₦airaland Forum

Lexusgs430:
Ticha is the class monitor..........

Honestly you're a case!

For those who want to gain skills in Construction, HGV and IT. 16 weeks bootcamp and they're supposed to be free - I say supposed because I haven't delved into the nitty gritty of each one.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/find-a-skills-bootcamp/list-of-skills-bootcamps

sweetveek:
Please any active person living in new Zealand here?it seems most new Zealanders are no longer active,i need assistance with something

Haba, we're active na

The borders are only beginning to open but shoot!

sweetveek:
sorry to ask,but are you in new Zealand or uk?

Based in both for now till 2024. Although sister rona never allow me reach UK for 2 years

Mamatukwas:
@Ticha of Laive!! 2 bottles of fresh groundnut for you!! Collect kiss

I go collect that fresh groundnut o! I miss it so much! It doesn't taste the same in the abroad at all!

babajeje123:
Please can someone explain, in its simple way, what 37.9% APR (variable) of a credit card mean? Thank you

37.9% of the balance (eg 5000)/ 12 to give you a monthly payment or x12 to give you the annual interest payment. Basically if you have a loan or credit for 3k, your annual repayment if you don't clear the balance every month is 3k x 37.9.

https://www.thebalance.com/calculate-monthly-interest-315421 - breaks it down even further.

Honestly don't worry about what they learn in the first 2 years of school and I say that as a fully qualified teacher. As long as they can identify letters, numbers, some words, they're good to go. Before age 6, the emphasis is on learning through play as well as developing social skills - learning to share, not hitting, can feed themselves, dress themselves, pay attention for short bursts, follow directions etc

In New Zealand where we are, primary school starts the first Monday after a child turns 6. Some children remain at home till that day cos parents can't afford childcare unless they take advantage of Kindy which although is technically a free 20 hours, it's not. They're graduating Drs, Engrs, tradies and all sorts of skilled individuals. It is the same in majority of Scandinavia where their education system is touted as one of the best in the world.

Just keep an eye on what they're learning and buttress it at home by reading to them etc. You can download the EY curriculum and see where they should be at and follow that lead. When they get to around age 8, get Khan Academy - it's free. Then support them through max 15 minutes of work daily, increasing it a bit till you get to 1 hour of study time. That should be around age 10. Basically lay the foundations for them to love learning as school won't do that but allow them to be children too please.

It's coming to summer. Please and please, buy sunscreen and hats for the children! The sun is not as hot as we know it but the level of air pollution is lower so the more harmful rays of the sun passes through. Sun burn is no joke at all and can cause permanent skin damage. Get SPF 50+ for children and at least 35+ for adults. We also need to balance it with getting Vit D. We only need 15 mins of what I call sun worship to get a good dose of Vit D. The good thing is that they will get that 15 mins at school so apply sunscreen in the morning before they leave and they're good to go!

babythug:
I watched the film blue story yesterday! It really resonated with me because I have teenage sons. Thankfully we don’t live in the ghettoish part of the Uk. However I’m keen to learn tips to avoid them being influenced by peers to learn bad behaviour etc. for now i just threaten them lol . Any body with tips?

I don't have teenagers yet but used to teach them. Basically start as you mean to continue. Have another trusted adult that they can relate with, that can guide them, someone they can look up to as well.

I very carefully vet my own friends and the friends of my kids. I am particular about where we live. I am a people person and my husband says I collect people like Brits collect stray animals so I'd rather rent in a nice area with good schools, mainly working class families than buy in just an okayish area because I aim to interact and hang out with my neighbours and parents from the local school. I also show my no nonsense attitude from day 1. If parent requests a play date, I tell them that if their kids come visiting, they will do chores if my kids are doing chores or I send them home, if my kids are studying, then they must all join. I'll tell them off too if they misbehave. Obviously, it weeds out the permissive parents and their children immediately. I also don't let them call me or the husbot by name. We be mates?

