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House removal

hi All.   When you find a suitable property, is it too good to be true? How do you find out the real reason for what seems to be a good price?? You can get a "Full structural report on the property" but what about,Neighbours rowdiness, when you visit in daytime, how do you really find out before committing yourself to misery ?
And there is Broadband Reception, what is the truth about Fibre Optics in that area? I live in London and it is often very slow or worse of all "Down" ! Even Out of Order, and BT may claim to be the Biggest but are they the best?
all the best.  Kevin

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When you choose your house all you can do is researchThere are web sites that show crime rates, flooding, schools and any other statistics you want ( we live in the second lowest crime area of the UK.

I drove 1500 miles in 2 weeks going round Norfolk looking at estate agents and areas. Often just driving around and stopping somewhere. Watching what was going on, taking a flask of coffee and sandwiches.
Having chosen the top ten houses on the list we put them in order of the most suitable and started looking at them I saw about 8 but this one was I think the third.

 I drove around here several times after choosing this one, looking at facilities ( not many), traffic, flood level ( we are 19ft above the flood plain but surrounded by it). Then I walked around the nearest shopping town and stopped for a pint chatting to the locals, being quite open about moving to the area.

We got the one up from basic report, the house is over 110 years old it has been treated for wood worm and dry rot, it will outlast us.
 
Mobile phones don't work here unless you stand upstairs in the bathroom, but we have a land line. We now have 25 MHz broadband, but broadband outside of major cities did not exist when we moved here. The broadband drops out regularly, but they are still digging up the roads a mile away installing the fibre, which stops half a mile from us.

Now I've finally started a model railway…I've inherited another…
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Thank you for your reply. That is a problem, as I rely on public transport, I do realise however the lack of  a reliable service in "the sticks" and whereas in London one can here "Siren sounds from the Emergency services 24 hours a day, it must be much quieter where you live. I did go on Google to look up various things, but I couldn't find anything about unsocial neighbours .   Kevin

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Hi Kevin,

You can choose your house/flat, neighbors are something else. Never mid "Location, Location, Location", you need to do a Reagan ("Trust and Verify").

Avoid residential areas with: large pubs (especially recently built ones), bars, clubs, takeaways, large schools, colleges, university housing/lodgings, hospitals, rat runs (a route through a residential area connecting 2 main roads), airport flight paths (look up the noise envelope data), old Victorian/Edwardian houses with lots of entry buttons and lots of green and blue bins in the front garden. Check the state of the front gardens, if they're scruffy, lots of weeds, bags of garbage, rusting fridges and old mattresses, run a mile. Lots of front gardens converted to parking spots? The neighborhood has a parking problem. Same if there are parking permits required for on-street parking. Demand exceeds availability. What's the street lighting like? What's the beer can count/takeaway container count in the gutters? Lots? Run even faster.

Check the bus routes, and where do they go? How frequently? Where is the nearest shopping center? Is there a local taxi service? Where is the nearest police station? Is it open 24h a day? Nearest A&E? Ditto. Many aren't. Banbury, population around 60,000, doesn't have a 24h copper shop.

Best time to view a neighborhood is during the morning rush hour and evening rush hour. If it's a central location you also want to check the Brahms and List score late evening/early morning. Gangs of inebriates wandering around creating mayhem? There is a reason agents take you around late morning/early afternoon. It's quiet, children are in school, most people are at work. The drunks are still guzzling away inside the pubs.

The first house we bought was in St. Ives, Cambs, about 5 miles away from an RAF station. "Is this flown over by aircraft?" I ask, "no, the RAF never fly over here". True, but they performed static jet engine tests at 02:00 hours. The US planes from the other side of Cambridge overflying us were another story.  Numerous flats and lodgings around East London when students, and 12 houses/flats/condos in various countries later we're a little bit wiser. And have learned estate agent speak.

