Good afternoon all,

We are purchasing a house and after a sewage/drain survey, we have been informed the septic tank system has failed and is condemned. Owing to recent regulation, the sewage system must be connected to mains drainage as it’s less than 100 yards away.

To do so requires a sewage pump as part of it is uphill. The sellers are paying for the mains connection, pump and making good of the old septic tank.

Does anyone have experience of having a sewage pump? I’m cognisant it will require regular servicing. I’ve searched the forums and I can’t find much. It will not be in neighbours land nor will it take their sewage to the mains.

So I'm looking at a new build apartment, it's through a first time buyers scheme. I've been in contact with the sales department and they have said the following to me:

"You can obtain an AIP and use your own broker for the process if you wish but you would need to be qualified by our panelled broker either way. "

Why do we need to be qualified by their panelled broker? What does this mean? What does this entail?

I'm very confused on this and just want to make sure I'm not walking into a big red flag!

We’re relatively new home owners and are looking for reputable local kitchen fitters.

How do you usually find them? I reached out to a company which doesn’t cover my area but they recommended someone. I can’t seem to find any online presence of them.

There are also others that seem to have good online presence. Is it always important to look for some online presence or reviews when looking into good kitchen fitters/builders?

Exchanged contracts 3 weeks ago, due to complete in 2 weeks. Seller is now refusing to let us view before completion, stating it does not suit as she is in the process of moving. We just wanted to cast a quick eye over it to make sure no big issues between exchanges and completion - anything we can do?

TIA

Just to add - we did a viewing the day before exchange. FTB so not sure what normal process is. Estate agent had told us previously that a pre complement viewing is fairly normal. Thanks for all the info.

We bought a couple of years ago and are unexpectedly in a position to upsize so are selling because we've found a bigger place. Our buyers have asked whether we had a survey done and if they could see it. Yes there's an argument about them being "cheeky" or charging them for the privilege, etc., we're not really fussed about that side of things - it's not wholly unreasonable and might speed things along.

Our survey didn't flag anything of major note - usual arse covering by the surveyor, some issues that having lived here we know aren't issues, one or two things we dealt with since, etc. Potential damp on one wall got flagged ("high readings") which I suspect was overkill as we've had zero evidence of any issues there at all. A few things they might be worried about, as with all surveys, but nothing we've had any issues with (and frankly that survey missed things we definitely did have issues with!)

Anyway, my thinking is if we don't share the survey they'll probably get their own one done which will likely turn up the same (or new) issues anyway. Presumably there's a chance they try and save a few quid by not getting one at all, but that seems unlikely. If we do share our survey they might take things in stride or want additional investigations, money off, etc....but then that would happen with a new survey anyway.

Just wondering about the practicalities, anyone with a similar experience, pros and cons etc. Not a generic "screw 'em, make them pay for their own" answer, because that doesn't really help anything.

Disclosure: this account is affiliated with a paid planning-document preparation service. This is an England planning-process discussion, without commercial links or an offer of representation.

I am interested in how residents distinguish a request to change a proposal from a suggestion that a detail might be controlled by a planning condition.

Those routes seem easy to blur. A revised window position would change the design being considered. A condition could, where suitable, control a specified aspect of an approved proposal. Simply asking the council to “sort out privacy later” does not explain the requirement or whether it would address the concern.

The current NPPF’s decision-making chapter asks authorities to consider whether conditions or obligations could make an otherwise unacceptable proposal acceptable. It also sets requirements for conditions, including a planning purpose, precision and practical compliance and enforcement. That leaves a real assessment to be made; it is not a promise that every concern can be resolved by adding one.

For a resident’s comment, I would begin with the relationship shown by the drawings and the existing feature affected. Then ask a focused question about a potential change, rather than write a condition as though it has already been accepted.

An example question could be whether a different opening arrangement would address a particular relationship with an existing private sitting area. The council would still need to consider the design, suitability and any enforceable requirements. An effect caused by the overall footprint may need a different assessment from one associated with a single opening.

Has an officer’s report helped you understand why a concern was dealt with through a revised design, a condition, or neither? It would be useful to hear what made the reasoning clear.

Please discuss anonymous examples of the decision process, rather than judge a live application from incomplete plans. Official guidance is linked below so the discussion has a shared starting point.

Sources (checked 14 October 2026): NPPF Chapter 3, DM1–10: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/national-planning-policy-framework-chapter-3-decision-making-policies-dm1-10 Use of planning conditions: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/use-of-planning-conditions

Prepared with AI assistance.

We had a mold surveyor come in recently for various concerns and they rated our air quality ‘hazardous with a serious risk to health’ due to severe damp.

We are just renting - is this normal? Should we get a second opinion?

