Anyone know Aylesbury?
Moving down to the South East in May and house-shopping in earnest. Not prepared to rent long-term (what costs me £750/month in Manchester is roughly double in the SE) and prefer to put the money into something useful.
Aylesbury seems a pretty nice place on first glance - nestled in the Chilterns, decent road access for Heathrow, cheap(ish) and decent pubs etc. Good travel time to Oxford. Reasonable crime figures etc. Drought, obviously.
Will be buying a new-build with £210 - 230k to spend, and right now it seems like a buyer's market. You could hear the gasp of surprise from the estate agent when I said I was a cash buyer with no chain. :-)
One of the places I'm looking at is a "coachhouse" with two garages under the living room, only one of which will be mine. Would anyone here be worried about the neighbour deciding to do heavy construction or car maintenance directly under the house? Mine would be left-hand house, garage number 2 (from left to right).
images2.propertywide.co.uk/properties/1348/1612003/5934869/13168762/11.jpg
Heading down to have a look around the place (or the site, technically) on Thursday along with a few others.
Last edited by: Fursty Ferret on Mon 20 Feb 12 at 18:42
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Musicians and wannabe pop idol teenagers tend to have noisy garages too, also people can store all sorts of stuff in garages, some of it flammable. As it would be a new build I would check the quality of the build, some is pretty dire.
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A flying freehold arrangement?
I'd not bother, as there is so much out there with no complications.
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I'm surprised the developer calls it a 'coachhouse', they usually have a drive underneath and are better described as 'flats'.
Is all your accommodation on one level?
If so, you don't really want to be paying any more than a similarly sized flat on the same development, if there is such a thing.
Is the development finished and more or less fully occupied?
New builds on unfinished developments can drop in value as the developer discounts the last few properties to get rid of them, and speculators put houses on the market 'secondhand' which have not been lived in.
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It's on two levels. I did worry about the fire risk, and in addition, the garage that isn't mine is leasehold. I enquired about buying the extra garage and having two but already sold. I get the impression that work on the site is about 2/3 complete.
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Are you likely to be the freeholder of the leasehold garage?
If not, I'd walk away, as you would have no control over over it and your freehold would actually be partly over someone else's freehold.
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Ayelsbury is pleasant enough, has some rough parts and the town centre can get rowdy on a Saturday night
I assume your journey to Heathrow is out of rush hour, because during it Junction 16 (M40) to 15 (m4 Terms 1/2/3) and 14 (terms 4/5) is the absolute pits.
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>> Are you likely to be the freeholder of the leasehold garage?
>> If not, I'd walk away, as you would have no control over over it and
>> your freehold would actually be partly over someone else's freehold.
>>
That is the impression I got from the builder but will ask more on Thursday. Can't honestly see how it could work with my freehold being totally dependent on someone else's - however, the bonus may be that there are fairly restrictive covenants in the lease regarding what the garage can be used for.
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>>there are fairly restrictive covenants
It would seem covenants aren't worth the paper they're written on! Who has the power to enforce one?
1. There's one on my property, requiring it to have a wall to the front boundary. The local council admit they have no power to enforce it and if I chose to ignore it then it may be noticed if the property was sold.
2. Tesco have bought a local pub that closed. There's a covenant on the site to the effect it can only sell beers, wines and spirits etc. that you'd expect in a pub. The council refuse to say why they can't enforce it!
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I guess that Tesco will be selling all of the above anyway !
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>> I guess that Tesco will be selling all of the above anyway !
Perhaps I should've stressed the only.
There's a covenant on the site to the effect it can only sell beers, wines and spirits etc. that you'd expect in a pub.
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Don't you need permission for change of I for pubs? I recall one near me in Yorkshire being bought by a developer; amid protests from the villagers, permission was refused and the developer refurbed the pub and sold it on.
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>> 2. Tesco have bought a local pub that closed. There's a covenant on the site
>> to the effect it can only sell beers, wines and spirits etc. that you'd expect
>> in a pub. The council refuse to say why they can't enforce it!
>>
I suspect you need to find someone in the Council more informed than 'general inquiries'.
Covenants are usually part of agreements between vendor and purchaser of land. I might sell you part of my garden to build on but prevent you developing it unsuitably. I'd therefore insert a covenant in the contract to effect that plot may only be developed with a single house in keeping with rest of neighbourhood. Nothing to do with the Council; enforcement would be for me and others with the benefit of the covenant. Who has the benefit can be quite a complex question.
Now of course it may be that Ind Coope or whoever built the pub covenanted with the Council but if it was some other vendor of the land the Council cannot enforce.
Thirty or so years ago I observed a Lands Tribunal hearing where a company was seeking variation of a covenant restricting the use of a building in Barnsley to cinema and associated purposes so it could be used as a bingo hall. Cannot remember the outcome but the developer called a selection of local housewives to tell the tribunal about the joys of being able to play bingo without getting a bus to Sheffield.
Alan Bennet could have made a play out of it!!
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...I get the impression that work on the site is about 2/3 complete...
Bear in mind the developer could suspend work on the site at any time, depending on market conditions.
If the unfinished third is a field, that might not be too bad.
If the plots opposite you are mudheaps, you need to ask yourself if you want to live there like that, possibly for a lot longer than you will be told when you visit.
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>> ...I get the impression that work on the site is about 2/3 complete...
>>
>> Bear in mind the developer could suspend work on the site at any time, depending
>> on market conditions.
Not much gets suspended down these parts, its still selling - cheaper, but still selling.
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Garage avoidance is just about top of the list for me when house hunting. They can be horribly noisy places if used by the local car repairer, or the milling, drilling, turning, etc, enthusiast.
