giveusthefacts

Hi Housenick I can empathise with you as noisy neighbours can drive you insane. Try not to annoy them as they will go out of their way to make it worse if they know it grates on you. When it comes to selling, make sure that the property is "dressed to sell" as many potential buyers will be cooing over it if all they have seen is crappy properties. Put your tv/hifi on with some subtle background music to drown any background noise, but not to loud to have the neighbours banging on the ceiling. All you need is one buyer to fall in love with it and they willl be blinkered and buy it . Good luck

I have bought 2 repos in the past ,so can only tell of my experience. The seller may drag their heels but they will be aware that they risk losing you as a buyer In both my purchases, the property had to be advertised, this is a bit of a grey area as some EA's will advertise in a local low circulation paper, but others may use several. They may also call your bluff and tell you that there is a higher offer. All I can say is be bold and tell them you will not enter a contract race and if they are going to take this stand threaten to go elsewhere. Also I have called several EA's after seeing a "To Whom it may concern" advert. Some try to put you off by saying that the pending sale is well advanced, so unless you can complete within 7 days, the sale will complete. Others will willingly use you to try to push up the offer. Conveyancing time depends how good the solicitors are. I have bought at auction and had 14 days to complete (which included a 4 day Easter Bank holiday) so it can be done quickly. From my experience the company handling the repo may not be a bank, and their legal departments can be slow as they are dealing with so many cases. I am sure if you are ready to complete at an earlier date, the company may complete earlier if it suits them As for paying out money before exchange, my solicitor does not charge for work done if the sale falls through. On my last house I purchased as a repo. My offer was accepted, then when my solicitor carried out the searches, it came to light that work on an extension which had been granted planning, was never certificated by the building inspector. I used this a further bargaining power and knocked another 10K off my offer. The company realised that any other buyer would probably face the same problem, so it was better to accept my offer rather than start from scratch again Good luck and keep us all posted

This must be the most expensive bowl of fruit, storage jars and houseplant in the country This proves EA's are tw*ts http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-23029053.html

There can be several problems buying an apartment with no management in place. I would suggest you assess the condition of the communal areas and outside of the building as this can tell a lot about if the other leaseholders are pro active. It is difficult to get other leaseholders to agree to cough up money for maintenance that needs doing and even more so if other properties are BTl as many landlords are only interested in the income. On the plus side, if the residents manage the property themselves, this can save expensive managemnet company fees and being ripped off by them adding there cut to tradesmens costs. Check to see what the situation is with the lease. Is there a freeholder or have the apartment owners purchased the freehold collectively? do you get a percentage of the freehold on purchase? all the details should be available for your solicitor in advance of exchange. Check the terms carefully as there may be things like the external elevations must be painted every xx years. Best of luck

So, Bournemouth council tax payers allow the council to purchase empty HMO's, pay for the refurbishment and then they are rented out to council tenants AND 5 years down the line, these properties have been purchased at a discount by the said tenants, who then sell them on to make a profit or become BTL landlords. How does this benefit the council tax payers of Bournemout?

I managed to get a refund about 4 years ago. The rules were that you had to apply for a review withing 6 months of taking possession. It took about 6 months and was backdated to the date I took over ownership, It was a flat in a block of 20, I put a note through everyones door informing them that I had been revalued and they may want to do the same, they were all revalued and some got refundsbackdated for 3 years, Only one of the residents thanked me and gave me a bottle of wine. So the moral of the story is look after number one and sod everyone else. Good luck with your case.

3 years ago, my father topped up his Isa, and a few months later opened a new Isa which was offering a headline rate,(forgetting he had already used his annual allowance) This resulted in him paying in more than his annual Isa allowance. He received a very abrupt and threatening letter from HMRC and they closed down his new ISA and transferred funds back to his bank account.

