Between 265 & 485 SQ/FT London Calling. An ordinary life.

[sawduststeve]

The neighborhood busy body. lol

She sure don’t miss much, that’s for certain.

Funnily enough, she’s told me that after decamping to Cornwall for the duration of the build, they like it so much there, they are probably going to sell the place as soon as it’s done and not come back to Essex

Steve

 

[Just_Steve]

She sure don’t miss much, that’s for certain.

Funnily enough, she’s told me that after decamping to Cornwall for the duration of the build, they like it so much there, they are probably going to sell the place as soon as it’s done and not come back to Essex

Steve

That looks like a big change, city to countryside

 

[Old tool guy]

Real estate chains … never heard it called that, but it is common to receive an offer on the house you are selling, and the offer says it’s contingent on the buyers selling theirs. If the deal is to the advantage of the first seller (you) there will be a clause in the offer like “if buyer does not accept an offer to sell their house by ** date (like 30 days) then the offer is void and buyer forfeits the deposit”. In a hot market you don’t get many contingent offers cuz there’s probably another buyer who can close sooner.

 

[Geoff289]

Once the contract is signed that is no going back, the problem lies with the 3-6mths it takes to get to that point.
People do scattergun offers on many properties at once knowing they will drop out of all except one.

So what's to stop the vendor from selling it to someone else who is prepared to sign a contract? Maybe it's a buyer's market over there but any prospective buyer here using that scattergun approach would lose them all and forfeit any deposit in most cases.

Real estate chains … never heard it called that, but it is common to receive an offer on the house you are selling, and the offer says it’s contingent on the buyers selling theirs. If the deal is to the advantage of the first seller (you) there will be a clause in the offer like “if buyer does not accept an offer to sell their house by ** date (like 30 days) then the offer is void and buyer forfeits the deposit”. In a hot market you don’t get many contingent offers cuz there’s probably another buyer who can close sooner.

Just wouldn't happen here.

 

[littlebean]

Hiya
Yep, selling property in the UK is far from ideal, no non returnable deposits (except Scotland) and your right, you can walk away almost up until exchange
I’m sure the majority of sales do get done eventually, but you do hear of some right horror stories.

my son works in conveyancing in the UK.......think I've heard most of them

 

[TomGW]

In the UK the common practice is for the seller/vendor's solicitor to prepare the contract and sent it to the purchaser's solicitor, together with the 'legal pack' i.e. title, property searches etc, with a target completion date. However, there is no contract in place until the purchaser signs and pays a deposit, which, as Steve says, is often also the day of completion. So no deposit or signed contract until the day the buyer actually becomes the owner. For this reason the target completion date is largely meaningless and the buyer can drag the process out as long as the seller has patience. Nothing to prevent the vendor from accepting an offer from someone else if the target date has passed.

 

[sawduststeve]

In the UK the common practice is for the seller/vendor's solicitor to prepare the contract and sent it to the purchaser's solicitor, together with the 'legal pack' i.e. title, property searches etc, with a target completion date. However, there is no contract in place until the purchaser signs and pays a deposit, which, as Steve says, is often also the day of completion. So no deposit or signed contract until the day the buyer actually becomes the owner. For this reason the target completion date is largely meaningless and the buyer can drag the process out as long as the seller has patience. Nothing to prevent the vendor from accepting an offer from someone else if the target date has passed.

Thank you sir. Put better than I could

I know two people who have had the seller on the day of completion ask for more money, for whatever pathetic excuse, in one case is was £17k and the other because it was a very nice central London house they were stitched up for an extra £35k.
So, to recap, there is nothing to stop either the seller or buyer f@&king each other over until the very last minute.

 

[Old tool guy]

It's been 20 yrs since i bought a house, but i’m remember that if the buyer makes an off and the seller accepts, the buyer ponies up earnest money, essentially a deposit. Maybe only $10k but enough to make it a real deal, not just a bluff. If the buyer backs out the seller keeps the money.

 

[littlebean]

It's been 20 yrs since i bought a house, but i’m remember that if the buyer makes an off and the seller accepts, the buyer ponies up earnest money, essentially a deposit. Maybe only $10k but enough to make it a real deal, not just a bluff. If the buyer backs out the seller keeps the money.

it'd be lovely it was like that in England..........

 

[Geoff289]

In the UK the common practice is for the seller/vendor's solicitor to prepare the contract and sent it to the purchaser's solicitor, together with the 'legal pack' i.e. title, property searches etc, with a target completion date. However, there is no contract in place until the purchaser signs and pays a deposit, which, as Steve says, is often also the day of completion. So no deposit or signed contract until the day the buyer actually becomes the owner. For this reason the target completion date is largely meaningless and the buyer can drag the process out as long as the seller has patience. Nothing to prevent the vendor from accepting an offer from someone else if the target date has passed.