I remember meeting a guy from Guinea Bissau in Bath. I was with a friend so we were 2 black ladies in a very obviously white space. We stopped, greeted and got talking. He was there with his son who is a similar age to mine. He was so disparaging of people and uncouth in the way he was speaking of people (as usual talk quickly went to immigration wahala and home issues). He was also very disparaging of women - specifically white women but I bet he would be the same about black women as well. When we were leaving, he asked for our numbers. I said I didn't have mine in my head and didn't have my phone. My friend was surprised but she gave him her number.
I was honest with her and told her that from the way he was speaking, he is definitely not the kind of male influence I want around my children especially my son as my husband is also not black. I am not aiming to raise a hood black child abeg. She said ah, but our people are like that na. My response was those are not my kind of our people. I no fit shout abeg

Ukliving:
Some people are sending me messages that I should connect them to the company that sponsors.
There is more to the story than I didn't mention. Apart from what I raised in my previous post, the place where the job is Hertfordshire . I was told to look for accommodation in one of the following areas Buntingford, Hertford, Ware, Sawbridgeworth, Bishop Stortford, Hoddesson
Which are all about an hour away from London and very expensive. Two bedroom is average £1200 per month. Salary after tax is about £1500. So imagine having only £300 to take home after all that hardwork. Yes I'm married but we don't know when spouse will get a job, could take a while and even when he does, relying on his income for other bills for such a long time doesn't sit well with me.

Once you've had some experience with the company in Glasgow, you'll be probably be able to get a sponsored one. Do a pros and cons list - take the job with the most pros.

umarwy:
For the Montessori, I was thinking more of implementing the principles at home or within a small group of friends/community.

Home schooling can be tasking true, but I believe with proper planning and scheduling it could work. I saw a family of 4 traveling round Europe in a van while both parents work remotely and home school the two kids as well. So with proper dedication it should work out.

Yes that's what I mean by implementing it yourself. When we do activities, we often get the children involved in the planning. For example my eldest and his father are going kayaking today. Yesterday, they sat, planned a route, dug out everything needed, checked the life vests (cleaned them, inflated them to check for holes, deflated them and packed it away), packed 2 personal locator beacons (1 for each person), sorted fishing supplies incase they decide to do some fishing - all the while chatting about how some people do this daily ie fishermen. That led to an almost 2 hour session into the life in parts of Alaska, Nunuvat, Greenland. So in an afternoon, we covered literature, history, geography, culture, added some maths and English in there, PSHE and life skills.

My biggest issue with home schooling multiple children as you rightly said is the planning and ensuring that each child's education needs and differentiation is met. Plus there are certain skills I absolutely do not have - music, advanced maths (if we're not counting money, count me out), majority of the sciences etc. For it to work well, we would have to be independently wealthy, both work part time or not at all. Living in a van will be my idea of hell . I want bed, TV, sofa, AC, constant internet everything!

I do want to take my kids travelling for at least 2 years. We're testing it out by travelling for the whole of term 3 this year. We will be in the UK for 6 weeks, US for 4 weeks and Canada for 3 weeks then head back home. The NZ education system promotes and allows parents to take kids out of school and will even pay $2700 to purchase education materials per child, per year. School will provide us with the necessary curriculum that we can follow. Obviously if in the UK, we would have to deregister them or we would be taken to court, fined and get criminal records if taken to court twice within a school year!

Saying that, we travel a lot and we often swap houses and have swapped/met many many home edders who travel full time. A close friend traveled for 6 years homes schooling her children - she worked as a photographer and he is a graphic designer. Once the children turned 16 and 14, they absolutely refused to travel anymore with their parents. They settled in Puglia to wait Covid out and are now in Lisbon. My husband's job can be fully remote but not mine as per I teach and have to do practical observations as part of my job. I can't wait to retire I swear!

umarwy:
Any information on Montessori schooling, home schooling and alternative education.

