fazer71

MrBen Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I'm about as deep into it as you can get. That sounds exactly how deep I will proably need to go. They sound great. What's the total cost?

Level of comunication was more like. ?Please put the tiles on the wall level and without ridges between each of them. You know mate like you see in Spain when you?re on holiday.? Result = Tiles all over the place in almost every bathroom in the uk shabby shite ? Or ?please keep the hallway clear and all the rubbish in the skip! Result = Hallway scrapes all over the walls front door dented plaseteboard oll over the pavement and all round the skip. Or ?that?s agreed then it?s ?5,000 fitted and that?s what I?ll be paying you? Result= Sorry mate we took longer than we though and those kitchen door arrived scratched like that and the sink had a dent in it and oh yea we need ?1,000 for the agro all that has been thanks mate ?.. if you don?t pay we?ll leave a lod of shit in your front garden?. Anyone had similar experiences ?????

Must all be in my imagination I'm potty to be considering something which has all been done. Done = get it cheap DIY = pay a mad price so I can spend another mad ammount to make it nice.... Insane .... Oh yea loads of people love dealing with builders in their homes it's one of life's most pleasurable activities. R U part of Bonkers n Co ..... clients ltd *Bob* Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I don't recognise your 'universal' description > from our experience of having building work done. > > Quite the opposite, in fact. > > > I'm sure many others would agree.

I've used quite a few over the years they have all been a nightmare in one way or other. Even the expensive polish ones, who were recommended. Much like estate agents they were all the thick kids at school. And there is no governing body who oversees the quality of work. The worst thing is the customer experience is shocking it's them doing you a favour even though you're paying them. If you compare it to buying a new car you'd be the lne doing the pdi and washing your new car yourself and probably be the one getting the spammers out to fix your own warranty problems. Fact is dealing with any builders is a nightmare... Because the majority of builders are pretty much everything which is bad. As I've said above greedy arrogant filthy rude aggressive and untrustworthy.

doubledutch Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > This is exactly what I'm talking about--they know > it costs much more but they say a low figure to > renovate to make the buyer *think* they are > getting a bargain...200-250K later, they may as > well have bought the done up one. Exact what I am trying to avoid spending ?200-?250k for the pleasure of dealing with a bunch of rude incompetent aggressive filthy ignorant greedy untrustworthy individuals who have the cheek to call themselves professional builders! I think it is totally worth paying ?50-?100k to avoid what we in the UK call ?tradesmen? = ?scumbags?. Even the Polish ones I had who were silly expensive left the hallway looking like a bomb site and the skip was a depressing filthy mess on the road outside for the 6 weeks it took them to renew my bathroom. I asked them to keep it clean but they ignored me you can?t ask any of these twats to do anything as they take offence!!!! Only in Germany have I had a good experience of dealing with builders who were clean efficient and produced excellent work expensive but worth every penny. Trouble here is even if you pay double you will still end up with a bunch of incompetent chancers; it?s down to a mentality of zero respect for the client and for themselves. I?m the client and I don?t want to be called MATE and I don?t want to be asked for money every five minutes for work which hasn?t been done or work which is half done. The only people I hate more than builders are estate agents. What does that say about property in the UK it?s insane! And most of it is a shabby load of crap. All down to successive governments who have failed to educate and train manual workers to be organised clean and respectful of the people who will one day pay their wages. If the technical colleges also trained them in how to deal with customers as well as how to bodge then we?d all be happy to spend money with these scum bags no wonder the economy is fooked with the majority of us not wanting to employ incompetent chave tossers who thing they should be earning ?100,000 a year!