I can only tell you of my experience. I have bought 2 repos in the past . 2005- 1st one was result of an " we have received an offer.........." advert, I rang agent who told me that I could not view the property as the vendor had accepted the offer. I was suspicious, so found out from Land registry who the bank was and rang their arrears dept to voice my disgust. Suddenly agent called me and arranged viewing and I offered £1k more and bought the property. 2009 - 2nd one was offered for sale at £275K (dropped from £325 6 months earlier) offered £260K which was accepted, then just before exhchange raised issues of work needed ( new windows, gutters etc ) so was revising my offer to £250K. EA was not happy told me vendor would not accept revised offer, but I ler them stew made no effort to contact them, then 2 weeks later EA called to say they would accept offer providing I exchanged contracts in 2 weeks. This was no problem so exchanged with a long completion with access to the property to do the repairs. All I can say is be ruthless, but be patient and non commital and if all else fails threaten to walk away. Both the EA and the mortgage Co want to get their hands on the money and not have to remarket the property and wait another 6 months Good Luck

Hi Ronnierose I think a lot depends on your financial position. I was a cash buyer with no mortgage. I bought a repo 18 months ago. It was originally on at £325K reduced to £275K when repossessed. There were 2 offers on the table of £250K, so I offered £260K which was accepted. After 3 weeks I went back to EA and reduced offer to £250K citing work needed and market was still falling . £250K was rejected with excuse of - other offers of £250K being rejected/ had to cover outstanding debt/ was originally on for £325K. I stood my ground and said take it or leave it. It went quiet for 2 weeks, then EA called to tell me offer was accepted, but must exchange in 2 weeks, which I agreed to. as long as I could have access once exchange had been done. This was agreed , so I dragged out completion so I could get most of the messy work out of the way before I moved in. I have bought several repos over the last 25 yrs. You have to be hard and strong willed to play a game of " chicken" EA's want it sold to get their commission, Mortgage co. want to offload the debt so stay cool and see what happens Good Luck

Is this what they call a Tea Junction

And what did you do to protest against Blair/Brown actions? I am not a "Lefty toss-pot", quite the contrary, but I "got off my ass" and went to the G20 protests in London to rant at the bankers. Maybe it did not make a difference, but that was because there was not enough of us. If "Joe Public" took direct action, changes would soon be forthcoming, unfortunately, the vast majority in this country moan, but are not prepared take a stance.

Having previously worked in Local Govt. This proposal would not cause any hardship to either the staff or local tax payers. Every year the unions demand a 5% pay increase and after negotiation, settle for 2.5 - 3%, even when inflation was virtually non existent. So a pay cut is not unreasonable. As for unpaid leave, staff could easily take one day off per week for a month. If I was given that option or lose my job, I know which would be preferable. It's about time Govt. employees realise they are not immune and have been ring fenced for too long.

Even supposedly affluent areas have crime spots This is nothing new. In early eighties, I was walking along Whiteladies Road (BS6) with 2 mates on my way home from a club. A car pulled up and out got 4 black guys and started mouthing off at us. We did not stand a chance. We were all about 18/19, these guys were mid/late 20's. Our only option was to make a run for it. I got caught by 2 of them at the petrol station (which is now Tool Station) they head butted me and I lost my front teeth. I had to go to A&E at the BRI. When I got there the Police were there dealing with 2 other guys who had been attacked by the same gang. One of these guys had been slashed across the face with a Stanleyknife Gave Police the car reg. did not want to know as it was not long after St Pauls riots. Oh the joys of Urban living

I left because I was not willing to tow the line anymore,and when I criticised the system I was labelled "troublemaker". The management became obstructive and tried to make life difficult. I took legal action and settled out of court, but that;s another story which I had to sign a declaration never to discuss. It is a cushy number, Which private company offers the same perks for longterm sickness. 6 months full pay followed by 6 months half pay / 30 days leave plus bank holidays,Maundy Thursday and the Queens Birthday.?. When I joined the Civil Service, there was no employee superannuation contributions. There is career development. Few jobs are advertised externally. How often do you see an advertisement for managerial vacancies in your local DWP/HMRC/DVLA office?. It is a dangerous place to stay for long periods. Staff become complacent, lazy, and play the system knowing full well it is difficult to be sacked. Maybe I should take the Govt up on it's offer to tell them how to save public sector spending. Where do I begin!