To all the northerners na gaisheku, I am from Kwara but grew up in Niger and served in Sokoto.

So basically kuka runs through my veins

@ticha
@fatima04

Chai! You're making me hungry now. I want tuwo!


The biggest problem with home schooling is balancing it with work. Plus if your child is already registered at school, it puts you on Children's Services radar for about a year and they MAY do random visits, request information etc (that was the time frame before I left). Home schooling parents also sometimes get viewed with distrust by the system. Their first thought is always that the parent is hiding something �
You will also need to find and slot into your local home schooling community. In Norfolk and Bristol where we lived, those communities were also very full of the pushy vegans, non vaxxers, off grid, sometimes government hating kind of people and omo, I can't fit shout abeg �. If you end up using tutors, then it becomes not only expensive but time consuming plus you become an employer on top of it.
I'm not a big fan of Montessori or Steiner mainly because with a bit of time and money, you can replicate their methods yourself so why pay for it? Especially at early years and early primary level.

Saying that, I am seriously contemplating home educating my children at secondary level so we can do some long term travel. Husbot is not quite on board yet... I have met some very well learned home schooled children but they were gifted and taking them out of school enabled them thrive as school held them back.
I would love a US style system where they have charter schools - mix of regular school, home school, online school and pipeline can puck and choose.

MichaelUde:
Madam Ticha,
Quick question regarding your brokers - I don finally sell some of my property in Naija (exchange rate na die, APC e no go better for una) and I'd like to see if I can get a property purchase ongoing. The gentlemen whose contact details you shared here - would they be open to receiving cold calls from Nigerians with heavy Igbo accents - i.e. could you give or have you previously given them a heads-up that you've recommended them elsewhere?

Thanks.

Business is business o! He lived and works in London after all. The melting pot of all accents!

Email him first if you're more comfortable with that. I've referred quite a few people to him so ues he does know.

ameryzzy:
Okay thanks alot. Lastly please, I saw a post where someone said you must apply for visa with your spouse to the UK when coming with your child, for my case Oga isn't joining us immediately, maybe after 6 months. What do I do pls?

I have no idea. Hope someone else comes along with more info. Ask on the student visa thread though

ameryzzy:
Okay.... so can I apply for visit visa for my sister while applying for my student visa?

No. not at the same time. It's best to get yours first, come, rent a place and settle then show you can sponsor your sister.

ameryzzy:
@Ticha, can one apply to come to the UK with a Nanny as a post graduate student.

I'm not sure actually. There is a visa category for nannies but the expectation is that they'll be paid proper market rates which is certainly not cheap.
I know a lot of Nigerians that would rotate 2 or 3 family members to come for 6 months at a time on visit visas.

veleta:
I have interacted with some of these trades people and I realised that occupational risk that comes with these their jobs are very high. Imagine being a painter/interior decorator you will be inhaling paint virtually everyday, imagine the damage it does to your lungs, or is it tilers? The tiler that did our kitchen splashback had one of his eardrums damaged due to constant using of machine cutting the tiles. Groundsmen, same thing. Before they clock 50,arthritis hits u.The money might be there but it takes a huge toll on one's health. If its your thing, you can go into it but don't just go because of the money.

Also, blacks rarely thrive in such businesses because of bad perception. Nothing beats sound education and it's our duty as parents to guide our kids to study courses that are always in demand especially IT, healthcare and other transferable skills so that even if UK doesn't favour you one can easily migrate to another country.

It's not just trades though. There are apprenticeship routes to many professions. I know that Network Rail for example will take 17/18 year olds for an Engineering apprenticeship. They qualify 3/ 4 years later with a qualification, good wages (above 24k) and 3/4 years experience. Of course there is a ceiling to promotions and growth but those engineers can then head off to university for a conversion degree most times sponsored by their workplaces which then takes them past that ceiling. I have 2 friends that their sons went this route and by age 26/27 were earning well, had almost 10 years experience under their belt with a degree to boot.