Buy a house with a garage (yours), and expect to be fairly close to the garage of one of your next door neighbours. But don’t get too close to any more.
And as for living above a garage that isn’t yours…
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Ah yes, but I can't see any way to get power to it so suppose the only thing that could go in there is a car and junk.
Last edited by: Fursty Ferret on Mon 20 Feb 12 at 19:33
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>> Ah yes, but I can't see any way to get power to it so suppose
>> the only thing that could go in there is a car and junk.
>>
A petrol generator could be rather annoying! You may choose to give them a free power supply!
Having looked at the estate agents details I note that some of the internal photographs have nothing to do with the individual property! They are using the same photos for the 5 bed property on the same site. The good news is that it would appear that there are other more expensive and larger properties in the same development. Good move to always buy the smallest house on the street, provided you do not pay over the odds.
The rail line is only about 100m away - what trains run overnight? I guess Z can fill in the details.
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>> >> Ah yes, but I can't see any way to get power to it so
>> suppose
>> >> the only thing that could go in there is a car and junk.
>> >>
>>
>> The rail line is only about 100m away - what trains run overnight? I guess
>> Z can fill in the details.
>>
Know about the railway line - will reserve judgement until I've heard it. Studying freehold stuff it appears that it would be impossible for me not to own the leasehold to the second garage. Might just rent it back off the other people if they're up for it.
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At the moment passenger services terminate at Aylesbury so not much late at night. There is a little goods traffic.
All that is set to change with massive amounts of spoil being transported due to the building of HS2.
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OR as happened around here............some were sold privately and then..................a housing association bought the rest and it is now stuffed full of single fat tum mum's and other undesirable idiots. As for the garage under your property bit.....................get a grip man, please.
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>> Aylesbury seems a pretty nice place on first glance - nestled in the Chilterns, decent
>> road access for Heathrow, cheap(ish) and decent pubs etc. Good travel time to Oxford. Reasonable crime figures etc. Drought, obviously.
Hee Hee.... 'decent road access to Thief-row'
That depends on what you regard as to the meaning of 'decent'
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How about something like this ~ www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-36773024.html
Cash buyer + buyers market = go for the jugular!
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>> How about something like this ~ www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-36773024.html
>>
>> Cash buyer + buyers market = go for the jugular!
>>
Fairford Leys, newish area, I know some people who live there, seems quite a nice place.
Also fairly central, so a choice of roads out.
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No room dimensions Doggo!!
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>>No room dimensions Doggo!!<<
Its just an example me ole Devon toffee, I'm not in the real estate business (yet!)
:o)
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"...nestled in the Chilterns..."
Er, no, it's not. It's on the Vale of Aylesbury, to the NW of the Chilterns. If you take the A413, heading SE-ish from Aylesbury, you reach the Chilterns at Wendover, which is about 5 miles away. That's pretty much the closest point.
One of my old stamping grounds was the Amersham/Chesham area, which is well ensconced in classic Chiltern countryside further along the A413.
I've been to Aylesbury a good few times, but don't have much up-to-date experience of it. Traffic problems are significant, but you could say that about every town in the SE. The ringroad is a nightmare during the rush-hour.
The journey to Heathrow by road would probably be via A41 (now almost completely dual-carriageway to Jct20 M25). That passes through my present manor.
Certainly looking for houses nearer London than Aylesbury, for example in the Chilterns themselves, will put a good few percent on property prices, except for somewhere like Hemel Hempstead. Although I live there myself, I carry no brief for it, but I'm happy to discuss the relative merits of places along the A41 axis.
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>> "...nestled in the Chilterns..."
>>
>> Er, no, it's not. It's on the Vale of Aylesbury, to the NW of the
>> Chilterns. If you take the A413, heading SE-ish from Aylesbury, you reach the Chilterns at
>> Wendover, which is about 5 miles away. That's pretty much the closest point.
Very true, FP, but one that is ummm 'adjusted' when trying to sell Aylesbury.... The Chilterns so how sounds better than the Vale of Aylesbury!
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my brother has a house in the village of Quanton and its a very pretty village but dont know much about aylesbury
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We used to live in Chalfont St.Peter.
Worst financial decision we ever made was to sell up and move to Wales!
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Nice pubs in Chalfont in my day.
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Greyhound for one. Friend of mine used to live in the High St in Chalfont St P.
Winkers nightclub anyone?
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>> Winkers nightclub anyone?
>>
Several times, but struggling to remember them. Lived in Hillingdon then.
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>> >> Winkers nightclub anyone?
I recall totty hunting at The Crows Nest, near Aylesbury IIRC.
I drove through in the early hours in an old Moggie Minor many years ago. I got tailed by BIB, probably because of my speed. As I rounded a bend, another car pulled out in front, so I nipped up the road they came out of, stopped and turned off my lights. BIB went flying past the end of the road. It took me ages to find my way out of the place.
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>> We used to live in Chalfont St.Peter.
I would rather live there than Chalfont St Giles...
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Used to inhabit the Pheasant a bit yonks ago. In fact in the summer of 1976 I think it was we concreted a bandstand there. 5 cubic yards of concrete mixed up by hand on the car park one Saturday. No wonder my poor bod' is Cattle trucked!!
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Aylesbury is nothing special but is very good value compared to smaller places nearby with more cachet, like Princes Risborough, Aston Clinton, Wendover etc. where you would struggle to get even near the same accommodation for your budget and have far less choice.
They are actually building a lot in Aylesbury, at Berryfields, where your picture is, Fairford Leys (more 'industrial' surroundings than Berryfields), at Aylesbury Parkway on the Bicester Road, and Buckingham Park (next to Berryfields - maybe even abutting/joined up). I'm not very familiar with any of them but Herself went to a meeting recently at Buckingham Park centre and was struck by the clutter of cars parked on road - probably fairly standard with smaller new build.
