₦airaland Forum

Tech apprenticeship with the civil service.

You need ILR and 3 years residency.

Always write your cover letter to the competencies. Give examples for how you meet each one.

Good luck!

https://www.civilservicejobs.service.gov.uk/csr/index.cgi?SID=c2VhcmNoc29ydD1jbG9zaW5nJmpvYmxpc3Rfdmlld192YWM9MTkxODIyMSZ1c2Vyc2VhcmNoY29udGV4dD05MDQ0Mzk3MCZwYWdlY2xhc3M9Sm9icyZwYWdlYWN0aW9uPXZpZXd2YWNieWpvYmxpc3Qmc2VhcmNocGFnZT0xJm93bmVydHlwZT1mYWlyJm93bmVyPTUwNzAwMDAmcmVxc2lnPTE3MjI1ODI3ODMtMzAzNTgxZmY0MGQ1MWQxNGE0YTBhOTNlYjRhOTliODhhYTVjNWIxNQ==

twizzie:
If someone has just received an offer from the bank but yet to complete, can we go back to the bank to ask for a review?

Btw, @Ticha, just want to give a special shout out to you.

Aww thank you!
Yes go back to them for a review of rates. If they've reduced their rates, they should be able to offer you the reduced one. You don't ask, you don't get o!
Good luck and keep us posted

jedisco:
Great.

Yeah we've moved back to the UK for now.

We're with Natwest for that loan. A remortgage with the same lender is just a push of a button in the app or confirmation via letter. For one remortgage we opted to have the house revalued and paid for that. All through the app.

Yeah expat mortgages usually are at a higher interest rate. There are only a handful of lenders that will lend to expats and all are through brokers. Even Natwest International HSBC. You will incur higher rates, broker fees and it seems also the lenders legal fees. It gets very expensive very quickly.

It would be wise to sort everything before you go.

jedisco:
Nice work with a good plot and large windows.

Remind me if you're the person who went to Australia but had and put their house on AirBnB.
I remember same person stating consent to let can be extended. Looking to know what lender offers that and how practical is it to remortgage a property with a different lender if one is no more tax resident in the UK

We moved to NZ and put our home on Airbnb for a year them rented it out and yes, it's been on CTL since then (over 5 years now) plus we've remortgaged twice too.
If you try to move to a new lender, you'll be forced to change to a BTL mortgage including having to top it up if your LTV is not low enough.

babajeje123:
Hello people, must I use the mortgage advisor recommended by a builder?

No although they might try to make you. It's always good to let them give you a quote though - as long as it's free. That way you have a few to compare.
Just tell them you've sorted your mortgage - no give any long explanations

We have also been removing the ivy on the house as it absolutely destroys mortar and thus walls plus whenever I open the windows, it's insects and bugs galore. I didn't even know the UK has millipedes till I saw one in the dining room!

We've removed most of the back wall ivy - the previous owners actually deliberately grew them on the wall because there are pins holding and guiding the branches in place.

We still have the side walls and front wall ivy to remove 😪😓

Better picture of the work done in front - the garden in front is bigger.

Back garden all done!

We're at a stage where we need professionals to guide us.

We started with a structural engineer. I called a few and got quotes that ranged from £600+vat to £800+vat. I finally went with one attached to an architectural firm because we will need architects soon. His fees was £650+vat.

I managed to negotiate his rate down by asking if we definitely needed a report - he said no. As long as we can follow him and take down notes, he will clarify anything before he leaves so we paid £280 all in.

He spent 2 hours and went over every inch of the house. The foundations to the front left and side are shallow and that can either be rebuilt or underpinned if we want. We now know which walls are definitely load bearing walls, which ones we can potentially move for the most gain. We have a floating brick wall in one of the bedrooms! Scary! Luckily, we'd always planned to remove that wall anyway. I know a lot more about joists and how they work than I ever did before!

I have read a lot of survey reports and this is the first time, a lot of words and sentences make sense . I basically recorded him talking as we went - asking lots of questions of course. Then transcribed and saved it for when we need it in the nearest future.

