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A letter from a supportive resident has been posted on the website, but I don't see any dissenting letters. Is it time for us to don the aluminium foil hats?

I recently sold in SE16 to move to SE15/SE22 and sold via KFH partly because I thought that would help me get the best out of KFH in terms of my onward purchase. I thought the sales team in SE16 did a passable job in selling our old place, but the teams in SE15 and SE22 were hit and miss. SE15 team was attentive but in patches (they were simply overwhelmed with demand, and did not really treat my case as any different despite having full visibility on my sale and therefore that I was a "real" buyer). SE22 team was mixed. I can unfortunately confirm that my experience with Alistair (Manager) was terrible: basic failure of courtesy, high pressure sales tactics plus employment of every dirty trick in the book to try and obtain higher bid. On the other hand, Dominic H (Sales Agent, who has subsequently left, hopefully for better pastures) was a real gentleman and nearly redeemed the whole situation. In the end I bought via Winkworth, nainly because they had the highest number of listings in the area (many of which never made it either to the internet or the window) and because they took us seriously. Once engaged in the purchase, I found dealing with them straight forward and that they did do a decent job to help buyer and seller to get over the finish line. In this market, that is a valuable skill I think because buyers are clearly in a much weaker position relative to sellers. My opinion, FWIW, is that modern estate agents (except maybe Pedder) share information but little else and so there is very little goodwill generated from keeping a sale and purchase with one group. My observation was that in the end, I was better off choosing the best agent in both places (as measured by number and quality of listings) rather than finding one group that could offer both. In terms of your last question, I don't think any of the agents are really in a position to help you with your onward purchase unless you already have a very specific set of properties in mind (i.e. every house of the left side of this street) and this fits into where they are currently surveying for potential sales. As each house now being sold is probably being surveyed by 3-4 agents, the fact is that no agent can really be sure of new business unless they have won the mandate/listing. Based on my experience in buying, if I was to sell a house in SE15 today, I would probably choose GJM (Becky Munday) because they are local specialists and because Becky is trustworthy, honest and a pleasure to deal with. If I were to sell in SE22, I would consider Pedder (Eloise) or Winkworth (Ayesha).

Twirly, it doesn't really get into transport, except for impact of Crossrail, which is only going to move house prices in one direction in areas where it arrives... Re planning, the issue is that you cannot control demand (hard to imagine legislation which dictates where people are allowed to live) and it is hard to add supply in existing areas of London due to a combination of planning laws and local preference. Paradoxically, the voices who bemoan how much ED has changed (lost character, too expensive, chain stores on high streets) are at least part of the reason for the change. By this I mean that one consequence of preserving the heritage / preventing the further development of areas such as ED is that existing property prices rise disproportionately because there is no other way for the market to allocate the scarce space. IMHO I agree with this view and that is why I moved here (to be in an area where there is an appreciation of heritage and where the preference is for what came before, rather than necessarily the new). But I also have had to come to terms that this means people like me have paid / will have to pay over the odds to live here (relative to places where this is not the case). Frankly if the forces that be allowed a 25 story block of flats to be placed smack in the centre of LL, I am sure it would make ED a cheaper place to live, but then perhaps I and others on this forum wouldn't want to live here... Re your other point, of late real estate commentators have been advising owners of property in Greater London who have ambitions of moving to the country to sell up and move now because the bow wave of rising prices hasn't yet affected prices in the country to the same degree (yet)...

DaveR you are spot on, thank you for pointing out the glaring mistake. It is 300,000 potential homes in the planning pipeline over the next decade, so 30,000 per year. Here is the PR accompanying the release of their report. The full report is available if you register on the CBRE website and then navigate to the news and events tab. ____ CBRE has reported there are currently around 300,000 residential units in the capital?s planning pipeline. However, as London?s population is set to increase by 14%, more than 1 million people, over the next decade, the capital city is unlikely to reach the level of housing required. We estimate there is a significant imbalance between supply and demand with potential supply satisfying just two thirds of the estimated level of future demand for housing. During the past 20 years, London has built an average of 17,350 homes per year, well below the 42,000 target which was recently unveiled as part of the Homes for London publication by the Mayor of London. The findings revealed by CBRE demonstrates that 52,000 new homes will need to be built in London each year, 10,000 more than the revised target, and well below the number of units built in 2012, which was approximately half this level. Jennet Siebrits, Head of Residential Research at CBRE, comments: ?Over the past decade London?s population has increased by around 800,000, however only 200,000 new homes have been built. Out of 33 London boroughs, only 7 currently have enough stock in the development pipeline to satisfy the projected growth in households over the next 10 years.

