Four years ago I bought my house. It’s a (very) little three bedroom ex council house on a pretty variable estate.

About two years ago a younger woman (early thirties?) than me bought the house next to me with her young daughter and spent about nine months doing it up and then moving it. During this time she became pregnant and a boyfriend appeared on the scene. She gave birth shortly after moving in. Her boyfriend began staying over more and more and it became apparent that he also had two primary age kids who sometimes stayed with them.

They removed all of the mature trees and shrubs in the garden so the kids had more space to play which meant that my ancient fence fell down because we basically live in a wind tunnel. I looked up the law and decided I didn’t have to pay for a new one because I didn’t have the money at that time (I’d just had to buy a new roof). She popped round and said they were going to put a fence up because they had kids, could they use my existing fence posts, and would I like to pay half. I agreed that they could use my fence posts but explained I didn’t have the money to contribute to the fence right now.

I overheard her boyfriend, who has now sold his house and moved in full time, shouting about what a bitch I was for not paying for the fence. Other choice complaints he developed around this time were that I have the audacity to park outside his house stopping him parking one of their three(!) cars near their house so the kids can get out safely, and that I am sometimes naked in my own bedroom with the curtains open which is child abuse because my bedroom overlooks the two gardens.

Anyway, they put the house on the market for about £75k more than I paid for mine. She made it really nice for sure, put an upstairs bathroom in and did a lot of work. But it’s still fundamentally a tiny council house on an estate. It remained on the market for over a year before they took it off. I have overheard him blaming me for them not selling their house because I don’t keep my garden tidy and my render is patched without being painted.

Now he’s overheard me talking about my plans to sell my house next year to my other neighbour. He was in the garden last week talking to his partner about how he’s going to “make sure [she] never fucking manages to sell her house because [she] doesn’t fucking deserve to.” Then he talked about registering a neighbour dispute I have to declare when I sell.

I don’t know why he wants me to say here. He seems to hate me. I work away half the week too so it’s not like he sees me most of the time. I’m quiet and I keep myself to myself, and I even work from home when I’m not away which is surely good for keeping an eye on things.

Is there anything I can do about this problem to preempt it? Should I speak to my conveyancer in advance?

"You'll get back what you put in."

Solves the long-standing problem of those with "trapped" savings since house prices rose and the LISA limit didn't.

There'll be a news article along in a bit, he's only just said it at the budget

Edit: Stolen from the Telegraph. Might not be as good as hoped if you didn't end up using it

The lifetime Isa will be replaced by a first-time house buyer savings Isa, John Healey has announced.

The Chancellor made the announcement as he set out an additional £1.5bn for the Government’s council housebuilding programme.

“For every young person who’s working hard, saving what they can and dreaming of their own first home, I am taking action. I’m announcing that a new first-time buyer Isa will replace the lifetime Isa, and from today, I am dealing with the Lisa penalty.

“So if the home you want costs more than the limit, you will get back at least what you put in. And I’m going further. From next spring, a new scheme for first time buyers who don’t have the bank of mum and dad behind them. Your First Home – an equity loan scheme, which I’m funding today with £4.7bn of government-backed lending.”

I'm a first time buyer and I don't know if it's me but these guys are incredibly difficult to deal with. Lack of information provided, don't go into any detail in any response and everything in general seems to much effort. Surely it's in there interest to get everything going through smoothly so they get there commission

Is it just me or are they generally really difficult to deal with

I’m looking for advice because I genuinely need help resolving this situation.
My family owns our home, which is semi-detached and shares a wall with the neighbouring property. Since 2023, we’ve experienced loud sexual noises, moaning, screaming and shouting around 4–5 nights a week, usually starting between 1am and 2am and sometimes continuing until 6am.
We can hear practically everything through the shared wall. We’ve asked the neighbours to stop, contacted their landlord multiple times, complained to the council repeatedly and provided recordings through its noise reporting app.
Initially, the council suspected the property might be operating as a brothel and discussed referring the matter to the police. I clarified that my complaint was about the noise itself, but was told there was nothing they could do. The disturbance continues.
The neighbours have four or five children, and on some occasions we’ve heard a child crying while the other noise was happening. I cannot comment on what is happening inside the property, but I’m unsure whether this should be raised separately.
This is seriously affecting my mental health, and I really need help. The noise happens so frequently that even when the neighbours are quiet, I sometimes think I can still hear them. I’m constantly anticipating the disturbance and struggling to relax in my own home.
I’m considering contacting my MP and the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, but I don’t know what else I can do.
What options do I have when repeated council complaints and recordings haven’t resolved the problem?
Can I request a formal review of how the council has handled my reports?
Has anyone successfully escalated a similar situation to their MP or the Ombudsman?
Should I raise my concerns about the children separately with children’s services?
I’m not trying to control what people do in their own homes. I simply want to sleep peacefully and feel comfortable in my own home again.
Please, if anyone has experienced something similar or knows what steps I can take next, I would really appreciate your advice.