In the mean time, we have been tackling the garden! I forgot to take full before pictures but as it's not finished, you can see how far we've come! I am impressed because I absolutely hate gardening but I love saving money more! This one involved everyone. We still have the hedges and some of the trees to trim and hopefully, we'll be sorted before autumn comes!

Goodenoch:
Madam Ticha, thanks for this evergreen insights.

Please, based on your experience doing airbnb and also longer term rentals of part of a home, which would you say you had a better experience with and which would you do now? Also, any issues you'd be more wary of - especially the long term rentals since you've covered airbnb pitfalls here.

Looking at converting a garage/extension into a separate self-contained studio flat so trying to figure out which route may be best.

Thanks!

I will not return to doing stand-alone Airbnbs. The income is too volatile for my liking. As part of the house I live in, I will consider and prefer short term lets as long I do not depend on the income to pay my bills.

A few things to consider for long term lets in an annexe -

With an annex, the council will band it as a separate property for council tax purposes from the main house especially if it has cooking facilities. Some will band it if it has a separate loo/bathroom. Once it’s banded, it can be a massive pain to get them to remove the banding. They’re broke and are not smiling!

Studios tend to have a high turnover rate for long term lettings. The rent is not too different from a 1 bed which has more space and same bills or from a room in a shared house which is cheaper as bills are shared and potentially all inclusive. People will often use them as stepping stones. If you’re near a university/hospital, it maybe worth liaising directly with the accommodation offices as a stop gap accommodation provider. My advice will be to make it at least a one bed annex.

Your mortgage provider might not be too happy about it because you’re changing their security from what was agreed. Obviously, you’re ‘supposed’ to notify them of any material changes to the house. They can stop you from doing the extension or ask you to change the kind of mortgage you have if you say I want to extend to rent out so thread carefully.

Consider your tenant profile. Single occupant? What if the single occupant has someone visiting daily? Happy to take a couple? What if they have a baby?

Minimum ASTs are 6 month long. What happens if you get a not so good tenant? You’ll be stuck with them in your adjacent space for a min of 6 months (will change if the rental reform plans go ahead).

Then there is tax. Rent a room only applies to lodgers or short term lets that share your space with you. Anything else will count as income for tax purposes. Due to S24, you cannot offset your mortgage interest, so all rent counts as income minus expenses. If the studio is all inclusive, then you will need to ensure that your calculation of the share of expenses is proportionate. Depending on your current incomes, the rental income might put you and madam straight into a higher tax bracket.

The cost of the conversion will not be classed as an expense for tax purposes – it will be a capital expenditure against future CGT. If the council re-bands you, when you sell, you will also be liable for CGT for the value of the annex as it would not be classed as your primary residence (just the annex value portion). So, you will pay tax on that portion of the uplift when you sell which is currently set at 28% for each of you so the longer you will there, the more tax you will pay as the house appreciates in value.

It doesn’t mean it’s not worth it. Just some things to consider as you plan especially around taxes and how that will impact you both as you earn more.

kwakudtraveller:
Yes, it's a residential purchase, and the seller hasn't yet found a new place to move to. To be fair, It's also possible they found one but aren't disclosing it and I just submitted an offer. I'm noticing a trend, all the houses I'm interested in seem to have onward chains which is my worry.

Ah if your offer has just gone in, them don't worry. It's normal in a lot of ways for people to sell first before they start looking for their next purchase. Majority of sales here have a chain. In part, I think it's why the sales process takes such a long time! It's not uncommon to see a chain of 4/5/6 buyers and sellers.
It's worth letting them know that you won't wait indefinitely though especially as your mortgage offer will probably expire after 6 months. The one time we bought in a chain, we have them one month to find a place or we'll move on and thatwe won't start any process till they have found, offered and been accepted for their own onwarc purchase. So my advice will be don't instruct solicitors or a survey till the chain is complete so you know they're serious about moving.
You'll be amazed the number of sellers that test the market all the time and have no serious desire to sell.

kwakudtraveller:
I have a couple of questions. Please help a brother 🙏🏿

1. If I'm buying a house in an onward chain, and all contracts are signed. My question is: When do mortgage payments start? Is it right away, or when I move in? This is especially confusing especially if the current owners haven't found a new home yet.In this case, who pays the mortgage if they're still living there after the sale closes?

