Jump to content

Recommended Posts

Since I've just bought and sold property in Dulwich, I thought I'd share with you some of my conclusions and recommendations.

1/ Sellers will be exceptionally lucky to get the asking price. I reckon the agreed price is around 7 percent below the asker.

2/ Be prepared for a renegotiation after acceptance in the event the survey shows up some problems. In the old days of a buoyant housing market, a renegotiation wouldn't wash.

3/ Don't use a cheap as chips solicitor. Pay for a good one, it could well save you money in the long run and will certainly relieve the stresses. My recommendation is Ian Smith at Meaby & Co. in Camberwell.

4/ There are so many good local firms about, and wish to highlight Steve and son at SOS Plasterers for dampwork (07795053372) and Dan at DulwichMultitrade (07962 888049) for just about anything that needs to be done, Tony at A&M Carpet Care (07846 314543). Bespoke Windows are great too if you need to get high quality windows at a fair price. Not everyone is so good....including a promominet carpet shop on Lordship Lane!

Best TQ

Link to comment
https://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/topic/16721-dulwich-housing-market-lessons/
Share on other sites

i used Lordship Lane carpets last year & found them & their customer service absolutely appalling, really disappointed as we wanted to "go local" but will never use them again. they really messed us about, got loads of things wrong and we had to chase constantly for anything to get done. they treated us like they were doing us a favour, bad service, bad attitude & bad value for money.
I say do use a (Northern) based cheap as chips solicitor. We have used RA Wilkinson & Co. based in Birkenhead, The Wirral and our past 3 house moves they have been absolutely fantastic ? super efficient and very reasonably priced. There isn?t anything that requires an intimate knowledge of the local area. Why pay London based solicitor prices when you?re already paying London house prices?

In defense of Ian at Meaby, I didn't pay through the nose, maybe a couple of hundred quid more than the cheap as chips one I used for my sale. The return I got was way more than that, I can assure you.

And Jimmyay, i think you got it spot on regarding LLC....they really didn't want our business. Not for the first time, I hasten to add.

Re:LL Carpets, I have found most of the guys really nice and helpful (and extremely dedicated to making sure you get a good service). There is one particular guy who has been quite rude to us a few times both in person and on the phone. This might explain the differing views.
Agree with the comments re LL carpets - they were great 10 years ago but last year quoted us 3 times the cost for a single carpet that we eventually paid by going to Brockley (an extra 5 minutes up the road, efficient, friendly and decently priced) - the quoter was also patronising and vaguely rude, although the original salesman had been lovely

It's interesting that a thread about the housing market has turned into a thread about LL Carpets. Seems like there are some strong opinions out there.


They fitted our carpets and bathroom floor recently and they certainly didn't cover themselves in glory. The wrong carpet turned up from the warehouse, skirting boards were damaged by the fitter and our bathroom floor was a joke from start to finish and took over a month to fit 4 sqm of rubber flooring. To be fair they knocked some money off but we won't be rushing back there. It's a shame because I want to see local businesses succeed and they have a good shop with some inspiring products in there. Communication within the company seems poor and some of their fitters aren't up to the job, especially the one who spilled screed all over our bathroom floor and mopped it up with our hand towel, which then went missing.


I also used Meaby & Co a couple of years back and wasn't very impresssed. Expensive and didn't show much initiative when the paperwork from Southwark, signing off building regs on my flat could not be tracked down. I nearly lost my sale because of this but luckily I contacted my previous solicitor used when buying the property. They still had a copy of the missing paperwork and I was able to rescue my sale. Why it didn't occur to Ian Smith to do this I don't know. He wanted to issue a letter of indemnity, at more expense to me of course. Looking back, it's obvious I was pushed towards Meaby by an estate agent from Haart, who was probably on a cushy backhander no doubt.

I actually had an excellent experience with LL carpets 18 months or so ago. We ordered our carpets from them, but then they had to store them for us for nearly a year due to the dreadful job our builders did, as we had to get someone else in to clean up the mess. Have to admit the office could be a little chaotic, but they were always really polite and nice.
I would warn that if you are buying a leasehold flat that an out of London solicitor may not be fully informed with getting a lease extension. In my experince they can sometimes be quite clueless ( of course this also applies to some London solicitors too).

New ma, I don't want to promote myself as Dulwich's very own Sarah Beeny, but as I said on another thread, what's important is that you price your property reasonably. Forget all the hogwash certain estate agents, such as Foxton's, throw at you. In my experience the others are more or less the same...if the property is priced properly, there's little the agents actually do. As far as your leasehold comment, you're absolutely right. If you are selling a property, with say less than 90 years on the lease, don't go anywhere near one of those cheap as chips outfits outside the smoke. Best TQ.


new mother Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Forget solicitors out of London, especially for

> leases. it is a false economy.

>

> Tony, thanks for this. what is your view on

> agents?