OK, I follow that now. Completely different down here in Oz. I'll talk about the process in the state of Victoria where I am but I don't think its significantly different in other states and territories.

Contract and a bunch of other documentation is actually prepared, usually by the vendor's solicitor/conveyancer at the beginning of the process. By law this documentation must be provided to prospective purchasers, whether the sale method is private treaty or auction. When an agreement is reached with a purchaser both parties sign the contract and the purchaser pays a deposit, usually 10% of the purchase price. If a private sale there is then a 3 day cooling off period during which the purchaser can pull out, in which case they forfeit 10% of the 10%. if they don't pull out the contract is locked in at the 3 day mark, If an auction there is no cooling off period and the contract is locked in immediately.

From that point on both parties are obligated and the seller cannot sell it to someone else, even for a higher price, unless the purchaser fails to follow through and defaults (in which case they forfeit the whole 10% deposit). There is then the settlement period, defined in the contract, usually 90 days but sometimes as short as 30, while the legal and technical aspects of transferring the land title are undertaken. On settlement day, the parties representatives meet (in cyber space these days but historically all in the same room), where the final legal steps are taken and the balance of the purchase price is handed over. At that point, the purchaser would get a call that they can come and pick up the keys from the selling agent's office, the vendor being obligated to have the place at "vacant possession" stage by then.

Ordinarily, contracts that are conditional on anything else, be it sale of the purchaser's property, bank finance or anything else, are unheard of here these days, but we have very much been in a seller's market for 20 or more years.

 

[drivesitfar]

We’ve been crossing our fingers and toes for a few days now hoping your sale happened. Did it??

Nice work on the new windows and I bet you aren’t bad at masonry too with all those old homes you’ve worked on the past 50+ years.

Have a grand day!!

 

[sawduststeve]

We’ve been crossing our fingers and toes for a few days now hoping your sale happened. Did it??

Nice work on the new windows and I bet you aren’t bad at masonry too with all those old homes you’ve worked on the past 50+ years.

Have a grand day!!

Hiya Drives

You can now uncross your fingers and toes, we’re all done.
It’s sold, as of 1pm today I am without a workshop. There’s a decent amount of cash in the account, just a shame I’ve got to give my brother half.

Whilst I’ve done a fair amount of brickwork, dwarf walls and bricking windows and doors up, I’m still better at knocking it down.

Thanks for the wishes, straight back at ya
Steve

 

[drivesitfar]

Demo is always the best part of a remodel and fast forward to project finished after that.

Big congrats!!!

The big issue over here is taxing our gains and investments so make sure after you give your brother his half that you find a good safe place to put yours where it grows and you can use it mostly tax free.

 

[littlebean]

Demo is always the best part of a remodel and fast forward to project finished after that.

in my case demo is the easiest bit, then I have to work out how the hell I'm going to move forward..............

You can now uncross your fingers and toes, we’re all done.
It’s sold, as of 1pm today I am without a workshop.

congrats, of course now there's no excuse for mcfloaty updates not to arrive on a minute by minute basis

 

[sawduststeve]

in my case demo is the easiest bit, then I have to work out how the hell I'm going to move forward..............

Thats when you call the tradies

congrats, of course now there's no excuse for mcfloaty updates not to arrive on a minute by minute basis

Ha, as is happens wifey is at floaty now getting on with the painting, I’m here at home not painting

 

[littlebean]

Smart move

 

[sawduststeve]

OK, I follow that now. Completely different down here in Oz. I'll talk about the process in the state of Victoria where I am but I don't think its significantly different in other states and territories.

Contract and a bunch of other documentation is actually prepared, usually by the vendor's solicitor/conveyancer at the beginning of the process. By law this documentation must be provided to prospective purchasers, whether the sale method is private treaty or auction. When an agreement is reached with a purchaser both parties sign the contract and the purchaser pays a deposit, usually 10% of the purchase price. If a private sale there is then a 3 day cooling off period during which the purchaser can pull out, in which case they forfeit 10% of the 10%. if they don't pull out the contract is locked in at the 3 day mark, If an auction there is no cooling off period and the contract is locked in immediately.

From that point on both parties are obligated and the seller cannot sell it to someone else, even for a higher price, unless the purchaser fails to follow through and defaults (in which case they forfeit the whole 10% deposit). There is then the settlement period, defined in the contract, usually 90 days but sometimes as short as 30, while the legal and technical aspects of transferring the land title are undertaken. On settlement day, the parties representatives meet (in cyber space these days but historically all in the same room), where the final legal steps are taken and the balance of the purchase price is handed over. At that point, the purchaser would get a call that they can come and pick up the keys from the selling agent's office, the vendor being obligated to have the place at "vacant possession" stage by then.

