Owning your own home

If you wanna come and see in person then that's no bother. Only 14 mins on the bike from you.

You might need a new frame too if you need to show that you meet the regs

Ta

Oh I might well do that, be great to see exactly what to expect, so much to learn when owning a house.. will drop you a PM at the weekend.
Thanks again!

Have a look at ERA Homeguard https://www.safe.co.uk/products/era-homeguard-smart-alarm-pro-superior-kit.html

The advantage it has over all the others is that it will still be able to notify you should your wifi be not working, as it can use a SIM card as backup. My parents were burgled once and the fuckers had cut the phone cable before entering, police said its quite common for burglars to do this. Obv a non point if your phone wire is inaccessible from the outside.

We have two cats and they haven't set of the PIR's, it's a decent bit of kit.

OHHH we may have a winner... I'll prob only need the starter kit but that sounds and looks spot on. Also like the fact it works with Alexa and sans wifi, I've never actually had my wifi drop out but if I am getting an alarm as close to 100% secure as possible is ideal. Cheers!

I also have ERA stuff, think I went for a slightly different version due to cost, but seems to work fine, sends me texts etc.

Well if it protects your castle it'll do for me little terrace house...

Ha, should have seen that coming...!

Yeah, bet you good a bloody good view from up on your battlements...

Saying that, I can't help but think the bright yellow Yale alarms are a great deterrent in themselves as they are instantly recognisable as serious alarms.

I would say that the little fob things were a bit unreliable, have to press the button a few times until it responds. But the app works well. You can get it to send you push notifications and also an email, and then it calls you as well if you have a sim card in it which connects you to the hub, so you could theoretically have a chat with your burglars. I've used it a few times to freak out my wife when I'm out. Fun times.

Aside, I really like the RFID keypad. I know in this day and age people use phones for everything, but it saves you the faff of having to dig it out of your rucksack/jersey when with bike.

@hairychris had his done in Brockley a couple of months ago. Maybe he can recommend...

I'm googling now and they are not cheap, looks like I'll need supplying and fitting, with a frame, and a new lock.

they aren't cheap, no, and guess what? Half of them don't even fucking work...

Housing association has told me I need to fit one, current front door is fitted badly and lets in myriad draughts, I'm thinking too birds with one stone.

explain they don't even work? As in they don't last the requisite 30mins?

As in they don't last the requisite 30mins?

Yes. It's a bit of a scandal.

Personally I'd go back to them and ask them which one to fit, and how they expect to help you pay for it.

Leaseholder, so I’m not expecting them to help pay for door, and it’s the front door we’ve always had which was fitted before new regulations came in.
Been meaning to replace it for a while so might as well bring it upto code at the same time.
Not sure I want to open the can of worms of asking them what kind I need to fit.

I need London house advice.

I've never lived or worked there. Never wanted to. But life changed inthe last 12 months and I'm rather more free to move around now. A good company want to talk to me, which means there's the possibility of moving to/working in London. But I know zip about London except that it's expensive.

Basically I need advice on areas to check out rent/mortgage costs. Could I buy a 1-2 bed flat for less than 350k? If so, what areas would be ok to live in without a bullet proof vest?
(potential work being north of the river, north to north east)

Yes. 100%. London is actually mint when you are in it, but shit if you are on the outside looking in. I never wanted to live here but sort of ended up same situation as you (sans 35ok) and have loved it ever since. I have only ever lived East so that way biased...

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-67039459.html
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-57048690.html

Just be careful going much past Mile End road...

I've never lived or worked there. Never wanted to. But life changed inthe last 12 months and I'm rather more free to move around now. A good company want to talk to me, which means there's the possibility of moving to/working in London. But I know zip about London except that it's expensive.

I bought my 1 bed with a private 20sqm terrace in west dulwich for ~330

We were basically deciding between, decent outdoor space (terrace, large balcony) or 2 beds at a budget of 350k

Not sure I want to open the can of worms of asking them what kind I need to fit.

Because they will come round one day and say 'uh uh uh not that one, fit this one'

If they've asked you fit one, they should at least do the leg work of working out which one might actually pass FD30 and not look shit, and find you a supplier who isn't a shyster.

Leaseholder, so I’m not expecting them to help pay for door, and it’s the front door we’ve always had which was fitted before new regulations came in.

Oh yeah, I get that, but the system would be less fucked if, like the windows in sensible places, the door was the freeholder's property.

what areas would be ok to live in without a bullet proof vest?

anywhere except north london

avoid west london

.

also avoid east and south west