Hello!

After some advice please!

I (33m) and my mini dachshund live in a hotel currently, under a lodgers contract (bills inc). I am physically disabled and have protected characteristics (no, I haven’t used this as an excuse). I am also bidding for social / council housing.

My landlord (hotel owner), puts the heating on seasonally. Once in the morning and once in the evening, Which is understandable.

However, there’s a week long dispute over the morning heating cycle, which has not come on. I have asked for them to take a look at the timer and to double check it. No response. I have followed that message up after 24 hours. No response. Now, we’re 24 hours past the last message and still no response.

I don’t want to keep bothering them to do the bare minimum, as they have taken issue with previous tenants, who are quickly given notice shortly after.

I (and others) regularly go days without any WiFi (which is included in the bills), rats in the bin area and now inside the hotel. The cherry on top is that, they are very manipulative. I.e. only talks to you when they want something. Starts and peddles rumours and is just an unpleasant little person and has a reputation for taking people’s deposit (I learnt this while living here and talking to former residents).

I have spoken to my local MP, EHO, building authority, citizens advice, local social housing team, counsellors, the local council, gp surgery,solicitors etc, who have not given any practical guidance on what to do, where to go and how to report them.

I know and can see how stretched life is, in the uk. But, I really don’t know where to turn.

I’m not interested in anyone’s opinion on why the country is the way it is, **I AM INTERESTED IN PRACTICAL ADVICE!**

I feel very stuck, any help would be appreciated!

Hey everyone,

I've always been an overthinker and worrier, but I've never let it hinder my decision making and goals.

It's always been my goal/dream in life to own my own home - a place to call mine, a place that's decorated in a way that I feel safe and somewhere I can hide from the world.

I'm approaching the age (and financial ability) where I should be able to buy a house next year. Don't get me wrong, it won't be anything amazing, about 130k in the north, but I'm getting more and more scared the closer I get.

How do I get over the anxieties of homeownership and the risks it entails?

What if I lose my job and I can't get another quick enough to pay the mortgage? What if I'm in a difficult financial situation and I need a sudden roof repair? What happens if I buy a property to reach my dream but it's completely ruined by a neighbour from hell moving in?

Edit: I appreciate everyone's kind and affirming comments, I won't be able to reply immediately as I'm at work, but keep the advice coming!

We bought a ground-floor terraced flat in SW London, with a kitchen extension, and have been dealing with what we believe is a rat problem.

Initially, we could hear scratching and movement in the ceiling void above the kitchen, particularly overnight. We had a pest-control company out three times. They identified a hole in our neighbour's garden (boundary wall) and since filling it in around a month ago we haven't heard anything in the kitchen ceiling cavity.

However, we're now hearing scratching / gnawing either underneath the floorboards or inside a cavity wall, so clearly they are getting in elsewhere!

Before purchasing the property, we had a CCTV drainage survey carried out. It identified cracked and displaced joints in the drains, as well as water ingress at one point. They recommended drain relining, but we didn't proceed at the time because we weren't sure how urgent the work was.

Given the ongoing rat issue, we're now wondering whether the defective drains could be the root of the issue.

I'd really appreciate advice on the following:

1. If we already know the drains have cracked and displaced joints, is it worth getting them repaired specifically to address the rat problem? Or could the rats be entering through a completely unrelated route?
2. Is there a particular type of pest-control specialist who understands drainage-related rat ingress and can investigate the route from the drains into the building?
3. Has anyone had rats travel through floor voids or cavity walls because of defective drains, and managed to resolve it permanently?

We're keen to fix the underlying problem rather than keep paying for pest-control visits without knowing where they're getting in. We also have an indoor cat, so need to be careful about any treatment used.