2. For those who recently bought a home within the £300k mark, what is your monthly mortgage payment? I understand interest rates vary by lender, but I'm curious about actual figures people are paying, not estimates on Zoopla (which I've heard can be inaccurate).

PS they can't complete and live there. It must be sold with vacant possession - I am assuming it is a residential purchase. So if they do not leave at completion, it becomes a whole legal issue.

On that note - it is illegal to buy a house and then rent it to tje previous owners so be wary of them saying let's stay and pay you for a month etc. A solicitor who is on the ball will point out these pitfalls.

Have you exchanged? And they haven't found a place to move to yet?

kwakudtraveller:
I have a couple of questions. Please help a brother 🙏🏿

1. If I'm buying a house in an onward chain, and all contracts are signed. My question is: When do mortgage payments start? Is it right away, or when I move in? This is especially confusing especially if the current owners haven't found a new home yet.In this case, who pays the mortgage if they're still living there after the sale closes?

From completion date. Once monies have fully exchanges hands, you become liable for the mortgage. Most lenders have set dates that the mortgage goes out so your first payment will be higher than usual. Then it was settle into the monthly payments.

For example, we moved in 22nd June, Santander takes payment on the 1st of the month so our June payment has been pro rated and added to July payment. Our first payment date is 1 Aug.

Make sure your home insurance is also set up correctly. Santander, Natwest and Nationwide (where we have mortgages) expect your insurance in place from completion date. We once had a mortgage with Accord who expected us to have insurance from the exchange date.

DadR:
Greetings Elders,

Please, I need your guidance on how best to approach my situation.

Please can you advise on how best to approach this situation? Do I file a law suit against the company, demand financial compensation, etc?

Thank you.

cc Lexusgs340, Ticha, Justwise, Zahra29, et all.

1. Raise a dispute on Experian and attach your evidence as a first step so they can remove the information.
2. Raise a formal complaint with thr energy company again, detailing previous comms and requesting they uodate your information, call off their debt collectors and put all to you in writing. Obviously this is where you complain about the stress on you, your finances etc.
If they're part of of the ombudsman, escalate to them too at the same time. I am not sure if the FCA also regulates utility companies but it's worth researching into and escalating to them as well.
3. Litigation is expensive and there is no guarantee of success.

dustydee:
Are you saying it's ok to have my examples written out to prompt me when I want to answer a question?

No 😅

I have notes (aide de memoir more like) of important points/ examples to hit on each specification. Same kind of notes you'll have if debating (hark to secondary school days) or giving a presentation.

I will have 2 - 3 bullet points of each of my examples on an A5 sheet and I refer to them.

In fact when I talk about my skills around being organised, being detailed, juggling tasks and being analytical - I use my notes as an example of one of the ways I keep myself on track and accountable. Because day to day at work, I use notes and reminders, otherwise I'll lose track.

The only civil service interview I passed (2 interviews online, failed one), I actually had all my examples written up and read off them. I do presentations for work so paraphrase a lot anyway. I had 2 screens, had the video interview on one screen and my notes on the other. Same way I do presentations. Shame they were painfully slow with onboarding!

I won't advise you to do that of you'll read verbatim!

bolagabriella:
Do you make the request for interview questions from both government and private companies?

Yes I ask for all interviews. It helps clarify my thoughts processes and because I always have notes with me, it means I can at a glance pick out which examples are suitable.

teeebest:
Hello All, I have a practical test and an oral interview for a Band 6 Senior Information Analyst role at one of the NHS trusts coming up. Any pointers as to what to expect will be appreciated. Thanks

Answer all questions from a behavioural perspective.
The questions will be along the lines of; Give us an example of when you have …. Or the team/ the role does …. Give an example of

Your responses should follow the STARR format
Situation – This was happening, we had a project, my employer needed…
Task – The team was asked to…I was the project manager and part of my remit was to…
Action – I took these steps (lay out the steps, who you worked with, who you collaborated with) What, Where, How and What. Tools you used, skills you utilised (link to job and person spec)
Result – Use numbers, facts, figures, data (impact to the team, org and project
Reflection – What would you do differently next time? Why – Link to impact on team, org and project

Use ‘I’ statements rather than we or the team.

