Thursday, February 17, 2011

Buy To Let or Buying Trouble?

My New House

I now have the keys to my new house here in sunny Plymouth. Well it's not so sunny but it is my home town and so to me it's always nice to be here.

My brother, Mike, had picked the keys up for me, after an argument with the man in the estate agents and an angry phone call from me to their head office, and took a couple friends down to the house to make a list of things that need doing. John, my mate had already taken the net curtains down off the grubby windows and washed them for me before I arrived.

I didn't get to Plymouth from Bristol till quite late so decided to wait until the next day to go and see the house, now, as it's new owner. That night I spoke with Mike and we made a simple list of paint and other various items which I could buy the next day to take to the house with me.

Morning dawned and my Mike went off to work. I soon realised that I had no idea where any of the big DIY shops where in Plymouth so I phoned a friend. Mark, it said on my phone, so I dialled the number. Bugger, straight to answer machine. Face book message it was to be then. Luckily for me Mark was on-line. A couple of messages later and Mark was on his way.

Off to B&Q we went with a list in our minds of what we were getting. 3, 10L pots and 12, 2.5L pots of various natural coloured paint, sugar soap to clean all the wood work, and there is loads of it, rollers. bucket and a coffee later we had finished. Off to the house we went.

After carrying in all the paint and stuff we had a look at the gas and electric meters and this is when things started to go off plan.

The estate agent must have known that I would need to put the electric back on when I got the house but did they think of it? No and now I have to chase them up cause it's not working. The water was turned off at the mains. Did they tell me where to turn it back on again? NO. So no cleaning and no painting can be done till they are fixed.

I'm sat here, in Mike's house, with loads to do and not able to do it. I've gone shopping this morning and got Mike his birthday presentand pick something up for him. I've got myself a new camera and some flowers for the dinning room table, but the reason why I've taken a week off work and come to Plymouth for I can't do. I'm not happy!

Solicitors are the winners in house buying. You get quoted a price it's all going to cost and you happily pay it when you sign the house contract. Then, a week later, you get another bill in the post, after you've been phoned to say you can collect the keys. At the top of the bill are the words “As it states on the 5th page of the agreement” Who the hell ever reads all 7 pages of an agreement?

Ryan Templar, my mortgage adviser based in Whitchurch, Bristol, as been excellent throughout my involvement with him. Every time I got a letter from one of the solicitors or one of the two building societys I took it to him. He dealt with everything. He phoned, emailed and argued my case. I don't think I could have got through the minefield of buying a house to let without him. I'll be visiting him one more time with the new bill I got just before I left Bristol, but I'm sure he can fix it.

Roll on Friday when we are out for a meal for Mike's birthday :)