Thanks in advance for any advice or recommendations, particularly for specialists in London/South West London.

I am not old enough to move out just yet!!

My mother has an issue with buying animals. We have 3 dogs which bark all the time. I can’t stand it. We live in a 6-row or houses, and at the other end I can hear them barking. We had neighbours message this morning asking if everything was ok, as they were barking a long time. My sister was at home and wouldn’t do anything about it!!!! Considering one is her dog!!!!! My mother is hopeless and ditsy and does not care, she just says ‘there’s nothing I can do’
Is there anything I can do? It’s so incredibly embarrassing, and I don’t even want those dogs. My mother doesn’t care at all.
Edit - there’s another dog somewhere up our road, and my mother complains it barks too much!!!!

Hi everyone,
I’m a first-time buyer purchasing a 2-bedroom leasehold maisonette in East London with my partner. Our offer of £257,000 has been accepted, and we’ve just received our Level 3 RICS survey, which cost £845.
We’re quite overwhelmed by the findings and would appreciate advice from anyone who’s experienced something similar.
Property details:
Purchase price: £257,000
2-bedroom older maisonette with private garden
Leasehold with 159 years remaining
No ground rent or service charge
Mortgage application currently underway

Main issues identified in the survey:
Structural movement: Cracking to the rear external wall, with the surveyor suggesting serious structural movement. A structural engineer’s investigation is recommended before proceeding. The report also mentions a potential risk of partial collapse.
Rising and penetrating damp: Elevated moisture readings across several rooms, including internal walls and chimney breasts. The surveyor recommends urgent investigation and remedial work.
Uneven floors: Floors are distorted and uneven, with potential concerns about the underlying structure. Further investigation is recommended.
Poor subfloor ventilation: Several airbricks are blocked, potentially contributing to damp and timber deterioration. Floorboards may need lifting to inspect for hidden damage.
External wall deterioration: Cracked and hollow render, defective pointing and vegetation growing against the rear wall, potentially allowing water penetration.
Chimney defects: Loose flashing, deteriorating mortar and a damaged chimney pot requiring repairs.
The surveyor has explicitly recommended obtaining a structural engineer’s report and further damp investigations before exchanging contracts.
My questions:
Are these findings major red flags, or fairly typical for an older London property?
Would you proceed with further investigations or walk away?
Roughly how much could these issues cost to rectify?
Would you renegotiate the £257k purchase price based on these findings?
As it’s leasehold, how do I establish which repairs I’m responsible for?
We’re first-time buyers and don’t have an unlimited renovation budget. We really like the property, especially the garden and location, but don’t want to make a financially disastrous decision.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

FTBs, started looking last September.

We’ve had one non-standard construction and two level 3 surveys where the surveyor rang us afterwards and told us to run, not walk.

So, yeah. Good start. Mortgage offer expired, applied for a new one the week before Iran kicked off. Locked in at 4.19%. Offered on this one early May, oldest house of the lot, survey came back with minor maintenance bits but otherwise, a dream. Searches and enquiries dragged a little but were generally straightforward.

Then it turned out the middle of the chain - our sellers - were still waiting for enquiries. Fine, it happens. Few more weeks passed, then finally that was all squared away. At that point we’d been ready to go for a Quite Some Time. Originally there was talk of completing end of September, and then the end of September comes around and it turns out the top of the chain (our seller’s seller) is waiting on a settlement fee from the fucking courts and can’t tell us how long it’ll be.

Our (already extended) mortgage offer expires on 4th November, after which time we’d be looking at another £200 a month. Late last week, found out the top of the chain was finally sorted. Funds requested from lenders. Email received yesterday to ask if we’re ready to exchange, said yes straight away - but no one could get hold of the top of the chain.

So we tried again this morning. Emailed our authority over first thing. Yet again, no one could get hold of the top of the chain.

Anyway, driving home from work after another anxious, stressful and fruitless day twiddling our thumbs, our solicitor calls. We’re finally exchanged, and we’re completing day after tomorrow 😭

Just a really simple, straightforward, relaxing process all round.

We are trying to buy a fixer upper and had a RICS Level 3 Survey that came back with the conclusion that the property is structurally sound and habitable, just tired, dated and in need of refurbishment.

The only noticeable thing is a crack in the corner of one of the bedrooms, however the RICS survey said that it's historical from subsidence, not visible from the outside, not structurally significant and just needs to be made good.