Even with the trades, my expectation for my child will be that they master it quickly enough to employ others as that is often the way good money can be made.

My sister in law started off an an assistant in a vet clinic cos she has a small zoo in her house and loves everything animals , after about 5 years of being an assistant/ emergency vet nurse/ general dogboy for the Vet practice, she went off to uni to study Vet medicine at age 26 and works as a locum Vet Dr now. She works 4 nights a week providing emergency Vet cover and generally lives a cushy life.

Almost all universities have a path for mature learners that means years of experience will enable them segue into the path they want to head. The access to science diploma is a good example of how this happens.

We left the UK in 2017 for New Zealand. Husbot was offered a transfer within his company. Basically in April 2017, he was asked if we would consider a temporary transfer. We said yes. We submitted our documents in June 2017 and were here in Aug 2017. It was my 9ja police check that delayed us by about 3 weeks. We got here, found out our combined wages enabled us qualify for residency and we applied. So the 2 years trip has now morphed into 5 years. We have PR. We qualify for citizenship next year and will head back to the UK once we get it cos NZ too far from everywhere abeg.

It's made me realise that the only thing holding us back is our passport. Do you know that New Zealand classes Baristas (coffee makers) and chefs as skilled workers? But that visa category although not stated is seemingly only open to people from certain countries! It's a 2 year work to residency visa. Imagine!

I am not dissing a good quality education. Just saying that sometimes, we do have to be open to thinking outside the box. I struggled at uni honestly and barely scraped through my masters but did very very well in my teacher training as it was fully practice based. Majority of my assessments were practical and even the written work was based on my practice - reflective journals. I can see how an apprenticeship route would have been perfect for me.

Ahappygirl:
Thanks a lot. You're really a TEACHER as your moniker implies..lol. Really appreciate the detailed explanation. What of nannies? And is it possible to get a nanny that can come stay with my son at home till I'm done with work? I work remotely. If yes, do you have any website or pointers, I live in Liverpool.

Glad to be of help. Childcare is a back and bank breaker in the UK!

Unfortunately a nanny is the singular most expensive form of childcare. Unless you have 3 or more children, it works out eye wateringly expensive. A way to make it cheaper is to have a live in nanny which means you can discount accommodation and meals off their wages. They often usually charge more per hour but you also have to cover mileage, sick leave, annual leave, taxes, maternity pay if and when they're entitled to it. It also means you have to register with HMRC as an employer or use an umbrella company who would then charge you to do all these things.

Of course you can find a cash in hand nanny etc but that exposes you to their whims and caprices as well. It might be worth asking around parenting groups, your local neighbourhood groups etc for recommendations on child minders. A good one is actually worth her weight in gold especially if your work has flexibility of hours.
There is a FB group called Au pairs and Nannies UK and you might be able to find one there. I used au pairs once I had 3 children.

Before the UK shot themselves in the foot by leaving the EU, it was reasonably easy to get an au pair who would live in, work for accommodation, food and pocket money.

Bluetherapy:
Bless your heart sis. Thank you for the wonderful insights you have give.

I'm still contemplating making them to study in a boarding school back home so that they have close contacts with the people. Likewise, they can easily contrast living in UK with living in Nigeria.

Btw Hausa people abroad are an endangered species . I remember briefly meeting one at the train station. He was just visiting

Ah boarding in 9ja ke? No my sis. It'll be better to spend all summer holidays back home. It might feel like just 6 weeks but it is a good length of time. Especially if you have close family members you can send them to.

Gaskiya we no plenty abroad at all. I know 2 in the UK both from Niger State. Something funny happened to me a few months after we came to New Zealand. The driving here is bonkers. A 9ja level bonkers. People drive like serious agberos. One afternoon, I was heading out and someone drove very dangerously (by my standards of course ) almost crashing into me. I swerved, shouted ubanka and did waka at him. Na so, the guy swerved and started tail gating me. In my head, I said, 'I don buy market o. Person go beat me today!'