I'd like to give another thumbs up for Ian Smith at Meaby. Pragmatic, responsive, organised and calm. Good value. I've used online / factory conveyancers before and it's a false economy. In my experience, by the time you've finally agreed on a house, and are looking to close a deal quickly before anyone backs out, having someone familiar with the houses, agents, surveyors, council is very helpful. If only the legal advisers in my office were so commercial.


and big up also for Roberts & Denny for packing / removals.

TonyQuinn Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> New ma, I don't want to promote myself as

> Dulwich's very own Sarah Beeny, but as I said on

> another thread, what's important is that you price

> your property reasonably. Forget all the hogwash

> certain estate agents, such as Foxton's, throw at

> you. In my experience the others are more or less

> the same...if the property is priced properly,

> there's little the agents actually do. As far as

> your leasehold comment, you're absolutely right.

> If you are selling a property, with say less than

> 90 years on the lease, don't go anywhere near one

> of those cheap as chips outfits outside the smoke.

> Best TQ.

>

> new mother Wrote:

> --------------------------------------------------

> -----

> > Forget solicitors out of London, especially for

> > leases. it is a false economy.

> >

> > Tony, thanks for this. what is your view on

> > agents?


Couldn't agree more with Tony. Agents are fantastic sales people when it comes to getting you on their books - their valuation managers usually some of the most experienced they have. Not so great at selling.


Forgot everything you hear. Market a property really well, get the price right and they always sell. So why pay ?10,000 for that? Madness.


Regards Solicitors - PJH Pritchard, Joyce & Hinds in Beckenahm excellent - though not the cheapest


Agreed RE: Low cost conveyancers. Too many indians, not enough chiefs so advice gets a little lost in process.

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Latest Discussions

    • I would disagree that the tables outside the Blue Brick bothered nobody. They were not within the cafe's curtilage (one table was even placed on the other side of the road!) but on a narrow public footpath where pedestrians have a "public right of way". Added to that, some customers rearranged the tables so the footpath was blocked completely. 
    • Walking last Friday early evening anywhere near where the bottom end of Lordship Lane meets the Goose Green roundabout, one would have been directly confronted - as I was - with this scene: Outside the East Dulwich Tavern an impenetrable phalanx of pushing yobs, shouty louts and selfish yahoos pressed outward from the open doors of this establishment, past the curtilage (the land in front of and owned by the business), all across the public right of way, to the kerbside. This was the situation all the way along, end to end. I watched as passersby, old people, children, parents with buggies, people just going about their business, were forced by these booze-sucking bellowing scumbags onto the road - where, at that hour, traffic rushed endlessly off the roundabout. We have, I realised, somehow become so used to this revolting spectacles as to believe it to be inevitable. It is not. This is why I'm dropping this post. Enough really is enough. This roiling boozy blockade represents a total failure by all the responsible authorities - the licencing authority, for example - but most of all (yet once more, again, as ever), by Southwark Council. Two very different comparisons to give you some perspective: 1. The Kings Head pub on the corner of Albermarle and Stafford Streets, London SW1. Here too, patrons like to drink and chat outside on a warm evening - why should they not. But here, on the latter side a line marks the curtilage on the pavement. Drinkers remain, respectfully, in good order, within the line, watched, quietly and carefully, by a security guard. I wager good money this arrangement is a condition of this pub's licence. 2. The Blue Brick is a cafe in the quiet backstreets of East Dulwich, on the corners of Fellbrigg and Shawbury Roads. Until a few months ago, about half its covers were tables out on the pavement. They bothered nobody. Oh! But they extended all of several centimetres too far into the footpath, so into fearless action swang Southwark Council officers - and now these tables are gone. Result, eh? "Well you see," some wiseacre said to me, "There needs to be a complaint." Not actually true, but for sure this is all too often how local authorities get pushed to do what they should be doing. Hard to think why a complaint trumps, say (and god forbid!) a child being injured on the road. In which circumstance, of course!, Southwark would swing into noisy, virtue-signalling, belated action. But in any case let this post be considered a big, very definite COMPLAINT about this prolonged abuse of our public right of way. I invite readers who agree with me to add their voices. Oh, and all those wee local ward councillors might get off their chufties, defy their party managers, and actually help sort this scandal out. Thanks for reading, Lee Scoresby
    • Hi there, I saw that Google lists the park opening time as 7:30am, but I was wondering if it might actually open earlier than that - maybe anyone who’s out running early or passing by has noticed?  
    • We are thrilled to announce that Little Stars Creche in Dulwich will be opening its doors on 28th April and we would love to invite you and your little ones to an open day where you can meet our team and visit our wonderful setting.  Little Stars is a fun creative space for children aged 2 to 4 years to enjoy whilst parents and carers get some well needed time to catch up on life! We are so excited to bring this much-needed service to the community, and we want to thank all the wonderful parents and carers for participating in our recent survey. Your feedback was invaluable in shaping Little Stars and ensuring it meets the needs of local families. For full information about Little Stars and a detailed schedule please visit our webpage here: Little Stars Crèche We can’t wait to meet you and your little stars soon!
Home
Events
Sign In

Sign In



Or sign in with one of these services

Search
×
    Search In
×
×
  • Create New...