We have just had our mortgage from Nationwide rejected after a valuation survey under the following comments:

The property is marked as unsuitable security

The property requires extensive renovation and repair including refurbishment of the fabric, fittings and services (which will involve multiple trades). As such, the property is not considered suitable security for mortgage purposes, and no valuation figures have been provided.

We've appealed by sending the RICS survey, and instructed our Broker to look for alternative lenders in the meantime.

Annoyingly we had a rate of about 4.80% from Nationwide as we got our DIP a few months ago. What are the chances that our appeal is accepted?

Over the last few months, I have been attempting to find a small one or two bedroom house with a garden in either the Hereford area or Worcester area (including surrounding communities in both cases, such as Ledbury or Pershore). My budget is 1150 £. I made enquiries to around 37 postings on Rightmove or Zoopla. I received a response from around one-third of them. Of those 1/3rd, a few told me the viewings were already booked, even though I emailed or called a few hours after the posting appeared. I viewed around 9 properties. Several were in very poor condition, with one having visible mold and water damage. I attended a viewing in Pershore only to find that there were already several pending applications and the landlord has their choice. I applied to 2 properties. 9 days later, I am still waiting to hear from one place. I sent a follow-up email but no reply. The second place I have been waiting around 5 days. I sent a follow-up email, but haven't heard back. I have a reasonable income by UK standards, no bad credit. I do have 2 cats. Anyway, I am not sure what more I can do except continue to look, expand my radius or increase my budget. Any other tips would be recommended.

We buying a house were we are in a four person chain.

Our buyers are first time buyers, then us, our sellers and their seller.

We are supposed to be completing in Friday 30th October and exchange was meant to happen yesterday however our sellers solicitors have said they were not aware of the amount of deposit that was being provided through the chain ( 5% of our sale.) They are apparently now contacting the top and solicitor to see if this will be acceptable or whether we will have to do exchange and completion on the same day!

I know this happens all the time but is it normally planned?

I have already cancelled my moving team as I don’t want to loose £600 and opted to book a van for a lot less money that I can cancel on the day.

I guess my question is from anyone experienced in this sort of thing:
- how likely is it that we will actually be moving on the Friday?
- is there anything that can happen to prevent that eventuality ?
- are there any questions I can ask to help reassure the situation?

Trying to sell a relative’s home and while there have been some viewings, it isn’t really moving. I know that the market isn’t great right now.

Is it worth appointing a second agent?

My thinking is that most people will use the online services to find a property and I’m not sure what value a further agent will add. Anyone have any thoughts? Thanks! (England)

A buyer for my flat put in an offer and made it clear they wanted to move quickly. So we rushed around to find our next place, found one and got an offer accepted. Id assume the memorandum would come in a week or so. But after 8 I think I need to call it that they aren't in a position to buy. Estate agent is happy to just keep poking the buyer for paper work.

Do I need to be more forceful on what the estate agent considers a buyer next time? Sucks to do all this then to the buyer to go cold.

My landlady owed me 700 pounds. is the deposit.

I have the evidence of all there records of they promised will send it back to me.help me.this is two roommates who said they take money for the landlady.

I’m 40 and in a position where my property is SSTC and I’m buying a flat with the proceeds of my sale, so won’t have a mortgage anymore. (The apartment is costing about half of what my house has sold for)
If relevant - I’m just coming out of a 5 year fix at 2.14%.

It’s kind of a downgrade as I’m in a detached house now and moving to an apartment but I’m hoping not having a mortgage negates that.

I’m not sure I see myself in this apartment forever so I guess my question is - is this a bad idea?

Things I’m worried about -

-Will I be stuck here forever once I get used to having more money?
-If I want to move later on, I’ll have less mortgage years left
-I want to enjoy being mortgage free but should I just be saving my ‘would be’ mortgage payments?
-I’ll have to pay service charges forever

Things I’m happy about -

- Not paying a mortgage while the rates are so high

Any advice/experience of this/thoughts please?

Thank you

EDIT TO ADD - I have to relocate for family reasons. I’m not moving just to become mortgage free. Apologies, that seems an important thing to add

ALSO MISSED - As I said elsewhere I realise I’ve not added some other facts that are relevant.