Find the Trust values and objectives (will be on their website) and work them into your Action/Result/Reflection responses.

Emphasise collaboration, seeking and providing guidance/ direction, taking initiative, requestion and taking onboard feedback from stakeholders.

Band 6 is the first rung of leadership in the NHS so have that in mind when planning your responses – how you show leadership. Think of leadership styles (collaborative being the best)

Read up on the NHS People Plan as well. Aim to spend about 5-6 minutes on each question. You’ll get between 6 and 9 questions. Do some rehearsals so your responses flow well.

Take time to think through your responses. Make and take notes with you.

I always ask for the questions to be printed out and handed to me for a face-to-face interview so ask. It helps to remind me of the points I need to hit. I now as a rule print out interview questions for all applicants when we interview.

Good luck and go smash it!

rock86:
How did you navigate driving with right sided cars, was it difficult initially?

You can buy a sticker from Amazon or AA that mirrors what side of the road you should be on.

Jamesclooney:
For death in service benefits, I thought the person has to kpai during a work assignment (at office or in the field), does it cover you if you at home chilling on a Saturday or God forbid suffer critical illness? because wifey and I work for a great company and have not gone through the policy yet. Just wondering out loud, if I need any of the covers.

His covers him 24/7. It's one of the awesome perks of his job. As well as being able to work remotely from anywhere in the world (probably why it's structured that way).
It also pays out a certain amount of money till the children turn 18 if nominated as long as you have a certain amount of shares. It's an employee owned organisation.

Goodenoch:
We're definitely getting LI, but broker has suggested everything including income protection, CIC, life insurance (decreasing)

Any insights welcome, please.

Broker is trying to make his money. From experience, most insurances cancel each other out because insurance companies will do everything not to pay out. So having seemingly useful (on the surface) multi insurance packages will just bleed you money.

Pick one and stick with it.

Before we had kids, we only took life and critical illness insurance as we travelled all the time. Only to find out when we started IVF that if critical illness paid out, the life insurance premiums will drastically increase 🙄

Husbot has a very generous death in service which gets more generous with each year of service so we now have no insurance for him and life insurance for me.

To throw a spanner in the works, you don't really need any of the insurances full stop. You can just save that money into stocks and shares till you need it.

Broker is trying to earn a commission so ignore him completely and think about what will meet your needs now and in the near future.

@KOVIC19COVID20

Your email no gree go o!

lavida001:
Zarha and others with interview experience, i need advice on how to answer their behavior questions. Did an interview with them that didn't pan out well. I need pointers in answering their question. Are there any buzzwords to use ?

There are no buzzwords per se. Its how you structure your responses to show you are utilising the skills you say you have.
For example, STAR is an excellent way to show how you meet the behaviours. I always advise going a bit further and make it STARR (ie add what you would do differently nezt time in the same situation or your specific learnings from that situation) which then ties into continuous improvement
Send me an email and I'll send you some examples of behaviour responses I've used amd now also use for L and D development sessions at work

Lexusgs430:
Closing a credit account, would negatively impact your credit score.......

In the interim 2 months yes and then it goes back up again. Over all no. Babajeje close the credit line unless you have a very strong will and discipline to not use them again.
It is very easy to get into debt if you have access to lots of open credit lines.

Full meter shebang - re-wiring has been quoted at £11k. Abi make I go do electrician instead? 🤪🤪

shaybebaby:
It is truly giving 1970's chic😅

But I have questions.

I can’t stop marvelling at the floors 😍. I first used matt varnish (tested on toilet) and it looked a bit meh. The gloss varnish was like magic! 3 coats applied every 2 hours and 24 hours later, bone dry and beautiful! Everyone now has indoor cosy slippers cos I’m not ever carpeting those floors!


What is scope of the work that you will be doing?

Whole house – full re-wire. Our meter and fuse box is not only metal but is also dated 1923! The boiler is about 36 years old – still going!

