighbours such that they would track down the landlord to complain? Tell next door what you are planning and if necessary reassure them you are not going to undermine their foundations. The real issue occurs when you sell the house and the buyer’s diligent solicitor picks up that you have done this work without permission. It is a common occurrence that the owner has done some work without the permission of the original developer/ leaseholder/mortgage provider as relevant. The buyer’s solicitor will probably insist you pay for indemnity insurance to cover the buyer in the unlikely event that there are costs or consequences arising from the missing permissions. Might cost you £100 or so.
  22. Would have been easier for you to choose one main contractor to manage it and use their preferred subcontractors. However this also carries the risk of not getting on with the main contractor which can be a problem in itself. Having already picked contractors for the various bits it may be difficult to start again. You are clearly aware of the potential pitfalls so you are in a good position to manage it. Make sure you know what each contractor expects to be already in place when they turn up. Try to avoid having multiple electricians as someone will need to sign off the electrics for building regs when all the alterations are done.
  23. The camera is more important than the lens. You need a good burst speed. On a cloudy day or floodlit you need a camera that is not too grainy when you put the ISO up to shoot at higher shutter speeds. I prefer a zoom lens to a prime. An f2.8 70-200mm zoom will give a nice background blur on closer shots but is only useful when the action is relatively near. Depending on your camera’s sensor you may be able to crop heavily on longer shots. A 100 -400mm f5.6 lens with optical stabilisation and fast focussing will enable you to take longer distance shots. I find a monopod helpful.
  24. But you do have to pay the solicitor for both transactions.
  25. I have had exactly the same at Riverside some years ago now. I wrote explaining the situation and they withdrew the charge.
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