I found parking, got my phone out and had 11 open ready to dial. The guy parked behind me and this black guy jumped out, left his door open and shouted, 'Yarwa!' He gave me the biggest hug. Na so we blow Hausa for ages! He's from Kano and said he'd not met another Northerner since being in NZ. He's been here 17 years now! Married to a Kiwi woman with 5 children and we've become quite close.

Ahappygirl:
Please what's the difference between a childminder and nursery. I have a 1year 2months old and I'm looking for what's best for him. Any advice please.

Child minders work from their homes and is usually 1 person (may have help from her immediate family). It's a sort of home from home situation. Some will take your child shopping with them, to their registered friends/ families houses etc. They're cheaper but it means no cover when they're sick or travel. There's a max number of children they can have across the ages as well. I think it's max 4/5 from memory (it's been a long time so might have changed). You also have to pay when they're away ie you pay for their leave - some reduce it to a retainership level. Most operate an 8am to 3pm/4pm and will take your children on school runs with them etc.

Nursery - usually more adults and more children. A set space. Children remain there. 1 big advantage is that staff being sick or not is not an issue as there'll always be cover. There's safety in numbers as per not 1 adult is with the children all the time. They're usually more expensive. Most open early and close late ie 7am to 6pm. Your child will get less 1 to 1 attention time at nursery. Feeding times can be a bit hot and miss as they can often be regimented so children will have a window to eat.

I preferred a nursery for many reasons. It was right next door to where I worked. They had a larger outdoor space, their staff ratio was 3 children to 1 staff although government ratios are higher. They made meals on site - not that my son ate any sef! I liked the accountability of having more than 4 adults present at any given time. There can be (I always check there is) a proper system of checks and balances as well.

babythug:
I’ve never met a northerner married to a foreigner!!!!!

Answering present! And I know another Northerner, male married to a foreigner. We no dey bite na �

Oh and always set some money aside for a rainy fund. You own a house and all the responsibility is yours. Boiler breaks down? You need funds for that. Fence blows over in the storm? You pay. Toilet blocks? You pay. Basically learn to do minor house repairs on your. Painting, tiling, cleaning gutters, hanging and removing wall papers etc are all skills I have learnt from owning our own home.

Solicitor fees is usually between £300 and £600 ish

Most brokers are free to you - they get commission from the bank.

Stamp duty is payable on properties above £125k so budget for that as well - https://www.gov.uk/stamp-duty-land-tax/residential-property-rates.

If you buy a flat or apartment, you will also pay a service charge and/or lease charge plus ground rent. For any apartments, your solicitor should check how much the sinking fund is, when major repairs were last undertaken (imagine moving in and being stung for a roof replacement!) etc. Check the length of the lease. If shorter than 110 years, abandon ship!

I'll add more as I remember.

Bluetherapy:
How do you folks handle keeping the cultural heritage while raising the kids?

It's quite common these days especially amongst Africans that the kids don't understand the local dialect and have little or no connection to their root. The connections most of the adults and teenagers I have met is only Afro music.

If feels like there's a problem looming where the kids might have identity crises with the loss of connectios to home when we are long gone.

I don't speak my language at home because my husband is not Nigerian and of course does not understand the language. However, they all understand certain words and whenever I switch, my children sit up and take notice cos e mean say I don vex

My children are also mixed race so there's the knowing their culture from my perspective, their culture from their father's perspective and their culture as mixed British children who will probably be classed as black British especially my twin 1. Because we now also live in a completely different country temporarily, they're firmly third culture kids!

Few things I do:

1. Everyone calls them by their traditional names. They also call themselves by those names as well. At school, they use their first names which are English names but everyone - in-laws, friends, neighbours. They will correct people who pronounce their names wrongly as well which I love.
I enforce the Nigerian respect with a few allowances. So they can't call any adult by name. Some very close friends (very few) are Aunty and Uncle. Everyone else is Mr, Mrs or Miss. They must without fail greet anyone that walks into our home and respond when greeted. I encourage them to refuse body contact as they wish ie hugs, hand shakes.

