cerv

It's as you say but trains should be running a little under 20 mins. I think it's a stretch to say the LB works are largely finished, they have a way to go still and so only fair to judge once all is complete. The situation now is generally back to normal. I have not experienced or seen a cancellation in weeks. Being a couple mins late here or there still happens but that's not unusual for peak whatever line your on.

DulwichLondoner Wrote: > Seriously, what is the northern line from Balham > or Clapham like in the morning? How many trains > does one typically have to wait? How long can a > commute from, say, Balham to London bridge take in > the morning, realistically (ie taking into account > all the trains which are too packed for you to > board)? It massively depends on the time you want to board of course. But at Balham you stand a much better chance of getting on during busy periods due to the fact some people will be getting off to catch an overground train. Clapham South/Common is where things get really tough. My record was letting 6 trains go before managing to squeeze on one - 2-3 was more common. This would be at peak time of around 8.15. And no delayed trains contribute to that, it was one going though roughly every 90 seconds. The journey to London Bridge will take around 20 mins from Balham if you factor in a small wait for your train. Now, trains from ED have been awful in terms of regularity of late BUT they have stabilised a bit now and you can get a seat, even when we were down to 1 an hour it was still possible. And of course it is almost always possible on the return journey. So the question is how much do you value that space you get on the train? Do packed tube trains stress you out? If so you might not be so happy with a switch. Go and try it if you're seriously considering it (and not on a half-term/school holiday) because some people really can't handle being squished or in someone's armpit 30 mins of every day. More often than not you won't even have space to read a paper. Outside of those peak times is when having the tube is ace: getting home from a night out, getting into town for the shops etc. if you can handle the daily squeeze for your commute then it can't be beaten.

This doesn't sound right to me, are you sure they've understood everything correctly? I'm no longer in a shared place but I always remember the magic number a landlord didn't really want to hit was 5 separate people/rooms as it was at that point they needed to be a lot more on the ball with fire escapes and things like that. I know of friends living in bigger properties that only have 4 names on the lease but actually have 5 living there to get around it. * Edit - just googled and found the following on http://www.2.southwark.gov.uk/downloads/download/2951/standards_for_houses_in_multiple_occupation_hmo "An HMO is required to be licensed with the Local Authority if it is three or more storeys in height and is occupied by 5 or more tenants, of which at least 2 households share one or more basic amenities including kitchen, bathroom or WC. It is the landlord/manager?s responsibility to apply to the Council to license a property."

Jeremy Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > If the industrial action really is over - for any > significant length of time - then that is of > course excellent news. But I am cynical... and > even in the best case scenario, it is still some > way off the 6-train-per-hour peak service we had a > couple of years ago. I think what this dispute has highlighted is how much of the service we get is reliant on their workforce taking up overtime shifts. Presumably that's still going to be the case even if they're now happy to work them again. So if the people working overtime are away on holiday or they're off sick then there's quite a knock on effect to services. It'll be better for sure but I'd expect there's still the possibility of random cancellations again.

TheCat Wrote: > Yeah, thanks....can check the trains no problem, > but more keen to know what the level of crowding > is on these irregular services around this time of > day... I get the 8:30 - you can still get on it but odds on you'll be standing and might be a bit of a squeeze. I'd have thought the 7:30 wouldn't be any worse than this but can't say for certain

TheCat Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Question for those that have still been braving > the train.....on the non-strike days are they > still only running one per hour because of the > overtime ban? and is it even worth trying for a > train about 7am from ED? > > I've been driving, but am wondering if its worth > dipping my toe back in the water.... Check the National Rail journey planner for what's running, they do update it to reflect the current situation. To answer your question yes we have been back to one train an hour recently. I think at the moment there's a train just before 7 and then the next is 7.30 but you should always check before you set off in case there's a last minute cancellation

geobz Wrote: > I am personally leaving with the 17:11 train > everyday as I can't risk to go to the 18:08. Half > of the times the 18:08 will get cancelled or > delayed indefinitely. And tube to elephant and > castle and then 40 or 176 takes more than an hour > during peak times. If stranded at London Bridge another option is Jubilee to Canada Water then Overground to Peckham/Denmark Hill (depending what side of town you are) then a bus for final leg. Sounds worse than it is: v. short changeover from jubilee to overground platform and both have bus stops with regular service outside the station.

pablogrande Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > the Now TV boxes are roku based and have all of > the freeview etc apps. they only cost about ?15 > and you sometime get deals with free sky movies > for a couple of months with them Yep, Now TV is decent if you want Sky content. But should point out the OP was after a way to watch Netflix and Now TV doesn't support that out of the box (I know there are ways around that but your average user is unlikely to want to get into that).

Just an FYI, this doesn't have too much to do with the age of your telly (if that's what Sky people are telling you). Your Sky box is perfectly capable of connecting to Netflix just like your BT/YouView box does it's just Sky haven't built this functionality in their boxes as they're in competition with Netflix. Lots of good suggestions already made but another cheap option is Google Chromecast. Costs ?30 and normally comes with some credit for google movies or Now TV.

If a bank doesn't view you as someone worthy enough to lend to that is no-one's issue other than yours. The government does not owe you your dream investment opportunity. It sounds to me like you're the one with no idea and they're doing you a favour by encouraging you to invest in something other than an over-heated housing market. Relax, they've saved you packet in the long run :-)

You absolutely can invest to an equal level. Set yourself up as a company and you will be exempt. That is how they operate. Your comments on FTBs and JAMs are pure trolling. You have no idea.

Remains to be seen what will happen but if it releases more supply long term for first time buyers (which appears to be the intention) then it's a good thing in my book. If rents increase drastically in the long term then it's backfired. Here's what has happened as far as I can see (in London)... those who have had a property of their own for around 10 years or more have been enjoying record low interest rates while their house prices have risen. This has allowed those on a solid financial footing to save plenty and perhaps unlock a bit more cash with remortgaging. But those record low interest rates make savings accounts a lousy place to put their money. And so the number of people piling in to BTL as an investment goes through the roof. And of course they are buying up the smaller 1-2 bed properties as that's all they can realistically afford. This then cuts off the first rung of the property ladder for most. You can still invest in property as an asset class without having to buy property outright. And if anyone really wants to get into property as a business then they can do just that: set up a business and they will be exempt.