I need to sabotage a bid.
Discussion
CharlesdeGaulle said:
shopper150 said:
Love this car! Did you buy it privately just by approaching the driver? Is the paintwork original? Do you mind sharing what you paid?
If you're really keen on a cabrio 124, particularly a 320 CE, I happen to know there's a cracker in the classifieds. 
This is PH. Classic cars aren't ever really off topic, are they CdG?!
No major updates on our house saga for you chaps yet,
- mortgage approved subjkect to valuation of house, which currently is completely stripped, so...
- ...seller is fitting kitchen and bathroom to make it morgageable, and we have to hope that our mortgage company agree it is a) habitable and b) worth what we offered.
Our buyer seems to be trundling along, staying in touch with the EA, instructing solicitors etc.
I have instructed an expensive lawyer who comes with very high recommendations in getting trickier transactions done. London specialist, based in London, has dealt with trust funds as purchasers, and has dealt with buying houses needing renovation.
We just picked a conveyancing shop last time, and they nearly lost us our house by being so damned awful.
No major updates on our house saga for you chaps yet,
- mortgage approved subjkect to valuation of house, which currently is completely stripped, so...
- ...seller is fitting kitchen and bathroom to make it morgageable, and we have to hope that our mortgage company agree it is a) habitable and b) worth what we offered.
Our buyer seems to be trundling along, staying in touch with the EA, instructing solicitors etc.
I have instructed an expensive lawyer who comes with very high recommendations in getting trickier transactions done. London specialist, based in London, has dealt with trust funds as purchasers, and has dealt with buying houses needing renovation.
We just picked a conveyancing shop last time, and they nearly lost us our house by being so damned awful.
Harry Flashman said:
This is PH. Classic cars aren't ever really off topic, are they CdG?!
No major updates on our house saga for you chaps yet,
- mortgage approved subjkect to valuation of house, which currently is completely stripped, so...
- ...seller is fitting kitchen and bathroom to make it morgageable, and we have to hope that our mortgage company agree it is a) habitable and b) worth what we offered.
Our buyer seems to be trundling along, staying in touch with the EA, instructing solicitors etc.
I have instructed an expensive lawyer who comes with very high recommendations in getting trickier transactions done. London specialist, based in London, has dealt with trust funds as purchasers, and has dealt with buying houses needing renovation.
We just picked a conveyancing shop last time, and they nearly lost us our house by being so damned awful.
You're a legal bod Flash! You know the old adage....'pay peanuts.....' You've done the right thing. Good on the vendor for whacking in a K & B as otherwise I think it would be unmortgageable until it was habitable. Well, not fully mortgageable. That is therefore a good result for you. Fingers crossed for you fella.No major updates on our house saga for you chaps yet,
- mortgage approved subjkect to valuation of house, which currently is completely stripped, so...
- ...seller is fitting kitchen and bathroom to make it morgageable, and we have to hope that our mortgage company agree it is a) habitable and b) worth what we offered.
Our buyer seems to be trundling along, staying in touch with the EA, instructing solicitors etc.
I have instructed an expensive lawyer who comes with very high recommendations in getting trickier transactions done. London specialist, based in London, has dealt with trust funds as purchasers, and has dealt with buying houses needing renovation.
We just picked a conveyancing shop last time, and they nearly lost us our house by being so damned awful.
JM
Vendors have fitted functioning bath, loo, basin, sink and cooker to make it "habitable". We'll see what the mortgage valuers say tomorrow - fingers crossed they think it is habitable, and worth some money...if not, all bets are off.
Look at this lot. Pimpin'. This truly is a dream house.
Untitled by baconrashers, on Flickr
Untitled by baconrashers, on Flickr
Untitled by baconrashers, on Flickr
Untitled by baconrashers, on Flickr
Gratuitous Merc pic attached too: it has arrived, it drives like a new car and even on those AMG lowering springs and 19 inch wheels (! - I have the original 17s, but the 19s actually look brilliant) has ride that puts the Jag XF 2.0d loan car I had last week to shame.
It is completely (ghetto) fabulous, in a 90's drug dealer done good sort of way. I am completely in love with it already.
Untitled by baconrashers, on Flickr
Look at this lot. Pimpin'. This truly is a dream house.
Untitled by baconrashers, on FlickrUntitled by baconrashers, on FlickrUntitled by baconrashers, on FlickrUntitled by baconrashers, on FlickrGratuitous Merc pic attached too: it has arrived, it drives like a new car and even on those AMG lowering springs and 19 inch wheels (! - I have the original 17s, but the 19s actually look brilliant) has ride that puts the Jag XF 2.0d loan car I had last week to shame.
