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Hi All, I am new to this site and not even sure if this is the right forum but I could do with some help and advice if anyone wouldn't mind? My Mum was given notice on her flat back in October and her tenancy is due to end at the end of this week (28th November). The landlord is selling. However the new buyers of the flat would like my Mum to stay on as a tenant. Of course my Mum would like to stay in the property as she has been there for years but the sale of the flat has not gone through yet and the letting agent have not put anything in writing about her staying in the flat and she hasn't had a new tenancy. She has spoken to the letting agents on several occasions who have said everything is still progressing and even if the sale fell through the landlord has said he wouldn't chuck her out. My worry is that as of this weekend she has no legal tenancy so I am assuming her insurance is invalid as well? She has emailed the letting agency today and asked them to put something in writing to her but they keep phoning her telling her it;'s going to be ok? My mum is 65 and doesn't need this stress and is looking to me for advice. I have searched the web but can't seem to get to the right place for info. Any advice on what she could do or where I can go to for advice would be great!

Hi. I’m planning building an extension at the rear of my property. To maximize space, I would like to use the existing wall of my neighbour’s extension; by this I mean build onto, not build up to. The final configuration would be: their internal wall | insulation | shared central wall | insulation | my internal wall The existing wall isn’t considered a part wall, as it is solely on my neighbour’s property, although is along the boundary. I have spoken to my neighbour who is happy to allow me to do this, however, my party wall surveyor has requested written permission before he continues to serve notices. I am struggling to ascertain the correct way to obtain written permission. My surveyor doesnt know either. I have come across a Line of Junction Notice, but this seems to deal with building a wall up to the boundary, not extending off an existing wall. Any suggestions? Best Regards, Matthew

Hey everyone! First post here, I’ve been listening to the pod for 2 years now and done some searching on here and other forums and and can’t quite find what I’m looking for so thought I’d give it a shot... I am looking to buy a fixer-upper in south west London and need to determine what the maximum I am willing to offer. I wonder if any of you smart folk have any suggestions as to how I calculate this. The property This is a 3 bed, 1 bathroom flat with planning permission to become a 4 bed 4 bathroom with a roof terrace. It is in need of significant refurbishment to bring it into a liveable state. I would look to live here myself as well as rent out 2 of the rooms and use the smallest room as an office. Above commercial (D2) It is above a commercial premises (yoga studio) and from my research this typically equates to a 10-15% reduction in value. Is that fair? I know it can also decrease my mortgage options (due to difficulty in selling at a later date) but my broker has suggested it should be fine in this instance. I have also included in my terms of negotiation that the commercial premises lease is amended in that it cannot be converted into an A3 to help protect future value. As the owner has the freehold to the commercial premises they have agreed to this amendment. This has been agreed. Near a semi-busy road It is also on a B road (Lower Richmond Road). I have heard this should also to a 5-10% reduction. Is that fair? I recently recorded the sound in the flat at it was 30 decibels which is relatively quiet and that is with single glaze windows at present! Planning permission in place To factor this in I have multiplied the adjusted £psf by the potential additional sf, to calculate the potential value. I have then taken away the build cost to work out the difference and divided that by the current value. This gives me 10%, so I have used that as the value increase of having the planning permission. Is that a good estimate? Estimated refurbishment cost Next, I have deducted the estimated cost to bring it to a liveable condition (mainly cosmetic) to determine my maximum bid. The calculation What do you think? Naturally, I am also slightly cautious with many sources suggesting a significant dip in the market next year, is now really the time to be buying or would I be better holding out for a few weeks/months and get a better price? I would be holding this for 5-10 years so over the long run it would be fine I am sure but could I get a better deal next year? Thanks, James

Hi everyone, I've been a bit quiet on the forum recently as I thought buying a property was a long way off and I've been focusing on work. However, the other night I came across a property while browsing RM, which needs a hell of a lot of work, but seems like it could be the perfect one for me and my partner to get ourselves onto the property ladder (albeit a bit sooner than we'd expected), to make a nice home for ourselves and to gain some equity. I've attached the current plans and what I'd one day, perhaps next year with a bit more saving like to do to it below. In essence, I'd remove the old single storey extension to the rear, replace it with a 2 storey extension and split the house into two properties, by adding a dividing wall down the middle, a new double porch/2 new entrances to the front and new staircases. Downstairs would consistent of a porch, living room and kitchen/dinner, upstairs, 2 bed rooms, a bathroom and cupboard. I could add an additional driveway to the front and divide the garden in two also. The house is on for 140k, I believe we could refurb, split and extend it for 60-70k (with a lot of our own graft and favours called in), and be left with two properties worth around 130k each. We'd either sell one and keep the other, or remortgage both and rent one or eventually both out. However, not only do I have no clue about how you'd go about splitting a home into two or evaluating such a project, but we're also first time buyers. We have 30k as a deposit in our LISA's and about 25k in cash. I have a good income, around 40k pa, but my partner is about to leave her current job to spend a year retraining as a teacher. However, on the plus side, I'm a plasterer by trade, have friends in other trades and know a few good builders for guidance. I recon I could get a mortgage in both our names based on just my own income and with our decent 20-25%% deposit. I recon planning would be okay to gain, as the property isn't overlooked/overlooking anyone else and there's an existing structure already in place. Also, we'd be happy to spend a year gaining the relevant permissions while we saved, researched and evaluated our options anyway. Worse case scenario, we'd just refurb and make it into a 3 bed house. Any advice on where to start, what we need to do, whether this is a good idea or too soon would be amazing. We're kind of jumping in at the deep end with this. My thoughts were to do lots of research on the area/property prices there, book a viewing, speak to the council about their planning rules, find out about building regs, seek the advice of a builder I know who does a lot of extensions, revisit the property with a builder to check the place and then make an offer. In the meantime, to have seeked a mortgage in principle through a broker for my unusual situation of being a CIS subcontractor. Have I missed anything? Do you have any other thoughts what so ever? Any problems you can forsee? Do you think it's a good idea for a FTB or too much too soon? Thanks a lot, Joe