2. Our night time reading includes books from home. We're currently reading Passport of Mallam Illiya. I talk about the north (which is where I am from), we locate the different places on the map and as I speak Hausa very fluently - I teach them some words in Hausa as well.

3. We have a library full of books from home and other African and African American writers. Their hands down favourite books are the Binti Series by Nnedi Okoroafor and she writes comics too which my husband loves.

4. We eat a wide variety of food and I always link it back to similar foods back home with the proper names and pronunciation.

5. All my work clothes - without exception are made from Ankara and so are their clothes. Luckily they don't wear uniform at their school either.

6. We schedule a 2 weekly video call with my siblings. It lasts for several hours and no, we just don't sit and talk. We do our normal household things as well. It means they have some sort of glimpse into life at home, see their cousins in their own home and space. This weekend's call, my sister was having a small get together so we participated virtually. There was all the greeting, singing, shouting - you know what our gatherings are like

7. I try to find suitable movies to watch - this is bit trickier as majority are not kid friendly at all. So we watch SA movies too.

8. I have very close Nigerians and African friends that share similar values. Luckily for me, I can speak a few Nigerian languages so will often speak Yoruba (by far the largest number of Nigerians I've met abroad), Hausa, Idoma (very rare to find them), Igala with friends we visit.

Little steps - it's not quite enough but we'll get there. We do have plans to go live in 9ja for about 2 years in the future. Of course that totally depends on employment opportunities as I can't imagine living at home and blowing through our savings for 2 whole years!

Temi231:
Okay. I think I can go ahead and ask my questions to help people in my shoes that want to stop paying rent money like oga Lexus dey talk . My question is this:
1. What is the step-by-step process of getting property in the Uk? My curiosity is saying; getting a house you like, meeting your bank, meeting mortgage broker( Don’t have anyone now) needs advice on this too, have a lawyer…. Please help us with the detailed process. This country needs guidance to live. Madam Ticha, Oga Ralphlauren, and other Uk ancestors, please help me put mouth.
What does repayment interest rate mean in reality? Not theoretical term. I checked on money market for comparison but needs more guide. How to pick the best.

All this applies to England and Wales. In Scotland, you can skip the survey part as a home valuation pack is always included from the get go and solicitors also handle the negotiation process.

1. Firstly get an approval in principle. It's easier to get this from your own bank. It doesn't tie you to them either. An approval in principle or decision in principle gives you a very good ball park of how much the bank (give or take most banks) will lend you. This tells you what sort of budget to set when you eventually start house hunting. A broker can also do this for you. Use a whole of market broker. Some brokers aee restricted to certain lenders. If in doubt, use London and Country. They have brokers everywhere.

2. Set up an alert on Rightmove. There is a chrome extension called property log - it shows you what changes have been made to listed properties, how long they've been listed for etc. Some agents will remove and relist a property every 14 days if it's not selling. Some will tinker slightly with the prices often. Property log shows you all this.

3. Decide on where and then what you want to buy. Where - location, access to schools, transport links or hubs. What - house, flat, no of bedrooms. Semi, mid or stand alone, garden (orientation of the garden as well), south facing gardens gets the most sun in the UK. In Scotland, find a solicitor. I use McVey and Murricane Solicitors.

4. Start viewing houses. Be friendly with the agents. Never, ever give them your full budget - remember their duty is to get the most amount possible for the vendor. Some big chains (Countrywide etc) will insist you get qualified by their mortgage advisor and some will not even show you a property or take your offer unless you do so. It's not illegal although it's questionable as by law they must present all offers to the vendor. If you have a broker - direct them to your broker at this point, Otherwise, you can share the AIP but be aware they will then try to push you to your max budget.

