New hobby

I start to have a new hobby gardening. Spring comes and everything starts to move around and plants start to have flowers and shoots. Since this house is still relatively new to us, there are so many plants we do not have the idea what they are. Currently I am spending time to find their names and the way to maintain them.

I planted an apple tree in early March but now there are so many other plants around it. I have no idea whether they are weeds.



Any way, I decide to get rid of them to free the land for the apple tree.

Garden starts its spring flower show.









This is something interesting.

Estate agents need to be honest

Some letting agents only know to collect rent and find all excuses to get tenants' deposit.

Some sales agents only know to lie to buyer and trick buyer to pay the odd.

Some surveyors only know to get the fee but not do the right inspection for buyer.

Some solicitors only know to charge the buyer but not provide the right service.

All these people need to be regulated.

Estate agents 'need regulating'

from BBC

All estate, lettings and managing agents should face new regulation to protect consumers, according to a new industry-backed review of residential property released today.

A new professional body similar to the Financial Services Authority or the Law Society should be able to ban individuals, according to the Carsberg Review of residential property.

The new rules should extend to some developers and builders and those landlords who deal directly with tenants, the review suggests.

About 70 per cent of the 35,000 estate agents in the UK are currently signed up to schemes to enforce professional standards, but the voluntary arrangements leave little protection for customers of the many thousands of other letting and other agents.

Sir Brian Carsberg, the former director-general of the Office of Fair Trading and of Oftel, the telecommunications regulator, said that most consumers wrongly believe that agents were regulated and trained.

He said: “Very few people know if the agent they deal with is qualified and that those qualifications are.”

The review suggests agents fail to understand the law, harbour undeclared conflicts of interest and may value properties incorrectly. Sir Bryan believes that the suggested regulatory body could replace the Property Misdescriptions Act and other legislation.

He says that agents should be encouraged under the new customer-focused regime to do more to help consumers speed up transactions, by using auctions, deposits, lock-out agreements and other techniques.

The independent review by Sir Brian, sponsored by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) and the Association of Residential Lettings Agents (ARLA), makes 30 recommendations.

Sir Bryan suggests the Scottish system of buying homes — in which firm commitments to buy are made much earlier, reducing the number of failed sales — works more efficiently than elsewhere in the UK.

To win the right to operate in England and Wales, all but the most experienced agents should be forced undertake a compulsory qualification, like the technical award covering law and valuation techniques offered by the NAEA. Sir Bryan said: “It’s not a very complicated exam but it covers the ground well and seems to be a good minimum requirement.”

Gillian Charlesworth, director of external affairs at RICS, said: “The processes for regulation and redress do not go far enough to protect the consumer and we agree that participation in regulatory and redress schemes needs to be both consistent and universal.”

The Government has set much store by home information packs (Hips), introduced last year, as a way of speeding up and securing property transations.

But Sir Bryan suggests that they should be abandoned: “The Hips legislation imposes a cost on customers that exceeds the benefit considerably. Making them voluntary would be equivalent to scrapping them.”

Government plans to speed up transactions with home information packs have foundered in part because of the difficulty of quickly accessing local searches.

Sir Bryan warned that stories had emerged of some local authorities trying to hinder private search companies with slow responses. He said: “It may be an abuse of dominant position under current competition legislation."

Summary of First Time Buying

Eventually we moved into the new house.

This procedure is exhausting. First of all it was a wrong decision of trying to refurbish the whole house by just two people.

The first thing after getting the key from agent is to change the lock. The screw stuck in the door, so I have to find a locksmith to do the job. This cost me 76 pound.

We spent a week to repaint three bedrooms, landing and hallway, which included removing wall paper, repairing wall etc. I just did not have any more energy to repaint the lounge. This is the most exhausting week.

After the painting, we cleaned the house before we were looking for the carpet. Vax Force 3 is a very good tool to do the job. Then we walked around to look for the best price for the carpet.

The prices from the different sellers have very big difference. The same carpet in Asian seller's shops is only half price of some dealer's shop. The price including fitting and removal could be negotiated with seller. Due to lack of budget, we chose the cheapest deal. We put the order and after 2 days the fitter came and fit the whole house in 6 hours.

New carpet makes the house look new. I love it.

When the order of carpet has been confirmed, we ordered the kitchen appliance and also confirmed with the moving service. Same as carpet the price also could be 50 percent different.

