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Housing market

@stevec67

_ possibly an abundance of caution; without knowing exactly which product yours is... overlaying it with better-performing stuff might lead to issues from interstitial condensation, which obvs doesnt plays-well with newspaper ... that can be assessed but frankly, why waste time/money on calculation, take the next easy job.

Then again - and rather more likely - one of the reasons this stuff (and comparable early 'green insulation' ideas, like sheep's wool) went away quickly , is that such things even when treated turned-out to be fantastic habitats for insects and small rodents (who knew?!); and no contractor wants to be on the the hook for a pre-existing problem - simply because he was the last to touch it. HTH!


(Ps - grab a handful one day, try to light it - I bet it self-extinguishes without a sustained external flame.)
 
martin clark said:
@stevec67

_ possibly an abundance of caution; without knowing exactly which product yours is... overlaying it with better-performing stuff might lead to issues from interstitial condensation, which obvs doesnt plays-well with newspaper ... that can be assessed but frankly, why waste time/money on calculation, take the next easy job.

Then again - and rather more likely - one of the reasons this stuff (and comparable early 'green insulation' ideas, like sheep's wool) went away quickly , is that such things even when treated turned-out to be fantastic habitats for insects and small rodents (who knew?!); and no contractor wants to be on the the hook for a pre-existing problem - simply because he was the last to touch it. HTH!


(Ps - grab a handful one day, try to light it - I bet it self-extinguishes without a sustained external flame.)
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Thanks Martin. That reminds me, as I have access to rodenticides via work, usually discarded stuff that's been nibbled and removed from service, I have the ground floor thoroughly covered. The loft isn't, so I ought to toss some bait blocks into the corners just in case.
 
..only put such , where you can retrieve whatever it lands. Ahem.

You know this, but might not be obvs to whoever else reads this.
For me , learned the hardway 20yrs ago when we as young fam lived in a bungalow, and a mouse family expired beneath the bedroom (close-boarded) floor... whiffy... spoiled things for a month... out with tenon saw, and lime...
 
martin clark said:
..only put such , where you can retrieve whatever it lands. Ahem.

You know this, but might not be obvs to whoever else reads this.
For me , learned the hardway 20yrs ago when we as young fam lived in a bungalow, and a mouse family expired beneath the bedroom (close-boarded) floor... whiffy... spoiled things for a month... out with tenon saw, and lime...
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I did exactly this last year for my parents neighbour. He had rats, yes rats, in his loft. They climbed his rain drains and got in a gap in his soffit. I baited it up. All worked. He still had activity, having not found and stopped up the hole. I had a look round, found no bodies but Jesus, the smell in the loft. Fortunately the house wasn't affected so I tiptoed away. His son has now fixed the hole, the loft is untouched.
 
expect to see more houses for sale now CGT tax reduced from 28% to 24% . even though thats evened out by the allowance being dropped from 6k to 3k in april 24
 
hifinutt said:
expect to see more houses for sale now CGT tax reduced from 28% to 24% . even though thats evened out by the allowance being dropped from 6k to 3k in april 24
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Yes, Phil, but I'm surprised as that's only 6% higher than for basic tax-payers. Give with one hand, take with another; 'twas always the way.
 
I think we're on the turn back upwards going by my regular searches, hardly any properties are now showing as reduced. I think we're in for a wholesale rise in all assets including property, again.
 
matt j said:
I think we're on the turn back upwards going by my regular searches, hardly any properties are now showing as reduced. I think we're in for a wholesale rise in all assets including property, again.
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Certainly upwards on stocks, my pension's jumped up and is worth as much as it was in 2019 now.
 
matt j said:
I think we're on the turn back upwards going by my regular searches, hardly any properties are now showing as reduced. I think we're in for a wholesale rise in all assets including property, again.
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I fear a combination of a weak £ and a Government that has played down the reality of inflation will tend to increase the cost of most things, homes included. I have been hoping for a serious downturn in property values for over twenty years and I continue to be disappointed.
 
Snufkin said:
I fear a combination of a weak £
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Except against the $, I understand, which make our very large exports to the States more costly. If Trump gets in, tariffs will kill that goose.

I cannot understand why and how property is now increasing after hardly falling. Is it simply the paucity of bricks and mortar? Mortgages higher than for almost 2 decades, cost of living/energy etc. reducing savings and potential deposits.; doesn't add up to me, as I thought the limit had well and truly been reached in these straitened times.

When house prices were soaring, flats weren't to anywhere near the same degree, but early last year, as house prices fell, flat prices didn't or even appreciated. Wonder what the situation is now that houses (or is it just 'housing') are appreciating.
 
