House Critic

Finding a house by leafleting! If there’s a particular road you’d love to live
on but none of the houses are up for sale then why not print a leaflet out and
put it through the doors? It’s important to make sure you put your contact details on so they can get in touch with you! Do the whole street!

Put your name, contact details including mobile and email.
Date it!

For the Attention of the home owner,

I am writing to you with a view to possibly buy your house. I have been looking
to buy in the area as my child attends *local school* but have not seen anything
on the market that I am interested in buying. I am doing this leaflet drop to
try and find the right property this way!

I am currently in a position to move at your convenience. I have a solicitor
and finances in place so I will be able to move quickly.

I am looking for *insert number of bedrooms or type of house here*.
If you feel you would be interested in selling your house to me then I would
be grateful if you could either call me on my mobile or send me an email to
discuss this further. There would of course be no estate agent fees payable
if I bought directly from you.

Thank you for your time to read this.

*sign name*

 

Probably the most frequently asked question about first time buyers and stamp duty is about when only one partner is a first time buyer and the other has owned property in the past.
All purchasers must be first time buyers to get the relief. This is covered in the very last point.

From the official HM Revenue and Customs site here

SDLT relief for first-time buyers

First-time buyers of residential property can apply for SDLT relief
if all of the following apply:

* the effective date is on or after 25 March 2010 and before 25 March 2012
* the consideration given is £250,000 or less
* the buyer intends to live in the property and it will be their only or main
home
* they have not previously owned property or land either in the UK or anywhere
else in the world – including property bought with anyone else

This means that from 25 March 2010 to 24 March 2012 inclusive the threshold
for qualifying first-time buyers of residential property is £250,000.

Financial institutions can claim the SDLT relief for first-time buyers
using alternative finance schemes.

To claim this relief you’ll need to enter relief code 32 in the SDLT return.
When first-time buyer’s relief does not apply

The relief is not available for any of the following:

* non-residential or mixed use property
* leasehold property with a lease of less than 21 years
* SDLT payable on rent for leasehold properties (relief applies only to the
premium)
* properties that are treated as linked transactions for SDLT purpose – unless
it’s to do with the same property, eg a separate lease on a garage
* shared ownership schemes where the payment is made in stages (but the relief
can be claimed if a market value election is made)
* one of the buyers is a first-time buyer but someone buying the property with
them has owned residential property before

Your solicitor is the one to ask for clarifications – they may advise you to keep hold of it for ‘reasonable amount of time.’

What would a reasonable amount of time be? If there is very little room for storing things then I would guess it’s a shorter time than if it’s junk in a corner of an outbuilding.

You could make attempts to contact the person who previously owned the house and give them a deadline for removing items.

Downsizing

What is downsizing?
It’s generally considered to be moving from a larger property to a smaller
one.

Why would I downsize?

• Because you need less space.
• Because it can reduce your bills such as council tax and heating costs.
• Because your family have left home
• Because you need to econmise
• because you want to have cash from the sale of your current home.
• because you want to reduce your mortgage

So how can I downsize?

You can look for a smaller property in your current area. You could look for
a similar property in a cheaper area.

What do I need to consider?

You need to think about how much furniture you have that you want to keep.
If you want a smaller house but want to keep all your current furniture then
clearly this won’t work!
Consider moving costs.
Consider bills at new house – check council tax banding to make sure it’s less
than you’re currently paying.
Would you be happy away from your friends – important to consider if you are
looking at moving area.

I wrote recently about the problems Jeremy Clarkeson was having on the Isle of Man after blocking footpaths for ramblers to have access.
The 8ft gates at £3.5m Barcroft Hall, near South Petherton, Somerset, will be removed following a legal ruling back in 2009. I know the story isn’t as fresh but I thought it interesting to see one of the possible outcomes after legal action.

The story is very complex and can be found in detail here

For most people buying land with a footpath over isn’t an issue – most normal size houses don’t come with public rights of way through. But many terraces can have a shared access through the back gardens – this can cause disputes between neighbours. Everyone seems to like their privacy these days – so this sort of thing must be considered.

If you’re interested in buying a house but the owners don’t want to complete for several months then what options do you have?
You need to ensure that this suits you – will you still have a mortgage offer available in 6 or 9 months time? If you didn’t then you’d be in a right pickle!
You could ask them to move into rented accomodation so you can buy within the timescales you want.
If they don’t want to do this – then the risk is on you.
What if they’re buying a new build and it doesn’t get built in time – it might mean you have to move yourself in the meantime, be paying rent for extra time, or not having a mortgage.

Even a normal selling process can take several months – but when someone has a specific far off date in mind then you have to weigh up whether it’s good for you.
If they refuse to move into rented then they’re just acknowledging that they don’t want the hassle. You have to decide if the hassle and potential problems are worth the risk.

I think I’ve touched on this aspect of rightmove before.
Type in a placename and view the map and it outlines the area for you. I have reduced the number of properties shown by increasing bedroom number to 5.

Compare Chorltonville and Chorlton-cum-hardy. They’re the same place really – but Chorlton-cum-hardy overlaps and covers more ground.

It’s interesting for seeing areas and what differences there are when places have very similar names.

To see these maps for yourself:
Chorlton Cum Hardy map on rightmove

Chorltonville on Rightmove

This is a pretty amazing house for sale in Devon! Merehaven Manor was built for Nigel Mansall originally in 1995.
The house has lots of wow factor and is set in a delightful 47 acres of land with beautiful gardens and grounds, the house itself is on the edge of a large lake which is fully stocked with carp!

Kirsty Alssopp was upset by Nigel’s plans to upgrade the kart racing track at nearby Dunkeswell which he’d bought in 2005.
Perhaps her campaign against it was a reason for him leaving the area?