Nigel


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Hi Nigel.  Thank you, you have given me a lot to think about. Alas I am between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea?London has all the things to look out for, which is inspiring the move in the first instant, even the countryside has its downside, and then there is the Deep Blue Sea. I have been considering the coast which can be lively in the summer, and has the potential of visitors. I will keep you posted, as the search can be really tiring. Kevin

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Hi Kevin,

Forgot to mention - near a railway station is useful.

Twenty or so miles from the coast would get you away from most of the day trippers.

Avoid descriptions like "quirky" or "unusual" or "one of a kind". You are probably buying somebody's failed project.

I'm not familiar with South of the Thames, so general advice is all I can offer.

Nigel



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East Dorset, might suit, good transport links, plenty of sea, preserved railway (Swanage) houses probably a bit cheaper than London area (except Sandbanks) I'm getting "up to" Virgin 100Mb broadband (most days about 90 down 6 up, due for upgrade to 150 "soon")

Cheers MIKE
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Hi
 I think that all serious problems with neighbours, noise or indeed poblems with the property MUST be disclosed by the seller/agent

'Kev
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Hi Kevin,

If it looks a bargain compared with the rest of the area, then you should ask the agent for details of the selling price for similar properties in the area for the past 6-12 months.There should be a good reason. Do the sellers have an impending move, and have to sell? Can't afford the mortgage? If the sellers are older with no mortgage that's when you should start digging. Is there a new development that is likely to drop prices? Ask to see the PIQ if you haven't already seen it. If it's not forthcoming walk away.

Any issues with the house the seller has to disclose. There is however nothing like your own house survey by a qualified surveyor.

"In simple terms, the CPR’s require a seller to inform their estate  agent – and any potential buyer - of material information that may  affect an average consumer’s transactional decision, not only to buy a  property but even “an omission that may affect a potential buyer’s  decision to view a property”. No longer can you choose what to tell your  agent or buyer.

Before they market a property, a reputable agent  should ask you to fill in a Property Information Questionnaire where you  can put down any relevant information. This will include issues you may  have with your boundaries or other disputes with neighbours; notices of  any developments nearby; whether the correct approvals have been  obtained for building works such as building regulations or the  freeholders consent for alterations such as a loft conversion; any  significant occurrences at the property, such as a murder or a suicide;  and details of any major defects you are aware of."

http://www.hamhigh.co.uk/property/when_selling_my_house_am_i_legally_obliged_to_disclose_any_information_that_may_affect_a_potential_buyer_s_decision_1_4170528

Nigel

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Kevin

Years ago I moved to a regional office for work. Did not have clue about areas etc. I took a number of copies of a map into the office and asked a half dozen people with a pen to tell me the best place to live.
I took the maps away and overlaid them. Where the circles overlapped I started looking. Not really scientific but it gave me a start on where I did not want to be.
Andrew
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Hi Nigel. Thank you , my first thoughts were not to buy a Dwelling at all, I saw a Woodland advertised, and the idea of being a lumberjack appealed to me. But when I enquired about my responsibilities, the shine went off the idea.I would be expected to maintain the woodland but when I said about selling logs, I got a poor response, "You cannot sell logs" then what am I supposed to do with them? And the liabilities of "Idiots with their picnics, dogs(nothing against dogs, but irresponsible owners) and of course Fly Tippers. clearing up other people's rubbish? As I don't drive that would have been awkward? Unless I could buy a "Stop me and Buy One bike"
That is when my thoughts turned to property, and I looked at Headcorn , a village near Ashford , buy a house near the railway line, and bus route, but the properties in my "Price Bracket" were not up to par, that is when the net spread far and wide, leaving me where I am today. all the best. Kevin

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Hi Kev.    Thank you, I haven't heard about that, but, I have heard the stories of "Dodgy Estate Agents" some of whom, but not all, are like "Secondhand Car Dealers".   all the best. Kevin