An observation from someone who wished he had realised this sooner: A. Each year, 52,000 NET new households are created in London (as estimated by CBRE). B. Number of homes currently in planning for Greater London over next 5 years = 300,000 or 25,000 per year. There is not much we can do about A in the near term. In fact, if demographics stay stable, this is likely to rise given we are emerging from recession. Absent another recession, this only goes down if the structural balance of old vs young people changes in London - hard to see how this happens given the trend is for younger people to come to London seeking employment etc and for older people to move out etc at the end of careers. There is also not much we can do about B, thanks to planning laws which limit how quickly and how many new homes can be added. In the case of areas like ED, where there is a large stock of Victorian/Edwardian/Period family homes, this is exacerbated even further because (in general, clearly there are exceptions): - You cannot demolish period houses to build new ones (so effectively, number of homes is fixed) - There is obviously no new supply of period houses - Buyers continue to prefer period houses (not all of them, but many) Therefore with each passing year, we have more and more buyers for the same fixed stock of homes. The conversations that long-time ED residents are having about incomers is the same conversation that almost every resident in any other London borough is having. This doesn't mean the situation is fair or right. It is what it is. And perhaps unfortunately, no amount of gnashing of teeth or wringing of hands will change things, at least in the near term.

very nice work Mikeb. No doubt they will market proximity to leisure centre as "on-site fitness and leisure facilities"

Vik Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > No one can win in ED, you whinge about chains, you > whinge about indies, you whinge when another > estate agent, restaurant and now jewellers > opens... Some of you are just miserable buggers! Ha Ha and Hear Hear... if an independent store opened selling hand-made sunshine for 50% less than Iceland, am sure there'd be a cheeky complaint about increased traffic, how this new store is going to drive other stores out of business, how they'd really fancy a new store selling widgets instead... etc. Ron70 is right, we should all cheer up in time for Xmas!

A recommendation from me for Laura: Prompt, courteous, friendly and professional. Did a fabulous job for us as agreed, no surprises and was very neat and tidy as she went along. Heartily recommend for anyone looking for a regular or occassional garden service in the area

Very sorry to about the incident, sharchat/landlover... Must be a terrible experience. Thanks for letting us know and good luck with the sleuthing!

Hi Angharad_L, My point is exactly re economies of scale - i.e. we make choices as customers and these choices have consequences for us and the high street. If we want to keep a high street full of uniques / independents / smaller businesses, there is a "cost" to that, because we would need to pay more / lose out on the economies of scale and scope that larger chains may be able to offer. The other argument is trivial, i.e. if we could choose between a corporate chain and a local business at the same price for the same quality, we would not be having this debate, because then it would come down purely to personal (subjective) preference and there is no point debating because lovers of red will not be able to convince lovers of blue and vice versa. The point I was trying to make was simply acknowledging that I am torn between the best deal for my bank balance (cheaper prices) vs what I would ideally like (a thriving high street of independent shops, at potentially higher prices) and I think this is a choice we all ultimately make. So in a way, WE (more than the shops themselves) are responsible for the way our high street turns out. If we want more independent shops, we should support them with our custom. We shouldn't blame or demonise the chains for trying to provide goods and services at good prices - and clearly if they take over the high street, then there must be enough customers who prefer that. I for one, will try my best to spend as much time (and money!) as possible in the shops I enjoy and wish all the plucky people who try and start something on North Cross, LL, Bellenden etc the very best. Long may it last!

I have had just had John help me fix a non-working boiler over the phone late on a Sunday evening... he was able to diagnose the problem over the phone and the solution he proposed (involving a dish cloth, screwdriver and a hairdryer) has restored hot water to the house and saved me what no doubt would have been a huge bill. He will most certainly be popping around to ensure that my jury rigging has a more lasting fix. Cannot recommend enough.

BigED, I have sympathy for your argument re independent high streets, but am not sure if your line of argument proves the point or just the opposite? If an independent high street is thriving, how does it come to be slowly and surely taken over by chains? Over time, the shops that thrive are those that do the best job of providing the goods and services the area wants (as measured by patronage and custom): if our high streets come to be dominated by chains, surely that is a reflection of our preferences and habits as customers, rather than the often demonised "ambition" of chains? Yes, they go where they hope to find profits, but profits are only there if we, the customers provide them. And there's the rub: like many on this forum, I would prefer a high street of unique independent shops, each offering an individual curation of items and services, but if I am honest, I do have to think carefully each time I pay ?1.00 for something that might cost 10 or 20p less at a less "independent" store. And in tougher economic times, these decisions get harder, not easier.

Hi there LauraHW, I recently contacted David Duggan (07943 804075), who I got as a reference from this very forum and found him very helpful. Prompt, honest, friendly and a refreshing change from the so-called "professional" damp specialists. The main difference is getting an independent assessment of what needs to be done vs someone whose interest is in selling at the very least, a minimum amount of work. FYI - David used to work in the trade and is an experienced tradesmen, not a general handyman (although he has proved himself pretty handy for us). I am happy to recommend without hesitation - good luck with getting your problem sorted!

Hi there, I just asked David Duggan, recommended in these forums to have a look at our problem. Cannot recommend him enough. He arrived a day after the call, was very knowledgeable and confirmed our suspicion that the "specialist" quote we had received was heavily padded... In my view, he will give you an honest, third-party opinion that is genuinely obligation free (i.e. he does not have to "find" problems to make survey visits worthwhile).