hairy

I think a job where the training consists of "yup, that's right, wheel that green thing over the the truck, then clip on there, yup, just there, now press the lever and stand back, good stuff, now go and put the bin back" is worth 10% of ****** all to be frank. Salary/wage should be measured on it's diffuiculty in finding replacements. Doctors? 7 years training, minimum, ok, natch, wages high, same for HGV, fair bit of training involved and responsibility, IT involves a fair amount of knowledge and training, but bin men? Come on ffs. As much as I hate to agree with the sentiment, work or ****** off and let soemone else work you work shy self indulgent pricks

I hate to say it, but I only did it because I could. I run a business myself but can see there is money to be made here and I am not of the thopughts of ignoring it whilst others do. However, yes, I agree, I'll be selling all of my houses before June. I have 2 left to sell, including the do'er upper I have mentioned. I was going to get it on the market for November, Dec, but have decided, instead, to target Marh next year and, hopefully, a small spring bounce; like you, I don't think this market is heading anywhere but down from the new government. Then going to sit on my money for a whikle down in the south west. I started as a bull here a year or so back, but I have been completely turned

It was a shed, I mean, a real shed. we wodnered what we'd find when we took the floor boards up... New Roof £5k New soffits/gutters £2k New kitchen £5k New bathroom £1k (already had all new bath stuff and tiles etc) Plastered throughout £3k New electrics and heating/water system £6.5k Flooring £3k Painting (just paint costs) New windows and patio doors £2.5k Landscaping £2k I have flipped the property, so this is classified as my main property so will not be due to pay CGT. It was valued at £230-£235k when I bought it, but we come to a deal as he knew he'd have to spend money on it to sell it in that market (Nov 2008), so he dropped it £20k Have done a lot of the work myself, but brought in people when I needed to. I thought, budgetted, I'd get £275k, going on the nmarket at £325k to realise 300k, EA's words, not mine I have remodelled the interior as well, including extending bathroom and kitchen, removing a smaller bedroom for a large kitchen diner. It's, effecively, a new house.

We're moving into the area and I tought this had dropped to around 900k and the chap was throwing in his Range Rover Sport and 30' RIB To be honest, if my money wasn't all tied up and dtupid houses, I'd buy this; magic place and, relatively for the area, very cheap...

Or become BTL'ers with all the mortgage paid off this time...

I think it's too simplistic. I bought a run downhouse for £275000, spent a good 30k on it and it's been valued at £360000 down froma a valuation of £380000 at peak. Mouseprice has it down at £267000. We also negotiated a large chunk of it off as we agreed to pay 20% up on completion in cash as a deposit to help the old people moce to a park home. We were told, immediately, by the EA that they had been instructed to offer us £310000 for the house by a buyer eager for the house. I'll also add that next door has been valued at £215600, which was purchased for £215000 a year ago and has been, essentially, rebuilt; new roof, new walls, new ceilings, new kitchen, bathroom, garden, etc. None of this taken into account... None of this is plumbed in and it's simply using average house prices to calculate. Microscales will dictate that an area of low sales and massive differences in housing costs will have skews in the data. This data, realistically, is as useful as tits on a bull

I agree, I bought a run down property for 215k last year which is going on the market shortly for £300k so will inflate the price and am looking at another to do which offers the same type of value (buy for 200, spend 30, sell for 300). I know a few people who did this last year when property fell 15 odd percent in our area.

I have long suspected the whol emarket is ebing kept afloat so Brown can pull the rabbit out of the hat, I've mentioned this on the foruma few times. I was clasically Bullish last February, predicting markets would rise, in the SE, by the4 years end, which has proven right. Now, hoever, I cannot see anythng beyond realism striking the markets when the election is over and reality bites. I have 4 properties, all of which will be on the Market and, hopefully, sold by Spring. I was asked the other day if I think I should hang on to take advantage of a traditional surge in rpices in spring. Nooooooooo, just sell them and run away, hiding all the money somewhere offshore and protected. I believe a fire will be lit in July next year; either when the conservatives discover the balnace book, or when Brown brings his show to an end and tells everyone the truth. I am, geninely, thinking of running abroad for a few years...