I worked for DWP for 11 years, during which time I saw many a handsome payout, but I left without one In 1993, there was a request for voluntary redundancies at EO and HEO level. Staff were able to get a forecast of their redundancy package before they volunteered. My Jobcentre Manager who was on £28K and had 21 years service took the severance, and left with £80K. 2 years later, DWP were recruiting casual AO staff on 6 months contracts. She came back as a casual and 6 months later was made permanant and applied for every local promotion and got back to HEO level. She now works in the same office she was made redundant from. These cuts in staffing are way way overdue. I have seen first hand the waste and mismanagement in a variety of central and local Govt. Staff who come in and effectively do half a days work for full days pay. It is very difficult to get sacked from a Govt Department. Unless it's a case of fraud, any disciplinary action consists of a warning or a temporary ban on applying for promotion.

This is "talking the market up " by Tom Doyle of Lloyds property group. That plot has been up for development for years. Actually the Geoff Boycott property is one he bought for his mistress for weekend liasons (she still lives there), Sir Max (God rest his soul) was more of a Branksome Park man. And how can you call one hit wonder Louise a popstar?

The programme showed him back in the Jobcentre telling the advisor that he had applied for the job, she made a phone call and found out he had gotthe job. She then did a "back to work" calculation, to tell him how much his pay would be and how much "tax credit" he would get. Why did she do this? because she was a caring/sharing advisor? NO. It was because she could then claim a "sign off" in her stats. Take it form soomeone who knows, this is the way DWP figures are made.

As an ex DWP employee, I can tell you they do contravene Data Protection regularly, they give your details to potential employers without asking you and then use the clause that you applied for a job through their database. They fiddle the figures all the time. If you appled for 2 part time jobs ( say one of 20 hrs and one of 17 hrs per week) and you get both the jobs, that counts as 2 results even though the jobseeker "signs off" because they are now working "full time". In my office, my Business Manager asked me to input false figures and I refused to do so. He/She then got someone else to do it. I complained up the line to Secretary of State to no avail. I was told it was a matter for "local management" to resolve. So BIG BROTHER, If I have contravened the Official Secrets Act, let me know when the court case is!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

As an ex DWP employee, I can tell you that the Jobcentre itself fiddles the unemployment stats. I photocopied proof of that, and took it up the line through my line manager, district manager, regional manager, chief exec. What a surprise, it all fell on deaf ears. I was just outlawed as a trouble maker, hence I am an ex employee. As for New Deal, We used to have New Deal funds to help people "overcome the barriers preventing them getting a job". I remember challenging the decision on some of the payments that had been granted. We had one guy who was given money towards a holiday because he was "depressed". We also paid out for someone to have a dog walker for their pet while they went on a local training course. I argued what the F**K are they going to do when they start work, but you guessed it, it fell on deaf ears. One day I will write a book on all the outrageous things that went on ( bugger the official secrets act)

A similar thing happened to me. I was a cash buyer, no mortgage required. I saw a reposessed property. Rang the agent to be told it was under offer. I asked if contracts had been exchanged. Was told no, but expected to exchange within days. Even so the agent would not arrange a viewing. Did the same thing as you, paid the Land Registry fee, found out the lender, and rang their arrears department. Told them the story and that I was a cash buyer. They took my details and phone number. A few minutes later, I had a call from the EA and a viewing was arranged. As it turned out it looked better in the photographs so suggested the agents snap the buyers hand off before they get cold feet. Similar incidents have happened to me four times. The motto : EA's lie, cheat and scam, and you have to go over their heads at times. Good Luck

Big Brother collecting URL's?

Last time I saw a face like that, Lester Piggot was riding it, and he was fiddling his taxes too

OK, LDV may be a lost leader, but if the Govt can afford to chuck £5m at them, why do they not just take it over?. They could buy it cheap. If you take into account the alternatives more unemployment if the company closes= more JSA payments,housing benefit etc etc Any new buyer could move production abroad = more JSA etc etc The Govt could take it over and use it to develop " green vehicles" and with a bit of initiative it could be developed into a world leading business. I would sooner the Govt. used my money for this, than bail out crooked banks.

But Ref! He tried to cross me thinking I was a Zebra. I told him it was all Humbug