These are big developments, and fairly commoditised - as they sell, they'll just build more, there doesn't seem to be much of a limit to building in Aylesbury, so although nearby smaller towns are much dearer, Aylesbury is unlikely to catch up price wise - a bit like Milton Keynes in that respect.
Location-wise you're on the right side - you've a rural road up to Buckingham, and a reasonably short trundle round the small ring road to the A41 - which moves fairly slowly until Aston Clinton where the dual starts. I stay out of Aylesbury at peak times - even passing through to get to the Bicester road is painful between 8-9am so if I'm heading for the M40 I go cross country via Buckingham (I live north of Tring). There are lots of nice places around for weekend walking etc, the Cotswolds are half an hour away, and the train from Aylesbury is about an hour into Marylebone.
Options? Leighton Buzzard, a bit smaller than Aylesbury. Not quite as handy for Heathrow although off peak you could use the M1 rather than A41, while having both options. Handier for Luton if that matters. Milton Keynes - you'd be committed to the M1, so painful unless you can travel either side of peak hours. Bicester? You'd get more for your money, you can use the M40. That would be on my list if I could avoid rush hours.
Trading spec for travel distance, Hemel Hempstead? Half an hour less on the journey at a guess. I doubt you'll find attractive new build for your budget but it's big enough to find something judging by this, though a tidy property with a garage might be a big ask.
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-19260762.html?premiumA=true
Tring is a bit better located than Aylesbury on the A41 nearer the M25, but you'd be looking at a flat, or older terraced with little chance of off road parking, or a 70s style public housing development for a 2 bed house. Not much new build comes to mind other than at Pitstone, which is fine but dearer than Aylesbury.
An off the wall suggestion is Winslow, a little market town 10 miles to the north. Further to drive and no new building I'm aware of, but very countrified.
I'm no expert on house prices or market by the way. And if your brief is fixed on the sort of house you've seen at Berryfields, Aylesbury is a sensible choice unless you're prepared to go further out.
Apologies for the stream of consciousness.
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Manatee - incredibly helpful. Thank you.
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Don't know Winslow other than as somewhere I've driven/ridden through but always thought it looked a nice place. Being off the railway may account for it's being more countryfied than other towns in the area.
Last edited by: Bromptonaut on Tue 21 Feb 12 at 07:12
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Aylesbury has a good grammar school and that often reflects in prices. Don't know if it is relevant to OP.
If you frequently travel to Heathrow (by car), then Leighton Buzzard will be too far.
Tring (and surrounding villages) is usually too expensive for like-for-like houses.
Hemel Hempstead is bit cheaper than Aylesbury and is a good place.
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"Hemel Hempstead... is a good place."
I can put some detail on that, if anyone is interested. I've lived here for about 12 years.
Things I don't like:
1. Acres of soulless, boring grey housing. These houses were built quickly during the various phases of the new town development, from the early 1950s onwards.
However, there are good pickings even here. There's a lot of concrete terrace housing, some of which is very good value if you pick your location; I own a 1970s house which I let out which is situated on the very edge of NW Hemel and because the ground drops away in front of it, it has views over open countryside. End-of-terrace three-floor three-bedroom house with integral garage, value approx. £180,000*.
And there are a few more prestigious housing areas with interesting houses of all kinds.
2. Fairly depressing main shopping centre, seemingly inhabited by overweight, gormless people. The addition of a Debenhams has improved what was a shambles at the extreme south end of the main shopping street and there is some attempt to build classy apartment blocks nearby.
3. An almost complete lack of culture. True, there is a little amdram theatre in the Boxmoor area, but no sizable performance venue since the Pavilion was demolished a few years ago. The out-of town entertainment centre has a cinema that shows little but rubbish films.
Things I like:
1. The surrounding countryside. This is the Chilterns - not, perhaps the classic beauty of the NW edges of the area, but still fine walking country, with delightful villages, rivers, the canal, picturesque pubs.
2. Excellent communications. I can be on the M1 in three minutes, M25 in ten, depending on traffic. Rail to London, less than half an hour to Euston, frequent service. Luton airport, twenty minutes by car.
3. Nearby good alternatives for shopping. St Albans ten minutes (excellent street markets twice a week). Watford twenty minutes.
*Like this one, but end of terrace: tinyurl.com/7j4xjzp
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>>*Like this one, but end of terrace: tinyurl.com/7j4xjzp<<
Yuk!
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">>*Like this one, but end of terrace: tinyurl.com/7j4xjzp<<
Yuk!"
If I didn't like you, Dog, I might be offended.
The house I live in is... a bit different. And, no, I'm not posting a picture of it or of anything similar. (Not that there is a anything similar for sale nearby, that I know of.)
I could have added that the old town is very attractive, though small, and the large open space nearby, Gadebridge Park, is nice.
Last edited by: FocalPoint on Tue 21 Feb 12 at 14:31
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>>If I didn't like you, Dog, I might be offended<<
Sorry friend, didn't mean to offend, just that it looks similar to where we came from (local authority)
It's what you make of it inside that matters though, when I was in the mobile car tuning business, I went to a pre-war council flat 'down the Old Kent Road', and he had decorated the 3rd floor flat in 'Elizabethan' style - black beams everywhere, looked quite effective actually!
I know Hemel Hemp stead quite well from when I was a delivery driver in the 70's delivering reams of paper to the printing trade near and far - I always likeed H/H, but I was living in New Kent Road at the time ;)
Like most if not all towns (inc. Aylesbury) there are good parts, and there are bad parts,
and don't mention the ugly parts.
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>> "Hemel Hempstead... is a good place."