I disagree the Agents haven?t got a clue how much it costs to update and extend a house (or they know but are told to say low bullshit figures) I spoke to one this morning and he said for ?50k I could rewire re-plumb have a loft conversion and an extension and redecorate a 3 bed house Victorian house. I said yea if I do it myself at weekend?s maybe it would cost that and be finished in twenty five years! Idiot (but then if he had any brains would he be an estate agent?) it?s likely to be 3 to 4 times that once you include everything like rent whilst it?s all being done etc .. etc. I wouldn?t want to live in a building site. Agents think a the crappy 80?s decor 3 bed house with a peach bathroom suite is up for ?25k less than the one next-door which has been fully updated FFS they haven?t got a clue just like the dummy buyers who think they can do it up for ?50 as they go I?ve been through it with a flat and it drove me insane and I was living at the GF?s. As for auctions they are a minefield trying to out bid the seasoned pro who can refurbish any property for ? what it would cost you and me or is selling you a pile of trouble and bidding it up to the reserve. I?m not brave enough to buy a car at auction never mind the biggest financial asset I?m ever likely buy. I spoke to a friend who had been trying to buy at auction a couple of years ago and she said auction are like ebay not many bargains it?s where everyone goes to sell their crap for more than its worth and the buyer pays auction fees on top. I think I?ve got more chance of buying something through the forum than through a dippy / dodgy agent. Anyone know of a decent 3 or 4 bed terraced house up for sale pm me even if it needs doing up it?s looking like I?m going to end up going that route.

dulwichgirl2 Problem is the prices for wrecks are not low enough and half-cocked liveable houses are not cheap either. It would be easy to spend a couple of hundred thousand pounds that's about ?120 a sqft to add and extension loft conversion and complete update etc. Tough the nightmare of dealing with builders and having to pay the mortgage for two properties over the 12 months it would take to get it all done would be a nightmare. I'd happily pay extra to avoid all the agro and just move my furniture in and paint a few walls. I looked at the new houses on Fenwick Road but I couldn't live there, if they were off LL would be a different story. I think I'll end up with a wreck and the builders driving me into an early grave. Maybe it's not a finder I need but a good honest reasonable priced builder. I've only ever come across incompetent and greedy as in ?14k for a bathroom.

Compared to north london (hampstead garden suburbs)ED has a lot of tired looking property when I looked north of the river the majority of houses have been refurbished to a high standard in ED a lot is still shabby and needs updating or it's had a cheapo update which needs ripping out and redoing a lot of lived in pretty looking but under the surface a load of problems will cost a small fortune to fix in years to come. Maybe it's because the higher price per sqft make it worth spending more north or higher expectations what I did notice is there's a large difference in the price per sq ft over there for good quality. I've been frustrated with what I've seen so far even the house I was gazumped on was in need of lots of work. Very frustrating having just gone through lots of agro and lots of money on my flat I'd rather just move into something which doesn't need any/much work I've been looking for 18 months and getting really p'd off now.. The agents are just idiots and keep sending me rubbish and when they do get what is worth looking at I find out it's gone under offer before I've had a chance to see it bleeding idiots! Wouldn't be so tough but the GF is in hampstead and no help maybe I need a professional finder anyone know of one in the area?

Family planning might be able to help with that problem.

Polmoche Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Can we just agree that 90K is NOT an average > salary???? Apparently It's an average city salary. > > And to add...a secretary salary of 15K? Is that > wifey then earning the secretary salary? What is > this the 70's? The Mrs could be the city trader and Mr working as a shop assistant in O2. Who gives monkeys.... In reality they probably both earn between ?35k and ?65k which gives plenty of dosh for the mortgage. It all depends if they want a holiday every couple of month?s dinner in a restaurant every Friday and Saturday night a new car every three years. etc etc etc Thing is some want all the toys and the nice house in the nice area when they can only afford some of the toys and a shitty little house next on the A20. In my experience it?s Girlfriends who cause the price increases if I listened to mine I?d be in a million pound flat off the Kings Rd.

*Bob* Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > The myth of the ?70k plumber lives on.. You need to watch more telly Pimlico plumbers have a few who earn well over ?100k

ED isn't an average area is it? An average area is half the price ie Beckenham Bromley Croydon etc are average areas. Your average ?90k and lets say ?15k for secretary salary for an average couple still equals a mortgage of ?367,500 and that buys an average house in an average London area. ED is a prime area that?s why there?s a Foxtons on LL Foxtons only open up in Prime areas. As for spending ?100 a month on an iPhone that?s fine buy if you?re saving up for a deposit on a flat then ?20 a month and any old phone would still do the job and the ?80 left over would pay all the legal fees and maybe some of the stamp duty too. Dream dream dream I?m off to dream about living in a ?7 mil house off the Kings road test drive a new Ferrari???.. Which I can?t afford mind you I don?t really care I?m happy in ED. If I couldn?t afford ED I?d probably be happy somewhere else I could afford. ?500 a sqft is really cheap compared to other equivalent areas of London bloody good value and I?ve been looking and looking and looking. If you must be in ED then you could pay ?80 a sqft less and live on a main road.