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Hi Andrew.   Thank you , as I wrote to Nigel , my search began in Kent, Headcorn and then spread "Far and Wide".Towards London? not really, Maidstone, Tonbridge, Folkestone , Hythe, Deal, but all on the "Main Railway Line".
Similarly to your search? But not for work, but based on the Stations that I have passed through on my way to both the Coast and Kent countryside , After looking up properties and estate agents online( perhaps not the best approach) with a collection of maps and my copier, I have been selecting and laminating various destinations along with the train timetable and setting off with high hopes. But Gardens, Garages, even a Two Double Bedroom house come at a premium, and as for an "En Suite" that seems to be a luxury. But, I will keep on looking, there was mention of a "Brexit Bubble?", knowing my luck that ,if it happens? Will await until after my purchase?  all the best. Kevin

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passed Driver, hi, when we sold our house in lancaster we thought outside the box, and now live happlily in the middle of france. Property costs 75% less than england. We have 3 acres, lake,   4 beds and large railway room. john
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Hi John.    Thankyou , everytime I see Grand Designs, Escape, or which ever series of property programme is on, I think of "Vive la difference " or however you say it. And then I saw Dick Strawbridge with his new Wife and Crumbling Chateau,  I only got as far as "Schoolboy French" and that was only the "En Route" text book, Monsieur Lepine or whatever his name was, at that time I was a fan of Maigret played by Rupert Davies on the box! I have a couple of "Grape Vines" growing on my allotment, but that is a near to France as I am likely to get? I am a bit passed learning a foreign language, I have trouble making some understanding my mother tongue!  all the best. Kevin

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The TV sell themselves Kevin, with a glimpse of what they are suggesting is 'greener on the other side of fence' and not the reality which moving to another culture actually is.

What so many expats fail to understand before charging off to a carefree life in the sun, is that one has to put a great deal of work into it and one needs to have an income stream to sustain the new lifestyle. Like with all things in life, it only works well when you are prepared to do it properly and there is no free pass to a carefree lifestyle!

That said, the rewards can be bountiful.

Good luck with your research and preparation for your move, if it really is what you want. If so, please make sure you get good advice from trained, experienced people (not just from a railway forum), after you have made a well thought out list of what is important to you in a new environment, together with which aspects may be of concern to you. This is important. To start, try making a list of what you like and dislike in your current home and its environment. The Citizen's Advice Centres will be able to direct you in the right direction and further specialised assistance. Please do not simply rely on what you can find on the internet and above all, not estate agents, as they only want to earn money, not match your needs to a new home. They will be used in the later stages, but do not start by talking to them.

So take your time, set out your requirements, find good advice and don't forget your railway!

Best wishes,

Bill



    

At 6'4'', Bill is a tall chap, then again, when horizontal he is rather long and people often used to trip over him! . . . and so a nickname was born :)
 
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One other tip I discovered when selling my place last year, avoid the big chain Estate agents, they may have a wider "audience" but they want you to use their solicitors and surveyors who all seem to be expert at taking twice as long as necessary and consequently charge twice as much. They also come across as overbearing know it alls.

A good local agency is by far the best choice. It's also worth keeping an eye on Rightmove and Zoopla  on line.



Cheers MIKE
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Hi Mike.    Living , well dwelling, as I do in rented accommodation , I have nothing to sell. The current property /agent I am looking at suggested to me that I would be better off making my own arrangement with a solicitor, nearer to home, same for the survey.   all the best.  Kevin

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Longchap, here in Burgandy, the grass is certainly, considerably greener, and the reality it, that its the best thing we ever did. As to an income stream, your uk state pension, goes considerably further, than it ever would in the uk.  Passed Driver, hi, i understand its not for everybody, but having to learn french, is a tad of a myth. Our  Dutch friend has lived here for 30 years, and only has 30 words of french.  I teach english here, totally Free of charge, have a weekly class, and am constantly surprised by the number of people who speak english, once they overcome their shyness. Good luck with your search. john
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Hi John.    The thought of moving to France would have been okay thirty odd years ago, that is if things had been different. But now The thought of moving away from my homelandsd has never been further from my mind?I am much too old to start a new life abroad, I may be too old/ unfit to move to Kent? Where the emergency services are spread too thin? I M O. South East London is well served by major hospitals. But I would like to move out, but not too far.   all the best. Kevin

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