itsdave

I've been looking too, but have only been able to find Wilsons Auctions which includes some Edinburgh properties, but so far they've primarily been Glasgow based. http://www.wilsonsauctions.com/property_scotland.asp

I take your point

Millions of adults have problems with literacy. They are not 'dumb'; nor is writing in a concise and easy to understand manner 'dumbing down'. I'd say it shows consideration and respect.

If a Council used 'ceteris paribus' or 'ad hominen' in its documentation, I bet most people would have to look it up. Therefore it's would not be the most effective method of communication. I never said I was against Latin abbreviation - where it is common currency and will be understood by everyone then of course it should be used. The point I'm trying to make is that I don't see any problem at all with a Council issuing 'plain English' guidelines to its employees to remind them that their correspondence goes to people of all levels of intelligence, educational achievement and literacy; as well as people whose first language may not be English. Therefore it might be advisable to avoid things like acronyms and latin phrases, if it could be potentially confusing or difficult for some to understand.

I only noticed it today as it suddenly fell within my price range (set the upper limit at 250k, but realisically would only pay up to 200k (and only then if I really had to!)). Yep - I guess it's a combination of the 'rent it out' brigade and possibly the time of year. Can't find anything on nethouseprices.com regarding its 'sold' price previously; so maybe the current owners have plenty of equity in it and would rather slash the price for a quick sale before Christmas, than chase the market down. If that sets any sort of precedent for a 3 bed at that level, then it would bring a 2 bed comfortably within my price range... which is nice. No idea why we aren't seeing more closures of EA/Solicitors - hardly anything seems to be selling and they must be really feeling the pinch at the moment.

I'm from Yorkshire and so do I. I take you point, and I use those kind of terms too - they're in common everyday usage, and I don't think any rational person would have a problem with using them. It's just where they might be used as a gateway drug ( ) to slightly more complex and less widely used phrases (Caveat emptor, Carpe diem, Memento mori, etc.) where I have a problem with it. Albeit most people would know what they mean, I imagine a lot of people would struggle.

Getting back to the original point (rather than patronising me - please don't), it is not the job of local authorities to 'challenge' its citizens with the use of needlessly flowery language which may be difficult for some to decipher. That's a question far beyond the scope of that originally posed and I have absolutely no idea .

That may be the case, but since (I estimate) 90% of the population has not had a grounding in Latin, doesn't it make sense for Councils to avoid its use in official correspondence?

No. Had the email been written in Swahili, I'm sure it would have been an educational and edifying experience translating it. As it was, it wasted a few minutes of my busy day on a diversion which could have been avoided had the author used more appropriate language. I'm convinced some people use latin in a rather pathetic attempt to shore up an entirely false sense of superiority over those of us who haven't had a 'classical' education. But I digress from my main point - why risk alienating and confusing the widest possible audience by using phrases with which they may not be familiar? Surely the simplest course of action for Councils is to avoid things like acronyms and latin phrases which may confuse people from some backgrounds. And the slant of the BBC article is somewhat disingenuous I feel - they're not 'banned' from using them, Bournmouth Coucil states that "We advise against using certain words, particularly when staff are writing to those whose first language may not be English. The advice is intended as a guide only, not a direction." I can't see anything wrong with that.

http://www.espc.co.uk/Buying/269361.html Biggest single price drop I've seen in one go. FP £298K to FP £230K for a 3 bed (a proper one!) flat in Marchmont. Could do with a new kitchen (and possibly bathroom as not shown), is also over a ScotMid shop so may get noise and undesirables loitering about at night, but otherwise looks very nice indeed. Could this be signs of things to come?

But most people didn't learn latin. Somebody sent me an email with 'ab initio' in it the other day, and I had to look it up .

Obviously, English is derived from, and accommodates words from a varity of languages - Anglo Saxon, French, Latin and Greek, amongst others. Of course there will be many foreign words (and those with foreign origins) which, over the years, become common parlance ( ) in the UK. Abbreviations i.e. and e.g. (etc.) are taught in school, in common usage and are understood by everyone. Latin, though, is taught primarily in public schools and not widely in the State sector. Therefore, to rely on latin phrases in business correspondence is not the most effective method of communicating simply with the widest possible audience. I just don't see anything wrong with having guidelines to encourage the use of 'plain english'.

Likeawise - I don't see what the problem is with such guidelines. Councils have to communicate with many nationalities and levels of education, so of course should make every endeavour to ensure that they do so in a concise and clear fashion. A non story, in my opinion.

...and another one.

oops, double post.

