₦airaland Forum

PrettyPacy:
Mortgage is guaranteed and offer accepted. Thank you

You're good to go with survey then! Good luck and wishing you all the best and lots of patience (if you're in England and Wales)

PrettyPacy:
Good morning everyone please at what stage do I carry out a survey during house purchase ?

Have offer accepted. Apply for mortgage and instruct solicitor (usually within days), then once you know the mortgage is in the bag, instruct a surveyor. There's no point doing a survey if the mortgage isn't guaranteed.

Evagreenfields:
Hi All,

A bit of some divergence but does anyone happen to have gone through the process of setting up a living will in the UK or even a trust for their family?
Asking about this from an individual/ very small asset owner perspective please.

If you have, are you able to share your experience doing this, pros and cons, fees (if applicable) and provider used.

I'm also happy to receive perspectives from Nigeria.

Cc @ticha @lexusgs430

Thanks 😊

We have a trust and set it up quite sonetime ago. We're both PAYE employees though.
We hold assets in 2 countries with a reciprocal tax agreement, so we had to use a NZ/UK practising solicitor and a tax accountant versed in the laws of both countries around taxation and inheritance (UK has CGT and NZ does not. UK has inheritance tax and NZ does not etc) so my recommendations will likely not be useful as they're mainly NZ based.

Our set up cost was around £3k ish then and ongoing annual cost of maintaining the trust is approx £700 ish across both countries. I wrote a long epistle about the pros a couple of years ago. A major pro of course is that it protects our assets from any litigation and bankruptcy.

Major cons for us -
1. We set ourselves as beneficiaries which restricts what we can do with it. It's a mixed trust designed to prevent any assets being sold out of it. I am sure that will come bite us in the arse in the nearest future.
2. The tax requirements are onerous. Doubly so as we need to meet the requirements of both NZ and UK.

Whether it will be useful or not, only time will tell.

Goodenoch:
So, we picked up our new (to us) house keys yesterday.

Congratulations 😍🥳💥💯
This is very awesome news! Wishing you many happy years of memories there!

PS - the house buying process here is bonkers and archaic! Not sure why England and Wales have not followed in Scotland's footsteps

kwakudtraveller:
Thanks, Ticha. You’re always so helpful. Quick last question. Did the builder need to visit the property to give an accurate quote, or was the survey enough for that?

He visited the property. We wanted a proper quote as we were asking for a huge reduction - about 11% of the initially agreed price

deept:
yea, I need that template as well. Madam Ticha, your students are waiting for you, how did you go about it?

😅😅 @ students
Kwakwudtraveller - we did a L3 survey then got a builder to price up what needed doing in particular sorting 2 damp outside walls and the foundations to the part of the house adjoining the garage. Part of the roof also needed redoing.
We had a budget for the renovations and essentially asked for a reduction in price for the costs above our allocated budget. It was approx £30k ish I think.

We went back to the agent (never met the owner) and sent over the relevant parts of the survey plus the builder quote and asked for the full amount off. After a few back and forth - through the agent - the seller agreed to discount the price. We essentially were prepared to walk away and the previous buyer had walked away due to the survey.

In the end we also pulled out of that purchase, much to my regret now as today we would not in our wildest dreams be able to buy that house! It was in a fantastic area of Bath but was very poorly looked after. The seller came back to us and asked us if we could give him the survey. We sold it to him for exactly how much we paid for it.

elengine:
Dilemma pls
Advice please

Option B is not even an option. Scratch that.

Is option A a developer's deal? How many houses are being built there? Has it started, mid development or finished?

What are the issues with the area of option A? Is it just gut feel? Will the kids need to change schools? How old are your children?

Waiting is always an option. You'll just buy later or buy something smaller as a stepping stone.

PrettyPacy:
Like the owner mentioned the solar was installed by the government 10years ago, no idea of the battery size but I can find out. Thank you so much

Here is the 1st paragraph of the letter from the owner regarding the solar panel :

As our airspace leasehold interest is on a separate title number there are no formal requirements with any assignment in respect of the sale of the property. The freehold title of the property has the schedule of Lease in connection with the solar panels within the title and the purchasers therefore take the title to the property with the benefit of the solar panels under the terms of the airspace leasehold interest granted to us.

The solar panels are leased then. Banks don't like that as it means someone else also has security over the property. It's worth digging more into that. Unfortunately I don't have much experience around where else to get more information except from a solicitor and that will cost you.

Unless you really, really love the house and it's only affordable one, I'll move on.