>> but no sizable performance venue since the Pavilion was demolished a few
>> years ago. >>
Didn't know they had bulldozed the Pavillion! I was born and brought up in Bovingdon and Berkhamsted and lived in Hemel for a while. I have fond memories of gigs in the Pavillion as a lad, but it's been a while since I've been there.
As you say, parts of Hemel are the pits, but other parts are nice and it is surrounded by lovely countryside. More convenient than Aylesbury for London and the airports.
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I agree Hemel seems a cultural desert. My experience is limited to working there, and one thing that strikes me is the difficulty in finding anywhere nice to eat - the Indian in Boxmoor is OK, there's a rather eccentric Italian place on the High Street, and I haven't found much else. But there's enough within reach, including a train to London :-)
The location for the restaurant exterior in the Pie in the Sky TV series is in the old town, oddly there's nothing real resembling that that I've found.
Worth a look I'd say.
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The best part about hemel is that its easy to bypass using the M1.
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They tried to use that refinery to blow it up. Best thing that could happen to the place in my limited experience of working there.
I did use to enjoy the antics of drivers on that roundabout: g.co/maps/tbnu5
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>> They tried to use that refinery to blow it up.
Fuel storage apparently. There's a pipeline to Heathrow allegedly for the jet fuel. The site itself employs hardly anybody, it's automated. I think it's working again now.
It was a helluva bang. I live 12 miles away and it woke me up.
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SFASIK Heathrow's fuel comes direct from Fawley but Luton must be on a pipeline and our few remaining RAF stations have all their fuel piped in from somewhere. In Germany the military pipelines could be used to pump jet fuel, petrol and diesel with the batches being divided by some sort of mobile "plug"
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"The best part about hemel is that its easy to bypass using the M1."
Good one!
The version I once heard was "The best thing about Hemel is that it's not Stevenage."
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>> I agree Hemel seems a cultural desert.
>> But there's enough within reach, including a train
>> to London :-)
>>
I think the latter causes the former in some towns, my birthplace Luton being another example.
..and my one abiding memory of Hemel Pavilion is very nearly having the crap beaten out of me by a bouncer, for no particular reason!
Last edited by: spamcan61 on Tue 21 Feb 12 at 20:20
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If you're going to live in a place with neighbours directly underneath you, buy a horrid flat. No way would I buy a house with somebody else's garage under it. Ever.
You do realise you could buy yourself a proper house for that money, don't you... (I don't know Aylesbury, BTW.)
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-19857795.html
Last edited by: Mapmaker on Tue 21 Feb 12 at 15:13
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I have a house where the main bedroom is above my garage and I an tell you, for nothing, that you will find any room above a garage VERY cold in Winter!
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>> I have a house where the main bedroom is above my garage and I an
>> tell you, for nothing, that you will find any room above a garage VERY cold
>> in Winter!
My daughter occupies such a room and would second that!!
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So why not insulate the floor??
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If you are going for a new build why buy something that needs modification before you move into it?
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Empty space below a bedroom not a good idear.What about changing the garage into a living accomodation Meldrew.? Maybe to expensive dont know.
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>> No way would I buy a house with somebody else's garage under it.
>> Ever.
There must be 1001 reasons why it's just not a very good idea.
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AYLESBURY
Princes Risborough
Horsep i ssborough
Great Missenden
Horse P i s senden
Thame
Much the same
Remains to be disproved that like the rest of Buckinghamshire
Aylesbury suckinghamshire
(Note to the OP: the above clerihew does not constitute house-buying advice).
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>> >> No way would I buy a house with somebody else's garage under it.
>> >> Ever.
>>
>> There must be 1001 reasons why it's just not a very good idea.
>>
Like when the garage owner starts up their diesel on a cold morning. Or sets fire to it.
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Even opening and closing the garage could disturb you. And yes starting the car up too.
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One reason I wouldn't buy it is because of the shared drive. There's no boundary fence (or whatever) to prevent the owner of the left-hand garage from parking such as to partially obstruct entry to your garage.
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sorry. always found aylesbury a dump of a place
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>> sorry. always found aylesbury a dump of a place
It does have its share of lumpenproletariat, and it's not the most charming market town being inflated by London overspill, but there aren't many town centres I'd enjoy on a Saturday night anyway.
This is a fairly sympathetic treatment en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aylesbury
While FF is in Aylesbury tomorrow, I shall be in Manchester. I'd rather Aylesbury than that I think.
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Had a visit round this place and a chat to the site foreman.
Regarding the garages:
* Strict covenants prevent the user from doing anything other than storing things in it. They may not park their car in front of the garage, use it as a workshop, or make any noise. There is definitely no light or power (which is annoying, because I want lights and power in mine).
* No issues with people parking outside because they'll effectively block the road.
* There is significant insulation between the roof of the garage and the living room above - approximately 30cm of fibreglass and an insulating board.
However, I assume that even though I'd own the freehold, I wouldn't be allowed to boot them out for making noise?
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/new-homes/property-36681851.html/svr/1702
Disadvantages:
* They could have it complete by the time I move in but site will be a bit of a mess still.
* Combi boiler. NOOOOOOoooooooo.... (this is actually the deal-breaker for me).
So, based on this - would those with experience still avoid?
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If the foreman is still on site it should be possible to get power to the garage during the build
If the garage is being used for storage and one can't park in front of it where does one par
My development is also covered by numerous and wide-ranging covenants re the parking of commercial vehicles etc. They exist but who enforces them? The builders are long gone and solicitors @£100+/hour are not the way to go!
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>> * Strict covenants prevent the user from doing anything other than storing things in it.
>> They may not park their car in front of the garage, use it as a
>> workshop, or make any noise. There is definitely no light or power (which is annoying,
>> because I want lights and power in mine).