5. When you view houses, take a note pad with you. Note things as you go along. The state of the inside, outside, roof (cross the street and check for missing tiles etc). Open every cupboard and door. Check if it has an attic - check that it is lined or insulated (climb in), check for basements. Look out for damp walls, bulging paint work (evidence of issues), musty smells (damp) etc
Check what the electrics and boiler looks like. Seek permission and take pictures and or a video. Some will say no hence the notebook so you can remember as all the houses will start blurring into each other.

6. Call agents regularly. Some will call you before the property even hits Rightmove if you have a good relationship with them.

7. When you find a place you like, visit the street at different times of the day. For houses we live in, I do mornings (rush hour), afternoons (rush hour) and evenings/ night (party central, people hanging about aimlessly etc). Properties are flying off the shelves now so you may not even have time for this.

8. Make an offer if you like it. It's a bargaining process. The rule of thumb is knock 20% of what is your best and final offer and inch towards the final figure. Some agents will openly tell you offers below a certain amount won't be considered. Ignore them and make an offer anyway. In Scotland - your lawyers handle this process

9. When your offer is accepted, instruct a solicitor. Find out from your bank or broker if they have a panel (some do and won't accept a solicitor not on their panel) Stay away from solicitors recommended by the agent. I tend to also avoid online solicitors even though they're cheap. Experience tells me they are slow and also shift work around so you end up having more than 1 person to deal with.

10. If you want to carry out a survey, find a surveyor once you've instructed a solicitor. Ensure that they are a RICS surveyor. Be prepared to spend between £600 and £1000. You own this report and the surveyor works for you. A lot of surveys will also contain many arse covering statements which can be pretty daunting at first glance. Ask the surveyor to list and split into categories like must do now, can do in the next 3 to 6 months and can do within 12 months. Use the survey to negotiate further. We once got 20k off the agreed price after the survey. We then finally pulled out and sold the survey to the seller join

11. Put in a full mortgage application. This can take upto 4-6 weeks to come through. Your broker will do this once an offer has been accepted if you have one. Or the bank will do it if going direct.

12. Be patient and be prepared to wait! It takes an average of 12 weeks to complete on a property. The solicitor will complete searches, AML checks then come back to you with an exchange date. Once contracts are exchanged, you don buy house be that and cannot pull out without incurring penalties. However, you can pull out with no consequences as can the seller till you exchange contracts. The exchange process is faster in Scotland and can be binding from earlier on as well (called missives rather than contract).

In a fast moving market - like now, you probably may skip several of these steps as FOMO sets in.

Anything else I've missed, please chip in!

PS - Interest rates - go to any bank site, click on mortgages. You should be able to play around with interest rates and monthly payments.
This is from Natwest. https://www.natwest.com/mortgages/mortgage-calculators/how-much-can-i-borrow.html

Fixing for 2. 3. 5 years means you pay the same amount every month for that duration. Being on a variable rate means your payments fluctuates as interest rates fluctuates.

Temi231:
Thank you so much. Please can I DM you. I know you have talked much about property here but still have some questions. I don’t want to be flooding the post with questions you might have answered before. Let me know if it’s okay.

Yes you can

Akorkor:
It is well. I am presently in a flat because I feel is the fastest and cheapest to get as a new comer. Please when can one start looking to buy a house after arriving. Tier2 visa. 1month, 3months or ....

As soon as you have a deposit!

Temi231:
Madam, how many months do you think someone can start thinking of buying a house of its own in the Uk. When do you think I can approach a bank and what advantage do someone that already have at least 20% of the deposit for intending house? Thank you always for your insightful advice

You can do it straightaway. You have a deposit (they'll want to trace proof of funds too), have a job and a visa longer than 18 months - you're good to go. The higher your deposit, the less your interest rate, that's the biggest advantage of a higher deposit. However interest rates are currently quite low so use the lowest deposit allowed and fix for a longer period then invest the rest of the deposit or even just overpay on the mortgage regularly.