A young couple say a plumber on ?70K and his secretary girlfriend on ?30k can afford to buy a flat in ED. A combined salary of ?100k can get ?350k mortgage for a nice 2 bed flat. A young city couple earning ?140k and ?60k can borrow ?700k and with the equity from the sale of their Clapham flat they might have ?200k equity which means they can pay up to ?900k that?s how it works for ED house prices though most of them probably play safe and only borrow 2.5 times joint earnings. You only need to watch that Pimlico plumbers show about wages to realise there?s plenty of people earning more than enough to buy a house in ED and that?s without any inheritance and gift money from the bank of mum and dad. ED is seen as a steppingstone to Dulwich Village and the local private schools so couples planning on a family move here especially medical types working at Kings Guys etc etc. thinking about schools for their kids. I looked at moving out to Kent but by the time you factor in the train fares and the petrol driving everywhere it just didn?t make sense and I?d be stuck out in the sticks like a county bumpkin. What would I do in the evenings? Couldn?t just pop on a train to go to the theatre or spend the day visiting a museum. Countryside is a dull a hell ok if you?re 70 and retired and even then you?d need your car to get anywhere. More and more people are moving to Cities particularly Mega Cities like London the prices are probably only going one way and that?s UP particularly in prime areas which attract professionals like ED. I work with a young guy who spends ?100 a month on his iPhone if you include the (lost ones and upgrades) and he is out every evening at restaurants and bars probably spends ?1500 a month on drink alone and he moans about not being able to afford a flat. I said to him 2 years ago ?save up and get a deposit? by now he?d have ?25k. But he just can?t help spending every penny he earns on complete rubbish. Prices have increased too so he?s probably ?50k+ behind. So sorry not much sympathy for the young who moan about not being able to afford a property. Ah also he want to buy in Chelsea it?s pure comedy. Young people will just have to decide as I did spend their earnings on rubbish or save up and buy a property and spend your money on rubbish when you get into your late 30?s like I do? boxes of IT rubbish?? but that?s a whole different story.

The trouble is there isn't much else which is safe that WE can put our money into. If you get a windfall where would you put your money to be safe and inflation proof? Only Land and Property can give that security together with the inflation proofing. I?m keeping my flat for my pension and buying a house which will make me a landlord OMG?. ED gets my vote every time value for money at ?500 a sq ft. The only thing which will slow property price increases are reduced supply of mortgages and change in the property ownership laws toward European ?Spanish? flaky ownership and rights and foreigners not wanting to come to London. Foreigners don?t want to come to the UK they want to come to London that?s the key UK property prices are probably still high but London prices are still reasonable value especially when compared to some flaky European capital cities.

I've just been gazumped too. But it's not bad agents. Working for the seller the agents have to put forward any offers which they get even after the seller has agreed to accept an offer so it's the greedy seller not the agents who are the shysters. Even if you get gazumped you can still gazump back.

What makes no sense is the price differentials. A fully refurbished flat with new heating wiring new kitchen and bathroom is little more to buy than a rundown pile of cack which would need a 50K refit I spent 14k on my bathroom alone! Not like that in Paris a pile of cack is often ?200 a sqft cheaper. The London market is still stuck in the victorian era in pricing too. I think it's Lazy Estate Agents mind you they aren't the brightest probably can't figure out how to calculate price pere sqft.. hehehehehe derrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

There's no mention of underpinning. It's probably settled now anyway it's the fact it was built using concrete without andy reinforcing steel in the concrete to give it strength. I though I'd read it was just concrete sheet shuttered when built so no integrated reinforcement. If it was build today it'd have steel reinforcing inside the concrete. So without the steel I would have though it'll just crack again probably where there were no cracks before.

This is very interesting. I wonder how they are going to stop more cracks appearing in future? As once the old cracks are repaired the forces on areas where there are currently no cracks will inclease over time and cracks will then appear in new places.

I had the same problem I decided that having no bath only a shower was not a good idea. In the end I bought a large kaldewei steel shower bath the tap end is flat and square like a shower tray it's a good compromise. I can still take a lovely bath and more room for showering than with a standard bath. Here's a link it's large at 1800x800 heavy guage steel quality product. Kaldewei dyna set star model 80 226500010001 http://www.mytub.co.uk/product_information.php?product=548475 Dyna set models are all shower / baths .

