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Oh and this is what it was like before

I said a few pages back I'd bung up a few pics of my kitchen so here they are..

There are some crazy cheap mortgage deals about if you've got a decent chunk of equity. Unless my current lender, the ybs, comes up with something special when they release their next lot of deals at the end of the month- I'm going with tescos 2 year fix at 1.59 PC with free legals and free valuation, and a £195 application fee.

The clubcard points will be handy too.

I used worktop warehouse recently. Paul there takes an age to respond to emails but his product is good and his prices are very very low. We are very pleased with what he delivered and installed.

Word of warning to anyone considering getting quartz or granite worktops- do not use reemstone- they will probably fuck u about, waste your time, and not apologise for it. They might be the cheapest around, but when youre being fucked about, Saving 100 quid is neither here nor there. And if their pre-sale is anything to go by, their after sales is probably shite too.

Standard charges are Between 700-1k for their fees for a decent lawyer, 500 quid if you use an online one. For that they are dealing with a transaction which can be hideously complicated, especially if a flat, not only acting for you but for your lender if you have one, and risking getting sued if they get it wrong..

I don't think the solicitors charges for conveyancing are expensive at all to be honest.

I paid 1pc plus VAT to davey stone and Jodie Ryan there who I dealt with was worth every penny of what I had to pay- she was a pleasure to deal with, and was both proactive and above all - ethical in how she dealt with everyone.

I wouldn't touch foxtons with a barge pole. You should know roughly what your gaff is worth give or take a small margin tbh - foxtons are odious cunts and I wouldn't give them the steam off my piss let alone several grand.

(I used to rent through foxtons)

A bath and a toilet seat? Or back to bricks and start from scratch?

Yet again, Another pointless and unhelpful comment- what exactly does your 3k buy you?

Sorry @mustardbeak- please quote me where I have said I am an expert. The exact post please.

@AirTime appears to be shooting from the hip by advising that a property is no problem, go and buy it, even though it's fucked and riddled with damp, but no problem you can get a bathroom and kitchen for tuppence etc - when I, and a number of other posters have said that it is an unrealistic approach to take. It's not helpful and give people and unrealistic expectation as to what can be achieved.

Expensive home improvements are expensive. End of.

I repeat my invitation for @AirTimeto tell us all his credentials which enable him to rubbish my comments on how much it costs to do a decent job. some pictures of his recently completed bathroom and kitchen projects would be nice too.

Ok so we've established that I was correct and that warner flat was shit and needed a shed load of cash spending on it.

Just out of interest - on what basis are you advising that ' a bit of money' will sort such a place out? Have you properly refurbished a decent bathroom or kitchen in london?

In terms of my experience:

I've done my kitchen- costed and project managed the trades myself - it cost 14,670 ( to date) - a mid end spec mostly.

My bathroom is 6 month old - I've seen the receipts from the labour and the suite - again, it's mid to top end in parts but I have the paperwork to explain away what it cost (£10,750)

I'll post pictures of both shortly. I hope it'll be helpful.

Forgive me though, I'm intrigued- you're giving out advice saying things won't cost much to sort, which is great for those intrepid house hunters who optimistically view shit tips like that place in walthamstow - but your advice is based on what experience exactly?

I think it's great to give advice - but it's only helpful or relevant when it's actually based on some experience.

id hate to see what your place will look like if you think you can get an acceptable kitchen and bathroom for 10k.

new kitchen for that place, unless you like skip diving, will cost a minimum of 8k - probably closer to 10 if you are doing it properly.

new bathroom, again, yeah you can get something shite for a few k but if you are doing it properly, i'd imagine it will cost 5 or 6k there as well.

the damp might be caused by many things but I would be budgeting for new windows too, again, it'll cost what it costs, but probably the thick end of 5k as well.

replastering, damp proof course, rewiring, you arent going to get any change out of 7k there either. so now were up to 28k.

odds and ends will crop up that need doing, and you'll probably want new flooring as well - another 2k or so there. so now youre in for 30k.

so you spend 265k on buying it, probably over 30k making it into somewhere you actually want to live and enjoy and not just exist, with the SDLT and fees it'll owe you 300k.

