hairy

I dont want this at all....

we knew it was a risk, but a good one given the prices of all the houses in the area. Did a lot of the work myself, put on a cracking half wood, half brick extension across the house, replastered and painted and fitted a new kitchen and bathroom and it was sold within 15 minutes of the first viewing. Our first real experience of house dealing. We were offered more as well, but find gazumping morally repugnant and we both agreed to go with the original seller. we were guzumped on the property we agreed before this one so it was a raw nerve.

Just selling up on 2 properties which I have refrurbed completely; my view is that if your property stands out amongst the filth of properties oput there, you'll sell quicker'; hope I am right, just put £10k into a new kitchen. It's my view, as it is probably yours, that people are not wanting to get into a house and have to put another £20k in to make it reasonable to live in. I have just put DPP for one as well, for an extra 3 rooms and making an ensuite 4th and stretching the small 3rd to a 4th. Large plot too; just want to sell before the market does go pop again, sometimes in June/july

I do have some ambition for the kids and we're both professionals, so am hoping it rubs off. I am not too sure I'd encourage them to stay in the area as adults though; I am originally from the West country, as is my wife, and we both left and have developed as people as we grew from leaving there. I'd be pushing my kids to do the same whilst they are young. i know what you mean by livign the dream, but I have a good business I can run there or sell up, love the sea, sailing and fishing, walking, riding bikes and generally all round living. I'd be looking at changing my lifestyle quite drastically and am really looking for more time withthe kids, in a nice quieter area. We're keeping one of our houses in reigate area so we can come back with ease, or even give the girls the house when they're older. I know it's not without difficulties, and problems, and issues, but we are going opened eyed. Thanks for the tip re the auction sites. we'llpprobably rent for a couple fo years while the dust settles and see where we go from there. We're also looking at movign to France.

My financial future is based on the speculation Labour are spunking the world and it's daughters in the vain hope they get reelected due to Brown pulling off an economic miracle, and it failing. Hope to be all sold up by Spring with all my investments.

I'd also say it was probably prident for people to go into bankruptcy for a while; not many of these people aspire to be MP's or Company directors and if you had mass defaulting of loans and bankruptcy, then you really, really would see a wonderful correction. I think if this happened, we couldn't afford to bail out the banks an more and a lot would fail. If you could get 250000 people to default on their mortgages and go insolvent, that's around £42,500,000,000 kuzillions the banks would lose. GB would be forced from office too. I'm liking this option, just need to sell my houses and get the mooney out of here for a while first hand.

I took one of these out in 2000. Bought a 'do'er upper' and used the 30% of the loan to do the house up (we still had to provide the 5% deposit)./ Bought house for £150 odd, spent £30k of the loan, sold a year later for £275 - simples. Gawd bless you NR...

You'd be surprised how quickly it comes if you takle it seriously. In three rides I dropped my time from 2.35 to 2.15 for the same route. I started riding 12 miles 3 times a week with moderate hills and one bitch of a hill, then went to one 40 miler a week (and 2 12 milers) which, admittedly, kiled me, then just pushed on. One thing you'll fidn out quickly, is that your cadence will stay the same (~leg speed) but you'll use higher gears; that's where you pick up time. I rode from Lands End to Brighton in 3 full days days (1-6/8-5/8-6/9-1) after 3 months of training after not riding a bike for 12 years. Just look at routes where it woyuldn't make much difference to cycle. For instance, I ahve a client in Farnborough, if I took the trrain, I'd have to take the bus in to the town to catch the train. Total time, door to door, is 1.5 hrs (6.45 - 8.15). I can now cycle that in only half an hour more, saving £15 to boot. Plus, I don't have to use the train, which I personally loathe with a genuine passion. You'll get there, just do the maths, get a decent bike (I went from a mountain bike to a Trek 1.9 and the difference was remarkable, I mean, abosolutely unbelieveably easier) and choose to cycle. I now get almost 'zen' like in teh saddle and just completely empty my mind. Without resorting to nuspeak, its actually rejuvenated me stress wise. Good lucka s I say, but I promise you, it's not a massive undertaking to get fit this way, I was very surprised, aged 45, how quickly it got me fit, how quickly I improved and how much I enjoyed it.