Who will enforce the covenants?
Don't rely on the Council even if the terms are dictated by the planners.
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If it was me, I would be asking myself if I thought I would be likely to get a good nights sleep, with my home being directly above someone else's garage.
Crystal ball stuff, really.
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>> Who will enforce the covenants?
>>
>> Don't rely on the Council even if the terms are dictated by the planners.
>>
+1,
+1,000,000 in fact. Covenants absolutely no use at all. For anything.
Oh yes, and even if you can enforce with the first purchaser, it's almost certainly not possible to enforce on any subsequent purchaser at all.
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>> >> * Combi boiler. NOOOOOOoooooooo.... (this is actually the deal-breaker for me).
>>
Why?
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When I did a drive-by of this hovel, I gave it the elbow and didn't bother too view it at all, at all,
g.co/maps/ara2n
In the end I did go and view it and we really liked it, so bought it via the mobile phone once we'd left there.
Go for the gaff Ferret if you like it - you can always flog if it doesn't work out for some reason.
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>>g.co/maps/ara2n
I'm surprised you gave that property the elbow in the first place, Dog. Looks good to me.
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Not overlooked, terraced garden would give me a problem, good orientation for solar panels. looks good in the photo
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>>Not overlooked, terraced garden would give me a problem, good orientation for solar panels. looks good in the photo<<
'The wife' used to look after the front garden Mildew :)
Quite a few bods did indeed have s/panels in that area, and Gorran Haven has a sort-of micro climate which makes it sunny & warm when just up the frog and toad in St. Austell it could be cloudy n' cool.
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Interesting thread to me FF as we spent half of last year agonising over where to buy with competing and overlapping advantages/disadvantages of various places and their layouts.
Our interim rental had a bedroom over its own garage, first time I'd lived with this arrangement. I was amazed how much noise transmitted from the garage despite correct modern contruction and insulation.
Like others I'd never rely on a covenant to protect you because if it gets far enough to need that then you're already involved in a dispute and that's a number one thing to avoid related to your own home.
Another point... have you lived in a place where the lounge is upstairs from the entrance/kitchen/diner? I know this is getting more common these days but my sister has this layout and it irritates in day to day living... driving her completely mad when entertaining.
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Ah! - the reason was that the front faced the sea i.e. S. E. which meant the garden (rear) faced the N.W. and I'd rather have it the other way around :)
Bought Kittiwake for £245k - sold it for £315k 12 months later.
Ann liked Gorran Haven, but I found it a bit stifling, baring in mind we'd just moved orf 'the moor', after having lived there for 6.5 years.
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I'm still not sure I'd like the idea of someone else's garage under the house. You have no control over what they keep in there etc and I am sure the covenants are useless. And there is bound to be noise.
When you say there is lots of insulation - is that insulation for thermal reasons or sound? Or both? I know material like Rockwool can be used for both.
We had covenants on the previous house and a peppercorn/ground rent too (about £3/pa). Covenants were around maintaining the road etc but also a few things about the houses themselves. Some of them would have been impossible to be in dispute of too.
I'd not be put off by a combi boiler. I quite like ours. I know they are not meant to last as older types of boilers but I thought they were all short life spans these days. If I had a choice I'd probably go for something with a pressurised hot water tank etc but it's where you put that in most homes.
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Buying houses is like choosing the car to buy, or who to marry.
Rational thoughts play no part in these decisions, usually.
Once the punter is hooked, no amount of trying to talk sense in to them will work.
;-)
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>>>Once the punter is hooked, no amount of trying to talk sense in to them will work.
That's what a lot of estate agents hope for and how they get a lot of their sales.
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Problems with the zimmer or wheelchair from the pavement tho ;)
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I think Fursty will struggle to find a flat - if not a house - without a combi.
I've had a few, currently have one in Iffy Towers and the caravan, and not had any significant problems.
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>>and not had any significant problems<<
Me neither.
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A problem during the recent cold spell has been the freezing up of the condensate drain pipe. This gets blocked and, as a safety precaution, the boiler shuts down. If it is below 0C day and night one can have a problem.
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>> A problem during the recent cold spell has been the freezing up of the condensate
>> drain pipe.
That's a problem with your CONDENSING boiler, not your COMBI boiler.
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Yes but all combis are condesning these days! Not all boilers are condensing but combis are SFAIK
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Good news everyone!
I dispatched my mum- uh, I mean my financial advisor- to Aylesbury today to take a look and she's wholeheartedly recommended against it and come down in favour of my 2nd choice.
Combi boilers stink - takes ages for hot water, not fantastic pressure, can't do hot water and heating at the same time, and prone to going wrong. The second choice has a pressurised hot water tank and a system boiler. It's very advanced, all zoned, the boiler has a network connection to the tank and an outdoor temperature / humidity sensor and is deathly quiet and efficient.
Next step is to put an offer in. :-)
They've already offered 5% off the asking price and a free burglar alarm, so see little point in trying to beat them down further.
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>> Combi boilers stink - takes ages for hot water,
They take a little while granted. Not as long as a normal boiler + hot water tank if there's no hot water in the tank :-)
>> not fantastic pressure
But better than a gravity fed hot water system. Our shower runs fine off it.
>> can't do hot water and heating at the same time,
True but how cold does the house get in the time when the tap is running?
>> The second choice has a pressurised hot water tank and a system boiler.
That would be my preference too I think. But we're happy with our combi. I wouldn't want a gravity fed hot water system again.
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>>But better than a gravity fed hot water system. Our shower runs fine off it.
>>
My gravity fed shower is great.
The cold tank is on a stand four feet high and in the loft of our house.