I'm happy to put my neck on the line and say when the artificial supports currently in place are removed - that flat will not be worth 300k. buy it as a home by all means, but dont think that there is easy money to be made by buying it and throwing some magnolia emulsion around, because there isnt.

all im trying to say is dont rush and buy something that might look like its a good deal at first blush, but that actually needs 40 grand spending on it. finance is cheap at the moment and its likely we are in a bubble. everything is fully priced in - there is only so much a shonky 1.5 bed flat in walthamstow is worth when the cheap money stops- just make sure you dont pay over the odds if you do want to get into the market, and do what you can to make sure you arent left holding the baby if it all goes wrong again..

I just think its worth a reminder that 5 or 6 years ago things were very different and that flat would have been 160-175k...

no offence but that looks pretty crap and needs a lot of money spending on it.

its also probably significantly less than 600 sq ft which imo is too small for a decent sized 2 bedroom flat.

oh and remember the policy will actually be void and worthless if you tell the council about the fact that you dont have building control approval for the works previously undertaken.

have you actually read what the indemnity insurance covers you for?

you are conflating the i) purpose of the policy (which is to cover your financial losses in the event the council enforces against you for not seeking building control approval for notifiable works previoulsy undertaken at the house) against ii) the fact you havent told your neighbours you are undertaking work on the party wall in respect of the chimney and iii) the building control bloke coming round and saying the work is good, safe and complies with the regulations and signs a bit of paper to say as such.

very close to where I live. nice and quiet. but needs about 35k give or take spending on it to make it nice...

the kitchen is finished, just need the decorating and lighting to be finished then i'll pop some pics up. we arent dead yet from the chimney.

speaking of which did your builder check if the otherside had retained their chimney or not? if he didnt check you might have a problem when building control come over, you are only meant to use gallows brackets in specific circumstances

also, you did put that you were going to remove the chimney on your party wall notice didnt you?

that gallows bracket isnt installed as per the building regs - it should have concerete packed around it.

I'm in south leytonstone. its a bit rougher than the posh bit, and whilst we could have afforded to buy in the posh bit, I thought (and still do) its less of a risk to buy south of the tracks - that area will be getting regenerated quite a bit in the forthcoming years, its a 12 minute walk to cross rail at maryland and its pretty likely that it will be generally done up and improved.

if you commute by bike then dont underestimate how useful it is to be in the olympic park in a few minutes, my commute is pretty car-less right until I leave victoria park.

I've noticed prices going up slightly this year - for a good 2 bed with a decent size upstairs bathroom its now 400-425k.

I'm slightly surprised that anyone would think that a responsible person would take a chimney down without supporting it.

why would it be an issue - its all be done properly in line with building regs etc

fresh air and crossed fingers? it was cheaper than installing proper brackets and a lintel and I like taking a gamble

I dont believe the 3210 had a camera.

The costs so far in now particular order:

Led under counter lights: £100
Ceiling lights 90
Range cooker 650 (down from 1k)
360 plastering labour
70 plastering materials
75 plasterboard for ceiling
20 emulsion for ceilings and walls
800 kitchen rewire
2k quartz worktop and upstands
230 integrated fridge freezer (on sale from 300)
180 dishwasher (down from 275.00)
575 gas work and plumbing (tbf he had to run a new gas pipe from the mains and rejig the plumbing and move some pipes around)
77 grohe tap (down from 150)
20 concrete
1200 fitting
6600 cabinets (with an 80pc discount)
100 floor tiles (on sale from 200)
70 flexible grout adhesive
50 call out for recommissioning range cooker
600 to knock down chimney
4 tap compression fittings
30 chimney caps
100 range extractor fan (down from 230)

There are other costs as well like tiling the floor which escape me at the moment but that’s 14k there and then.

to give you an idea of the task:

apologies for the crap pictures. there was a massive chimney in the kitchen - now gone. my dining room looks like a warehouse. and it feels like every 5 minutes another problem is unearthed which costs me a fortune.

still - at least I didnt have to pay to get rid of the old gas cooker - I put it out the front of the house and it was gone in 10 minutes.

I'll put some pics up later, but my new kitchen project is bleeding me dry.

I think the design and spec is pretty modest to be honest, but have treated myself to a quartz worktop and a range cooker. asides from that I've been tight with the appliances, nailed all the trades down, but it looks like its going to cost me just shy of 15 grand.

FML