PS - the government does not install the panels. If people are on certain benefits, they can receive a grant to enable them install solar panels/ heat pumps to increase EPC etc. It's usually a partial payment towards the total costs. So the vendor's language is a bot of a red herring. Thread softly

moshuur:
Hello....I have capital 1 Credit card

I wan comot 200 pounds from the credit card straight to my bank account.

Pls how can I go about this?

Don't do it! The interest won't be worth it and it'll tank your credit. You're better off trying to apply for a new money transfer credit card that is set up to enable you transfer cash to your bank account.
Saying that your credit rating is also on the poor side. Thread carefully

PrettyPacy:
Thanks for your input
The reason I’m asking questions is that is our first home and we don’t want to make mistakes as well. And the property have solar panels installed as this a concern please ?

Our current home is over 100 years old!
In terms of what to buy:
Affordability - this is the koko.
Location
House size
Your appetite for renovation - time and funds
All the rest will fall into place.

Solar panels -
1. Ensure the home owner owns the panels and they haven't leased the roof to the energy company. As that can present challenges with a mortgage.
2. Check how long ago it was installed - older ones have a 10 year ish self life. How big the battery is. Does it store electricity (better if it does as you can then sell back to the grid)

Ogonsbaba:
Please, can LISA be used to buy an old build or ran down house that need refurbishing??

Renovating houses can be very expensive and time consuming. Plus the chances of getting all your costs back when you sell is minimal unless you hold for about 5 years or more.
Houses needing updating seem to commanding similar prices to finished homes so it's important to buy right

Schoolhike:
Morning all, could someone please suggest a cure for eczema and itchy skin for a 3-year-old girl based on past experience, please?

She's had eczema since she was 1 year old, initially appearing only on both knees. We've been using Aveeno cream since then, but it got worse this year when it started appearing all over her body. We took her to the GP, and she prescribed a steroid. It clears it away temporarily, but it comes back even more after withdrawing the steroids.

She keeps waking up during the night due to itching and can sometimes take 1 to 2 hours before she falls back asleep. As a result of the scratching, we also can't sleep until she sleeps.

She's not always in a good mood during the day as she spends lots of time scratching all over her body.

She's been sent back home a couple of times from nursery due to that.

List of stuff we've used: Aveeno, Zerobase, Hydromol, Epimax, Dermol lotion for bathing, steroid cream, Piriton for itching (this makes her too sleepy).

I suffer from horrific eczema as does one of my daughters and I use Dream Cream from Lush. It's pricey but it's also the only thing that keeps me sane in the last 10 odd years. I slather it on day and night. You should be able to get the non drowsy piriton as well

babajeje123:
Hello people, our house has been completed and we're waiting for the solicitor to complete their searches. To those who have moved in to their property, will you advise we do snagging survey? Read some articles that highlight its importance or we should just go with the 10 year warranty (forgotten what they call it now) on newly build?

Oh yes! Definitely get one. They will see amd pick up things that you wouldn't consider important especially in a shiny new home.

lightnlife:
Really? Isn't the minimum wage applicable to the North.

Agreed, there are limited opportunities compared to the South but I'd imagine majority of workers earn the national minimum pay whilst others earn marginally higher rates, as with other regions.

My biggest concerns about the North is the extreme weather conditions and accent. Barring these, I'd gladly move over to enjoy the low rent and mortgage pecks.

Extreme weather? Are you looking to relocate to the Outer Hebrides?

The weather across the UK is much of a muchness. Marginally colder up north yes but it's all rain, rain and then some more rain across the whole of the UK and Ireland.

I work up nor' and live in the Midlands. Sometimes it's warmer and sunnier in the Lake District than the Midlands!

Goodenoch:
No. Using a broker is pointless in this situation. Their only value, especially for people who don't have ILR, is in getting deals in the first place because only a limited number of places offer those deals.

Agreed. A broker is mainly useful if your situation is not straightforward therefore you need a broker to suss out what will for you.
If you've decided to use Barclays and have an AIP from them, then you don't need a broker.

mex551:
@Ticha, please can you recommend a good solicitor for me ? Any other person who has used a good one should recommend too. The solicitor should be “responsive “ ohh. I hear that some of them don’t respond to mails and calls

We currently use Gareth Travis from Versus Law in Didsbury.

My suggestion is to use one local to you. That way when they start dragging leg, you can go to their physical office. Be wary of online conveyancers.