This feeds via 22mm pipes to our shower on the ground floor wher I have an Aqualisa shower control with a proper large bore hose.
It is a super wetting shower. No pump involved. the only downside is it is not instantly hot.
>>In some installation there might not be room for a boiler and water tank - e.g. a flat.
In my daughter's "conversion flat" there was a purpose built unit from Polytank
It had an angle iron frame with the cylinder sitting on the floor with the cold tank above it.
The horrible aspect of it was the header tank ( specially shaped ) was INSIDE the main cold tank.Apart from all the risks of contamination, the feed and supply pipes went through the wall of the main tank and then into the header tank.
It was probably an approved product in the past !!!
I just could not believe it.
I insisted on installing a conventional header tank above the cold tank and bunged up the unwanted holes.
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Combis aren't that bad! Any demand for hot water from a tank or a combi will need the intervening pipework to warm up - I agree that the boiler has to warm up as well so it does take longer. Assuming you have the heating on and the radiators are warm the 10 minutes it might take to run a bath or have a shower aren't going to make your house cold.
Combis can be hard to avoid these days!
Beaten to it by the input of rjt70!!!!!!!
Last edited by: Meldrew on Tue 28 Feb 12 at 17:11
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High pressure systems have hot water through in about 5 seconds.
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Assuming there's hot water in the tank (i.e. it's not been off for a bit) :-)
In some installation there might not be room for a boiler and water tank - e.g. a flat. No problem here with cellars but we have a combi - installed by previous owners.
Last edited by: rtj70 on Tue 28 Feb 12 at 17:21
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My combi boiler is in the loft, it has a programmable pre heat facility for hot water. Frozen condensate drains are down to poor installation, not the boiler.
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FF my old Bosch Heatslave suffered some of those symptoms. My current home is warmed by a Grant floor standing boiler, suffers from none of them, cracking bit of kit.
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>>They've already offered 5% off the asking price and a free burglar alarm, so see little point
>>in trying to beat them down further.
Salesmen love punters like you. Somebody will be in for a generous bonus!
I have a gravity-fed shower, 22mm pipes, and it's like Noah's flood.
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>> >>They've already offered 5% off the asking price and a free burglar alarm, so see
>> little point
>> >>in trying to beat them down further.
>>
>> Salesmen love punters like you. Somebody will be in for a generous bonus!
>>
Agree, happy sales person, short skirt and long eyelashes by any chance?
They are probably getting the whole lot alarmed as a job lot, minimal cost to the builder.
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>> They've already offered 5% off the asking price and a free burglar alarm, so see
>> little point in trying to beat them down further.
I remember a negotiating course I went on quite a few years ago. One of the 'parables' was the story of a hunter who is returning to his cabin with his moose carcass on his dog sled. He is being pursued by wolves who can smell the meat. He thinks of cutting a lump of meat off the carcass and throwing it to them to persuade them to leave him alone. If he does, what will the wolves do?
You are the wolf. They have thrown you a moose steak.
Back in '92, I looked at a new build house in Bedfordshire. The asking price was £125,000, and they offered it straight off the bat at £115,000 as I was a cash buyer. It looked a damned good offer and I was tempted. After a couple of days research I declined it (actually because the only secondary school I could guarantee to get my children into was a poorly performing compo in Dunstable). They phoned me nearly every day for a fortnight, and their final offer was £98,000!
Personally I would look for a house not built over somebody else's garage, but houses are a very personal thing. If you want it, go for the rest of the moose steaks :-)
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It would have been a BIG mistake FF - fraught with potential problems with that weird garage thing, a very odd set up.
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The thing is, where do you draw the line between making a cheeky but fair offer and taking the proverbial liquid?
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Put a very cheeky one in - they'll only turn you down !
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But for a property like the one with someone else's garage underneath I'd not even make a cheeky offer. Apart from the noise problem etc I'd be concerned what was in there!
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You've got to wonder who'd buy it off you, I find the whole proposition quite bizarre...
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I think the one with the deal on offer is the former second choice, not the garage-under one, which is now off the list?
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Correct.
Found a useful site which shows the price people paid for their houses and am comparing the site plan (with the asking prices) with the actual prices the properties sold for. All seem to have gone for 5-8% off, with the odd exception of the full price paid.
This assumes, of course, that the prices haven't been reduced in the meantime on the pricelist I have in front of me, which suggests even bigger discounts.
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It's on the market at £225,000. 5% off drops it to £213,750. Would £210,000 be a fair offer or would you start lower?
Last edited by: Fursty Ferret on Tue 28 Feb 12 at 20:37
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10% discount absolute minimum as starters - I'd start at £200K, just to start a dialogue.
Unless these properties are VERY desirable and really selling quickly the developers will be desperate for cash flow.
Be wary of statements such as "We've sold so well we only have xx left".
I remember when looking in Spain, that type of claim was often made - sort of true, in so far as the properties had been "sold" to another company in the group, not to end users!
I've been on negotiation training and the advice is for the seller to ask a good deal more than is acceptable and for the buyer to offer a good deal less than he is prepared to pay.
Both parties come down/go up in stages until a reasonable solution is reached.
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www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/new-homes/property-17084243.html?premiumA=true
It's one of these - the £225,000 with a 5% deposit contribution which I've been told can be used as 5% off the asking price.
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If it's the one next to the archway make sure you pay visits after hours to make sure there are no "gatherings" there - seems like a ready made youth shelter, which would be exploited around here before you could say "pass me the White Lightening"
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'tis all new build, R.P., no way of finding out until the time comes. Given the people living on the completed part of the estate it seems unlikely - not least because there's no lighting in that archway.
Last edited by: Fursty Ferret on Tue 28 Feb 12 at 20:56
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>> seems unlikely - not least because there's no lighting in that archway.