It is completely (ghetto) fabulous, in a 90's drug dealer done good sort of way. I am completely in love with it already.
Untitled by baconrashers, on FlickrEdited by Harry Flashman on Thursday 6th July 17:32
t sanitaryware and cooker combined!Good luck with the mortgage survey tomorrow.
Whilst I would love to claim to be an man of taste, culture and restraint (and thus want a C124 with Sportline kit but no badges), at times like this, I have to accept I grew up in the NW and lived in Jersey for 13 years and thus good taste and I are immiscible; the AMG kit and 19s look great.
Has it always had the AMG kit? Only ask as they were hatefully expensive in their day and , AMG bits aside, that looks identical to one a friend’s mother had in St George’s Hill, back in the day.
Whilst I would love to claim to be an man of taste, culture and restraint (and thus want a C124 with Sportline kit but no badges), at times like this, I have to accept I grew up in the NW and lived in Jersey for 13 years and thus good taste and I are immiscible; the AMG kit and 19s look great.
Has it always had the AMG kit? Only ask as they were hatefully expensive in their day and , AMG bits aside, that looks identical to one a friend’s mother had in St George’s Hill, back in the day.
Hah! I will, if we get it, drag that house up to a decent standard. Slowly, as we won't have the cash to do it all at once.
As for the Merc, yes, that car is as it came from the factory - except for the 19s and the front grille: it's wearing an E500 grille.
I have original grille and 17 inch AMG alloys too, should I wish to take it back to factory spec. History is patchy though, so this will never be a garage queen/collector car. And may indeed end up carting stuff around whilst this house is done...
As for the Merc, yes, that car is as it came from the factory - except for the 19s and the front grille: it's wearing an E500 grille.
I have original grille and 17 inch AMG alloys too, should I wish to take it back to factory spec. History is patchy though, so this will never be a garage queen/collector car. And may indeed end up carting stuff around whilst this house is done...
Edited by Harry Flashman on Friday 7th July 00:28
Thanks for asking folks.
So the mortgage company's valiuation surveyor signed it off as habitable and worth the purchase price, as did their underwriter.
Due to the Japanese Knotweed issue, it needs further sign-off - but seller has forwarded proper documents including evidence of treatment and proper insurance backed guarantee. They may ask us to stick some cash in escrow to deal with the problem, which would be boring but OK. But hoping they will just make the final offer.
If so, all lawyers etc are ready to go. Hoping to exchange in August for an early September completion.
Went into the house again last Friday to take a load of photos. It is even more amazing the second time around - just a lovely space, with 3m ceilings, elegant period features and tonnes of light. Garden is big for London too at 100 feet long and 50 feet wide, but totally overgrown. Space for a lovely garden though, with garden room, decent patio and space for kids to run around.
It needs quite a lot of cosmetic work, though: but plumbing and electrics are perfect, which is a big headache gone. No sign of damp/rot from what I could see.
Until the latest rewire, roof and plumbing were done in 2016, it had been untouched for 40 years. So no damp/rot/damage from inept renovations/insulation (frequently a problem with these old houses), But it does mean that there is no under-floor insulation on the ground suspended wood floor, and I suspect the top ceiling insulation is proper minimal too. Add that to the fact that half the house has single glazed original sash windows, this is going to be an absolute sod to heat in winter. But I don't really want to rip ceilings down/floors up to insulate, as it is in a pretty good state, frankly.
Our current house, by contrast, was a mess, so we stripped it all back and insulated. It got us a C Energy rating (which is pretty damned good on a 1930s house), and our winter fuel/electricity bills were around £90 a month on a 5 bed, 3 bath, 3000 square foot house. I suspect this new house could be quadruple that if we are not careful...
Have also found out how much double glazed sash windows are, and had a sit down. I suspect that modern, barely visible secondary double glazing is going to have to suffice for the foreseeable future.
It also has original plaster features everywhere, some of which are in a bit of a state. Not looking forward to dealing with those - but want to keep them or at least replace, rather than turn it into a featureless, spotlit box, which so often happens to these houses in London.
Luckily the floorboards are in awesome condition as it has clearly been carpeted for most of its life, so they will sand back beautifully and I can avoid the cost of tiling everywhere, and have some cool rugs down. Even the bathrooms will be painted or poliched wood floors, with some boards cut out where the sunken/flush walk-in shower trays will go. My experience in my Victorian flat means that UFH is not something I feel I need with nice wood floors. Family bathroom will be tanked and tiled, but adult/guest bathrooms will be boards. This is basically the plan for Lady F & my private bathroom:
Let's hope the mortgage gets signed off, and I get to worry about all of this for real...