Ordinarily, contracts that are conditional on anything else, be it sale of the purchaser's property, bank finance or anything else, are unheard of here these days, but we have very much been in a seller's market for 20 or more years.

That all sounds very good, way better than here.
I think a 10% deposit would concentrate many buyers minds and along with the 1-3 month completion it might make the solicitors take note also.
No paperwork is done by the seller before hand, it’s all done and paid for by the buyer after the offer has been accepted, and if it all falls through you suffer the loss.
Nowadays estate agents won’t let you make an offer for a property unless you have a mortgage agreed in principle from the mortgage company, and you’re also not allowed two mortgages, so on completion one has to be paid and cancelled with the new one started the same day.
Things are a little better now as some mortgages can be taken from property to property.

I’ve probably bought/sold 10 properties and it was only the house we’re in now that was the most stressful. That was because our buyer was dragging his feet, and we had to be in to register the girl child at the local school before a specific date. Luckily a good mate lent us £220k so we were able to complete and the one we left completed two weeks later. It was rather traumatic though.

Steve

 

[Just_Steve]

That all sounds very good, way better than here.
I think a 10% deposit would concentrate many buyers minds and along with the 1-3 month completion it might make the solicitors take note also.
No paperwork is done by the seller before hand, it’s all done and paid for by the buyer after the offer has been accepted, and if it all falls through you suffer the loss.
Nowadays estate agents won’t let you make an offer for a property unless you have a mortgage agreed in principle from the mortgage company, and you’re also not allowed two mortgages, so on completion one has to be paid and cancelled with the new one started the same day.
Things are a little better now as some mortgages can be taken from property to property.

I’ve probably bought/sold 10 properties and it was only the house we’re in now that was the most stressful. That was because our buyer was dragging his feet, and we had to be in to register the girl child at the local school before a specific date. Luckily a good mate lent us £220k so we were able to complete and the one we left completed two weeks later. It was rather traumatic though.

Steve

Now that's what I call a mate.

 

[sawduststeve]

Now that's what I call a mate.

He certainly is, luckily he’d just sold a property and hadn’t decided where to put the cash.

It was very fortunate indeed.

 

[Old tool guy]

No offense but your story wasn’t worded well. Did you really have to pay £220k for the girls school?

 

[sawduststeve]

No offense but your story wasn’t worded well. Did you really have to pay £220k for the girls school?

No. We needed to be in the house in the correct neighbourhood to register the girl for the school.
The loan allowed us to purchase the new house before the sale completed on the old house.

 

[drivesitfar]

I totally understand about the schools stuff cause the public schools here tire down the elementary school a block away and built a new one a year before our daughter and her twin brother and sister were ready for kindergarten. My bride and 4 year old went to visit the class and it was end of school year and teacher was teaching the letter T and scolding a 5 year old for not knowing it came after S.

The next day we registered our 4 year old in a local private Christian school they was at it’s capacity but we were first on the list.

A week later the kindergarten teacher who was also the principal asked to see us and had a private 45 minute behind closed doors chat with my daughter who was reading some already.

Well long story short my daughter was added to the full class and her brother and sister got in automatically 2 years later and they cost me about $300,000 but money well spent cause we’re lucky to have nice adult children who are all married and 7 grandkids.

I don’t think my parents would have loaned me 10k much less 220 to get a house where schools were a bit better but over here they tend to teach to the slowest so most of the kids are truly bored. Good luck with the move and I’m sure your girls appreciate all you do even if you don’t like painting which is also something I rarely do unless it’s a quick rattle can.

I do like your work and your posts but that is certainly a gold star for your character if a friend will step up and loan you that much even for a day.

Cheers!!

 

[sawduststeve]

After 46 years at work I retired, I went to sleep and now I’m awake and there’s some catching up to do.
Let’s start with this week, I have mostly been a thatchers apprentice
I brought the new reed and sedge down in the little boat about 6 trips, and away we went

There was more up there than I imagined

End of day two

Day three


All done.
I’m gonna be sweeping stuff up for years

Steve

 

[sawduststeve]

While all of the above was going on, to be honest I wasn’t helping much, I built myself a floating platform. Just right to sand and three coat the front of the boat house, we also managed to put another coat on the side




Back home tomorrow, someone has to go to work
and it ain’t me

Steve

 

[drivesitfar]

Nothing like working on your own stuff and getting time to admire it. I’ve truly loved the look of the old thatched roofing and the skills to install it. Did you learn enough to do it yourself next time??