In france Stamp Duty (paid by the buyer) 0.6% for property less than five years old, 5.9% for older properties. This is included in the fees paid to the Notaire. Where an estate agent is involved - allow between 5 and 10%. 10% is quite commonly charged. Dulwich Village is ?750-?900 sqft East Duwlich is ?500-?600 sqft Chelsea is ?1,600 - ?2,300 sqft ?770 sounds cheap for sw6 ?

James PM sent. On another point there have been road works and yet another contra flow with light installed at the junction with Townley rd and Lordship lane. All that equipment and disruption for a 1ft sq hole in road! WHY? For A hole which could have easily been covered with a thick steel plate with nonslip top for months if required until the resurfacing team were available to tarmac around it!!! All that disruption and potential danger where a simple common sense solution would have done the job!!!!! Any where else in the world would have just used a Steel plate! Insanity in the UK? A bit like installing a Tram when a Trolleybus system would be cheaper and better.

Update I?ve been back?? I was invited a couple of evenings ago to Dinner there. I though give them a go and avoid the already previous experience of poor pasta dish. I had Starter grilled king prawns Served on a bead of very very soggy bread the prawns were of the small variety I their shell, smaller than you?d find in a decent Chinese restaurant and they were over cooked slightly burnt giving them a slightly nasty finish 2/10. Very very poor. Main grilled Hake served with tomatoes. The hake was filleted and served skin side up with 4-5 cherry tomatoes and I think a drizzle of butter sauce. The hake had little flavour being so bland it needed a sauce, there was none. The cherry tomatoes were of the cheap tasteless Sainsbury?s variety not the on the vine taste the difference they were a bland accompaniment to an already bland grilled fish there was also a little salad on the same plate which was slightly limp and had no dressing the waiter didn?t put and oil and vinegar on the table and I had to ask if some was available to help it along. I tried using salt and pepper with the olive oil and vinegar on the salad; I ended up leaving half of it in frustration. Overall it was exactly as I?d previously experienced with little in the way of memorable taste a truly bland meal more a la Harvester than a la Carte. My hosts had never been before and I could see their dissapointment with their dishes pizza and pasta. It?s a real pity because with just a little more common sense effort and a few pence more buying decent ingredients ?i.e. tomatoes?. Given it?s location it could be good. They probably need a capable head chef to add flavour to their selection. IMHO complete rubbish.

Townleygreen Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > fazer, > how are trolleybuses an improvement on normal > buses? They will be as slow/fast as they are, > because if there's a a jam then they stop. > Trams are on rails which are nearly always > separate from cars. So don't get delayed. This is > my experience with the Croydon tramlink. > Please explain. They can run on track and road so the best of both worlds allowing them to switch between the two where land is available. Trams are 100 % stuck on expensive track. Tram systems like the one in Croydon are upto 10x more expensive over their life time. If a tram breaks down then the line is stuck. If a trolleybus breaks down it can be towed away. Cost and enviro benefits... I've used Trolleybuses in numerous cities in France Switzerland Germany and Hungary and they work very well. The technology is already in Europe for combined diesel electric Trolleybuses which offer a very flexible cost efficient transport solution. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trolleybus And http://www.tbus.org.uk/article.htm James Barber Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Hi Fazer71, > Trolleybuses are buses powered by electricity. > They have the cost structure of buses & trams but > without the mechanical efficiency of riding along > tracks. James So much for the mechanical efficiency of riding on at track a tram could never get up Barry road. ! Do you believe the Trolleybuses cost as much as trams+diesel buses? Because they only cost a little more than diesel busses but are cheaper in the long term as they are cheper to run and have a lifespan of 30 years.

dulwichgirl2 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Paris? Wow. I wldnt know where to start there. The > 8th holds its value I suppose but after that I > would have no clue. > > Stamp duty is another nightmare - really eating > into middle income deposits. Very unfair tax. 11th Faubourg Saint-Antoine ?750 a sq ft Stamp duty is nothing compared to the buyer paying the agents fees at 6 to 7% !!!! We don't know how good we've got it!

Lishyloo Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Ed ain't the haven it's perceived to be over > priced and well over rated. Yep it's getting more and more like the Kings Road every day only there's no posh McDonalds....