Thewritingnerd:
Hello, just sent you a mail. 🙏🏾

I've responded although off to the land of nod in a mo

missb50:
Thank God, finally, it's my testimony time!

We got our keys 13/09, and moved in 15/09.

Got over 6k extra using LISA.

Special thanks to Oga Lexus, Madam Ticha, and everyone contributing to this thread.

Rent money is dead money

It's raining house buying! Congratulations 🎊 👏 💐

teeebest:
This thread has been of immense help to me. I want to appreciate the contributions of all 'elders' lexus, semmyk, Ticha etc.

We got our keys on Friday 30th August and moved into our house on the 31st. We maxed out our LISA contributions and deposit was 14k.

Congratulations 🎊 👏 💐
Here's to many more in your future!

ehizario2012:
Thanks.

Thanks @lexus baba.

I wrote him a letter, but the notice I gave was three days and that's because it was already about 20 days after I left the property.

Do you advise I write another letter with a minimum of 7 days notice? Just to ensure the letter is legal and admissible in court (if it gets to that.)

There is no minimum - they consider reasonable time frame which is usually interpreted to 7 to 14 days.

This is the Shelter template - delete any unnecessary bits.

[Use the subject: Letter before action - Tenancy deposit protection]

I am the former assured shorthold tenant of [address of property] which you rented to me on [date].

The property was left in good order and the rent was fully paid to the end of my tenancy.

I am writing concerning the deposit of £Bleep I paid to you on [date] as a security against my obligations under the terms of my tenancy agreement.

[Delete section below if it does not apply]

Refund of my tenancy deposit

I wrote to you on [date] to request that you refund the full amount of my deposit to me within 10 days. I attach a copy of my letter.

To date, my deposit has not been refunded. I therefore request that, within 14 days of receiving this letter, you pay me the amount of the deposit paid to you.

Compensation for failure to protect my tenancy deposit

Section 213 of the Housing Act 2004 required that you protected my deposit with a government-backed scheme within 30 days of the payment of my deposit. You were also required to provide me with details of the scheme you’ve used along with certain other information.

[Delete the sentences below that do not apply]

You failed to protect my deposit with a government-backed scheme.

You failed to protect my deposit within 30 days of the payment of my deposit.

You failed to give me the necessary information about the tenancy deposit scheme you used within 30 days of the payment of my deposit.

You informed me that you had protected my deposit with [name of scheme] but I found no evidence that you had done so.

Section 214 of the Housing Act 2004 provides that where the court is satisfied that you failed to comply with your obligations under the law relating to tenancy deposit protection it must order that you pay me one to three times the amount of the deposit paid.

Settlement

I am open to reasonable offers about compensation to settle this matter to avoid the costs of going to court.

If I do not hear from you or we are unable to come to a reasonable agreement by [date - allowing at least 14 days from receipt of your letter], I will issue court proceedings in the county court without further notice.

I reserve the right to include a claim for interest on the unreturned deposit.

I will also be asking for an order to cover my costs. I will be relying on court rules for pre-action conduct that say you may have to pay more in costs if you ignore this letter.

tushqueen:
Hi, can anyone please recommend a tax accountant, these ones I got through to wants monthly charges, is that what they do?

We use James Card - james.card@rita4rent.co.uk
+447802882983

ehizario2012:
Hi fam, been a while here. My former agent has been posting me for over 6 weeks now, he refused to return my deposit. Just promises. I've heard from people that he never willingly returns deposits. It's £675 and I feel that money can do something good somewhere. And worse still, I found out he didn't even protect the deposit.

I've read some procedures online, including court fees etc. it's discouraging, considering the relatively small amount of £675. I'll appreciate any help from experienced members here. Cheers.

Some Naija guys just dey fall hand anyhow. Too bad.

Start with a letter. Called notice before action. Requesting your deposit. Give him 7 days and say after that you'll take him to court because he's breached bla bla bla and you'llalso be recovering all your court costs from him. Shelter has a sample letter on their website.

skido04:
Please can you help clarify on this.
If the course is 18months. Do I have to pay for the full academic fees or just tge one year part of it.

Is it then advisable to aim for 2years so I can pay one year at a time instead of the whole bulk for just a year program.

You pat whatever deposit they require but you have to shoe funds for the first year. If you have finds for the whole course duration saved, even better.

jedisco:
Handling kids + parents is the main headache I see. Perhaps younger kids will be less problematic (not that any group is easy)
Any reason for the bolded?

