Spangles30

I doubt DVR will survive now that Foxtons have entered the market Pickle. With their 0% commission sales offer, most people would be crazy to pay an agent to sell their property. I know some people have ethical issues with Foxtons, but blow that if you don't have to pay any commission. My experience of Haart when I was buying is that they were quite unhelpful, and never contacted me. They weren't rude as such, they just never kept in touch. I found one of the guys at Winkworth rather supercilious and 'public schoolboy-ish' telling me everyone is moving to ED from Clapham and Battersea..how lucky the area is... (yawn). Acorn: found them down to earth and friendly. Bushells: snooty and horrid. Rude about my own house when I asked them to value it. Agent boasted about how he lived in a much more salubrious area than I did. He slated my cooker hood! LOL. Ludlow: OK, and quite friendly really. Helpful and kept in touch. Wates: bitchy ladies in mini skirts and stilettoes, quite Chavvy and not very helpful AT ALL. Rather rude on the phone. DVR: Fine and quite helpful. Halifax: In my opinion, the best of the bunch for being down to earth, not over valuing properties, very helpful and not up their own ar@ses. Thumbs up to Halifax. Though I don't rate 'em much as a mortgage provider...

Well said Heidi. My sentiments exactly. I feel some businesses in ED are really taking the p*ss by assuming we're all affluent enough to pay massive mark ups. Thanks God for the council run gyms, I say!

Yes Jessie. It IS a nice park. I much prefer it to Dulwich Park which is over-run with privately educated kiddies and their rather older yummified mothers. Sorry to be derogatory but it is true. People in Peckham Rye Prk tend to be more down to earth, and friendly to boot. Plus it's a lovely park. The play area is fine, and the One O clock club is a real find. Thank God it's not in Dulwich Park!

Sounds to me as if you are closely connected to the said gym, ednerd. I don't know anyone who pays ?80 a month to get their hair coloured. You say "when it comes to their physical wellbeing, (people) seem happy to pay as little as possible and settle for some underpaid, under-qualified gym bunny and a stinky over-crowded facility". What a huge generalisation. Are you suggesting that the people at the said new, and expensive, gym are BETTER than people who work in other gyms? As someone who has sampled the delights of a variety of gyms (most well known) in London, I'd say the Fusion ones, The Queen Mother Sports Centre, 223 Vauxhall Bridge Road and the central YMCA are OUTSTANDING in many ways, with some fantastic and inspiring instructors. I'm a fitness fanatic of many years standing, and can tell straightaway when an instructor is 'crap'. I wouldn't belong to the Fusion in ED if the instructors were "under-qualified gym bunnies" working in "a stinky over-crowded facility". People on average wages like me cannot afford to splurge ?80 a month on a gym, getting their hair done, or buying a round of drinks in a pub. However, why should we not be able to express our surprise at a new gym opening (a much needed one incidentally - I've been saying for ages there's a gap in the market) which is charging a helluva lot in membership fees. We aren't all loaded in ED!

Personally, I prefer LONDONER Alan Dale since I am born and bred in this city. It is rather pretentious to call oneself after your London area, is it not? I wasn't remotely offended by your comment! LOL.

East Dullites? Resorting to 'virtual' insults now, are we? Sad. "Brad Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I do find Nunheadians > seem to rant on and on about that fish shop. I think you'd call it 'clutching at straws', Brad." Very funny Bob. Anyway, off to view another house, but this time near the Horniman. I think I could handle living in that area. By the way, I agree Crystal Place is OK, but it is just that bit too 'far away' for me. Also that very over rated 'triangle' bit has dreadfully heavy traffic, and I hate the way that a white van always parks on yellow lines outside a second hand furniture shop when you are just about to turn right into whatever the road is called with Woolworth on it.

Yes you are right to say that oggers. However, I am a regular mass go-er and would be rather put out if my children didn't get in to St Anthony's in Barry Rd. I am pro Faith schools, but totally see why people are against them. I personally would like to see PRIVATE schools abolished before faith schools; they are the true inequitable institutions. Best primary schools FOR RESULTS are Fairlawn (Honor Oak) and St Anthony's Barry Rd SE22. Goodrich and Heber languish rather behind.

Very funny Anotherpaul - and we are of course still waiting to hear from Alan Dale as to which bits in the noughties are good and sh@t! I've never heard of the Thorpe estate...

What did Lordship Lane used to be called in the 1980s?

I have just received some good news from one of the councillors responsible for the area around Forest Hill. This came about as I rang Lewisham council to query my fine, and I had to reluctantly pay it. The said councillor says that the parking situation at the Forest Hill Sainsbury's is soon to change. He said the store is losing money as a result of Lewisham council's stranglehold of the adjoining car park. He went on to say:- "As local Councillors we have had a meeting with the Store manager and discussed our concerns and I am pleased to say following a recent subsequent meeting it now looks like this issue will be concluded fairly shortly. The agreement reached between Sainsbury's and the Council will be that the Council will lease the car park to Sainsbury's and they will be responsible for its running operation maintenance and the control of parking. Sainsbury's plan to install an automatic number plate recognition system to extend the free parking time to 3 hours and impose a charge of ?80 beyond that time to ensure that the car park is only used for shopping. We feel that this will improve the situation and provide a way forward." Only thing is, I was not told when these changes would be implemented. For the moment, I will stick with the tried and tested (and cheaper) Morrisons in Peckham!!!