"When an offer is accepted, the buyer will be required to pay a non-refundable Reservation Fee of £7925 including VAT (in addition to the final negotiated selling price), sign a Reservation Form and agree the Terms and Conditions prior to solicitors being instructed. If you require a copy of these documents, or for further information, please contact the Purplebricks Secure Sales team" direct quote

can someone explain what the hell this reservation fee is and if this is basically a legal scam? Also what if my mortgage provider fails to give mortgage do I just lose my fee altogether? This seems like a new legal scam of 2026, although id love to put in an offer and try to secure landing on this flat

Just trying to get a rough idea of how long we might have left as the estate agent just gives me boilerplate answers every time I chase. Chain is like this:

(England)

FTB

Leasehold flat (6 floors so BSA) - "Working through BSA things"

Us - Sale and purchase done

New House - Sale and purchase done

End of chain - Sale done

The leasehold flat have had surveys, mortgage offer, searches and management pack back since early September. This week the update was simply "Enquiries remain ongoing on the leasehold property, including Building Safety Act (BSA) matters." They have given no indication of there being an issue and the flat is in a building with regular enough and recent transactions so not expecting a building issue.

I guess this is just the usual 2 weeks lag between solicitors and management companies...

So bloody slow.

We instructed our solicitor at the start of September and have just received confirmation of completion date for start of November. I know we’re still not there yet but we’ve been really lucky with how things have gone so far I can’t actually believe it.

The thing that took the longest is waiting at the start for 3 weeks for the offer to be accepted. Other than the from start to finish this has taken 2 months.

*Edit - No chain, ftb moving into an empty house

Hi All

we had a buyer on our house and they pulled out this week after about 4 weeks of progress being made, putting us back to square one.

We have come to the realisation/acceptance hat we are likely not to find another buyer in the next few weeks and collapsing our chain.

Therefore we are likely to decide to take our house of the market within the next month, look to do some changes to the house to improve its presentation etc and come back to the market next March/Apr as a new listing as it will be stale listing and not do anything further.

In terms of price wise we feel the price is fine for the size of the house etc as there have been a few houses sold stc for the same price bracket within a 1/2 mile radius in the last month as been keeping an eye on the market, so feel the pricing is fair.

in terms of what ideas we currently have is
1)replacing the carpet on the stairs/landing to match the bedrooms (the carpet is battered and needs replacing)
2)replacing the carpet in the lounge to an earthy brown and painting the wall behind the tv in green.
3) adding more picture frames/plants etc on the landing/lounge to make it appear more homely.
4) replace the vanity units in the ensuite. We want to replace these and have new ones when we moved so thinking doing it now and take the units with us.
5) in the guest room we are thinking of getting rid of the bed/bed units and replace with a sofa bed(something we have decided to do when moving anyway)

does anyone have any other ideas we could potentially do to improve its presentation and increase its selling chances for when we revisit it next year.

link to our property as below:

https://www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/73675982/

any advice is appreciated.

We've viewed a house we want to offer on but we're unsure as the seller seems to be unsure about actually selling. He wants to move away with his partner after his wife died a few years ago, he went to the area he was looking at and apparently got put off by the prices in the area and he also felt guilty about selling the house he lived in with his wife so he took it off the market briefly. The estate agent has said he's now convinced him to sell again.

I'm quite nervous about getting an offer accepted and then getting partially through the process just for him to change his mind. Though I know that could happen with any property. Would you go ahead with an offer?

We bought and are renovating 200 year old derelict house that’s been unoccupied for 20+ years and there’s a driveway leading up to the property that is owned by 2 houses down (some weird historical exchange that is shrouded in mystery). Even though the driveway is outside our house and not theirs, they use it for parking and we aren’t allowed to (I mean fair enough, there’s been no one living here for years).

Every house on this road has internet running underground from access points on the pavement, and overhead is not an option. We have been told by the installation technicians that the cable must cross the boundary of the driveway to get to our house, but that the works will be quick, and they will make good the dug ground on the very same day. And they also said that the dug route would be nicely tucked away to the side and wouldn’t at all affect the neighbours parking during the process.

They knocked on the neighbours door to ask permission to do the works today, and the neighbour refused. The technician came back to us a bit shocked saying that he’s not sure what to do other than for them to do a little survey and send to the neighbour. As of writing this he is off on another job but will come back later with a colleague to do the inspection.

What do we do? This seems so surreal. I never thought we’d be stuck without internet because a neighbour doesn’t want anything done on land they own. It’s quite an unusual situation (I think) but I guess anything goes. Do you have any advice on what we can do?

Also we are exploring buying that land but the neighbour isn’t keen unfortunately. They’re trying to sell so I suppose they’re worried having any works done or any other dealings may cause friction in their attempts to sell?

Happy housing! (Idk it’s my first time being a homeowner, ive gotta sign off with something)

——EDIT—— I should’ve specified, the land in question is NOT a tarmac made up drive. It’s literally just a patch of grassy weedy land that has nothing built on it or upkeep. ——EDIT 2—— I also should’ve specified that it states on our title deeds that we have the legal right for any necessary works on utilities through that land to be carried out. Although I think that is for EXISTING utilities, and the house has never had internet. Although it may have had a phone line in the past?