You get used to handling parents. It's no different to working in retail or telephone customer service. The kids are easy to deal with. A lot of their misbehaving is reserved for home and the streets.
SE - highest cost of living, biggest population so bigger classrooms.
Teaching salaries are the same everywhere. The uplift for London is about £6k. That does not offset higher rent, transport etc.

dupyshoo:
Thanks Ticha for always sharing your stories and experiences. So much to learn from you.

Thank you ma'am! 😍😍
We learn from each other all the time. That's the beauty of thos forum (most of the time 😅)

jedisco:
I believe you are a teacher (correct me if I'm wrong)- what do you think of the recently streamlined pathway for teachers to come in and career prospects in that field.

I still have at least 2 moves in me o! Sans children sha hopefully. Although if any good opportunity comes, we shall snatch it one hand!

I am a teacher, although I don't teach anymore. It's brilliant that there's a dedicated pathway that enables qualified teachers to come in.
There are always teaching jobs available, if you can hack it because the misbehaviour no be for here and teachers' hands are tied! It's good as a stepping stone into other careers anyway and QTS is accepted in several countries without needing to retrain.

The salary is relatively good if you take the 13 weeks (technically 10 weeks because of planning) holidays into consideration. Especially if one avoids the South East completely. Academies can now also give bursaries/scholarships - it does bond the teacher however that ensures that you also have stability for a while.

sholadele4:
Hello seniors...
We are in the process of buying a 7 year old house as our first house. We have mortgage offer for this already. We just received a pre-contract search report from our solicitors and the following are a few gray areas I need advice on before taking further steps:

1. The road is not maintainable at the public expense, as it is private road. It is also does not appear to be the subject of a road agreement or a plan by the Local Authority to make it up to adoption standards. The road was originally intended to become an adopted highway prior to the original builder going into liquidation.

2. The sewers are not yet adopted and there does not appear to be any agreement in place for the adoption to take place.

3. The property developer has gone into liquidation and there is no management company or arrangement in place.

Are these issues to worry about?...We would appreciate all the advice and insights we can get.

I would walk away from this. There's lots of potential undefined expenditure that will come your way.
Long story short, all unadopted roads and sewers have to be maintained by the owners of the houses in the estate. It's too much of a palaver when it's not your forever home or the only one of it's kind.
The absence of a management company makes it worse.

babajeje123:
Hello! We've been talking to a builder and we are going there today to pay reservation fee and ID checks.
@Ticha @Lexusgs430 @all

The mortgage rate is pretty good for now I'll say. Although rates seem to be dropping. How would you feel if 1 or 2 years in, rates drop to sub 4%? Do you have plans to move soon? Any other big financial plans (like more babies) on the horizon? If no, I'd take a 2 year fix. If yes, then the 5 years so you have certainty.

Solicitors - I always always go based on recommendation and reviews. They can make it an easy process or a frustratingly stressful process. The quote is fair - ish. There will be cheaper ones but I bet the developer will be keen to get the property sold so delays will be minimal. However, do be careful that the solicitor is on your side rather than the developers side.

For that reason, I'd suggest get another quote. Ask friends and colleagues who they've used and get 3 quotes. Then choose one.
My main solicitor is based in Didsbury and is very responsive - they know I'll go camp at their office if they don't respond within 24 hours 😅 but then we paid him £1300 so I expect excellent service plus his mobile number 🤣

Goodenoch:
How about the US? Sounds like you eliminated it from consideration early on.

Any particular reasons why other than wanting to be closer to family?

It's very high-paying in my field and we're considering it in the medium-term, so trying to gather perspectives.

Thanks.

We did as explained in my response above. We eliminated it because we decided earning more was no longer our focus - hence why we seriously considered Canada instead.

It's a pretty privileged position to be in and I am glad we were in a position to be able to take the decision.

My advice is go! NZ/Aus was or gathering phase and boy did we work our arses off! We both essentially had 2 full time jobs for 7 years!

jedisco:
Good stuff

Hmnn, we have been incredibly lucky with a series of being in the right place at the right time, finding friends who were open to combining resources with us and Covid. Covid has been both a blessing (sorted our finances and gave us clarity of thought around plans) and a curse (lost a few friends and family).

We still have to work, after all our properties are mortgaged heavily except 1. However if shit hits the fan, we can just sell down and pay off the debts and be fine.

Yeah, we have decided to prioritise time with the children and family - thanks to 3 very very close deaths in the last 4 years - we can charge back again full throttle into the workforce when they're 18 which is less than 10 years away. Time flies and that pass will pass quickly.


