Blackcurrant

Yes you're turning left from Peckham rye onto ED rd. It's been fun trying to solve the mystery - good you cracked it yourself. You'll have to cough up. I've had quite a few fines from turnings and one way streets in bermondsey due to not knowing the streets and not seeing the signs in time. Pain in the neck.

I'd get a second opinion from another surveyor. You need a full structural survey done by someone with experience of subsidence. If there's no insurance you should find out whether a subsidence claim has been made in the past. If the building has subsidence but is uninsured, you might need to factor the cost of underpinning etc. into your offer.

There's a good spray on Amazon. I treated my whole house with it and the moths disappeared. I'd do it yourself as most of the work is moving furniture/belongings around. Applying the spray not complicated.

ed26 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > > > > Estate agents don't much care what houses > actually > > sell for. They just want the instruction. The > > business model is based on turnover, not high > > prices. So agents compete for instructions by > > inflating sellers' hopes with claims they can > get > > a higher price than other agents. Then, when > the > > house has languished unsold for 10 weeks, they > > hope the seller will cut the price to market > value > > and get a sale. As a result, in a falling > market > > most sellers end up stuck above high-tide mark, > > while the few buyers around only offer on the > > bargains. > > > The percentage model is totally biased against > customers and favours the agent. If you're > charging 2% of a sale price (no idea what rates > are around here at the moment) and the asking > price is ?1m, an agent doesn't care whether they > get 2% of ?1m or 2% of ?900K, as it's just the > difference of ?18K in the bank or ?20K that may > come later if they are fortunate. > > A more equitable model would be to agree a listing > fee for a price that any monkey could sell for > (say ?800K in this example) and then, say, 10%-15% > of every ?1 above this level. This way, the estate > agent would be more realistic about the likely > sale price and be incentivised to get the best > price for their customer. That assumes the estate agent has some degree of control over the price achieved, but the truth is that the final price is determined by the market and not the effort the agent puts into marketing the house. Where they do sometimes earn their fee is in keeping chains from falling apart, but that's not usually a huge amount of work. There's a good reason that it's usually the manager that visits all the prospective sellers and the grunts that do the selling - getting properties signed up is the most important part of the business.

fishbiscuits Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > L16579 Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > I think there has been a lot of over pricing by > the local > > estate agents which hasn?t helped. > > This is what I can't work out. If the housing > market has stalled, why haven't asking prices come > down? Why are agents still putting on 2 bed flats > at 550K, 3 bed houses at 950K? Estate agents don't much care what houses actually sell for. They just want the instruction. The business model is based on turnover, not high prices. So agents compete for instructions by inflating sellers' hopes with claims they can get a higher price than other agents. Then, when the house has languished unsold for 10 weeks, they hope the seller will cut the price to market value and get a sale. As a result, in a falling market most sellers end up stuck above high-tide mark, while the few buyers around only offer on the bargains.

You could try throwing a jug of cold water on him when he gets close to the house. After a few of those, he will learn to steer clear. A good shout at the same time will help. I say "him" as the battle-scarred ears and intrusive behaviour make me think he's an unspayed Tom cat. Odd how many people have a go at posters on this forum, but I guess that's the internet for you.

JohnL Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > The one thing I have noticed about house prices > historically. > > When they're going up everyone seems to think > they'll go up forever and when they're going down > everyone seems to think they'll go down forever - > then it changes and everyone forgets there > previous thinkings. And the faster prices shoot up, the more people jump on the bandwagon, worried they'll get left behind.