Mike Reed said:
I cannot understand why and how property is now increasing after hardly falling. Is it simply the paucity of bricks and mortar? Mortgages higher than for almost 2 decades, cost of living/energy etc. reducing savings and potential deposits.; doesn't add up to me, as I thought the limit had well and truly been reached in these straitened times.
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Certainly the price of steel, concrete and sheetings has risen dramatically, coming down a little now but the current easement is more about renewed availability than a material price drop.

At it's worst we had to limit quotes to a week validity backed by upside quotes from suppliers and long lead times.

Add onto that wage increases for everyone on site, ridiculous rises in machinery and fuel. If prices don't rise nothing will be built.
 
Banks, building societies, estate agents, and their equally dollar-hungry media and marketing partners/analysts have a habit of talking up the market, even in a downturn. Spring/summer is always seen as the time to sell and house valuations will reflect that. However, we know that what properties are priced at and what they actually achieve are quite often two different things.

Regardless, statatistics in the FT and everywhere else will be contorted and distorted in order to 'prove' the direction of travel. If enough people then believe the hype, prices will go up accordingly. It's all about manipulating perception and expectation, as usual.

John
 
Contracts have been exchanged on our first house for completion in early April. It has not been a fun experience. I'm looking forward to finally moving in and moving past the housing market for the foreseeable future.

This also means, btw, that for all intents and purposes, we're officially here in the UK indefinitely. That's a strange feeling after never having stayed put in one place for more than 5 years at a time since I left my parents' place at 18.
 
gustav_errata said:
Contracts have been exchanged on our first house for completion in early April. It has not been a fun experience. I'm looking forward to finally moving in and moving past the housing market for the foreseeable future.

This also means, btw, that for all intents and purposes, we're officially here in the UK indefinitely. That's a strange feeling after never having stayed put in one place for more than 5 years at a time since I left my parents' place at 18.
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We have just bought a new build and it’s been an interesting experience.
1. Make sure that the builder provides a guarantee from NHBC or a similar organisation.
2. As soon as you have the keys, get a professional snagger into the property to highlight all of the faults (expect 200 from major to minor).
3. Don’t let the sales person for the property fool you into thinking that a snagger is a waste of money. Most builders give you a week to point out snags. In that time you might be moving in and far too busy to spot all of the problems.
4. Give the snagging list to the builder. They will try to convince you there are fewer problems - if the snagger does his job properly, he will give you the reasons for the problems. If the build is not to tolerances then the builder has to put it right.

We got the keys 2 months ago and have had a lot of problems. The downside is that the house should have been built properly in the first place (no builder does a great job in my opinion). However, our builder has acknowledged the problems and is working on a solution.

Top tip. The classic fault people miss is squeaky floorboards. They either just accept it or don’t realise until it is too late. Get somebody to walk around each room on the first floor and listen from the room underneath.

I don’t want to rant on a public forum but if you have any questions, please feel free to start a conversation.
 
gustav_errata said:
Contracts have been exchanged on our first house for completion in early April. It has not been a fun experience. I'm looking forward to finally moving in and moving past the housing market for the foreseeable future.

This also means, btw, that for all intents and purposes, we're officially here in the UK indefinitely. That's a strange feeling after never having stayed put in one place for more than 5 years at a time since I left my parents' place at 18.
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Congratulations! We exchanged two weeks ago and moved in last Friday. So nice to finally have a home - been hopping around from Airbnb to Airbnb since November.
 
Stemcor said:
We have just bought a new build and it’s been an interesting experience.
1. Make sure that the builder provides a guarantee from NHBC or a similar organisation.
2. As soon as you have the keys, get a professional snagger into the property to highlight all of the faults (expect 200 from major to minor).
3. Don’t let the sales person for the property fool you into thinking that a snagger is a waste of money. Most builders give you a week to point out snags. In that time you might be moving in and far too busy to spot all of the problems.
4. Give the snagging list to the builder. They will try to convince you there are fewer problems - if the snagger does his job properly, he will give you the reasons for the problems. If the build is not to tolerances then the builder has to put it right.

We got the keys 2 months ago and have had a lot of problems. The downside is that the house should have been built properly in the first place (no builder does a great job in my opinion). However, our builder has acknowledged the problems and is working on a solution.

Top tip. The classic fault people miss is squeaky floorboards. They either just accept it or don’t realise until it is too late. Get somebody to walk around each room on the first floor and listen from the room underneath.

I don’t want to rant on a public forum but if you have any questions, please feel free to start a conversation.
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Nice post! We're nearly at the opposite end of the spectrum, buying a late Victorian mid-terrace. The survey mainly flagged some brickwork on the chimney and some boundary wallsin need of repointing but thankfully everything else was in an acceptable state.
 
@gustav_errata That’s good news. The repointing you can do yourself and save some money.

In other news, we tested the floorboards today (3 blokes walking about in the bedrooms) and no squeaks. Might even get to move into the house :)
 
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