1. All rooms back to brick, re-plastering and painting and decorating. Keeping all the character so will need to carefully remove coving and picture rails

2. Bathroom is huge so will be reduced and the space added to the smallest bedroom. The toilet will be removed too, and the space added to the smallest bedroom too. It’s currently about 7m (all the rest are 13 to 16m) and will be just under 12m when finished. So 2 walls will be moved. 1 is a load bearing wall so will need an RSJ

3. Dressing room will be converted to 2nd bathroom upstairs.

4. Loft to be fully boarded and insulated

5. Your lovely stairs carpet will go! 🤣

Downstairs

1. Sunroom will be demolished and rebuilt in the same shape and style. It’s hexagonal in shape with some serious issues – it’s coming away from the main house.

2. Kitchen and breakfast room will be merged into a large kitchen diner so wall coming down there too.

3. All walls back to brick - re-plastered, painted and decorated.

Again, there are lots and lots of character which we will retain. We have 3 ceiling roses downstairs and the whole hallway is panelled in dark wood. Will repaint a very light green or dusky pink.

4. Conservatory and outside toilet/laundry to be demolished and made into a glass hallway with a roof lantern which will be both a sit in (out) area and lead to;

5. Stables - which will be completely demolished and made into a full brick built extension. In here, we will have a large study with 2 full workstations (hubby and I both work from home majority of the time), a games room/ guest bedroom with an ensuite and a 2-bedroom annex for when my MIL moves in. In the meantime, we will Airbnb/ house swap the annexe till she comes. When the kids move out, we will essentially have 2 annexes as the study and games room will have a connecting door so one can become a lounge, kitchen diner and I can then retire 🤣🤣

We are thinking about a double storey extension across the back but 2 things holding us back – the main house will become too big and come in 7/8 years time, we maybe rattling in it once the kids are gone! However, I will be leaving this house feet first so have at least 30 – 40 years of living here if I live to my 80s! Secondly, it’ll mean we can only have one annexe.

We want to future proof the house so when we’re old and decrepit, we can move into the annexe as it’ll all be one level. Na my nursing home be that 🤣

How much of it are you DIYing?

As much as I can. Certainly, majority of the rip out and demolishing. We were quoted £800 for ripping out what we’ve done so far! We will also be re-using as much as we can so all the floorboards, doors (I will sand, stain and paint then rehang them) etc

Anything that does not need a specialist, I will attempt to do! I’ve enrolled for a plumbing course at our local college. Sept start!

Anything that makes it a liveable space for the next 7/8/9 months as the full external and internal reno will start March next year so we’re not renovating in the winter plus we need to build up more financial resources!


Don't keep us hanging oooo. I'm already primed for Ticha's homes made perfect, episode 2..hopefully airing next Sunday.

This is an 18-24 months project o. We’ll probably build the annexe first as we need planning permission for that. Then squeeze ourselves in there whilst renovating the main house. I promise to give updates as we go along!

shaybebaby:
I swear this looks like my mother in law's house..down to carpets😀😀

🤣🤣 chai those are very old carpets!

Lexusgs430:
Are you keeping the stairlift....... It might come in handy, much sooner than later....... 😉😂😁

🤣🤣 sold it for £250 already! The extension will take care of my old aged wobbly self.

Bed back in!

2 more bedrooms to go! Then I will tackle the breakfast room and kitchen next weekend.

Total costs so far - 2 Saturdays, 1 Thursday and £180.

There are carpet grippers all round the walls that had to be carefully removed without damaging the wood. All full of tiny nails too grr

Bedrooms.

Tools - small crow bar, flat head screw driver, floor scrapper, Stanley knife, dust mask and glove.

Karcher vacuum cleaner (designed for renos and very powerful), white spirit, steam mop and 80mm wood paintbrushes

As the rooms are big, I used the stanley knife to cut the carpets into strips. To make it easy to roll up and chuck out the window rather than carry down the stairs.

Stair lift. We also found an older stair lift mechanism behind the wall and under the stairs. Leaving that for the builders before I damage my walls

I've left the carpet tacks around the toilet bowl in place so the wood will break away. So used an angle grinder to flatten the nails, sanded and varnished for now.

Had a stair lift in place. Tue battery was dead so we had to use a drill to drive it down the stairs. Unscrew the rails off and remove it. The thing heavy pass shit!