On Wed, 15 Jul 2015 03:10:06 -0700 (PDT), sm_jamieson
wrote:

On Wednesday, July 15, 2015 at 10:57:02 AM UTC+1, AnthonyL wrote:
On 15 Jul 2015 08:57:48 GMT, Huge wrote:

On 2015-07-15, AnthonyL wrote:
For a variety of reasons I've got to being a pensioner and have never
bought a house through an agent in the UK.

I've just had an offer accepted on what appears to be a well presented
and maintained 1960's extended (floor level only) bungalow.

Yes there are lots of websites but I'd appreciate some of this groups
experiences especially with solicitors and surveys plus anything else
you'd do differently if you had known what you know now.

- Don't do your own conveyancing. (I for one won't do business with you if you
are)


Amongst other things it does seem a "closed shop".

- Get a proper structural survey

- Shop round for a solicitor. Don't be intimidated - they're just tradespeople
like anyone else


And I though tradespeople were honest!

- If anyone mentions subsidence or flooding, run, do not walk, away


I do have a concern in as much as the whole estate was a quarry and
this house (or at least its back garden) is right up against the
quarry wall. So I guess I'd want a view on drainage. The estate has
been there 50yrs and I'd guess a quarry floor would be fairly solid?


If there is literally a cliff at the end of the garden, I might be worried about landslides, or falling rocks. But you say its been there for 50 years. I would still like to inspect what is at the top of the quarry wall.


Not quite literally. The garden is stepped up two levels (it will be
our daily exercise to go to the top level and back). Above that are
shrubs and overgrown greenery before reaching a flat bit, also
overgrown and then the pavement and a road that has been there a long
time. It is not at all readily possible to see the house and garden
from climbing over the shrubs from the pavement - at least I didn't
dare go any further than I did. The whole street (it is a crescent)
has houses against the wall and I didn't see anything of concern when
I went to the top of the garden. But any rain has to somehow get past
the house to the road and hopefully in a controlled way and not
underneath.


--
AnthonyL