Ferdinand

Sorry but I still feel I need more information ... such as roads and how the cars get in. Could I have a site layout and a location plan ?. I don’t think it is necessarily making best use of the plot; but I need to see the plot in context. F

You could do lots of things things, but sprinklers would likely be required in the open plan space where it is part of the fire escape route from upper floors or rooms without escape windows.

Can we see the upstairs plan and the boundaries please? And presumably your external look is relatively fixed if it is a full PP, but you have leeway on the internals. Are you planning to adjust the atout without a further application. Will the Council have a fit if you decide to try and make changes to the appearance, or does the option potentially exist? In my head I am speculating about putting the main entrance door on the side of the dwelling. F

That is true if that you are responsible for the filter, but if the download is onto their devices then they are responsible for the download. The law tends to turn on possession. I would ask the Tourist Authority for their recommended policy, and follow that, and not provide recording devices etc. Also the responsibility should be in the contract.

The place looks great. May need to start a thread about Island cycling.

For some reason I keep wanting to yell PARKLIFE! at this thread. No idea why.

The other weekend when volunteers were moving all the kit into the new gym and painting it, I ran up quite a pizza bill working all the way through the Domino’s menu with their half and half options. Love pizza. Occasionally.

There are others around too. In Hucknall near here there is a mixed development happening on the old Rolls Royce Hucknall Aerodrome site where (I think) the Flying Bedstead was created. There they are leaving a space on the estate patterned on the old runway. I am not sure on the quality of the detailed design, but it is 150 acres and 900 homes over perhaps 12-15 years. F

Given Aberdeen now, perhaps they will check affordability.

All interesting. The style of presentation - and extended Design & Access - is not dissimilar to that now being used by boutique developers such as Kevin McCloud's HAB. An interesting comparison might also be with Poundbury, which had some genuinely interesting things going on, and also with larger scale long term projects. Ferdinand

Going to see this morning. Hoping for a loose tile.

3 A retrospective valuation on the plot should be possible, since there will be full records of transactions in the area. Should take no longer than usual. If you find an accountant dealing with expat landlords they will know about cgt etc. You can find one via LL sites etc. I think I would try the HMRC helpline by phone. Obvs Skype or whatever. Ferdinand

But my fridge will last until probably 203x.

Thanks. I bet @DeeJunFan knows a dozen different words for these.

Think we are just discovering where the budget-not-spent-on-handbags-and-shoes goes - fridge gimmicks. OK - 3.4% of the handbag budget. Excellent summary @AliG. Since we are doing fridge-pr0n, here is a LiebHerr full frontal: Incidentally if anyone is in need of one, I have a Bosch chest-freezer which is free to anyone who wants to collect. Will post details over at the Marketplace. I am currently trying to persuade all my friends with toddlers and educational fridge-magnets that their little darlings do not need to know about meat, vegetables, snacks, and so on so that I can have those words to be an index to the shelves in the other half. Not working so far. Ferdinand

I am looking for a word. What are the things called that you put under the bottom edge of old roofs to keep water out. They are like a membrane but just under the bottom row or two of tiles above the gutter? The issue I have is a damp patch on the ceiling below a low-pitch roof - suspect current conditions have blown water up under the tiles, or possibly a valley gutter which needs repair. I am going to have a look at it today or tomorrow. The tiles are double romans at a roof pitch of perhaps 25-30 degrees, and the valley is between an inner right angle corner. In accordance with the Law of Sod, it is above the car port but fortunately above the ground floor only. It may be politic to replace the valley gutter but I do not want to do the whole side of the roof if avoidable. Comments are very welcome. Cheers Ferdinand

From their website it appears the % limit on BTL is 75%, and that they do stress test. Bank of England: https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/-/media/boe/files/prudential-regulation/supervisory-statement/2016/ss1316 But given the OP's reply above, this is moot.

I suspect that in this case it was self-done not a plumber.

I hope that is a soil pipe not soil. If not, what HAVE you been growing in soil in your loft? Could explain a lot, mind.

It depends on the purpose ... and eg whether voids and space above stairs etc count. Perhaps it also needs to depend slightly on the best answer for your purposes ?.

Seems to be working, but destroying a series of old store cards used as scrapers :-).

Not wanting to discourage, but have you done the business homework? Is it even worthwhile considering renting it out? eg What rent will you get and what yield? How do you plan to finance in the long term, if you do? How will you manage it? Type of rental Single Family or HMO? What is the Council attitude? Have you compared to a pair of semis or two bungalows? If you plan to refinance they will now stress test you at something like 150% interest cover at a 5.5% interest rate to set your maximum mortgage. Round here, hell will freeze over before it is viable or sensible to build a 4 bed detached for rental to a single family, since the monthly rental ceiling for such properties is at about £800-£900 without something exceptional, such as being in an overtly expensive area or unique or a lot of land. You can buy an existing one in a nice position on an estate from about £200k, which at £833 a month rent gives a yield of 5%. Maximum mortgage for that would be about £120-130k. And that is before all the costs. I can do massively better than that in a financial product - even something as simple as an ISA from Folk2Folk. At present Holiday Lets are treated far more favourably in the tax system, and there is a populist pincer movement against residential landlords from both sides. There are also things in the tax system about property investment vs property trading, which I am not familiar with. No idea whether that will catch you out. If nothing else I would recommend covering both rent and sale options, including the possibility of HMO, which means vicious cost control and things like all-double bedrooms. Join a couple of forums such as Landlordzone and PropertyTribes (a Ning community), and ask lots of questions. Ferdinand

Looks like WD40 will do it over a couple of days. One label is a 9”x9” triangular gloss faced bugger at the top corner. Epilation of a bear would be easier.

Would acetone do it? I am sure that Nail Varnish Remover is a very expensive way of buying a slightly different version of a common product. Will try WD40, then order some Multisolve ... which is quite pricey. Can I buy that at any standard outlets?

I have some old sticky labels that came with my ex-demo fridge freezer. They have been on for a couple of years The finish is stainless steel,and I need to remove them. The initial advice from several directions has been to soften them with olive oil or baby oil then remove carefully. Is it Ok to use a razor-blade glass scraper once I have softened the labels for a week or two? I am currently using the edge of a plastic card and it will take weeks of chipping away at it. Has anyone done this and can confirm that scratches are unlikely? Cheers Ferdinand