We rented a three-bedroom house, which took us three days to clean. Again Vax did a very good job.

Now we are waiting for the deposit coming back from the letting agent.

Buying property tips

Exchanging contracts
Exchanging contracts and setting a completion date is where all your hard work starts to pay off. Use this guide to help you through these final steps.
1. You are contractually obliged to buy the property once contracts are exchanged.
2. Your solicitor holds your deposit which you pay at the time of exchange.
3. You will agree when the sale is to be completed and if this is not honoured then penalties can be imposed.
4. The contracts are only exchanged when your solicitor has received satisfactory replies to their questions.
5. Often your sale or purchase will be dependent on others buying and selling properties - and that is called a chain.
6. If this is the case the solicitors must coordinate transactions so that completion of your sale and purchase take place on the same day.

Insurance protection and why
Buildings insurance:
1. Buildings insurance must be effective from the day of exchange of contracts.
2. Otherwise you could be jointly liable with the previous owners for any damage caused to the property after that date.
3. Once contracts are exchanged, you are expected to complete the purchase even if the property is damaged.

Life and mortgage payment protection cover:
1. If the purchaser dies, life cover will pay for the sale, safeguarding dependents.
2. Make sure you also have protection for accident, sickness and unemployment from the point of exchange of contracts.
3. Enhanced cover - at a price - comes from income protection or critical illness insurance.

The transfer deed
1. This is the official record at the Land Registry that you are the new owner.
2. Your solicitor prepares the document before completion.
Completion
3. When the Transfer Deed is completed it is sent to the seller's solicitor.
4. The process of completion involves handing over: keys, Land Registry certificate, and Transfer Deed.
5. Your lender holds the documents, as security against the loan.
6. In return your solicitor is sent the 'mortgage' funds by the lender to pay for the sale.

Stamp duty
1. The law requires that the Transfer Deed is officially stamped.
2. The Government imposes a tax - stamp duty - on all properties over £60,000.
3. This tax is paid by your solicitor and added to your bill.
4. The stamped deed is then sent to the Land Registry to confirm the new owner.
5. It also registers the lender's interest as the mortgage.

Your rights when things go wrong
Moving house is always a stressful time, even when things go smoothly. Here are a few tips for what to do if a problem does arise.

The survey
1. If you find a serious fault which was not known at the time of purchase, you first need to check the scope of the survey you commissioned.
2. A lender's survey simply verifies the loan for the lender- you cannot rely on it to find serious structural problems. This is why many purchasers, particularly of older properties, prefer to pay for a more expensive independent survey.
3. If you fee your surveyor should have found the fault, then raise the matter with the surveyor's firm concerned. They will have an internal complaints procedure.
4. Your surveyor will be a member of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors, so you can also involve their arbitration scheme.
5. If the worse happens and structural faults arise after you have bought your home - consult the Citizens Advice Bureau or a lawyer and sue.

The solicitor or conveyancer
1. You may have a complaint over service, charges or financial loss.
2. Consult the complaints procedure provided by the Supervision of Solicitors, the Law Society itself or the Council for Licensed Conveyancers.
The removal firm
3. Make sure you use one registered with the British Association of Removers.
4. Ensure you are fully insured - either through their insurance or your own

The estate agent
1. Before commissioning one, check they are in the voluntary Ombudsmen of Estate Agents scheme. Not everyone is but it helps.
2. As a seller, remember to ask family and friends about their experience of local agents - do this before you sign any contract.
3. Read any contract thoroughly before signing.
4. The 1991 Property Misdescriptions Act is designed to stop incorrect or misleading descriptions.

New build
1. New homes ensure you are fully insured - either through their insurance or your owner guaranteed for 10 years under schemes run by the National Building Council or Zurich assurance (01252 522000).
2. They also offer an arbitration service to stop disputes escalating.

What to expect from your estate agent
At this stage of the home buying process the estate agent will be working to liaise with solicitors, the seller and the buyer.
1. You don't have to use an agent but you'll probably find selling your home easier if you do.
2. Just remember that the agent is working for the seller and is paid a fee based on the price you pay.
3. They are legally obliged to give an accurate description of the property.
4. False or misleading information is a criminal offence and you can report them to your local trading standards office.
5. If you are selling, check your contract carefully - particularly any liabilities if you introduce a buyer direct.