So, it's happened to us with our buyers....

Pretty annoying. We are first-time sellers and have first-time buyers for our property.

We've already dropped our asking price by £25k, as the market is so poor nowadays compared to what we could have got a year ago.

The agreed price is exactly the same as what we paid for the flat seven years ago, and it's in superb condition, as we've really looked after it.

Now, apparently, after literally a 5 minute valuation visit, our property has been valued a further £18k lower, and the buyers are asking whether we'd be happy to drop the price that low....

It's not something we're going to agree to, as we'd lose all the equity we've built up over the last seven years.

Has anyone struggled with similar issues recently?

Which would you prefer to live in a 30s semi or Victorian terrace?

Hi all,

It's my first time renting in London and my lease ended on a Sunday. The estate agent I was supposed to drop the key off to was closed on a Sunday, so I kept it and aimed to drop it off the next day. Got swallowed up by work, didn't hear anything when I emailed and then dropped it off on Wednesday.

Management are now charging me two days rent (£90) and the cost of a lock change (£30) - though over the phone they said a new tenant had moved in on Monday. They also have previously made a copy of my key as they needed access to my flat and left their copy in mine, so they had two spare keys (the original spare, and a copy). Is there anything I can do or have I been silly? Any advice really appreciated.

Third time moving so I should really know this but when should we instruct a solicitor for our house sale - our house is sstc but we haven't found anywhere to move yet.

Wait until we've had an offer accepted on our purchase?

Are there any good news stories on this sub? Midway through a sale and purchase and just see so many horror stories on here regarding shit surveys, damp, mould, no maintenance and its pure stress. Anyone got a positive story? 😅

We have seen a house that we love which is going to best and final and I have a few questions. Our house is sold to first time buyers who are renting. It sold for more than what the house we want to buy is currently listed for. The house we're viewing is in a new location, with scope to extend and is honestly the best thing we've seen for months. As it's less than our budget, we are potentially competing with first time buyers. Besides the obvious, putting a strong offer in, how can we sell ourselves? We intend to send our agreement in principle, although we hope to port our mortgage (not sure if we should mention that?!). Do we need to tell the EA our LTV? We will also mention that we can move in with family if needed while we wait for this house. Should we disclose any additional savings (not exact amounts)? TIA

We have arranged a number of viewings over the next week and one is leasehold. It’s a great house (in the photos), it’s in the same price range and offers slightly more than the other houses we’re viewing by way of internal finishes and garden. I have a list of questions for the estate agent regarding the leasehold, but it would be great to hear from folk who have purchased leasehold and learn about some of the experience they’ve had.

Hi! I let my property out on Airbnb and live with my OH. We’re looking at buying a property together. I won’t have 2 years + of accounts as I’ve only been letting it for 18 months. Does anyone know of a mortgage company that would take this income into account or is that a pipe dream!

How long can a conveyancer sit on a draft contract without actioning? We accepted an offer on 30 Aug. Draft contract sent to buyer on 16 sept. We have still not had any enquiries. My solicitor chased on 1 Oct, they confirmed they had the paperwork. There are 3 properties in the chain. 2 of the properties are ready to complete. Everyone getting a little impatient 😭

Just after a bit of advice.

We are currently renting our property out as we’re travelling with our son before he starts school. We do not make a profit on this we rent just for the amount of our mortgage as we never intended to be landlords. Our fixed term is going up and our mortgage will be a few hundred more than our rental income. I do understand we are gaining from this in equity.

We come back in July and we aren’t planning on moving back to Cardiff. We have options with our tenants to extend their contract until the following dates - November 2026, may 2027 or November 2027. We would like to sell the house because we need the money to buy a different house and I have no interest in becoming a long term landlord.

Our tenants are friends of friends so rented the house knowing full well it would be either a year or two contract so there’s no hard feelings either way as we are renting below market value for them.

We will rent when we come back to the uk and we would sell with no onward chain as we want to find the right house for us and not feel pressured by a chain. Ideally I would like to downsize because being away has made me realise we don’t need a house the expense that we have.

Based on the predictions of selling, if you were in my position, when would you sell?

Thanks

EDIT TO ADD-

I used the wrong terms. It’s not a fixed term tenancy I realise that’s the old system. Tenants have a 12 month contract. Our notice to them once this is up is 6 months but they will stay if we don’t sell in November.

Yes we have the right mortgage. We have permission from our mortgage provider to rent under our residential mortgage as it’s less than 3 years.

This post was a question about whether it’s a better time to sell next year or wait because of current mortgage prices, not my suitability as a landlord. FWIW we had the 6 month check in and our tenants are very happy.