Thanks for that, very nice thing to say. We decided to move as the kids are young (3 and 6) so they can enjoy the country lifestyle while young. We've decided on keeping a 2 bed bungalow so that in later years we can come back if we need to and not faff around looking for ages, as well sas save potentially £500 a week on Hotels. I think you're right about the restaurants, it is quiet. I had a very anxious moment back in July. I rode from Lands End to Brighton and passed through some towns that I was very interested in moving to. Suddenly it made me massively depressed about the life I'd be pushing on teh kids by movign there. Here, we go ice skating, cinema, restaurants, swimming, museums up town, you know what i mean. One of our chosen towns, Colyton/Colyford, has one of the best schools in the country so we targeted it. But on staying the night there, it was mortifyingly dull and quiet. I had to go to Seaton to eat and, remembering this was a Friday night in July, peak holiday time, the town was empty save for some chavs lighting up the car parks; 18/19 yo oiks with 13 year old girlfriends and it scared me what i was about to do. Luckily, I had another trip to a wedding in the Hams in August and a subsequent 10 days looking around the whole area cheered me up no end as it is better quality of life, and a nice place to live. I'd still recommend it, and I will retire in the area I think, I just like it so much down there. We are looking at Kingsbridge now, possibly slightly more West so I can fly from Plymouth into London City when I need to. I think it's a positive move and Plymouth has come on leaps and bounds since the 80's when I was a student there, scared to go out at the weekend in case I was student bashed by the local sea faring military enlightened souls. The kids will have plenty to do and we'd be 20 mins form Totness, Ivybridge, the moors, Plymouth and the resulting trais and planes back Eastto the smoke. As for drunks wandering the towns drinking at 10am, have you seen Redhill? You have to run the barrage of smoking drunks from 9am onwards just to go to Sainsburys/Boots anywhere else. I genuinely think you'll see people all over the country who think this is socially acceptable. The sooner we have rules outlawing that type of behaviour the better in my opinion. But it happens all over, from Warrington, to Redhill, Melksham to Consett. That's life i guess. Cheers and good luck

Not yet, no.

OK, I am going to start posting a thread about a house sale. I am currently having a new kitchen being fitted with a total revamp of the kitchen (new plaster. wall and floor tiles). This will take 2 weeks and then it's on the market. House was bought in May 2006 for £275k. 3 bed detached on largish plot. Totally refurbed at £30k cost including new bathroom. Detailed Planning permission for 2 story side and rear extension to make it 4 double bed, 3 bath, 4 reception house. On the market at £345k from first week in Nov. Will be honest about viewings offers and progress. Also have another house going on the Market in, probably, January - March and I'll do the same thing. Both houses in Merstham, Surrey.

The whole area has picked up of late (RH1 and RH2). I just had two of mine valued and they will be on the market within a month and 4 months, respectingly. One bought in May 2006 for 275 (valued at 360) and the other bought in November 2008 for 215 (valued at 295). The latter has had 35k spent on it.

I saw a role for a senior GIS Consultant the other day in Madrid for €25k A year... I emailed them just to see if there was a typo; it intrigued me. Nope, no typo, I would simply have to get used to a lower market value in Spain apparently...

I have a large plot of land for sale. Been on sale in the village for about 8 months. Not one drop of interest until this past week where I have had 3 site visits and 2 offers, one conditional, one unconditional. Had my houses valued at slightly more than they were 6 months ago. It's probably just a blip and I am still selling up, but confidence is returning and I expect GB to start ordering the banks to lend soon, hence lloyds suggesting they may not take part in the GAP financing ooojeymefliip. Next year it'll all go tits up though...

Thanks for the link; if there was one in my area, I'd use it in a blink. A friend of mine cut his hand open cleaning a very sharp knife his wife had put in the washing up bowl, hidden by foam. He entered A&E at 7AM and got home at 2pm. all they did was wrap his hand up tightly and told him to wait for a doctor to see him. That's just unacceptable...