Hi all, I own a flat in a converted house, with a share of freehold (I, along with the other flat owners, are equal shareholders in the management company which owns the freehold). All the owners have agreed that as our leases only have 55ish years remaining we should extend them, and this has been agreed and a solicitor engaged to handle this. I recently received my new counterpart lease, and am a little surprised at its format, so am interested to know from more experienced folk if this is OK and normal. The new counterpart lease is a very bare-bones document compared to the original , and there are many references to the "old lease", which is defined in one of the clauses of the new lease, referencing the old title number. The new lease states that the old lease will be surrendered, and that "the Landlord demises to the Tenant the Premises with the same rights exceptions and reservations as are expressed in the Old Lease with full title guarantee to hold the same unto the tenant for the term of xx years... subject as mentioned in the Old Lease and subject to and with the benefit of the Tenant's and the Landlord's covenants respectively contained in the Old Lease..." However, the solicitor has confirmed that on completion the old lease will be removed from the land registry, and the copy that I have will be the only copy. This strikes me as very odd - the new lease has very little information in it, other than that referencing the old lease. If the old lease is removed from the registry and I have the only copy (and all the other flat owners are in the same position), then I don't see what would be stopping any of us altering the "old lease" and claiming that those altered conditions applied now. Effectively I am protected in various ways from my neighbours (noise, occupancy rules, etc etc) by the terms and covenants in their leases, and I'm concerned that these protections may be at risk. I was expecting a simple alteration of the end date of the original lease. Or failing that, a fully drafted new lease with all the appropriate wording - but the solicitor says that the proposed lease is fine and avoids the "huge expense" of drafting a whole new lease. I've already picked up on some straightforward errors by the solicitor so I don't have full confidence in them - they were appointed by one of the other flat owners, and I just want to be sure everything is in order. Any thoughts on whether I have anything to be concerned about would be most welcome! Thanks, Anthony

Hi all, Hope you can help! I own a leasehold flat with a remaining lease term of 84 years. Myself and the other leasehold flat owner would like to buy the freehold. The management company that currently own the freehold want to charge us a fee just to get a quote to buy the freehold - is this normal? And if so, is there a 'fair' price to be aware of? The flat is based in Kent, can anyone recommend a good solicitor to deal with the lease extension? Thanks very much in advance Ohil

Hello property hub, many thanks for all the great advice on here. Such a wealth of knowledge, I really appreciate it. Just a quick question, we are looking to refinance on our current residential property and have been told we can take out £40k in equity. We are living in Dulwich in SE London at the moment, with a 2 bed first floor split level flat. Would it be best to invest the £40k in a buy to let in the north or use the planing permission we have on our current property to add and third bedroom and bathroom to increase the value of our residential property which can then be used for a buy to let when we sell or refinance in 2 years following? Many thanks for all the help. Jez

Hi. I am just in the final stages of buying a 3 bed semi-detached with a vast single storey extension to the rear, opening up a large kitchen and through into a conservatory/sun room. The sellers cannot provide any certificates or anything relating to the approval of planning permission. However they do have a letter from the local council saying the work that has been done is in line with building regulations. Does this alone prove that planning permission was approved? We are buying the property with cash initially, however in 4-5 years we will be needing to take out a mortgage on the property and we are just concerned that down the line there may be a problem with getting a mortgage approved. The seller has provided pictures of the work being done, lintels being installed etc, and we don't really have any concerns at all with the quality of the work as it looks great and has been up just over 10 years already. It is purely the legal side of things that we don't want to come unstuck. Also the threat of the council or somebody turning around and saying we need to rip the extension out etc. Any help and advice would be much appreciated. Thanks. Marra

Hi Sorry if this is a really stupid question but re buying a property with a view to force/add value by extending and presuming that it's not Grade II listed or in a conservation area... How can you tell/find out what development is allowed? Is there a general rule about certain works? 1. For example, if it's a terraced house with a side return, can you extend the back of the house on the ground floor to fill that width, and even do the same with the first floor? 2. Or if it's an end terrace and there is a side gate with a path down to your garden, can you extend the house widthways to use up the path space within the house, either just on the ground floor or even first floor as well? Does it matter that the property at the other end of the terrace, especially if it's a short terrace, hasn't done that same extension? 3. Can you extend into a loft with velux windows? (I presume for dormer windows planning permission will definitely be needed). 4. Can you move walls within a house or flat to add/change rooms without permission? I know if a property is leasehold you would have to get freeholder permission, but apart from them, to turn a 1 bed into a 2 bed for example, if the changes are only internal, is that generally allowed if it's not a listed building? I know building regulation approval may be required but I need to know about actual permissions, whether specific changes are allowable in principal or not. If the answer to these questions is "it depends on the area and the house" where would I go to find out that information? Obviously you can't put in a planning application until you own the property, but if I wanted to find out the likelihood of work being allowed, as part of my research on a particular property, who would I ask? I know I can look at other properties in the road, but that's not definite enough to risk buying somewhere and then having planning turned down. Is there a general rule of thumb? Or is there an actual guide somewhere, or a particular officer within a planning department, or website that I can consult? All help much appreciated. Thanks