Don't think that would stop them. I'd not want the property next to the archway.
Is the one you're after being built on the 'waste/empty' ground in the street view?
Last edited by: rtj70 on Tue 28 Feb 12 at 21:44
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Nope, it's the one next to the archway. To be honest, I drove around the completed bit in the evening and didn't see any yoof's at all. It's too far out of Aylesbury for the town-centre inbreds to congregate by.
Unfortunately, all the properties on that street are only just in the process of being sold so it's something that will only be discovered in the future. I'm not especially concerned, there are much better places to be anti-social than a wind tunnel archway.
Last edited by: Fursty Ferret on Tue 28 Feb 12 at 22:03
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>>"pass me the White Lightening"
Oh, and hold that sheep still a minute Dai will you...
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As it happens I have a photo ! I'll post it shortly.
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The benefit of not taking it as a discount is that when someone checked up on the price you bought it for some years later, it is 5 grand higher than it would've been with discount.
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>>You've got to wonder who'd buy it off you, I find the whole proposition quite bizarre...<<
I've bought n' sold 9 properties, some have been quite bizarre in one way or another,
always sold them on though and at a nice profit.
I don't buy 'normal' properties though, because I am not normal.
:}
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>> 10% discount absolute minimum as starters - I'd start at £200K, just to start a dialogue.
I don't think she was very impressed!
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>> I don't think she was very impressed!
Unless you are trying to get into her knickers, that's not your problem.
The place cost 60k to build and 60k for the sq feet it stands on. That's 120k. Add some cost of money and some legal fees that's 130k.
200k was the right starting AND ending point. Plenty more where that came from. Remember its a buyers market. Make the offer, make sure they know its a serious offer and then let them sweat.
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Go in and tell her how much you like the property, would love to live there.........raise her expectations - get her to commit to the idea of selling to you. Get her to spend the sales target bonus in her head. Then find that you cannot afford it, and the absolute maximum you can raise is the 200k figure. If you have to find a little more, you wont loose face if you tell her that finally you have squeezed 3 k out of your ageing parents for example.
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Tis folly to assume that sales folk lack a certain organ betwixt their ears.
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>> Tis folly to assume that sales folk lack a certain organ betwixt their ears.
>>
Many sales folk don't have it between their ears ;)
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On a new large site you as a buyer have the upper hand.
They have forked out a lot of money to buy the land, its costing them money. They cant build new houses on the land till they have sold (off plan if required) the houses they have built to date.
The further away from the areas of prosperity you are the harder it is to sell the houses. For example in the M4 corridor, my friend is a site manager at one of the developments at Jennetts park in Bracknell (can be seen from the A329). It was a very large site released for housing, where all of the main players have an interest.
They are selling off plan and upon completion (albeit with some nice inducements re deposit and mortgage) nearly everything they have at asking price. It has to be said prices are keen, but that's because it a big big site and a lot to sell.
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>> Remember its a buyers market.
Indeed. Although near me houses that come on the market in the price range £225-250k are selling within 7 days. So people must be offering asking price or very near it.
Last edited by: rtj70 on Wed 29 Feb 12 at 12:09
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>> Indeed. Although near me houses that come on the market in the price range £225-250k
>> are selling within 7 days. So people must be offering asking price or very near
>> it.
Similar round my way but that price is 3 - 4 bed family house territory. Supply is limited, particulalry with 4 beds and an excelent local school drives demand.
First time buyers market is pretty flat still.
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If a property is priced correctly it will generally sell.
The house we bought lastyear in North Notts. had languished on the market for a while - about three months, I think. The price was reduced by £10K, equating to roughly 10% on the Friday we viewed it.
There were three asking price offers on the table by Monday, including ours, (as real £££s in readies) buyers.
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>>The house we bought lastyear in North Notts. had languished on the market for a while - about three months, I think<<
3 months ain't nuffink m8.
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Around this way that money will get an average size 3 bed property. You're usually looking at well over £300k for 4 beds and the larger ones of those go for nearer £400k (still despite the economy).
We're in the catchment area for some good schools so that helps. It helped the buyer of our last house want ours enough to pay lots :-)
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Settled in the end for £208,000 + burglar alarm.
8% off asking price which I'm happy with and it's pretty much what other people in the development managed to get (5-8% average).
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Expecting to hear yes or no from the bank within the next hour. Fingers / toes / arms / legs etc crossed.
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>>Expecting to hear yes or no from the bank within the next hour<<
I wouldn't bank on it: www.guardian.co.uk/science/2012/mar/07/massive-solar-storm-heading-earth
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Ill be OK, my gaff is insulated with a space blanket so it has a tinfoil hat. :-)
www.space-insulation.com/blanket.html
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See if you can spot Aurora tonight O/N, she should be visible 'up there'.
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Will do, We had clear skies this morning but it is now overcast. I last saw an Aurora at about 4am while working a nightshift on an island off the west coast of Scotland during the last major period of sun activity.
EDIT:- Or maybe the one before that. :-)
Last edited by: Old Navy on Thu 8 Mar 12 at 13:29
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Your best chance of a 'window' is around midnight, but I wouldn't hold your breath!
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Couldn't work out how to call an 0800 number from Germany so didn't get an answer yesterday. Will find out this afternoon, hopefully, when I get home!
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Hope you got a "hands free" in that hairyplane...?
:-)
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>> Hope you got a "hands free" in that hairyplane...?
>>
>> :-)
>>
Well, it is possible to make a phone call via HF radio but at €8/minute I doubt the airline is going to be impressed when they get the bill!
Spoke to them today, annoyingly it's still with the underwriters who have queried a bit of paperwork so pushed back to early next week. D'oh.