The US would have been our best move - for finances, for lifestyle and for travel. However, we firmly made a heart decision. With little changes, we can achieve the same thing on less income and see our family as much as we want. My father is going blind, my children had not seen him since 2016, we've been back 6 months and they've seen him twice. Visas to the UK are easy to get - too easy sef. Tickets are cheap. Here we see our 9ja family 4/5 times a year. My MIL is getting frail and unwilling to travel far. It is crucial to me that the children build those relationships. It will be harder once they turn grumpy teens. I don't want their lasting memories of their grandparents to be frail, sick, old people. All grandparents are still spry and can hang out with the kids and do activities.

Plus we would have had to return to the UK after 4/5 years in Can/US so the children can qualify for domestic student fees at UK unis. Yes, they could get scholarships in the US but they can get those scholarships from here as well as have access to excellent universities here as domestic students. My son is desperate to not change schools anymore as is one of my daughters.

I am perimenopausal and was actually beginning to struggle a bit work wise. This is my 20th year away from 9ja and my 26th year working non stop and it's been GO! GO!! GO!!! I am happy to ease off the rat race a bit, drop down a bit career wise and just be.

I returned to take up a band 8b role and within a month, I asked to take up a band 6 position that was brand new and I have been loving it. No direct reports, lots of allowance to create my workload and I'm in my happy space which is learning and development. Nothing new to learn but a lot of experience and skills to utilise. Because I started at the trust at band 8, my manager and HR agreed to sit my role outside the team but be a sort of golden thread - linking EDI, L & D and HR functions. I can do it in my sleep and without thinking too much. I work from home 2 weeks and in the office 3 days the third week and repeat. It's my bread and butter.

I can also be there for my children in the ways I want. I had always planned to drop to part time when my oldest turns 10 cos the teenage years in the West no be beans. I should know - I taught teens aged 13 - 16 for a long time. I want to be there when they leave for school and when they return home. I want to eyeball who their friends are on a daily basis. I'd rather their friends come hang out at ours than they go elsewhere.

With my current role, I can work and earn full time and still have all that as well as support my own health and mental well being.

Long story short - we made a completely emotion driven decision because our finances can support it for now.

Go for it! I advise anyone who can go live in another country to do so. You won't regret it especially as you're planning in advance.
You'll get good international exposure, expanded worldview and hopefully your finances will get an awesome bump in the process!

Pee4Paul:
Good afternoon fellow Nigerians.
Please I need your assistance.
Very soon, I will be having an interview as part of the application for a PGCE Physics course in England.
For the interview, I would like to know what to expect for the subject knowledge section. For example, physics topics to expect, tips to help e.t.c
Thank you.

Have a look on www.tes.com

jedisco:
Interesting.. Quite a vague area. Na 10yr mortgage I go target if possible.

Care sharing more info about the bolded? Did you achieve your objectives?

We went to NZ on a whim so there were no objectives to achieve per se. A transfer opportunity came up and we jumped at it. It also gave us an opportunity to live in Australia as well. I think if we had to fund our whole move them, we wouldn't have done it. Covid lock downs meant we were there long enough to qualify for citizenship so got it as well as set ourselves up financially well for the rest of our lives hopefully. We also thoroughly visited and explored many countries in the Pacific - as you know waka aboutery is my favourite past time!

To be fair, I'm totally disenchanted with NZ and have been for about 3 years. It may well be a me issue 😅😅 although quite a few of our friends that are doing well there are also planning a move out.

In terms of financial growth, we exceeded our expectations and plans hence being able to choose our next location based on largely emotions and family ties. It comes to a time in life where earning more takes a back seat and I think we're there now.

We had a choice of US, Canada and UK/Ireland. We very very strongly considered Canada (Vanc and Toronto) and spent 2 months there in 2022, viewing houses and talking to employers and extended family but it did not make any financial sense at all and would set us back several years. At worst, we want to remain where we are financially.

Next bigger consideration was Dublin. Dublin would have been a fully funded move but in the end, being able to see family on a whim won out!

So we're back home and have promised our eldest - he particularly asked - that he won't have to change schools again and will finish in one school (he's going into his 4th school in 3 countries so I don't blame him!).

So we're here for the next 8 years till the younger ones finish secondary school and we get to spend lots and lots of time with our aging parents (all in their 70s)

After that, who knows?!

In the meantime, we've bought a project of a house and that should keep us busy as well as exploring Europe.