Lexusgs430:
[/b]


We are not always financially buoyant. ........ But the mortgage, still gets paid ........

If you can pay rent continuously, you can also pay a mortgage. ...... If things turn, sell the property........ (to sleep under the bridge).......

Hehe you crack me up so much! You would be a hoot at parties!

Bluetherapy:
It's refreshing to know that there's really no right/wrong time to enter the market. Na to just follow the trend and buy when one can afford it.

How is rent money nto dead money? Even if you have your own tenanted property, you're basically breaking even using your profit to pay someone else's mortgage. Or am is there something I'm missing?

Because you need somewhere to live and paying rent is paying for a service like any other service. The fact that someone makes a profit from it is neither here nor there. We can translate that into saying buying food is a waste of money as we'll just shit it out. Not everyone can afford a mortgage even with the best will in the world. I advocate one having their own property somewhere mainly because as immigrants, we would really struggle at retirement. To access the full raft of a state pension (which is peanuts by the way), you would have had to pay 35 years worth of NI. Therefore it is absolutely necessary to have a retirement plan which could be a property (the most difficult asset class to pull money out of as it is not liquid cash) that is paid down somewhere cheap for example or money funneled into shares

Healhtyliving:
Speaking of property, Old or new build? London or outside London? Will personal loan from say cooperative society to augment deposit affect ones chances of being accepted by mortgage lenders? This uk temporary residency route is not for the faint hearted

Cooperative in 9ja or UK? If from 9ja, you'll most likely have to not declare it. The bank will include all loans in your affordability checks and they do like to see you have some skin in the game hence why even the government schemes require a 5% deposit as a minimum.

As for new or old....it's upto you. If living in it, it doesn't matter. If for investments purposes, then old is better as the numbers tack up better. New usually comes at a premium.

It's definitely cheaper to buy outside London! Where is work? There's commute costs and time as well.

Bluetherapy:
Is this how crazy the market has gotten?

Is it even advisable to buy house in this market? Imagine buying high and market crash!

But then, "rent money equals dead money"-Lexusgs430

So which way to go? Buy or continue renting?

If you're not selling and you can cover your mortgage, it's definitely best to buy. Property is a long time game. Plus the UK is about to take in more people who have the funds or will be able to access the funds to buy. We bought our very first house just before the epic property crash in 2008. Some places in the north have just climbed out of that crash in the last 2/3 years.
If it's tenanted, the mortgage is covered. If you're living in it, the mortgage is covered. I don't believe renting is dead money (as long as you also own a property whilst renting) but it most certainly does not give you security!

Lexusgs430:
You cannot issue a legal document, against an illegal business transaction..........

Section 8 or 21, cannot be issued...... Which is the same reason, he could not issue any tenancy agreement documents.........

This is what we call, an illegal contract of convenience............

I know - I was giving the steps a landlord would need to take to remove a tenant In England and Wales. It's slightly different in Scotland.

Issue S8 for non payment of rent (can only be issued after 8 weeks on non payment so 2 months) then an S21. All which will be invalidated if the right to rent documents and a tenancy agreement have not been provided. If all is in order, then the landlord applies to the court and the current timeline for a case to be heard is 14 months.

Hence my following comment on the steps the OP should take

bluebella:
Good Morning Special people here.
Many thanks to everyone here for the quality of information shared on this platform. I have learnt alot here.

Please I need sound advice and the way forward.


The challenge now is that the 3-bedroom we have made a commitment for won't be ready till the middle of May.
I don't have the energy of looking for short-stay accommodation now.

Please, elders and wise ones, what should I do?

He needs a court order to get you out. So he needs to issue a section 8 and section 21. He should have given you a tenancy agreement and right to rent documents. You can either make this a very painful lesson for him or an easy one. He most definitely cannot sublet a council house and could actually lose the house as well.

So my opinion would be tell him you will stay till May as agreed and pay him the agreed 460 or he can evict you through the proper process which at the minute takes a minimum of 14 months