No, I use the A&E as it has a monopoly. I can afford it and would prefer to pay for my own treatment. I'd also add it does work in America. Insurance would be higher, probably 3 times a shigh, but to me the sacrifice is worth it for the increased efficiency. The NHS is not all that.

Strained my achilles tendon and although I have private medical insurance, was told I needed to go to A&E who'd refer me. Despite telling the staff all I needed was a referel, was kept there for 6 hours as my cases wasn't deemed serious enough. Got my referel, and next to f' all else, phoned the local private hospital and had an operation 4 days later. I was told the op, as not urgent treatment, would have taken 18 months on NHS. So I have had my quality of life enhanced by paying £1600 a year (for my whole family). as far as I am concerned, the NHS could burn down and I wouldn't give a flying ruck.

Just quality of life reasons. We have 2 young daughters. Have decided to sell up our 'portfolio' and move so we can relax a bit more and not stress too much,mspend more time with the girls. still keeping a small property up here for work purposes when I need ot be in london.I have een seing prices come down a lot in certain areas, but not in the high ticket areas in the Hams. I have seen alot of properties come onto the market with an opportunity for a second income, so I'd have ot say yes to your final question. We just rented a house down in Thurlestone for 10 days and it's still magic. Some villages are really summer homes and are desperately quiet in winter; I'd quite like that though. Good luck to you.

Hi there, We're selling up in Surrey and looking to the South Hams. Wif eloves Salcombe, but massively overpriced, for me. So looking from Dartmouth all around to Thurlestone. What is about and what are property prices like or what have they been like? cheers

I made the point to several clients that Brown will get back in. This was made on the basis he will throw the virtual kitchen sink at bringing us out of recession quickly and sod the consequences. You and I, and a lot of other people, will see through this as just prolonging the necessary pain that paying back all this money will be, but the sheeple (aka Sun readers etc) will buy into it and this, my friends, is where th eissue is. Doesn't matter if you're all bright, he's not aiming to please us, just aims to please all the Joe Schmos into supporting him. It will be rabbit out of the hat time, look at me, I have stopped the recession, houses are all worth a million pounds, you all have jobs and the public sector is intact (sh, dont tell them about the 5000 trillion debt we have...) I am hopelessly depressed I am going to be right.

Farbound GT as well on those flanks. Not too sure about it. Think they'll have their pants pulled down with the 458 Italia being released before it which looks sooooooooooooooo much sexier and, I'll bet, is a decent lick faster. Rumours abound that they tried basing the engine on a twin turbo version of the Caparo engine but it's just proving tooo unreliable, hence the enforced wait. My money would go on the new Italia 458 or I'd wait to see what the new generation of Lambo's look like. Or I'll just stick with the GL...

If you're good at your job, a client will not get rid of you, in my experience... I hired in an indian programmer, brilliant programmer, crap at eliciting clients requirements. Fired his ass and am still fixing his problems...

So pen pushers are the same as coppers? Are you going to have trouble rushing around sending threatening letters at 70? The trpouble is, with you, is that you cannot see the woods for the trees and all that. Blindly, you're attacking people based on a stupid and trite argument. if there is no money, you will have no pension. If the pension pot isn't there, you will not have one, it really is simples. Can you not see this is a ponzi scheme at the end of the day and the only way for this pot to have enough money in it, would be to raise taxes or rob 'the people' in another manner? Your 10% addition means we pay 20% to top it up and you think this is fair? (20% is an example not a fact) Yet most of you civil servants would have trouble brushing your own teeth and would have no chance of working mainstream outside of your tender T's and C's.. *****ers, all of you as far as I am concerned; I will continue avoiding tax by fair means and foul. Go pay for your dog food some other way.

If, if gordon Brown is foolish enough to... Please feel free to add to this: if Gordon Brown is foolish enough to... Don't you see the folly in this statement? He's done so many bloody foolish things, this is tiny in comparison...

Amen...