Yes Zephyr, that seems to be the case. This is a nasty, money making venture by Lewisham Council. I am told that Sainsbury has asked repeatedly to buy the car park, as the management is unhappy that so many customers have been clobbered like this. The council, apparently, resolutely refuses to even contemplate selling. I would warn people to be very careful if they drive to and park at that Sainsburys. I won't be going there again, and I was fairly regular as I go that way to and from work.

I was absolutely mortified to see a parking ticket being issued on my car in the aforementioned car park (which is Lewisham Borough run but attached to the Sainsbury). I pleaded with the parking attendant to no avail. I was two minutes late; one is allowed 30 minutes 'free' parking, but I had been delayed at the till with an item which was over-priced. In short, the sales assistant had to get a supervisor to go to the shelves and check the item - and I was given it for the reduced price. I got the Deputy store manager down to the car park as I was very upset. He said about 15-20 people are upset like this weekly - but what is Sainsbury's doing about it? Has anyone else had this misfortune? What is one to do if you are delayed at the till (all detailed on my receipt), through no fault of your own? Is it worth appealing to Lewisham council as I was 2 MINUTES late! I have gone off the idea of moving to Forest Hill rapidly - and I won't use that store again.

Alan Dale, we are still waiting for you to specify the 'good' and sh@t' parts of ED on the other thread.

Benndant, that's interesting about Sydenham. I agree with you that the High St. is rubbish (you didn't say that exactly, but reading between the lines...). The Blue Mountain Cafe is opening there then? Is that near Sydenham train station? I always found Sydenham a bit suburban, and Penge-like (OK so it isn't as bad as Penge....). *Takes a deep breath.... anticipating Penge lovers to come out of the woodwork and lambast me for that comment!* Certainly people are being nicer about Sydenham than other surrounding areas. I actually saw a house I quite liked on Sydenham Pk Rd, not far from the Dartmouth Rd which it intersects. How is that area? I think I am a bit scared of 'family' areas ironically, even though ED is unquestionably over run with 'em. Perhaps this is because ED is full of 'kidults' (a bit like me, if I am honest). Anyway, I have given myself a few more days before making my definite decision! Keef, New Cross has Goldsmiths' - its only saving grace! Of course Telegraph Hill is New Cross.

"dreaded Nunhead" laugh out loud Ganapati. At least you have a sense of humour! :)

Yes but Keef....you're of course right that you are able to access all the best bits of East Dulwich from all the aforementioned areas, BUT the fact is they're not there on your door step - and however much I slag the trendy stuff and yummy mummies off; not to mention the hussle and bussle on Saturdays I WOULD BLOODY WELL MISS IT! Everytime I view these nice properties further afield I have found myself wishing they were in areas a bit more like where I currently live. It is for this reason that I will probably end up staying put, even though you can't swing a cat in my house and I have a family. Oh well. I have always much preferred more urban living to residential suburbia - the latter terrifies me actually. Gerrard is quite right to say one must be cautious about 'up and coming areas' (estate agents speak for starters). New Cross is exactly the same 15 years later, and so is Nunhead!

Dulwichflower, suzee and Anotherpaul, those are really helpful postings for me. Thanks. I really appreciate you taking the time to tell me about your experiences!:)

I take it we will not be finding out the good and sh@t bits of ED. Oh well. Sillywoman, do you really have to ask that question?! The answer is of course an unequivocal YES. I am still in a quandarry about buying that much bigger and nice house in Forest Hill. i would only have to pay stamp duty (bad enough I know) but my legal costs would be covered, and Foxtons aren't charging commission. I guess only I can make that decision.

Perhaps he means that the bit near the Dulwich library is the 'good bit'. Certainly the houses are bigger and grander...and it's slightly less urban. Yes Bob, I too am looking forward to finding out which are the 'good' and 'sh@t' bits of East Dulwich. I won't be remotely offended if it's my bit. Honest.

I take it that's directed at me? Do you want to know the road I live on? I live on one of the roads off Northcross Rd in a tiny house. Is that the shit bit?

Yes I am keen to know if it's the 'shit bit' I live in!!! Yay! Is that the bit where people from Clapham and Battersea DON'T come? Ganapati, that's OK. Didn't really mean that you were being defensive; some have been that's all. You haven't. I didn't say you had!

Ganapati, wow I am SO impressed that Nunhead is getting people 'from' Clapham and Battersea living there. It MUST be on the up then. Estate agents tend to say that about ED (as if it's a selling point) which for me it is most definitely NOT.

I live in East Dulwich as I have already explained, Alan Dale. Pray why do you ask?! :)

Yes I guess so Bob. I have noticed that those who live in Nunhead are terribly defensive about their neck of the woods. It's quite funny really. I would like a Nunhead resident to explain why they get so uppity when someone insinuates that they don't like it there. Afterall, one cannot like everywhere...

Yes Bob you're right. Why do people take it so personally if you don't like their area? Frankly, I couldn't give a toss if people hate where I live. Alan Dale, I take it the 'cool place' tag was stated with tongue firmly in cheek.