JohnL Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Blackcurrant Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > betternowthanthen Wrote: > > > -------------------------------------------------- > > > ----- > > > Can't believe they tore down the old station > > > building, that was once a pleasant garden > > > center,what a crime and should not have been > > > allowed to happen, councilors have crimes to > > pay > > > for (again) and replaced with a average > quality > > > boring building of over priced stuffy cramped > > > flats looking onto a road full of bus's and > > > ambulance's, East dulwich station looks > > pathetic > > > now, wedged up between the bridge and the > > horrible > > > block, gentrification is great hey? > > > > > > Yes, it was a lovely spot before but the owner > of > > the garden centre couldn't resist cashing in on > > the land value. Same trend all over London. > > Another example is Whitten Timber in Peckham, > who > > have sold their plot to developers and renting > > back half of it, while plastic-clad high-rise > > "executive apartments" are shoehorned into the > > other half. Those kinds of new build flats are > now > > plunging in value. Councils shouldn't have been > > quite so gullible about the housing shortage > and > > the need to build forests of white elephants > all > > over London. > > > I'm not so sure they're plunging (mine hasn't yet) > - first time buyers and shared ownership would be > the main buyers (and they still have incentives to > buy) - the flats falling are the super executive > ones worth a million. > > Edit: I suppose what I live in is on the cusp of > social housing Yes it's the top that's falling, especially the developments marketed abroad. The bottom of the market continued rising a lot longer but I suspect that's flattened off now. M&S might be compensate for loss of the garden centre to some extent, if that happens..

betternowthanthen Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Can't believe they tore down the old station > building, that was once a pleasant garden > center,what a crime and should not have been > allowed to happen, councilors have crimes to pay > for (again) and replaced with a average quality > boring building of over priced stuffy cramped > flats looking onto a road full of bus's and > ambulance's, East dulwich station looks pathetic > now, wedged up between the bridge and the horrible > block, gentrification is great hey? Yes, it was a lovely spot before but the owner of the garden centre couldn't resist cashing in on the land value. Same trend all over London. Another example is Whitten Timber in Peckham, who have sold their plot to developers and renting back half of it, while plastic-clad high-rise "executive apartments" are shoehorned into the other half. Those kinds of new build flats are now plunging in value. Councils shouldn't have been quite so gullible about the housing shortage and the need to build forests of white elephants all over London.

JohnL Wrote: ------------------------------ > To fall to realistic levels (I'll say that's 3 x > average income) would require a society changing > event 5x average uk income is the mean since the early 1980s, but the UK is currently at 7.5 and London is higher. Over the long term, UK houses always revert to mean price to earnings ratio. I think we're now looking at mean reversion, following a large bubble. But hopefully slowly via a long period of stagnation caused by slowly rising interest rates. Expect taxes on property to rise further. The government still has a deficit to plug and property is a gigantic sitting duck.

Have you tried mumsnet? The website was inspired by a bad holiday & need for recommendations, so it's probably a great place to post your question.

Buy plants that slugs and snails don't like. It means you can use fewer chemicals and have healthy plants with masses of flowers. Hardy geraniums, for instance. Also look at perennials - tougher and don't need re-buying every year. Keep trying lots of different plants and you'll find the ones that thrive in your garden without pesticides.

If only they were called something more sophisticated, like Gregory & Gregory...

Yes to CPZ near station, no to CPZ around Lordship Lane as free parking in that area probably contributes to LL's buzz. Designing surveys is tricky as they are susceptible to bias, and the way questions are phrased strongly affects the results. I think there are some flaws in this one, particularly in the following question: http://i65.tinypic.com/dmpvrk.png Firstly, there are three options to answer no and two options to answer yes, which obviously biases the outcome towards no. Secondly (and related to the point above), the response "I really don't want this" isn't distinct from the following two options. Thirdly, the question is phrased in a manner that implies residents in a CPZ will have to pay the ?125 charge. Not so. In the St Francis estate, for instance, all residents have off-street parking so nobody has to pay for the permit. That may partly account for the results of the CPZ survey in that area. Finally, "I could not afford ?125.." I'm not sure many people would want to admit, even to themselves, that their financial situation is so weak. Would be better to phrase this in a way that makes no implied judgment, e.g. "I do not want to pay for a ?125 permit..."

Zero packaging would be inconvenient but zero plastic would be great. Or 100% biodegradable packaging. I hate how quickly my bins fill with unrecyclable landfill. Packaging that can be composted would be fine, would fully support it as I'm sure lots of people would.