I remember that ******* train ride; I was trying to get home to Reigate from North Camp... I started cycling fairly large distances last year and can comfortably do a 100 mile day on most terrains, I try and cycle to and froma client site which is an 80 mile round trip that I can do in just about 2'10" (each way). It's a nice way to travel, if the idiots on the raod don't try and kill you. Good luck

I have 4 houses, selling 2, maybe three, keeping one up here in the SE to ensuire I can return for business when I need to and not shell out £150+ a night up in the smoke on hotels. Then we're moving into rental accommodation in Devon until the shit settles, possibly further afield. I do believe, short term, no politician in his right mind will allow a crash and I was buying property right up to last November. It was admittedly a bargain and I am not too sure I'd have bought otherwise. But, having starting off being a bear in the early 2008 and through this year based on assumptions no one would cause a crash and the fact, as I have said here many times, GB will do anything to look like he has pulled a rabbit from his hat to try and keep labour in (Cons can still mess this up), , I just cannot see how house prices rising as they are can be a good thing; something has to break. I admire Sibley, to a degree, his optimism is wonderful, but something simply has to give and it will soon. I am utterly convinced and I don't want to suddenly go from being loaded up with equity to being over-leveraged. Not being one to over egg the pudding, but I am starting to get a little scared for the future and for my kids. A move abroad is even on the cards. I dont consider myself a soothsayer, or a rocket scientist, or even overly bright about the matter, I'm just a teensy bit scared...

What I meant by my post was that shit happens. FWIW, I thik if the contracts were not for discussion, they'd be in the courts, not round a toasty oil drum on fire...

Isle of Wight ferry, mile per pound, is th emost expensive journey one can make, I think... 4.6 miles, £16 return, £80 for a car...

Houses going on the market as we speak - STR

What, you mean like most IT companies ahve done to IT contractors over the past few months, walk them in, like BT, and say 20% across the board drops or your contract doesn't get renewed? Not too much complaining whilst that went on, not much union involvement or complaints raised nationally; they just got on with it and took it on the chin. However, when pay drops due to unfair practises against fellow workers is mentioned, it's one out all out... Rubbish, I hope they all have a cold winter unemployed with people who'd appreciate the jobs in them.

No, I wasn't, despite this government, not because of, I have done well as far as I am concerned.

But one isn't is commercial, one public sector. If I desgned a paint which would make ICI £3bill over 10 years, I'd be rewarded for that, so I'd earn more than a paediatric surgeon, but my social worth would be a lot more. There are differences in social worth and commercial worth. I make my clients money, if I didn't, I would be out of a client, make no mistake.

As long as this stops the hoards from claiming welfare, as long as this brings an end to the current welfare state we live in, I don't care. I was taught that if yuo worked hard, it repaed rewards, if you studied hard, you'll do well, if you really tried hard, life would pan out well. What I wasn't told was that Gordon Brown would debunk all this by spunking all my hard earned on paying for an underclass to believe they deserved more than they actually do. If I get an unreliable service, I will complain. Do you not think this is acceptable? I don't pay for sub standard anything in life, I don;t accept that, apart from the massively overfunded and under standard public sector. Would I a private company collecting refuse or the public sector? Private every single time. We need something to happen soon to realign people in the order of things, the true order. Bin men, low pay, surgeons, high pay. Jesus, it's just lugging bins from one place to the other; that's it, nothing more, nothing less, movign a fairly large object with handles and wheels approximately 3 yards there and back. I'm surprised they've brought this to our attention.

Precisely, which is what ruins the sentiment of your postin which you said your MP did nothing for you, all I was pointing out was that mine did. Now you're going into areas of manufacturing, which, if you look at logically, are controlled by quality and standards laws passed down by MP's, so MP's have done something for you, by making sure there are standards adhered to in manufacturing, he's saved your life every day. -5, go back to primary school and this time listen to your teachers.

****** me, this is funny, I have to pay £750 a month for my kid to go to nursery My heart bleeds.

But they've been happy to out earn their female colleagues in the same period? I just think it's a bit of a giggle to find yourself on worse conditions, the same that youve allowed your colleagues to survive on, and get all balshy about it. serves them right. No way they'll win and that makes me happier.

But they were happy working on better conditions than their female counterparts? Seems a bit rich to me. Honestly, this something for, pretty much, nothing culture that pervades this countries Public sector sickens me. I believe there are quite a few people in Leeds willing to empty bins for £14k jon til knock as well iirc. Seriously though, why should they get paid more? I know highly skilled IT hardware operators who earn £21k with degree's and 10 years experience in the West country. I know a factory manager earning £25k, estate agents on £14k I think they should be looking at being happy they have jobs in this market...

A GP saved my life once, saved my brothers as well thinking about it. Our local MP campaigned to put speed humps in our street as speeding was prervalent, and is now looking at getting proper cycle lanes in to protect kids. All bin men do is move bins; little or no skill involved at all. extrapolating your argument further, then supermarket operators are the mopst important people as they make sure I can get food. 3/10 must try harder

The safety net will help them live. What annoys the piss out of me, is that some people eschew education and then compaion when their manual labour jobs aren't well paid. These bin MEN were quite happy to earn more than their female counterparts and are now complaining when the money is normalised. Classic. If anything, people in schools UK wide should be printing this out and shwoing it to willful under achievers and suggesting this might be the road forward if they don't buck up their ideas.

They dont even have the map reading skills. GIS inside councils are used to dictate the best routes, the biggets skill is who can whistle the loudest at the most stupid hour