I have mobility issues, terraced houses stairs are a bit much for me and the bungalows where I’m moving too are too expensive. The apartment is lovely, clean and spacious and purpose built. I really like it, and suits me being on one level. I also don’t do any gardening etc due to my mobility so not bothered about the outside space either.

from anyone’s experience has anyone seen ASB neighbour be evicted after being given 3/4 informal tenancy warnings and then a formal tenancy warning within a space of 6 months? Their harassment continues even after the formal warning but I’m shocked that the housing association hasn’t done more to protect other tenants? What is the next stage or is there anything I can do to protect myself? I’ve contacted the council, mp and the police.

Morning all, need a bit of advice..

Me and my partner moved into our new home about 6 weeks ago. The one downside to our house is that it’s on street parking. The road is an incredibly narrow, two way street, where cars must mount the curb in order to park.

The street is always full as we are right next to the station for work commuters. We got added to the street Whatsapp group, where essentially, people moan about others parking on the street.

Our car is a very old, bright red Ford Fiesta that we got because we’ve both recently passed our tests. She’s got a giant P on her and sticks out like a sore thumb down the street. Given we’ve just passed our tests, we are super conscious about the way we park. We always make sure we’re parked well before we go in our house.

2 weeks into living here, our car got keyed pretty aggressively. We raised it in the Whatsapp group and nobody really said anything. A further 2 weeks went by, we got keyed again.

Last week, someone let down our back tyre and stole all the caps off our tyres.

Whenever I go out for a walk, I notice a lot of cars with huge key gashes down the sides, so I have a feeling it’s an angry neighbour who thinks I’m a commuter and keeps vandalising my car in the hopes that I’ll park somewhere else.

I’ve posted it in the community group chat, I’ve raised it on Facebook groups but at this point, I’m not sure what to do. Do I leave a note on the dashboard saying I’m a resident? Do I shell out for an incredibly expensive dashcam that may not get the correct angle? Do I put in a camera from our bedroom looking out onto the street in the hopes I catch at least someone keying some car and deduce it’s them?

I’ve even considered going door to door to just introduce myself and say that’s my car, but that might seem accusatory. I dont want to upset my new neighbours, but one of them is upsetting me 😅

What should I do?

We have lived in our first house for about a year. Our surveyor outlined various issues with the house in their survey along with an estimated cost of repair. In practice these prices are all drastically wrong.

As an example, the surveyor estimated £20K for an eventual roof replacement. We haven't replaced the roof, but have spoken to roofers and builders who quote £40K. It's a big roof for context.

Across a range of items I would say the actual cost of repairs is between 1.5x to 5x more expensive than a surveyors estimate.

They are all atrociously inaccurate. I really would have preferred the surveyor to not give me any estimates of any repairs because it would force me to get quotes sooner from builders rather than rely on inaccurate estimates from the surveyor.

I heard from others that its common for surveyors to get prices wrong. I am wondering, how are surveyors creating these estimates? Clearly they aren't speaking to builders for quotes. And if surveyors aren't doing detailed research into the latest labour and materials costs, why even bother trying to give a repair estimate?

Our latest service charge budget is coming in at £4800 per flat, up 85% since 2020. We're in Zone 1 London, I know that adds cost, but this is a small 2 bed flat in a 1950s block, 6 floors, 11 total flats, no communal facilities.

Is this normal? If not, where should we be looking to make savings? Here's the breakdown of costs:

Compliance costs have obviously increased massively, here's the breakdown. Is all of this really required? What are others doing here?

Note: we have a lift, but it's pretty new. Lift maintenance is about £130 of the £541 maintenance budget. We have no concierge, gym, communal heating, no facilities included.

So we have are flat upstairs with a few neighbours, you have to go down 3 flights of stairs, to get to the intercom door...

And 3 teens keeps hanging downstairs, drinking, smoking weed! Ripping signs down. Leaving there bottles behind.

Obviously the police ain't gona do anything unless there's violence! And the housing seem useless as well...

What would be the best option? Last thing I want to do is flip out on them, and they pull out a knife! As I have kids here..

Hello! Im a final year student studying in the UK and just scored a graduate offer in Bristol for September 2027. I just wanted to get an idea of around when I should start looking for house shares/accommodation around the area in general, since with student housing you always have to get a place by November/December for when the next academic year starts, so its well in advance and I would be a bit unfamiliar with the process. Im also aware that Bristol often has accommodations get taken very quickly, so Id love some guidance.