 

[Old tool guy]

He’s still alive!
.
Looks good in black & white. Are there any local restrictions on what colors you can use? The second picture with the ladder leaning against the gable end … sure looks like you need a cleat on the floor to keep the ladder from kicking out.
.
What is sedge? And do i see chicken wire to keep critters from nesting in there? How thick is the roof?

 

[littlebean]

You're back?I can stop them dredging the broads looking for you

 

[Geoff289]

Good to have you back. Both those projects look great.

 

[sawduststeve]

Nothing like working on your own stuff and getting time to admire it. I’ve truly loved the look of the old thatched roofing and the skills to install it. Did you learn enough to do it yourself next time??

Hi Drives
It’s nice to keep ticking stuff off the list and this was a big one.
But Hell No, it’s not something I’ll ever be doing.
We did once turn Barbies mansion into an English Cottage with a hot glue gun and some straw, but that was a whole different project.

Thanks for calling in
Steve

 

[sawduststeve]

He’s still alive!
.
Looks good in black & white. Are there any local restrictions on what colors you can use? The second picture with the ladder leaning against the gable end … sure looks like you need a cleat on the floor to keep the ladder from kicking out.
.
What is sedge? And do i see chicken wire to keep critters from nesting in there? How thick is the roof?

Evening fella

As far as I know the only restriction on colours is good taste, and we all know there’s no accounting for that
Thanks for the concern about my safety, but there is a cleat screwed to the boards, I mostly used it.
My biggest concern was the barge slowly moving out into the river, I must have checked the ropes a dozen times.

Sedge is the long unruly razor sharp material used to form the top cap/ridge on thatches, why they use such a crazy grass I don’t know, it looks mostly like a bonfire ready to go and takes quite some wrangling to get it decent. A great skill.
Yes to the chicken wire, keeping the critters at bay

It’s about 18” at gutter height thinking down to possibly 8-12” at the top



Steve

To add. Thatchers bought 150 bundles of reed and used 147.

 

[sawduststeve]

You're back?I can stop them dredging the broads looking for you

Good to have you back. Both those projects look great.

Hi Guys, thanks for stopping by

Yep, call off the search team, I’m saving the “dead presumed drowned” card till things get desperate, possibly cheaper than a divorce.

It was a good 5 days at Floaty with a couple of big jobs ticked off, and a couple of little ones. It all adds up.

Steve

 

[Prospecter]

Congratulations on the retirement. Your place is looking great!

 

[Old tool guy]

So is this correct? The sedge part doesn’t look as finished as the reed. If there is chicken wire around the ends of the sedge, why not at the ends of the reed? I would think both areas would be at risk of critters. Is that type of roof a fire hazard?

 

[TomGW]

Sedge is used at the top/ridge because it is both highly durable and, unlike the reeds, is flexible enough to bend over the ridge. I’m guessing that it’s more vulnerable to potential nesting because it is softer, with more ‘give’ than the reeds.
Great job btw. It looks superb.

 

[sawduststeve]

Sedge is used at the top/ridge because it is both highly durable and, unlike the reeds, is flexible enough to bend over the ridge. I’m guessing that it’s more vulnerable to potential nesting because it is softer, with more ‘give’ than the reeds.
Great job btw. It looks superb.

Well said that fella. Couldn’t have put it better myself. Thanks

The sedge was cut two weeks ago and is put aside to dry out a little, it still looks a little green in the photos, this will fade over time.
Then when on site they tie a string around a large bundle and throw it in the river to soften it and make it more malleable.
Go figure

 

[Old tool guy]

What about fire hazard?

 

[sawduststeve]

So is this correct? The sedge part doesn’t look as finished as the reed. If there is chicken wire around the ends of the sedge, why not at the ends of the reed? I would think both areas would be at risk of critters. Is that type of roof a fire hazard?

I think we had three choices, no wire , all wired or partially wired, I wanted none so we compromised and did what the wife thought best.
We’ll see about critters in good time and make a decision then I think.
Yes, it does burn well, let’s hope we never get to find out just how well.

 

[sawduststeve]

Congratulations on the retirement. Your place is looking great!

Thank you sir. It’s coming along.

 

[sawduststeve]

What about fire hazard?

There are a few water based fire retardant products that need renewing every 5 years that would be suitable. However because all the bungalows are timber built there is a strict no fires policy on the broads, I’m not even sure you can bbq. I’ll have to check.
Cheers

 

[Old tool guy]

Is there an insurance bump if you have a thatch roof?