So the mortgage company's valiuation surveyor signed it off as habitable and worth the purchase price, as did their underwriter.
Due to the Japanese Knotweed issue, it needs further sign-off - but seller has forwarded proper documents including evidence of treatment and proper insurance backed guarantee. They may ask us to stick some cash in escrow to deal with the problem, which would be boring but OK. But hoping they will just make the final offer.
If so, all lawyers etc are ready to go. Hoping to exchange in August for an early September completion.
Went into the house again last Friday to take a load of photos. It is even more amazing the second time around - just a lovely space, with 3m ceilings, elegant period features and tonnes of light. Garden is big for London too at 100 feet long and 50 feet wide, but totally overgrown. Space for a lovely garden though, with garden room, decent patio and space for kids to run around.
It needs quite a lot of cosmetic work, though: but plumbing and electrics are perfect, which is a big headache gone. No sign of damp/rot from what I could see.
Until the latest rewire, roof and plumbing were done in 2016, it had been untouched for 40 years. So no damp/rot/damage from inept renovations/insulation (frequently a problem with these old houses), But it does mean that there is no under-floor insulation on the ground suspended wood floor, and I suspect the top ceiling insulation is proper minimal too. Add that to the fact that half the house has single glazed original sash windows, this is going to be an absolute sod to heat in winter. But I don't really want to rip ceilings down/floors up to insulate, as it is in a pretty good state, frankly.
Our current house, by contrast, was a mess, so we stripped it all back and insulated. It got us a C Energy rating (which is pretty damned good on a 1930s house), and our winter fuel/electricity bills were around £90 a month on a 5 bed, 3 bath, 3000 square foot house. I suspect this new house could be quadruple that if we are not careful...
Have also found out how much double glazed sash windows are, and had a sit down. I suspect that modern, barely visible secondary double glazing is going to have to suffice for the foreseeable future.
It also has original plaster features everywhere, some of which are in a bit of a state. Not looking forward to dealing with those - but want to keep them or at least replace, rather than turn it into a featureless, spotlit box, which so often happens to these houses in London.
Luckily the floorboards are in awesome condition as it has clearly been carpeted for most of its life, so they will sand back beautifully and I can avoid the cost of tiling everywhere, and have some cool rugs down. Even the bathrooms will be painted or poliched wood floors, with some boards cut out where the sunken/flush walk-in shower trays will go. My experience in my Victorian flat means that UFH is not something I feel I need with nice wood floors. Family bathroom will be tanked and tiled, but adult/guest bathrooms will be boards. This is basically the plan for Lady F & my private bathroom:
Let's hope the mortgage gets signed off, and I get to worry about all of this for real...
Edited by Harry Flashman on Wednesday 12th July 16:34
Harry
I saw your mention of sash windows and thought you might be able to benefit from my recent experience. I have just had a new double glazed sash window installed. I am also london based.
I had it made by a local joiner because I wanted the details like the glazing bars to match the original exactly. For the glass, I originally ordered it from Histoglass and got this product: http://histoglass.co.uk/thin-double-glazing/d11-th...
It was a disaster, very expensive and really poor quality. The adhesive used to stick the pane together had leaked everywhere and would have been visible with the glass installed. I got some of the money back from them but was unable to use the panes they made. I am considering suing them but i don't have time right now.
I got the replacement glass from Timbalite, which is closer, cheaper, and much better quality.
Cost just under 2k all in (not including my histoglass disaster)
I saw your mention of sash windows and thought you might be able to benefit from my recent experience. I have just had a new double glazed sash window installed. I am also london based.
I had it made by a local joiner because I wanted the details like the glazing bars to match the original exactly. For the glass, I originally ordered it from Histoglass and got this product: http://histoglass.co.uk/thin-double-glazing/d11-th...
It was a disaster, very expensive and really poor quality. The adhesive used to stick the pane together had leaked everywhere and would have been visible with the glass installed. I got some of the money back from them but was unable to use the panes they made. I am considering suing them but i don't have time right now.
I got the replacement glass from Timbalite, which is closer, cheaper, and much better quality.
Cost just under 2k all in (not including my histoglass disaster)
Good effort! Depending on size of windows (yours may be too big), take a look at the Howarth windows and doors site. The quality is great, price is very reasonable - we had a couple of sashes for our build and were very pleased. It's worth asking. Also, copper bath, nice. We bought one from a company in Yorkshire - they bring them in from India and hand finish them here, service was very good. Price was about £2200 (from memory) rather than the £6-8K oft quoted from posh bathroom places. Drop me a line when you get closer to it and I'll dig out the details - or, it'll be somewhere on the blog in my profile.
Still skint Emma
Still skint Emma
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