Property Questions and Answers in The AnswerBank

Shared Leasehold- what is a fair deal?

I have had an offer accepted on a shared freehold flat. The lease between the current owner and the freeholding entity has a 70 year lease and they are asking to extend this. As a condition of...

Groupie

Water Meters

My daughter has recently moved houses and the house has a water meter fitted,can they have it changed back to d/d billing if they tell the water company?

brenda

Is it a wise move to

remove a chimney stack, which is unused from the roof of a house? Am asking this question for yet another elderly neighbour. The chimney is connected to a room in the property in which there is no...

Doctor_Who

Query about Residential Boundary

We have a 5 feet high hedge at the end of our garden along a boundary for which we are responsible. We keep it nice and neat. The new owners on the other side have announced they are going to put up a...

buffymad

Thoughts on selling your house

The first thing people normally do when they move house is to redecorate it to their taste etc. I'm thinking about selling up (only thinking so far!) and although the kitchen and living room have...

molowton

I have a detached house that was built in 2001.my NICEIC certificate expired this year, I had an inspection carried out by a NICEIC approved contractor and was told that 4 of the ten circuits on my fusebox were not RCD protected and it is now a requiremen

that all circuits are RCD protected. Can you confirm that this is the case. If so, does it mean that all fuseboxes pre 2008 has to be upgraded even though they complied with the regulations when...

katemac1

Not paying tax on rental income

I am about to move in with my boyfriend and so the flat I have a mortgage on will be empty. A friend has asked if she can rent it for a short period. I really don't want to go through the hassle of...

Matheous-2

Security Reminder

Just found out that one of our neighbours left her car keys & purse downstairs while upstairs for just a few minutes and within a fairly short period of time was rang by the police to tell her...

bushbaby_de

Newbie landlord - tax and other questions

My husband and I are thinking of renting out our flat. We've never done anything like this before so we are looking for any general advice and tips. We also have a specific question about tax - I pay...

denis567

Getting rid of fungi

Three years my daughter had an arena constructed in the small paddock that is attached to our property, so that she could exercise her horse. The surface of the arena was wood chippings. We are now...

gilly100788

subsidence

My house is subsiding, it is a council property, would i have to move out for the work to be done, or would they still let me stay, they havnt been to inspect it yet but just wondered before they...

Stargazer

Seized stopcock

I have not been able to turn off my stopcock for the past few years. It is not the main stopcock, but the one just inside the kitchen wall that operates the flow to an outside tap. I always wrap this...

derekpara

Cost of Exterior Painting

Any idea how much it would cost to paint the front of a standard 3 Bed semi ? No woodwork involved, just a fascia and about 40sq yds of rendered wall surface. It would need a few minor cracks being...

Stargazer

Is an Earth Spike mandatory?

I have been advised that I need an RCD unit and also an Earth Spike. Is the latter now mandatory or am I being mislead. If I am not having new electrical work done within my property is it still...

tonywiltshire

Leader of a Trade Union and member of the House of Lords.

Why should at least one leader of a Trade Union and one member of the House of Lords enjoy social housing for life/ They should move into a private rented property or buy a property, if they can...

minimonkey

residential mortgage and a buy to let mortgage

is it better to have one in my name and one in my partner's name or both in both our names. We are getting married in a year - will that change everything anyway? Basically we both have a house and we...

answerbanker

selling your house to your tenant .............

My son is renting his house out - the tenant has expresed an interest in buying it. The mortgage ha just gone up (interest-only period ended) amon is going abroad with his job so he is thinking of...

avanalarf

Bedsit mortgage evaluation

I live in a bedsit, there are 10 such rooms in the building. Today I received a letter from the property management company informing me that tomorrow a valuation will be conducted for mortgage...

2Margaret

Economy 7

We are negotiating to buy a flat which is all electric (night storage etc) an is on Economy 7. Looking at various suppliers I have come across Ecotricity which seems much cheaper than others. Does...

mrskddownes

common close access rights

Hi, just wondering if any one can help shed any light on a problem a friend is having...... they own a flat in a block, within the block there is 3 flats and two commercial properties although only...

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