Thank goodness we'll see no more of the vacuous Phil and Krusty dragging Tabitha and Tarquin (first time buyers with a budget of a mere £650,000) across the Home Counties in search of the perfect country escape (always showing them the 'perfect property' just outside their price range and encouraging them to 'stretch themselves'). However, I've always enjoyed Beeny on Property Ladder. Although it's always given a somewhat optimistic view of the profitability of the renovations by indicating a gross profit, rather than net; Beeny is evidently intelligent and always offers sound advice to the assortment of smug goons and idiotic wanabe property developers, desperately seeking publicity on her show. It will be quite entertaining to see the more foolish and arrogant flippers get their comeuppance at last, so I do hope that Property Ladder remains on the air during the crash.

Aye. I've not seen it at all. In my searches they seem to be putting the fixed price at 25%-30% over the original offers over price. And then very slowly reducing them over a number of months. A couple are now on at fixed price very close to the original 'offers over' figure. Was originally looking to buy sometime in 2009, but will probably leave it to 2010 now. Thanks for pointing out the original article - The Scotsman editorial team should be ashamed at being little more than a mouthpiece for vested interests.

That wasn't my point at all. Quite the opposite - it really irritates me that the principle of freedom of expression in this country seems to be taking a hammering, and offending or hurting somebody's feelings has almost become a crime! I just find the way in which that particular branch of the RC church directs it's followers to vote a particular way, without individual thought or question, quite disturbing - don't think for yourself, let the Church do the thinking for you! If it was just about abortion, then I could understand that they might prefer one candidate over another. The fact that they also advocate voting McCain to "limit our taxes; increase domestic oil production, clean the mess in Washington, and return our troops in victory rather than defeat" forces me to speculate that the RC Church is advocating a right wing economic and political agenda which (I believe) it has no business doing. I wouldn't want to limit their right to express their views. As long as I have the right to question them.

Having just listened to it, it sounds more like extremist propaganda than a challenging discussion. The paranoid ramblings of a religious fanatic. if we don't restore Christian virtue in the west, then we'll be conquered by the east most of the players in the mortgage credit crisis are organisations that support the democrats; or are controlled by members of the United states who aren't Christian the Catholic religion is not based on believing because you're told to, like in Islam, or because everyone's been saying it, like in Hinduism; no they are facts. Christ rose from the dead - there are witnesses* they'd [Liberal Democracies] save themselvs a lot of trouble if they delcared that the laws of the state are the morality of Jesus Christ *

Why, Miss Madam, you cynic! How very dare you ? This bloke, linked from the main page is an absolute nutter. Don't think for yourself, or question anything in life - just vote as ordered by the Priest.

I couldn't possibly take seriously the product of any website which (strongly, no less!) advocates Senator John McCain and Governor Sarah Palin as the next President and Vice President of the United States; and refers very deliberately to Barack "Hussein" Obama in disparaging terms, plainly with the intent of stressing his 'foreignness' to engender fear and suspicion. A despicable website which uses faith to advocate a reactionary, frightening, and radical right wing political agenda. http://voiceofcatholicradio.com/catholicradiowebpage.htm "We urge all of our Catholic visitors to employ the most powerful tool we can muster to defeat the socialistic Senators Obama and Biden this election by reciting the Holy Rosary of Our Lady! We entreat you to dedicate one decade of the Rosary every day until election day to accomplish this important task for our nation and our children." Yep, that'll definitely work.

Flats 2, 8 and 14 are studio, the rest look like 1beds. Unfortunatly there are no dimensions on them, but they look absolutely tiny!

Floor plans are absolutely essential in determining whether or not you want to go to a viewing - it's very frustrating when agents don't include them. A few times I've emailed an agent to ask if they have one, where not included on the schedule, and they've never seemed bothered or motivated to send me one. Don't get me started on my pet rant . It completely ruins the well proportioned layout of the flat when they do that. I can see the whole 'kitchen / living room' thing being a ridiculous 'lifestyle' fad of the last ten years, and particularly in traditional tenements, being really difficult to sell in a tough market. I've started to see the occasional property now where the 'fixed price' has been reduced to almost the orginal 'offers over' asking price, which is encouraging. Very slow, though, like you say. I'm going to a 'champagne launch' this afternoon - wonder if anybody else will turn up . http://www.primary1.net/dev.html They seem to be priced about £320 per square foot (a smallish 2 bedder is £249,950), which is on the optimistic and pricey side of the current market, but not exceptional. The fact that the entire market is over-priced by about a third is another matter though! I imagine there's also a risk with new developments that the builders might run out of money half way through. Will be interesting to see who turns up!

No 37 is about 30% bigger than No 40, so might not be as over priced in relation as it first appears. If (when?) prices are down by about 30%, they might be worth a punt. It seems absolutely static at the moment, though, doesn't it? roblpm, that Morningside house is jaw-drappingly overpriced! £457 per square foot for a house on a busy road in an Edinburgh suburb - the owners must be nuts!