Brexit has affected the confidence of the kind of foreign buyers who've been sustaining the overinflated top end of the London market for several years. Before Brexit, London was the EU's de facto capital and commercial centre. Now it's unclear what London will become, and that uncertainty puts off investors. Taxes are another big factor but not the only one. The interest rate cycle is turning and property markets in many other parts of the world are coming off the boil at the same time as London. Mortgages are still very cheap, which has kept the bottom of the market buoyant, but that's likely to gradually change.

The pattern over recent months has been that prices have come down for houses over 1-1.5 million but stayed firm or risen under 750k, due largely to stamp duty and loss of interest from well-heeled foreign buyers. So the usual argument that large period houses in good streets will do best has gone into reverse (and has probably been in reverse for a few years). Demand has been strongest for ex local authority, 1960s houses and so on. Similar pattern nationally, with cheap areas up north booming while the southeast is weak. It remains to be seen whether the weakness will spread further out of London. Brexit isn't going away, and interest rates are going to rise, so I think it will. I suspect the boom is now behind us and London house prices will stagnate in the long term.

It's an easy journey. Train from ED station to London Bridge, then switch to tube and take northern line to Moorgate. It's a bit of a hike through London Bridge - not as quick as crossing a platform. I think you'll be fine if you find somewhere within walking distance of ED station, but I'd suggest trying the route a couple of times before you move. Southern trains have been dire for last two years but improving. Still maddening when there's a cancellation and you have to use the bus instead.

Very entertaining - The Shed at Dulwich (Friern Road). Beware those online reviews.. https://www.vice.com/en_uk/article/434gqw/i-made-my-shed-the-top-rated-restaurant-on-tripadvisor

The land bordering the train track between East Dulwich and Peckham Rye was/is badly affected by knotweed, so that might be the source of any in Copleston gardens. It does get sprayed from time to time and not much was in evidence this year. There is also absolutely masses along the track around Bermondsey in the Millwall area. It seems to spread along wasteland by train tracks. The site of the new flats by the ED station was also affected, where the old garden centre backed onto Jewson's, but I assume that was treated.

Russian vine looks similar but is a climber that scrambles over supports, whereas knotweed has bamboo-like canes and bigger leaves. The pics look more like knotweed to me but check whether it's a climber or standing on its own stalks.

It's definitely knotweed. You can spray it yourself with any glyohosphate weedkiller but it takes about 3 years of repeated spraying (ideally in spring) to kill it. Or get a licensed picloram sprayer to treat it with picloram (tordon) and you can kill it in one season. If trees or other large plants are nearby, picloram isn't allowed as it can kill those too. Don't believe all the nonsense about knotweed destroying houses. The only real damage it can do is to the conveyancing process when selling/buying properties, as mortgage offers may be withdrawn without proof of a knotweed treatment plan. It's not as hard to kill as people think.

Modern houses are so well insulated that they don't ventilate moisture as much as old houses, so humidity is a bit higher. If you improve ventilation you should be able to get humidity lower than outdoors - they won't equalize completely as houses are sheltered from rain and have dry floors rather than wet ground. I would check that rooms generating moisture (bathroom, kitchen, laundry drying area) are well ventilated. Open trickle vents on bathroom/kitchen windows or put windows on latch if it allows slight opening. Open bedroom window trickle vents at night. Maybe even remove draftproofing if you don't have vents in the most humid rooms. If you have ceiling extractor fans you can upgrade to more powerful ones or change the timer so they keep running for at least 10-20 mins after light is turned out. Running central heating will also help as it dries out damp bathrooms quicker. Sorry, can't advise on dehumidifiers as I don't have one, but it shouldn't be necessary unless you have a damp problem that can't be fixed easily. also check you don't have overflowing gutters wetting outside walls.

they won't stop running until the appeal process is exhausted, which could be years away.

This is the foliage. The needles grow in distinctive clusters. I'm pretty sure they're cedar of Lebanon, judging by other pics of the foliage on the internet. http://i68.tinypic.com/zv6jd3.png http://i68.tinypic.com/29c78me.png