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Update two:
Sounds like the underwriter was happy.
Mortgage approved (at 12:02, exactly one week after first applying).
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That's a relief, well done.
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Well done indeed. Hope it all works out for you. And the new job/role down south.
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Welcome to civilisation, we'll soon get this rough bits smoothed off you.
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Aylesbury's a bit too far north, surely?
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its close enough for salvation
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Misread that as salivation
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Anyone remember that Peter York thing the "Sloane Ranger handbook" or somesuch? There was a map in it which showed the home counties in isolation connected by an umbilical cord of the M1 /M6 / M74 to Scotland and notes to either side of the motorway suggesting "nothing of particular interest" until you got to the fishing areas of the Borders, Edinburgh and the grouse moors.
:-)
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Official completion date to be Friday 23rd. Woohoo! Disadvantage: I now have no money left.
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Well, at least its not Friday 13th.
:)
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We moved into our first house with second hand furniture apart from our lounge suite which cost £175 from John Lewis! (On the drip!)
When we moved back to the UK last year we had to start again as all our furniture was sold with our Spanish home. A bit of deja vu!
We, apart from bedroom stuff, went for used again!
eBay was our salvation as we concentrated on good quality Ercol solid wood pieces.
An elm sideboard, for instance for £325, (nearest new now, just under £2K) a coffee table (new over £750) for £225, a corner cabinet £200, a three piece suite £350 and a nest of tables £220 and so on. Our Ercol dining table and six chairs came to about £300, but we spent £100 having the table top restored and it is a wonderfully grained and much admired piece!
Don't be afraid to go for second hand - & be patient to find the best stuff!
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Wifey says the most important thing is you've got your home, you can take your thyme in furnishing it how you want it.
I'll go along with Dodger Re: some good quality furniture available on ebay (to the discerning eye)
When friends flogged their quintessential Cornish country cottage on Bodmin Moor and moved to some dead n' alive hole (called Plymouth) they sold orf some cracking gear on said auction site, for next-to nuffink.
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>> a coffee table (new over £750) for £225
=:o
A new coffee table from Argos costs £8.
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A cardboard box from the supermarket is free and will last a lot longer! Actually i'm with Roger on this. Decent second hand and even antique furniture can be had for way below new prices. Ercol is fantastically well made and will last a lifetime.
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@FF - Did you mention the house you finally bought on here,
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"@FF - Did you mention the house you finally bought on here,"
Unless I'm mistaken, he's virtually told us the address. With the photo, we could probably find it.
Do you want to remove that link, FF?
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Ah yes - remember now. Not read all the thread, but It's just occurred to me.
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>>Do you want to remove that link, FF?
Not before we've popped around for tea and cakes, surely...
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>> Not before we've popped around for tea and cakes, surely...
Or at least had a squint as I now have.
Nice gaff FF. I like the colour too. I suppose in a quiet street fronting straight onto the pavement like that would seem OK after a while.
I'm sure Aylesbury doesn't suck really. That was just a rude joke.
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"Not before we've popped around for tea and cakes, surely..."
Well, I could. I'm about 20 minutes away, maybe half an hour.
I like mine strong, just a small slurp of milk and no sugar. Any chance of Earl Grey?
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But he's told us all it has a burglar alarm.
So everybody will avoid it. :-)
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I had the copper pipework and boiler away last night, Got 70 quid down the scrappie for that lot.
The burglar alarm was not turned on, no-one has moved in yet.
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Ah, but it could be one of any four of that style on the site so there's an excellent chance you've nicked someone else's copper pipes. Besides, it's the builder's responsibility at the moment!
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As it is a new build it probably has plastic pipes for the local rodents to chew on.
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>> The burglar alarm was not turned on.
Probably one installed by L'escargot then.
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>> >> The burglar alarm was not turned on.
>>
>> Probably one installed by L'escargot then.
>>
Probably.
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>> >> a coffee table (new over £750) for £225
>>
>> =:o
>>
>> A new coffee table from Argos costs £8.
That's as may be but THIS is the one we have!
(RRP over £800, but on offer here)
www.furniturevillage.co.uk/Inventory/Occasional/Ercol-Windsor-Occasional/Coffee-table.aspx
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Absolute rip off. It is only a few bits of wood.
Last edited by: Rolling roadblock. on Thu 15 Mar 12 at 17:45
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.............and a car is only a few bits of metal!
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>> .............and a car is only a few bits of metal!
>>
True, and many people buy a "badge" regardless of value.
Last edited by: Rolling roadblock. on Fri 16 Mar 12 at 07:27
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>> www.furniturevillage.co.uk/Inventory/Occasional/Ercol-Windsor-Occasional/Coffee-table.aspx
>>
What is it when it's not a coffee table?
I think we should be told... perhaps it has a use BBD would approve of ;-)
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It's a lot of money - even secondhand - for something to trip over.
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We thought we were pushing the boat out when we paid something over £100 for our Next coffee table. But at least ours has got drawers :)
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>>But at least ours has got drawers :)
Should keep it warm.
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>> >> a coffee table (new over £750)
A nice enough coffee table, but who on earth would fork out over £750 for one??
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*Drum roll please*
Completed this morning!
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Well done! You must be pleased/relieved.
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The first thing we need to do is getting you a decent set of clothes, you have moved south now my boy.
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Just wear the uniform and impress the neighbours...
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Bit formal for gardening though. Take the hat off anyway...
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This is starting to sound a bit like a script from 'cabin pressure'.
I've never heard it on in-flight entertainment, I wonder why?
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He's going to have to get rid of that Manchester twang.
Pat
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I think it's up to him who he invites. Mancunians or otherwise...
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Aylesbury - Old Navy
